2017-2018 University Senate
Monday, November 13, 2017
2:45 pm, Board Room
Karin Reinhold, Chair
MINUTES
Present: Adams, Marcus; AlMahamid, Ilham; Asaro-Saddler, Kristie A; Boyle, Jodi B; Bromley, Ray;
Chan, Keith; Chandra, Uday; Chen, Gang; Chen, Mei-Hwa F; Chittur, Sridar; Collins, James P;
Cruz, Jose E; DuFault, Beth A; Eldridge, Morgan; Faught, Sydney A; Franchini, Billie B;
Frelin, Adam; Galusha, Jaime; Green, Cathleen M; Hamilton, Diane M; Holdridge, Brandon;
Horowitz, Lenore; Igboekwe, ChiChi; Jerison, Michael; Kessler, Jane; King, Chad L; King, Ekow;
Kiorpes, Karen E; Kuznetsov, Igor; Lawrence, Zina M; Little, Walter; Lizotte, Alan J;
Mallia, Mary Ellen C; Martinez, Maritza; McNutt, Louise-Anne; Moore, Chris S; Mower, James;
Narendran, Paliath; Ng, Vivien W; Pastore, Christopher L; Poehlmann, Christian H; Rafferty, Sean;
Reinhold, Karin B; Richie, Annette D; Robertson, Tom W; Rosenswig, Robert M; Saddler, Bruce T;
Slade, Len; Sorensen, Lucy C; Wharram, Dawn M; Yang, Tse-Chuan; Yonkers, Virginia F;
Zhou, Liming
Guests:
Murray, Ann Marie; Hyde, James; Vero, Ronald; Volynsky, Gina; Utermark, James; Bartow, Jon;
Fessler, Susanna; Smith, Christy; Winchester, Kathie; Wulfert, Edelgard; Stokes, Jay; LaValley, Celine;
Huckleby, Carmeisha; Martinez, Andy; Liedermann, Jacqueline
The meeting convened at 2:45 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of October 16, 2017 were approved, once quorum was reached, with the following
voting results: Approved 39, Opposed 0, Abstained 4
PROVOST’S REPORT – Associate Provost for Program Development Ann Marie Murray,
on behalf of Provost James Stellar
Associate Provost Murray announced that the Provost was at an APLU conference, and so she
would be reporting on his behalf. She reviewed that we are in the midst of two active dean searches.
An offer is pending for the School of Public Health candidate, she stated. She thanked the SPH
search committee for their efforts, under the leadership of School of Criminal Justice Dean Bill
Pridemore. She noted that the School of Business dean search is moving along as scheduled, chaired
by CAS Dean Edelgard Wulfert.
The associate provost underlined that programmatic work in conjunction with the Excelsior
scholarship has helped to bring enrollment figures up, outlined as follows:
Annual
Annual % 2015-2017
Fall, 2017 17753
382
2.20%
3.39%
Fall, 2016 17371
200
1.16%
Fall, 2015 17171
She extended thanks to the colleges for their programmatic support and to Admissions, Financial
Aid and Advisement for supporting our students through acceptance, enrollment and financial
activities.
CPCA membership, she shared, were training in using Interfolio software to assist with reviewing
(50) tenure and promotion cases.
The associate provost then provided updates on the following initiatives:
Chongqing partnership – Thanks to Kim Boyer and Harvey Charles for shepherding this
initiative, which will bring 100 new students to campus each year when up and running in three
years.
Environmental Engineering progress.
Information Science relocation and faculty meeting.
Seven Faculty Fellows working with ITLAL on infusing creativity into their courses.
Work on the integration of Arts and Humanities through a partnership with the Carnegie
Corporation of New York.
The Provost’s Office generated an Efficiency Report regarding how best to serve the campus, about
which Dr. Murray said to expect a communication. The office, she added, is also updating its
webpages as part of the IT and Marketing and Communications initiative to revamp the UAlbany
website. She relayed a request from IT that all departments keep their webpage information current.
In an effort to systematically decrease educational costs for students, the associate provost stated
that Peter Shea would be leading an Adoption of Open Educational Resources (OER) initiative. She
described OERs as follows: OERs are teaching, learning, and research resources, which either
reside in the public domain or have been issued under an intellectual property license that provides
for free or low-cost use and re-purposing by others. These resources include full courses,
instructional materials, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, and software.
