University Senate Executive Committee
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
2:45 PM
UNH 306
Jim Collins, Senate Chair
Minutes
Present:
Collins, James; Card, Dylan; Fabris, Daniele; Fox, Cynthia; Hamilton, Diane; Jerison, Michael; Jewell, Carol;
Little, Walter; Mamorella, David; McNutt, Louise-Anne; Mower, James; Poehlmann, Christian; Reinhold, Karin;
Smith, Christy; Spencer, Latonia
Guests:
Wheeler, Darrell; Szelest, Bruce
The meeting convened at 2:49 p.m.
Chair Collins asked for a motion to change the agenda to add to “New Business” a resolution in support of a
petition requesting that the University at Albany be declared as a “Sanctuary Campus”. The motion was
unanimously approved.
SEC CHAIR’S REPORT – James Collins
I.
Informational
1.
On November 8, Chair Collins sent Chief of Staff Szelest information about the many offices which must register changes to
academic names or programs. The material was initially provided by UAC staff support Kathie Winchester.
2.
On November 9, Fall Faculty Meeting was held. Participants were pleased with an interactive format allowing time for questions
after the President’s Report.
3.
On November 11, Chair Collins met with Vice Chair Reinhold and Immediate Past Chair Fox to discuss follow up on recent
Senate resolutions, and plan an agenda for Senate leadership meetings with the Provost and Chief of Staff.
4.
On November 21, 2016 a constituent asked Chair Collins to inquire into University responses to recent racist or potentially racist
incidents on campus. Collins raised the issue with Provost Wheeler during the 11/21 Senate Meeting and he responded.
5.
On November 22, 2016, Senate leaders (Collins and Fox), met with Provost Wheeler and Chief of Staff Szelest. Among items
discussed was Senate representation on administrative review processes, including
a.
Decanal review;
b.
Non-academic administrative units;
c.
Need for discussion and clarification of rights and responsibilities.
6.
On November 22, Chair Collins and Immediate Past Chair Fox met to plan revisions to the Senate Handbook clarifying Council
procedures and routing practices.
II.
Actions taken
None to report
III.
Recommendations for actions
None
Senate Chair Collins added that he and Immediate Past Chair Fox had met with the administration to continue
conversations regarding participation in academic review. Senator Fox added that they had also discussed where the
University at Albany Faculty Handbook had been housed and who was responsible for its updating. Provost Wheeler
suggested that the Handbook should be codified and ultimately approved at a higher level, adding that there should be
a placeholder for issues that arise in the meanwhile. Chief of Staff Szelest noted that this could be an area that we ask
the Policy Advisory Group, led by VP Wirkkula in consultation with Legal, to look into further.
OTHER REPORTS
UFS (University Faculty Senate) – Diane Hamilton, Walter Little & Latonia Spencer, SUNY Senators
1.
Nothing to report.
GSA (Graduate Student Association) – Dylan Carr GSA President
1.
Nothing reported
SA (Student Association) – Felix Abreu, Student Association President
1.
Nothing reported
COUNCIL/COMMITTEE CHAIRS’ REPORTS:
CAA (Council on Academic Assessment) – James Mower, Chair
1.
Nothing new to report
Chair Mower reminded that he will be on sabbatical next year.
CAFFECoR (Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of Expression, and Community Responsibility) –Carol
Jewell, Chair
1.
Informational
a.
A few CAFFECoR members met on Friday, November 18, 2016, at which time Malcolm Sherman volunteered to serve
on the new subcommittee which GOV will form, to create procedural language for the undergraduate bulletin, as was
previously announced. We also began to talk about the policy for faculty fliers.
2.
Reports of Actions
a.
N/A
3.
Recommendations for Actions
a.
N/A
CERS (Committee on Ethics in Research and Scholarship) – Michael Jerison, Chair
1.
Nothing reported
COR (Council on Research) – Daniele Fabris, Chair
1.
Nothing reported
CPCA (Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments) – Louise-Anne McNutt, Chair
1.
Nothing to report
Chair McNutt stated that CPCA requests that the Senate consider adding another faculty member from STEM to the
council. She added that she would check the upper and lower limit of members, and the recommended replacement for
a retiring member would be voted upon at the next Senate meeting. CPCA would be considering a UUP proposal for a
policy where teaching evaluations would be based on peers and not students. Senate Chair Collins added that CAA
would also review the proposal.
GAC (Graduate Academic Council) – James Fossett, Chair
1.
Nothing reported
GOV (Governance Council) – Karin Reinhold, Chair
1.
Nothing reported
Chair Reinhold added that GOV was looking into the policy for contingent representation in the Senate.
