University at Albany, State University of New York
University Senate
MINUTES
Monday, December 18, 2006
Present:
J. Philippe Abraham, Joel Berkowitz, Tom Bessette, Scott Birge, Roger Bisbing,
Ana Cervantes-Rodriguez, Maria Chau (President GSO), Richard Collier, Edward Cupoli,
Diane M. Dewar, Sue Faerman, Nicholas Fahrenkopf, Sally Friedman, Mary Gallant, Robert
Gibson, Jil Hanifan, Susan Herbst, Anne Hildreth, Heather Horton, Reed Hoyt, Jon Jacklet,
Donald Keenan, Laurence Kranich, Kevin Lahey, William Lanford, Pamela Lee, Eric Lifshin,
Irene Lurie, Carolyn MacDonald, Steven Messner, John Monfasani, Joy Newman, Olimpia
Pelosi, Marjorie Pryse, Sanjay Putrevu, R. Michael Range, Joan Savitt, Lawrence Schell, John
Schmidt, David Shub, Lawrence Snyder, Scott Tenenbaum, Daniel Truchan, III, Wendy West,
Daniel White, Alissa Worden, Adam Zonder
Guests:
Jon Bartow, Paul Leonard, Sheila Mahan, Bruce Szelest
Minutes: The Minutes of November 27, 2006 were approved.
Provost’s Report, Presented by Susan Herbst, Officer In Charge:
Winter Commencement: Provost Herbst thanked faculty and staff members who worked at
Commencement and acknowledged the great speeches of Judge Wesley and the “last-minute”
speaker, Senator Charles Schumer.
Selective Investment: Provost Herbst reported that there are currently sixty-six proposals, which are
fewer than last year. It is hoped to have all available next week; they will be circulated to UPC.
Members of UPC will provide feedback to the Selective Investment Committee.
Second Annual Campus Reading Project: The book chosen this year is Elizabeth Kolbert's, Field Notes
from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change. William Hedberg is coordinating the
project. More to come; check the UAlbany website.
Elder Network: The Elder Network received a key state grant, $800,000. in funding. It will help
establish a sustainable community. More on this topic from Dean Briar Lawson soon.
“GetNANO” Initiative: An initiative with CNSE and Hudson Valley Community College, with a goal to
bring their students from HVCC to UAlbany to train them for the business world.
Student behavior at athletic events
: Provost Herbst reported that there have been reports of shouting of
obscenities at basketball games. The Student Association is willing to work with administration on
shaping up fan culture; possibly running a contest for creating some new, positive, and non-obscene
cheers.
Enrollment Management:
UAlbany’s response to the need for additional general education seats has paid off. There have been
3,000 new seats added for the fall and more than 2,000 for the spring. The Course Availability
Project has put a dent in the project. Applications for 2007 are very strong, at about 40 percent
ahead of last year. The University is seeing the effect of a new marketing approach and possibly
class AA sports; a lot of factors taken together. Provost Herbst thanked the faculty for a great
semester.
University Faculty Senate Report, presented by Senator William Lanford: Senator Lanford
introduced the SUNY-wide Senate Resolution on Enhancing SUNY Access to Electronic Databases,
noting that it was passed at last SUNY faculty Senate meeting. Senator Lanford noted other
university centers also endorse the Resolution. The Resolution came to the floor as a motion from
the Senate Executive Committee; it was seconded and passed unanimously.
Senate Chair’s Report, presented by Diane M. Dewar:
December 11, 2006 Special Senate Meeting: Chair Dewar announced the names of the six
members of the faculty who were nominated by the Senate at the meeting. The names have been
passed on to George Philip, the Chair of the University Council. No further information on the
Search Committee has been reported. The six Faculty Representatives are: Carol L. Anderson,
University Libraries, Diane M. Dewar, School of Public Health, Senate Chair, Reed Hoyt, Music
Department, Senate Chair-Elect, Sung Bok Kim, History Department, John Pipkin, Geography
and Planning Department , and R. Michael Range, Mathematics Department
College of Computing and Information: Chair Dewar reported that she met Dean Bloniarz to
discuss infrastructure issues for the college. Dean Bloniarz will meet with the
Senate Executive Committee in the spring to work on any issues Council members may have.
