University Senate Meeting

April 27, 2026, 3:00 – 5:00pm

Location: University Hall, Ruthven Bldg., Rm. 2000 and Zoom

This meeting is open for all ~7,800 members of the Faculty Senate to participate. The event will be both in person and virtual. The physical location will be in University Hall, Alexander G. Ruthven Building, 1109 Geddes Ave, Room 2000, Ann Arbor, MI. This event is open to both the University of Michigan community and to the community at large. Please note that only current members of the Faculty Senate will be able to speak during the meeting. At the meeting, members will consider resolutions submitted by the Faculty Senate membership in advance of the meeting. All Faculty Senate members will then be invited to vote electronically on the resolutions over a 72-hour period, following the meeting.

Note: “University Senate” and “Faculty Senate” are two terms often used for the same body: the total membership of ~7,800 faculty automatically included in the Senate as a consequence of their faculty appointment. More information about membership is available on our Faculty Senate page.

Meeting Materials

This page will be periodically updated with meeting materials, voting information, and available speaker remarks and slides, once available.

Motions

The following motions were submitted on time for inclusion on the agenda:

The full text of all the resolutions can also be found in the meeting packet. In addition, a PDF file containing the text of all seven motions is available for download.

Summary Meeting Agenda

Time	Topic	Action Item
3:00	Come to Order, Overview, and Agenda	Approval
3:10-4:55	Motions 1-7 A movant for each motion will introduce the motion and then offer remarks (3 minutes), followed by up to 2 speakers (2 minutes each), followed by approximately 8 minutes of open discussion.	Electronic Voting Starts at 5:30 pm (Open for 72 hours)
4:55	Matters Arising
5:00	Adjourn

Remarks on Motions

All Faculty Senate members are invited to request an opportunity to be a scheduled speaker by Wednesday, April 22nd at 12:00 pm. For each motion, up to two scheduled speakers will be permitted to offer remarks (up to two minutes), with a preference for scheduling one faculty member for and one against each motion. Scheduled speakers will be added to the full agenda, following the movant for each motion. After the scheduled speakers, the floor will open for general discussion.

Written comments on the motions may also be submitted using this Google form until 5pm on April 28th. All written comments will be publicly available through a Google sheet.

Video responses may be emailed to the Faculty Senate Office ([email protected]). Any recorded video statements will be added to a publicly available Google folder for video responses.

Due to the limited amount of time available to discuss these motions during the meeting, members are encouraged to use the Google form to submit written comments or to submit video statements.

Voting on Motions

Please note that electronic voting on any submitted motions will commence shortly after the meeting ends at 5:00 pm. When the ballot opens, all Faculty Senate members will be emailed an invitation to vote at vote.umich.edu. Voting will remain open for 72 hours.

Important Notice About Electronic Voting on Procedural Motions During the Meeting

Please note that, in order to vote on additional procedural motions during the meeting, you will need a smartphone or laptop capable of navigating to vote.umich.edu. While there may be no need for a procedural vote, please come prepared with a smartphone or laptop if you are attending in person.

Meeting Agenda

(Meeting Packet)

Time	Topic	Action Item
3:00	Come to Order, Overview, Minutes, and Agenda	Approval
3:10	Motion 1: Resolution Calling for Support for Faculty and Staff Childcare Needs Movant (three minutes): Gretchen Keppel-Aleks, Associate Professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, College of Engineering Additional Scheduled Speaker (two minutes): Swapnil Rai, Associate Professor of Film, Television and Media, Communication and Media (Courtesy), Women’s and Gender Studies (Courtesy), College of Literature, Science, and Arts Open Discussion	Electronic Voting Starts at 5:30 pm (Open for 72 hours)
3:25	Motion 2: A Call for GenAI-Free Zones Movant (three minutes): Salome Viljoen, Assistant Professor of Law, School of Law Additional Scheduled Speaker (two minutes): Carina Ray, A.M. and H.P. Bentley Chair in African History, Associate Professor, Department of History, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Open Discussion	Electronic Voting Starts at 5:30 pm (Open for 72 hours)
3:40	Motion 3: Resolution on the use of Early Decision Admissions Movant (three minutes): Neil Marsh, Professor of Chemistry, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts and Professor of Biological Chemistry, Medical School Open Discussion	Electronic Voting Starts at 5:30 pm (Open for 72 hours)
3:55	Motion 4: Resolution in Support of Intersex, Transgender, and Gender-Diverse Students: Inclusive Athletics and Alignment with University Values Movant (three minutes): Dani Jones, Associate Research Scientist, Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research, School for Environment and Sustainability Additional Scheduled Speaker (two minutes): Sandy Levitsky, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and Associate Professor of Sociology, and Professor of Law (by courtesy), College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Open Discussion	Electronic Voting Starts at 5:30 pm (Open for 72 hours)
4:10	Motion 5: Resolution to Offer Tuition Support to Faculty Movant (three minutes): Swapnil Rai, Associate Professor of Film, Television and Media, Communication and Media (Courtesy), Women’s and Gender Studies (Courtesy), College of Literature, Science, and Arts Additional Scheduled Speaker (two minutes): Apryl Williams, Associate Professor of Communication and Media and Associate Professor of Digital Studies Institute, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Open Discussion	Electronic Voting Starts at 5:30 pm (Open for 72 hours)
4:25	Motion 6: Resolution to Reject Collaboration with the Senior Service College Fellowship Program Movant (three minutes): Silke-Maria Weineck, Grace Lee Boggs Professor of Comparative Literature and German Studies, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Additional Scheduled Speaker (two minutes): Rebekah Modrak, Professor, Stamps School of Art & Design Open Discussion	Electronic Voting Starts at 5:30 pm (Open for 72 hours)
4:40	Motion 7: Motion to Update Research Track Faculty Senate Membership Language Movant (three minutes): Jonathan Brennan, Associate Professor of Linguistics, College of Literature, Science, and the Arts Open Discussion	Electronic Voting Starts at 5:30 pm (Open for 72 hours)
4:55	Matters Arising
5:00	Adjourn

Motion Submission

Pursuant to University Senate rules, the deadline for faculty member submissions of motions or resolutions for consideration is April 13th. Each resolution must be moved by a minimum of three members of the Faculty Senate: the movant and two supporting members. Please submit any motions or resolutions by email to the Secretary of the Senate at [email protected]. The formatting does not need to be final at the time of submission. The Faculty Senate Office will help format resolutions before distribution to the full Senate. For planning purposes, it would be very helpful if submissions could be sent by April 6th, but they are welcome any time up to 11:59pm on April 13th. During the meeting, only motions submitted before the deadline, or motions of a procedural nature, will be considered. All of the motions submitted within the deadline will be included on the meeting agenda.

Tech Assistance

If you have difficult joining the Zoom webinar or otherwise are in need of technical assistance, please contact us using the following email: [email protected].

Accessibility

We aim to make Faculty Senate meetings accessible to all participants. Human-generated live transcription for virtual attendees and American Sign Language interpreters, in the room, will be requested. If you anticipate needing accommodations to participate, please notify [email protected] with as much notice as possible.