Members of the BFC heard from Fred Glass , vice president and director of athletics, members of the IU athletics committee and members of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics.
Glass said a greater emphasis has been placed on student athletes’ physical and emotional well-being.
In fact, a posting for a full-time psychologist within the athletics department is set to be dispatched this week, he added.
In response to concerns regarding the volume of classes that student athletes miss, Glass said student athletes are limited to eight excused absences per semester. Absences related to post-season play, however, are exempt from the eight excused absences per semester, and coaches may ask for additional exemptions.
In response to concerns regarding the type of classes that student athletes take, Glass said student-athlete composition of each class is tracked.
If student athletes compose more than 15 percent of a class, the reason for such high student-athlete enrollment is ?investigated.
Members of the BFC also unanimously voted in support of a resolution that urges IU President Michael McRobbie, IU-Bloomington Provost Lauren Robel and other academic officers to consult faculty members throughout the process of refining and implementing proposals or actions resulting from the plan.
Though the resolution has no direct or immediate effect, it will be shared with McRobbie and the IU Board of Trustees.
“I think that the president pays attention to (resolutions) that hit his desk,” said Herb Terry, former president of the BFC. “And I think that this is a reminder to him that we expect the policies to be followed. Beyond that, I don’t know if he has any expressed plan not to follow the policies. So I don’t know that it will affect his behavior.”
The plan, released in October, outlines a set of initiatives meant to carry IU past its bicentennial, which the University will celebrate during the 2019-20 ?academic year and into its third century.
The plan proposes seven bicentennial priorities that address education, faculty, research, global reach, health sciences and health care, engagement and economic development.
The plan also outlines the finances, infrastructure, information dissemination and other resources necessary to achieve these seven bicentennial priorities.
Notably, the plan sets a goal of raising $2.5 billion through the bicentennial campaign.
The campaign to raise the money will begin during the fall 2015 semester.
“One of the joys of this right now is that we’re trying to bring the IU Foundation into being a helping organization in the day-to-day life of IU,” Dan Smith, IU Foundation president, said.
Members of the BFC also voted to affirm the Resolution of Academic Freedom.
The resolution protects IU faculty’s freedom of expression, stating that, in public utterances, faculty members are free of institutional control.
BFC members voted to affirm the resolution in response to recent ?controversies limiting ?faculty’s freedom of ?expression.
At several universities nationwide, including Chicago State University, Colorado State University and the University of Illinois, among others, faculty members’ freedom of expression have been challenged, said Steve Sanders, associate professor of law.
The email account of a faculty member at Colorado State University, for example, was suspended after said faculty member sent emails that were critical of recent firings by the university, Sanders said.
During a previous meeting, members of the BFC voted to amend the language of the Resolution of Academic Freedom.
Changes included reinstating the last sentence: “The teacher or librarian should recognize that a professional position in the community involves the obligation to be accurate, to exercise appropriate restraint and to show respect for the right of others to express their views.”
Additional changes included defining formal faculty bodies as the Bloomington Faculty Council and additional elected faculty governance bodies in schools, departments and other units.
