The Senators Challenge: 
 
Dear Faculty Colleagues,
 
Welcome to the February issue of Engage! The reason this newsletter is called Engage is because its goal is to invite faculty engagement with The Senate. We highlight Senate activities and initiatives, the work of the Executive Committee, standing committees, ad-hoc committees, and task forces, faculty wellness, and general information.

Engage stands as an intangible representation of the collaborative spirit of the Faculty Senate. We aim to provide you with an inside view of important faculty matters. Our focus is to keep you informed and updated. If there is something we can do to make this newsletter more engaging for you, let us know.
 


Update on Savor Diversity:
                                 

In the month of January, there were 10 Savor Diversity events held on both the VU and VUMC campuses. There were an estimated 185 participants. Schools/colleges that participated include:
  1. Engineering - 2
  2. Graduate school - 1
  3. VUMC/School of Medicine - 5
  4. Other - 2 (Sky VU and Dean of Students)

 

Faculty Senate Hosted Savor Diversity Events!  

   

Thank you Dean, Senators, and to all who supported the initiative and hosted a Savor Diversity event in January. Please send us an email and any pictures of your event to: Faculty.senate@vanderbilt.edu .
Let's keep the conversations going. Download a flyer today and start a discussion. If you want to host a Savor Diversity event, please do and remember to register your event by clicking on the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SavorDiversity .

 
 
                                


Faculty Challenge:  
 
Complete Project Safe Training: Faculty - if you deal with students, staff, and colleagues at Vanderbilt, please complete the Project Safe Training.Training takes only 15 minutes to complete using the web-based training program.
 
" The mission of the Project Safe Center is to provide information, support, referrals, and education about sexual and intimate partner violence (including sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking), as well as consent, healthy relationships, and healthy sexuality to the Vanderbilt University community."
  • Search for the course: Golden Opportunity/Golden Obligation
  • Print the Project Safe Logo to place on your door or within your syllabus.
 
 

Update on SkyVU:
 
SkyVU has made substantial progress in its work to configure the Oracle Cloud and related systems for implementation Jan. 1, 2018. Team members are working with university stakeholders to refine campus-wide business processes. During the last several months, the team has released previews of future-state daily procedures involving  non-PO payments  and  the new chart of accounts  on its website .
 
The team has scheduled additional testing sessions and has begun implementation of Oracle Planning and Budgeting Cloud Service and a new eMarketplace, Aquiire.  
 
More information regarding detailed training and resources will become available as the implementation date approaches. For more information, visit the SkyVU website.  
 
Faculty Senate Meeting Summary:

In general, the February 3, 2017 FS meeting was very informative. (See the minutes for details.)

After the usual acceptance of the minutes with changes, the EC report given covered the following:

1. Faculty Senate Communications - Chair-elect Geoffrey Fleming is working with MyVU and MyVUMC to increase visibility of Engage. Dr. David Raiford in Faculty Affairs at VUMC will help assure the newsletter goes to all VUMC employed faculty members.

 

2. Savor diversity: total - 10 @185 possible participants. The Faculty Senate chair reviewed the data from the January Savor Diversity challenge.

 

3. Several announcements regarding upcoming BOT meeting, spring assembly and past events held last month were reviewed. April will be a very busy month for the Faculty Senate!

 

 

Chancellor:
Chancellor Zeppos reviewed some events related to the Mental Health and Awareness campaign including comments and thoughts from author Kay Redfield Jamison and An Unquiet Mind. The Chancellor gave a compelling story behind the stigma and bias related to Mental Health (MH) disorders and the challenges people with MH issues and we as society face to overcome them. He also discussed the progress on the Strategic Plan and demonstrated the web page showing our progress over the past few years.


Special Remarks:

Our invited guest speaker was Provost Susan Wente. She responded to the questions submitted through the Faculty Senate portal. Those four questions were:

 

1. Please discuss the implications for Immersions as it relates to faculty and the endowed chairs.

 

2. Please provide your thoughts and insight into the future of on-line education at Vanderbilt and the roles faculty will be encouraged/forced to take in on-line education. How will this influence faculty time and compensations?

 

3. What is the current progress/outcomes of TIPS?

 

4. The union issue for non-tenured faculty.

 

Provost Wente provided slides that are available in the Faculty Senate portal for the month of February. She did a wonderful job explaining TIPS and Immersion VU. She discussed the importance of and value to our students, faculty and institution. She also discussed how 2U and on-line education and faculty have the potential for engagement if desired. Her discussion included funding and how the deans of each college will determine funding based on need and participation. Provost Wente concluded by discussing the efforts of some union organizations to recruit members at VU and what our legal responses and position is related to unionization.

