UNIVERSITY PARK – Faculty Senate during its first meeting of the Spring 2025 semester discussed the state of the Commonwealth Campuses and the upcoming faculty job satisfaction survey. The Senate also voted to revise its standing rules of procedure. A video recording of the full meeting can be found on the senate’s website.
Commonwealth Campus discussion
Faculty Senate held a conversation on the state of the Commonwealth Campuses and the University's work to determine how its campus structure will evolve in response to shifting demographics, financial realities, and enrollment trends and projections.
Questions and comments about the Commonwealth Campus system broadly and the unique situations at individual campuses were recurring themes throughout the meeting, with senators inquiring about topics including budgeting, the impacts of the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program last spring, and contract renewals for non-tenure-line faculty. Some senators shared their concerns about changes to the Commonwealth Campus ecosystem and the potential impact on Commonwealth Campus faculty and staff, and others expressed frustration about the lengthy process of evaluating potential changes to the campuses.
University leadership, including Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi and Vice President for Commonwealth Campuses and Executive Chancellor Margo DelliCarpini, acknowledged senators’ questions, but affirmed that the strategic decision-making process is ongoing, being undertaken in collaboration with campus communities and stakeholders, and that, while no firm decisions have been reached, the University values the role of the campuses in realizing the institution's educational and service mission.
DelliCarpini stressed student success as the central decision-making factor in envisioning the future of Penn State’s campus ecosystem, informed by insight gathered from processes including the Academic Portfolio and Program Review (APPR) and analysis of enrollment data. Bendapudi expressed empathy and understanding, and said a thoughtful approach to the future of Penn State's campus model will take time and will continue to involve the voices of many across the university. She emphasized a commitment to students, employees, and the university's long-term health.
"We are deeply committed to the student experience. We are deeply committed to our people. We will continue to have conversations and continue to think about how we can do this in a way that sets Penn State up for success and our people — our faculty, staff and students — for success in the long term.”
Faculty job satisfaction survey
Penn State will be launching in February a nationally recognized satisfaction survey for all eligible full-time faculty, as part of a joint effort between Penn State’s Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost, and the University Faculty Senate. Michele Stine, teaching professor of biobehavioral health and past senate chair, presented to the senate about the survey, administered by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) at Harvard University.
The survey, which will include topics such as shared governance, engagement, recruitment and retention, interdisciplinary work, institutional leadership and promotion and tenure, is intended to identify areas of opportunities and challenges and to best plan to improve outcomes in faculty recruitment, development, and retention.
Eligible participants include full-time tenure-line and non-tenure line faculty members across the University. This includes academic unit heads, but not college- and campus-level academic administrators such as deans and chancellors. Part-time faculty are not eligible.
The survey will launch the week of Feb. 3 and close April 7. A separate survey for full-time staff and technical service employees will be launched later in February.
“I want to stress how important this is and that we really need everyone to buy in,” Stine said. “We need everyone to participate in order for the results to be meaningful and for us to be able to implement real change.”
Several faculty members asked about how respondents' identity would be protected with the results. Stine explained that the survey data will go directly to COACHE, which will then remove identifying information before sharing the results. COACHE’s report will also not include any data from groups of less than five respondents. More information about how the survey will be conducted is available in FAQs on this page.
Bendapudi thanked the senate for its leadership on the COACHE survey, and noted that a similar survey of full-time staff and technical service employees is also forthcoming to best understand the campus climate and employee needs to help the University continue to best serve its employees.
Updates from University leadership
President Bendapudi thanked faculty for their contributions to the mission of the University and highlighted recent accomplishments, including Richard Alley, Evan Pugh Professor of Geosciences, having been awarded the National Medal of Science at a White House ceremony on Jan. 3 and the three recent winners of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor the United States government bestows on early-career scientists and engineers. She also welcomed Alyssa Wilcox as Penn State’s new vice president for development and alumni relations.
Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Tracy Langkilde shared highlights from an on-campus hearing of the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s Performance-Based Funding Council at which she testified on Jan. 21. It was the first of three such hearings set to take place this spring as part of the council’s charge to develop a new performance-based funding model for Pennsylvania’s state-related universities.
Read more: Penn State leaders voice support for performance-based funding at campus hearing
“In the hearing this morning, the council representatives focused on the value of a higher education degree but also challenged us to think about what students need to be successful and have a fulfilling future beyond landing a job,” Langkilde said. “We need to make sure students meet their goals, and offer a broad education, so students can choose their own paths and not just focus on what we consider the typical workforce pipeline degrees.”
Langkilde also reviewed the current status of non-tenure-line contract reappointments across the University. NTL faculty members with contracts ending June 30, 2025, received an intent email in mid-January indicating whether they would be reappointed or whether that decision was still undecided. Final numbers will be available in March.
Committee reports
Committees tasked with working in tandem with University leaders on various initiatives also reported on their progress:
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The senate committees on Curricular Affairs, Education, and Intra-University Relations reported that three of the four reports the Academic Portfolio and Program Review (APPR) working groups have been compiling have been completed and turned over to the steering committee for review. After review, those reports will be shared with deans and chancellors.
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The Committee on Research Scholarship and Creative Activity and University Planning reported working with Senior Vice President for Research Andrew Read on planning a series of public conversations about research funding for Penn State.
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The committees on Faculty Affairs, Intra-University Relations, and University Planning reported that Senior Vice President for Finance and Business Sara Thorndike shared with their committees during the fall the Updates of the 2023-24 and 2024-25 Education and General Budgets report. That same report was shared with the full senate during the Jan. 21 meeting.
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The Committee on Admission, Records, Scheduling and Student Aid; and the Committee on Education, reported that a number of challenges were identified when implementing the blended learning pilot program, which the committees are working to address.
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The Committee on Educational Equity and Campus Environment reported that since the search committee for the Vice President for Inclusive Excellence position was charged in November, a hiring firm has been holding listening sessions with interested parties with the goal of having a job description ready by the end of the month.
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The Committee on Faculty Benefits received a draft report from Human Resources on health plan changes for 2023 and are working together on revising that report to incorporate more data on retiree health care plans.
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The Committee on Faculty Affairs discussed updating the renewal of faculty contract guidelines. The committee is also working on revisions to the guidelines on program reorganization and distributing a survey for faculty to validate the availability of funding for faculty professional engagement.
Other Senate Business
The senate also:
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Voted to make revisions to its order of business for meetings (Standing Rules, Article I – Rules of Procedure, Section 2). The changes move voteable business earlier in the agenda, add a brief recess and give the senate chair more flexibility to adjust the order.
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Heard a presentation from Natalie Hernandez, senior director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at Penn State, about navigating change and serving students in uncertain times.
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Listened to and discussed reports on the 2024-2028 Capital Plan, updates to the University’s policy on electronic and information technology accessibility (AD69), the senate officers’ fall visits to Commonwealth Campuses, and the Faculty Senate census report for academic year 2025-26.