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Administrative Council Meeting: August 2019

Meeting Date

August 29, 2019

3:00-4:30pm

Meeting Facilitator:  Dr. Robert Wood, Director

In Attendance:  Joie Burns, Joe Coyle, Jennifer Eichmeyer, Jane Shimon, Lillian Smith, Ella Christensen, Todd Cooper, Kelsey Nelson, Tyler Brown, Clare Fitzpatrick, Kristy Grabert

Absent:  Tim Dunnagan, Joelle Powers 

Agenda

Call to order

Welcome and Announcements

    • Welcome to Joe Coyle and Jane Shimon, and welcome back to Joie Burns
      • Joe Coyle – New Interim Dept Chair, Resp Care
      • Jane Shimon – New Dept Chair, Kinesiology
      • Joie Burns – New Dept Chair, Rad Sci
    • Welcome guests Ella Christiansen, Kelsey Nelson, Todd Cooper 
      • Ella Christiansen – Director, Office of Research 
      • Kelsey Nelson – Career Success Coach, COH
      • Todd Cooper – Director for Economic Development, Division of Research and Economic Development

BME PhD program spotlight – with Tyler and Clare (handout)

        • Want to reach out and identify faculty that want to be affiliate to program
        • 3 objectives of this program
        1. Trans-disciplinary
        2. Produce researchers w/diverse background
        3. Make our faculty successful
Curriculum
      • Want to make program flexible; give faculty ability to tailor the program in a way that makes sense to them
      • Limited # of GA lines associated with program. If faculty interested, Oct 1 applications are due. In the process of adding tracks. 
      • Current affiliate faculty are listed on their website: www.boisestate.edu/bme

HSRV Building updates (handout)

      • Would like Chairs to communicate the following in Dept meetings:
        • A lot of work has been done in building. Want to make sure we create a culture of maintaining a clean, welcoming, aesthetically pleasing environment for everyone. 
        • Furniture Removal – If you need furniture items removed, please contact Facilities to have them removed. Please do not leave items in the hallways. 
        • Free Items – For personal items you’d like to give away, try to set this up near the back of the building – not in the main lobby. Contact Kristy Grabert for assistance. 
        • Furniture – If you borrow chairs from classrooms, please replace them when you are done to eliminate missing furniture. Also, please do not pull chairs from the hallway into offices. 
        •  Classroom Scheduling – We already have agreements in place regarding scheduled classes. If something is not working, we need to discuss it. Otherwise, we need to be aligning with our prearranged schedule. 
        • Currently, there is no plan to create an additional meeting room on the 2nd floor, but HSR 200 could possibly work for smaller meetings. TBD. 

College Committee needs

Department Announcements

      • CEH
        • 2 new faculty and  Kelsey Nelson, COH Career Success Coach
        • New Role – Jaime Sand is now Director for Undergraduate Students
      • GENCO
        • Launched!
      • KIN
        • New faculty in Biomechanics; working with Tyler Brown
        • Searching for Bronco Fit Coordinator
        • Sue Ellis will be retiring, searching for Administrative Assistant 2 
        • Looking at revamping KIN degree
      • RADSCI
        • New faculty
        • John Lampignano hired on as permanent faculty
        • Relocated office spaces/MRI equipment
      • RESP
        • Open spot for Program Director and Chair
        • Lonny Interim Program Director
        • Faculty all doing great