What's News for the Faculty Senate?
 
1. March Faculty Senate Meeting : Senator Only Meeting!!! Complete the survey sent last week to rank your topics for discussion.
 
2. Board of Trust: The Faculty Senate Executive Committee Chair and Vice Chair will present to the Board of Trust Friday, February 10, 2017.
 
3. SACS Visit: There is a scheduled SACS visit March 28-30, 2017.
 
4. IMPORTANT - Spring Assembly Coming April 6, 2017!!!
 
a. Faculty - your vote is needed at the Spring Assembly!!! In January the Faculty Senate voted on a motion to change the Faculty Constitution concerning what constitutes a quorum and succession planning. This MUST be voted on by the faculty. Please read the minutes from the January 2017 Faculty Senate meeting. We will have the motions prepared for the March issue of Engage, as a reminder before the vote. All materials are found in the Faculty Senate Portal.
 
b. Spring Assembly Speaker : Teresa Goddu, Ph.D. and current senator will be the keynote speaker at the Spring Faculty Assembly. Mark your calendar for 4:10 pm on April 6, 2017 in Langford Auditorium.
 
5. Ask the Dean of VUMC/VUSM: Jeff Balser, M.D., PhD will give remarks at the April 13, 2017 Faculty Senate meeting. Please submit your questions by 5:00 pm on Monday, March 20, 2017. Submit questions via the Faculty Senate portal !
 
6. GO THERE Campaign: The Faculty Senate supported the Chancellor's campus wide kickoff of the mental health and well-being campaign. More than 500 students, faculty and staff participated.

Faculty Senate Chair, Charlene Dewey and Faculty Senate Administrator, Debbie Hayes
at the GoThere Kickoff! 
 
7. MAPS: Consider MAPS training !! MAPS is a Vanderbilt University joint initiative with the Psychological and Counseling Center (PCC) and the Center for Student Wellbeing designed to prevent suicide in the campus community while promoting mental health awareness."  
 
8. Engage: We are concerned that some faculty members are not receiving Engage. Senators, please inquire at your department meetings if faculty members are getting their Engage Newsletter. If not, please have them email the Faculty Senate at facultysenate@vanderbilt.edu  to be added to the list.
 
9. VSG-Faculty Senate Annual Joint Meeting: Announcing the Vanderbilt Student Government (VSG) and Faculty Senate joint meeting April 20, 3:00-5:00 pm. 

Focus on Emotional Wellness:
 
We hope you take a little time to focus on what's important - YOU!  
For the next two months we are focusing on our emotional health. This month we'll focus on emotions and resiliency, and next month we'll focus on emotional intelligence.
 



Emotions:

So what is emotional health and can we do anything about it? Emotional health is our ability to fully experience and regulate our emotions. We all have emotions. Depending on where you look, there are six primary emotions or four sets of opposite emotions.(1) The most commonly accepted list of emotions are: happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, fear, and surprise. I am sure you experience these emotions on a daily basis, some more than others.
 
Impact of Emotions:
Emotions can be very powerful. Emotions shape memories, learning and behaviors. In fact, think of a very emotional experience from your childhood. Do you have one? It generally doesn't take long to recall very emotional events that have left lasting memories in our minds. These powerful, emotional experiences also trigger behaviors. Have you ever been mad at a family member (child, spouse, parent) and you lashed out with an, "I hate you" comment and a slam of a door? You probably didn't mean it but your behavior was a result of your emotions. Another example is the paralyzing fear you may experience if you were suddenly in a life threatening situation. Your body doesn't respond and you freeze. In this situation your brain isn't able to fully function unless trained to do so. As a teaching tool, we know we can link emotions to learning by telling stories or showing videos that appeal to our students' emotional side. This enhances learning by forming lasting memories. More evidence is available today demonstrating the impact on learning related to emotions and the neurormechanism responsible for this link.
 
Emotional Health:
Those who are emotionally healthy are in touch with their emotions and regulate their emotions appropriately. They are resilient. They can bounce back and take the stresses as they come. (2) How resilient are you? Rate yourself on the scale below.
 
