Name changes to two departments were approved by the University of Idaho Faculty Senate on March 31. The department of movement sciences was changed to the department of kinesiology and the department of clinical medicine was changed to the department of health professions.
The goal motivation behind the name change is to better align the university catalog with the most commonly used term within the field according to Phillip Scruggs, a professor of movement sciences.
The department of clinical medicine has changed significantly since the beginning of the program, adding multiple new degree that are better represented by the health professions title. Rusty Baker, a professor of athletic training stated the move was necessary to adapt to the ever-changing academic programs within the department.
The senate also approved changes to the code of ethics and the faculty code of conduct. Section C-3.C, which includes language that would protect staff from retaliation when good faith reports are made, was contentious. Kristin Haltinner a professor of sociology, proposed a change to the language that would exclude the term “good faith” due to the subjective nature of the term. The vote to remove the term failed with a 10 in support of the change and 13 against.
Haltinner also proposed an ad hoc committee on E-bike and E-scooter safety around campus. This committee would be established with the purpose of acknowledging staff and faculty concerns over safety regarding the E-transportation. The faculty and staff safety survey results cited concerns over the growing method of transportation around campus. Haltinner said respondents to the survey worried about being run over by the E-scooters and E-bikes and potential safety concerns with the charging of the scooters and bikes within university buildings due to the lithium-ion batteries used in such devices. The ad hoc committee on E-bike and E-scooter safety was unanimously approved by the senate.
Changes to the staff and faculty dependent student tuition and fees were amended to allow for each individual staff member to claim their dependents rather than the household as instated currently. Dependents of staff members receive discounted tuition at 50% for the first dependent and 25% for the second dependent. The amendment would expand this if there were two faculty or staff members in a household rather than the current rate that only observes by household rather than by individual staff members. The senate unanimously voted to approve the amendment and provided insight into the expansion on the current rates for the second dependent. The yearly cost to UI is about $11,000 since the program was instated, with 10 students currently using the discounted tuition.
Dale Fussell can be reached at [email protected].
