2014-2015 University Senate
Monday, March 9, 2015
2:45 pm, Assembly Hall
Joette Stefl-Mabry, Chair
MINUTES
Present:
Almahamid, Ilham; Altarriba, Jeanette; Bernnard, Deborah; Burke, Jerry; Chengalur-Smith, Indushobha;
Chittur, Sridar; Cohen, Mark; Cruz, Jose; Dai, Aiguo; Earle, Keith; Fessler, Susanna; Fogarty, Rick;
Ford, Michael; Fox, Cynthia; Goldfarb, Boris; Griffith, Glyne; Gulatee, Yenisel; Henderson, Chenaniah;
Hobson, Janell; Hogan, Steve; Janiszewski, Caitlin; Jaromin, Michael; Jerison, Michael; Kearney, Ann;
Kressner, Ilka; Kuznetsov, Igor; Lahiri, Kajal; Malavasic, Jolene; Mamorella, David; Manjak, Martin;
McCaffrey, David; McDowall, David; Mielenz, Ben; Neori, Klil; Ng, Vivien; Nowell, Gregory;
Parker, Catherine; Pasquill, James; Petry, Greta; Pettie, David; Poehlmann, Nancy; Powers, Nathan;
Putrevu, Sanjay; Rorissa, Abebe; Rosenswig, Robert; Scheck, Helene; Schmidt, John; Sherman, Keith;
Slade, Leonard; Smith, Carolyn; Stefl-Mabry, Joette; Stellar, James; Tucker, Ian; Vuille, Mathias;
Webb, Raymond; Williams, Kevin; Wulfert, Edelgard; Yagelski, Robert; Yuan, Xiaojun; Zemel, Alan; Zetka,
James
Guests:
Reinhold, Karin; Chesin, Sorrell; McLaughlin, Jean; Faerman, Sue; Edelson, Diana; Winchester, Kathie;
Forsyth, Celine; Casserly, Mary; Mallia, Mary Ellen; Murray, Ann Marie; Byrne, Sam; Losavio, Chris;
Bartow, Jon; Chaiken, Seth; Hedberg, Bill
The meeting convened at 2:46 pm.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of December 8, 2014 were approved with the following voting results:
Approved 35, Opposed 2, Abstained 1
The minutes of February 9, 2015 were approved with the following voting results:
Approved 30, Opposed 1, Abstained 14
PROVOST’S REPORT – JAMES R. STELLAR
Provost Stellar noted the office had been very busy working on a variety of issues. He announced they had a proposal
for an academic program to be presented at the meeting. The Blue Ribbon Panel on contingent faculty had met twice,
and the Blue Ribbon panel on graduate student issues is working on student stipends. The Provost’s Office is running 4
searches for Deans and a Vice Provost for International Affairs. The Provost stated it is impressive to see the hires that
you are all generating out of departments. It looks like we are going to be joined next year by some outstanding new
faculty. It is always the most important thing that universities do to hire well and to tenure well. Provost Stellar noted
he had also gotten out a lot to meet students and found UAlbany has a fantastic student body. We are going to try to
make an effort with the Deans and the Interim Vice President for Student Success Mike Christakis to improve the
freshmen to sophomore conversion rates. We would like to see them go up by a little under 10%. This is one of those
moments in life where an investment is not only something expedient in the sense that it will help increase the revenue
so we can hire more faculty, but it is also the right thing to do. Who does not want the students Admissions and others
have recruited for us to persist? We would like to work to reach 90% in the next couple of years. It will be a major
effort to utilize teaching faculty, advisors, living learning centers, etc. to work together to help retain more of the
students we have recruited. The Provost invited individuals to stop him on campus for introductions and to continue
this conversation.
It was asked if Provost Stellar thought it a good idea to encourage freshmen within the first year to talk to other faculty
in related areas. The Provost replied that most of us are here because someone took an interest in us. Interacting with
faculty and students with interest is the best thing that we do, the broader and deeper the better. The faculty is the
number 1 reason why I chose Albany. The genius of higher education in America is that we do not force students onto
a track immediately, but encourage them to talk to faculty while making ourselves available. That is the key to building
the UA community. Tonight, for instance, Provost Stellar noted he would be at State quad with undergraduates for
something that will become known as ‘Pizza with the Provost’ to see what the community is actually like, then reflect
back about joining with faculty to ride that community all the way through to graduation and on.