Building Resilience:
Resiliency can be learned and you can do simple things that help you build your resiliency. Resiliency helps reduce stress and prevents burnout. I have been teaching faculty how to build resiliency for years. Using the "Road to Resilience" by the American Psychological Association (3) as a guide, I suggest you think about four areas that can improve your resiliency:
  1. Self-care: Do you take care yourself?
  2. Managing energy: Do you focus, align and manage your energy sources?
  3. Emotional Intelligence: Are you aware of and can you manage your own emotions so you can engage in interpersonal relationships?
  4. Mindfulness: Are you consciously aware of your present being and accepting of your emotions and surroundings?
 
Regulating Emotions:
So can you stop your emotions? No. You cannot stop yourself from having emotions but you can regulate them. Mindfulness (discussed in last month's Engage) is one tool to help you regulate emotions. Next time you feel stressed or anxious or angry - take a few deep breaths in through your nose to the count of four, then hold your breath for the count of four, then breathe out through your mouth to a count of four. This simple act, repeated three to four times, can help you reduce stress and allow you to calm down from anger and reduce fear or sadness.
 
Learning how to focus on your happy emotions may also make you more successful and extend your life. Find the positives in everything by using a different lens or taking a different perspective. Let the happy moments offset the sad moments. Smile and laugh every day. Embrace happiness and the happiness advantage. Learn more about the Happiness Advantage: Research Linking Happiness and Success, by Shawn Achor at TEDTalk. In his presentation, Shawn suggests a few simple tasks to improve happiness:
  1. write down three things you are grateful for each day for 21 days
  2. journal about one positive event each day
  3. use meditation daily
  4. exercise daily
  5. do random/conscious acts of kindness every day
Which one will you try this month? Write a B-A-SMARTER Goal for doing something to support your happy emotions. Give yourself a reward if you are still doing your activity after 2 weeks and after one month.
 
(1) What Are Basic Emotions? Basic emotions such as fear and anger are hardwired. Posted Jan 07, 2016 at: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hide-and-seek/201601/what-are-basic-emotions

 
 
(3) The Road to Resiliency at: http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/road-resilience.aspx  

 
(4) The Happiness Advantage: Research Linking Happiness and Success by Shawn Achor at: https://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work .                                                  
 
Unified Vanderbilt Promotes Diversity:

Vanderbilt speaks up! While the president's executive order immediately affects those traveling into the country, it has left many students, and the educators who advise them, with a sense of uncertainty. The Vanderbilt University Chancellor, Nicholas S. Zeppos, Vanderbilt University Provost, Susan Wente, and Vanderbilt University Medical Center CEO, Dr. Jeffrey Balser, have all signed letters that value immigration. 
  
International citizens, researchers, scholars, and students are an indispensable part of what America stands for.

In the February 2 meeting of the Faculty Senate, Chancellor Zeppos mentioned that he has been spending time writing to the 45th President.

This letter signed by Chancellor Nicholas S. Zepppos is publicly available through the  Chronicle on Higher Education and Princeton University.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science organized  a letter to President Trump, which urged the administration to rescind the executive order. It was signed by more than 160 universities and scientific societies. View letter here.

Vanderbilt also joined a  third letter organized by the American Council on Education addressed to Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly. View letter here.

View Provost webpage here.

                                                            Vanderbilt Stands United.

 SENATE REMINDERS: Important dates to remember  

  • February 10 - Board of Trust Meeting
  • February 15 - Faculty Manual Meeting at 3:00 pm in 112 Sarratt
  • February 23 - SPAF Meeting with VSG at 4:00 in 304 Buttrick
  • February 24 - Student Life Committee Meeting at 3:30 pm in Stevenson 7963
  • March 2 - Elected Senators Only Meeting at 3:00 pm in Frist 140
All First Year Senators, we need you in leadership roles. If interested, send your bio to facultysentae@vanderbilt.edu by March 20 and identify the role in which you want to serve. 
 
     Thoughts, Concerns, New Business:
 
     A ny senator with thoughts, concerns or new business for the Executive Committee to address can submit them in writing to the EC via  
     email or anonymously via the Faculty Senate Portal Feedback  Form. Your comments are expected and appreciated. 
                          
                                                   Wishing you an emotionally well semester! 
                                        
From Your
                                                   
                          
                                                                                


The next Faculty Senate Meeting is for
                     If you have any questions, please contact:                        

Debbie Hayes
Administrative Manager
615-343-3841