The UA Faculty Senate held their first meeting of the fall semester Monday to discuss school-wide issues along with other important bylaws and regulations.

The meeting began with a welcome and congratulations to the new and up-coming senators, followed by an approval of minutes by its members.

The Chair of Faculty, Lynn Nadel, moved forward to introduce Michael Finnegan, president of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona.

Finnegan proposed a Textbook Adoption Policy, which would create a plan to encourage professors to turn in the textbook requirements for their classes by a specific date.

Finnegan said if effective, this policy would save students and their families a significant amount of money.

“Forty percent of the faculty don’t get it – they need to make this information available in a timely matter,” Nadel said.

UA President Ann Weaver Hart then took the stand and emphasized how the senate’s actions will be completely directed toward benefiting of the university’s students.

Hart said the senior team is focused on building a healthy leadership succession.

Hart explained that the middle-class family needs to be taken into account when deciding changes to tuition or other educational funding.

“Middle-class families with incomes that are considered to be a good living within the U.S., are actually worried about how they are going to pay for their [children’s] education,” Hart said.

The senate said it’s doing all it can to help utilize its resources in order to benefit all students and their families.

In an order of new business, the conversation of whether or not e-cigarettes should be allowed on campus was presented.

The UA Senate voted in favor of banning the use of e-cigarettes; however, no citations will be given to students violating this law. The law is merely expected to be followed out of respect for the university.

Amy Fountain, associate linguistics professor, then took the stand to propose changes to the senate’s constitution and bylaws. All were approved and changed.

The senate then addressed the issue of ensuring the UA promotes inclusive excellence at the university.

Jesús Trevino, the newly appointed vice provost for inclusive excellence and senior diversity officer, said inclusive excellence will prepare students for a diverse democracy by embedding the importance of diversity into their everyday lives.

Rebecca Tsosie, regent’s professor of law and special advisor to the provost for diversity and inclusion, then introduced herself as a resource to those who favor diversity and knowledge as a fundamental stepping stone in life.

All members of the Faculty Senate agreed that inclusive excellence should be carried out in the university’s curriculum and environment in order to draw in a broader spectrum of students to the university.

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