If you missed the Sept. 29 Academic Senate meeting or need a refresher, keep reading for the highlights from the meeting. For more information on the Academic Senate, click here.
Meetings are open to the public and held on Zoom. Meetings are recorded only for the purposes of meeting minutes. Although senate meetings are not required to be public under Utah law, the senate has elected to conduct its business in a transparent way, and all attendees are welcome.
Subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, the “university faculty shall have authority ... to legislate on matters of educational policy. ... The faculty has a right to a meaningful role in the governance of the University; ... it has a right to participate in decisions relating to the general academic operations of the university, including budget decisions and administrative appointments.”
“The legislative power of the University faculty collectively will normally be exercised by the faculty through their representatives in the Academic Senate and the college and Graduate and Undergraduate councils ...”
See Academic Policies 6-001-III-B-3, 6-002 and 6-300 to read the policies in full.
Executive Committee Report
Click here to learn more about the Executive Committee's role and membership.
Debate Calendar
Unit Change: School for Cultural & Social Transformation and the College of Humanities
Wanda S. Pillow, Dean, School for Cultural & Social Transformation, College of Humanities
Ella Meyers, Chair, Division of Ethnic Studies & Division of Gender Studies, School for Cultural & Social Transformation
The School for Cultural & Social Transformation (Transform) seeks to restructure as an academic department housed in the College of Humanities (COH), transferring all academic programs currently within the school into the new department (Department of Ethnic, Gender and Disability Studies).
Virtual Skills & Workforce Trainer Service Center
Chad McDonald, Social Research Institute, and Matt Davis, Population Health Sciences (co-faculty administrators) requested approval to create the Virtual Skills & Workforce Trainer (VSWT) Service Center. The Virtual Skills and Workforce Trainer (VSWT) Service Center will develop and distribute evidence-based virtual reality training technologies that enable human services professionals to practice critical skills in safe, simulated environments before working with real clients. Current training methods lack sufficient hands-on practice, resulting in inconsistent worker competence and poor outcomes for vulnerable populations. The center will streamline nationwide implementation by providing standardized training solutions and assisting agencies in accessing federal funding sources like Title IV-E. This approach makes innovative training technologies more accessible and affordable while ensuring consistent, high-quality skill development in human services, health care, behavioral health and beyond.
Professional Master of Materials Engineering and Management
The proposed program responds to a need for a professional degree for materials and metallurgical engineers that includes a combination of general and specific materials courses (2 and 4, respectively), data analytics courses (2), business courses (3), and a capstone project course to enable professionals to obtain the broad set of skills needed to succeed and thrive in modern materials intensive industries where their careers will generally mature and transition into management positions. This program fills a materials area opportunity and need that resides between traditional master's of science, engineering management and master's of business administration degrees. This innovative program will play a pivotal role in preparing the next generation of leaders for materials-focused industries.
The need for this program is supported by data from our students and industry advisory board (IAB), as well as workforce data. We surveyed our undergraduates and responses indicated that most were interested in this type of program and our IAB members were very supportive of this. In fact, our IAB really encouraged us to do this and provided important guidance that helped in the design of this program.
Proposed New Program: Artificial Intelligence Minor
With the increased excitement, progress, and demand in Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Kahlert School of Computing (KSoC) is proposing a new minor in AI. It leverages KSoC’s large existing faculty expertise in AI, and recent revisions of our longstanding AI curriculum—which includes providing more accessible and practical courses, and in making AI Ethics a key learning objective within the core courses.
The minor is 25 credits. It will prepare students to build and leverage AI methodologies in their chosen field. It starts with required fundamentals in programming and mathematics, and it culminates in introductory courses in Machine Learning and in Artificial Intelligence.
Mechanical Engineering Dual Degrees
The Department of Mechanical Engineering has added several MS degree programs in the past few years and is proposing to encourage combining them with its standard BS program to create multiple BS/MS tracks for students as a supplement to its current BS/MS degree program, that has both degrees in Mechanical Engineering. The new degrees would combine an MS degree in Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, Systems Engineering or Engineering Management to a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Information and Recommendations Calendar
Better U: A Unified Listening Strategy
Better U is a survey that uses information from faculty and staff to improve the U as a place to work. This survey is supported by the following groups: Chief Wellness Office/Resiliency Center, Offices of Faculty, Human Resources (campus and UUHC), UAIR, MarCom, Academic Affairs and university leaders. This survey has been used on the Health Sciences campus for two years and will expand to all of the campus this year. Please contribute your voice and ideas.
- It hopes to help support a resilient organization by doing the following:
- Allows action on feedback from faculty and staff to meaningfully improve the university
- Helps leaders understand team strengths and challenges
- Identifies what’s working and where more support is needed
- Provides data for frank conversations and action planning
- Issues outside local control are elevated for university-wide solutions
Key details
- Who: Faculty and staff of the University of Utah
- When: Launches Oct. 15, 2025
- Where: Link sent directly to your university email
- Time: 10-15 minutes
- Confidentiality: Confidential; leaders see groups of five or more
Graduate Council 7-year Reviews
Department of Atmospheric Sciences
Established in 1948, the Department of Atmospheric Sciences offers a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy. The department is distinguished by highly productive, talented and internationally renowned faculty and for its innovative research contributions to the discipline, especially in mountain meteorology, for which the program and one of its key resources—Storm Peak Laboratory—are uniquely and ideally situated. To ensure and streamline its recent growth and attendant demands, the department is encouraged to develop and refine strategic planning already underway to coordinate recent college-level restructuring; manage collaborations, services and shared spaces with other units; develop a balanced, long-term plan for departmental leadership and faculty hiring; and determine the most efficient ways to support its physical research and pedagogical sites.
Department of Mining Engineering
The Department of Mining Engineering, one of the first established at the University of Utah, confers the bachelor’s degree, two master’s degrees (Master of Engineering and Master of Science), and the doctoral degree. Reviewers commended the department for its strong, well-supported, vibrant, and collegial faculty and for its disciplinary distinction and leadership in mining health and safety. To assure its long-term growth and sustainability, the department is encouraged to strengthen its degree programs via increasing undergraduate recruitment efforts and enrollment and developing the graduate program substantively, inclusive of increasing the number and variety of funded positions for graduate students and reviewing graduate curricula to ensure currency with industry and professional demands. As well, the department is further encouraged to build upon and expand its existing strong ties to regional, state and local industry.
