COUNCIL AND COMMITTEE SUMMARIES
Meeting of the University Senate, May 11, 2015
As submitted to Yenisel Gulatee, Senate Secretary, University Senate
UNIVERSITY SENATE CHAIR’S REPORT –Joette Stefl-Mabry, Chair
I.
Informational
•
Proposal for a new Advanced Certificate Program, Adolescent Special Education for
Childhood Special Educators was approved by GAC (April 28, 2015), UPPC (April 09,
2015).
•
Proposal to establish a Bachelor of Science in Human Development was approved by
UAC (April 09, 2015), UPPC (April 30, 2015)
•
Proposal to establish an undergraduate minor in Emergency Preparedness, Homeland
Security, and Cybersecurity (UAC, April 23, 2015), UPPC (April 30, 2015).
II. Reports of Actions
•
Bill 1415-03 to establish a Graduate Certificate Program in Emergency Preparedness,
Homeland Security and Cyber Security was approved by the President 05/04/2015
•
On 04/27/2015 the Chair received a memo from Dean Edelgard Wulfert, CAS that
“effective the Fall 2015 semester, the Journalism program, currently housed in the
Department of English, will move to the Department of Communication. All faculty will
retain their current departmental affiliation (two Journalism faculty have their home in
Communication, one in English). Journalism, Communication, and English have been
consulted an support this move.”
•
05/04/2015 SEC approved a resolution to support the Creation of the College of
Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity
III. Recommended Actions
N/A
UFS (University Faculty Senator’s Report) –Danielle Leonard, J. Philippe Abraham &
John Schmidt, SUNY Senators
Submitted by John Schmidt, UFS Senator
The following issues were considered at the Spring Plenary
1. Budget. The budget includes a modest increase in Tax dollar funding for SUNY, but not
enough to meet the increased costs (e.g. UUP 2% increases in salary this year and last).
The state operated campuses budget increased from $713M to $730M, a $15M increase
or 2.1%. This includes an $18M Investment performance category to be doled out based
on the SUNY Excels metrics (individual campus plans yet to be submitted, but this year
will be based primarily on student completion rates). There will be another $300 tuition
increase this the final year of SUNY2020, which (assuming approximately 200,000
students) will add approximately $60M, same as last year. The UUP’s 2% raises this year
and last would increase costs about $60M each year. Hence costs are being shifted from
State tax dollars to tuition again. On the capital funds side, there is also another $200M
for critical maintenance, same as last year. Still to be considered by the legislature are
SUNY’s proposed extension of SUNY2020 for further tuition rises, and a clarification of
the “maintenance of effort” to include cost increases, rather than just constant dollars.
2. Experiential Learning (or Practical Learning or Internships). The budget still
included language on experiential learning (which we consider a terrible precedent of
Legislative mandating of curriculum), in spite of letters from SUNY UFS, CUNY Senate
and Faculty Council of Comm. Colleges Chairs to the Higher Ed Committees of the
Legislature opposing it, although the requirement was considerably modified. It now calls
for the SUNY Board of Trustees to pass a resolution to develop a plan on Experiential
Learning by June 1, with implementation delayed to June 1 of next year. Individual
campuses would decide whether the plan is feasible for them, and the implementation
must explicitly engage Campus Governance Leadership and the UFS. The UFS plans to
set up a steering committee to ensure faculty input into the requirement in line with the
faculty’s primary responsibility for SUNY’s curriculum.
3. Seamless Transfer. Seamless transfer has been largely implemented with 52 discipline’s
transfer paths covering 32,000 courses. (62 waivers were approved and 185 courses
redesigned, largest and most comprehensive transfer system in the nation). SUNY System
Admin is now concentrating on a new audit program called “Degree Works,” which
works like DARS on our campus, but would allow prospective transfers SUNYwide to
plug into any program at any SUNY campus and see where their current courses fit into
the new program, allowing them to see how long it would take to finish that program
before they even apply to transfer. It is now operating on 9 campuses, and is slated to
cover up to 45 campuses by the fall of 2016.
