2013-2014 University Senate
Monday, May 12, 2014
2:45 pm, Assembly Hall
Christine Wagner, Chair
MINUTES
Present:
Jeanette Altarriba, Bryant Barksdale, Steve Beditz, Deborah Bernnard, Sridar Chittur,
Mark Cohen, Anthony DeBlasi, Evgeny Dikarev, Edward Fitzgerald, Michael Ford,
Cynthia Fox, Elizabeth Gaffney, Jennifer Goodall, Yenisel Gulatee, Janell Hobson,
Caitlin Janiszewski, Michael Jaromin, Genevieve Kane, Michael Jerison, Lani Jones,
Ann Kearney, Kajal Lahiri, Danielle Leonard, Andi Lyons, David Mamorella,
Janet Marler, David McCaffrey, David McDowall, John Monfasani, Saggi Nevo,
James Pasquill, Susan Phillips, Nancy Poehlmann, Nathan Powers, Sanjay Putrevu,
Loretta Pyles, Rich Eliot, Kendra Smith-Howard, Kabel Nathan Stanwicks, Joette Stefl-Mabry,
Caro-Beth Stewart, Christine Wagner, Kevin Williams, Oscar Williams, Mark Wolfe,
Elga Wulfert, Alan Zemel, James Zetka
Guests:
Bret Benjamin, Randall Craig, Susanna Fessler, Celine Forsyth, Teri Harrison
Karin Reinhold, Kathie Winchester, Xiaojun (Jenny) Yuan
The meeting convened at 2:50 pm.
Chair Wagner requested to change the Agenda to add the following items which had been shared with the Senate the
requisite 3 weeks before the vote.
1.
Bill 1314-07 Graduate Certificate Program in English Studies to the Agenda. The Bill went out on Friday, went
through UPPC and UAC just last week. It is the sister to Bill 1314-05 Graduate Certificate in Teaching
Composition approved at the last Senate meeting.
2.
Senate Charter Amendment 1314-04A Committee on Liaison and Election: Election function.
Seeing there were no objections, the Agenda was adopted by acclamation.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of April 28, 2014. The minutes were then approved, with a
minor change and with the following voting results: Approved: 41; Opposed: 0; Abstained: 3.
PROVOST’S REPORT – SUSAN PHILLIPS
Provost Phillips provided an update on the CNSE transition. As mentioned in April, the Board of Trustees in March
passed a resolution to create the joining of CNSE and SUNY IT. This led to the need now for IT to seek authorization
to offer a new degree area, level and location – processes which were now underway, with the hopes of beginning to
operate by January. A time has yet to be determined for faculty, staff and students to decide if they will continue at
UAlbany or switch over to the new entity. We are finalizing an MOU that addresses the ability for CNSE
undergraduates to get general education, housing and meal plans and for both graduate and undergraduate students to
have doctor’s appointments, campus recreation and transportation. There were also in addition a number of other items
to be navigated. In terms of the timing of the switchover, provisions to ensure students can complete the degrees they
have started, facilities space, and so on will be discussed as we go on in the months ahead.
The Provost offered a thank you and farewell to Steve Beditz, there in his last Senate meeting as VP for Finance and
Business. A new VP will be joining us in July. We appreciate his many years of service and wish him well. Steve will
be continuing his University Council position. Provost Phillips also offered thanks to the Senate for another excellent
year of service on behalf of students and the University, which has been enormously valuable. Lastly, she announced
celebrations would be taking place in the coming weeks for our newest student graduations.
In answer to a question about CNSE faculty lines and potential UAlbany compensation, the Provost responded that the
plan is for those faculty and staff who are at CNSE to continue to stay with that unit as it transitions to IT. There is no
plan to provide UAlbany with funds for CNSE faculty lines.
In response to an inquiry regarding the status of graduate funding assistantships for next year, Provost Phillips stated
that the graduate student support budget is a favorite topic of many faculty and of the President who agrees we need to
move faster in raising funds available for those students. Each year we have built in a step increase (a quarter million)
supported by the 2020 funding process. She believes the stipend was increased last year for some programs and there is
also a strategy in the works to make the summer stipend assistantship package more attractive for some areas which
really need support. As to which departments received financial support, Kevin Williams responded that some
allocations were made based on rankings, but it is up to every department to put forth a recommendation. These were
incentive package recommendations just for student summer stipends, not for raises.
UNIVERSITY SENATE CHAIR’S REPORT –Christine Wagner, Chair
Senate Bill 1314-06: Proposal to Establish a Faculty-Initiated Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Major in Bio-
Instrumentation was approved in the Senate on 4/28/14. Approved by President Jones on 5/7/14.
