University Senate Meeting: Oct. 20, 2014
Campus Governance Leaders & Council and Committee Chairs
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Take a seat in the front
Senators:
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Guests/Visitors:
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Agenda
Approval of Minutes of September 29, 2014
Interim Provost’s Report – Timothy Mulcahy
Senate Chair’s Report – Joette Stefl-Mabry
Other Reports:
New Business:
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Approval of Changes in Council Membership
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Charter Amendment 1415-01A
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Report on Results of the University at Albany Shared Governance Survey
Adjournment
Approval of Minutes of September 29, 2014
Interim Provost’s Report – Timothy Mulcahy
Senate Chair’s Report – Joette Stefl-Mabry
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An initial proposal from the College of Computer Science and Information and Mathematics
and Statistics for a new concentration in Data Analytics in Computer Science and Applied
Mathematics Major was reviewed and approved by UPPC.
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Senate Chair Stefl-Mabry, Immediate past Chair Wagner and Vice Chair Fox accepted an
invitation to meet with UUP leadership on 09/30/14 to explore areas of commonality and
discuss potential areas in which to collaborate.
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Senate Chair Stefl-Mabry, Vice Chair Fox and Immediate past Chair Wagner have been invited
to attend the November 11th meeting of the UUP Executive Committee to make a
presentation on Senate projects/initiatives and answer Senate related questions.
Senate Meeting Schedule
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November 17
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December 8
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February 9
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March 9
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April 6
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April 27
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May 11
Upcoming Senate Meetings
Other Reports
SUNY Senators’ Report – J. Philippe Abraham, Danielle Leonard, John Schmidt
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We are looking forward to the Fall Plenary Session of the UFS at SUNY-ESF in Syracuse on
October 23-25th, and will have more to report about the issues to be considered later.
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We are also pleased to announce that the SUNY Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and
the University Faculty Senate will be hosting a conference entitled “Making Diversity Count:
Ensuring Equity, Inclusion, Access and Impact” on November 12-13, 2014 at the Albany
Marriott Hotel, located at 189 Wolf Road, Albany, New York. This conference will leverage
SUNY investments in student success and diversity while exploring best practices in
recruitment and retention of students, faculty and staff within the domain of higher
education.
We are thrilled to have Dr. Kerry Ann Rockquemore, President and CEO of the National Center
for Faculty Development and Diversity, and Dr. Daryl G. Smith, Senior Research Fellow and
Professor Emerita of Education and Psychology at the Claremont Graduate University, join us
as our two keynote speakers at this conference. For more information on this event and to
register to attend, please visit our website at www.suny.edu/makingdiversitycount.
We hope you will be able to join us for this seminal conference as we collaborate and share
best practices that will continue to help SUNY grow in this critical dimension.
Other Reports
Graduate Student Organization/Association Report – Caitlin Janiszewski, President
The GSA is transitioning from a period of structural reform and overhaul into a process of
cultural transformation. After a long process of re-writing our constitution, bylaws, and standard
operating procedures, we now face the even more daunting challenge of adjusting to the vision
that has been laid out and contending with challenges. At the core of this cultural transformation
is the empowerment of our GSA Assembly. The only way that our vision will become a reality is if
we inspire a culture of active participation in both our legislative and judicial branches, not just
our executive branch.
We continue to work towards the goals set out in our strategic plan including the immensely
important reform of our Multicultural and Affirmative Action Committee which over the last few
years has been an unsupported position. We have completely transformed the position to give
this person access and influence in all corners of the GSA to ensure that we as an organization
are taking a proactive and progressive role in promoting diversity and inclusion in our
community. We are already seeing great success in the reform of this position/committee
because of the active participation we are receiving from Assembly members serving on this
committee. This again speaks to the importance of this challenging cultural reform we are
pursuing.
Other Reports
Student Association Report – Marc Cohen, SA Representative (1-2)
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Director of Gender and Sexuality Concerns Deidre Dumpson and her team are looking
forward to the Unity Festival taking place on October 19th at 2pm on Colonial quad.
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Director of Multicultural Affairs Chrisel Martinez and her staff are working with Ekow King on
a series of NCBI safe space trainings to be offered over the next month.
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Derek Ellis and his Academic Affairs Department had an excellent appreciation event for
members of the Albany Police Department at the recent football game against JMU. SA
sponsored a pre-reception for officers and their families to which students and
administrators were invited to speak with officers, get to know one another and ask
questions.
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Over the next few weeks students will be taking "selfies" with the UAlbany UShould Know
poster and posting them to social media.
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The Legislative Affairs Department under the direction of Jamie Zieno held an incredibly
successful voter registration drive for which we registered over 300 students. Mayor
Sheehan, President Jones and Vice President Bouchard as well as Director Jaromin and
several other administrators came out in support of the event.