Lastly, Associate Provost Murray underlined that a list of institutional memberships the University
maintains with various associations is now housed on the MyUAlbany portal under the “Self-
Service” navigation box. The President’s Office, she explained, is looking to maximize the use of
those memberships and avoid any redundancies.
The associate provost then addressed questions on topics including incoming student demographics,
and synergies with Environmental Health Science and SPH. She reminded members to please
contact the Provost’s Office with any questions or requests for information.
UNIVERSITY SENATE CHAIR’S REPORT – Karin Reinhold
I. Informational
On Oct 6th, Chair Reinhold attended the Campus Governance Leaders Leadership Institute at the Desmond in
Albany. Chancellor Christina Johnson talked about her commitment for a more diversified faculty in all SUNY
centers.
On Oct 10th, Chair Reinhold responded to the request for comments on Micro Credentials Task Force Report with
the suggestions submitted by SEC members. There is strong support for this program and faculty are pleased to see
that number one among the guiding principles for curriculum related micro credentials is to keep high standards of
academic quality. While at the same time, concerns were raised regarding the potential assessment cost (increase
workload for reviewing councils) and implementation cost associated with rolling out micro-credentials.
On Oct 10th, Chair Reinhold met with Alice Oldfather to plan for the upcoming Fall Faculty meeting. The date was
set for Nov 1nd 1-3pm. The format will be a Town Hall meeting. Faculty, professionals, staff and students are invited
to attend. There will be a period of questions so all are invited to bring questions for the president.
On Oct 18th Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor Grace Wang extended the period for comments on micro
credentials for an additional three weeks. Updated new due date for comments is Nov 8th.
On Oct 16th, Senate leadership, Chair Reinhold, Vice Chair Jim Mower and Past Chair Jim Collins, met with Provost
Stellar about the move of the Informatics Science department to CEHS. Stellar expressed his commitment to
maintaining accreditation for their programs and for nurturing and growth of their programs within the CEHS
structure.
On Oct 18th, Chair Reinhold requested names of the GSA and SA student representation in the Assessment of
Administrative Units Advisory Board.
During Oct 19-21, Chair Reinhold attended the SUNY Plenary meeting with Hamilton, Little, and Spencer, SUNY
wide Senators representing UAlbany. There is a new communications committee to facilitate communicating
SUNY’s agendas within SUNY’s campuses and with the communities of NY. UFS requested faculty for articles
about higher education issues broadly, to be published in the UFS Bulletin. There were several resolutions including
SUNY Board of Trustees allowing Charter Schools Certification of their own teachers and campuses recognizing
‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day. See the SUNY Senators’ report for more details on resolutions
and the message of the Chancellor.
The Conversation, theconversation.com, welcomes articles by faculty. Because of their high standards checking
facts and high quality, in-depths articles, the Associate Press allows the conversation’s articles to be published
directly in their feed.
On Oct 25th, Chair Reinhold and Immediate Past Chair Collins met with UUP chapter President A. Major. Concerns
were raised about the future of the CSDA, Center for Social and Demographic Analysis, which provides
extensive support for population-related research by social scientists at the University.
On Oct 25th Chair Reinhold received a request from VP for Student Affairs & Public Service Professor Christakis
for University Senate representatives to serve on each of the five strategic planning working groups. The President
would like a finalized draft of the strategic plan by mid-January, with the final plan in place by March 2018. Senate
leadership then worked together on a list of potential Senate representatives and nominated: M. Martinez for Student
Success, D. Fabris for Excellence in Research, W. Little for Globalization, S. Bernard for Public Engagement &
Community Outreach.
On Oct 30th Chair Reinhold received a reminder about a system-wide Diversity, Inclusion and Social Justice Awards
Program developed in recognition of the 10th anniversary of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with
deadline for submission of nominations for the awards of November 3, 2017 for the inaugural award year and
September 15th of each year thereafter. Nominations should be sent to: diversityaward@suny.edu. Reinhold made
calls to inquire about UAlbany nominations.