Committee Updates

    • Ad-hoc School Faculty Affairs Committee:  Moorcroft (chair), Mann, Armstrong, Koster, Petranek (tentative)
    • Policy Committee: Forbush and Sallay (RESP CARE), Seltzer (GEN COUNS), (need other appointees)
    • School ad-hoc PR/Communications Committee: Perhaps Liaison instead? 
      • Currently Kristy Grabert and Isabel Everett
      • Would it make more sense for this to be a Committee or should it be a Liaison?
      • All agree we should be utilizing a shared list of communication point of contacts from each department, as well as Danya Lusk in COH
        • CEH – Chelsea Smith, Lizzy Miskell
        • GENCO – Susie Seltzer
        • RADSCI – Sue Antonich (Web, Communication), Travis Armstrong (Newsletter)
        • RESP – Naomi Sallay
        • KIN – Dave Hammons (MAT), Scott Moorcroft (MAL), Laura Petranek (SYSP), Shawn Simonson (HPL), Sue Ellis
      • Maybe create a Communication Summit with Danya and communication liaisons to meet regularly?
      • Todd Cooper suggested sharing “industry related content” with him via email (toddcooper@boisestate.edu) for Twitter and/or Linked In to get this type of info out to potential stakeholders. 

Old Business

        • Research support
          • Working to create processes that are more user friendly and predictable
          • Dean has asked Bob to look at all proposals moving forward as another set of eyes to identify areas we can improve on how we are doing things
          • Will now require budget justifications for all proposals
          • Will ask investigators when submitting to let us know what they intend to do with those funds; working on a form for this
          • Will ask Faculty to align their work effort with what is in their Faculty 180 report; currently does not always align
          • F&A’s are regulated to be used for multiple project support; cannot be for one cost benefit. 
          • Dept Heads – Recently, there have been a handful of people requesting proposals in less than 24 hours, causing “rushed” proposals. Please give Office of Research at least one business week in advance with budget piece for these proposals. You are encouraged to share as soon as you have an idea to get the ball rolling. 
          • Lillian requested we create a timeline to help faculty understand what is expected in terms of submitting proposals
        • Allocation of effort policies and practices (10 & 11-month faculty)
          • Thank you to everyone for your support on this! 
          • How are you handling teaching assignments? Would really like your dispositions on this. (Let’s talk about this soon)
            • We want everyone to be treated equitably
        • College 5-year plan and SAHS strategic planning process 
          • Current inter-multidisciplinary activities:
            • Med Sci Minor: Champions identified
            • Health Coaching Initiative: TBD
              • We do not currently have a lot of info on this. More to come soon. Interest in potentially a Bachelor’s degree; currently certificate based. 
            • Physical Activity – Health Promotion Grad Certificate: Champions identified: E-campus has been contacted
        • Bronco Budget 2
        • Metrics: Dept/Program level. (determine due date) Have some ideas in by October meeting.

New Business

    • SAHS Fall Meeting (need questions for brainstorming)
      • Faculty are interested in convo around planning for the school, so we are using Napier method to brainstorm in larger groups
      • Anticipating around 40 people; RESP unfortunately has a prearranged scheduling conflict 
      • Need Chairs to come up with about 5 questions to prompt Faculty to discuss ideas around our goals: Collaboration, Communication, & Scholarship (Unification will be discussed separately amongst leadership). Would like to get an email dialogue going until we settle on 5 questions. 
    • SAHS Spotlight Award winners (need nominations by September meeting)
    • SAHS Research Fair, to include research spotlight winners
      • Jen would like to figure out how to get online students involved as well. 
      • Maybe early in the Spring Semester? Think about dates that might work for this. 
    • SAHS High School Recruitment Day (Friday, November 1, 2019)
      • Identify opportunities for students to view our spaces/labs and what we are doing. Think about ideas around what students can visit. 
      • This will be an all-day event. 
      • 2 large groups of 90 at a time; lunch in-between. 
    • SAHS development event (Spring 2020)?
      • We’ll revisit this
      • Thinking School level, not department level
      • Doesn’t have to be a traditional event. Other schools have hosted successful Tricycle races in the past to raise money. 

