Updates and reminders created forward movement at this month’s Faculty Senate meeting.

President of Faculty Senate Peter Martin addressed the concerns of the new implementation of term faculty policies.

The first item brought up was what continuous employment really is. For assistant faculty, it depends on the contract they signed, Martin said. They are then considered to be continuously employed whether there is a one, three, five or more year contract, no matter if they are part-time or full-time.

“As members of the general faculty, all term faculty have rights of academic freedom and participation in shared governance,” Martin said.

Martin also said that participation in the shared governance includes voting rights, as long as it relates to the faculty as a whole.

“Other changes could include a review of salaries for term faculty, their part-time appointments, their position responsibility statements, their service expectations in the department and their teaching goals,” Martin said.

Martin said that the Senate should continue to discuss these issues so all term faculty can feel welcomed and included at Iowa State.

Martin also brought up the issue of tenured faculty that was proposed in the state legislature.

“Tenure is less about job security and more about academic freedom,” Martin said.

Martin then addressed what the tenure bill is and how it could impact the regent universities and their tenured faculty. Martin said to focus on educating others on what tenure really is and why it is important to continuously grow knowledge and research.

Dean of Students Vernon Hurte said that Iowa State will be one of 33 institutions participating in the Association of American Universities (AAU) campus climate survey. Undergraduates will be able to take the survey March 5 through March 30.

The main points of the AAU campus climate survey will include sections on sexual violence, sexual misuse, sexual misconduct, gender based discrimination and more. Hurte said that more information offers more insight and the feedback they receive from this survey will help Iowa State move forward.

Additionally, the Workday/WorkCyte program is also growing. David Cantor, professor of supply chains and information systems, presented the monthly update of the program and it is still on track to start July 1. There will be three faculty forums beginning in March for faculty to learn more about Workday/WorkCyte.

Cantor also told the Senate to make sure their colleges and departments know that the target date for the Okta multi-factor authentication release is March 1. They expect 100 percent of Iowa State employees to be on the system by that time.

Sarah Musser, vice president for research, discussed open access and scholarship for faculty members at Iowa State. Her focus stayed on the research strategic plan for Iowa State, national focus on foreign research paradigms, reducing administrative burden and support for open scholarship. Musser gave updates on all of these subjects and what possible next steps could be introduced.

The Senate also adopted changes to the consistency of the student learning section in the Faculty Handbook. These changes helped to make the information in section 10.8.3 more concise and easier to understand.