University at Albany
State University of New York
2005-06 University Senate
Monday, December 19, 2005
Assembly Hall 3:30pm – 5:05pm
Present: Abraham, J.P., Bessette, S. Birge, T., Bisbing, R., Blum, M., Burke, G., Button, K., Chaiken, S., Chinnam,
S., Collier, R., Craig, R., Cupoli, E., Dai, D., Dewar, D., Faerman, S., Friedman, S., Geer, R., Gibson, R., Hanifan, J.,
Hauser, F., Herbst, S., Hong, C., Hoyt, R., Idone, V., Israel, A., Jersion, M., Kim, S.B., Kranich, L., Lanford, W.,
Leonard, P., Levine, S., Liang, Z., Lowery, K., Lyons, A., MacDonald, C., McNutt, L.A., Merbler, C., Messner, S.,
Monfasani, J., Murphy, J., Ongiti, O., Pelosi, O., Pryse, M., Range, R. M., Razzano, J., Redkey, E., Rodriguez, M.,
Savitt, J., Schell, L., Sherman, M., Snyder, L., Stromer-Galley, J., Tenenbaum, S., Videka, L., Wagner, D.,
Weaver, B., Worden, A., Wulfert, E., Yagelski, R., Zitomer, R., Zonder, A.
Guests:
Joseph Bowman, Associate Professor,
William Hedberg, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs,
Fanfeng Liu, Office of International Education,
Sheila Mahan, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs,
Jenny Wagner, ACE Fellow
Vivien Zazzau, User Education Reference Librarian
Minutes: The meeting minutes from November 21, 2005 where approved with amendments.
President’s Report:
Dashboard: President Hall noted that the current dashboard does not represent significant change from the previous
month, except for “State Appropriation as a Percentage of All Funds.” This category was previously reported at 14%
and is now at 28.5%, because tuition is now included in the definition of state appropriation. There is some question
whether the inclusion of tuition is warranted.
Inaugural Scholarship Fund: The Inaugural Scholarship Fund is at approximately $1.5 million, with 940 contributors.
There was a donation from the estate of Irving Harold Losee for $700,000 which helped us reach our goal ahead of
schedule by two months. $100,000 is earmarked for The Honors College for 12 to 14 scholarships on an ongoing
basis.
Enrollment: President Hall is “cautiously optimistic” about enrollment. Encouraging signs include: a 5% increase in
inquiries from prospective students, which is a 1700 increase over last year; a 22% increase in people visiting the
campus; and an 8% increase for early applications. President Hall reported an increase in online applications as well,
which includes 350 graduate students at this stage.
Alumni Admissions Ambassador Program: The Enrollment Management office has launched an “Alumni Admissions
Ambassador Program.” The committee has solicited alumni and has begun training them to recruit students and help
promote the academic experience at the University at Albany.
Mission Review II: R. Collier, D. Dewar, W. Lanford, and S. Messner participated in SUNY’s Mission Review II site
visit. It was helpful for all concerned, and President Hall was pleased with the presentations of all of our colleagues
from the University. The State University understands fully that the University at Albany is going through an
extensive Compact Planning process, which will ultimately shape our MOU with SUNY.
Research: Awards from the first endowed undergraduate research program were made to twelve students. The
endowment, which is to enrich the students’ experiences, was paid for from gifts from the class of 1932.
Student Achievements: President Hall recognized the students who were honored at the Valedictorian dinner.
President Hall also recognized the following students: Oliver T. Tang, who received the first graduate degree in
biology with a concentration in nanotechnology at the Winter Commencement on December 11th ; Lauren Mendolera,
as the recipient of the Stanley Fink Legislative Internship for the spring 2006 semester; Alison Bain-Lucey and
Matthew Laroche, who won the Eastern Regional of the American Collegiate Moot Court Association Tournament. In
Athletics, President Hall recognized Colin Disch, who has been named to The Sports Network’s 2005 I-AA Mid-
Major All-American Football Team. There where also four student athletes that have made the inaugural “American
East Conference All-Academic Team” for cross country, volleyball, field hockey and soccer. They are: Ashley
DeNeal, Shelby Goldman, and Ashlee Reed of the volleyball team, and Stephan Hall of the Men’s soccer team.
