# October 3rd, 2025

#### **<span data-contrast="none">ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY</span>**<span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

#### **<span data-contrast="none">FACULTY SENATE MEETING</span>**<span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

#### **<span data-contrast="none">October 3</span><span data-contrast="none">rd</span><span data-contrast="none">, 2025</span>**<span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

#### **<span data-contrast="none">Reynolds 204</span>**<span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":2,"335551620":2,"335559739":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="none"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

**<span data-contrast="none">Attendees:</span>**<span data-contrast="none"> Audrey Folsom, John Hershberger, Kacie Altom, Julie King, Rashele Wade, Jason Causey, Suzanne Melescue, Anne McGee, Dwayne Powell, Stephanie Hoeckley, Rob Williams, Karen Graham, Banafsheh Aghayeebianeh, Eric West, Kristen Sumler, Richard Segall, </span><span data-contrast="auto">Hao Yang Teng,</span><span data-contrast="none"> Guolei Zhou,</span><span data-contrast="auto"> Eric Dry, </span><span data-contrast="none">Scott Mangan, Donna Caldwell, Savannah Cormier, Toccara Carter, Mark Lewis, Bert Greenwalt, Ibrahim Duyar, Pradeep Mishra, </span><span data-contrast="auto">Rollin Tusalem, </span><span data-contrast="none">Gary Edwards, DayDay Robinson, LTC J. Matt Weeks</span>   
<span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

**<span data-contrast="none">Proxy Attendees:</span>**<span data-contrast="none"> Kacie Altom for Amanda Mohler and Jamie Pasmore, Eric Scudamore for Veronika Scudamore, Chiqian Zhang as proxy for Alexandr Sokolov</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

**<span data-contrast="none">Guests: </span>**<span data-contrast="none">Kevin Hennings (parliamentarian), Will McLean, Alyssa Wells, Madeline Ragland, John Howard, Tom Moore</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

**<span data-contrast="none">Absentees:</span>**<span data-contrast="none"> Marceline Thompson-Hayes, Kim Vickrey, Robert Bradley</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

<span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

**<span data-contrast="none">The meeting was called to order </span>**<span data-contrast="none">at 3:00 pm by Kacie Altom.</span>**<span data-contrast="none"> </span>**<span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

<span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

**<span data-contrast="none">Order of the Day:</span>**<span data-contrast="none"> Motion to approve the order of the day by John Hershberger, seconded by Rashele Wade, all are in favor, the motion carried. </span>   
<span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

**<span data-contrast="none">Approval of Minutes:</span>**<span data-contrast="none"> The motion to approve the September 19th, 2025 meeting minutes by Richard Segall, seconded by Rob Williams, all are in favor, and the motion carried.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":0,"335559740":278}"> </span>

<span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span>

##### **<span data-contrast="auto">New Business</span>**<span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span>

##### **<span data-contrast="none">Madeline Ragland</span>**<span data-contrast="none">, </span>**<span data-contrast="none">Assistant Vice Provost for Academic Student Services</span>**<span data-contrast="none">.</span><span data-ccp-props="{}"> </span>

##### **<span data-contrast="auto">Commencement announcement</span>**<span data-ccp-props="{"335559685":720,"335559739":0,"335559991":720}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">December commencement was packed last year so we will add a 2</span><span data-contrast="auto">nd</span><span data-contrast="auto"> ceremony in December. There will be a 10 am and a 2 pm ceremony in December and May. Campus communication will go out the week of 10/6/2025.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559685":0,"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">We will keep this format going forward. We will no longer have an August commencement ceremony. The students finishing in August can choose to walk in May or December. Pinning and hooding ceremonies can continue as scheduled as the departments and programs wish. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559685":0,"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">Why are we eliminating August? Spacing, funding, and staffing considerations. It aligns with best practices for universities across the nation. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559685":0,"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">Questions</span><span data-contrast="auto">: Will the lineup of colleges change? Will the split between morning and afternoon assignment change? A: Not planned but will consider. We plan to try to distribute the attendees evenly between the 2 commencements. We could consider alternating which colleges attend morning or afternoon between December and May. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559685":0,"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">A concern was brought up about the graduates leaving after they receive their diploma. The “leave as they receive their diploma” order was approved by the board of trustees. It helps with traffic. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559685":0,"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">A concern was brought up about the faculty seating rearrangement to greet the graduates from their college during commencement. It causes some confusion when we come and go. Maybe we need a clearer announcement for when the colleges switch and a more orderly way to rotate. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559685":0,"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-ccp-props="{"335559685":720,"335559739":0,"335559991":720}"> </span>

##### **<span data-contrast="auto">Old business</span>**<span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559685":720,"335559739":0,"335559991":720}"> </span>

##### **<span data-contrast="auto">Committee Reports</span>**<span data-contrast="auto"> </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":0}"> </span>

**<span data-contrast="auto">Equity Policy</span>**<span data-contrast="auto"> – the plan is to have the Equity policy by the end of the fall semester. The faculty senate needs to vote on it on 11/21. It will go out to the senators by 11/5 so that they can share it with their faculty. We will discuss it on 11/7.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">Have we seen the dean’s version of the provost’s Equity policy yet? No. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">The provost’s policy will be available for feedback from the Faculty Senate. It is currently with legal counsel.</span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">The Faculty Senate’s version of the Equity policy is your opportunity to advocate for what we want in the policy. The provost will take it into consideration for the final draft of the Equity Policy</span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":0}"> </span>

**<span data-contrast="auto">The Financial Aid and Scholarship Committee</span>**<span data-contrast="auto"> has new roles. It will hear financial aid appeals and help with scholarship applications that are “orphaned” (they don’t already belong to a specific college or department). Historically, appeals were processed by the financial aid office, which poses a conflict of interest. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">Secretary’s update about </span>**<span data-contrast="auto">Faculty Senate Minutes storage</span>**<span data-contrast="auto"> after the website change: </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">The new website design strongly discourages the use of PDFs and Word documents. It’s an accessibility issue. We want to be ADA-compliant. The new website launches soon (this fall), therefore, we have not posted any of the newly approved minutes. After a discussion with Chris Boothman and Todd Clark, the Faculty Senate executive committee opted to use the Knowledge Base to post the approved Faculty Senate minutes for this academic year and going forward. The Faculty Senate will have a page in the Knowledge Base, and minutes will be posted as webpages there. We have 20+ years of historical Faculty Senate Minutes in PDF format. Eric Dry suggested that we use the Institutional Repository to house the historical Faculty Senate minutes. We will coordinate with the library to make this happen. </span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">3:31 pm adjournment by Kacie Altom</span><span data-ccp-props="{"335559739":0}"> </span>

<span data-contrast="auto">Minutes recorded by Audrey Folsom </span><span data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559740":259}"> </span>