RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SENATE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
MEETING AGENDA
Friday, November 1, 2024, 12:00 p.m. via Zoom

https://rutgers.zoom.us/j/99068164783?pwd=VHV1YUphLzJmWVgrUDM0VGcyUE01Zz09

Chair’s Report– Lucille Foster, Senate Chair

Secretary’s Report– Vicki Hewitt, Senate Executive Secretary

• Approval of Agenda
• Approval of the October 11, 2024 Senate Executive Committee Minutes
• Communications
  • Senate Socials: Fri. Nov. 8 and Fri. April 11 from 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.
  • Provosts’ Roundtable: Fri. Jan. 31 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.

Administrative Report – Prabhas Moghe, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs (12:05 – 12:20 p.m.)

Discussion – Brian Strom, RBHS Chancellor (12:20 – 12:45 p.m.)

Senate Representation on the Presidential Search Committee (12:45 – 12:55 p.m.)

Recording Senate Meetings (12:55 – 1:10 p.m.)

Communications with the University community, including but not limited to information sharing through Rutgers Today and our relationship with the central PR office (1:10 – 1:25 p.m.)

University Senate social media outreach, including but not limited to whether the ad-hoc committee is in need of a new chair (1:25 – 1:30 p.m.)

Changes to the Academic Calendar (1:30 – 1:40 p.m.)

University Senate Parliamentarian (1:40 – 1:45 p.m.)

Standing Committees/Panels

2024-2025 Committee Chair Positions (1:45 – 1:50 p.m.):

FPAC: Christine Morales and Arturo Osorio-Fernandez

Committee Report and Recommendations (1:50 – 1:55 p.m.):

Budget and Finance Committee – Thomas Figueira and Troy Shinbrot, Co-Chairs

Report on S-2208-1: Divestment of Retirement Funds from Fossil Fuels (Information Only)

The committee was charged as follows:

Investigate whether the investment companies utilized by Rutgers for university employees should divest from fossil fuel companies within their retirement portfolios that are known to contribute to climate change. Report back to the Senate Executive Committee.

Proposed Charge (1:55 – 2:05 p.m.)

AI and Cheating – Senator Audrey Truschke, School of Arts and Sciences – Newark, Faculty

Charge: There is an epidemic of students using “Artificial Intelligence” in order to cheat at Rutgers. This does not apply to legitimate uses of AI, especially in the sciences. In the humanities, we are seeing more and more students using generative AI (grammarly, ChatGPT, QuoteBot, etc.) to write entire papers, doing nothing other than cutting and pasting the paper prompt into AI. In recent semesters, some Rutgers professors have reported a majority of students in a given class for using AI as an academic integrity violation.

The academic integrity issue here is three fold. One, we have students passing off the work of another (in this case, a computer algorithm) as their own, which is a clear violation of Rutgers Honor’s code. Two, many Rutgers instructors (especially in the humanities) ban all use of AI, and students are violating that ban. Three, students are not learning anything; they even use AI to fabricate quotes rather than doing the reading (this is a major way I catch it).

The Senate should (1) Investigate how common AI use is in academic integrity violations across Rutgers campuses. Anecdotally, it seems to be exploding, but data would be useful. (2) Recommend steps to curb the cheating use of AI on campus. The goal here should not be to ban AI for legitimate purposes. But the Senate might consider, for example, requiring students to disclose when they use AI, just as they would have to disclose having a person help writing their papers. (3) Recommending how university administrators can help support faculty better and incorporate appropriate training on AI into orientations and the such.

Rationale: AI use is exploding at Rutgers (see Charge Description).

Open Charge Request (2:05 – 2:10 p.m.):

ICAC requests edits to the charge language of S-2330: Expanding Access to University Libraries Across Campuses.

The current charge is: After discussions with Chief Kenneth Cop, Vice President for University Libraries Consuella Askew, and library faculty, the three greatest concerns for keeping libraries open later involve public safety, staffing, and sanitation. All three of these concerns can be properly addressed with increased budgeting that will allocate the funds to increase staff, safety officers, and custodial services. We must show a need for libraries across all Rutgers campuses to be open as often as possible with complete equitable access (same days, same hours) across all Rutgers campuses. Thus, I charge that the University Senate create a survey for each campus (New Brunswick, Camden, and Newark) to explore this need. This survey is to be student-led and disseminated by its student leaders among their respective campuses. Questions should also be personalized to each campus and with an eye to equity.

The requested charge language is: Investigate current University library hours across all campuses. Determine if those hours are adequately meeting student needs (access to collections; access to study spaces; access to technology) on each campus. Make recommendations as appropriate.

Note that S-2330 is also charged to SAC, so consider whether this change is for both committees.

Open Charge Request (2:10 – 2:15 p.m.):

USGC requests to be discharged:

S-2317-1: Faculty Governance, Executive Appointments and Proposed Dual Positions at Rutgers

This concerns a dean serving as a provost simultaneously, which is a common practice at Rutgers (and other higher education institutions).

Open Charge Request (2:15 – 2:20 p.m.):

USGC requests to be discharged:

S-2322: Coordination of Shared Governance Entities

This advocates for a committee that can coordinate shared efforts and governance across campuses, faculty, and students. That is the Senate. To create another committee would add unnecessary complexity and might dilute the Senate’s power.

Old Business

Allocation of the Board of Governors Representatives’ Seats (2:20 – 2:25 p.m.)

New Business (2:25 – 2:35 p.m.)

University Senate November 15 Agenda (2:35 – 2:40 p.m.)

• RBHS Chancellor Report – Brian Strom, Chancellor, Rutgers-RBHS
• Review of Draft Bylaws
  • Draft Article I
  • Draft Article II

Adjournment