4. Open SUNY. The infrastructure (Help Desk, Concierge, Hotline, etc) is now up and
running The predecessor online program, the SUNY Learning Network, has served
88,000 students over the last 20 years. The goal is to add 100,000 more within 2 years, to
extend the SUNY brand/footprint and to insulate SUNY from the downturn in numbers of
high school graduates in NY State. SUNY has a Provost’s Open SUNY Advisory
Committee (POSAC) that is working to implement this slowly to be sure it will head in
the right direction with an eye on quality. One thrust is to create a Faculty internal quality
control via the Center for Online Teaching Excellence (COTE) website. Some web
addresses for POSAC and Open SUNY that may prove helpful:
A. POSAC webpage, with Minutes of every meeting.
http://commons.suny.edu/opensuny/about/the-provosts-open-suny-advisory-committee/
B. Open SUNY FAQs.
http://commons.suny.edu/opensuny/faq/
C. MOOC/Coursera FAQ
http://commons.suny.edu/opensuny/mooc-faq/
D. COTE (Center for Online Teaching Excellence)
http://commons.suny.edu/cote/
E. Open SUNY Toolkit
http://open.suny.edu/toolkit
F. Institutional Readiness
http://commons.suny.edu/opensuny/institutional-readiness/
G. SUNY Research about On-line Instruction
http://commons.suny.edu/cote/suny-research-abstracts/
5. Intellectual Property. SUNY is working to update its rules regarding patents (but not
copyrights) within the next year, removing ambiguities about patents worked up “on
one’s own time” and the split between the SUNY Campus and the individual faculty on
royalties. They aim to clarify the language so that there is less barrier to contracts with
industry, and to promote student and faculty innovation and entrepeneurship. There will
be at least on open webinar before finalization.
6. Retention and Completion Rates. The SUNY wide completion rates (47% at 4 years,
62% at 5 years & 64% at 6 years) is markedly better than that of the nationwide public
universities (33%,52% & 57.5% respectively), but not quite up to that of private
universities (48%, 63% & 65% respectively). The average first year retention rate at
SUNY University Centers is 87%. Research funding grew 87% from ’03 to ’12, with
only Michigan, Texas and North Carolina ahead of us among national public university
systems. SUNY is now searching for a new head of the Research Foundation/ Vice
Chancellor of Research and Economic Development.
7. Fall Conference Planned. There will be a SUNY Conference on “Building a new
business model for the academy” on Oct 29-30 in New York City to discuss various
trends and movements including Partnerships, Mergers, Acquisitions, etc.
8. Review of Campus Presidents. In the next month SUNY will be reviewing 10 campus
presidents (mostly 4 year campuses, except for Stony Brook). These are supposed to be
360 reviews, soliciting input from all stakeholders. Campus Governance Leaders will be
asked to submit names of people who should be surveyed. This year includes the campus
presidents that have been in office the longest (with a view to possible salary
adjustments), but the next two years will move to other campus presidents, and so may
include UAlbany at some point.
Resolutions were passed on the following subjects:
1. Resolution on Faculty oversight of the curriculum (see above).
2. Resolution on Applied Learning (see above)
3. Resolution supporting renewal of SUNY 2020.
4. Resolution encouraging SUNY to explore initiatives in Open Access Journals to
avoid extortions from Elsevier and other blocs of journals.
5. Resolution encouraging SUNY to set up Graduate Fellowships for our best
undergrads seeking to enter graduate fields at SUNY institutions.
6. Resolution urging SUNY and Faculty to lobby for continued overall funding of NSF,
and against specific directorate cuts to social science (proposed 45% cut this year).
GSA (Graduate Student Association) – Caitlin Janiszewski, GSA President
The GSA has had a very successful year. Since we raised the fee two years ago we have not
substantially changed our spending patterns meaning that we have banked a very comfortable
surplus for our future. We have spent a great deal of time rebuilding our organization by
reforming our governing documents and overhauling our standard operating procedures. During
this transformation we were able to gather broader participation from our own student body so
that we could have a productive effect on the Senate, the SUNY Student Assembly, and the
National Association of Graduate-Professional Students. With this progress and money to fall
back on as enrollments drop, we are poised to extend our reach even further to more effectively
represent graduate students. We are proud to report that our efforts have not gone
unnoticed. Recently, at the SUNY Student Assembly spring conference we were given the
"Strongest Campus Student Government" award and also recognized for our "Commitment to
Female Leadership and Empowerment". Winning the bid to host the National Leadership
Summit for the NAGPS was another recognition of our potential and growth. To spearhead this
growth is our new leadership which is transitioning in to start on June 1st.
