November 26, 2024

FSU Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

November 26, 2024 3:30pm (Zoom)

Executive Committee Members Present: Sana Haroon (Vice President); Suha Ballout; Lynne Benson; Monique Fuguet; Karen Grayson; Patricia Krueger-Henney; Jared Poole; Alejandro Reuss; Rania Said

Others Present: Lorenzo Nencioli (FSU Senior Staff Member)

1. Approval of Minutes: Motion to approve the minutes of the October 22 Executive Committee meeting. Motion seconded. Motion passes.
2. Discussion: Determining Possible dates and times for FSU Ex Com Spring 2025 meetings.
3. Discussion: Possible end of semester event.
   
   1. Caroline supplied everyone with current teaching schedules as listed in Wiser for informational purposes.
   2. Ex Com will vote on dates at the next meeting.
4. Update on activities: Current FSU activities.
   
   1. Thurs, Dec 5, UDC will have an initial expanded reopening 11:30a-1p; 1:15-2:15p
   2. Sodexo will soon announce an expanded reopening of UDC for the Spring. Delayed due to equipment issues.
   3. New IT policy
      
      1. Today, the Point issued an analysis by Jason Rodriguez (Sociology), articulating the cause for alarm.
      2. The policy will be discussed at the next Faculty Council meeting on Monday December 2.
      3. Administration appears to have withdrawn the request to sign the new policy as part of the present round of mandatory IT security training. May be a preliminary sign that we are gaining ground on this issue. Ex Com will continue to monitor and plan possible tactics for applying pressure.
5. Update from Antiracism Grants Committee: Members of the committee (Karen, Patricia, and Jared) report on the submissions they received and their selected awardees.
   
   1. FSU received 20 submissions. Committee members read the proposals. Then, they deliberated over them for one day over the course of two separate meetings.
   2. Antiracism Committee priorities/criteria include antiracism and direct benefits to UMB community.
   3. The Antiracism Grant Committee suggests that in the future Ex Com might develop a process for better integrating proposals with one another and with FSU goals; also, making the efforts we fund more sustainable and cumulative across academic years. This would require a more robust communication process with applicants and prospective applicants throughout the grant cycle (i.e., from announcement to reporting outcomes).
6. Some ExCom members raised concerns about the appearance of a conflict of interest.
   
   1. Ex Com has considerable discussion about whether the timeline we have used for several years can be improved.
      
      1. One option is to open applications in the prior Spring but still accept proposals in the Fall, giving people more time to prepare.
      2. Another option is to open applications earlier in the Fall and announce awardees a month or two earlier.
      3. Under the current system, all the antiracism activity we fund is concentrated in the Spring, and virtually nothing happens in the Fall.
         
         1. In any event, it might make sense to develop and maintain a calendar of FSU antiracism events (and perhaps other events as well) to ensure that events have appropriate sequencing (e.g., reducing the likelihood that events will suck away attendance, labor, or attention from one another)

MEETING ADJOURNS