Faculty Senate - August 2026 Minutes

The 2026 Midwestern State University Faculty Senate met on Thursday, August 20, 2026 in the Lone Star Room, Bridwell Activities Center.

Senators Present:

  • Dr. Salim Azzouz
  • Dr. Sanchari Choudhury
  • Dr. Sarah Cobb
  • Dr. Hillary Coenen
  • Dr. Brett Crossland
  • Dr. Victoria Dillard
  • Dr. Mary Draper
  • Dr. Jessica Fino
  • Dr. Tracie Fulton
  • Ms. Candice Fulton
  • Dr. Dittika Gupta
  • Dr. Andrew Holt
  • Dr. Ann Marie Leimer
  • Dr. Kirsten Lodge
  • Dr. Stacey Machado
  • Dr. Stacia Miller
  • Dr. Mika Morgan
  • Dr. Kimberly Onstott
  • Ms. Elizabeth Redmill
  • Dr. Stephanie Zamora-Robles
  • Dr. Sandra Shawver
  • Dr. Dawn Slavens
  • Dr. Whitney Snow
  • Dr. Franklin Tillman
  • Ms. Kelsey Wilt
  • Dr. Meng Yu

Senators Absent: Ms. Amar Spencer, Dr. Timothy Pegg, Dr. Jon Scales
Guests: Dr. Stacy Haynie, MSU President

Call to Order: 3:30 PM


Housekeeping:

  • Approval of Agenda: Senator Tillman motioned to approve the agenda. Senator Leimer seconded and the motion passed without opposition.
  • Approval of May Minutes: Senator Coenen motioned to approve the minutes as presented. Senator Fino seconded. The motion passed without opposition.


Current Business/Information Sharing:

  1. Welcome
    • Presiding Officer Draper welcomed the senate to the first meeting of the new academic year. She shared the scheduled meetings of the 2026-2027 faculty senate.
  2. Guest - Dr. Stacy Haynie
    • Presiding Officer Draper introduced President Haynie to address the senate.
    • President Haynie expressed her appreciation for Presiding Officer Draper, for the faculty senate, and for the work of all faculty on campus. She stated that faculty senate has been essential for enabling the university to navigate challenging situations and allocate resources strategically. She thanked faculty particularly for the work they do connecting with students and for involvement in Saturday Tours. She stated that fall enrollment goals were likely to be met, though official numbers are not yet available.
    • President Haynie encouraged faculty to connect students to the resources they might need on campus so that they can be successful in the classroom. She emphasized the presence of staff members whose work is to support students, including Success Coaches, RA’s, Counselors and others. Faculty can submit alerts through Navigate to communicate student needs to offices that can help.
    • In setting priorities for the future, President Haynie said that the administration is working on expanding capacity in programs where we are not currently able to meet student demand.
    • In response to a question about upcoming changes to the Texas Core Curriculum, President Haynie stated that the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is likely to propose changes to the existing core requirements. MSU and the TTUS are monitoring this as it develops. She also mentioned that the Commission on Colleges and Universities (formerly SACSCOC) has published its proposed revision to their principles for accreditation.
    • President Haynie also recognized several specific campus successes: a 100% pass rate on the NCLEX, the opening of the Center for STEM Excellence, and increasing connection to Sheppard Air Force Base, including airmen volunteering to help with move-in day.


New Business:

  1. Committee Appointments for AY 2026-27
    • The faculty senate makes recommendations for personnel for several committees. Presiding Officer Draper asked senators to collect nominations from their colleges and submit the nominations to the Executive Committee by 12:00 PM on Wednesday, August 26.
  2. Faculty Senate priorities for AY 2026-2027
    • Dr. Draper presented a list of possible priorities for the 2026-27 Faculty Senate to pursue: academic freedom, academic integrity, AI practices and procedures, campus safety and security, faculty handbook, faculty input about the core curriculum, faculty wellbeing and retention, and policy priorities. Senators were asked to rank the priorities through an online form that also included the option to write in additional priorities. She stated that the Executive Committee will use this information to set future agendas.
  3. Leadership Academy
    • Presiding Officer Draper reminded senators that the deadline to apply for the MSU Texas Leadership Academy is August 21. She encouraged senators to consider participating.



Senator Choudhury made a motion to adjourn. Presiding officer Draper seconded and the meeting adjourned at 4:31 PM.


Upcoming meetings:
The deadline to submit agenda items for the next faculty senate meeting is Friday, August 28.
The next Executive Committee meeting will be on Tuesday, September 1.
The next faculty senate meeting will be at 3:30 PM on Thursday, September 10, in the Legacy Hall Multipurpose Room.


Respectfully Submitted,
Dr. Sarah Cobb, Faculty Senate Secretary
Dr. Mary Draper, Faculty Senate Presiding Officer