UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — At the first Penn State Faculty Senate meeting of the spring 2022 semester, the senate passed a resolution related to academic freedom and racial justice, similar to resolutions passed by other faculty governance bodies at universities across the United States. In response, Penn State leaders affirmed the University’s ongoing support and commitment to the academic freedom of its faculty.
Among other items of business, the senate discussed a report on sustainability progress and opportunities at Penn State, announced a forthcoming student sustainability literacy survey and heard updates from University leadership.
Academic freedom resolution
The senate passed a resolution underscoring its support of academic freedom and denounced attempts from any entities external to the faculty to influence or restrict curriculum and teaching related to racial and social justice. The resolution notes some U.S. states have passed laws restricting teaching on these topics, and declares the senate supports educators in other states who have been impacted by these actions.
In his remarks to the senate, Penn State President Eric J. Barron unequivocally confirmed Penn State’s commitment to academic freedom and curricular independence, as codified in the University’s policy on academic freedom. This principle, he said, is a core tenet of Penn State’s educational mission.
“Universities are a place for scholarship across the spectrum, from science to social sciences to the arts, a place for discourse and ideas, a place for testing ideas in the marketplace. This, in my view, is at the very foundation of a university. Academic freedom must be protected in the same way speech must be protected,” Barron said. “Today, so many are demanding control of this marketplace of ideas. We can’t afford to give in to that pressure. I cannot imagine a university in which ideas are not being challenged and are not being debated. I cannot imagine if we could only teach what no one objects to.”
Barron affirmed he will continue to push back on any attempts to restrict the University’s curriculum, and said it is the responsibility of institutions of higher education to create an environment that is open to diverse viewpoints, fosters open discourse and debate, and equips students with critical thinking skills to navigate complex and controversial topics.
Updates from University leadership
Executive Vice President and Provost Nick Jones shared updates on applications and admissions; several ongoing University leadership searches; and the University’s continuing response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jones said undergraduate applications are currently up by more than 9% when compared to this time in the admissions cycle in 2020, and up by more than 22% when compared to this point in the 2019 cycle. While the University is still early in the admission cycle, Jones said these application numbers are positive early indicators.
Jones said searches for key leadership positions are ongoing, including for the dean of Penn State Law and the School of International Affairs, the vice provost for graduate education and dean of the Graduate School, as well as the chief information security officer and chief information officer and vice president for Information Technology. He also highlighted the appointment of Kelly Austin as Penn State’s new permanent vice president for Commonwealth Campuses, who previously served in that role in an interim position.
Jones also noted Penn State’s comprehensive virus mitigation efforts are ongoing, with positivity rates trending down over the last several weeks according to the University’s COVID-19 dashboard. He said the University continues to have ample quarantine and isolation space available, that rapid testing continues to be available to the University community, and that Penn State is continuing to encourage all community members to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine, including through recent free vaccination clinics hosted in partnership with the Centre Volunteers in Medicine.
Other senate business
The senate discussed a report from its Committee on University Planning detailing progress and opportunities related to sustainability at the University, which noted that Penn State recently received a gold ranking from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education. Penn State’s sustainability research was especially highly ranked, as were its efforts to engage with the public about sustainability. However, the report noted there may be additional opportunities to incorporate sustainability into the University’s curriculum, planning and administration.
The senate announced a plan from its Committee on Student Life to conduct a survey of “student sustainability literacy,” which will gauge students’ exposure to sustainability in their courses and on-campus interactions. More information about the survey will be distributed in an email to students from Erin Boas, student senator and University Park Undergraduate Association president, in the coming weeks. The student survey will be reviewed alongside a similar survey of faculty, also expected to be distributed by the senate this semester. Both surveys will be used to inform the senate’s future actions to help advance sustainability at Penn State.
The senate also:
- Held a discussion of the importance of educational communities in achieving One Penn State 2025’s guiding principle of achieving curricular coherence;
- Passed a legislative report recommending the creation of a searchable database of all online educational resources available to students and faculty, with the goal of making these tools more accessible to the University community;
- Voted to incorporate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into the standing rules of two of its committees as part of the senate’s efforts to incorporate DEI into the work of each of its committees where appropriate;
- Voted to simplify the standing rules related to membership of the Senate Committee on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities;
- Voted to move a series of existing senate policies into their own new, numbered section of the senate’s policies related to rules on instruction and curriculum;
- Discussed a letter from Penn State Greater Allegheny requesting the senate work with the Office of Student Conduct to review the Student Code of Conduct’s language related to student behavior in online and remote learning environments;
- Received an annual report on scholarships awarded by the senate to undergraduate students in the 2020-21 academic year, which totaled nearly $278,000 awarded to 255 students; and,
- Heard a report from the Senate Committee on Libraries, Information Systems and Technology about the Penn State Data Digest.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the senate is currently planned to be held in-person on March 15 in the Kern Graduate Building on the University Park campus with the possibility of switching to a remote format, to be announced in the near future.