2008-2009 University Senate
Monday, May 4, 2009
3:30 pm, Campus Center Assembly Hall
John Delano, Chair
Minutes
Present:
J. Philippe Abraham, Sandra Austin, Hassaram Bakhru, Henryk Baran, Kristina Bendikas, Zakhar
Berkovich, Tom Bessette, R. Scott Birge, Ray Bromley, Daryl Bullis, Andrew Byon, Sairam
Chinnam, Richard Collier, Randall Craig, Edward Cupoli, Kirsten Davison, John Delano, Jane
Domaracki, Sue Faerman, Nicholas Fahrenkopf, Susanna Fessler, Richard Fogarty, Sally Friedman,
Robert Gibson, Andrew Haas, Eric Hardiman, Reed Hoyt, Allen Israel, Richard Johnson, Donald
Keenan, Alain Kaloyeros, Laurence Kranich, William Lanford, Cristian Lenart, Eric Lifshin,
Carolyn MacDonald, Jean McLaughlin, Candace Merbler, George Philip, Susan Phillips, Lawrence
Raffalovich, R. Michael Range, Kwadwo Sarfoh, Joan Savitt, Lawrence Schell, John Schmidt,
Morton Schoolman, Benjamin Shaw, Daniel Smith, Edward Waltz, Robert Yagelski
Guests:
Robert Bangert-Downs, Jon Bartow, Elizabeth Gaffney, Teresa Harrison, Sheila Mann,
Ruth Pagerey, Gregory Stevens, Edelgard Wulfert
The meeting was convened at 3:33 pm.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of April 6, 2009 were approved with minor changes. The LISC report will be updated as requested by
LISC Chair Lawrence Raffalovich.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT by GEORGE PHILIP
Nih annced fundling for ctr of 6.28million
Swine flu—h1n1: update 985 cases worldwide 20 countrys gave stats 1 death in ctrt 63 in ny
Good new no reprtd cases in cap region or at UA and strain in us not as virilant as anticipated; working with helth
authorities and regular communcatns and planning for upcoming events; will do all to prevent and protect cmty
Budget: stimulus effects gotten 21 of delegatins to sing on letter to have gove take 118m in stimulus money equvlt
on 09-10 decrease to suny; gov not receptv to cmmunicatn that money is dry approp; 2.5 b assigned to ed in ny all
went to suny meds or cmty colleges—none to state op campuses
Continuing to work on budget for 08-09; addtl cut of 4m total 18.4 mill; havnt had to make difficult decisions;
these cuts are perm; to address these need to right size organization; more and worse is yet to come;
Moving forward lobbying for operation money making argumt that we are under invested;
Capitol—we have 2nd yer allocation for critical maintnce; affirmation to buld SOB and student ctr expansion;
5 yr deferrerd mtncn of 1billion;
Capitol $ is not interchangeable
New SOB proj is underway annncmt upcoming for architect
Relocation of data ctr looking at 3 potential sites old hlth bld; old commissary and Greenfield site
CC expansion in programming stage; location is being considere
Enrollmt mngmt stronger academic profile for incoming class; record no. of apps over 22,000 apps; those acceptd
hav higher gpa and sat scores;
Transfers up 10% in apps; will enroll 1350; quality is excellent from privat instutns as well as comty colleges
Burton lecture—well done by meryl tisch newly elected chancellor brd of regents
Also at event:
GladysAnn wells state librarian from AZ
Robert marccone—NYS Div of Probation
David momrow—American cancer society
Richard neiman—NYS Banking dept.