Academic Integrity and Honor Code Committee: Chair Dewar noted that she is still waiting for
faculty member volunteers to the Committee from councils that have not yet submitted any
names.
Council Reports:
CAA (Council on Academic Assessment): William Lanford, Chair. The CAA is working on
the following topics: CAA has completed reviewing assessments of Spanish and French. CAA is
currently reviewing assessments for Biology, Mathematics, and Geography and Planning. A
schedule for assessment of Project Renaissance has been developed. This should allow CAA to
receive a full assessment report during the present academic year. The Council has begun
discussion of providing comparative data that would allow individual course instructors to better
understand their own student course evaluations. UPC has also raised this topic. Bruce Szelest
has formed a committee involving CAA, UPC, and Institutional Research to discuss what can be
done. The committee has had its first meeting. The Council also discussed possible changes in
procedures that might make assessments more effective, including involvement of a Council
member from the beginning of the process (department self-study), to the end (reporting to the
CAA).
COR (Council on Research): Andrew Haas, Chair. Vice President Videka reported to the
Council on the status of the Indirect Cost Recovery at UAlbany. She noted also that the 2005-06
Council on Research approved a recommended proposal for revision to the ICR Distribution
policy, which is currently under consideration. Mary Louise Malice, former Secretary of the
Senate Financial Committee, was introduced. She will oversee the development of the East
Campus. The Council on Research voted to forward the conference/Journal and FRAP
Committee’s recommendations for funding to the Vice President for Research. The Voice of the
PI Forum was held on December 5. The forum was a joint collaboration of Lynn Videka, Vice
President for Research, Kathy Lowery, Vice President for Finance and Business, and Cheryl Frye
and David Strogatz, Co-Chairs of the Researchers Liaison Committee, a subcommittee of the
Council on Research. A summary of the forum will be sent to deans, department chairs, and PIs.
Those who were not able to attend can share their ideas and insights at
http://www.albany/research.edu.
CPCA (Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments): David Shub, Chair. Chair
Shub reported that CPCA had its first meeting of semester to consider the only case this semester
and that it will have 46 cases for next semester.
GAC (Graduate Academic Council): Sally Friedman, Chair. At the November 30 GAC
meeting, two items took up most of the agenda. GAC voted to agree to a request to suspend
admissions to the PhD program in Organizational Studies (a request also being considered by
UPC). The Council also engaged in a lengthy discussion (to be continued) reviewing the writing
proficiency requirements for international students. Finally, because GAC sponsored the
relevant Senate bill, the Council briefly began a discussion of GAC’s ongoing role in monitoring
the activities of the recently created Ombuds Office for graduate students.
GOV (Governance Council): Reed Hoyt, Chair. The proposed amendments to the University
Senate Charter were emailed to University Senators and will be considered today in New
Business.
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing): Daniel White, Chair.
LISC met on Nov. 17, 2006 to continue discussion about a resolution for e-mail as an official
means of communication. No action was taken at the time of the meeting. The Dean and
Director of Libraries provided an extensive report about the state of affairs in the University
Libraries. This report will be available in the minutes posted on the Senate website. Highlights
from this report include: Libraries were able to maintain rank as a top one-hundred library in a
report by the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) that appeared in the Chronicle of Higher
Education, the Libraries will announce the need to begin the process to trim subscription costs in
January (the shortfall is again in the $500,000 zone), and Final exam week the University
Library will be open 24/7. Dean D’Andraia indicated that on Tuesday, 12 December the University
Library began operating on a 24 hour basis. Preliminary data show that students are making good
use of the Libraries during these times. Dean D’Andraia notes “Tuesday night more than 400
students entered the building between 1:00AM and 7:00AM Wednesday, 13 December over 1000
students entered the building between 1:00AM and 7:00AM. Students used study space on all four
levels of the University Library. At 2:00AM, 95 % of our computer work stations were in use. At
3:00AM, about 90% of our computers were in use. Our data indicates students were accessing
resources on line throughout the night. Students also checked out all available lap tops on Wednesday
night.” The CIO has also reported a very positive response to her request for student
involvement in a Student Advisory board. There were over 100 responses and the CIO’s staff is
developing ways to include all of these students in the advisory process. LISC will begin
meeting again in late January or early February.
