UNIVERSITY POLICY AND PLANNING COUNCIL
2016-17 CHAIR –CYNTHIA FOX
SEPTEMBER 21, 2016
MEETING MINUTES
Present: S. Birge, S. Chittur, J. Collins, M. Chen, C. Fox, S. Goel, M. Jerison, M.
Leventhal, C. Parker, J. Stellar, D. Wharram (GSA)
Guests:
Philip Eppard, Professor, Information Studies, College of Engineering
and Applied Sciences
Vince Idone, Associate Professor, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences,
College of Arts and Sciences
Celine LaValley, Assistant to the Dean for Undergraduate Education
Ann Marie Murray, Associate Provost for Program Development
Phil Nasca, Dean, School of Public Health
John D. Paccione, Assistant Professor, Environmental Health Sciences, School
of Public Health
Veronica Rowe, Administrative Manager, Computer Engineering, College of
Engineering and
Applied Sciences
Chris Thorncroft, Professor, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, College
of Arts and Sciences
Approval of the Minutes from August 31, 2016
Minutes of the August 31st meeting were unanimously approved with two typos amended.
Chair’s Report/Housekeeping
C. Fox welcomed Dawn Wharram who will be the Graduate Student Association
representative for UPPC this semester.
C. Fox thanked the group for responding regarding the timing of the UPPC meeting
conflicting with the Senate Executive Committee meeting both scheduled on the afternoon
of April, 12, 2017. C. Fox suggested that the UPPC meeting could begin earlier and J. Collins
stated that the Faculty Senate meeting could be pushed from 2:45 PM to 3:00 PM. It was
agreed that the UPPC meeting could be moved up to 1:00 PM to resolve this conflict and
accommodate both meetings taking place on the same afternoon.
C. Fox asked the subcommittees if their meetings had taken place yet. The Facilities
subcommittee does not have a meeting scheduled yet, but plans to meet in October. The
Resources and Planning subcommittee has a meeting scheduled for Monday 9/26/16 at 2:15
PM.
J. Collins asked if there has been any indication that the 17-18 Compact Decisions have been
made. M. Leventhal said that the only agenda item for the Resources and Planning
subcommittee is to discuss the Compact Investments and that this agenda was set by J. Van
Voorst.
New Business
Consideration to convert an existing faculty initiated degree to a formally registered
Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS).
V. Idone spoke to the proposal. The degree program has been in existence for
approximately 13 years without being recognized as a formal bachelor program. Over the
years, it has been discouraged for this to be brought forward as a formal program because
of the likelihood that the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in
Syracuse, NY would block the proposal. Based on a memorandum from 2000 from the SUNY
Provost, SUNY ESF has the right to review any Environmental Science proposal to and
recommend to SUNY System officials whether or not the program should be allowed. Stony
Brook put forward a proposal for an Environmental Sciences program a number of years ago
and ESF reviewed the program for six years before recommending to SUNY System that the
program not be put into place.
Currently, the degree is successful as it exists as a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary
Studies with a concentration in Environmental Sciences and has four specializations:
Sustainability Science Policy, Climate Change, Geography and Ecosystems. It carries
between 60 and 110 students at any given time and that the program has developed
relationships with the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, the Huyck Preserve, and the New York
State Museum.
C. Thorncraft stated that no additional resources are requested as the degree has been
running for a number of years now, just not formally registered as such.
P. Nasca added that this undergraduate degree program would be a great feeder program
into the Graduate Studies programs at the School of Public Health’s in environmental health.
C. Fox asked for confirmation that there are no curricular changes proposed in this
application.
J. Collins pointed out that the proposal does not mention the potential issue that ESF will
block the program and asked why it is not spoken to in the proposal. V. Idone replied that
they didn’t feel that it was appropriate to put this in the initial proposal but to wait for the
comment period to respond regarding this.
M. Leventhal asked if there is any sense of the number of students enrolled in this program
at ESF and what percentage of those students that apply are accepted. V. Idone stated that
he is unsure about the numbers but believes that the program at ESF is experiencing a
decline in enrollments.
C. LaValley stated that over the past week there is discussion at SUNY that they are
revisiting this policy to see if it is outdated. This may aid in preventing any of these
potential issues from occurring.
C. Parker asked if this program would take students away from ESF or if the presenters
believe there is an untapped market of students with this career path in mind. C. Thorncroft
responded that while ESF would consider this competition because it has the word
environment in it, ESF’s degree is much different as there are many different directions that
Environmental Science could take. ESF’s degree focuses more on forestry.
S. Goel asked if there are any opportunities for common curriculum with the second program
that will be proposed today, Environmental Engineering. A. Murray responded that there will
be overlap but the Engineering programs are ABET accredited and all engineering programs
have to meet those ABET requirements. Some courses will overlap with the Environmental
Science degree but the Engineering courses would have a different focus and student
outcomes. Otherwise, all programs in engineering require additional math and science
courses along with the SUNY Transfer Path requirements, Gen Ed and University
requirements.