The Faculty Athletics Representative, Teresa Harrison, requested to make a report to the University Senate about the
intercollegiate athletics program at UAlbany. She will report to the Senate on 5/12/14.
Senate Bill 1314-05: Proposal to Establish a Graduate Certificate Program in Teaching Composition was approved was
approved by the Senate on 4/28/14. Approved by President Jones on 5/7/14.
A letter of intent from the Department of Geography and Planning to establish a Master of Science Program in
Environmental Geographic Information Science (MSEGIS) has been approved by UPPC and GAC.
A Charter Amendment (1314-03A) regarding the charge of CAFFECoR, introduced by GOV, was approved by the
Senate on 4/28/14.
The Senate Chair has received a proposal from the College of Arts & Sciences for a reactivation of the Theatre Major.
The proposal was forwarded to UAC and UPPC. The procedure for the proposal in the Senate was approved by the
SEC on 5/5/14, and the proposal was reviewed by UAC and UPPC.
The Senate Chair has received a request for comment from Provost Phillips regarding a plan for deactivation and
discontinuation of programs associated with CNSE. This will be discussed in the SEC meeting on 5/5/14. The plan
was discussed in the SEC on 5/5/12 and with the Provost in UAC and GAC.
UUP President Brett Benjamin voiced concern as an interested party in the reactivation of the Theatre major. He saw
the reinstatement of a program that had been cut as a positive thing but asked if detail could be given about the
consideration that went into that decision, from where that initiated, and whether there was an increase in enrollment or
funds coming in to help with faculty lines there for 2 tenure line faculty and 1 visiting professor. Chair Wagner spoke
to the process by which it came through the Senate, and the subsequent approval by the SEC, UPPC and UAC
resulting in the current report to the Senate. Toni DeBlasi discussed the process whereby, from UAC’s perspective, it
was deemed an administrative issue. Dean Wulfert added that it may be recalled that the deactivation was not because
of lack of enrollment but because of a loss of faculty before the deactivation which the department did not have
resources to replace, despite the fact that it was a healthy major. The Dean shared she had been working with current
faculty, and because there are minors now, faculty devised a plan where resources would not be needed to hire 1
additional lecturer. The departmental major will no longer be offered. Regarding thoughts on reactivating other majors,
unfortunately the enrollments for other programs are very small. Department Chair Andi Lyons clarified that while
there are fewer faculty, the vast majority of students are interested in performance. At the time of the deactivation the
Department did not have FT performance faculty, the primary entry point without a key person. The department does
now have an Evergreen lectureship, and the Dean has also allowed the hiring of a visiting assistant professor in
performance. With those 2 FT people it has shifted the balance to at least being able to offer a general major. As UUP
President, Professor Benjamin added his support but voiced concern over having no tenured lined full time faculty to
run the major.
OTHER REPORTS
UFS (University Faculty Senator’s Report) –Danielle Leonard, J. Philippe Abraham & John Schmidt, SUNY
Senators
167th Plenary Spring Meeting
May 1-3, 2014
Hosted by Empire State College
Attended by UAlbany’s John Schmidt and Danielle Leonard
Gwen Kay of SUNY Oswego was elected to a two-year term as Vice President/Secretary of the UFS.
Resolutions.
Resolution of Textbooks Costs. This resolution concerned measures that might be used to keep costs down for
students, including faculty choosing open-source online textbooks or lower cost textbooks, and libraries putting
textbooks on reserve. There were some concerns with details and costs, and the measure was sent back to committee
for revisions.
Resolution on edTPA. This resolution ratified the Executive Committee’s resolution asking for removal of the edTPA
requirement for teacher certification and the appointment of an advisory committee to study the flawed implementation
of the edTPA requirement (see below). It passed without dissent.
Resolution on the Evaluation of Campus President’s commitment to the principles of shared governance—was passed
without dissent. This sent advice to the Chancellor on criteria for the periodic evaluation of campus presidents in this
area. The Chancellor previously requested the UFS’s input on this critical component of Campus Presidents’
Evaluation.
Resolution on extending SUNY Board of Trustees guidelines for Presidential Searches to the search for a Campus
Executive Officer (not using the title of “President”), as a recent appointment used this term rather than President.
(This appointment would make the CEO of CNSE also the CEO of SUNYIT, without a search.) The resolution passed
without dissent.
