2010-2011 University Senate
Monday, December 13, 2010
3:00 pm, Alumni House Conference Room
Eric Lifshin, Chair
Minutes
Present:
Steve Beditz, Tom Bessette, James Castracane, James Diaz, Nicholas Fahrenkopf, Susanna Fessler,
Cynthia Fox, Michael Jaromin, Donald Keenan, Daniel Keyser, Ryan King, Winifred Kutchukian,
Vincent LaBella, Kajal Lahiri, Fernando Leiva, Danielle Leonard, Andi Lyons, Eric Lifshin, JoAnne
Malatesta, John Monfasani, Robert Nakamura, Stephen North, Julie Novkov, Susan Phillips, John
Pipkin, Michael Range, Joan Savitt, Donna Scanlon, Shadi Shahedipour-Sandvik, Benjamin Shaw,
Leonard Slade, Lorre Smith, Joette Stefl-Mabry, Christine Wagner, Daniel White
Guests:
William Hedberg, Reed Hoyt
The meeting convened at 3:00 pm.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of November 15, 2010 were approved.
PROVOST’S REPORT by SUSAN PHILLIPS
Provost Phillips delivered a report from President Philip in his absence. He sent his regrets for not being able to
attend. The President sent his thanks to everyone who was able to attend Winter Commencement ceremonies.
Over 1,000 degrees were conferred to a graduating class which hailed from all around the country and the world.
Budget:
A faculty forum was held on November 30 with about 90 people in attendance. The Student Association organized
a forum on November 6 with about 40 students attending. The President and Provost thanked everyone for their
constructive feedback.
Enrollment Management:
The retention range for first-time Freshman has seen an improvement, with the rate increasing from 84% to
85%.
The six year graduation rate has increased as well from 65% to 67%
The number of applications for early action for fall 2011 has increased 20%.
Campus Events and Notable Achievements:
The Women’s Leadership Academy was launched on November 30th. Chancellor Zimpher and President
Philip attended the event.
Donald Faulkner, Director of the NYS Writer’s Institute, will be providing commentary on a PBS special
later this month, Paris the Luminous Years.
In the College of Arts and Sciences:
Professor Barker-Benfield, History Department, has been approved for Visiting Scholar status at the
University of Cambridge for Fall 2011.
Professor David Wills, Languages, Literatures and Cultures, has been appointed an International Fellow of
the London Graduate School.
In Biological Sciences, Professor Pan T. Li has been awarded $500,000 from the NSF.
The University Chamber Singers will perform a concert at Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in
Latham.
Randall Horton, English PhD recipient in Spring 2009 has been awarded a $25,000 Creative Writing
Fellowship by the National Endowment of the Arts.
In the School of Criminal Justice:
SCJ alumni John Laub and Robert Sampson will receive the 2011 Stockholm Prize in Criminology.
Dean Alan Lizotte has been appointed to the NYS Probation Commission by Governor Patterson.
In the School of Public Health:
Jack A. DeHovitz from SUNY Downstate Medical Center and Director of the HIV Center for Women and
Children, was a guest speaker at the School of Public Health on World AIDS Day. The event was part of
the School’s 25th Anniversary Distinguished Speaker Series.
In the School of Social Welfare:
Professor Ron Toseland has been promoted to Distinguished Professor by the SUNY Board of Trustees.
The School of Business has been named a top tier school by European CEO Magazine.
The Student Association Cares Holiday Initiative is working with the Center for Family and Youth’s
Services to provide food, clothing and toys during the holidays.
Provost Phillips provided an update from Finance and Business on construction and critical improvement projects:
The foundation for the new housing project will begin in January and a new connector road will be
completed in the spring.
New parking areas along Collins Circle are near completion.
There will be a grand re-opening of the Campus Center in February.
Work on LC-3 is scheduled for completion in the Spring.
Classroom renovations continue in Social Science with seven rooms completed.
Completion of the podium sky domes is scheduled for summer 2011.
Interior lighting project continues with the installation of energy efficient bulbs.
The energy savings initiative will take place at the end of the month. The initiative is expected to save $1.5
million per year.
Provost Phillips noted that the semester had been a busy and productive one and looked forward to new
developments for the coming semester.
