VIDEO: Faculty & Staff Town Hall
Questions about dean searches, post-tenure review, e-bikes and parking are among many answered by UND administrators at Town Hall
Editor’s note: On Wednesday, Aug. 27, UND held a Town Hall meeting via Zoom for faculty and staff. A video of the Town Hall (with closed captions available) is above, while below is a list of the questions that are asked and answered in the video, with time stamps for readers’ reference accompanying each question.
The following questions are asked and answered in the Faculty & Staff Town Hall:
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Time of question — 5:38: “Vice President Peggy Varberg, can you talk about the timeline for the implementation for salary and staff positions — the data reconciliation that’s currently underway. Once it’s completed, what will happen with that?”
8:52: “Again for AVP Varberg, is there any kind of standard onboarding for new employees ensuring that they have a smooth transition as they start at UND?”
10:38: “The next question is going to go to AVP Matt Kibbon. Matt, what are the plans for the various areas on campus that have had buildings torn down in the past year? This question specifically asks about the former Walsh quad and Columbia Hall.”
11:52: “Another question for AVP Kibbon, are there any more specific updates on when the Columbia Road bridge will be opened and if it will be impacted by the demolition of Hyslop?”
12:49: “I have one more question for you, then VP Art Malloy might also have some comments: What’s the status of some of the older buildings that have been vacated, or mostly vacated, including Johnstone, Fulton, Smith, Columbia Hall and Gamble Hall?”
14:59: “The next question is for President Armacost. What affiliations does UND have or plan to have with new facilities being built around Grand Forks, such as the Altru Sports and Aquatics Complex and the children’s museum?”
17:06: “First question is regarding parking, so I’m going to turn that over to Jennifer Duffy. As an employee who purchased a special reserved permit but is not a director or president, Parking Services notified me I am not eligible as I do not hold such a title. Given recent increases, special reserved parking permits have a disproportionate pricing increase strategy compared to standard employee permits. Now that they’re restricted by title, this discount only applies to UND’s higher-paid leaders. The disparity between the lesser-played employees and leadership also increases with higher leadership salaries due to concrete pricing of parking passes. Can you explain how these decisions align with UND’s strategic plan and core values around equity?
19:45: “The next question is for Provost Link. In light of the new Post-Tenure Review policy, what actual benefits do full professors and associate professors bring? If there are no tangible benefits, can we request demotions to assistant professor and thus avoid the PTR process?”
22:26: “This question is going to go to AVP Varberg again. Once again, the dreaded question about staff being allowed to work from home. There are certainly people who take extreme advantage of no oversight of their work hours and actual behavior while at home, such as caring for children, doing laundry, taking walks, etc. How can there be a level playing field to ensure the expectations are met of earning your salary by doing the work assigned to you and being accessible to your audience, faculty, staff and students. I’m asking this as a co-worker and a taxpayer. If the legislature is so concerned about higher ed and our work production, there should be some accountability for them and within ourselves.”
24:23 “For this question I’m going to start with Dr. Bailey and I’m sure President Armacost will have comments as well. How is UND going to maintain and continue to prioritize our commitment to DEI?”
28:00: “Provost Link, what are the updates on the various dean searches across campus?”
30:39: “The next question I’m going to turn over to VP Snyder. What effects will the recent Bondi memo have at UND and what do we need to do in response to the memo?”
31:38: “VP Malloy, the Pepsi Company drink vending machines on campus are gone and aren’t being refilled. Does the University have any say on exactly what ends up in the Coke company vending machines, or is that decided by the company that fills them?”
32:38: “The next question I’m going to start with AVP Varberg. Is UND concerned about the amount of turnover in administrative/college leadership and the direct student contact personnel such as advisors. And if so, what are the plans to address them?”
35:23: “Peggy, the next question is for you as well. When do staff get to do a 360 review of those at the vice president or director level? No one ever asks us what we think of our supervisors. So how do their supervisors have any idea outside of the biased view they get from the director or VP themselves?”
37:55: “The next question I’m going to turn to Jennifer Duffy. “Will we be assessing the use of the student reserve parking lot near The Boardroom coffeeshop on campus? If it continues to be half-empty, will we consider opening some of the lot for general employees? The coffeeshop is commonly used by people from all across campus but cannot be easily accessed when your regular office space and parking availability are coming from the far reaches of campus.”
38:52: “The next question is for you, as well, Jennifer, if you don’t mind staying on. With many in a hybrid work arrangement, they’re wondering if Parking Services is considering implementing a permit option tailored to employees who are only on campus part time. At present, the available choices are either full-time permit or hourly/daily parking.”
39:42: “Next question is for AVP Varberg again. Research in vocational psychology demonstrates that many employees can be just as productive at home, if even not more efficient while working remotely than people at workplace offices who may get distracted by conversations. Has this been taken into consideration in relation to considering remote work? There are remote workers at UND who have won numerous awards and continue to be nominated for them repeatedly. Has leadership taken this evidence into consideration and have they reviewed the vocational psychology literature in this area demonstrating success in this?”
41:57: “The next question I’m going to start with Beth Valentine, but Provost Link may also have some comments. Beth, faculty are now aware of the changing Title II regulations regarding digital accessibility for course documents. What is the institutional plan to address faculty workloads needed to make digital course documents accessible? Are there plans to make changes to the faculty contracts? Are there resources available to help faculty make these time-sensitive changes?”
45:40: “Provost Link, I’m going to send this next question to you, as well. I was hoping to gain some insight regarding the recent turnover rate of academic advisors. Several students have shared common concerns with me that they have had a different advisor nearly every semester, and in some cases, they were unsure who their advisor was because the individual listed in Campus Connection was no longer at UND. Can you provide any context around this or let me know if there are steps being taken to address this issue?”
47:51: “The next question is for AVP Kibbon. The plants in the median on University Avenue are beautiful. However, it’s difficult to see people crossing the street because the plants are so tall and there are the black pillars. The cross lights do help, but they aren’t available at every crossing. Could you speak to what might be able to be done?”
48:52: “I’m going to turn to VP Malloy. This individual wasn’t sure if they had missed the answer because their feed cut out, but is Pepsi ever coming back to campus or are we now solely Coke?”
49:28: “The next question is for AVP Varberg again. The question is when will campus hear about the Huron findings related to faculty? We heard about the staff and the new staff architecture, but no update yet that they are aware of regarding the faculty findings.”
50:58: “The next question is going back to Jennifer Duffy. The individual writes, ‘I would love to take advantage of the economy lot, but the bus shuttle hours do not allow for me to put in a full day of work because they are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Is there any talk about extending the UND shuttle schedules?’”
51:41: “The next question I’m going to turn over to Chief Clark. Can you discuss the rule change that disallows e-bikes to charge in the buildings? We should be incentivizing, not discouraging, alternative transportation options on a car-centric campus where parking is often a concern.”
53:11: “I’m going to send this question to Provost Link, and I’m sure President Armacost will probably have some comments on this topic. It’s exciting to hear about the commitment to support AI efforts on campus and be a leader in the state for this important area. However, it seems like some kind of clear leadership around these efforts is needed. This is overwhelming. Who are we supposed to go to for help in our classrooms? What about when students use it in ways that aren’t allowed? What does this look like moving forward, and what investments are being made by UND to meaningfully support our commitment to AI?”
58:11: “President Armacost, as we reach the top of the hour, would you have any closing remarks for us?”