The new E-Board is the following:
President: Bob Beach
Vice President: Kat Slye
Treasurer: Hina Thalho
Equity and Inclusion Chair: Amani Edwards
*Note: our constitutional amendment passed which changed this officers position
from Multicultural and Affirmative Action Chair (MCAA) to Equity and Inclusion Chair.
Lead Senator: Hanna Marie Pageau
University Council Representative: Caitlin Janiszewski
We will be working on appointments of the Programming and Grants Chair positions as well as
Senators immediately. We have a very busy end of the semester with planning for the NAGPS
Leadership Summit this summer, the President's Forum, as well as our trips to the NAGPS
Northeast Regional Conference and SUNY Student Assembly meetings. We had very productive
meetings in both places. But of course, what is keeping us busier than anything is the beginning
of transition. We hope to have a very solid transition this year with several returning officers
along with new and excited officers. The new E-Board is excited to work on strategic plans again
and gear up for a productive 2015-2016.
SA (Student Association) – Marc Cohen, Student Association Representative
New SA President: Jarius Jemmott
New SA VP: Kevin Murphy
Academic Affairs
-
Academic Affairs has a very successful year! We kicked off the year with an APD
Appreciation Day as an initiative to give back to the police that keep our neighborhoods
downtown safe. Later in the semester, we initiated out “University at Albany, You Should
Know” campaign, demonstrating the reality of the UAlbany student body. We finished
the fall semester with SA’s first annual Pizza Wars, helping raise money for PAL’s
Holiday Toy Drive. Finally, this semester, we followed up on our support for law
enforcement with UPD Appreciation Day.
Communications
-
Communications worked hard this year laying out the groundwork for the work of the
department in the future. We began by establishing the monthly “SA Daily” newsletter,
keeping the campus updated on our important news and announcements. In addition, we
established our presence both within the Capital District by establishing connections with
local media outlets. Finally, we worked amongst other student government leadership in
nearby colleges to lay the foundation for an upcoming Student Governance Conference.
Community Engagement and Outreach
-
Over the course of the Spring 2015 Semester, the Student Associations Department of
Community Engagement and Outreach has taken part in and completed a multitude of
community service initiatives. These initiatives range from Relay for Life to the 5k color
run to a University Police Department Appreciation dinner and more. Perhaps the most
notable initiative, Pine Hills Cleanup, had combined the efforts of not only the UAlbany
community, but the Pine Hills Neighborhood as a collective effort to clean up the Pine
Hills neighborhood. Not only was one large cleanup organized, but several smaller
cleanups were brought together to be known as the Pine Hills Improvement Group
Cleanup Initiative (PHIGCI). PHIGCI has utilized not only the Student Association staff,
but a variety of other groups, such as the American Red Cross, Middle Earth, and the
Cross Charity.
Dippikill
-
Dippikill had a phenomenal year both improving and expanding the work of the
department. We began the semester by ordering a variety of exciting Dippikill themed
merchandise for marketing opportunities and giveaways as a way to get out name out
there. In the fall, we created photo albums to keep at reservation desks to give our guests
a preview of our cabin options. Throughout the spring, we worked closely with the
Department of Environmental Sustainability from the University in order to plan and
collaborate on joint-initiatives for the upcoming year. Finally, we finished off our year
with the framework for next year’s plans to expand the department in the direction fo
environmental sustainability!
Gender and Sexuality
-
The Department of Gender and Sexuality Concerns was an absolute success this year.
Since August, we have accomplished a series of different initiatives and events including
the recognition of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, a “Love is Love” flash mob on
the podium demonstrating the numerous different forms that love exists, helping establish
a new student group which serves as a safe space for queer people of color with
intersecting identities, and finally, hosting an NELGBT Conference with over 600
people!