When asked to brief the Senate on the Honors College, the Provost responded that meeting is forthcoming. Provost
Stellar admitted he has a lot to learn about the Honors College, and that supporting it is a very important priority
because it is one of those great ways to attract and retain students. Those students become our ambassadors for
academic excellence in other classes.
UNIVERSITY SENATE CHAIR’S REPORT – Joette Stefl-Mabry, Chair
Informational
To work towards initial compliance of the Faculty Bylaws of the University at Albany Senate Article I. Section 2.2.2:
2.2.2. The Faculty shall be informed and given opportunity to discuss at the earliest possible stages in their formulation, and
shall review and provide formal consultation on, prior to adoption, all proposals regarding:
(a) Creation, renaming, major re-organization, or dissolution of academic units and programs
(b) Goals and formal plans directing the future of the University
(c) Policies or standards governing speech and assembly on the campuses of the University
(d) Plans for development of new campus facilities, or major modifications or closure of existing facilities
2.2.3. The Faculty shall provide ongoing consultation on institution-wide budget or business initiatives that affect the
teaching, research, or service programs of the University. Detailed annual reports shall be provided on actual budget
expenditures.
The Senate Chair and Vice Chair have been meeting regularly with the administration:
•
01/06/15 Senate Chair and Vice Chair met with Provost Stellar
•
01/12/15 Senate Chair and UUP Chapter President met with Provost Stellar and Chief of Staff Wirkkula
•
02/25/2015 Senate Chair and Vice Chair met with Chief of Staff Wirkkula
•
02/26/2015 Senate Chair and Vice Chair meeting with Dean David Rousseau has been rescheduled
These meetings do not take the place of formal consultation. In fact, these meetings are to ensure that formal consultation does
occur. Formal consultation is defined as:
2.4 The Faculty executes its responsibilities directly, as authorized by Section 2.2.1, by formal consultation as required by
Section 2.2.2, and by advising. Faculty participation in such decision-making is to be done via the appropriate governance
body as defined by the Senate, or by its Executive Committee, except as provided in Article I, Section 5. These modes of
participation are:
2.4.1 Formal Consultation. The Faculty shall engage in formal consultation with the President and the administration,
as outlined and limited by the Policies of the Board of Trustees, and further characterized by the Chancellor’s Statement
on Governance [Faculty Handbook, Section III, p. 1]. Formal consultation is required for matters covered by Article 1,
Section 2.2.2. Either the President or the Faculty shall be able to request formal consultation on other matters.
Except where precluded by contractual or other legal restrictions, minimally, formal consultation with the faculty on
these proposals shall entail consultation between administration and University governance bodies. Formal consultation
shall require communication, preferably in writing, specifying the area or issue for which recommendations are being
solicited and accompanied by sufficient information as necessary for an informed recommendation. Formal consultation
should occur as soon as issues needing resolution are identified. The faculty shall be given adequate time to respond. A
written response to final Faculty recommendations shall be provided, indicating what decisions were made and the basis
for such decisions; this should be particularly detailed in instances where faculty recommendations are not followed.
2.4.2 Advice. A group of Faculty may offer an informal expression of opinion or may review and offer
recommendations on proposed policy or actions. The advice may be initiated by a governance body or requested by an
administrator. The administrator shall communicate the decision and the rationale for it back to the advisory group.
2.5 Faculty Participation in Advisory Groups Outside of Governance Bodies. Administrators may choose to advance
their leadership vision for the University by constituting special committees and task forces, selecting individual faculty
members because of their experience or expertise. Ideally, such advisory groups shall be constituted in consultation with the
Governance Council of the University Senate and lines of communication with relevant governance bodies shall be
enunciated. In any case, such groups do not represent the Faculty as a whole and advice from such groups does not replace
approval by or formal consultation with the Faculty. Such groups may freely provide advice; however, for such groups to be
considered part of the formal consultative process, a majority of the faculty members must either be appointed by, or their
recommended appointment approved by, the Senate Governance Council, as specified in Article 2, Section 5.5, and specific
faculty members must be designated to regularly report to the Senate. The Chair and Vice Chair of the Senate shall be
consulted in the composition of all major University level search committees and committees to select honorary degree
recipients.