The Fall Faculty Meeting on November 1st was a success with more than 350 people in attendance. President
Havidán Rodriguez stated that his new Strategic Plan will build on the prior plan and focus on 5 strategic areas: 1)
student success, 2) excellence in research, 3) globalization, 4) diversity & inclusion and 5) public engagement &
community outreach. The president is forming a new President’s Council with members of different academic and
administrative offices. Members include: Vice Presidents, Deans, University Senate leadership, representatives
from the Graduate and Undergraduate Student organizations and key staff from units across campus. There is a new
Capital Campaign with official announcement soon to come, to support access for students, endowed chairs and
endowed programs. He welcomed the community to communicate with him personally or by email. The meeting
was videotaped and we intend to have the video recording on the Senate website as soon as possible, where you can
access the full message of the president and the question and answer session.
On Nov 2nd, Bartow requested information about the state of the proposal for discontinuation of the combined
BA/BS/MS with the MBA programs.
II. Actions taken
MS & PhD in Electrical and Computer Science Engineering was sent to SEC for approval for the
November 13th Senate meeting.
Global Distinction proposal was also sent to SEC for approval for the November 13th Senate meeting.
Charter amendment - 1718-01A Amendment of sections X.9.1.3, 9.1.7, 9.1.8, 9.2 & 9.6 of ULC - was
approved by SEC to be presented at the November 13th Senate meeting.
III. Recommendations for actions
Resolutions adopted by the SUNY Plenary were sent to councils for consideration.
The proposal for discontinuation of the combined BA/BS/MS with the MBA programs is being considered
by UPPC.
IV. Announcements
Vote for amendment to bylaws 1718BA01 & 1718BA02 planned for on Nov 6th.
Vacancies in Councils and subcommittees:
o
UPPC has vacancies in
Resource Analysis and Planning Committee
University Facilities Committee
The UFS requests articles about higher education issues broadly, to be published in the UFS Bulletin.
“The Bulletin is likely to transform in the near future to an online format, with intentions to make it a more
dynamic and versatile communication portal.”
The Conversation, theconversation.com, welcomes articles by faculty.
2017 SUNY Diversity Conference: Engaging Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity in the Classroom, Campus
and Community, 29 Nov - 1 Dec.
SUNY Undergraduate Research Symposium 2018: Friday, April 20 at Oneonta, and Saturday, April 21 at
Monroe County Community College.
V. Three Things for all Senators
IMPORTANT: Encourage your department/unit’s faculty and professionals to VOTE for the Amendment
to the Bylaws 1617BA01 Right of contingent faculty to vote for their own representative, and 1617BA02
Definition of Quorum for Senate Meetings.
The Conversation, theconversation.com, welcomes articles by faculty.
Ask your department what was learned about the Implicit Bias Training from this past week.
Chair Reinhold underlined strategic planning efforts outlined in her report. She reiterated the
request to encourage faculty to vote on the Bylaws amendments, as approximately 100 votes
were still needed to reach quorum. The chair underlined that she would continue each meeting
to add “three things for senators” to take back to their departments.
OTHER REPORTS
UFS (University Faculty Senate) – Diane Hamilton, Walter Little & Latonia Spencer,
SUNY Senators
•
Nothing to report
Senator Little noted that SUNY was slowly posting reports on items from the recent
plenary meeting. He underlined that Professor Pedro Caban had just posted an item in
The Conversation.
GSA (Graduate Student Association) – Dawn Wharram, Lead Senator
Nothing to report
Senator Wharram reviewed additions to her report, submitted as follows:
At the GSA November Assembly Meeting, which President Rodríguez, Provost Williams, and VP
Christakis attended, topics were discussed such as: study abroad opportunities for graduate students,
funding for conference travel, creation of a conference poster template, student concerns surrounding the
closing of the Interfaith Center, and funding for graduate student stipends. GSA was given an update on
the food pantry that as of July it is now open to all UAlbany students, not just students who live on-campus
and in Pine Hills and Eagle Hill neighborhoods. Additionally, when asked about the four-week wait to get a
mental health counseling appointment, GSA was told that now the wait is only about a week, as
new practitioners were hired with student fee monies.
