2016-2017 University Senate
Monday, April 3, 2017
2:45 pm, Assembly Hall
James Collins, Chair
MINUTES
Present: Adams, Marcus; Atrey, Pradeep; Carlos, Balsas; Brandon, Peter; Chan, Keith;
Collins, James;
Craig, Allison; Cruz, Jose; Collins, James; Craig, Allison; Durio, Saben; Earle,
Keith; Fabris, Daniele; Fox, Cynthia; Giboney, Justin; Green, Cathleen;
Lawrence, Zina; Lizotte, Alan; Mallia, Mary Ellen; Mamorella, David; Marler,
Janet; Martinez, Maritza; McNutt, Louise-Anne; Moore, Chris;
Pastore, Christopher; Petry, Greta; Poehlmann, Christian; Prelow, Hazel;
Reinhold, Karin;
Rosenswig, Robert; Sergay, Timothy D.; Shi, Hua; Skebe, Alifair; Smith, Christy;
Spencer, Latonia;
Tchernev, Alexandre; Turan, Merve (GSA delegate); Vergari, Sandra; Wharram,
Dawn;
Guests: Hyde, James; Vero, Ron; Feng, Wenhui; Murray, Ann Marie; Carter, Jennifer;
LaValley, Celine; Winchester, Kathie; Jewell, Carol
The meeting convened at 2:47 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Quorum was not reached, and so the approval of minutes was tabled until
the next meeting.
INTERIM PROVOST’S REPORT - DARRELL WHEELER
Ann Marie Murray, Associate Provost for Program Development and Service
Professor, reported that Interim Provost Wheeler was away for a
professional meeting and sent his regrets for not being able to attend. Dr.
Murray reviewed his written report, submitted as follows:
Research Forum
Last week, the office of the Vice President for Research convened a forum on the state
of research at the University. This meeting, attended by about 75, parallels other
forums we have had and begins a larger discussion we will continue to have on
supporting our research and scholarly activities across the university.
International Programming
As a reminder, if you are planning or have scheduled an international travel associated
with course work or with your own scholarship, please speak with members of our
International Education Office (Harvey Charles) to (1) make sure they are aware of your
program and can report on it accurately; and (2) assure that we are all in compliance
with UAlbany, SUNY etc. policies.
Strategic Planning
o There will be a strategic planning steering committee and expedition writing teams
meeting in April with our consultant Rob Brodnick for in-depth work. This work will
provide the backbone for the first draft of our strategic plan.
o We will continue to keep you updated on this and as always, you can find
information on the website:
http://www. albany.edu/strategicplan/strategic.planning.documents.shtml
Commencement
We will continue working with units on the 2017 commencement for spring to assure
the best experience possible for students and their families.
Dean’s Searches
o SoB - On-campus interviews are nearing an end - updates will follow.
o SPH - Review of the applications for a vendor are in progress. This is allow us to
advance the search. More information will be provided as we move forward.
Budget
The Budget Reconciliation reviews with the units will occur in the next several weeks.
These meetings with the Provost, Deans, Fiscal and Enrollment VPs (undergraduate and
graduate) will assist in establishing enrollment and budgetary targets that are based on
best data available and shared responsibilities between the units and the Provost’s
office.
Dr. Murray responded to questions related to international travel and
policies.
UNIVERSITY SENATE CHAIR’S REPORT - James Collins, Chair
Informational
1. On March 4 and 6, Chair Collins received communications from CPCA Chair Louise-
Anne McNutt, Immediate Past Chair Cynthia Fox, and Parliamentarian Ron Vero
about issues involved in redesigning CPCA’s workload. This was discussed at the
SEC meeting on March 20, and will be subject of a CPCA open meeting on April 6.
2. On March 7, Chair Collins had a conference call with University Council Chair
Michael Castellana about insuring Senate input to the Presidential Search process.
3. On March 13 and 20, Chair Collins communicated with Kathie Winchester, support
staff for UAC, about the schedule of annual Undergraduate Bulletin revisions as it
concerns the scheduling of academic administrative changes (e.g. departmental
name changes).
4. On March 15, Chair Collins confirmed April 20" as the date for the Spring Faculty
Meeting with Alice Oldfather, Assistant to the President for Strategic
Communication.
5. On March 16 Chair Collins met with Senate Officers (Cynthia Fox, Karin Reinhold,
and Chris Poehlmann) to discuss bylaws amendments, Senate elections, the SEC
meeting on March 20, and the CGL (Campus Governance Leadership) meeting on
March 22.
6. On March 21, Chair Collins moderated a well-attended and lively forum on
Contingent Faculty Concerns from 3-4:30 in the Campus Center Assembly Hall.
There was a ‘frank and open ’ exchange of ideas and opinions about administrative,
union, and senate efforts improve compensation, job security and professional
working conditions of the 500+ part-time and contingent faculty . They comprise a
slight majority of the teaching faculty at the University, and teach a majority of
undergraduates.