2.6 Consultation with Constituent Groups. All Faculty Governance bodies have a responsibility to communicate
regularly with their constituency as noted in Article II, Section 1.6, and Article III, and to be responsive when a request for
consultation comes from Student Groups.
II. Reports of Actions
N/A
III. Recommendations for Actions
•
That CGLs at the University at Albany (Senate Chair, Vice Chair and Immediate Past Chair) attend SUNY Plenaries:
April 23-25, 2015, 170th Winter Plenary, Hosted by SUNY Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh NY,
Executive Committee, Committee Chairs, Senators, Campus Governance Leaders.
October 2015, 171st Fall Plenary Meeting, Hosted by SUNY Buffalo State, Buffalo NY
Executive Committee, Committee Chairs, Senators, Campus Governance Leaders
Chair Stefl-Mabry announced she would take time to go over the formal consultation process as outlined in the Bylaws
to clarify the many great opportunities for Senate governance to work with the administration. The Chair noted that
faculty and staff contribution to the consultative process would be especially important with the many new incoming
initiatives, including Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cyber Security. Chair Stefl-Mabry had
attended the SUNY-Wide Faculty Senate Plenary in Farmingdale. She recommend that the Senate Chair and Vice
Chair represent UAlbany at these meetings which offer important opportunities to discuss issues across the SUNY
system and directly ask the Chancellor questions. SUNY Senators were encouraged to attend the upcoming Plenaries
in April and October.
OTHER REPORTS
UFS (University Faculty Senator’s Report) – Danielle Leonard, J. Philippe Abraham & John Schmidt, SUNY
Senators
Report from the UFS Winter Plenary at SUNY Farmingdale, Jan 22-24, 2014.
The plenary occurred the same week as the Chancellor’s State of the University Address and the release of the Governor’s budget
for SUNY. In fact, Chancellor Zimpher gave her address in the morning and drove down to Long Island to talk to the UFS the
same afternoon. This meant that a lot of new developments occurred and were considered, the major ones of which are listed
below.
1. The Elsevier Contract. SUNY’s contract for their bundle of journals, including electronic access (“Science Direct”) was
renegotiated for $44M over the next 5 years. This covers almost all SUNY Campuses and is the major budget breaker for SUNY
Libraries. Doctoral Institutions pay 74% of this total cost and the cost of this and other blocs is escalating due to the monopolistic
publisher practices, and will continue to be a budget problem. SUNY System in past years contributed $1.2M, and will continue to
supply $0.6M per year plus another $2.5M over 5 years.
The wider view concerns what SUNY and other large systems nationwide can do to alter the dynamics of journal
subscriptions. The current system is held in place largely because publication credits for promotion and tenure revolve around high
impact journals, which these giant companies monopolize. Open access journals are being pushed by NIH and other agencies so
that results can be made available to all users without charge. However, this means that publishing costs are pushed over to authors
in this model, and these can be set very high (and possibly predatory) by publishing corporations as well. The only real solution
would be if large systems such as SUNY could get together and establish reputable, high impact, open access journals.
2. SUNY Budget in the Governor’s budget proposal. The outlook is quite a bit brighter than in the previous year when the cost
of UUP raises were not funded (even though the state had previously agreed to a maintenance of effort), but the new money this
year would come with strings attached. The highlights of the Governor’s budget includes $50M for recruiting Master
Innovators/Researchers (Full Professors) to spark SUNY’s research efforts, especially in clusters of excellence. In addition there is
an additional $50M for a SUNY Innovation Fund, and both of these are slated to continue at the same rate for 5 years. There is a
$30M loan to support Open SUNY’s expansion of online courses and degree programs. The rationale for the loan is that it is
expected to bring in more students (and tuition), which should eventually he able to repay the loan. It would pay for infrastructure
for Open SUNY such as a common 24 hour hot line and servers, etc. There is only $2M extra in the main budget, but an additional
$18M for SUNY Excels Plan (more below). On the capital fund side, there is $200M (this year and continue for 5 years), almost
all of which is to cover a backlog of critical maintenance for SUNY’s old buildings.