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council): John Monfasani, Chair. The UAC approved
three proposals to bring to the Senate for a vote: one concerns a revision of post-matriculation
transfer credit policy; another is a revision of the membership of the Honors College's Governing
Board; and a third is a revision of admission requirements to the School of Business. The texts
have been distributed electronically to members of the Senate. Also, the UAC has under
discussion the issues of how particular courses get accepted as UNI 150 and of the reform of Gen
Ed requirements.
ULC (University Life Council): Joan Savitt, Chair. ULC has no bills to present at this point.
It is struggling with how to implement a mandatory health insurance rule without pricing
students out of our market, having learned that Albany is already more expensive that any of the
other SUNY university centers and also having learned that our financially poorest students
already have a $1000 gap between their maximum aid and our current costs. The Council would
like to bring to the table a question about how Albany might work to reduce its other fees. Who
sets the comprehensive fee now? Who could change it?
UPC (University Planning and Policy Council): Steven Messner, Chair. UPC met on
November 30. The Council approved a proposal to create an Undergraduate Ombuds Office.
This proposal will be introduced as a bill at today’s Senate meeting. The council also discussed a
proposal from Professor Gary Yukl, Director of the Organizational Studies Doctoral Program, to
suspend admissions to that program. Professor Yukl and Dean Marjorie Pryse attended part of
the meeting to provide background information and to answer questions from council members.
The council voted unanimously to recommend that the Senate approve the proposal to suspend
admissions to the Organizational Studies Doctoral Program.
CAFFECoR (Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of Expression, and Community
Responsibility): Lawrence Snyder, Chair. The Chair of CAFFECoR met with Erika Snyder, a
reporter for the Albany Student Press, ASP. She will be writing an article soon on academic
freedom, political correctness, and the possible role of CAFFECoR for undergraduates.
CERS (Committee on Ethics in Research and Scholarship): Elga Wulfert, Chair.
Nothing to report.
New Business:
Senate Bill 0607-03:
Proposed Amendments of Charter Sections SX 3 and SX 7
. Introduced by
Governance Council Chair, Reed Hoyt. The bill passed, with one opposition and two
abstentions.
Senate Bill 0607-04: Establishment of an Ombuds Office for Undergraduates. Introduced by
UPC Chair, Steven Messner. There was discussion on the liability of the person giving advice.
Professor Messner noted that University Counsel J. Reilly addressed this issue with UPC and
noted that the Ombuds representative will lead students to where they should go for advice, they
will not offer advice. After further discussion, Dean Pryse suggested there be a coordinated
training committee with the undergraduate and graduate Ombuds offices, which would cover
liability and the role of the Ombudsperson. Student Senator, Dan Truchan voiced concerns
regarding documentation / liability. Dean Faerman agreed that coordination between the
undergraduate and graduate Ombuds Offices is important. There was a motion to approve the
bill; it was approved with two abstentions.
Senate Bill 0607-05: Proposed Revision of Membership of the Honors College Governing
Board. The bill was introduced by UAC Chair, John Monfasani. The bill passed unanimously.
Senate Bill 0607-06:
Revision of
Post-Matriculation Transfer Credit Policy
. The bill was introduced by
UAC Chair, John Monfasani. The bill passed unanimously.
Senate Bill 0607-07:
Business Admissions Proposal
. The bill was introduced by UAC Chair, John
Monfasani. There was lengthy discussion on this bill regarding placing caps on admissions.
Dean Leonard spoke in favor of the bill and explained that this bill refers to an accreditation
issue, and about the student teacher ratio. The bill passed, with two abstentions. An amendment
that was brought to the floor, proposing that the UPC and UAC look in to whether a department
should be allowed to place caps on admissions was further discussed. The amendment to the
billed also passed, and the UPC and UAC will look in to the matter of caps on admissions to
certain majors.
Senate Bill 0607-08: Proposed Suspension of Admissions to the Organizational Studies Doctoral
program. The bill was introduced by UPC Chair, Steven Messner. Professor Messner reported
that both GAC and UPC recommend this action to the Senate. Professor Yukl and Dean Pryse
spoke in favor of the bill. The bill passed with five abstentions.
Respectfully submitted,
Jayne VanDenburgh, Recorder