Emergency Response Exercise: President Hall noted that there was a useful emergency response exercise, and the
first response team did well. This was a learning experience for all involved.
Engaging Our High Schools: President Hall mentioned that we are on our way to introducing the University to the
entire Freshman class from Albany High School, with two groups of 9th graders having already visited the campus.
Dean Carr is doing a great job with this effort.
Pine Hills Neighborhood Association: President Hall noted that a productive meeting was held with members of the
Pine Hills Neighborhood Association on December 5th.
The Midtown Employee Housing Assistance Program: The program took a real step forward. There are now 14 new
homeowners who have participated in the program which is being offered by the City, the Mid-Town college partners
and Citizens’ Bank.
Board of Visitors: The Board is now complete with 20 distinguished leaders from across the nation, who will be
joining us in March 2006.
Senate Bill No. 0506-09. No Suspension of Classes for Religious Holidays: President Hall distributed a memo to the
Senate explaining his decision not to sign the bill. Chair Messner reported that he had checked with R. Gibson before
the meeting about the logistics of setting the calendar. Normally, a draft bill is considered by UPC in March, so there
is time for further deliberation. Chair Messner will bring this back to the Senate Executive Committee in January to
determine what, if any, action to initiate.
University Faculty Senate Report: No Report.
Chair’s Report:
Academic Calendar: The Chair reported for the record that the Student Association had passed a resolution requesting
that the President oppose the Senate Bill on No Suspension of Classes for Religious Holidays and had forwarded the
resolution to him.
Mission II Review: The Chair concurred with President Hall that the visit from the SUNY Provost was successful,
and it appeared that the visitors were impressed with the presentations. It is anticipated that Mission Review II will
lead to an MOU with SUNY.
Undergraduate Elections: The Chair welcomed the undergraduate Senators, and encouraged them to participate
actively in the Senate and the Senate Councils.
Welcome Back: The Chair welcomed J. VanDenburgh back, and the Senate joined in with a round of applause.
MOU: C. MacDonald asked if there would be governance input into the MOU process beyond the representation on
the site visit committee. The Chair responded that the compact planning process will be critical in defining mission
goals but that there is uncertainty at the moment about how the process will play out. The President has assured the
Chair that there will be input by governance.
Council Reports:
a.
CAA, Malcolm Sherman
: Nothing to add to the summary.
b. COR, Vince Idone
: Nothing to add to the summary.
c.
CPCA, David Shub
: Nothing to add to the summary.
d. GAC, Monica Rodriguez
: M. Rodriguez reported there are two bills for the Senate today.
e.
GOV, Diane Dewar
: Nothing to add to the summary.
f.
LISC, David Wagner
: D. Wagner reported that LISC will bring a bill to the Senate for “E-mail as an
official means of communication with students,” at the beginning of the next semester, but LISC would
like to begin discussion on the matter today.
g. UAC, Philippe Abraham
: Nothing to add to the summary.
h. ULC, Joan Savitt: Nothing to add to the summary.
h. UPC, Carolyn MacDonald
: C. MacDonald reported that UPC is reviewing the report on the recent
student satisfaction surveys. Also, UPC is considering some specific recommendations, such as how
assessments of teaching are done for promotion cases.
Committee Reports:
i.
CAFFECOR, Lawrence Snyder
: L. Snyder reported that they are bringing a resolution today
concerning “The Academic Bill of Rights.”
j.
CERS, Richard Zitomer
: The Chair reported for R. Zitomer, who was not able to attend the meeting,
that there was nothing to add to the summary.
Old Business:
Senate Bill 0506-08. Proposal for Standards for Social Work Education: GAC, UAC
At the last Senate meeting, this bill was postponed for further discussion and action. The bill was again
introduced to the floor for debate. Discussion ensued with concerns about due process protections for
students. There was general consensus that the basic idea for standards for social work education was
sound, but that the document may need some changes to address concerns and to be consistent with other
University policies. A motion was introduced and seconded to refer the bill back to GAC for overall
review of academic policies, and to the Governance Council for review of governance issues. By a show
of hands, the motion was passed with 38 in favor and 16 opposed.
