FACULTY SENATE

The Faculty Senate approved the following resolution from the Social Responsibility Committee on April 12, 2023: 

WHEREAS Northwestern has expressed a strong commitment to sustainability and sound environmental policy;

WHEREAS Evanston’s City Council adopted a Bird Friendly Building Design Ordinance in September 2022, which proposed new buildings adopt measures such as plastic film on windows to reduce their risk to birds;

WHEREAS Judy Pollock, president of the Chicago Audubon Society and member of Bird-Friendly Evanston, has stated that some of Evanston’s most dangerous buildings for birds were built on Northwestern’s campus;

WHEREAS the Associated Student Government’s Sustainability Committee’s October 2022 Petition to Make Mudd Library Bird Safe notes that “Every year, over 700 birds are killed or injured by flying into buildings at Northwestern as they migrate in the fall and spring. This is because birds do not understand windows; when they see a reflection of a lake, trees, or sky, they believe they can safely continue flying;”

WHEREAS patterned plastic film with dense enough patterns reduces bird collisions by discouraging birds from trying to fly through the gaps;

WHEREAS the ASG’s Sustainability Committee’s October 2022 Petition to Make Mudd Library Bird Safe has received “857 student signatures for the petition, 35 of which were submitted on behalf of a student organization” and the ASG Senate passed resolution on legislation on February 2023 aiming to reduce bird collisions with Mudd Library;

WHEREAS Northwestern University expressed a commitment to implement strategies to reduce bird collisions on campus in its “Bird-Friendly Action Plan” updated in March 2019, and has installed bird-friendly measures at Ryan Fieldhouse, Walter Athletics Center, Kellogg Global Hub, Frances Searle, and Segal Visitors Center landscape plans;

WHEREAS bird-friendly measures have yet to be taken at Mudd Library and the Allen Center, despite a study showing they are among the top three buildings with the highest recorded collisions;

WHEREAS research on effective ways to reduce bird-building collisions is evolving;

BE IT RESOLVED, that the Faculty Senate requests the university take immediate steps to install bird-friendly measures at Mudd Hall and the Allen Center as soon as resources are available, to utilize stop-gap measures while waiting for said resources to be available, and to undertake regular reviews of the effectiveness of the bird-friendly measures approximately every five years to ensure Northwestern remains a committed steward of the Lake Michigan migratory bird flyway.

The Faculty Senate approved the following resolution from the Educational Affairs Committee on March 8, 2023:

WHEREAS 5% of students at the 100 most selective colleges are community college transfer students, and available data suggests that Northwestern lags its peers in admitting students from this population; 

WHEREAS the Community College population has a higher share of under-represented minorities and students from lower socioeconomic status than the current Northwestern student body; 

WHEREAS increased enrollment of Community College students has support from faculty, the Associated Student Government, Deans’ Offices, and the Provost; 

WHEREAS Northwestern currently admits transfer students from many sorts of colleges, including Community Colleges, and these students are academically successful at Northwestern; 

WHEREAS transfer students admitted to Northwestern face a high degree of uncertainty around articulation and application of previously completed college credits, as well as challenges in adapting to the culture, calendar, and climate at Northwestern; 

WHEREAS current processes for articulation of transfer credits are inefficient and time-consuming for faculty and staff; 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT Northwestern collect data about the admissions pipeline and student experience for all transfer students, with particular attention to transfer students from community colleges. 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT by July of 2023 Northwestern make public and allow to be disseminated lists of courses that have already been approved by faculty for transfer credit. 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT by the start of the 2024-2025 academic year, Northwestern evaluate procedures for the articulation of transfer credit to improve efficiency and transparency for all transfer students. 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT Northwestern create advising positions dedicated to the support of transfer students and increase staff positions to support credit articulation.