7. On March 22, Chair Collins, Vice Chair Reinhold, and Immediate Past Chair Fox met
with for a regular CGL meeting with Provost Wheeler and Chief of Staff Szelest.
Topics included the Spring Faculty Meeting, review of academic administrative
units, proposed amendments to faculty bylaws, gathering information from the
Council of Deans about evaluation of part-time and contingent faculty teaching, and
the Senate website.
II. Actions taken
a. The SEC endorsed a long-term effort to develop an archive of Senate Council
and Committee operating procedures, in order to improve ‘institutional
memory’ across successive iterations of Councils and Committees.
b. The SEC endorsed a long-term effort to develop a feasible practice of regular
reporting by Councils and Committees, including the uploading of agendas,
minutes, and meeting schedules to the Senate website, in order to make the
work of the Senate more transparent and accessible.
c. The SEC endorsed a GAC request for information from various administrative
units for information on the size, origin, and financial, economic and
intellectual contributions of international students, faculty, and staff to
UAlbany.
Ill. Recommendations for actions
a. In order to improve the quality and consistency of Senate work, as well as
attendance at Senate meetings, the Senate leadership should meet with Chairs of
Councils and Committees at the beginning of each academic year to discuss the
rights and responsibilities of their office and the availability of information about the
conduct of their respective Councils and Committees.
b. In order to improve the ability of the Senate to function, including fostering regular
attendance at Council, Committee, and Senate Meetings, the Chair of the Senate
should meet at the beginning and end of each semester with the Presidents of the
Student Assembly and the Graduate Student Assembly, and any leadership groups
they wish to convene, in order to discuss how best to coordinate and conduct the
work of a University Senate, which includes these large, independent Assemblies.
Chair Collins noted that the March 21 Contingent Concerns Forum was
excellent and well attended. He reminded 1) that the elections were open and
reviewed voting procedures, and 2) the spring faculty meeting was scheduled
for April 20 from 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. The Chair updated that recommendations for
candidates and candidate questions for the Presidential search were solicited
and could be entered via the search webpage. Chair Collins agreed with GSA’s
recommendation to modify item III. b. above to suggest that the Chair also
meet with the GSA lead Senator who manages GSA Senate membership.
OTHER REPORTS
UFS (University Faculty Senate) - Diane Hamilton, Walter Little &
Latonia Spencer, SUNY Senators
* Nothing to report
GSA (Graduate Student Association) - Saben Durio, GSA President
* Nothing reported
Lead Senator Dawn Wharram shared the following letter that had been
recently submitted by a GSA taskforce to Interim President Stellar:
Dear President Stellar,
We are writing to you on behalf of a Task Force designated by UAlbany Graduate
Student Association (GSA) in light of the recent Presidential Executive Order (EO,
hereafter), in anticipation of any new Executive Orders (NEO, hereafter), and the recent
memos. We would like to thank you for your visit to the GSA Assembly in the fall as well
as your emails keeping our community up-to-date on the issues facing our DACA
(Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), refugee and international students. Our Task
Force has the following questions:
1. You indicated when you visited the GSA Assembly in the fall that the designation of
UAlbany as a Sanctuary Campus must come from the SUNY Board of Trustees (BOT,
hereafter). What steps has the UAlbany administration taken to urge the SUNY BOT to
make this designation?
2. The State Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, issued a guidance for local law
enforcement agencies regarding their constitutional rights to not comply with federal
agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border
Protection. What steps has UAlbany taken to train not only Campus Safety, but any
relevant professional staff on campus on this guidance?
3. What has UAlbany done or will UAlbany do to raise awareness and support for
affected students — legally, educationally, emotionally (in terms of general well-being
as well as mental health), and in consideration of universal human rights? Relatedly,
what public conversations about the EO, NEO, and memos does UAlbany plan to hold?
4. In what ways will UAlbany work with the SUNY System to ensure the safety of DACA,
refugee, and international students, especially regarding EOs, NEOs, and memos, now
and in the future?
5. What steps is the UAlbany administration taking to ensure that affected students
suffer no financial or academic penalties/difficulties?
6. How will UAlbany ensure that that affected students do not lose funding from either
the Graduate Student Support Fund or the Research Foundation as a result of any EO,
NEO or memo?
7. What guarantees will UAlbany offer for graduate students to defend
theses/dissertations from abroad under circumstances connected to the recent EO,
NEOs, and memos?
8. What resources, assistance, and support will UAlbany provide for DACA, refugee, and
international students concerned about family members (especially spouses and
children) in light of the EOs and memos?
We would like, in light of these questions, to offer our support for the faculty petition
advocating specific measures for strengthening SUNY policy.
We look forward to your responses. Thank you.