New Business:
k. Nominations for Council Membership: Committee on Council Nominations:
D. Dewar put forth the
nominations of undergraduates for council assignments as follows:
Kate Button for UPC
Stephanie Kernizan for COR
Daniel Truchann III for UAC
Vanessa Mejia for CAA
Emma Roszko for UAC
Helen Ehmann for CPCA
Paul Porter for GAC
Jackie Simone for ULC
The motion was passed unanimously by voice vote.
NEW CHANCELLOR: President Hall asked if he could interrupt the agenda for a moment to announce that the
current interim Chancellor John Ryan has been named the new Chancellor of SUNY. The Senate extended best
wishes and congratulations to him.
2. Senate Resolution 0506-03R. Resolution to Endorse the SUNY-wide Faculty Senate Bill Opposing the
“Academic Bill of Rights”: CAFFECoR: L. Snyder introduced the resolution, explaining that the issue has
been a concern for about a year. He distributed copies of a document written by David Horowitz, a proponent
of the Academic Bill of Rights (ABOR). The stated justification for ABOR is to protect students from being
subjected to ideological indoctrination in their courses. To gather information on student concerns here on the
Albany campus, members of CAFFECoR met with students and Dean Faerman this fall. They asked about
grievances but did not specifically ask about political indoctrination. The students did not raise the issue at all,
suggesting that this does not appear to be a major concern to the students. However, CAFFECoR plans to
look into creating an Ombudsoffice, similar to the newly created Graduate Ombudsoffice, to provide guidance
to students who may have grievances. The specific resolution introduced by CAFFECoR calls for an
endorsement of a resolution passed by the SUNY-wide Faculty Senate. The SUNY-wide Senate has gone on
record opposing ABOR on the grounds that there are adequate protections for academic freedom in place, and
that ABOR might actually lead to a greater politicization of higher education by allowing for interference with
curricular decisions from outside of the academy. Questions were raised about the precise meaning of the
proposed resolution. The bill was passed with an overwhelming majority by a show of hands.
3. Senate Bill 0506-10. Proposal for a Certificate in Public Health Surveillance: GAC:
The bill was introduced by GAC and has been reviewed by UPC. This bill was passed with an overwhelming
majority by a show of hands.
4. Senate Bill 0506-12. Proposal for an English as a Foreign Language Graduate Certificate Program: GAC:
This bill was introduced by GAC and has been reviewed by UPC. A question was raised about the availability of
faculty to teach these courses. C. MacDonald responded that enrollment is likely to be limited.
This bill was passed with an overwhelming majority by voice vote.
5. Discussion of Potential Amendments to the E-mail as an Official Means of Communication with Students
Policy: LISC:
D. Wagner referred to the handout on the current policy for E-mail communication with students. He opened the
discussion by explaining that LISC would like to bring a bill to the Senate at the next meeting but would like
some input prior to making adjustments to this policy. LISC had approved the current policy under the
assumption that it did not require any additional Senate action but could simply be reported. Upon further
consideration, the members of the council have concluded that such matters should be brought to the full Senate.
In explaining the rationale for the policy, D. Wagner noted that the most reliable means of communication with
students is typically their e-mail address; it is better than the phone or campus address. Discussion ensued on the
following issues: assuring that students have activated their e-mail account; access to computers for checking
email accounts; the possibilities of missing important email messages due to spam filtering, and the major
problem of mail quota space. J. Horney noted that most of these issues have been raised in discussions leading to
the development of the current policy. She noted that all students are issued an e-mail address, and they are
instructed on how to log on to their MyUAlbany account to access important information. She also noted that the
policy states that students may use their own equipment, but that the University provides access to computers. It
was suggested that the bill include a request for the expansion of mail quota space. R. Collier expressed concerns
about access to email messages when the University is not in session.
Motion to extend the meeting by 15 minutes was passed.
J. Horney stressed that it is impossible to devise a policy to cover every contingency. The key considerations are the
reasonableness and practicality of the policy. Concerns where brought up that email communication might alter the
quality of contact with students, making it more impersonal. S. Kim also expressed concerns about students wanting
to submit papers electronically, and worried it may become policy. D. Wagner responded that departments and faculty
can establish their own polices about submitting course work by email.
