University Senate convened at their last meeting of the academic year to hear proposals about sunsetting the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (CODI).
Rosemary Pennington, chair of the Department of Media, Journalism and Film, answered questions about the proposed ending. Multiple senators expressed concerns about closing the committee, especially in the wake of Senate Bill 1, which has prompted the closure of the Center for Student Diversity and Inclusion and the Office of Transformational and Inclusive Excellence.
Pennington also proposed a new committee, the Committee on Civic Belonging and Community Pluralism (CBCP). Pennington said CBCP would be a slightly smaller committee than CODI and would be more efficient. Similarly to CODI, it would work to help welcome a variety of people and ideas to Miami University.
“What I don’t want is a replication of [CODI],” Pennington said. “I will tell you, as someone who was a co-chair of CODI, that [scheduling] was unworkable.”
Both proposals have been tabled until the senate returns for its first meeting of the academic year in the fall.
Liran Ma, chair of the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, presented a proposal for the addition of a Bachelor of Science in artificial intelligence. In his presentation, Ma used AI to help generate an audio description of the course, which he presented to the senate.
Senator Joseph Carlin said he was concerned the curriculum didn’t include anything emphasizing the health sciences, which he thought could be a potential application area within the major’s designed curriculum.
Senator Maria Weese, professor of information systems and analytics, said she didn’t see the logic behind creating a whole major dedicated specifically to AI.
“I wonder if we’re approaching the hype around AI in the right way,” Weese said. “It seems like AI just needs to be integrated into every single field now as best you can.”
Senator Adam Beissel, professor of sports leadership and management, and Senator Carol Fabby, professor of physics, presented their findings on Miami’s student attendance policy and proposed changes that would allow students to be excused from class for university-sponsored events.
Currently, professors are not required to excuse their student athletes, which has been a source of frustration for both athletes and coaches.
The senate will vote on the proposal in the coming fall.
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Senator Rodney Coates proposed a resolution that would formally urge President Gregory Crawford to create a Mutual Academic Defense Compact (MADC) for the Mid-American Conference.
The MADC would help to forge relationships with other universities, as academic research has come under fire during the current administration. Coates said the proposal is based on a similar compact signed by several schools in the Big Ten conference.
“I’m calling for us to stand together and encourage our presidents to stand together,” Coates said.
The senate will convene again starting in the fall.
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