Action Items

Information to Disseminate at Department Meetings

School Meeting
  • Since we will be doing large brainstorming activities, it is important that we know who is coming and who is not coming. To that end I have three items: 
    1. Please make this a top priority item.
    2. Please RSVP, and 
    3. If you need to change your RSVP status, please do so using the google calendar so that we can plan for the appropriate number of attendees.
  • I appreciate your cooperation with this so that we can have an effective session on the 27th.
  • Following the brainstorming, we will have a no host bar. One of the suggestions that came up during our strategic planning was to create some opportunities for social engagement of our faculty members. SO please STRONGLY encourage faculty to participate in this. We should end our meeting around 4. Please please, please, ask your faculty to make arrangements to stick around a bit for the social.
Building/Space Issues
  • It is important to have a clean, attractive, welcoming workspace for our departments. We recognize that practicality and aesthetics are not always consistent. Nevertheless, the School is asking that we please keep the main hallways in the first and second floor clear of clutter. This includes unwanted items. It is important that we dispose of unwanted items properly as follows:
    1. For removal of furniture and other university property, departments should contact FO&M. There is typically a small charge. In cases where items are being salvaged, let’s ask other departments if they need items removed as well so that we can be efficient in the use of our funds. If it is the case that multiple departments can be serviced at one time, the School will assist with the cost, further defraying the cost removal.
    2. For personal items such as books and basic school supplies, please do not put these in the common areas. It would be better to create a space in your department offices and alert students that these items are available, and only for a limited period of time. I would not be opposed to setting up a small area for this close to the Lusk Street Entrance, out of sight in the main hallway.
  • Please do not relocate furniture in the building. We have discovered that one of the classroom was equipped with 2 chairs less than it should have been. The school will purchase a few chairs and ensure that the classrooms are properly equipped. Until we purchase some additional chairs, if a faculty member relocates chairs from a nearby classroom, they must return then to their proper classroom.
  • If faculty need additional chairs for their offices, this is a department level issue, and we ask that you please NOT pull furniture from the lobby areas to support your office needs.
  • Course classrooms. Once courses are assigned to classrooms and registration begins, only the department heads should be making changes. Faculty members and Program Directors should not be taking it upon themselves to move classes around without first gaining approval of the department head, who must insure that the impact of such changes on other classes is satisfactorily addressed. Agreements for the use of space will be enforced until such a time that another suitable agreement is reached.
Research
  1. The dean has asked the SAHS Director to review all grant proposals coming out of the school, not that I am an approver, but so that I would: a) be aware of our commitments, and b) be another set of eyes to potentially catch any possible pitfalls.
  2. The Office of Research, with support from the SAHS Director will be requiring budget justifications for all proposals. While these are not always required by all sponsors, they are required by OSP and we will also require these to assist us with compliance. This will also allow us to ensure that expenses are properly categorized. 
  3. The Office of Research, with support from the SAHS Director will expect investigators to provide some brief description as to their intention regarding use of salary savings. For example, we would like to know how many credits investigators intend to buy out of teaching, what they are predicting they will do with regard to FIPP (if applicable), and so on. This is not binding, but rather to assist the Office of Research in planning for the project cycle. Investigators are asked to notify the office if there plans substantially change.
  4.  The Office of Research, with support from the SAHS Director, will ask investigators will acknowledge their effort and responsibilities (as described in the budget justifications). And, the SAHS Director requires that all faculty 180 reports must be consistent with their effort on sponsored projects.
  5. Investigators, Center Directors and Department Heads and Chairs will be asked to attest that they are spending F&A’s consistent with the federal definition:

Necessary costs incurred by a recipient for a common or joint purpose benefiting more than one cost objective, and not readily assignable to the cost objectives specifically benefited, without effort disproportionate to the results achieved. In other words, the F&A’s should be used to support the research infrastructure.

  1. To ensure that proposals make their deadline for submission, please get proposal budget and budget narratives to the Office of Research 5 business days before the deadline. The University requires proposals to be submitted 3 business days before the deadline.
  2. Investigators can (and should) visit with the Office of Research once they have identified a sponsored program for which they intend to apply.