D. Wharram asked if more faculty need to be hired. C. Thorncroft responded that no
additional hires would be necessary.
The vote was unanimous to convert an existing faculty initiated degree to a formally
registered Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science in CAS.
Provost’s Report
Provost/Interim President Stellar thanked everyone for their support and reiterated the need
to keep moving in the direction that President Jones had the University going.
J. Collins asked if the 17-18 compact awards will be announced before Monday’s
subcommittee meeting on Resources and Planning. Provost Stellar responded that everyone
counts on a “steady hand on the tiller” and that his inclination is not to take away things
that have been decided upon by the Compact Team but that the pause is to make sure that
we have the enrollments to support it. Provost Stellar stated that the enrollments looked
good so far, and the other item to consider is that we are in the midst of an expansion and
need to be careful and responsible about how the expansion is sustained. Provost Stellar
stated that based on feedback from parents at orientation, the expansion seems to be
working. Parents and students said that they came here because of Homeland Security
which they don’t have in Connecticut, or that they came here for engineering because the
price is right and the quality is high. The Provost stated that, though this hasn’t been
officially announced, the rate of freshman to sophomore retention was at a 6 year high.
Students that stay not only honor us by staying, but they honor us by continuing to pay
tuition. These are signs that things are working, but will the announcement be made before
Monday’s meeting? Provost Stellar was unsure.
C. Fox thanked Provost/Interim President Stellar for his service as Provost and wished him all
the best in his new role as Interim President.
New Business (Continued)
Consideration of request to establish a Bachelor of Science in Environmental and
Sustainable Engineering.
A. Murray will speak to this proposal. Environmental Engineering has been on the agenda
since the University made the decision to begin an engineering profile over two years ago.
The impetus for building an engineering profile came from the SUNY trustees that wrote the
memorandum for the separation of the College of Nanoscale Science of Engineering and the
University at Albany and recommended that the University at Albany move to niche areas of
engineering to include things like data analytics, computers and environment and climate
because those are our strong suits already with the existence of Atmospheric Science
Research Center (ASRC), Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences (DAES)
and now the College of Engineering and Applied Science (CEAS).
Through 17-18 compact CEAS has requested for this major, 5 faculty and a department chair
and believe that those people can be housed in existing offices since Computer Science has
been relocated to UAB vacating the area that is adjacent to computer engineering
department. The enrollment for the Environmental Engineering program is not anticipated
to exceed that of the Computer or Electrical Engineering programs, but it will round out the
engineering profile at the University at Albany and the College of Engineering and Applied
Sciences.
S. Goel asked how different will the enrollments be between this program and Computer
Engineering? A. Murray responded that this program anticipates 10 full time students at the
beginning of the program and 45 full time students in 5 years. The Computer Engineering
program anticipates 36 full time students at the beginning of the program and 99 full time
students in 5 years.
S. Goel asked what will happen if you do not hit your enrollment targets and is there a
contingency plan? A. Murray responded that we’re being reasonable in our enrollment
targets and we’re being reasonable with the number of faculty that we’re hiring to build this.
J. Collins asked what the “Plan B’ will be if ESF does manage to block the program, and if
there is another major that CEAS has in mind if that happens. A. Murray stated that the
biggest impact on enrollment from CEAS is the undergraduate program in Electrical
Engineering which has already been approved and has a high demand that will serve many
different areas of engineering and provides industry with job-ready people. Electrical
Engineering will be main game changer and will cover any other stumbling blocks along the
way.
S. Chittur asked why the budget increases by 30% between years one and two. A. Murray
responded that other services kick in at this time. Year two will require library support, as
well as support in CAS. CAS support needed in year two is identified as an additional
Mathematics faculty member, two TAs in Biology and one TA in Chemistry. No additional
personnel will be required in year three, but in the fourth year an additional two TAs and one
technical assistant will be needed. Goel asked, to clarify, if this meant eventually seven
faculty lines total and five TAs. A. Murray confirmed, but stated that one of those TAs is a
Technical Assistant. A. Murray stated that CAS really looked closely at the program to
determine how many additional sections of CAS classes would be necessary to meet the
needs of this new program and how that would affect their capacity. S. Goel stated that
perhaps an additional line to clarify the increase in personnel costs would be helpful.
M. Jerison asked if the six CEAS faculty members to be hired for this program would be
teaching other students in CEAS or just the Environmental Engineering students. A. Murray
stated that those faculty members would be teaching primarily Environmental Engineering
students. M. Jerison stated that six faculty seems like a large number for 45 students. A.
Murray stated that the six faculty will build a research agenda in Environmental Engineering.
The plan is to follow this undergraduate program with a graduate program and PHD program
in Environmental Engineering. The dean envisions this as a very competitive school with
doctoral programs and research taking place in each area. M. Jerison asked if more faculty
hiring would be anticipated as these programs grow. A. Murray responded that it depends
on how each program develops.