3. SUNY Excels. As you will recall, this is a set of metrics to measure SUNY’s commitment to excellence and to year-to-year
improvements that the Chancellor envisions as a way to convince the Governor and the Legislature that funds spent on SUNY are
a good investment for New York, and worthy of further investments. Already tuition at SUNY is substantially lower than
comparable State University campuses, and our degree our BS/BA completion rates are substantially higher than the national
average. There are a total of 17 metrics in 5 categories, labeled “Access, Completion, Success, Inquiry and Engagement.” Since
SUNY has 32 campuses ranging from University Centers, Medical Schools, special schools (optometry, maritime, agriculture),
tech schools, 4 year colleges, etc., some of the metrics will apply more so to some campuses than others. For the coming year, each
campus will formulate a plan including which of the 17 metrics they will concentrate on, and what measures they will take to
improve their scores. Campus governance should be included in the formulation of this plan. There will be a pot of money, which
will include not only the $18M above but a 10% withholding of state tax revenues (since our support is about 35% state tax money
and 65% tuition, this would be about 3.5% of our state funds budget). A variable amount of this money will then be reawarded
back to the campus according to SUNY central’s rating of our plan this year (meeting in December to disburse funds), and in
future years according to our progress in meeting the goals we set this year.
The Chancellor also committed, in her State of the University presentation, to increase the total number of SUNY degrees
granted per year from the current 92,000 to 150,000 by 2020! This would mean more than 60% increase in only 5 years,
presumably through ramping up online degrees in Open SUNY.
Announcement:
SUNY Voices on Shared Governance, MARCH 20-21, 2015 AT Onondaga Community College in Syracuse. This is the
second conference of this series, and the deadline for submitting topics for individual papers, panel discussions or roundtables has
been extended to Feb 17 (1—250 word descriptions of innovative or challenging shared governance practices on campus or
research findings).
Go to http://www.suny.edu/about/shared-governance/sunyvoices/conference/.
Two keynote speakers:
Dr. Susan Resneck Pierce, author of Governance reconsidered: How boards, Presidents, Administrators and Faculty can help their
colleges thrive and On being presidential: A guide for college and university leaders.
Dr. Steven C Bahls author of Shared Governance in times of change: A practical guide for Universities and colleges.
Conference themes include:
Integration of technology into the governance process
“Best Practices”
Student leadership and institution wide governance
Engaging stakeholders
Incorporating shared governance into strategic planning
Recruitment and support of campus governance members
Challenges and solutions for multi-campus and system-wide shared governance
Changing roles of presidents and provosts in shared governance
Senator Schmidt addressed a question regarding the funding is anticipated for SUNY Excels and reviewed the
anticipated process. Regarding the Elsevier Contract, Dean and Director of Libraries Mary Casserly offered alternate
solutions to ‘establishing new journals’ as follows: faculty can 1) publish in already existing open access journals; 2)
retain their copyrights 3) reserve the right to refuse to edit or review journals that price gouge; 4) change their P and
T criteria so that junior faculty in particular are not penalized for publishing in open access journals; additionally
professional can 5) encourage associations to refrain from partnering with Elsevier. Senator Schmidt added that
publishing in open access journals alone, which are not all non-profits, would not solve the problem, but would shift
the financial burden to individual researchers. The Dean agreed there are a number of different strategies to consider
but felt the one addressed in the meeting was the least likely to have. The Elsevier license is for the SUNY System but is
still expensive and is financed by individual SUNY campuses. Chair Stefl-Mabry suggested requesting LISC look into
this and information on nationwide cases, and to report back on various ways to address the issue.