UPPC Chair Range raised a question about procedural steps in deactivation of programs. He said according to
SUNY language there is no distinction concerning suspending admission and deactivation. He said it was not clear
what is occurring at UAlbany and referred to President Philip’s directive to suspend admission with proposed
deactivation. According to SUNY, these are the same and that in order to initiate deactivation, paperwork needs to
be submitted to the Board of Trustees. He pointed out that the programs that UAlbany has deactivated no longer
show up on the SUNY web site and asked for clarification about their status as well as the process. Provost
Phillips responded that formal deactivation must be reviewed and approved by SUNY and no action to formally do
so will happen until a final decision has been made by UAlbany. There is a form that gets submitted and it has an
option for deactivation, or discontinuance which removes it from the inventory of programs at the State Education
Department. There has been no discussion about discontinuance, only deactivation which is a temporary period
when no new students are added to a program. Chair Range inquired why it appears the programs are gone if no
formal paperwork has been filed with SUNY. The Provost explained that the main purpose of the web site is for
recruitment purposes and it is not officially what SUNY offers.
University Faculty Senate President, Kenneth O’Brien:
University Senator Daniel White introduced SUNY Senate President Kenneth O’Brien and provided an overview
of his experience as an associate professor of history at SUNY Brockport. Dr. O’Brien is the recipient of both the
Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching and Faculty Service. He was also contributing editor and
researcher for SUNY at 60: The Promise of the State University of New York.
Dr. O’Brien informed Senate members that he was invited to provide an overview of the SUNY Senate, comment
on the current financial crisis and respond to questions that anyone may have. He began by giving an overview of
Brockport’s retrenchment history which began in the mid 70’s, and the subsequent recovery period which lasted
about two decades. Dr. O’Brien’s position was cut in the retrenchment process but he was eventually offered a full
time position and returned to the campus. In 1981, many faculty and staff members were given a one year notice
that their jobs would be lost. From that experience, faculty and staff at Brockport learned of the importance of a
clear and concisely worded and understood process of consultation. In Brockport’s case, a set of criteria was
crafted by which programs were to be evaluated and data was collected that was to be used in the evaluation
process. The faculty made their recommendations but walked away from the final decision making process. He
stressed the importance of involving faculty and staff early in the consultation process.
The SUNY Senate is a process where shared governance is articulated into the system. Dr. O’Brien is a junior
(non-voting) member of the Board of Trustees. In that respect, his responsibility is advocating for all voices to be
part of the SUNY decision making process, especially in the areas that affect the entire system such as general
education and how it is implemented, student mobility, and assessment.
Dr. O’Brien addressed the current financial situation which he described as dire and will soon become critical. The
last three years has seen a loss of $640 million in core instructional support with little in tuition support. Cutting
the core budget over the last 30 years and increasing tuition has shifted the core responsibility of paying for
education from the citizens of the state to students and families. Projecting beyond the next year does not provide
a better picture and he could not say what it would mean for SUNY or individual campuses. The Board of Trustees
is scheduled to meet in about a week and the SUNY proposed budget will be presented and passed at that time.
He was uncertain what the budget included at this point but he predicted more pain on campuses for the next few
years.
In closing, Dr. O’Brien said that if faculty or professional staff believe the governance process to have been
violated, it’s quite possible that it has but said it would be unproductive to begin debating it at that point. He
stressed the need to be involved in the governance process and deal with decisions as a community with clear and
careful communication. He said the responsibility for getting through a crisis on each campus rests with the
campus community. He then opened the floor for questions.
Tom Stevens: Describe the recovery process at Brockport.
Dr. O’Brien said the process was delayed in part because the cuts did not go as far as the administration would
have liked. Year to year the campus limped through the crisis. Then in the late 80’s things shifted as people
considered what it meant to be part of a college campus and encouraged a learning process which led to the
recovery. The campus was able to slowly rebuild its enrollment and reputation.
Senate Chair Lifshin: How does an institution approach the problem of not having sufficient money to move
forward?
Dr. O’Brien said the entire community needs to organize itself and identify every cost center on campus as well as
identifying what is essential and what needs to be maintained. He referred to a $30 million shortfall that Kansas
State experienced. Their president identified what to cut but also put a call out to the campus soliciting every
suggestion possible so that the entire community became part of the decision making process. Ultimately, campus
administrators have to make the decisions but those decisions need to fit the campus culture.