SA (Student Association) – Jerlisa Fontaine, President
Nothing reported
COUNCIL/COMMITTEE CHAIRS’ REPORTS:
CAA (Council on Academic Assessment) – Istvan Kecskes, Chair, Mary Ellen Mallia Co-
Chair
Nothing reported
Co-Chair Mallia announced that CAA would next meet on December 5th CAA’s to review the work of its
two subcommittees.
CAFFECoR (Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of Expression, and Community
Responsibility) – Carol Jewell, Chair
Nothing to report
CERS (Committee on Ethics in Research and Scholarship) – Michael Jerison, Chair
Nothing reported.
COR (Council on Research) – Robert Rosenswig, Chair
Nothing reported
Chair Rosenswig noted that CoR was receiving grants which would be on the docket for
the next meeting.
CPCA (Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments) – Louise-Anne McNutt, Chair
Nothing to report
Chair McNutt stated that CPCA was working to change the standard tenure and promotion
review system, and added that one full professor was still needed for the Council.
GAC (Graduate Academic Council) – Sean Rafferty, Chair
Nothing reported
Chair Rafferty reported that GAC had met on October 31st and reviewed the proposal for
International Education Management.
GOV (Governance Council) – Jim Mower, Chair
GOV has recently searched for a replacement for the MyUAlbany voting utility with the hope that an
easier-to-use system might be found that could enhance voter turnout. A potential substitute, ballotbin.com,
was investigated but was found to lack robust security features for auditing and voter registration. The
GOV Committee on Liaison and Elections (CLE) is preparing to search for other alternatives and will
prepare a report by the end of the fall semester.
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, & Computing) – Billie Franchini, Chair
Nothing reported
Chair Franchini stated that LISC had met on November 9th and heard a report for CIO
Ananou. She reported that the University at Albany was in the process of a web re-design
and, as part of that effort, would be providing online accessibility training. She added
that the next LISC meeting was scheduled for December 7th. Per a request, the Chair
provided the following web resources regarding accessibility guidelines:
o
http://www.albany.edu/accessible-web/index.php
o
http://accessibility.psu.edu/
o
https://accessibility.blog.gov.uk/2016/09/02/dos-and-donts-on-designing-for-accessibility/
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) – Karen Kiorpes, Chair & Christy Smith, Co-Chair
On October 31, the UAC discussed one announcement from Gwen Kay, SUNY Senate President, at the
October 16 Senate meeting, informing us that SUNY is updating its General Education requirements; a
white paper is expected a year from now. It will include Information Literacy core competencies for all of
SUNY.
The Subcommittee on Academic Standing is working on a policy that will limit student proposals to ask for
course drops after the withdrawal deadline to one year; currently there is no policy and there have been
multiple requests from graduates for course drops years after leaving UA. Further discussion with the
Registrar’s Office and language about S/U were recommended.
The Fall SUNY Plenary held at Delhi October 19-21 included a resolution for Academic Advisers related
to financial aid. Chair Reinhold has asked UAC to investigate the problem at UA and what we are doing to
protect both faculty and students when negotiating increasingly complex rules and regulations (e.g., TAP
and Excelsior) that can affect a student’s ability to receive financial aid.
Our next meeting will be held on November 16, 1:00 pm.
ULC (University Life Council) – Ekow King, Chair
I.
Informational
a.
Report by Chantelle Cleary, JD Asst. Vice President for Equity and Compliance. Chantelle serves
as the Assistant Vice President for Equity and Compliance. Chantelle’s office is charged with
coordinating reports of any unlawful discrimination. The community can learn about what their
options are for accommodation, report, support, and advocacy. Administrative reports and action
to remedy the effects of the discrimination. Chantelle discussed the University’s coordinated
response for cases that include discrimination, sexual violence, harassment, Title IX, title VII,
ADA or any other protected basis. AVP Cleary discussed that to file a report and mediate or create
an investigation all go through Equity and Compliance. Over the course of the past 3 years there
has been a 400% increase in reporting. Shared that while the number of reports has increased there
is no evidence that the campus is more discriminatory or violent than it has been in the past. The
Advocacy Center for Sexual Violence opened in 2014. Coupled with the work of the new Title IX
officer and the creation of the Office of Equity and compliance, community members now know
where to go to make a report and is trusting that the institution is handling their reports in the best
way possible. State and federal agencies have also placed an emphasis on making these reports
transparent as well as to inform the community about support and advocacy. There was a question
asked regarding changes in the Department of Education and what that would mean for us.