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing) – David Mamorella, Chair
Overview of Blackboard Organizations This presentation described using Blackboard beyond just using it for courses. This
concept of using communities/organizations has been gaining traction; and anyone with a Net ID can build one.
Brief Overview of the new Lecture Capture Room in SB-31
Dave showed slides of the new LC Room in SB-31 which was recently renovated to capture lectures. It is new to the faculty, but
if anyone is interested in learning how it is done, contact the Classroom Technology staff in ITS.
Overview/Brief Demo of VoiceThread
Dave presented an overview of VoiceThread, which is an interactive collaboration and sharing tool that enables users to add images,
documents, videos, and to which other users can add voice, text, audio file, or video comments. This tool can be incorporated into
Blackboard. It does require a webcam for the video component. If anyone is interested, contact the Faculty Technology Resources team
in ITS. There is a workshop on VoiceThread scheduled for February 14th, 2017 in ITLAL.
Report/Updates from Rebecca Mugridge (Dean of University Libraries):
Faculty searches.
o
Director of Technical Services and Library Systems. The request to fill the position will go out to Budget/HR/ODI this
week.
o
Outreach and Marketing Librarian. An internal search for this position has begun and hope to be finished by mid-
December.
Student Advisory Board. The first meeting of the Board took place on October 25, and the second meeting is coming up on
November 16. Due to the amount of student interest, the SAB was split into fall and spring. A little over 30 students attended the
first meeting. This meeting raised a number of issues, including their concerns with printing costs.
Library Hours Task Force. At the request of the Libraries’ Student Advisory Board, Rebecca has appointed a Task Force to
make recommendations regarding the hours of operation for all three university libraries. The Task Force conducted a survey of
students in October and is now conducting a survey of faculty and staff. The results of these surveys will be used to inform our
decisions about hours in the next semester and going forward.
Digital Scholarship Center Task Force. The Libraries have formed a task force to explore how we might expand the services
offered by our Interactive Media Center to include things like data visualization software and GIS. To inform their work they’ve
invited Joan Lippincott, Associate Executive Director of the Coalition for Networked Information, to speak to the Libraries and
other interested folks about digital scholarship support services. This will take place on November 15, 10:30-12:00 in the Cobb
Room, and LISC members are welcome to attend.
Other Items
Rebecca will have a representative speak to the Committee on the reconfiguration of the Library’s service desks and how it’s
going to change the look of the Library.
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) –Karen Kiorpes and Christy Smith, Co-Chairs
UAC met on October 18 and again on November 10. In its September meeting, UAC reviewed a proposal from the School of Social
Welfare to revise their policies on termination from their major. In response to questions at that meeting, the School clarified the language
of the policy and the circumstances under which a student would not receive a passing grade in Field Placements. The proposal was
approved unanimously on October 18.
On October 18 UAC reviewed two revised General Education plans, one from Political Science and the other from Social Welfare. The
former was approved. UAC has asked Social Welfare for a point of clarification regarding the Dewey Library role in the Plan.
Four new General Education Competency Plans were submitted. After the October meeting, Chair Kiorpes divided UAC voting members
into subcommittees to review three of the new Competency Plans. Kiorpes assigned plans to subcommittees based on representation of a
UAC faculty member in a discipline relevant to the department submitting the plan. The subcommittees reported on the plans at the UAC
meeting on November 10.
Computer Science: UAC will work with the department on required revisions before it can be approved.
CNSE: Approved pending minor changes.
Urban Studies and Planning: Approved pending minor changes.
The Human Development competency plan will be reviewed in time for discussion at the December 6 UAC meeting.
The Committee on Admissions and Academic Standing will be submitting a proposal for a statute of limitations for late withdrawal
requests. Additionally, a proposal regarding readmission petitions may be forthcoming.
Two student cases are under review by Interdisciplinary Studies, including one internship.
On October 27, Kiorpes and Kathie Winchester met with Cynthia Fox and Jim Collins to discuss their request to SEC to create
documentation of procedures to follow when a department or college proposes certain organizational changes. Recent proposed changes
in the School of Business and in the College of Computer Engineering and Applied Sciences have brought such issues to the forefront,
and there has been clarification regarding the role the SEC and UPPC should play in such proposals. Kiorpes and Winchester want to
capture the jurisdiction for approvals, the steps needed, and the order of those steps, based on the types of administrative changes being
proposed. They provided Fox and Collins a draft of a list of possible types of changes and a list of the groups that may be involved in
approval and implementation.
ULC (University Life Council) – Ekow King, Chair
1.
Informational – The University Life Council’s next meeting is on November 28th
a.
A report will be given at the November 30th meeting
2.
Reports of Actions
3.