Chair Lifshin followed up and asked if there was any effort at the SUNY wide level to solicit what is considered to
be best practices and might be useful to others.
Dr. O’Brien said this has not been done nor has the SUNY Senate sponsored such efforts. He indicated if might
work if such an effort were organized by sectors such as technology campuses, four university center, medical
schools, etc.
Kajal Lahiri: The new governor has indicated he would freeze all salaries and this may help.
Dr. O’Brien would not comment on union matters.
Iris Berger: Is the distinction between deactivation and retrenchment more of an academic distinction?
Dr. O’Brien pointed out that there is no program deactivation article in union contracts but the contracts do contain
a retrenchment article. SUNY actions will affect programs but in the past those actions have resulted in tenured
staff losing positions. Campuses are now entering a period that will demand a process that may result in smaller
departments. Retrenchment does not eliminate programs but can be the elimination of part of a department or
program. He said each campus needs to look at what is core and essential as a community. Governance needs to
have the discussion and then walk away from the decision making process so no blame can be made.
Pradeep Haldar: Has there been any discussion with SUNY administration about consolidation of campuses?
Dr. O’Brien said there has been no such discussion. Chancellor Zimpher has asked campus presidents to submit
retrenchment plans for their campuses if necessary.
Brett Bowles: Do campus presidents have power to create suspension of enrollment to programs without filing any
SUNY papers.
Dr. O’Brien did not know for certain but believed there was a good chance they could. He cited reference of a
SUNY policy which does not restrain the actions of presidents.
Chair Lifshin thanked Dr. O’Brien for attending today’s meeting.
SENATE CHAIR’S REPORT – ERIC LIFSHIN
Chair Lifshin reported that the resolutions passed at the last meeting have been forwarded to President Philip. The
comments from the past two meetings have been forwarded to the President as well. Since the last meeting, a
requests was has been sent to the university community to solicit suggestions for alternate sources of revenue. A
number of responses and ideas have been received as well as responses for participating in the process. The chair
thanked those who submitted ideas. A meeting will be convened next year of those who have expressed interest in
participating.
OTHER REPORTS
UFS (UNIVERSITY FACULTY SENATOR’S REPORT) –DANIEL D. WHITE, J. PHILIPPE ABRAHAM
& SHADI SHAHEDIPOUR-SANDVIK, SUNY SENATORS
The SUNY Senators and UAlbany Senate Chair, Eric Lifshin, met with University Faculty Senate (UFS) President Ken O’Brien on Friday
November 19 to speak about the role of the Senate as we face further budget and curricular challenges. The dialogue was fruitful. Dr.
O’Brien indicated the approach taken by UAlbany’s administration in response to the budget cuts may be on the horizon for other SUNY
institutions. In fact, we spoke about SUNY Geneseo’s President deactivating 3 academic programs as a cost saving measure. UFS
President O’Brien (SUNY Brockport) has accepted an invitation from Eric Lifshin to come to one of our future UAlbany Senate meetings
to present his views of shared governance and answer questions about the SUNY system, the UFS, and the links between campuses. Dr.
O’Brien is an historian who has co-edited the volume “SUNY at Sixty” which is a history and analysis of the SUNY system.
Senator White encouraged everyone to read Dan Smith’s report. If anyone has specific questions concerning the report, he
said they should be submitted to Dan Smith.
GSO (GRADUATE STUDENT ORGANIZATION) – HEIDI NICHOLLS, GSO
REPRESENTATIVE
GSO Report, Heidi Nicholls
As the semester is coming to a close, the GSO Eboard has reflected on events and opportunities we have had the privilege of sponsoring
and hosting. Below is a brief list of the various doings supported by the GSO.
Vice President’s Report, Sarah Taylor
The GSO recognized and funded 26 Recognized Graduate Student Organizations (RGSOs) this semester. These groups held many events
throughout the semester, including Turkish Republic Day, Physics Colloquium Series, Students of Sociology Brown Bag Speaker Series,
Anthropology GSO Fall Faculty Symposium, 9th Annual Women’s Studies Conference “World on Edge,” EnglishGSO Can and Coat
Drive, Geography and Planning GIS World Planning Day, QUAGS National Coming Out Day, and the Indian Student Organization’s
Diwali Night Celebration.