Legislative Affairs
-
The Department of Legislative Affairs started off the fall semester with a voter
registration drive which proved to be an enormous success, as we registered over 500
students to vote on campus! In addition, we met with local legislative representatives to
discuss common issues students experience with transportation downtown. We brought
Mayor Kathy Sheehan and County Executive Dan McCoy to campus to help bring
students closer to their elected officials. Finally, we hosted a UAlbany Legislative day,
where UAlbany students met with state-government officials advocating for tuition
affordability.
Marketing
-
The Marketing Department had a productive and successful year as expected. We kicked
off the fall semester with our yearly marketing materials order, which were a huge hit on
campus this year! We have out fun giveaways courtesy of SA to thousands of dedicated
students on campus, including summer orientation students and block party. In addition,
we had a busy year marketing several of our programming events, amongst other
department’s work as well as student group’s events. We’re looking forward to continuing
our work next year!
Multi-Cultural Affairs
-
Multi-Cultural Student Advisory Council, which is a monthly meeting for the e-boards of
the cultural groups on campus who have the opportunity to exchange and meet with one
another. In addition, we were proud to establish the UAlbany Spiritual council, which is
similar to the Multi-Cultural Advisory council, except for all religious groups on campus.
Finally, we wrapped up the semester with our annual Cultural Carnival, celebrating the
numerous cultures on campus.
Programming
-
Programming kicked off the year with our annual Block Party, followed by our Fall
Concert featuring artists Famolous and Konshens. In February, we brought golden globe
and Oscar-award winning artist Common to campus as Part 1 of our Speaker Series. The
event was a huge success and received phenomenal feedback from the campus and the
Albany community. In March, we featured Bill Nye the Science Guy as Part 2 of our
Speaker Series. The event sold out and SEFCU was full. Finally, we are wrapping up our
year with our Parkfest Concert, proudly featuring the talented performers August Alsina,
Rae Sremmurd, and Fetty Wap. Thanks for another great year and enjoy the summer!
Student Group Affairs
-
Student Group Affairs has another phenomenal year helping organize the hundreds of SA
recognized and funded student-run organizations. Throughout the year, we were
successful in helping groups work with Sodexo for catering opportunities. In addition, we
helped e-boards connect and collaborate with an e-board mixer. Finally, as usual, we
finished the year with our annual Purple and Gold Awards, recognizing our hardest
working and must successful groups on campus.
CAA (Council on Academic Assessment) – Deborah Bernnard, Chair
The CAA met on May 1 and provided input for the Middle States Periodic Review Report.
CAA also reviewed the proposed Charter Amendment which clarifies the roles and
responsibilities of CAA.
Reports from the on General Education Assessment Committee (GEAC) on General Education
History classes and History in the University in the High School program were reviewed and
approved.
Reports from the Academic Program Review Committee(APRC) on the Communication
Department program review and the Sociology Department program review were reviewed and
approved. A report from the APRC on the Biology Department program review was reviewed
and tabled pending revision.
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) – Susanna Fessler, Chair
Nothing to report
COR (Council on Research) – Kajal Lahiri, Chair
The Council on Research has completed funding rounds on both the Conference and Journal
support award and the Benevolent Association Awards for Graduate Student Research.
The Conference and Journal Support awards review committee had 3 applications for support for
conferences, and one application for support for editorship of a journal. The committee
recommended that the 3 applications for conference support be fully funded; the Journal support
request was reviewed and it was recommended that funding not be awarded during this round. If
the applicant confirms their editorship of the journal in question, the application may be re-
submitted for future funding. The Council voted to approve the recommendations of the
subcommittee. An additional request was received from PIs who applied for a conference support
award last year and were approved at a lesser amount of funding than that requested. While they
submitted a revised budget, they did not provide the additional justification needed for expenses
that the subcommittee members were concerned about, and it was therefore the decision of the
Council that additional funding not be provided as sufficient justification for an increased
amount was not received.
The Benevolent Association Awards for Graduate Student Research review subcommittee
received nine applications for funding from graduate students, as previously reported. These nine
applications were thoroughly reviewed by a university-wide committee and it was the
recommendation of the committee that seven of the applications be funded. The Council voted
unanimously to support the recommendation of the review subcommittee.