Recommendations for Actions
UPPC (University Planning and Policy Council) – Cynthia Fox, Chair
I.
Informational
a.
The Council met 11/16. The agenda included one item of Old Business: a continuation of the discussion of the role of UPPC role
in Compact Planning; and two items of New Business: a discussion of Senate policy and procedures re departmental name
changes and reorganizations, and a proposed Resolution on CNSE.
b.
At the meeting of 11/16, Vice President for Finance and Administration James Van Vorst announced that an outside consultant
would be on campus December 6-9 to gather information about the functioning of division of Finance and Administration and
requested that UPPC recommend two individuals to meet with him during this visit.
c.
Brian Polanco has been appointed UPPC’s undergraduate student representative and plans to attend our December 7 meeting.
II.
Actions Taken
a.
In the matter of UPPC’s role in Compact Planning, it was agreed that the Senate, via UPPC, will be invited to make a
presentation early in the process that speaks to the faculty’s funding priorities, and that UPPC and/or its subcommittees will
be provided reports on the performance outcomes of previous awardees. VP Van Vorst will bring updated documents
reflecting these clarifications to our next meeting.
b.
In the matter of the discussion of Senate policy and procedures re departmental name changes and reorganizations, Senate
Chair /UPPC member Jim Collins agreed to create a first draft of a document that would eventually serve as permanent
record/ guide for more consistent Senate decision making in the future.
c.
In response to VP Van Voorst’s request, Chairs Chittur and Leventhal have been asked to have their respective committees
(Facilities and Resources) each elect a member to represent UPPC/the Senate at the meeting with the consultant.
III.
Recommendations.
a.
None at this time
Chair Fox added that UPPC would meet the following Wednesday, when VP Van Voorst had been invited to report on
the announcement that compact planning had been suspended for this year. She noted that 4 members would join a
meeting with a consultant regarding the evaluation of VP Van Voorst’s unit. Proposals coming through, she noted,
would include 1) Reactivation of a Certificate in Graduate Studies in Autism and Applied Behavior Analysis and 2)
Revision of an Undergraduate Bachelor’s in Sociology, including the addition of 2 concentrations.
INTERIM PROVOST’S REPORT – DARRELL WHEELER
Interim Provost Wheeler stressed once again the importance of full participation at the December 9th and 10th 2-day
“Concert of Ideas” strategic planning event, another vital opportunity to collectively weigh in on where the university is
going. He underlined that the process of hearing from each of the component groups regarding compact planning will
go forward so that, when in the next cycle we release the funds, there should be alignment with the strategic plan and
vision. This, he stated, will allow for critical evaluation. Inclusion and transparency, he emphasized, should be reflected
in reporting on how the funds have been used and how we have met the objectives put forward in the MOUs and
compacts. He added that we cannot wait until reports come out, but rather have to be proactive in aligning our research
and initiatives, and in asking important and sometimes uncomfortable questions about how we are doing on a regular
basis. The Interim Provost described having attended the APLU annual meeting with aspirational peer universities and
said he would be pushing for resources for our university leaders to attend this important meeting in the future. He
provided an update on issues related to the recent Presidential election, including President Stellar’s and Chancellor
Zimpher’s responses to the request to declare the University at Albany a sanctuary campus. Following discussion,
Interim Provost Wheeler underscored that it is incumbent upon each member of our community to pay attention and
engage in a dialogue that ensures inclusivity.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
A. Proposal to clarify status of CNSE/UA research funds
B. Proposal for resolution on Research Foundation.
Chair Collins explained that UPPC was considering both of the above items, referred by CERS, and wanted the SEC to
consider the policy on how research funds get allocated and accounted for. He added that the resolution proposed was a
call to support a legislative effort by UUP and the CUNY system to get private research and university foundations to
have a more public status so that they have to be more transparent and open to FOIL inquiries. After discussion, the
SEC agreed that both items should also be referred to the Council on Research for consideration and recommendations.
C. Update: procedures and routing for minor and major academic changes.
Chair Collins noted that he would be working on an initial draft for the spring.
D. Update: Councils’ ‘meet and greet’ at Fall Faculty Meeting
The SEC made suggestions to improve the procedures for future ‘meet and greets’.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Referral to Councils of recommendations from 2016 Survey of Shared Governance
Chair Collins reviewed recommendations and charged members to scan for any items requiring their respective
council’s follow-up.
2. Resolution in support of petition requesting that UAlbany be declared as a “Sanctuary Campus”
Following discussion, a motion was made to approve that the above resolution go to the Senate floor, with the following
voting results: 6 Approved, 0 Opposed, 7 Abstained.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 4:36 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Elisa Lopez, Recorder