Other Reports
Student Association Report – Marc Cohen, SA Representative (2-2)
The Community Engagement and Outreach Department directed by Donavan Swanson is gearing
up for a number of events :
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October 12: Pine Hills Cleanup. 12-3pm. RIdgefield Park Lot. Rain or Shine event. Free food,
Dippikill weekend Raffle.
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October 19: Breast Cancer Rally. Breakfast for students on Campus before the walk. 50
t-shirts to the first people that sign up. Bus Transportation to Washington Square Park.
Banner to decorate before the walk and to be held through the walk. 10am Registration,
12pm walk starts.
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October 21: YMCA Greek Panel Event. 5:30-7:30pm University Hall
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October 11th: Volunteer for Northeastern Regional Food Bank. 1:00pm - 3:00pm at 965
Albany Shaker Rd, Latham, NY 12110. Help check, label, move, and package food items for
Food Banks within the Capital District.
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The Communications Department is directed by Lee Stanton and has been working diligently
to spread the word about the phenomenal work being done by SA Departments and student
groups by way of news releases and social media.
Council/Committee Reports
CAA (Council on Academic Assessment) – Deborah Bernnard, Chair
The Council on Academic Assessment met on September 30 and elected committee chairs.
Council members chose the committee on which they will serve this year. The Council also
looked at their charter and found that current practice does not reflect the charge. The Council
suggested some changes to the language in the charter which have been sent to the Governance
Council for review.
Council/Committee Reports
CAFFECoR – Carol Jewell, Chair
Having had several email discussions with Joette, Susanna, and Cynthia, I now have a clearer
understanding of the role and responsibility of CAFFECoR. CAFFECoR will have its October
meeting on Wednesday, October 8, 2014, at which it is my intention that we will begin discussing
the issues of academic freedom, freedom of expression, and the use(s) of social media.
Council/Committee Reports
CERS (Council on Ethics in Research and Scholarship) – Susanna Fessler, Chair
Nothing to report.
Council/Committee Reports
COR (Council on Research) – Kajal Lahiri, Chair
Nothing to report.
Council/Committee Reports
CPCA (Council on Promotion & Continuing Appointment) – Sanjay Putrevu, Chair
The next CPCA meeting is on Oct. 15.
Council/Committee Reports
GAC (Graduate Academic Council) – Abebe Rorissa, Chair
Our first full GAC meeting is on the 21st and I won’t have anything to report until after the
meeting.
Council/Committee Reports
GOV (Governance Council) – Cynthia Fox, Chair
GOV has provided the names of six recommended teaching faculty to fill three openings on the
President’s Advisory Council on Campus Safety.
Our next scheduled meeting is October 13. A large portion of our time will be devoted the
Report on the 2014 UA Faculty Senate Survey on Governance and Consultation. Senate Chair
Joette Stefl-Mabry (last year’s Chair of GOV) will be joining us to present the report, answer
questions, and provide guidance about the next steps.
We will also be formally constituting our two major sub-Committees, (i.e. the Committee on
Assessment of Governance & Consultation and the Committee on Liaison & Elections) and have
been asked to consider several items of new business, including the formal mechanism for
replacing the Chair of UPPC if that person steps down, and the language of the Charter relative
to the composition and charge of the CAA.
Council/Committee Reports
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing) - Boris Goldfarb, Chair
LISC council has populated the two standing committees, the Library Committee and the
Information Technology Usage Policy Committee.
The next council meeting is on October 27. At that meeting, we will review the charge of the
council according to several suggestions made by the members.
The council has been invited by the Dean and Director of Libraries, Mary Casserly, to participate
in two campus events: the University Libraries’ Preservation Department Naming Ceremony &
Reception held on October 10 and the Libraries’ celebration of Open Access Week, which will
take place on Tuesday, October 21
Council/Committee Reports
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) – Robert Yagelski, Chair (1 of 4)
The Undergraduate Academic Council met on October 9th. At that meeting, in response to the
Senate Chair’s request to review its charge, the UAC members discussed at length the
responsibilities assigned to the Council by the Senate charter and by-laws as well as the
procedures by which UAC fulfills those responsibilities. Two general areas of concern emerged
during this discussion:
(1) the appropriateness of the UAC’s charge and the nature of its authority to fulfill its
responsibilities, and
(2) the substantial workload of the UAC.
Regarding the first of these concerns, Council members acknowledged an inherent tension
between the need for shared governance of the undergraduate general education curriculum
and the tradition of assigning authority for majors to individual departments. Given that more
than half of the credits earned by students in any given major are either electives or general
education credits, the undergraduate curriculum requires shared governance, and in that regard,
many of UAC’s responsibilities (such as reviewing course proposals and program changes) are
sensible.
