2012-2013 University Senate
Monday, April 29, 2013
2:45 pm, Campus Center Assembly Hall
Andi Lyons, Chair
Minutes
Present:
Hassaram Bakhru, Lee Bickmore, Pedro Caban, Leona Christie, Anthony DeBlasi, Bruce
Dieffenbach, Evgeny Dikarev, Keith Earle, Sue Faerman, Susanna Fessler, Edward Fitzgerald,
Richard Fogarty, Cynthia Fox, Elizabeth Gaffney, Jennifer Goodall , Timothy Groves, Yenisel
Gulatee, Jean Guyon, Janell Hobson, LaRae Jome, Ann Kearney, Daniel Keyser, Alice Krause,
Vincent LaBella, Andi Lyons, JoAnne Malatesta, Adrian Masters, Antun Milas, John Monfasani,
Nancy Newman, Gregory Nowell, Loretta Pyles, Eliot Rich, Marc Cohen, Helene Scheck, Lee
Stanton, Joette Stefl-Mabry, Caro-Beth Stewart, Karen Torrejon, Christine Wagner, Kevin Williams,
Oscar Williams, Mark Wolfe, Edelgard Wulfert
Guests:
Michael Range, Joan Savitt, Kathie Winchester
The meeting convened at 2:48 pm.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of April 8 were approved as written with the following voting results: Approved: 33; Opposed: 0;
Abstained: 2
PRESIDENT’S REPORT—ROBERT JONES
President Jones said he did not have anything new to report since his report to the full faculty last Thursday but
said he would answer any questions. Senator Dieffenbach asked the president if the current School of Business
building would be rehabbed since there was no approval for capital funds from the governor’s office. President
Jones responded that Chancellor Zimpher requested $2 billion for critical maintenance but was not approved. We
advocated for $293 million based on our need for capital projects. The president said he had met with Facilities
Management staff to talk about projects already approved where funding has been appropriated. Vice President for
Finance and Business Steve Beditz has indicated that some appropriations have been approved but there is a freeze
on funds, which cannot be spent until the State and Budget Divisions give approval to do so. President Jones
referred to a short list of projects that the campus will try to cover with bridge funds. He said he was very
concerned about the ability to complete certain projects and slipping far behind in what needs to be accomplished.
SENATE CHAIR’S REPORT – ANDI LYONS
•
The proposed amendment to the Senate Bylaws will be available for the voting faculty via electronic ballot, between May 1 and
May 10. In order to change the bylaws we must receive ballots from at least 30% of those eligible to vote. Please cast your vote
when you receive the instructions, and PLEASE encourage your constituents to vote as well. Information on the amendment and the
rationale will be provided to all eligible voters through My UAlbany.
•
At the penultimate Senate meeting, we will conduct the election for the Senate Vice-Chair for 2013-14. Additionally, the Senate
will vote on the proposed rosters for all Councils and Standing Committees.
•
The Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of Expression, & Community Responsibility (CAFFECoR) is considering a
recommendation that it be dissolved as a standing committee. More information about this will come from CAFFECoR soon.
•
The final regular meeting of the 2012-13 Senate is scheduled for Monday, May 13. Historically, this last meeting runs long as
we try to wrap up as much Council and Committee work as possible. Please try to plan your schedules accordingly.
OTHER REPORTS
UFS (University Faculty Senator’s Report) –Danielle Leonard, J. Philippe Abraham & Shadi Shahedipour-
Sandvik, SUNY Senators
UFS sponsored "celebration of research" to further showcase graduate research was held on Feb 26th with a strong showing by UAlbany
students. At least one UFS senator plans to attend the UFS Spring Plenary meeting in Syracuse in early May. Amongst the topics to be
discussed is Open SUNY. An election will also take place at the Spring Plenary to elect the new UFS President.
A position paper by UFS committee on Diversity was considered by the UAlbany SEC. SEC reviewed the SUNY-wide material and
voted NOT to disseminate it widely due to its poorly worded, hastily written structure. In addition it was decided that this proposal would
likely cause confusion with the actual campus-wide work that is happening around Diversity and Inclusion this year at UA.
GSO (Graduate Student Organization) – Thomas Devlin, GSO President
The GSO has had a very successful year. We are releasing a GSO year in review document that will list the GSO's major accomplishments
of the past year. Our elections will be held on April 29th and 30th.
GSO Senator Karen Torrejon reported that graduate student voting takes place today and tomorrow.
SA (Student Association) – Marc Cohen, Student Association Representative
Cultural Carnival is April 21st. Student Association budget for 2013-2014 passed the Senate and is set to be signed by President
Rushforth. Applications for the SA Executive Board are due April 22nd by 5:00 PM.
Marc Cohen reported that the Cultural Carnival was a success with over 500 people attending. The Purple and Gold Awards
ceremony was a successful event as well. Interviews are being conducted for the Student Association Executive Board. The
selections will be confirmed by the SA Senate. The new president and vice president will be sworn into office at the next
meeting.