J. Paccione spoke. J. Paccione is employed by Department of Health and is a faculty member
in the School of Public Health, Environmental Health Sciences department. J. Paccione
stated that he was trained as a chemical engineer, but is practicing more in the
environmental engineering field in water treatment. J. Paccione stated that this program will
meet the unique niche for environmental engineers and the tremendous need for
sustainability and environmental engineering meld. The approach of this program and the
course structure is unique and focuses on what the need is in the field today and in the
future.
M. Chen asked if Civil Engineering should be included in the engineering portfolio. A. Murray
stated that they thought about this a lot while developing the engineering profile but that
they did not feel that it met the resources that the University at Albany already has. They
decided that the graduate and PHD program in Environmental Engineering will include
elements and applications of civil engineering and that it could be a path for undergraduate
civil engineers.
D. Wharram asked if there are plans to work with the Office of Sustainability on campus. A.
Murray stated that she has monthly meetings with Mary Ellen Mallia, the Associate Vice
President and Director of Environmental Sustainability.
M. Jerison asked the types of grants that they will be looking for would come with overhead
versus the types of grants that are for consulting. A. Murray stated that that level of detail
will be included in the program applications for the graduate and PHD programs that will
come next.
J. Collins asked about the $1.5 million budget over five years. He asked if this will be run
through the compact planning process. A. Murray stated that the most recent compact
process for 17-18 included the faculty hires and they are waiting to hear the final outcome.
C. Fox clarified that within the $1.5 million is the funding that CAS will need to come up with
to hire the additional resources necessary, so the amount of funding requested in the
compact planning process would have been less than the full $1.5 million budget. C. Fox
noted that with the previous graduate and PHD level program for Electrical and Computer
Engineering, there was no campus or budgetary impact and asked if the committee can
expect a similar campus and budgetary statement
with the graduate and PHD level
programs for Environmental and Sustainable Engineering. A. Murray responded that so long
as enrollment targets and research is sustained then yes.
The request to establish a Bachelor of Science in Environmental and Sustainable Engineering
was approved. Nine votes for approval of the program, one abstention.
Consideration of the Proposal to merge the departments of Informatics and Information
Studies
P. Eppard spoke to the proposal. This merger will not cause changes to any of the three,
already existing degree programs or to any of the courses within the programs. The faculty
members of both departments unanimously support the merger. The Provost has engaged a
consultant to evaluate the bachelor and master program and the final report has not yet
been submitted, but in working with the consultant over the summer P. Eppard knows that
he is supportive of merger.
J. Collins asked if the consultant did not anticipate any curricular changes as well. P. Eppard
responded that there are changes that the consultant may propose as a result of his study
but these changes would be irrelevant to the merger.
C. Fox asked if the new department will be housed in the College of Engineering and Applied
Sciences. P. Eppard confirmed and stated that both departments are currently located in
Draper Hall.
M. Jerison asked what will change other than the name. P. Eppard responded that the
marketing potential and removal of confusion between the two programs.
The proposal to merge the departments of Informatics and Information Studies was
unanimously approved.
Restructure the ITM department into two separate departments
H. Shawky spoke to the proposal. There are no curricular changes and no academic
changes of any sort. The ITM department has evolved over time and within the ITM
department, the Information Security and Digital Forensics program has grown into a
completely separate curriculum that is lumped in with the traditional ITM/MIS curriculum. H.
Shawky stated that the faculty unanimously voted to split into two separate departments.
J. Collins asked if it is then true that the existing programs currently run within ITM as two
parallel programs at both the bachelor and master levels so when they separate there is no
need to change curriculum. H. Shawky confirmed.
M. Leventhal asked why the new department for Information Security and Digital Forensics is
in the School of Business instead of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland
Security and Cybersecurity (CEHC) and if this will cause confusion. S. Goel responded that
there is a lot of synergy between the Cybersecurity track in CEHC and what will be the new
Information Security and Digital Forensics department in the School of Business. S. Goel
stated that Information Security being in the School of Business is based on the NSF
dictation that cybersecurity did not translate into the business world so having this program
located in the School of Business will allow for the understanding of how it applies to
business. S. Goel stated that clarifying how these programs overlap will be part of their
agenda over the next year.
C. Fox asked if having two departments will create a faculty workload issue. There are
committees, etc that will now require two representatives instead of one. In addition,
additional staffing such as a secretary could be needed. H. Shawky responded that the
faculty are aware of and are willing to absorb these duties. Currently all departments have
common support staffing.
Restructuring of the ITM department into two separate departments was approved
unanimously. Please note that S. Goel excused himself from the vote.
Rewording of the Campus Impact Form
C. Fox asked if we could agree to change the section of the form that asks for additional
documentation. Currently, the form asks “If the answer to any of the questions listed above
is yes…attached written verification of such consult.” This should be changed to “Please
attach appropriate documentation regardless of your response to the questions above.”
For the second section asking for documentation, it should now read “Please list all
academic departments consulted regarding impact and include documentation.”
Changes to the Campus Impact Form were approved unanimously.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:03 PM.