Programming Chair, Christine Preble /MCAA Chair, Jema Clements Events - Fall 2010
Reception Dinner (Italian Buffet), Kickball Tournament, Bus Charter to Woodbury Commons Shopping Trip, Graduate Student Mixer at
Jillian's, Thanksgiving Dinner Co-Sponsored with ISSS and MCAA, Co -Sponsored the following RGSO Events: Turkish Student
Association’s Turkish Republic Day and the Indian Student Organization’s Diwali Night, Glass Castle, Step Afrika.
Programming Events/MCAA - Planned for Spring 2011
Welcome Back/Spring 2011 Kickoff Buffet Dinner, Graduate Student Mixers at Jillian's (monthly), Kickball Tournament Rematch, Yoga
Seminar, Bowling Tournament, Albany Devil’s Charity Hockey Game (TU Center), Dinner/Dancing Cruise on the Hudson River,
Multicultural Affirmative Action Conference.
In addition, the GSO office will be receiving a face lift, both in reorganization of space and welcoming the addition of two new
computers!
Your GSO funds at work!
SA (STUDENT ASSOCIATION) – JUSTIN WAX JACOBS, PRESIDENT STUDENT ASSOCIATION
N/A
COUNCIL AND COMMITTEE REPORTS
CAA (Council on Academic Assessment) – Richard Matyi, Chair
The CAA will be holding its next scheduled meeting on Tuesday, 12/14/2010. Specific items to be addressed by the Council include (1) a
review of the proposed charter amendment on charges of the CAA and its subcommittees; (2) a review of CAA involvement in the
proposed Evaluation of Administrators and Administrative Offices that is under consideration by the Governance Council; and (3) a
discussion of the impact of the changes proposed by the General Education Task Force on the functions of the General Education
Assessment Committee.
The Academic Program Review Committee has established its schedule for the remainder of the 2010-11 academic year. Six programs
(Africana Studies; Educational Counseling & Psychology; Education Psychology; Education Theory and Practice; Music; and Social
Welfare (Ph.D.)) will be reviewed by the Committee.
CAFFECoR (Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of Expression, and
Community Responsibility) – Pradeep Haldar, Chair
Committee is considering introducing bill on CRR document.
Workshop on Freedom of Expression for students is being organized in Residence Hall during the middle of January.
Survey on ethics forwarded by provost was completed and submitted.
CERS (Committee on Ethics in Research and Scholarship) – John Monfasani, Chair
After meeting with University Counsel John Reilly and receiving from him a revised text of the proposed CAS policy, CAS met and
decided in late November on what final revisions it thought were necessary to gain its approval. It then returned the text to Counsel Reilly
for his consideration. As of December 9th, we have not yet heard back from the administration. CAS decided that if we do not receive a
response in time for the December 13th meeting of the Senate, we would ask for a postponement of the Senate vote on the revised text
until the February meeting of the Senate next semester. If CAS can come to an agreement with the administration on the last outstanding
items of the revised policy, we shall present that agreed upon text in February. If we cannot come to an agreement on these items, we shall
present the final text that CAS has offered the administration. In all instances, we shall make the text available to the Senate well in
advance of the February meeting so that an informed discussion and vote can take place.
Chair Monfasani reported that he has made it clear to University Counsel, John Reilly that the CERS policy will be voted on
in February.
COR (Council on Research) – James Castracane, Chair
The Council on Research met on November 17th and the subsequent discussions and reports raised a few issues.
The first is a continuing downward trend in applications for both the FRAP A and Benevolent Award programs. FRAP A applications
dropped to 24 from 30 last year and 40 the year before. The Benevolent Award applications dropped to 14 down from approximately 20
last year. The cause for this is unknown and perhaps some feedback could be gathered from faculty. The FRAP A applications are in the
hands of the reviewers who will meet in January to rank and recommend funding decisions to the VPR
The discussion on ICR continued to determine if and when a proposal for modifications to the policy would be developed. Kim Bessette
will attend the next meeting to give a presentation on the indirect cost budget.
Dean Philip Nasca will also attend the next meeting to describe his working group’s report on Community Engaged Scholarship activities
within the framework of the Campus Committee on University-Community Engagement (CCUCE). The intention for this is to determine
where COR can become involved with or promote these activities.
