President's Report 8/25/23
August 25, 2023 / Lyndsay Rhodes
Welcome to AY 2023-2024
A warm welcome back to the fall 2023 semester. I hope that the first two weeks of the semester have been enjoyable as we find our way back into our academic routines. I am excited to start my first semester as Faculty Senate President and look forward to a productive year. I worked closely with Past President Anna Carlin over the summer to transition into my new duties, and I look forward to working with each of you to represent our faculty well. My goal is to continue to grow professional and productive relationships between faculty and administration built on mutual respect, for the benefit of FGCU. To do that, we need to work together, and I need to hear from you and the faculty you represent. My office and my inbox are open.
Presidential Inauguration
The presidential installation ceremony of FGCU’s fifth president, Dr. Aysegul Timur, will be held on January 12th, 2024 at 10am in Alico Arena. The FGCU community and beyond are also invited to join President Timur for an outdoor lunch reception immediately following the installation ceremony. Faculty Senate will be postponed to allow all faculty to attend the ceremony. An additional Senate meeting has been scheduled for April 26th, 2024 to be used if needed.
Required Faculty Training in Workday
Reminder that all faculty are required to complete their annual training in Workday Learning by October 9th, 2023. The four required training modules cover cybersecurity, discrimination and harassment, accommodations and discrimination, and conflicts of interest. Training should take approximately 30 minutes to complete, and many of last year’s issues including blocked pop-ups have been resolved.
Board of Trustees
Board of Trustees met for a limited agenda meeting on August 18th, 2024. The Board approved submission of two Linking Industry to Nursing Education (LINE) funding proposals totaling $1.1 million in match funding from the state. Proposals included collaboration with Lee Health ($500,000 match) and Naples Community Hospital ($50,000 match) to provide student scholarships, instructor recruitment, and expansion of simulation facilities to support increased nursing graduates.
The Board also approved a $10.9 million Legislative Budget Request for 2024 with a focus on academic preparedness, career exploration and workforce readiness, and innovative programs. Additional information can be found in the August edition of the Inside FGCU newsletter. Both of these items will be presented to the Board of Governors for review at the August 29-30 meeting in Gainesville.
The next BOT meeting will be held September 12th, 2024, at 8:30am in the Cohen Ballroom. The agenda is not yet available, but the agenda and materials will be posted to the BOT website in advance of the meeting.
Advisory Council of Faculty Senates
ACFS met August 18th, 2024 in preparation for the August Board of Governors meeting to be held August 29-30 at the University of Florida. ACSF Chair Amanda Phalin (UF) shared an update from Chancellor Rodrigues on SB266, specifically regarding courses with prohibited topics. The Chancellor advised that general education courses should continue as is until the Board of Governors General Education Task Force completes its work to define the parameters and processes to review such courses. Guidance from the BOG is expected by the end of Spring 2024, with implementation likely in Fall 2024. In other words, there is no need for faculty to self-censor course content until we have more guidance.
Civility Summit
As part of our Civil Discourse Plan, FGCU is required to host an annual Summit featuring University Senior Leadership, Faculty Senate Leadership, UFF-FGCU Leadership, BOT Leadership, SAC Leadership, and Student Government Leadership in the early Fall term to discuss the importance of civility in the workplace and classroom, and re-affirming the FGCU BOT and BOG Statement of Free Expression. The inaugural Civility Summit will be held Sept 6th, 2024 in the Cohen Ballroom from 10am – 12pm. I encourage you and all faculty to join us for meaningful conversation and engagement to explore what civil discourse really means at FGCU. Doors open at 9:45am and continental breakfast will be served.
COACHE
Results of the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) faulty job satisfaction survey that was conducted in Spring 2023 were received at the end of the summer. The Priority Setting Taskforce met for their first meeting on August 11th, 2023. The team consists of 13 faculty representatives from all units as well as the Steering Committee (Andi Clemons, Rosa Gomez-Camacho, Meg Atha, Lyndsay Rhodes). The team was tasked to identify the top 2-3 areas of concern to be the focus of strategic interventions over the next year. The report will be shared, and the steering committee is currently working to develop a process for data requests for further analyses. Additionally, Dean’s reports will be available specific to units mid to late fall. More information can be found at our COACHE webpage.
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