1
UNIVERSITY POLICY AND PLANNING COUNCIL
2009-10 CHAIR: JOHN DELANO
APRIL 9, 2010
MEETING MINUTES
PRESENT: I. Murakami, E. Eisenbraun, B. Shaw, M. Range, P. Ferlo, R. Bangert-Drowns, R. Johnson,
S. Birge, J. Fossett, J. Delano, D. Wagner, S. Beditz, S. Phillips
GUESTS: None
MINUTES: Minutes of March 26, 2010 approved with revisions
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS REPORT
No report was given
CHAIR’S REPORT
No report was given
Status of UPPC Budget Data Motion from 3/26/10 meeting
Dr. Delano updated the council on the status of the proposal that was personally delivered to the
President’s office on March 29th. Dr. Delano reported that he had received a telephone call from Vince
Delio confirming receipt of the motion. Dr. Delano has followed up with Mr. Delio and has not yet
received a reply. Chair Range has also contacted Mr. Delio, who relayed that the request had been
forwarded onto Financial Management and Budget; a response is anticipated early next week.
Discussion of Organizational Studies Ph.D. Reactivation Proposal
Dr. Delano introduced the proposal as a reactivation of a program that had voluntarily suspended
admission into the program within the last couple of years, noting that the GAC has voted in favor of
reinstituting the program from the academic quality perspective with unanimous approval. UPPC will
focus on the resource implications of program reactivation. Dean Siegel from the School of Business
(SOB) will attend the UPPC meeting on April 23rd to address questions. Dr. Delano will relay any
‘flags’ that may come up during discussion today to Dean Siegel prior to the next meeting so that the
concerns may be properly addressed. Dr. Wagner expressed an interest in explanation given in the
proposal for anticipation that SOB would be able to fund this program from other sources. How much
does ‘large part’ mean, and is that proportion likely to be maintained long term or is this likely to draw
resources from graduate stipend funds. Dr. Fossett asked how much of a cross-subsidy is there in the
program design – a lot of what is driving the program seems to be participation by non-compensated,
non-SOB faculty. He asked whether there would be reciprocation of course availability for students in
other programs. Dr. Johnson, as a faculty member in this program, spoke to the resource allocation
2
question – he felt that the Dean would like to retain that external funding proportion over time.
Admissions to the program were suspended in 2007 or 2008; historically Psychology had been actively
involved in leading and chairing dissertations in Organizational Studies. Currently, mostly Management
department faculty members handle the work with tangential involvement from external faculty. Part of
the goal is to expand more offerings within SOB; another goal is cross-pollination – the more we (SOB)
can partner with other disciplines to bring students in, the better.
Dr. Delano noted that only 4-5 admissions are anticipated per year, and wondered if the program could
have credible numbers with that volume. Dr. Fossett commented that the multi-department
arrangement offers a way to assemble critical mass. Dr. Johnson concurred that this would strengthen
the program. Dr. Range posed a question regarding low program expenses – he would like more
specific data regarding which courses students would be enrolled in, and would like to see supportive
statements from other departments involved. Dr. Shaw inquired about history of deactivation /
reactivation in a short period of time. Dr. Wagner noted that this particular program deactivation does
not seem to fit the pattern of other deactivations the Council has seen. Dean Bangert-Drowns
cautioned that the Council should be sensitive to trying to avoid stifling academic initiative in the
departments, expressing his support of reactivating the program since the deactivation reasons may
not have been fully vetted. Dean Bangert-Drowns also raised the question of finances coming from
external sources, and asked the Council to revisit funding sustainability plans. Dr. Delano was
favorably impressed with idea of external GA funding, but wondered if there is there a backup plan
should the funding not materialize. He also asked whether the organizational studies program itself is
accredited (it is not subject to accreditation). The Council agreed that the proposal is not seeking
additional faculty hires, which Dr. Johnson confirmed. Dr. Johnson pointed out that senior doctoral
students serve as faculty in introductory courses – the accrediting board would see ABD’s (All But
Dissertation) as better qualified to teach. This issue will be noted for Dean Siegel’s input at the April
23rd meeting.
UPPC Views on Public Higher Education Empowerment and Innovation Act
Dr. Delano requested that the Council share their perspectives on the empowerment and innovation act
presentation that Mr. Delio presented at the March 26th UPPC meeting. Dr. Range expressed his
support of the principles expressed in the act; the resolution mentions that certain areas need to be
addressed more carefully; what does differential tuition mean exactly, i.e. additional costs for particular
programs would be imposed on all students on a particular campus, and whether doctoral programs or
other specific programs should be singled out. Dr. Fossett posed a question of fact – how far does this
act envision transfer of discretion – are we proposing to move towards a decentralized campus based
3
model that other state university systems use, or does power devolve to SUNY Central. Mr. Beditz
responded that tuition would stay on campus. The framework is there; policy decisions have not been
discussed in detail. At this point it is unclear how much SUNY Central would be involved. Provost
Phillips pointed out two issues 1) Rational tuition increase, a systematic indexed increase without
legislative approval (1.5x hepi index). 2) Differential Tuition policy – charge differently for programs, 4
year vs. comprehensive, etc. – equity of access and cost issues from a consumer perspective. We
may get to campus differential, but the program differential would be a logistical nightmare. Many of
the tuition decisions may be handled by the trustees.
