Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the correct email date.

The Faculty Senate for Oregon State University convened Wednesday in a special session to vote on two new motions about the recent contentious decision to close two Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs at the university.

On July 8, faculty across campus received an email stating the university would be “sunsetting” the Search Advocate program as well as the Social Justice Education Initiative. The decision has been met with an outcry of opposition, coalescing at a heated forum discussion on July 23. 

Associate Professor of Teaching in Environmental Sciences Jenny Engels gave an overview of the two motions being presented at the session as well as pertinent background information about the motions.

“I am presenting this information today because I have personally experienced the impact of the Social Justice Education Initiative and Search Advocate programs in making our campus a place that is more reflective of OSU’s shared values of inclusive excellence,” Engels said.

According to Engels, the “sunsetting” of Search and SJEI are just two of several programs that have been reorganized or eliminated by OSU Administration since June of 2024, “without engaging the Faculty Senate in a formal consultative process of shared governance around these decisions.”

She listed the elimination of the Office of Faculty Affairs in June 2024, the restructuring of the Graduate School in 2025 and the reorganization of the Family and Community Health Extension Program in summer this year as examples. 

Engels said that, according to OSU’s Policy for Program Reorganization or Elimination, the “reorganization and elimination of programs will be determined through shared governance.”

OSU’s Shared Governance Philosophy approved by the Board of Trustees in April 2024, contains a list of principles and values the university follows for shared governance: open deliberation and decision making, mutual respect and trust among shared governance partners and stakeholders and consistent alignment with the university’s mission and strategic plan.

Quoting the first motion, Engels said these changes to the programs were made without adequate shared governance on the part of university administration.

“A series of recent administrative decisions have been made with minimal or no faculty consultation, limited OSU-wide communication; and in some cases, during periods when many faculty are off contract,” Engels read.

Engels said that it is true that shared governance doesn’t equal shared decision making, “but it includes open deliberation and communication around key decisions, such as program elimination and reorganization.”

Engels then presented motion one’s main goals: Motion to Affirm and Sustain Institutional Commitment to Shared Governance, which recommends, “Faculty Senate shall be formally consulted with sufficient prior notice, during the academic year, before any decision is made by OSU administration to sunset, restructure, or significantly alter programs that support institutional goals and OSU’s foundational values.”

Engels then moved on to motion two: Request to conduct a formal consultative process re the Search Advocate Program and Social Justice Education Initiative, which recommends, “the Provost’s Office actively work to retract the programs’ proposed cancellations… providing time to robustly and transparently engage… in a formal consultative process.”

Before voting could begin, some Senators in attendance had issue with the wording of the first motion after the word “program,” saying the ending adds too much “wiggle room” for administration.

Senator Amanda Armington—seconded by Senator Stephanie Ramos—motioned to change the text of the first main motion to read, “Faculty Senate shall be formally consulted with sufficient prior notice, during the academic year, before any decision is made by OSU administration to sunset, restructure, or significantly alter programs as defined by the institutional Policy and Procedures for Program Reorganization or Elimination.”

The motion to amend passed with 78 ayes, 23 nays and 6 abstentions.

During the time for Senator comments before voting, Senator Rusty Root said he didn’t understand what the first motion was supposed to accomplish, claiming (the motion) just restates what is already in place.

In response, the presenter and original proposer of the motion Senator Gail Langellotto said that yes, there were already processes and procedures in place, and this motion affirms that procedures are important and should be followed.

Langellotto said the motion wasn’t asking for anything “out of thin air.”

Provost and Executive Vice President at OSU Roy Haggerty said he saw university administration engage in shared governance “countless times” and that they still do.

Haggerty further said if interpretations of shared governance were broadened, it would make running the university “impossible.”

The motion passed, as amended, with 63 ayes, 39 nays and four abstentions.

The second motion was presented by Senator Nick Fleury, who also first proposed it. In reference to Search having been folded into Human Resources, Fleury said the new program is inadequate.

Fleury said you can simply “scroll” through the entirety of HR’s Search training quiz. He further said there was no actual Search Advocate involved in the new training and there was no mention of a Criteria Matrix, which is an integral part of the program.

Senator Un-Ku Moon said there was a “large majority” in the College of Engineering that “felt bound by the constraints of the Search Advocate process” and that many people in his department were “happy” to see it go.

According to Senator Roberta Riportella, this motion would give the Faculty Senate an opportunity to stop the sunsetting process and see whether or not these programs are actually something that people want or not. 

Engels said motion two made space for a process for the two programs “in a way it should have happened.”

The motion passed with 60 ayes, 38 nays and six abstentions.

This is a developing story and The Barometer will follow as updates become available.