D. Wagner requested that anyone with questions or suggestions please contact him by e-mail and indicated that he
would be happy to discuss anyone’s concerns in person.
Motion to adjourn was passed by voice vote.
APPENDIX. SENATE COUNCIL SUMMARIES
December19, 2005
Council on Academic Assessment (CAA), Malcolm Sherman, Chair
The Council on Academic Assessment plans to complete four reviews of departmental self assessments this
semester (Art, Music, French, and Women’s Studies). Beginning in the 2006-07 academic year, departments will be
asked to assess not just their undergraduate degree programs, but also their service courses, gen-ed courses and
departmental minors. In many departments (e.g., chemistry, languages) majors constitute a small proportion of
undergraduate FTEs. Some schools and departments have significant numbers of minors (e.g., Business) and at least
one department (Judaic Studies) has more minors than majors. Note: The Senate Constitution stipulates (SX.6.6.5):
[that a Council committee] may undertake the assessment of instructional programs other than those for which
assessment is required by SUNY mandate. These would include, but not be limited to, undergraduate minors,
undergraduate certificate programs and various University-wide offerings.
Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of Expression, and Community Responsibility (CAFFECoR),
Lawrence Snyder, Chair
No report.
Committee on Ethics in Research and Scholarship (CERS), Richard Zitomer, Chair
No report.
Council on Research (COR), Vincent Idone, Chair
Committee Reports
1. Conference/Journal Committee
Four applications were submitted for the committee’s review: one journal and three conferences. Council
voted to accept the committee’s recommendation to support the journal application and one of the conference
support applications. Council gave the committee the authority to 1) further review the remaining two
applications and forward the decision to the full Council, and 2) review and recommend revisions to the
application document.
2. Researchers Liaison Committee
Council voted to accept the recommendation pertaining to the Distribution of Indirect Cost Return and
forward appropriately for further discussion and dispensation.
Senate Charter
Council discussed the Senate By-Laws as it pertains to Council having the authority to assign permanent status
for centers/institutes. Because of the perceived incongruence between SX.2.5 under University Planning and
Policy Council and SX.5.4 under Council on Research, Council voted to forward the concern to the Senate
By-Laws Committee for further discussion and dispensation.
Vice President for Research Report
Interim Vice President Videka presented the proposed Equipment Purchase Policy for input from Council.
Further discussion is required before finalizing.
Interim Vice President Videka informed Council that there has been a request to move the Ion Beam Lab to a
University core facility, responsible to the Vice President for Research. The request will be forwarded to the
Centers/Institutes Committee for further discussion and dispensation.
Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments (CPCA), David Shub, Chair
The council met on December 9th to consider one case for promotion to full professor and one case for
promotion and continuing appointment. Projected for the spring semester are 43 additional cases. Professor Saurav
Dutta has been nominated to fill a vacancy on the Council, and Helen Ehmann has been appointed to fill the position
of undergraduate representative.
Graduate Academic Council (GAC), Monica Rodriguez, Chair
The Graduate Academic Council met on Dec 3 and Dec 12, 2005. In the first meeting, the committee
discussed and approved a Graduate Certificate Program in Public Health Surveillance and Preparedness (CPH-SP)
proposed by the School of Public Health, in collaboration with the Center for Public Health Preparedness at the
University. This certificate program was submitted as a bill for Senate consideration. In the second meeting, a
proposal from the Department of Educational Theory and Practice to establish an English as a Foreign Language
Certificate Program was approved by the Council, and was also submitted as a bill to be considered by the full Senate.
Governance Council (GOV), Diane Dewar, Chair
The Governance Council met on December 2, 2005 with Provost Herbst, Ms. Mahan, and Mr. Locust, to
continue discussions concerning faculty representation in the newly instituted Student Retention Committee. The
Council recommended that the Committee should have equal representation from faculty and administrative staff,
rather than representation from only two faculty members as originally proposed. In order to maximize faculty input,
the Council also encouraged the Committee to form a hierarchical structure, with subcommittees of faculty to address
the issues and tasks brought forth by the Committee.
Council on Libraries, Information Systems and Computing (LISC), David Wagner, Chair
The Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing Council most recently met on Thursday, 17 November.
