Implementing Strategies for More Sustainable Meeting Practices--The Senate Moves To Paperless Meetings

This message is being sent to all members of Senate Council:

(Pix (c ) Larry Catá Backer 2012)

Effective with the August 14, 2012 Senate Council meeting, agendas for all Senate and Senate Council meetings will no longer be provided in a print-based format.

A link to the Senate and Senate Council agendas will be sent approximately one week before each Senate and Senate Council meeting. As with past practices, the Senate meeting agenda will be posted on the Senate homepage at http://www.senate.psu.edu/.

The August 14 Senate Council agenda is posted at http://www.senate.psu.edu/about_senate/committees/sc/scagenda.pdf. The unit constitutions listed under Action Items are posted in ANGEL under Senate Council/2012-2013/August 14, 2012.

My statement on the move toward less paper follows:

Senate Chair Larry Backer’s Statement on Moving to Paperless Agendas

Penn State University has been making great strides toward sustainability in its operations and its operational culture. The University’s strategic plan has targeted sustainability as one of its points of focus, and with it, fostering a climate of greater sensitivity to issues of resource conservation. The University also remains sensitive to issues of efficiency, and to the need to move quickly to embrace new technologies, tempered by our strongly held traditions.

One of the areas in which sustainability has a role to play is in communication. To a greater extent than ever, the University’s expectations now encourage all students to have access to email and web based technologies. Students and faculty now use services such as eLion and ANGEL for the routine administration of classes in ways that have substantially reduced the need for paper-based communication in the ordinary course. Much administrative work is now shared electronically.

There have been deep changes in the work culture of our faculty. The expectation at prominent research universities is that faculty ought to be conversant with e-communication. Virtually all faculty have access to the internet, have email accounts which are used for University business, and most have computers or access to computers and related web and email access technologies.

The Senate must do its part. Since 2004, the Senate has been moving toward increased utilization of electronic distribution of documents such as the Senate Curriculum Report, committee agendas/minutes, election ballots, and postings to ANGEL. A survey of our peer institutions in the CIC (Big Ten) has revealed that virtually all of them have moved away from traditional paper-based communication. Following consultation with several constituencies, including the Senate officers and CC&R leadership, we have decided that effective with the August 14, 2012 Senate Council meeting, agendas for all Senate and Senate Council meetings will no longer be provided in a print-based format.

While this decision is part of the Senate's continuing efforts to promote sustainability and conserve resources, we are aware that for some, this change will have greater effect than for others. We are sensitive, as well, to the need to preserve full and fair engagement in the work of the Senate for those who may have trouble acquiring Senate materials delivered electronically. We want to make this transition as smooth as possible. We expect that, in line with University goals, administrators and others with authority on these matters will facilitate the process for their respective faculty. We do not expect that faculty will be burdened with additional expense or impediments to effective use of electronic media for the receipt and printing, if they desire, of these agenda. We are happy to provide assistance to those who have trouble moving to the new system. We know that together, we can continue working with administration on increasing our contribution to a “greener” University.

A link to the Senate and Senate Council agendas will be sent approximately one week before each Senate and Senate Council meeting. As with past practices, the Senate meeting agenda will be posted on the Senate homepage at http://www.senate.psu.edu/.