The GSA Assembly Task Force UAlbany as a Sanctuary Campus
SA (Student Association) - Felix Abreu, Student Association
President
* Nothing reported
COUNCIL/COMMITTEE CHAIRS’ REPORTS
CAA (Council on Academic Assessment) - Alifair Skebe, Chair
CAA met Tuesday, March 7.
1. New Business
a. Approved minutes from February meeting
b. Approved two reports by APRC
c. Gen Ed Fall assessments are on track
2. Old Business
a. Re-reviewed both the UUP report on the Use of SIRFs in Teaching Evaluations
and 2016 Survey on Shared Governance
3. Actions Taken
a. Voted to establish an Ad Hoc Committee to review Part-time/Contingent
assessment of teaching in performance review
b. Invited Contingents Working Group “Pathways to Permanence” to next council
meeting
c. Next meeting April 12, 9-1lam AS 122
CAFFECoR (Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of
Expression, and Community Responsibility) -Carol Jewell, Chair
* Nothing reported
CERS (Committee on Ethics in Research and Scholarship) - Michael
Jerison, Chair
* Nothing to report
COR (Council on Research) - Daniele Fabris, Chair
* CoR has received the Spring applications for the Benevolent Award. The
subcommittee in charge of providing recommendations will meet on Apr 3.
« The subcommittee on Centers, Institutes, and Specialized Laboratories will meet on
Apr 13.
CPCA (Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments) -
Louise-Anne McNutt, Chair
* Discussion of possible change in Charter related to organization of CPCA will occur
on April 6th, at 9:30 AM. Location TBD.
Chair McNutt added that the meeting would take place in UNH 108 at 9:45
and that anyone was welcome.
GAC (Graduate Academic Council) - James Fossett, Chair
* Nothing reported
GOV (Governance Council) - Karin Reinhold, Chair
Mar 13th Maritza Martinez was added to the list of nominees for Open At-Large Senators
after a successful petition to add her name with 29 signatures.
Mar 20th Meeting of SEC:
* What should be in the Senate website?
We are proposing that the website should have calendar of Council meetings. It turns out
that many councils do not meet regularly.
* SEC endorsed the councils’ reporting of agenda and minutes on the website.
* Presidential search: there is still time to forward input to M. Castellana about your
concerns or suggestions. For example, you could send names of possible candidates or
sample questions to ask candidates. The search committee is working on a common set of
questions to ask all candidates. Since there is no contingent faculty in the search
committee, J. Collins suggested adding 2 questions about part time faculty.
* There was a question about the role of the Senate on assessment of part time faculty.
SIRF scores are the only tool used for evaluation of part time teaching faculty. Best
practice in our own guidelines for hiring: peer review of teaching every 3 semesters.
* CPCA is considering changing it structure for more efficient review of cases and reducing
work overload of members. This will be discussed during the meeting of April 6.
Gov’s procedures to be included in handbook:
* Online procedure to add nominees for senators at-large.
http://www. petitionbuzz.com/petitions
* Orientation meeting of Councils and standing committees’ chairs at the beginning of the
academic year to inform about reporting procedures, and general guidelines of council
chairs responsibilities.
* Meeting with SA and GSA presidents at the beginning of each semester to update student
senator rosters. There is a high turn-around of student senators leaving councils and
committees without appropriate student representation.
GAC requested information about contribution of immigrants: number, countries of origin,
financial and intellectual contribution of international students, faculty and staff to
UAlbany. GSA’s chair suggested that the President should consider making a
statement regarding our support and acknowledging their contributions.
Mar 20th Announcement of Faculty Bylaws amendments.
Mar 21st Streamlining requests for volunteers for shared governance: google form.
Mar 21st: forum on contingent concerns: J. Collins, Professor of Anthropology & Chair of
the University Senate, was the moderator. William Hedberg, Senior Vice Provost for
Academic Affairs, Chair of Implementation Team of Provost’s Blue Ribbon Panel on
Contingent Concerns, talked about the gains achieved with the work of the Blue Ribbon
Panels, Bret Benjamin, Associate Professor of English, President of Albany Chapter of
United University Professions , talked about the work UUP has done advancing the cause of
UUP most vulnerable members, the contingent faculty; Holly McKenna, Lecturer,
Department of Communication, Member of University Senate and Contingent Concerns
Committee of Albany Chapter of United University Professions (UUP), talked about the
plight of contingent faculty, Caitlin Janiszewski added the graduate students’ perspective
and Karin Reinhold, Associate Professor, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Chair
of Governance Council of the University Senate, talked about the work the Governance
Council towards voting privileges of part time faculty. Provost Darrell asked the audience
what can be done to change the culture within departments to have more participation of
contingent faculty and more recognition of their work. Answers included: inviting more
engagement of contingent faculty, having intentional dialogs that address this issue,
bringing the dialog outside the circle of already committed individuals, bring the dialog to
Deans and Department Chairs and heads of Units. Keep improving the remuneration and
path to permanency. Encourage research and access to resources for research.