CPCA (Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments) – Vincent LaBella,
Chair
CPCA continues to meet regularly to review cases
CPCA has been having ongoing discussions regarding the tenure file preparation process. The discussions have centered on the letters
from external reviewers. The council would like to emphasize that departments must strive to solicit letters from individuals who have no
prior contact to the candidate no matter how casual this contact may seem. In addition departments should strive to solicit letters form full
professors or equivalent rank. CPCA is planning to address these issues with all departments and academic units in the near future.
GAC (Graduate Academic Council) – Laurence Kranich, Chair
At its meeting on November 19, GAC approved a revised proposal from the School of Business for a Graduate Certificate in Information
Security. The Council also approved a proposal from the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Economics for a combined BS-MA
degree in Economics. Other actions of the Council include approval of a request by the School of Education Department of Educational &
Counseling Psychology to discontinue the professional teaching certification track within the Educational Psychology and Methodology
MS program, approval of a request by the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Geography and Planning to revise the Master of
Regional Planning program, and consideration of a grievance before its Committee on Admissions and Academic Standing (CAAS).
The Council also met on December 3 to continue its consideration of CAA program assessments and again on December 10. At the latter,
it considered another grievance before CAAS and continued its review of CAA assessments.
GOV (Governance Council) – Susanna Fessler, Chair
GOV met on Friday, December 10th. There were two main agenda items: the Assessment of Administrators and Administrative Services
and Functions, and the next steps in the consultative process regarding the budget. Guests included campus experts on assessment to
discuss the first point and the Provost to discuss the second point. GOV has decided that it will try a "pilot" assessment with one
administrative office on campus in order to get a better handle on the inherent difficulties in such a large undertaking. That office has yet
to be identified. GOV has two main tasks beyond that: forming an ad hoc committee to handle the assessment, and clearly articulating that
committee's charge.
The Provost consulted with GOV about the next stage in the consultative process regarding the budget. Because we anticipate further cuts
in NYS spending, the Provost sees a further, ongoing need for consultation with the university community. To date, consultation has taken
place through the Budget Advisory Committees (1, 2, and 3), the first and third of which were advisory bodies in accordance with the
University Bylaws 2.5. Going forward, the Provost sought advice from GOV about the composition of future advisory bodies. GOV
members were asked to send their recommendations, thoughts, and comments to the GOV chair who will compile them and forward them
to the President before the next GOV meeting in January.
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing) – Shadi
Shahedipour-Sandvik, Chair
LISC met on Nov. 15th, 2010. Two main items were presented. The Dean of Library, Mary Casserly, reported that a soft rollout of an e-
discover service, a tool beneficial to undergraduate students, is now on the Library’s main website. This new service simultaneously
performs a Google-like search on a large number of databases. Mary invited the members to take a look at the new search engine during
this trial period to see how they like it. In addition, the new media room in the main library is being tried out by students in an effort to
collect comments from the students to get a sense of whether the students like it or not. The media room will be in the Library until the
29th of November. A slide show on the evaluation of email, calendaring and collaboration services on campus and the results that has
been compiled was presented by ITS. A variety of other information gathered and an update of this project is available at
http://wiki.albany.edu/x/JYBcAQ. Recommendations will be presented to the President in December and the switchover to be made in fall
2011. The CIT 2011 (Conference on Instruction and Technology) “20/20 Vision – Looking Forward and Remembering the Past” is
scheduled for May 2011. In addition, ITS held three town hall meetings on November 16 ad 23rd regarding the future of email services at
the campus.
LISC is scheduled to meet on Monday Dec. 13th, 2010.
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) – JoAnne Malatesta, Chair
The UAC continues to meet each Wednesday. There has been continued discussion about the use and retention of the Violation of
Academic Integrity Reports. The Council has agreed that it would be most productive to establish an ad hoc committee to review this
policy and will be inviting the GAC to join this committee as it directly impacts both graduate and undergraduate students.
Chair Malatesta reported that UAC will be discussing issues related to the faculty integrity report and how the report is
utilized. GAC and CAFFECoR should be part of the discussion as well.