GSA (Graduate Student Association) – Caitlin Janiszewski, GSA President
The GSA is having a great semester so far. We recently submitted a bid to the National Association of Graduate-Professional
Students to host their summer Leadership Summit. The theme of our proposal was Sustainability and Leadership. If focuses on
integrating the value of sustainability into all levels of student and community leadership. We eagerly await a response from the
NAGPS to see if we have won the bid. In the meantime if anyone is interested in co-sponsoring this event we are seeking co-
sponsorships to ensure that we have a successful program. We believe this program could serve to raise the profile of our
University across the nation. Holding this kind of event makes us eligible to be recognized by the NAGPS which would certainly
help to communicate our reputation and identity to prospective graduate students across the nation.
We are also happy to announce that we were finally able put on our Contemplative Leadership Workshop on February 25th which
was delayed due to the weather last month. Lee Riddell from the SUNY Leadership Institute offered a great workshop on self-
awareness. It was very well received and we hope to bring her back in the future.
Also, on February 25th we participated in two campaigns; Adjunct Awareness Day and GradHaveDebt2 campaign. Many graduate
students wore green ribbons to raise awareness about adjunct working conditions and others participated in the GradHaveDebt2
tweet/message Congress day when graduate students across the nation reached out via social media to their representative
regarding student debt, the elimination of lifetime learning credits for graduate students, and the need to more research funds to be
appropriated for NIH, NSF, NEH, etc.
We will be following up these efforts by sending GSA representative to the NAGPS Legislative Action Days in Washington D.C.
in March to receive advocacy training and lobby our representatives. We also hope to have reps at the SUNY SA advocacy days in
DC and Albany in the next two months. On April 8th we will be holding advocacy training and participating in the
GradsHaveDebt2 call Congress day. We are very excited to finally be capitalizing on our proximity to the Capitol while also
thinking broadly and engaging with a national network.
Also, on February 25th I was lucky enough to be one of just over a dozen SUNY students who won a lunch with Chancellor
Zimpher in downtown Albany. During this lunch we breached the topic of adjunct faculty. Chancellor Zimpher spoke on the issue
suggesting that a lot of attention needs to be paid to this constituency for many of the same reasons that President Jones, former
Interim Provost Mulcahy and current Provost Stellar convened the Blue Ribbon Panel on Contingent Faculty. Chancellor Zimpher
promised us (the student reps) opportunities to speak on the issue at the system level. I will be working with Lori Mould the
President of SUNY Student Assembly to follow up on this opportunity.
Finally, we also continue to develop a strong working relationship with our new Provost Stellar. His openness to student input has
been a catalyst to sharpen our vision and goals for the graduate student body. We recently met about a new initiative/idea which we
hope will serve graduate student needs as well as the mission of the University and vision of President Jones. Loosely grounded in
the framework of experiential and engaged learning we are developing the idea of Publicly Engaged Professional Development
(PEPD). Dr. Stellar has given us the opportunity to organically develop this idea through the graduate student body, but of course
as we mold this idea we will be quick to request feedback from faculty, staff, administration, and undergraduates. Regardless of
what direction this idea takes off in, it has already facilitated wonderful opportunities for graduate student to connect with
University leadership.
SA (Student Association) – Marc Cohen, Student Association Representative
Academic Affairs
-
Looking forward to planning an event in coordination with University Police as an expression of our gratitude for their
presence on our campus. It will be similar to last semester’s “APD Appreciation Night” which was held in conjunction with
the City of Albany Police Department.
Communications
-
Bridging relationships with other Student Governments of Universities in the Capital District.
-
Continuing to work with local newspapers and stations, gathering contacts.
Community Engagement and Outreach
-
In the preplanning stages of our Relay for Life initiative, helping the organization promote the annual event in April.
-
Progressing towards the semi-annual Pine Hills Cleanup.
-
Working with Pine Hills Neighborhood Group on implementing a trial program, coordinating with organizations to recruit
volunteers interested in more regularly cleaning up the Pine Hills neighborhood in smaller groups at a time.
Dippikill
-
Working to expand the department beyond Dippikill Outreach and in the direction of environmental sustainability.
