The Faculty Senate approved a new major and minor when they met at its last meeting of the semester Tuesday.

The Senate also heard from Senior Vice President and Provost Jason Keith and approved the 2025 Spring graduation list.

Old business

The Faculty Senate passed two bills that will bring a digital storytelling major and minor to campus.

According to the Senate, the major will bring together the Greenlee School of Journalism and the Department of Music and Theater. The new major, according to the Senate, will marry media and performing arts and prepare students for careers in various types of content creation via effective storytelling through all digital platforms.

“While this shifting media environment has diversified the demands of media and performing arts professionals, it has also led to a more fundamental shared goal—that of effective storytelling through all digital platforms,” according to Senate documents.

The minor will accompany the new major and provide core digital storytelling skills, according to the Senate. 

The review of grad specializations was voted down by the Senate. The proposal would have excluded “graduate program specializations from being approved beyond the offering program.”

The Senate approved all other unfinished business, including the summer academic standards regulation, policy for awarding diplomas for extraordinary circumstances, formal complaint process and salary policies and procedures.

New business

The Senate heard the reading of a shared values statement. On Monday, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) at Iowa State issued a statement encouraging the Senate to support the passage.

“As the governing body representing all ISU faculty, it is imperative the Faculty Senate make a clear commitment to the mission, values and importance of higher education as outlined in the Statement,” according to the AAUP’s statement. “The attacks on higher education affect all colleges and departments, and the Faculty Senate must show the faculty of ISU stand united in our commitment to the mission and values of higher education.”

Sen. Annemarie Butler, Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, voiced their support for the resolution.

“Nevertheless, we thought that these are troubling times and that the very least that we could do is stand together as a faculty and affirm values that we as faculty treasure, prize, cherish and uphold,” Butler said. “And so I hope you will agree with me that these are clearly values that we’ve adopted.”

The Senate moved to suspend the rules in order to pass the resolution, voting by secret ballot. The measure passed with a vote of 49-13. The Senate is now one of 16 faculty senates or councils across the U.S. to endorse the statement, including the University of Iowa Faculty Senate.

Additional items

In the Senate’s April 29 meeting, it passed four bills unanimously to bring four new minors to campus. According to the meeting minutes, all four were brought due to student interest.

The first of the four, an art undergraduate minor, was created for “students interested in art without committing to a full major.” 

Sen. Karen Kedrowski, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, proposed an amendment to fix a typo in the bill, which ultimately passed along with the main motion.

An art history undergraduate minor also passed the Senate. The minor originates from the College of Design, Department of Art and Visual Culture’s undergraduate minor in art history.

A paleontology undergraduate minor will also arrive on campus soon. 

“Currently, there are no programs in paleontology, despite strong student demand for this subject,” according to the minutes. “The Department of Earth, Atmosphere and Climate will serve as the coordinating academic unit, while contributing units will include EEOB (Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology), GDCB (Genetics, Development and Cell Biology) and the Anthropology program within the Department of World Languages and Cultures.”

A photography undergraduate minor also passed its second reading. Sen. Jennifer Schieltz, Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, reported “strong interest in photography from students across various majors and colleges.”

The Department of Art and Visual Culture and the Greenlee School of Journalism will collaborate to bring the minor to campus.

The second reading for a bachelor of fine arts in illustration also passed, which had been in development for two years, according to the minutes.

“The recruitment team identified it as an area of growing student interest, and it will be unique in the state,” according to the minutes. “Although there were concerns about competition with the scientific illustration and visualization major, collaboration suggests this new program will attract more students interested in diverse types of illustrations.”

The Senate also passed the second readings of the designated repeat policy, incomplete policy and the concurrent degree process.

The Senate also approved the Spring 2025 graduation list and memorial resolutions. The Senate also sat new senators.

The next meeting is slated for September 9.