Teacher Education. Interim Provost Bringsjord is establishing of an advisory committee on teacher education. In the
meanwhile, the UFS has been working with our colleagues at UUP regarding the edTPA initiative of the State
Education Department. The requirement that edTPA be passed by a student in order to achieve initial teacher
certification has been delayed one year by the Legislature. The UFS Executive Committee passed a resolution in
April that calls for a removal of the edTPA as a requirement for initial certification (endorsed by the full Senate). The
Executive Committee of the Faculty Council of Community passed a resolution endorsing ours, and the Student
Assembly of SUNY passed a similar resolution. Meanwhile, the resolution has been sent to legislative leaders, the
Commissioner of the State Education Department, and the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of the State Board of
Regents.
LICH and SUNY Downstate. Since the Winter Plenary in January, SUNY agreed to conduct a new call for proposals
to purchase the LICH properties, leading to a settlement of all litigation over the closing of the hospital and layoffs.
SUNY had been attempting to negotiate a contract with the top-ranked proposer, Brooklyn Health Partners but now
Brooklyn Health Partners is being sued because it seems questionable that they can do what they proposed. If this is
not settled by May 4; SUNY moves on to the next highest-ranked proposer. The bottom line: SUNY is allowed to exit
LICH operations after May 22. Due to the delicate nature of this situation at this time, the UFS decided to delay to
mid-June a resolution from the Health Sector which calls for an investigation of the LICH-Downstate situation.
Data-driven policy making/ metrics. Chancellor Zimpher and Interim Provost Bringsjord’s presentations both
highlighted a move by SUNY in the direction of data-driven policy making in order to address President Obama’s
proposal for a national rating system that will tie certain metrics to financial aid allocations. SUNY expects to develop
its own metrics and influence the metrics adopted by the federal government.
Seamless Transfer Initiative. Interim Provost Bringsjord reported that the Transfer Pathways faculty review has
concluded and 94% of recommendations were adopted as proposed. Final pathways will be emailed this week. Full
implementation of the pathways is on schedule for Fall 2015.
Open SUNY. The call for proposals for the second “wave” of Open SUNY online degree programs and courses was
sent to the campuses on April 11 and are due May 16th. This time SUNY is seeking both existing degree programs in
high-needs areas and courses that can be shared across/between campuses to satisfy or complete curricular offerings to
meet the goals of the revised Transfer Paths. The Provost’s Open SUNY advisory committee will make
recommendations to the Interim Provost soon. SUNY System Administration continues to explore how best to offer
support services to students and faculty at a scale that can meet the Chancellor’s ambitious goal of adding 100,000 new
students to the SUNY family.
Announcements:
June 2-3: Conference on Sustainability in the Curriculum
Nov. 12-13: Making Diversity Count
Fall (TBD): Two-Day Workshop on Applied Learning
GSA (Graduate Student Association) – Caitlin Janiszewski, GSA President
The GSA has been very busy. We are preparing to move our offices due to the initiation of the campus center
expansion project. It is of course a very stressful endeavor. Much of what we need to do depends on campus center
management and we are understandably a small blip on their radar for this massive project. Our election results are the
following:
President - Caitlin Janiszewski
Vice President - Kat Slye
Treasurer - Justin Chase
MCAA Chair - Brittany Glenn
Lead Senator - Ryan Gregoire
Appointments of Senators and other chairpersons are in process. We have already received notice from Senate council
members that they would like to continue their services on their respective councils. We also successfully put on the
Spring Presidents Forum. We look forward to following up on the issues discussed and improving for the next
President's Forum in the fall. We hope to encourage more faculty to attend in the fall. We continue to hammer out the
details of our bylaws.
And finally, we are working on following up with the University Auxiliary Services regarding what seems to be a
display of incompetence regarding tax law. The treasurer and I have scheduled a meeting with UAS Executive Director
and some staff to work through the nuances of why it seems they have been instructing us to do things for 10 years
which are out of compliance with tax law. We hope to discuss our relationship as a whole and hammer out what
responsibilities UAS must fulfill to allow us to do our jobs professionally. We are dependent on UAS for critical
information regarding our financial processes. We will review our contract with them and attempt to clarify as well as
standardize our interactions so that they are fair, regular, and professional. I should note that some members of UAS
are very helpful when it comes to human resources issues, etc. but it is in regards to our overall processes that we have
experienced major issues with UAS neglecting to provide critical information or following up with questions. Small
issues of miscommunication are of course inevitable but we will be addressing those which have resulted in many
hours of graduate student officer's time compensating for something that could have and should have been
communicated well in advance.
GSA had moved offices 2 to the 3rd floor, rooms 307 and 308. Election results were in including a new University
Council representative.
SA (Student Association) – Marc Cohen, Student Association Representative
Interviews for next year's directors are being scheduled and conducted.
Purchase Requests for the comptroller's office have a deadline of Tuesday, 29th.
The senate passed a budget for next year.