ULC (University Life Council) – Danielle Leonard, Chair
On Tuesday, November 9th 2010 ULC invited members of the newly formed Veteran Education Team to discuss Veteran Services on
campus. While there are many services in place now and more that we can expect to emerge in the near future, we heard concerns about
the coordination of services and about a lack of awareness of veteran’s issues on the part of the campus community. In the coming weeks,
ULC will consider how services might be better coordinated and awareness of veteran’s issues raised campus-wide.
ULC’s November 22nd meeting was cancelled due to the fact that our scheduled guest, Professor of Health Policy Tim Hoff, was unable
to attend. We met with Professor Hoff on December 8th to continue our discussion of a mandatory health insurance policy for all UA
students. Dr. Hoff helped bring into focus the key implementation issues that the university must consider and discussed predictions for
what changes will be seen nationally as health legislation is put into effect.
UPPC (University Planning and Policy Council) – R. Michael Range, Chair
The Council finalized its comments regarding the proposed program deactivations via e-mail and submitted the final version to Senate
Chair Lifshin for distribution to the Senate. At its Friday, Dec. 3, 2010 meeting, UPPC discussed and approved a proposal from the
Department of Economics to establish a BS/MA program in Economics. The Council also approved a brief proposal from the School of
Education. These items will be on the agenda of the 12/3 Senate meeting.
The Council began an examination of UA’s all-funds budget with the goal to formulate alternate recommendations to address budget
reductions and the proposed deactivations of academic programs. In response to an earlier request by the Chair to President Philip,
Finance and Business is gathering relevant historical all-funds information to be shared with the Council. Interim VP Steve Beditz and
Associate VP Kim Bessette presented an overview of the all-funds budget and were available for questions. This process will be
continued at the Council’s next meeting on Dec. 17, 2010. The Final Report of the General Education Task Force was shared with the
Council and will be discussed further at future meetings. Finally, the Council elected James Fossett, Public Adm. and Policy, as its Chair
effective January 1, 2011. The current chair will begin a sabbatical year at that time, and he will resign from his governance position at
the end of 2010.
NEW BUSINESS
Report on the General Education Task Force--Stephen North, Task Force Chair:
Chair Lifshin informed the Senate that today’s report is being presented to summarize the work of the task force
and will not be voted on. The General Education Task Force has put together suggestions on how to accept the
SUNY wide changes. UAC and UPPC are looking into putting the report into bill form and having a procedure in
place for the next academic year.
Task Force Chair Stephen North reviewed highlights of the report and the background for the creation of the task
force. He reviewed the charges for an immediate response for fall 2010 and to develop an alternative model for
the longer term. The task force began meeting after spring commencement and has continued to meet through the
current semester. They addressed a very complicated set of issues and were supported by the efforts that preceded
them including the 2000 General Education report, Middle States Self-Study, the Going Forward Plan, and the
Strategic Planning Committee and its sub groups. All of these groups provided substantial background information
to work with. He said the text of the final report is the best representation of what has been done by the current
task force.
The task force viewed this as an opportunity to develop a quality education program with a distinct UAlbany
signature, and one that other campuses would look to as a model. The task force set 30 credit hours as the target
and stayed within that limit. They also set three goals: 1) streamline the program and reduce bureaucratic obstacles
that undermine the general education program; 2) integrate the program with undergraduate majors; 3) provide a
developmental trajectory and have entry level and upper division courses. He referred to the outcomes of those
deliberations in the report. The task force also wanted to guarantee that all incoming students would have access to
at least one small class in their first year in a lower division course. The task force has recommended that a new
advisory board be created that will embody the spirit of the proposal. The program will require ongoing attention
and the board would be advisory to the Associate Dean to oversee and lead the general education effort.
Chair North added that members of the task force submitted a proposal to participate in a multi-campus
collaboration from the American Association of Colleges and Universities focused on developing General
Education for the Global Century. Their proposal was accepted for participation along with thirty-one others
selected from a group of 140. A discussion of the proposal followed Chair North’s presentation.
Senator Fernando Leiva from LACS expressed three concerns about the proposal: 1) he viewed the proposal as
turning away from UAlbany’s commitment to interdisciplinary studies and said this was a serious omission; 2) by
reducing the available seats, the proposal will affect departments that are interchangeable; 3) he expressed concern
that the World Within Reach notion does not address how knowledge is produced in a global and interconnected
world.