Chantelle mentioned that we will continue to enforce title Ix as it is an issue of due process and
that Department of Education is sub regulatory guidance not law and that interpretation would
have us follow 129B response and follow NYS law. Federal regulation trumps state law. The
expectation is that they will pass some regulation but no one is clear on what that will be.
Chantelle does not believe that we will move toward “clear and convincing standard” versus what
we use on this campus which is “preponderance of evidence.” Chantelle stated that above all we
need to grant student due process when it comes to these cases and the university currently goes
above and beyond minimum standard. There was a question on where the office is located
(1st floor of University Hall). She also spoke about policies and the student code of conduct and
that reports can be done using a form on our main page of our website. There was a question
regarding ODI and how that office used to handle complaints. Chantelle answered that the
University wanted to ensure consistency that all unlawful discrimination complaints receive the
same type of investigation response.
b.
ULC discussed the University’s Strategic plan for Diversity/Inclusion request to Tamra Minor.
Diversity plan has been sent to SUNY but it has not been approved to be shared. It’s in the
president’s office and is considered a draft at this point. A question came up as to the importance
of a Diversity Plan. Chair King shared that diversity plans guide institutions in terms of how to
increase diversity and inclusion across the entire institution; typically as a means of enhancing the
quality of services and increasing retention of students, faculty and staff.
c.
VP Jim Van Voorst gave the council some information regarding the status of the Interfaith
Center. The Interfaith Center opened in 1966. In 1985, the building had a fire and the new
building was bought and run as an independent entity by an interfaith board- Albany interfaith
collegiate council (non for profit corporation). The University Foundation went into negotiations
and did an evaluation of the building and structural items. The center was then bought by
University Foundation last December and the Foundation is looking to turn over the property to
the University. There was a transition plan worked on discussing where to find space for the 3
clergy however the chaplains were not informed causing a bit of mis-communication about what
was going to happened. Students created a petition and this was shared with the ULC. The space is
scheduled to close in June, 2018.
II.
Reports of Actions
a.
Community and Ex-Officio updates added to the ongoing agenda (also included in the ULC
amended charter)
b.
Reviewed ULC Charter amendments and additional changes prior to introduction to SEC at
upcoming meeting. Revisions were approved.
III.
Recommendations for Actions
a.
ULC is working on Affordable Childcare Resolution
b.
ULC is working on Resolution regarding Indigenous People’s Day
c.
ULC will consider resolution regarding the Interfaith Center
Next Meeting: Wednesday, Nov. 15th 3pm
UPPC (University Planning and Policy Council) – James Collins, Chair
I.
Information:
The Council met on October 18.
It heard a report from Provost James Stellar, in which the Provost responded to questions about the status of
Information Science Department and its new location within the College of Emergency, Homeland, and Cyber
Security, declining to specify remaining steps but affirming his view that this was a best outcome for the
Department and the College and that his office would continue be involved in the transition process.
The Council heard a report from VP for Finance and Administration James Van Voorst about the capital and
operations budget. In general, the 2017-2018 budget projections for income and expenses are likely to align.
There is some uncertainty to the major staff and faculty unions (CSEA and UUP) either having settled their
contracts (CSEA) or likely to in the academic year (UUP). In response to questions about whether the defense
of health benefits achieved by CSEA and being worked for by UUP, that would result in more direct expenses
for the campuses. VP Van Voorst said it should not directly affect the campus, but could, as part of ‘indirect
costs’. Increases in indirect costs in the future could be assigned to SUNY and the campuses by the NYS
legislature. Chair Collins asked about the cost and schedule for the CETEC building. VP Van Voorst demurred
on the question of final costs, saying that the building should be completed in a few years, and would bring the
University Campus and the Harriman Campus together for the first time. A Council member asked about the
current location of the CEHC and CEAS, and the Provost responded that both are ‘in-progress’. CEHC is
currently in Rockefeller College, but will move the CETEC building when it is done, and the University is still
compiling renovation funds for the Schuyler Building, which will house CEAS.