Council/Committee Reports
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) – Robert Yagelski, Chair (2 of 4)
At the same time, some members noted that the current review of the new general education
competencies seems to signal a fundamental change in UAC’s role of oversight of the
undergraduate curriculum, seeming to assign the Council greater authority over the curricula for
individual majors. Not all members of the Council see this development as a positive one, and
questions were raised about the extent to which UAC is required to enforce the new General
Education curriculum. Indeed, this discussion led to broader philosophical questions about
governance, including who should have authority for these components of the curriculum and
how compliance ought to be achieved. Members acknowledged that these are longstanding,
complex questions that are likely to continue to face the senate.
Regarding the second issue—UAC’s workload—it was noted that UAC has significantly more work
than some other councils and that Senate work is not distributed equally across the councils.
Members are in agreement that this disparity is a serious problem, but how to address it is a
complicated matter. Although members acknowledged that most of UAC’s assigned
responsibilities seem appropriate, there was also agreement that some of those responsibilities
seem misplaced.
Council/Committee Reports
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) – Robert Yagelski, Chair (3 of 4)
For example, the UAC Committee on Admissions and Academic Standing includes the Appellate
Subcommittee on Academic Standing, a large body that reviews student appeals of various kinds
and has a significant workload. UAC members agreed that while it is appropriate for the larger
committee to set policy regarding admissions and academic standing, the work of the appellate
subcommittee should be located elsewhere—possibly in the Office of Undergraduate Education.
Such reorganization might help make UAC’s workload more manageable and more equitable in
comparison with other councils.
UAC thus recommends that the Senate should consider whether restructuring of this kind might
be pursued as a way to clarify and streamline the work of the councils and distribute it more
equitably.
Council/Committee Reports
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) – Robert Yagelski, Chair (4 of 4)
The UAC also continued its review of the General Education Competencies Plans submitted
during the past year as part of the University’s new General Education program. As noted in the
previous UAC report, under the new General Education curriculum, all programs were to submit
by the end of fall semester, 2013 plans for meeting the four general education competencies
(advanced writing, critical inquiry, oral discourse, and information literacy). Seventeen such plans
were reviewed and approved by UAC before the end of the 2013-2014 academic year; twenty-
two plans were reviewed and returned to the appropriate departments for revision and remain
to be approved. Two other plans were submitted but remain to be reviewed. On October 9th,
UAC approved the competencies plans for the Bachelor of Arts majors in Anthropology and
Studio Art.
Council/Committee Reports
ULC (University Life Council) – Michael Jaromin, Chair
We meet on the 14th and this what I sent to them:
In preparation for our first ULC meeting next week I have attached our Senate Charter as well as
the references to two of the three standing committees included in the ULC (Committee on
Athletics, Committee on Residential Life and Committee on Health, Safety & Well-Being).
We will review our charter and provide feedback on its purpose and recommendations for its
usefulness.
In addition, I have invited Deborah Nazon to speak to us about the partnership our council has
formed over the past two years with the UACCESS ( UAlbany Collaboratively Creating Excellence,
Scholarship and Success) project and what our goals for this year will be as well.
Council/Committee Reports
UPPC (University Planning and Policy Council) – Christine Wagner, Chair
UPPC met on 10/9/14. An initial proposal for a concentration in Data Analytics in the Computer
and Applies Mathematics major was reviewed and approved. UPPC will meet again on 11/20/14.
New Business
Approval of Changes in Council Memberships
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council roster spreadsheet emailed
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changes highlighted in blue
New Business
Charter Amendment 1415-01A Brought forward by the Governance
Council
Senate Charter Amendment No. 1415-01A
UNIVERSITY SENATE
UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
Introduced by:
Governance Council
Date:
August 14, 2014
Amendment RE: Committee on Assessment of Governance and Consultation
IT IS HEREBY PROPOSED THAT THE FOLLOWING BE ADOPTED:
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That the proposed amendment of the University Senate Charter be adopted.
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That this amendment go into effect immediately following Senate approval.
Current Charter:
X.1.3.3. The Committee shall develop and regularly administer assessment
instruments, conduct data analysis and report findings to the Council
Proposed Revision:
X.1.3.3. The Committee shall develop and regularly administer assessment
instruments, conduct data analysis and report findings to the Council on a two-year
cycle.
Motion to approve Charter Amendment No. 1415-01A
A) In Favor
B) Opposed
C) Abstain
New Business
Results of the University at Albany Shared Governance Surveys
Other New Business?
Adjournment
Motion to Adjourn?
