LSU’s faculty senate held its last meeting of the semester on Thursday. The meeting included several presentations from different campus initiatives for the committee to consider endorsing, as well as an introductory remark from Executive Vice President and Chancellor James T. Dalton.
Dalton, who will be sworn in as the official chancellor at LSU at the Board of Supervisors’ meeting next Thursday, told the senate that alongside president-elect Dr. Wade Rousse, they have been working through the reorganization process that comes with a new administration.
“It’s one thing to work through the board and change the organizational structure of this arsenal, and myself are just talking about what that looks like in terms of [the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)],”Dalton said. “We’re probably at least another quarter or two quarters out. So, we’re paying attention to the details and trying to make sure we move forward in a thoughtful, strategic way to make sure that we meet the timelines and the deadlines in front of us.”
When asked about potential faculty and staff benefits from yearly salary cuts because of inflation, Dalton welcomed them with open arms. He referenced a similar situation at his previous institution, the University of Alabama, where he served as executive vice president and provost.
“I can promise you, as I did at my prior institution, I’m going to take a look at it,” said Dalton. “We did a fairly significant faculty salary program. To your point, we have some high-performing people who should be rewarded for their high performance. I’ll look at it as one of the first orders of business and figure out a strategy to get there.”
The rest of the meeting followed with presentations from the Faculty Senate Generative AI committee, Graduate Admissions and an update on the IT Centralization Project.
The Faculty Senate Generative AI committee provided updated proposed guidelines from the November 3 draft. The key changes, which were drafted this past Monday, include: additions to syllabus statements as recommended by Student Advocacy & Accountability, expanded accessibility statements and recommendations made to LSU to develop courses, seminars and workshops for generative AI literacy.
“I’m very happy to say that the committee went through each edit and the document is not that of the committee anymore, it’s something in which the university as a whole institution has agreed on a consensus,” said Param Singh, chair of the Faculty Senate Generative AI committee. “These are not the policies; these are just guidelines, a set of best practices. Everything that was sent to us was incorporated. No comment was left out.”
Earlier this September, Gov. Landry signed State Government’s Use of AI (EO JML 25-103), which governs how state agencies, including public colleges/universities, can use artificial intelligence. With a December 15 deadline to submit proposed guidelines for an AI policy, the Senate voted to endorse the committee’s plan.
Jessica Zagorski, Assistant Dean of Recruiting & Admissions of LSU’s Graduate School, presented a proposal to reduce the minimum University (graduate school) requirements for transcripts and resume application materials, as well as alter the language for bachelor’s degree accreditation requirements and extend the deferral period to 1 year (3 semesters) beyond the original admission term.
Zagorski expressed the need for these amendments because the application process can be both tricky and drawn out for the admissions office and prospective students. This motion was approved by the Senate.
Ending the meeting was Craig Woolley, Chief Information Officer, who gave an update on the IT centralization project, which aims to streamline and unify IT support across campus. The goal is to improve service, communication, and support the university’s long-term goals.
It will provide 24/7 IT Support around campus as well as expanded classroom support with regional IT representatives to support all classrooms and conference rooms across campus, not just registrar-managed spaces. With his update, Wolley plans for the process and the initial transitions to be complete by the end of spring 2026.
The faculty senate will host their next meeting on Wednesday, January 14, at 3 P.M.