Chair Collins reported that he had assembled procedures documents for eight of the Senates eleven Councils
and Committees and sent them to Senate Chair Reinhold as well as staff support members from the President’s
and Provost’s office. They will be placed in Council and Committee OneDrive folders for use and updating by
subsequent Council and Committee Chairs. He also reported on the new 8/30/17 version of the Campus Impact
Form, the need for new members on the Council and its Committees, and his work to update current Council
email distribution lists.
Sridar Chittur, Chair of the Council’s Facilities Committee, reported that the committee last met on September
26, in which the committee heard a report from John Giarrusso and asked questions about what organizational
body coordinates construction plans with ongoing space allocations on campus. Discussion followed about the
renovations of the Business Administration Building and Building 25, as well as the need for repair and
renovation.
Joette Stefl-Mabry, the Council’s representative to the University’s Assessment Advisory Committee, reported
that the committee had met three times since mid-summer and was, in her view, doing very good work. Chair
Collins asked whether his understanding was correct that there had been no reviews of University Dean’s since
2014. The Provost affirmed this, attributing the lag in review of academic administrative units to the University
leadership transitions of the past year. Chair Collins asked whether the results of the 2014 surveys had ever
been reported, and when told there had not been, a discussion followed about the sensitivity of such reviews and
of ways of putting the process back on a schedule.
The Council discussed new materials regarding the Center for International Education and Global Strategy
proposal for a Global Distinction Milestone, in particular, a letter of support from the Dean of CAS.
The Council discussed Senate Bill 1718-01, Proposal to Establish M.S. and Ph.D. Programs in Electrical and
Computer Engineering, and after debate decided by consensus not to review the bill but to refer it directly to
SEC.
II.
Actions:
a.
The Council confirmed its support for the Center for International Education and Global Strategy
proposal for a Global Distinction Milestone.
b.
The Council declined to review Senate Bill 1718-01, Proposal to Establish M.S. and Ph.D.
Programs in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and referred the proposal to the SEC.
III.
Recommendations: None at this time.
IV.
The Council next meets on November 15.
Chair Collins added that his 2016-17 Past Senate Chair Report had been made available
on the Senate website with the materials for the November 1st Fall Faculty Meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
Director of the SUNY’s Center for International Development – Guest Gina Volynsky
Director Volynsky gave a presentation describing the background, mission and work of the CID.
She invited individuals to contact her regarding questions and further opportunities for
collaboration.
1718-01: PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH M.S. AND Ph.D. PROGRAMS IN ELECTRICAL
AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING
College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Chair Gary Saulnier introduced the above proposal
and addressed questions and concerns related to anticipated contingent and tenure track faculty
hires and workload. Chair Reinhold reminded that the proposal had been vetted through GAC
and UPPC. A motion was then made in support of the above proposal, with the following voting
results: Approved 35, Opposed 4, Abstained 4
1718-02: PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH AN UNDERGRADUATE GLOBAL
DISTINCTION TRANSCRIPT MILESTONE
Dean for International Education and Vice Provost for Global Strategy Harvey Charles provided
a summary of the above proposal. He underlined that the program was a pathway aimed to boost
campus internationalization, modelled after a widely successful program at Georgia Tech, and
the only one of its type in the SUNY system. Dean Charles thanked the many proposal
supporters and responded to concerns regarding the benefit to students and effect on financial
aid.
A motion was made in support of the above proposal, with the following voting results:
Approved 35, Opposed 6, Abstained 2
1718-01A: AMENDMENT RE: SECTIONS X.9.1.3, 9.1.7, 9.1.8, 9.2 & 9.6 OF THE
UNIVERSITY LIFE COUNCIL CHARTER
UAC Chair Ekow King introduced the proposed amendment above, to be voted upon at the next
Senate meeting.
Approval of changes in Council memberships
A motion was made to approve council changes but was tabled since quorum had been lost.
ADJOURNMENT
The Senate adjourned at 4:20 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Elisa Lopez, Recorder