Legislative Affairs
-
Working on regularly bringing elected officials to campus to speak and meet students
-
Planning the details for an upcoming Forum hosting several local officials, creating a venue for students and representatives to
continue the conversation on education.
Marketing
-
Successfully Marketed Part 1 of this Semester’s Speaker Series- The event is sold out!
-
Continuing to work with Student Groups across campus, helping promote events.
Multi-Cultural Affairs
-
Working on our “Ravel Unravel” Campaign, a multimedia campaign on religion.
-
Planning for our annual Cultural Carnival expected to be in April.
Programming
-
Busy preparing for our Speaker Series event featuring Common, Golden Globe and Academy Award winning artist and actor
featured in the 2014 film Selma.
-
Stay tunes for upcoming announcements!
Student Group Affairs
-
Planning for our yearly Purple and Gold Awards
SA in collaboration with the Writer’s Institute had contracted speaker Bill Nye the Science Guy to come to campus for
a free event on March 25th at 5:15 or 5:30 p.m. for hour at SEFCU. Many of the first to arrive would receive a copy of
his new book “Undeniable” for free. Elections are going on now, and Mark Cohen announced he was running for SA
President.
COUNCIL/COMMITTEE CHAIRS’ REPORTS:
CAA (Council on Academic Assessment) – Deborah Bernnard, Chair
The Council on Academic Assessment met on Wed. Feb. 11. We approved Council committee reports which reviewed the
assessment component of the Natural Sciences General Education program and the assessment component of the Criminal Justice
Program. Recommendations were suggested for improvements to some portions of these assessment efforts.
CAFFECoR (Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of Expression, and Community Responsibility) –
Carol Jewell, Chair
CAFFECoR will have its March meeting on March 12, 2015.
CERS (Committee on Ethics in Research and Scholarship) – Susanna Fessler, Chair
Nothing to report
COR (Council on Research) – Kajal Lahiri, Chair
A new center for the School of Business “Center for Advancement and understanding of Social Enterprises
(CAUSE)” was approved.
13 of the 44 FRAP applications have been approved for funding at a total of $121,499 (the Division for Research has
agreed to provide the additional amount over the usual $120,000 budget) from a wide variety of departments across
campus.
Three Excellence award recipients were also selected, and notifications for those and the FRAP awards will be issued in
the coming weeks…
CPCA (Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments) – Sanjay Putrevu, Chair
The next CPCA meeting is on March 11.
CPCA has 3 cases coming up and it was understood another few in the pipeline.
GAC (Graduate Academic Council) –Abebe Rorissa, Chair
Nothing to report
GOV (Governance Council) – Cynthia Fox, Chair
I. Informational
1.
GOV met on February 6 and February 20.
2.
Chief of Staff Leanne Wirkkula has invited GOV to submit nominations for membership of the search committee for a
new Chief Information Officer to replace Christine Haile, who plans to transition out of this role by June 30. The
administration seeks to put together a committee roster that is representative of the key stakeholders and members who
are sufficiently knowledgeable about the breadth of institutional IT operations as well as conversant in some aspect of the
comprehensive role of IT in a comprehensive university. This search does not require the approval of the University
Senate, and GOV appreciates that the administration has sought our input nonetheless.
3.
Chair Fox will represent the faculty at the University Council meeting in New York City on February 27.
4.
GOV will meet on March 2.
II. Actions taken
1.
Based on input from the SEC, minor changes were made to the language of the proposed Bylaws amendment that
addresses the Administration’s request that we consider removing voting privileges from ex-officio members of the
Senate who serve by virtue of their administrative position.
2.
We began discussion of a parallel amendment to the Charter, with special attention paid to the question of the possible
effect on quorum should voting privileges be removed from administrators who serve as ex-officio members of Senate
Councils, Committees, and Sub-committees.
3.
We reviewed procedures for the up-coming Senate elections.
4.
We began discussion of additional Charter amendments that we have been asked to consider by CAA, LISC, GAC and
UAC, respectively.
III. Recommendations for Actions
1.
