The University of Connecticut’s senate met on March 3 in the Student Union ballroom to discuss current issues such as housing, diversity, equity and inclusion and state funding in the wake of executive orders.
The University Senate consists of 104 voting members, nine of which are undergraduates and three of which are graduate students. It also includes 14 ex-officio members, including UConn President Radenka Maric and Provost Anne D’Alleva.
Moderator Del Siegle called the meeting at 4:02 p.m. and began with a land acknowledgment. Many of the senators were online for the entirety of the meeting.
After an approval of the minutes, Maric had the floor for her president’s report. Maric first noted that she plans to testify in front of the Higher Education and Employment Committee in order to ask for extra funds when hiring topic school officials. She then turned the report over to Pamir Alpay, the vice president for research, innovation and entrepreneurship, to discuss federal grants.
“Since day one, we’ve been hit with executive orders, as you know,” Alpay said. “In the last two months we also see a significant reduction in new grants that are coming in.”
He noted that the university typically sees around $25 million in grant money.
“The last two months haven’t been too bright. We’ve received only five million dollars in funding,” he said.
Alpay did note that he does have a team working with the financial affairs committee and the executive committee to figure out how programs will be affected by a lack of funding.
“I hope I’ll have better news next time around,” he said. “I know we’ll adjust.”
Maric also mentioned that not all cuts have been finalized, stating that organizations like the Department of Energy and programs like Medicaid have also been receiving cuts. Despite this, she said Governor Ned Lamont was open to further conversations.
“He is definitely having the empathy, but he wants to see what are the things that we can do the best.” Maric said. “If there are cuts, what can we leave out? And how will this affect our faculty?”
The conversation then turned to UConn’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs (DEI).
Maric assured that while there has been federal pushback, the school will not change vocabulary surrounding DEI. “In this position, we are not breaking the law,” she said.
Maric then gave the floor to former Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Franklin Tuitt and D’Alleva to discuss UConn’s policies on DEI and plans going forward.
“Diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility is foundational to our missions and values,” Tuitt said. He cited the creation of a task force designed to predict how executive orders will impact people at UConn. “We’re also particularly concerned about what is happening in the gender affirming care space as well.”
D’Alleva also noted that the university will pause hiring for the time being. This is in anticipation of federal cuts and regulations on DEI.
“We ask people to proceed, but to proceed with caution,” she said.
D’Alleva said candidates that have already been approved for hire will still be hired.
“We are not going to ask anybody to stop teaching or to change what they are teaching,” D’Alleva added. She later noted that UConn’s cultural programs and cultural centers still have the support of the university.
“For any student, the Dean of Students Office is an essential resource and is a first stop for our undergraduate students,” D’Alleva said. “When students need help, if they are international students, if they are undocumented, if they are struggling in any way because of the impact and the changes coming out of Washington, that’s the place to start.”
Maric then departed from the senate meeting, and her report was followed by the report from the Senate Executive Committee by Laura Burton, the SEC chair. She noted that the SEC has been discussing ways of improving communication and has been reviewing bylaws.
Senator Karen Bresciano then began a review of a bylaw, Article II, Section B. 12, regarding undergraduate readmission. Bresciano explained that while UConn stopped officially asking for readmission applications for their criminal history in 2022, the bylaw was not changed to reflect that. She proposed the removal of the mention of criminal history from the official bylaw.
Senator Jamie Kleinman covered the next bylaw change, Article II Class E. 9, regarding protocol if the university must close. The updated bylaw would ensure that teachers cannot require that students attend class or submit assignments in the event of a closure, and that students must be given sufficient time to complete said assignments after UConn reopens. Kleinman noted that “sufficient time” would be defined on a case-by-case basis.
Both proposed changes will be voted on by the senate at their next meeting.
Jeffrey Geoghegan, UConn’s executive vice president for finance and chief financial officer, then began a presentation on the current state of the university’s budget.
Geoghegan noted that UConn is currently projected to have $1.4 million in profit by the end of the school year. This income will be invested into the next school year, which he predicted would be especially useful if UConn does not receive full state funding.
Geoghegan labeled all aspects of the budget as “favorable” apart for state funding.
“There a 5.5-million-dollar reduction in state support,” he said. “We don’t currently expect any additional reductions at this time.”
He added that the Storrs campus is currently at capacity for both housing and dining. Geoghegan plans on talking to Vice President for Student Life & Enrollment Nathan Fuerst to discuss methods of increasing capacity.
“began with a land acknowledgment.”
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