The primary issue of concern at that meeting was a review of the procedures LISC has followed in processing some
policy proposals from Information Technology Services. Past practice has been to report all approved policies to the
Senate, but to submit bills for Senate approval of those policies only for proposals (or changes in proposals) that LISC
deemed to be “major.” The outcome of our review was a conclusion that we should more strictly adhere to existing
Charter procedures and submit all approved policies as bills to the Senate. Toward that end, LISC will be submitting
a policy proposal regarding the use of e-mail for official communications, to be considered at the next Senate meeting.
This policy was in fact approved by LISC last spring and reported to the Senate, but not submitted as a bill.
Undergraduate Academic Council (UAC), Philippe Abraham, Chair
UAC discussed the following issues at its most recent meeting: Issue I) Changing our current policy for study
abroad credits so that it would be consistent with our policy of NOT awarding transfer credit for grades below C
minus. After consultation with the International Programs Office and the verification that this will not have an adverse
effect on the number of students who decide to study abroad, the UAC will propose a change in the language to
appear in the Undergraduate Bulletin and become effective as of fall 2006. Issue II) The point raised by Senator
Range regarding the current bulletin language implying the existence of a calculus requirement for combined
Bachelor/MBA degrees. Based on the response from the School of Business, the UAC will recommend that a change
in the language appear in the Undergraduate Bulletin and become effective as of fall 2006.
University Life Council (ULC), Joan N. Savitt, Chair
ULC met on November 14, 2005.
1. ULC received a report from its members who attended the GSO meeting where the academic calendar question was
discussed.
2. ULC discussed health care issues for international students with Peg Reich, Director of International Student
Services. ULC continues to deal with this topic.
3. ULC heard a report from its Athletics Committee dealing with intramurals and other recreation issues.
4. ULC heard a report from its Ad Hoc Benefits Committee. The committee plans to bring a fuller report to the
council at its next meeting. Some issues that will be discussed will likely be passed to the UUP for consideration in
upcoming contract discussions.
5. ULC is still hoping to have student members attend its meetings which will continue to be on Monday afternoons at
3:30 for the spring, 2006 semester.
ULC has no legislation to present to the Senate at this time.
ULC met on December 12, 2005. Committee members discussed health issues for international students as part of a
continuing concern about the University’s response to all matters that relate to the particular needs of the international
students who are attending UA. Given the likelihood that UAlbany’s recruitment activities will further increase the
number of international students on campus, ULC and UAlbany in general should be thinking about the important
issues that could affect this particular student cohort. The need for housing for international visitors working with
faculty in various departments was also mentioned. Additionally, ULC discussed some concerns about food choices
in the Campus Center, pricing policies, changes to meal plans for the coming year, surveys of students to determine
their wishes, and availability of food during intersession. Representatives of Chartwells and University Auxiliary
Services were present to assist in answering these questions. Students who have special dietary needs can obtain the
services of registered dieticians at Albany and are often referred to them by the Counseling and Health Centers.
ULC also discussed the concept of trying to promote a social community for meals by establishing an area in the
Campus Center dining hall where students and faculty could congregate, particularly if they came to the cafeteria by
themselves and wanted to have others with whom to eat their meals. UAS will raise this issue at future town meetings
to determine if this is of interest to students. ULC’s next meeting is February 6, 2006 at 3:30pm, in LC 31J.
University Planning and Policy Council (UPC), Carolyn MacDonald, Chair
UPC met on November 29 and December 13. Motions supporting bills for the Certificates in Public Health
Surveillance and English as a Foreign Language were passed. The extensive report of the committee on student
satisfaction surveys, with its analysis of factors that strongly correlate with
satisfaction and dissatisfaction, continues to be discussed. A general sense was expressed that a stronger culture of
learning needs to be generated and that the administration will be called on to take a strong lead in generating action
items and in ensuring that this culture permeates routine discussion at each level of administration. Specific Council
actions under consideration include a possible recommendation that teaching review for tenure and promotion be
conducted by committees from outside home units, that student surveys be made public and accessible, or potentially
that a policy on teaching responsibilities be developed. It was noted that any action, to be effective, must involve
part-time adjunct faculty. Additionally, a discussion of how UPC should coordinate with the Office for Development
in major initiative planning was begun.
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