That the Bylaws amendment be distributed to the Voting Faculty and placed on the ballot during the Senate elections
that will take place online from March 30 to April 5.
Senate elections are upon us:
1.
The preliminary slate for At-Large Senators, put together by GOV, has gone out, but anyone can add to it by
proposing a name and getting 25 signatures from among the voting faculty. Nominations are due by Tuesday,
March 17th.
2.
A call went to the Deans for replacement nominations for those of the 44 senators up for reappointment or
replacement. Every year the Senate apportions from among the 1491 voting faculty over the 44 Senate members.
The School of Ed and CCI both gained a member, and CAS and SPH lost a member for next year.
3.
A call for nominations will go out to the entire voting faculty for membership on councils and committees. All are
encouraged to serve, as members do not have to be Senators.
4.
The election for Senate Vice Chair will take place within the Senate, but any voting faculty member is eligible to
run. A call will go to everyone at the end of March, and anyone can nominate anyone in the voting faculty. GOV
Chair/Vice Chair Fox encouraged all to think about and talk to colleagues who you would like to have serve.
5.
An announcement regarding the Bylaws amendment on Ex Officio voting will go out to the voting faculty today, to
be voted on during the regular Senate elections. It was asked that all encourage constituents to vote, as 447 need
to vote to get quorum and a two thirds affirmation is needed to pass.
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing) –Boris Goldfarb, Chair
The Library Committee and the IT Usage Policy Committee will report on their work during the next LISC meeting scheduled for
March 30.
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) – Robert Yagelski, Chair
The Undergraduate Academic Council met on February 5th. The meeting was devoted to a discussion of university policies
regarding prerequisites and restrictions on admission to majors and minors, an issue that the Council first addressed at its last
meeting in December. The main question the Council took up was the extent to which departments have authority to set
prerequisites for advanced courses in their majors. An existing policy, adopted in 1978, stipulates that “individual departments
have the authority to require a ‘C’ or ‘S’ grade in courses that are prerequisite for advanced courses in that area.” In 2013 UAC
proposed a policy stipulating that departments had to justify to UAC any restrictions they impose, including prerequisites, that
might create obstacles to students as they proceed through the major. This proposal (Senate bill 1213-05) was passed by the
Senate. Taken together, these policies mean, in effect, that (1) departments have the authority to require grades of C or S in any
courses that are prerequisite for advanced major courses; however, if departments wish to require grades higher than C or S in such
courses, they must seek approval from UAC by providing a compelling rationale for such requirements and demonstrating that the
requirements would not serve as de facto restrictions to students progressing through the major curriculum.
This discussion was initiated by a request from the Physics Department to set a requirement of B- in 300-level courses that are
prerequisite for advanced courses in the major. The discussion served to clarify existing policies, and the Council did not see fit to
propose any changes to those policies at this time.
The next UAC meeting is scheduled for February 19th.
It was announced that some faculty members asked if it is a new standard or if it was an accident that the number of
class days this semester has increased by about 3 above what used to be the norm. UPPC Chair David McCaffrey
responded that, though it would have been set before his term, there has been no conscious policy change on the
academic calendar for this year. When putting it together, the Registrar needs to follow certain guidelines from SUNY,
and that will lead to some variation. Chair McCaffrey stated he would contact the Registrar for a discussion and
report at the next Senate meeting.
ULC (University Life Council) –Michael Jaromin, Chair
The ULC met on February 3rd and Brad Bunzey, Project Manager in the Office of Architecture, Engineering and Construction
Management presented on the status of the Campus Center Expansion Project. Our next meeting is set for March 2nd.
Thank you to those that went to Ken Bouyer’s February 26th “Dialogue in Action” talk on overcoming implicit biases
in the classroom. Chair Jaromin invited all to attend the next one on Monday, March 30th at 2:00 p.m. with Michael
Brownstein.
UPPC (University Planning and Policy Council) –David McCaffrey, Chair
At its February 19 meeting, UPPC discussed the proposed Graduate Certificate in Homeland Security, Cyber Security, and
Emergency Management submitted by the Department of Public Administration in Rockefeller College. After an initial discussion,
Rockefeller College revised the proposal, with the revision to be reviewed at the UPPC meeting of March 12.
