By SHANNON O. WELLS
In her initial report to Faculty Assembly for the 2023-24 academic year, Senate Council President Robin Kear welcomed everyone back at the Sept. 6 meeting with the hope that they had “a chance to relax and rejuvenate” during the summer slowdown and vacations.
Kear said the hybrid meeting option, including Zoom video, will continue this year, although “we would appreciate it if you only use them if necessary. It is nice to see you in person,” she said. “We do have a good group here today, which is wonderful. … I know that the Zoom option is nice for accessibility and for when you just cannot make it down to Posvar. So we’re continuing that indefinitely.”
She reminded attendees to not use the Zoom “chat” function, but to simply “raise your hand” to contribute to the conversation.
In other updates, Kear said she has enjoyed recent meetings with new Chancellor Joan Gabel and interim Provost McCarthy, noting “I think we’re off to a great start.” Gabel will host a Chancellor’s Reception on Sept. 14, following the 3 p.m. Senate Council meeting.
Provost search committee
Kear received notice from the chancellor’s office in mid-August to start the faculty elections process for the provost search committee to fill the vacancy left when Ann Cudd departed in late June.
“We are scheduled to have the names for Oct. 7,” Kear said, which is one day after voting closes. A timeline is being established for the search using shared governance guidelines available on the Senate Council website.
The latest briefing for the committee was sent to all eligible faculty on Aug. 28, inviting people to apply and add their own names. The deadline for nominations is Sept. 11.
“Please consider this service for yourself. It’s really important,” Kear said. “I know this is a commitment. We’re looking for a rich and diverse pool of candidates to do this. We encourage you to self-nominate or (encourage others). Sometimes people just need a push to say ‘Oh, you can be great for this. Why don’t you put your name in.’”
Once the names are submitted, a nominating committee comprising Faculty Assembly members in each area will evaluate nominees for the final election slate. Kear chairs the group, which also includes John Stoner and Dawn McCormick (arts and sciences), Matt Burton and Ben Bratman (professional schools), Alejandro Almarza and Tom Songer (health sciences) and Adam Cilli from the Greensburg campus (regional campuses).
The committee will meet Sept. 12, Kear said, “and very quickly we select the slates from the nominees, with those publicized on Sept. 13.”
After that, faculty members who are not on the slate but wish to be have 10 days to submit petitions to be included — with signatures from 5 percent of their area required. On Sept. 26, everyone eligible to vote will receive an email notification encouraging them to vote. Faculty should only vote in their respective area, Kear noted.
For each candidate listed, voters should click “approve” or “not approve,” while selecting “approved” for as many candidates as you want. Approval voting, Kear noted, is more likely to select consensus winners.
“There’s an incredible amount of administrative work that goes on behind the scenes for this that is done by Lori Molinaro and Linda SantaCasa, so thank you for that, Lori and Linda,” Kear said, also adding thanks to assistance from the chancellor’s office.
Gen AI committee
In other updates, Kear said she’s agreed to serve on the Ad Hoc Committee on Generative AI Research and Education recently created by the Provost’s Office and the Research office. (See related story.)
Other Senate members serving on the committee include co-chair Lisa Parker, Bonnie Falcione, David Wert, John Stoner, Melanie Scott and Katherine Wood. Kear said the committee’s charge includes identifying topics where guidance is needed regarding generative AI applications in research, teaching and learning, and conducting benchmarking with peer institutions regarding policies or guidance on Gen AI uses.
The committee report is due to the research and provost’s offices by Dec 15, “so if you have feedback or concerns for the Senate members I mentioned,” Kear said, “you can certainly reach out anytime between now and then.”
Shannon O. Wells is a writer for the University Times. Reach him at shannonw@pitt.edu.
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