David soars—albany cty DA
Clean up day was well over 450 volunteers; made a big difference thanks to all who particptd
Fountain day—10,400 studts largest ever grup; 2 arrests; one injury; thanked all who particpt
Giants will be back for ’09 and negotiating for future contracts with them;
Klowerys retirement—shes been invaluable member of commty and done wonderful job;
Commencement—hope everyone can make it; anticipate good crowd; speaker will be dglick for undergrad;
assembly chair for higher ed;
This weekend went to alum awards at crown plaza; should be impressed with success of our studts and should be
proud for what faclty have done ; students give credit to education at UA
Honrors college dinner—wonderful event where HC srs had dinner; bright energetic young popel
Discussion—cers misconduct policy: adhoc committee was created to address transactions that were handeld
approp for lang in place but not apporp levl of due process for faclty members; fed gov has rules for research;
concern was that we conform w/current rules and make sure that faclty who are subject to investagtns are given
approp due process ; he’s concerned abou legal sufficiency in this process; wants input of resrch faclty of UA; its
impotnat that it be collab effrt that it comes thru adhoc committee throu cers and senate;
Cmacdonald;; d/n understand; if bill dn get signed then stuck with old process;
gP—nneeds uniformrecommendatn approvd by adhoc cers senate and UCounsel; wans something that we can
have final solution without mixed messages; needs proposal that is jointly submitted;
PROVOST’S REPORT by SUSAN PHILLIPS
Update with swine flu—thanked all who began to think about what to do if need to curtail classes exams due to
outbreak; may use ideas for the fall; this is oppty to get emergeny plans;
Budget: at town ahll mtges re: 0809 paymt of bill and 4m bill due on 7/1—putting together plan to address 2nd
round; will go to sr staff and upc; effort to draw in 2prim unions;
Discusson on phoenxis design – way to craft process so in effct for 0910; have time for this process and wants to
talk to as many as possible and think about timeline; have not felt big hits yets; will feel pinch in fall; have
extraordinary capacity to be resilient which willb e handy;
Been spking w/ 4 councils to reavluate grad studt portfolio (see coun cil repts) hope to have desing and begin
process in place to start in fall to have idea of how to spend grad studt $s;
Process underway to take pretenured faclty to learn more abt process; this wed will have 1st discussion ; had
discuss with library faclty; intended to promote and preserv excllnt faclty we have and prepare for process;
Have heard abou concerns whether or not budget decisions will be made in promotion and tenure process; will stay
away and not to worry; those who have jr colleagues should be reassured
Falcty who sponsored undergrad studt
Mmasson
Jon schmid
Cherly fry
Carla fimer
Elga wulfer
Mlarson
Glee
Lhalparin
Mlarson
Tebert
Thanked all promoted undergard resrch; same day on open house for accept studtns
100,000 grant fo envmntl sustnably efforts
Rachel dresschler has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend for 2009
Anthro— Professor John Justeson has been awarded 10,000,000 Mexican pesos (about $900,000) by Mexico’s
National Institute of Indigenous Languages (INALI)
Geo and plan— memorandum of understanding with the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation for the provision of geographic information systems (GIS) services totaling $3 million over the next
5 years.
Judaic studies— Professor Barry Trachtenberg is currently a 2009 Fellow at the Frankel Institute for Advanced
Judaic Studies and will be a summer 2009 Research Fellow at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Shawn bushway—wash post squoted
sOE—deborah may and jane d for special ed leadership
SPH— On May 5 & 6, the School of Public Health will host the 5th Annual GIS and Public Health Conference at
the school, featuring 6 nationally and internationally know experts in the field of GIS and its application to Public
Health.
Athletics—stats on athletes do exceptnly well nationally
ITS—wireless printing will be available soon; UAlbany students, faculty and staff using the WiUAlbany
wireless service (UA_WPA) on campus can now configure their laptops to send print jobs to any UniPrint
printer.
DRC—27th aawards; making accessable for all studts
mR_--dn mention doc student review panel; she mentioned (see abov); program dir at mtg for additnl input;
timeline of process is to begin before summer and complete before jan 1
MR—how is final reviw panel being put together
SP—asked for recommendans for partiptn recvd names last Monday to represent 4 senate councils and mix; all
names don’t meet all criteria; inviting sugg from 4 councils and program chairs; d/n have final list yet and made
request for consultation; flu has been part of delay
Senate Chair’s Report – John Delano
SUNY-wide Senate Report – William Lanford and R. Michael Range
MR—report re: plenary; highlight a few items—pres of ufaclty senate expressed satisfctn with nzimpher selection;
he and prov palm and believe she sets ground for being in charge; expect major changes
Electn of new suny wide president- began as pr ocedural to announce no. of votes; nos due get reported to
assembly; made motion to suspend rules of order; gov committee of suny wide will decide if to change bylaws
Panel discussion—shared gov in suny; things in answers to consider; word most often was transparency especially
in budget; john oconner anncd tht rf website is updated
Interim vice chancellor jim vanvoorst—gave smmary re: financial plan of suny of past and coming yr; stated that
suny realizes that they need to work hard in DOB of nature of revenue streams
Graduate Student Organization Report – Nicholas Fahrenkopf
Clarify that vp election is still pending; thanked john for leadership this year and all of senate for listening and
hearing grad student issues
Student Association Report – Daniel Truchan III
Final Univeristy
Senate Report.doc
Council/Committee Reports
i.