Senator John Pipkin spoke in his role with CAS. As a member of the task force he gave his full support for the
proposal. The proposal was reviewed by the CAS Council of Chairs. The Council applauded the streamlining
efforts and he did not hear any objections to the proposal from a philosophical position. There were some concerns
expressed such as making art and humanities interchangeable and he pointed out that these two disciplines are not
the same. Other concerns involved resource issues and the reduction in the number of seats in some disciplines.
The Council expressed concern about implications for majors and how faculty resources will be deployed. Senator
Pipkin informed the Senate that he is the point person in Arts and Sciences and comments can be sent directly to
him.
Daniel Smith from the CNSE read the following statement:
Senators and Guests:
First, thank you to the Taskforce for your work.
I am here to provide comment on the General Education Taskforce Report. The Report is an interesting, and
surprisingly brief read for all the charge. I am not here to re-hash comment I already submitted on the report itself.
I offer comment and two additions to the Taskforce Report the senate should consider:
I.
The report does not mention what Albany should do for 40% of its undergraduate population. That is
students who transfer to Albany. There is no mention of transfer students, and what the faculty should do to
provide them with an excellent General Education Program, while recognizing the fact many of them come
from SUNY schools: University Centers, four year colleges, and most importantly, community colleges.
Without belaboring the obvious, a local community college is our largest feeder school, providing many
excellent students to every undergraduate program at Albany. When reviewing the report, please keep in
mind that 40% of the undergraduate population already has some or ALL of SUNYs General Education
requirements completed upon entry. More students than the 40% want timely and accurate advice on what
courses to take at their community colleges so they can keep Albany high on their list of schools to attend, for
quality, location, and price. Since Albany has not altered its General Education requirements to match the
Board of Trustees changes from last January 2010, anxiety among this group of students, AND those schools
advisors has heightened due to Albany’s delayed response to the Trustees changes. In our discussions we
also owe it to that group of students to move expeditiously and judiciously to provide them with an excellent
education, but most importantly provide the foundation so they can choose Albany to meet their educational
needs without exorbitant additional costs (translates as more semesters, courses, loans, and money, or the
need to return to their community college to take what Albany doesn’t provide the space for in required
General Education categories) based on not knowing what they will face upon transfer to Albany. Such
uncertainty quickly drives away the smart students we want.
II.
Since the state is in a fiscal crisis, we also owe it to our current students to move expeditiously in providing a
General Education Program that they can handle in the wake of dwindling financial support. This will allow
current students to graduate on time, preserve their families’ precious financial resources, reduce their loan
debt, and allow them to begin the search for a job in a wavering economy. I therefore urge you to consider
this semester reducing Albany’s General Education requirements to the Trustees stated minima for all
students. This will save instructional resources. Simultaneously, the senate should begin formal discussion
of the structure of how a new General Education program should look that injects Albany’s intellectual
personality in our students. The senate must develop a phase-in plan to build our local General Education so
it can gauge demand, and determine what resources are needed to provide these new requirements. The new
requirements need to be explained not merely in terms of seats and instructional resources, but must come
from the core fabric of the university. We want our students to be well-educated, and we have an opportunity
NOW to help our students and our faculty. That opportunity is quickly slipping away; I ask that you seize the
opportunity for the faculty and students at Albany. Have a happy holiday season.
Chair Lifshin thanked Chair North for his report. He said the discussion would continue in upcoming meetings.
Charter Amendment re: Chair of CPCA (GOV):
Chair Lifshin informed the Senate that the amendment was being introduced for discussion only today and would
not be voted on. At that point he asked to for a motion to extend the meeting. A motion was made and seconded,
and approved by the vote.
GOV Chair Fessler introduced the amendment which calls for the chair of CPCA to have the rank of full professor.
She added that she had received a friendly amendment to include full librarians since they hold a parallel
distinction as faculty. The rationale states that a full professor would be the only rank which would no longer be
vulnerable and subject to any ill consequences in the future for decisions they made.
