From: "Gross, Louis J" Date: Tuesday, July 27, 2021 at 4:39 PM To: dplowman , "Zomchick, John P" Cc: "Spurgeon, Shawn Lamont" , "Schussler, Elisabeth Ellen" , "Scoggins, Matthew" , "Gross, Louis J" Subject: Senate Leadership meeting with Chancellor and Provost Thursday July 29 at 9AM Chancellor Plowman and Provost Zomchick, Thank you for arranging to meet with us later this week. I expect that by the time we meet a formal message will have gone out to the campus about the pandemic planning for the Fall term. Based on the many responses we have from Senate members regarding topics to discuss, that is by far the topic of most concern to faculty. I suggest that we begin the meeting with any clarifications that we wish to suggest regarding the plans for classroom teaching and what options faculty have, under the constraints that are being imposed across the UT System, to do what they can to make their classrooms as safe an environmental for all faculty and students as possible. Any suggestions you have on how we can indeed respond as leaders of the Senate in a helpful manner when we received messages such as “I'm terrified to teach in person in the fall” that come along with very explicit and rational arguments based on the data on vaccination rates in TN and the latest data on break-though infections arising from a highly contagious strain. Beyond immediate pandemic issues, the other topics we suggest for the agenda are: 1. Creativity and compassion – aligned with the messaging from last year, what messaging is being considered for faculty and staff regarding working from home, flexibility on meeting teaching responsibilities, and methods for interacting with students. 2. What overall support mechanisms are planned to be in place for accommodations for those who cannot attend class and what expectations are there on faculty to assist in this, given that the current situation implies there will be significant numbers of students who are required to isolate or quarantine. 3. What messaging is going out regarding racial profiling and UT’s role in avoiding this (e.g. the Provost promised a message on the University actions in the Hu case) 4. BAM - what mechanisms will be in place to affirm and reward faculty research productivity that is not externally funded or funded with moderate amounts of money - how will Colleges and Departments encourage research activities of faculty who are also under added pressure to teach larger classes to general higher revenue through credit hours. If there are other items that you suggest have higher priority than these, please let us know. Stay well, Lou