Dean Bangert-Drowns inquired as to whether there would be a University Senate resolution issued
regarding the Empowerment Act. Dr. Delano suggested that the Council could carry a ‘sense’ of UPPC
support to Senate, but nothing formal at this point. Dean Bangert-Drowns spoke in favor of our Senate
taking a positive stance toward this resolution. The University position is very thoughtful; it does
endorse the principles behind the proposal and enunciates the line items. Dean Bangert-Drowns favors
recommending that UPPC takes a detached stance to support principles embodied in the act. Dr.
Wagner echoed this support, and raised the point that United University Professions (UUP) is not
supporting the proposal. In light of this, UPPC needs to be explicit about our support in contrast to the
union position. Dr. Range noted that as the faculty is the membership of UUP, the position has been
determined by union leadership and not the membership – this is how we can express a view
independent of the union leadership. He further stated that the resolution seems good, but noted that
so far it has only been passed by the SUNY wide Executive Committee; a very small body. If posed to
the SUNY wide Senate later this semester, there will likely be differing opinions; we should wait until the
plenary meeting is done. The UAlbany Senate may see it in May. Dr. Bangert-Drowns sees a UAlbany
Senate endorsement as potentially influencing the SUNY wide Senate decision. Dr. Wagner
commented that the system is so much larger, and comprised of entities that do not have the same
character of the centers; he sees the other campuses as having more influence with UUP. Dr. Fossett
opined that the influence of the other campuses makes it even more important that we make an
aggressive stance toward adopting the decentralized mode of governance and finance is one that’s in
place everywhere else; if you look at the great public universities, they could not have emerged under
the governance system that we have. This is the biggest obstacle to our growth and emergence on the
national scene.
Dr. Delano noted that historically, SUNY funding has been inversely proportional to tuition; we should
be alert to the historical trend. We are in crisis this year with a backing away in funding and must look at
the financial context of the proposal – the Governor sees this as a cost saving measure for the state
4
budget. Dr. Delano asked Provost Phillips about where our tuition would need to be when state support
zeros out. Dr. Phillips responded that it would be somewhere in the $10k range. Dr. Fossett strongly
approved of that number as it still makes us a bargain as compared to other public institutions. Dr.
Wagner agreed with the analysis of the inverted relationship – as long as we continue to operate under
the control of the governor and legislature, our hands are tied and our only response is to move for
greater independence so we can set our house in order to garner greater control. The lower state
support gets, the worse off we will be. Dean Bangert-Drowns stated that this proposal feels like a
historic moment – taking the radical stand might lose support from the other campuses, but the SUNY
Executive Committee stand is very balanced, and he would like to endorse it. Dr. Delano praised the
innovation component - although we would not be the first to try that, he would like to see what
institutions have done this in some form and how they have fared; has it been as good as we hope it
would be, or are there problems. Mr. Ferlo expressed his support for the program – the SUNY
Executive Committee clearly took time with this and the recommendations are sound. Dr. Range
queried whether the Council would like to put a resolution on the table for Monday’s Senate meeting
and see where it goes. Dean Bangert-Drowns asked if it would be beneficial to have it come from
UPPC. Dr. Delano asked called a straw vote to get a sense of the council’s support of the SUNY wide
Executive Committee statement. A show of hands indicated that UPPC unanimously favors the
position.
Planned Budget Cuts
A request has been made from Ken O’Brien (SUNY Senate) to campus leaders; they would like latest
info regarding campus planned budget cuts by Monday. Provost Phillips has not been provided with
numbers or campuses to target – we have the information that George put out last week regarding BAG
III, but we don’t have our dollar target from SUNY yet. If the Executive Budget goes through, $152
million SUNY wide cut, but our portion is not year clear. Dr. Fossett recommended that we put out one
of our ‘death spiral’ worst case scenarios – i.e. shuttering one-fifth of CAS or closing SSW altogether.
Provost Phillips expects a statement in a month and a half, and does not recommend putting anything
out there at this point.
Dr. Delano distributed a spreadsheet regarding GA numbers since 2004-05, which corrects data from a
previously distributed report to clear the records of what the right numbers, and answers what
happened between 07/08 and 09/10 as numbers of supported Graduate Assistants declined. Provost
Phillips explained that this demonstrates the shift from supporting many different heads with fewer
dollars to fewer getting more dollars beginning in 07/08. 09/10 numbers are attributed to students
5
exiting at old stipend levels and not being replaced with the new model. The other issue is the 09/10
‘tsunami’ which reflects $1.5m cut. Support dollars were not reduced as previous data indicated.
Motion was made to adjourn at 5:03pm with Dr. Delano’s thanks to all in attendance.
Respectfully submitted,
Stacy Stern
