In this week’s Faculty Senate meeting, Erin James, sustainability certificate director and a professor of English at the University of Idaho, proposed a new graduate level companion to the undergraduate academic sustainability certificate that UI currently offers.
“When I started as a sustainability certificate director, when I started visiting classrooms and talking to students about the undergraduate level certificate, the overwhelming response was, where is the graduate level version? There was a big appetite amongst graduate level students for a similar micro-credential,” James said.
This graduate-level program will come with the introduction of a new common course, called the Sustainability Challenge, or SUST 5060. It will task interdisciplinary groups of students with addressing a real-life sustainability issue on campus.
“So, for example, our plan for the first cohort is that they’re going to look at a campus-wide compost program and what would be involved in getting something like that off the ground,” said James. “This course has been funded for the first three years by the strategic plan grant program. So, each cohort of students will have a $10,000 budget by which to make recommendations and enact some of their recommendations for the annual sustainability challenge.”
James continued on to say that the certificate would be available online or in person, and is targeted to not only graduate students attending UI but also professionals who might not be interested in a full graduate-level degree but would like to pick up additional credentials.
Tim Murphy, assistant professor of law at UI, announced an incentivized AI training for faculty instruction on how to use AI in developing course materials.
“I know that [in the Senate] here, we have different feelings, pros, cons about AI, but as academics, I think we can all appreciate that the first step is understanding, right?” Murphy said. “And so, that’s why I’m taking this course. I would just want to see what other folks are doing with AI in their classrooms to get a better understanding of how people are using this.”
Adding to the conversation about AI use in teaching, Kristin Haltinner, a professor of sociology, proposed the creation of a university committee that would draft a policy as a way to address concerns about AI use by students and instructors using AI without students’ knowledge in their classrooms.
“What we’re proposing is a makeup of six faculty members from different disciplines, including faculty members from the library, with different perspectives on AI use, all of whom are classroom teachers,” Haltinner said.
There are strong opinions about AI on campus, Haltinner said, including those who are very excited to use it and those who are very timid or skeptical or fearful.
The motion to create the ad hoc committee passed, 19 to five.
Torrey Lawrence announced that the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee in the Idaho State Legislation passed an additional 1% budget cut to the current fiscal year. This movement still has to go through the House and the Senate before it is enacted, but it could mean an additional and permanent funding cut to the university’s budget going forward. In Fall 2025, the university received a permanent funding cut of 3%, which this would be in addition to.
Additionally, Lawrence reminded faculty members about the upcoming faculty gathering.
The February Faculty Gathering, hosted by the College of Natural Resources, will take place 4:30-6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 18, in the ICCU Arena Alumni Club Room.
All academic rank faculty — tenure track, non-tenure track and emeritus — are invited and may bring a guest over 21. Hors d’oeuvres and a no-host bar will be available, with a free drink ticket for each guest. Monthly gatherings will continue throughout the academic year, and the schedule can be found on the Vice Provost for Faculty’s Intranet.
Rebekah Brown can be reached at [email protected].