A discussion of the amendment followed Chair Fessler’s introduction. Senator Julie Novkov asked if any
consultation had occurred with the current CPCA membership. Chair Fessler responded that GOV had not
consulted with them, but the current CPCA chair has spoken against the amendment in discussions at SEC
meetings. She said there was no ill intent on the part of GOV and it was not a comment on the current or past
chairs of the council. The amendment would take effect fall 2011. She added that it is not a reflection on CPCA’s
performance and did not want it to be taken the wrong way. In response to Senator Novkov’s follow up question,
Chair Fessler said GOV did not consult with last year’s chair but she had consulted with William Hedberg who
provided some history on the council. The Charter does not say anything about the chair, but it does provide
specifics CPCAs members, any of which could become chair such as non-teaching faculty.
LISC Chair Shahedipour-Sandvik said anyone could be subjected to vulnerability and suggested it might be best to
have all members of the council be full professors. Chair Fessler said this has been discussed and could be
forthcoming in the future. Senator Novkov said that having broad representation is a consideration and it will be
more difficult to obtain representation if the choices are narrowed. CPCA Chair LaBella asked why the question
about the council’s chair was raised this year and not in prior years. Chair Fessler did not know.
Senator White moved that the amendment be sent back to GOV and that CPCA be given the opportunity to add
other elements to the amendment. CERS Chair Monfasani opposed the motion on the grounds that it appears that
it would be against the current chair. He said promotion and tenure reviews on other campuses are done by full
professors and did not believe the amendment should go to CPCA to judge themselves. UPPC Chair Range also
spoke against Senator White’s motion. He said it was for the Senate to decide and not other councils. CPCA
should formulate comments and bring for debate at the next meeting. Senator White said a number of things have
been added, with an evolving rationale, and did not believe it was ready to be presented to the Senate. The motion
to return the amendment to GOV went to a vote with 14 approving and 16 opposed. Chair Fessler said she would
make the changes and have the updated amendment distributed before the next Senate meeting.
The following statement from Professor Barry Trachtenberg was read in opposition of the amendment:
Dear Professor Lifshin,
I am writing to you in opposition to the proposed amendment that the chair of CPCA hold the rank of Professor.
Unfortunately, I am unable to attend today's meeting as I am out of the country. I would appreciate it if you would
read my brief remarks into the record.
I have been a member of CPCA since the beginning of this semester. While I recognize that this is only a brief
time, it has been my impression that our current chair, who holds the rank of Associate Professor, is holding our
committee to the highest standards of excellence. Dr. LaBella wisely steers our discussions, provides equal time for
committee members' participation irrespective of their academic rank, follows up on members' concerns, and is
most concerned that the process by which we decide our cases is both stringent and fair. In short, he is an ideal
chair. What CPCA needs is not necessarily someone who has attained the rank of full Professor at its head, but
rather, it needs wise leadership. Not only does this proposal unfairly exclude those Professional staff who are full
members of the committee from serving as chairs, it would prevent many perfectly skilled faculty from heading
this committee in the future.
Over the years, CPCA has had several chairs who have held the rank of Associate Professor and I am unaware of
any instance that the standing of the committee has suffered as a result. I encourage you and the Faculty Senate to
oppose this motion.
Respectfully Yours,
Barry Trachtenberg
Associate Professor
Department of History
Judaic Studies Program
The discussion was brought to a close and Chair Lifshin said it would be discussed at the first meeting of the
spring semester.
Chair Lifshin asked for a motion to extend the meeting and additional 15 minutes to discuss the remaining agenda
items. The motion was made and seconded and approved by a vote.
Senate Bill 1011-02 re: Policy on Student Absences (UAC):
UAC Chair Malatesta said the bill provides a small wording change which addresses handling of students requests
for absences of one calendar week in duration. There was no further discussion of the bill and motion was made
and seconded to approve the bill. The bill passed in the resulting vote.
Senate Bill 1011-03 re: Proposal for BS/MA in Economics (GAC):
UAC Chair Malatesta said the proposal would allow undergraduates the ability to take graduate level courses in
their senior year which would be applicable to both their undergraduate and graduate degrees. Senator Timothy
Groves and GAC members said the idea behind the proposal was to provide more integration of courses to better
serve students. UPPC Chair Range said the council had found no resource implications and unanimously
supported the proposal. A motion to approve the bill was made and seconded. The bill passed in the resulting
vote.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 5:04 pm
Respectfully submitted by
Gail Cameron, Recorder