CAA – Henryk Baran, Chair
ii.
CAFFECoR – Malcolm Sherman, Chair—hopes for recorder next year
iii.
CERS – Carolyn MacDonald, Chair
iv.
COR – Lawrence Schell, Chair—april 22nd and 29th mtg.
v.
CPCA – Eric Lifshin, Chair
vi.
GAC – Laurence Kranich, Chair
vii.
GOV – R. Michael Range, Chair
viii.
LISC – Lawrence Raffalovich, Chair
ix.
UAC – Joan Savitt, Chair—still have change in last item change is dept of chemistry
x.
ULC – Daniel Smith, Chair
xi.
UPC – Reed Hoyt, Chair—will meet again this semester for specila mtg this wed.
Cmacdonald—vote to add to item to agenda re: resolution to sacrifice salary increases; need vote to put on the
agenda; john sited bylaws to add new items to agenda; needs 2/3 apprvle to add to agenda as new business—jd
called for vote; vote apprvd to add to agenda
Report on Middle States Self-Study by Senate representative – Reed Hoyt
NEW BUSINESS
i.
(4:25-4:35 PM) Election of the 2009-2010 Vice Chair—jd introduced 2 candidates; dc called for any
additional noms and there were none-rules are that each candidatae ccan give 2 minute talk
1st was sfessler: appreciate those who expressed confidence for vice senate and gave overview of
experience and methods; gave overview of service; blv in equity of process and debate; will due best
to recgn all voices and conduct efficiently; h
Elifshin: gave overview of wqualifcns here since 2000 and service; have served at univ senate lvl;
impressed w/faclty and hope to have oppty to discuss; discussed srvc outside univ. feels its imprtnt
in increasing communicatin in academic unts; encourg service participant especially sr faclty
member blvs in open communication and to leave private agendas behind; need to define our
directions
i.
(4:35-4:40 PM) International Baccalaureate Degree (UAC)
Introduced by jsavitt—think this is program to recognize and urge substitute on language currently in new
bill; open to discussion; no comments or questions; motion to approved and seconded and passed
ii.
(4:40-4:50 PM) Restrictions to Minor in Education (UAC; UPPC)
Bill to restrict entry to minor take effect with next entering class; not first to be restricted; uac dn have
specific rules how to rstrict; SOE has followed rules to restrict major ;; uac endorses; well reasoned and
argued;
DS—100 studetns will be affected; any provision for reentry students ; anyone who qualitfies can apply
Ino way to preent studet from completed ed minor (DC) could find at time of graudation they are blocked
from minor; js understand that permission of dpet will be required
Bangert downs—have discussed with registrar and
Whats intent of restricting minor? Bdowns—400 increase in minors and becoming unwiedldy to maintain
quilaity ; tryint to focus on exp in SOE of undergrad; would like to give special attention those in minors;
JS point of logic is that ed minor requires palce in commty; 390 experience ;
There are some things that dn apply;
DS—the way its constructed its not easily implemented; no method to restrict
Not reasonable to ask soe ; no way to know what implications will be don’t know if implications will be as
dire as implied ; won’t be on students transcript until signed off by soe; arguemt that we’re sending
students out w/less than 3.0, should require 3.0 to take 390 and would not need proposal; students would
want to know earlier whtehter allowed to take minor and not faiar to wait this long; JS—it’s a minor
because students are interested in education
Jd asked for motion—motion made and seconded; upon vote bill approved
Need motion for 30 additional minutes and aapprved
iii.
(4:50-5:00 PM) Minor in Neurobiology (UAC)
Approvl of minor; psych 101 courses reqrd for major; discuseed with psych dept and would take nos of
exceptions to make this happen; why not suspend rules to; asked for motion to vote and bill passed
Suspended rrules and asked for vote to announce election and jd announced winner: Eric Lifshin
Thanked both for partipating in election
iv.
