The University of Connecticut Senate held their monthly meeting on April 8, in which they reviewed university bylaws and discussed the effects White House immigration policies on UConn.
The meeting began at 4:04 p.m. with a land acknowledgment from moderator Del Siegel. The meeting lasted until 5:52 p.m.
University President Radenka Maric was unable to give her President’s Report as she was “in transition” from the women’s basketball championship in Tampa, Florida. In her place, Provost Anne D’Alleva gave a report, in which she primarily discussed President Donald Trump’s executive orders regarding international students and faculty as well as diversity, equity and inclusion.
“We are doing our best to support each member of our community who may be affected,” D’Alleva said. “It certainly is a very serious time for many members of our community.”
D’Alleva noted that some federal grant projects have had their funding canceled and as a result, the university is pivoting to try and maintain the resources the school needs. D’Alleva said she hopes private initiatives will step up to help close the gap left by the withdrawal of funding.
As a part of this pivot to manage resources, D’Alleva said that the provost’s office has been accepting fewer graduate students into university programs to prioritize the students that have already been accepted.
“We’re not out of alignment with our peers. Other universities have been doing this,” D’Alleva said, mentioning the University of Pennsylvania and Iowa State University. “[It was] definitely a difficult and unhappy decision, but one we had to make.”
D’Alleva added that the university has been monitoring student visas and asked that students notify the provost if their status has changed. She noted that UConn’s Human Resources department has been doing the same for faculty.
The senate then moved to look at the first of two packages of proposed amendments to the bylaws. The first package regarded Article IX of the university bylaws, which focuses on the membership and operations of the university senate. This set of bylaws is under the jurisdiction of UConn’s board of trustees; the senate can propose changes, but ultimately the decision is up to the board.
Much of this package included suggestions to increase the number of senators. If the senators’ proposed changes were implemented, all university vice presidents as well as the Dean of Students would be included in the senate as non-voting ex-officio members.
The most-discussed change at the senate meeting was the issue of student constituencies. Under the current bylaws, the Storrs campus can have five undergraduate students as senators, while the regional campuses can only have one senator each. The proposed change would allow for Storrs to hold more senators, the amount determined by having one senator for every 2,500 students. It also guarantees that students will always have at least nine representatives.
Senator Elizabeth Jockusch argued that the amendment should change its wording to allow for more proportional distribution of senators among the regional campuses. Senator Michael Morell argued that the amendment already achieved that goal, and Jockusch’s change would just lead to the bylaw needing more review further down the line.
The senate voted to keep the original proposed amendment without Jockusch’s change, then voted to accept the package of proposed amendments. The package will be given to the board of trustees as suggested changes and are not final.
The second package of amendments regarded Article I of the bylaws of the University Senate. Unlike the first package, the senate has control of this set of bylaws.
One of these proposed changes is related to the senate’s Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee. The new by-laws renamed the committee to the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Accessibility committee, and will include accessibility as one of its main focuses.
The biggest proposed change in this package of bylaws is a set of new rules for the removal of a senator, which previously did not exist.
The proposed change outlines the process by which a senator can be removed from office. The reasons for why this may happen are outlined as “non-participation” and “actions that undermine the effectiveness or integrity of the Senate or its committees,” as well as “any conduct detrimental to the fulfillment of the Senate’s responsibilities.”
Senator Jockusch proposed that violation of the Student Code or the Employee Code of Conduct could also lead to removal from senate service. This was passed by the Senate through voice vote.
The senate voted to pass the second package of amendments.
The senate then progressed to new business. Jockusch proposed that the senate release a letter signaling the university senate’s support for international community members. The senate voted to pass this movement.