NEW BUSINESS
Approval of Changes in Council Memberships
As a point of information, Senator Gulatee reported the following Senator replacements:
Ilka Kressner from LLC is replacing Maurice Westmoreland.
Indushobha Chengalur-Smith is replacing Janet Marler from SOB
A motion was made and seconded to approve the membership changes below, with the following voting results:
Approved 45; Opposed 1; Abstained 1
COR
Indushobha Chengalur-Smith replacing Janet Marler
Vladimir Ermolenkov new member
CPCA
Richard Zitomer
Robert Keesee
UPPC
Ilka Kressner
Keith Sherman
Mei Chen
Sanjay Goal
Mitch Leventhal
Motion to approve Bill 1415-02 Proposal to establish a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering – (UAC,
UPPC)
Dr. Ann Marie Murray provided an overview of the proposal and answer any questions. They had been working for
about a year to develop this new program capitalizing on the strengths of the University. It is a 120 credit hour
program: 20 % from Mathematics; 20% from Computer Science; 15% from Physics; requisite Gen Eds incorporated
into the program, and a couple of credits to choose from any elective on campus; 20% required Computer Engineering;
12 additional credits in electives for Computer Engineering. It was developed by a working group of faculty from
Computer Science and Informatics, representation from the Dean’s Office under the leadership of Dean Sue Faerman
with the support of the Provost and President. Physics provides the hardware and Computer Science provides the
software piece.
Dr. Murray and Dr. Faerman then responded to questions. To the question if students in this program will pay the same
tuition, the response was “yes”. Concerns were voiced that, though committees were recognized as doing an incredible
amount of work coming late to the game, faculty and stakeholder input was sought later in the process than some had
been comfortable with. Though not against this proposal, it was thought to be unlikely a proposal in general would not
be approved at such late stages of development. Concern was extended to the CCI website announcement regarding the
proposed program, although it stated that ‘Final approvals for the curriculum are in progress through the governance
processes’. Dean Faerman then reviewed in detail the earlier stages of development through the current status of the
proposal. She shared that the next stage, upon approval, would be to send the proposal back to SUNY System. Dr.
Murray then shared details about the external review process, including input from Apex and visits from 2 national
leaders on accreditation, Joanne Bechta Dugan and Manny Schulman, whose reports are part of the application.
Additionally, efforts were made to work very closely with several community colleges to ensure students transfer
seamlessly to the UA program at the junior level. When asked why the University is taking this initiative, the response
was it was believed to be decided when President Jones came and indicated his desire to raise the profile of the
University and move in this direction, in line with other university centers with medical, legal and engineering schools,
as well as in part meeting local job demands.
Provost Stellar addressed the question ‘Understanding the need for this, what is the future of Humanities and Liberal
Arts?’ He stated it is his belief that Humanities are the core of education, that we need critical thinking, and that in his
experience working with teams in the industry, they also tell him this. He added that as long as he is Provost
Humanities will be his priority.
A motion was made and seconded to approve Bill 1415-02, with the following voting results:
Approved 45; Opposed 3; Abstained 2
Dr. Sue Faerman thanked the Senate for approving the proposal.
Discussion followed regarding the approval process concerns voiced earlier. Others disagreed and considered there had
been an extensive process with a lot of discussion; however there could have been a more extensive report given about
the nature of discussions early in process which would also have allowed people the chance to react in the Senate. A
motion was subsequently made to have GOV discuss the procedure for approving any program. Chair Stefl-Mabry
ceded to Parliamentarian Howard who suggested because conversation was not fruitful and in lieu of the concerns
becoming cumbersome to the Senate meeting, that they be sent to GOV for discussion. He added this might be done by
forwarding those concerns to GOV or by approving the motion. The motion on the floor was seconded, but it was
determined quorum had been lost. The discussion was sent to GOV, and the meeting ended. Chair Stefl-Mabry
commented that the robust conversation on the topic was appreciated.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 4:11 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Elisa Lopez, Recorder