(5:00-5:15 PM) Misconduct Policy (CERS)—suggested changes have been emaild; cers has been wrking
hard to make this substance and not about process; cers has worked on policy changes; point out that if its
passed this will continue to evolve; problems to be addressed were issues that pres noted were developing;
pres met w. cers last year and dicussed problems arisen; largely feeling of cers that language of checks and
balance not exercised; discussed those things that are correctly under perview of policy; changes address
places that could be streamlined and clarified; concerned that it would be irresponsbl not to make changes
and concerned about timeline; there’s been long period waiting for consult wih admin; pres then request
new ad hoc committee; this is dragging out and been distributed widely since last june;
Discussion that it will not be singed by president ; bakhru surposed that it has not been discussed
with cers he’s member; thinks it should be discussed by cers; CD says its been discussed by email;
sfessler read polcy changes two issues is deadline; and disenfranchismt of vp for resrch does not
support—jeopardiezes that legal sufficiency of university
cd—problem has arisen w/outside complntns
fessler—misrepresenting scholarship undermines the trust that comty depends; violans of trust; if we
let dishonesty happen on our watch we undermine everything we do (read from 2005 bill passed in
senate); appreciates efforts ccers has put in but this sets us back
jmonfassani;;objects that assumption that admin is unbiased newtraul judge that is not case in many
instances; has seen instances where students have been ripped off by profs due to vested interest in
profs; admins interst would be its investment and to protect prof; question of integrity comes into
place w/Dsintgshd prof; should go public if situation arises; urged senators not to support
JD read statement from lvideka not to support;
DC says it sound lik subversion of th senate; but we get policy from cers not adhoc committee;
Eric—was on adhoc comm.; there are lot of issues dealing w/legality that a lawyer needs to decide;
was example of outside plaintiff w/unfair allegation; the purpose of learning how we proceed and
letting them know we have an inquiry; need to be concerned that too much info gets outside of univ.
still need to discuss w/right people in the room; nature of cers is that its very private; difficult
environment;wont go far if anything in there that has serious legal issues; d/n think we are there yet;
MR—point that policy is still evolving and cited revision of policy form 4-5 yrs ago that purpose
was to get sr faclty involvd in process from beginning ; idea that all needs to be vetted thru legal
counsel has already been vetted; there are 3 concerns raised by pres; one is def of misconduct;
definition of inquiry;;these defs have been written by jreilly; the ; 3rd item was changed from exist
policy is that plaintiff not given right to full documnetatn; one of things the pres was concerned
about and issue has ben cleared by legal counsel; mr votes in favor of amendment and let pres take
approp action and deal w/legal counsel;
Jd made motion for additional 25 minutes to adjrn at 6:00 and approved
Dsmith made motion to close debate and seconded vote made to close debate; did not get 2/3rds vote
and debate remade open
If we pass will it make process go faster (reed) and would support to get out of limbo; torn by
content of bill; would like to see it get moving instead of keep stalling;
CD—idea to bring forward changes that are consentual ; bu would like to drop issue restricting right
of complantant and cers form adhoc committee and to move forward
Bakru—should go back o cers and be tabled
Danderson concerned about vps request to table
cd—there are two adhoc committees
dc—gov work w/cers to create adhoc committee and and create genuine committee to form
committee and bring to senate; this was presented as a motion that gov and cers would id group to
work towards consultive doc to bring to senate; vote made to approve
resolution introduced by cmacdonald that sr faclty make sacrifice and contribute 3% raise; not
proposing changes in union agreements but to create fund to; cd this makes powerful stamtent to
legislators that faculty care about univ; funds could be directed towards academics; sec would ask
faclty where to spend money; cmerbler and cd had conversation—anyone can make voluntary
contributions but concerned about use of term “controlled by sec”, its decision of pres which
academic programs will continue and which will not; dn belv we have power to direct where funds
will be used; cd—says not true that signatory of fund controls how to spend$$; discussion of
mechanisms to use money;
sbirge thinks its ill advised
blanford—speaks in favor
friendly amendment to remove part of sec to end of PP; resolution was passed
an extension was granted
OLD BUSINESS
i.
(5:15-5:30 PM) IRCUAP Amendment (GOV)—mr amendment was introduced and happy to take
any questions; there were none; vote made and bill passed
ADJOURNMENT
6:00