Community Engagement and
Outreach
Pine Hills clean-up was a
success! Hackett Middle
School program still going on
Academic Affairs
UA U Should Know videos
out
Gender and Sexuality
Concerns
Started planning for
conference for next year
Multicultural Affairs
Planning Cultural Carnival
Student Group Affairs
Prepping for Purple and Gold
Awards
The Student Association had completed hiring staff for next year, with the exception of a Controller search by the
entire Executive Board which would continue over the summer. Over 40 new student groups had been recognized.
Community engagement efforts had been particularly successful this year, as had the job fair. The budget was done.
They had a great year and were looking forward to continued work with the Senate. Any questions were encouraged to
be sent via e-mail.
COUNCIL/COMMITTEE CHAIRS’ REPORTS:
CAA (Council on Academic Assessment) – Deborah Bernnard, Chair
Nothing to report.
CAFFECoR (Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of Expression, and Community Responsibility) –
Susanna Fessler, Chair
Nothing to report.
CERS (Committee on Ethics in Research and Scholarship) – Susanna Fessler, Chair
Nothing to report.
COR (Council on Research) – John Monfasani, Chair
COR voted to change the guidelines for support of conferences so as to allow support for conferences at the SUNY
Global Center in New York City when UAlbany faculty are principles in organizing the conference. We also have
under consideration the establishment of three new centers at Albany. Finally, we are still grappling with several issues
concerning eligibility for FRAP awards.
CPCA (Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments) – Sanjay Putrevu, Chair
The next CPCA meeting is on April 30.
The CPCA had just met and learned of 4 cases coming up. They would have another meeting once these were received.
GAC (Graduate Academic Council) – Ronald Toseland, Chair
GAC will be meeting on April 29th to consider a petition from a graduate student to be reinstated in the psychology
graduate program. We may also have other reports to consider at the meeting from the two standing committees of the
Council. Remaining business will be taken up during a meeting on May 9th if needed.
GOV (Governance Council) – Joette Stefl-Mabry, Chair
GOV met on April 28, 2014
GOV discussed how frequently the Survey for the Evaluation of Shared Governance and Consultation should be
conducted.
According to the Charter Section X.1.3 the Committee on Assessment of Governance and Consultation, a
subcommittee of GOV “shall evaluate the effectiveness of governance in representing its constituencies, in addressing
issues and concerns, and affecting institutional decisions” and, as further described in the Charter:
X.1.3.2 The Committee shall assess:
X.1.3.2.1 the structure and functioning of governance;
X.1.3.2.2 the responsiveness of governance bodies to their constituencies;
X.1.3.2.3 the effectiveness of Faculty participation in decision-making as specified in Article I, Sections 2.2
and 2.4 and Article II, Section 5.2 of the Faculty Bylaws.
X.1.3.3 The Committee shall develop and regularly administer assessment instruments, conduct data analysis
and report findings to the Council.
After considering a variety of options it was decided that the survey should be conducted every two years. Several
members recommended that on alternating years GOV should be examining the results of the previous year’s survey
and making recommendations for the next year’s survey or making plans to administer and analyze results of the
current year’s survey. Therefore the next survey should be conducted in the spring of 2016.
GOV also discussed the current term limits for Senate Officers, noting that at some other institutions Senate leaders
remain in office for two years, and at others elections are held yearly but Senate Officers may choose to run again for 4
consecutive terms. It was recommended that GOV should research the organizational structures at other institutions
and continue the discussion after more information has been gathered.
The survey had been sent out to faculty and staff and students, and all were urged to fill it out. The results would be
evaluated and shared hopefully at the first fall Senate meeting.
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing) – Elizabeth Gaffney, Chair
LISC held a meeting on Monday, April 21st. CIO Chris Haile provided updates on the plans to migrate to the new data
center. Dean Mary Casserly, provided an update on the progress made in developing an Institutional Digital
Repository. The library hopes to be able to rollout the digital repository to the campus in Fall 2014. If another LISC
meeting is needed this year, it will be held on Monday, May 19th.
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) – Anthony DeBlasi, Chair
Nothing to report
GAC was continuing to work through the Gen Ed plans and had completed 37 of 40 plans. Another 13 plans were still
outstanding. The Provost briefed GAC on the separation between UA and CNSE, with the plan essentially of UAlbany
deactivating and eventually discontinuing CNSE programs. The Council agreed those actions were necessary but
asked for periodic updates and to keep student interests in mind.
ULC (University Life Council) –Michael Jaromin, Chair
The ULC met last week and identified the impact of construction projects on University life as a significant topic for
the committee to discuss next year in regard to improving the quality of life for students, faculty and staff.