The FRAP review subcommittee were notified that one of the recipients selected for the FRAP-A
awards this year is no longer eligible; as the award period had not yet started, the committee
returned to the review of applications and unanimously recommended that the next application in
their ranked reviews be funded. This recommendation was unanimously supported by the
Council.
CPCA (Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments) – Sanjay Putrevu, Chair
The next CPCA meeting is on May 6.
GAC (Graduate Academic Council) –Abebe Rorissa, Chair
I.
Informational
The GAC met on April 28, 2015. Items on the Agenda included reviews of: (1) a report from one of the
GAC’s Standing Committees, and (2) a proposal from the School of Education (to establish an Advanced
Graduate Certificate Program in Adolescent Special Education for Childhood Special Educators).
Our next scheduled meeting is on May 12.
II.
Reports of Actions
The GAC, based on the review and recommendation by the Committee on Curriculum &
Instruction, unanimously voted to accept the committee’s recommendations to approve a
proposal by the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts
& Sciences, to make changes to existing graduate programs (M.S. & Ph.D.) in
Atmospheric Science. The proposal sought to require a 12 credit core curriculum in the
M.S. program. The proposal also requires its Ph.D. students to complete the Atmospheric
Science coursework (core) requirements of the M.S. degree as part of a minimum of 45
graduate credit hours in courses, seminars, and independent study.
The Council, after extensive discussions and questions, unanimously approved a proposal
by the School of Education for a 15 credits Advanced Graduate Certificate Program in
Adolescent Special Education for Childhood Special Educators.
III.
Recommendations for Actions
The GAC endorses introduction of a bill to the University Senate to establish an Advanced
Graduate Certificate Program in Adolescent Special Education for Childhood Special
Educators by the School of Education.
GOV (Governance Council) – Cynthia Fox, Chair
I. Informational
1. Our next scheduled meeting is May 6.
2. Kajal Lahiri has been identified and has accepted to be the faculty member to serve as the
Senate Designee to the START-UP NY Advisory Committee.
II. Reports of Actions
N/A
III. Recommendations for Actions
N/A
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing) –Boris Goldfarb, Chair
Nothing to report
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) – Robert Yagelski, Chair
The Undergraduate Academic Council met on April 9th and resumed discussion of a proposal
from the School of Education, brought to the full council by the Curriculum and Honors
Committee, to establish a new undergraduate program in human development. Council members
focused discussion on revisions made to the proposal in response to the UAC’s initial review on
March 26th. These revisions primarily addressed Council members’ concerns about the proposed
program’s admissions criteria and procedures. Members were satisfied that the revisions
sufficiently addressed their concerns and unanimously approved the proposal.
The Curriculum and Honors Committee reported the English Department proposed a revision to
the English minor—specifically, a requirement that all students enrolled in the minor take
English 205Z. Curriculum and Honors approved the proposed changes after obtaining
clarification from the English Department on several issues regarding transfer students.
UAC also met on April 23rd and reviewed a proposal to establish a new undergraduate minor in
Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity. The proposal was submitted by
the Department of Public Administration in view of the founding of the new College of
Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity. The Interdisciplinary Studies
Committee reviewed the proposal and identified several concerns related to the design of the
core curriculum in the proposed minor and to the academic foundation of the minor; they
brought these concerns to the full UAC. Representatives of the team that designed the minor,
including David Rousseau, Interim Dean of the College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland
Security, and Cybersecurity, attended the UAC meeting and answered Council members’
questions about the proposal. After the discussion, UAC voted to approve the proposal.
In addition, the Interdisciplinary Studies Committee reported that it had reviewed and approved a
proposal to revise the undergraduate minor in International Studies. UAC endorsed the
committee approval.
ULC (University Life Council) –Michael Jaromin, Chair
Joel Bloom presented to ULC on April 27th on "Quality of Life" data for students, faculty and
staff.
UPPC (University Planning and Policy Council) –David McCaffrey, Chair
UPPC met on April 30. At the April 30 meeting UPPC reviewed and approved the proposed
Minor in Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity. UPPC also reviewed
and recommended for approval options for the 2016-2017 academic calendar, following
a discussion led by Registrar Karen Chico Hurst.