Mar 22nd Assessment of administrative units. The Senate will have 1 or 2 representatives
in the Assessment Advisory Committee. It is advised that those representatives have
knowledge of the Senate, program reviews and assessment. Prior Senate leaders, UPPC,
GOV and CAA are appropriate choices.
Mar 22nd Leadership meeting.
Decanal 360 review is in the process of discussing parameters of evaluations. This review is
internal to UAlbany, whereas the assessment of administrative units is involved with
Middle States Accreditation. Minnesota has a pilot program in place. Consultation with the
legal department is underway because of fear of FOIL requests of the reviews. Rules of
items that are foilable are governed by NY State law, and are different than Minnesota’s.
Plans for the Spring Faculty Meeting are underway. It will have a conversational format
with the President, the Provost and past Immediate Chair of Senate, moderated by Chair of
the Senate. Questions from the audience will be welcomed.
Proposal to videotape senate meetings may have unintended consequences. Procedures to
communicate the content of the Senate meetings should be re-addressed. Consultation with
the legal department is recommended.
The question of quorum was revised and promoted the question of efficacy of student
participation in the Senate. A question to consider is whether the composition of the Senate
is appropriate.
Next meeting of website working group: March 30th.
Chair Reinhold reviewed the elections slate and proposed bylaws,
explaining the intention of enfranchising PT faculty in the voting process.
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing) -
David Mamorella, Chair
¢ LISC will meet on March 27.
Chair Mamorella added that LISC had met and would reporting next time.
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) -Karen Kiorpes and Christy
Smith, Co-Chairs
UAC met on 3/23. It reviewed and approved a proposal from Political Science for changes
to the major by adding five new concentrations. It also reviewed and approved proposals
under Rockefeller College, one for a Combined BA/MA in Political Science and
International Affairs and one in Public Policy & Management and International Affairs. The
Curriculum and Honors Committee reported that earlier in the month, it approved changes
to the Public Policy & Management BA where students can opt to complete a 36 credit
stand-alone major, identical to the current core courses that currently exist but where
students declare a minor instead of an additional 18 credits for concentrations within the
department. The General Education Committee recently reviewed and approved General
Education Course Proposals. The Committee on Academic Standing continues to meet
every two weeks to review student petitions and will begin to meet weekly after the last
day to drop semester-length courses.
University Life Council) - Ekow King, Chair
« The next ULC meeting is on Monday, March 27th.
UPPC (University Planning and Policy Council) - Cynthia Fox, Chair
4. Informational
a. At its meeting of March 8, the Council heard reports from the Interim Provost,
the Vice President for Finance and Administration, the Facilities Committee, and
the Resource Analysis and Planning Committee and considered program
proposals from Rockefeller College and from the Center for International
Education and Global Strategy. The recent Presidential Conversation on the role
of the Arts and Humanities in a public research university was discussed as part
of the Chair’s report.
b. At its next meeting (March 29), the Council will hear a report on the recent
UAlbany Branding Survey; consider a proposal to formally register the faculty-
initiated concentration in Interdisciplinary Studies as a BS in Public Health;
consider a proposal to create a minor in Educational Policy and Leadership
(SOE); and provide consultation on the draft plan for the assessment of
administrative units.
5. Actions Taken
a. The Council voted unanimously to approve proposals for two BA/MA programs :
i. BA in political Science/ MA in International Affairs
ii. BA in Public Policy/MA in International Affairs
b. The Council voted unanimously to endorse a proposal for the Global Science and
Engineering Program that would create a dual degree in STEM/LANGUAGE.
Completed over five years, the program would include a mandatory one
semester study/one semester internship abroad.
c. Chair Fox has circulated the recently released final report of the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences’ Commission on Language Learning : America’s
Languages: Investing in Language Learning for the 21st Century.
6. Recommendations
a. None at this time.
Chair Fox added that UPPC had met on March 29" and voted to approve the
proposal to formally register the faculty-initiated concentration in
Interdisciplinary Studies as a BS in Public Health. She reported that UPPC’s
last scheduled meeting would take place on April 12, with a proposal for a
minor in Education Policy on the agenda. Because many coming proposals
would be drawing on CAS resources, Dean Wulfert was invited to attend that
meeting to discuss the issue. Chair Fox underlined that any proposals for
consideration at the next Senate meeting were needed by April 5.
NEW BUSINESS
Greta Petry, on behalf of UUP, announced a UUP sponsored walk to benefit
the St. Vincent DePaul food pantry and invited individuals to register at the
UUP website.
ADJOURNMENT
The Senate adjourned at 3:39 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Elisa Lopez, Recorder