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion would hold a “Dialogue in Action” series. The results of those sessions would be
sent to ULC. More of those sessions would continue next year, and participation was encouraged.
UPPC (University Planning and Policy Council) –Andi Lyons, Chair
Nothing to report.
UPPC had met on May 7th. They approved the Certificate in English Studies, the aforementioned Theatre major
reactivation, and the updated guidelines for academic calendar planning. The Registrar is to be applauded for what
they manage to do with what goes into calendar.
Athletics Report to the University Senate, Teri Harrison, Faculty Athletics Representative
Each year the NCAA Faculty Athletics representative on campus shares a report with the Senate. This position, who
reports to the UAlbany Athletic Director and to the President, is mandated by NCAA for every academic association
with which NCAA is affiliated. The position serves a number of purposes which include ensuring academic integrity,
providing advisement to the President, and finally promoting student athletes and their social well-being. Dr. McElroy
could not be there but had offered to answer questions before the summer.
The data in the report reflects what is provided by Institutional Research and relates to the status as of fall 2013. The
Athletic data is compiled by Athletics, and most of it consists of data also reported to NCAA that becomes the basis for
public figures available on its website. The purpose of the report is to give a profile of academic characteristics of
UAlbany student athletes, who are generally playing on competitive division 1 athletics teams here at the University.
The full report has been made available on the Senate website.
NEW BUSINESS
Bill 1314-07 – Proposal to Establish a Graduate Certificate Program in English Studies, Introduced by UAC and
UPPC.
This item was distributed on the Friday prior to the meeting, and the quick turn-around time was agreed upon due to it
being the last Senate meeting of the year. Randy Craig from English summarized that the Certificate had been
discussed recently that past summer between Arthur Appleby and he and is a response to the fact that certain School of
Education and Secondary School of Education tracts require very few courses in a subject area. He added they think
this will help recruit students not only to the highly competitive School of Education’s E-tech program but also to
general Master’s and Master’s in English students. The Certificate would also be attractive to students already teaching
or looking to earn professional credentials. UPPC Chair Andi Lyons responded to an inquiry that UPPC had looked at
the proposal and determined there were no resource implications that were not addressed. Professor Craig added that
no additional resources would be required. It was more a matter of “re-packaging”.
Bill 1314-07 was approved with the following voting results and would now be passed along for Presidential approval:
Approved 36; Opposed 0; Abstained 1.
Amendment 1314-04A – Election Function:
This item was distributed for the April 28th Senate meeting at least 3 weeks in advance of the vote, which is a
requirement for Charter Amendments. GOV Chair Joette Stefl-Mabry explained that this simple Amendment came
about as the result of a question to GOV from Chair Wagner regarding if an e-mail vote would count in the recent
elections. Since voting was conducted through very specific means, GOV and the Committee on Liaison and Elections
decided to change the Amendment to delete the phrase ‘by mail or email ballot,’ this way removing all descriptors to
avoid having to anticipate any future technologies by which voting may occur.
Amendment 1314-04A was approved with the following voting results:
Approved 36; Opposed 0; Abstained 2.
A question was raised as to how many members are on the Executive Committee, to which the response was 15. It was
stressed that care should be taken that this Committee be as diverse as possible. The overlap of 1 Chair for both CERS
and CAFFECoR was discussed. This came about because of specific requirement, Senate Chair Wagner explained,
where Carolyn Fessler had been chosen by the Council from among the nominations to take over as Chair of the
Executive Committee for part of the year. The consensus was that it was not ideal for a single person to chair 2
committees. She did agree to act as CERS Chair in the short term, only so long as SEC signed off on the nomination
and taking into account that 1) the dissolution of CAFFECoR had been suggested and 2) neither CAFFECoR nor
CERS had had the occasion to meet. Regarding the 2014-15 Chair selection that week, all were encouraged all to
participate so that the Executive Committee can have diverse membership.
It was recommended that the Taskforce on Smoking on Campus be put on the radar as old business for next year, as
since it had been formed by past University at Albany President Philip it had convened only once Chair Wagner agreed
that this might not be on President Jones’ of Chief of Staff Wirkkula’s radar and was a SUNY-wide issue that needs to
be addressed in a timely fashion.
GOV Chair Stefl-Mabry responded to a question that the Provost Search Committee had been formed, including some
membership recommendations constituting formal consultation and based upon solicitation of member suggestions
from the campus community.
The Senate offered thanks to Christine Wagner for all her work serving as Chair. Chair Wagner in turn thanked those
who had concluded their service this year and those who would continue serving in the coming year.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 4:08 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Elisa Lopez, Recorder