COUNCIL/COMMITTEE REPORTS
CAA—Adrian Masters, Chair
The CAA met on April 24th. We reviewed and endorsed a report from the General Education Assessment Committee on
assessment within the Natural Sciences. We also supported the GEAC’s recommendation that the Natural Sciences be
reviewed again in 2013-14. The justification for this was that the sample of participating professors was not representative of
the category and those reports that were received were insufficiently informative. The CAA has asked the office of assessment
to be pro-active in reaching out to faculty whose courses fall into the surveyed Gen. Ed. Categories. Faculty should also be
reminded by Deans and Department chairs that if they teach a course that satisfies a Gen. Ed. Requirement, the course
should be structured so that students can be assessed on the specified learning outcomes.
CAFFECoR (Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of Expression, and Community Responsibility) –
Leslie Saint-Vil, Chair
Nothing to report.
CERS (Committee on Ethics in Research and Scholarship) – Carolyn MacDonald, Chair
Nothing to report.
COR (Council on Research) – John Monfasani, Chair
Nothing to report.
CPCA (Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments) – Sanjay Putrevu, Chair
The next CPCA meeting is on April 19.
Chair Lyons reported that CPCA Chair Putrevu was unable to attend since CPCA is meeting today. The council is meeting
more frequently since it received a heavy case load, including mandatory cases, that has arrived late in the semester. Chair
Putrevu asked for a reminder to move cases along as quickly as possible and added that it is difficult to assemble a quorum
of council members over the summer.
GAC (Graduate Academic Council) – Tim Groves, Chair
The GAC met on 4-12-2013. A draft of an updated policy for academic integrity was approved. This will be reconciled with a similar
draft from UAC, with the goal of implementing a common policy, to be placed in the Undergraduate and Graduate Bulletins.
GOV (Governance Council) – Christine Wagner, Chair
GOV met on 4/1/13. GOV discussed procedures for conducting a vote on an amendment to the Faculty Bylaws regarding the process by
which items are placed on the Senate agenda. This amendment was passed by GOV and approved by the SEC in the fall of 2012. An
electronic vote of all voting faculty will be conducted via MyUAlbany in the coming weeks. GOV continued a discussion regarding
Section XI: IRCUAP of the Senate Charter. UAC Chair, Rick Fogarty attended the GOV meeting to discuss procedures by which courses
and programs come through UAC. A motion that Section XI: IRCUAP had been erroneously inserted into the Charter and should be
removed was carried unanimously. This motion was presented to and supported by the SEC on 4/15/13. Elections for Senators-at-large,
SUNY Senators and UAS Board members were conducted on MyUAlbany the week of 4/1-4/7. The Committee on Council Nominations
has been formed and will meet on 4/24/13 to constitute the Senate Councils and Committees for next year. This will be presented to the
Senate for approval on 4/29/13. GOV will meet again on 4/22/13.
Chair Wagner announced the upcoming dates of the vote for the Bylaws Amendment. The online election will be held May 1
through May 10. She reviewed the instructions for voting through MyUAlbany. At its last meeting, GOV discussed the
dissolving of CAFFECoR and voted unanimously to dissolve the committee. Chair Wagner will present the motion to the
SEC.
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing) – Elizabeth Gaffney, Chair
Chair Gaffney reported that LISC will hold its last meeting of the semester on May 6.
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) – Richard Fogarty, Chair
The council is currently working on three significant matters that it hopes to complete by the time of the final senate meeting of 13 May.
First, it is reviewing an extensive revision of the undergraduate major in Public Administration. Second, it is working jointly with GAC
to produce a revision of the university’s Standards of Academic Integrity. Third, it is reviewing a proposal to create a minor in
Sustainability. The council intends to bring legislation on these three matters to the senate for consideration at its final meeting of the
semester. UAC has also finished discussions about revising the procedure by which it reviews restricted majors and minors, and is
submitting legislation to that effect.
ULC (University Life Council) – Vincent LaBella, Chair
Nothing to report
UPPC (University Planning and Policy Council) – Susanna Fessler, Chair
UPPC met on 4/19 to discuss the Institute for Health and Human Rights, the current cross-registration paradigm(s), and the planning
calendar for 2014-15. The Institute proposal was approved unanimously. The council provided the registrar with feedback about how to
best convey cross-registration options to students and advisors. The council asked for some additional time to consult with constituents
about the proposed planning calendar. We plan to vote on the planning calendar at our last meeting of the year on May 10th. We may also
be considering the 2015-16 planning calendar at that meeting.
Approval of Proposed Council and Standing Committee Memberships for 2013-2014
GOV Chair Wagner reviewed the procedures used by the Committee on Council Nominations (CCN) to develop
the roster. The Committee met this past week. The CCN attempts to maintain a balance between disciplines on
councils. The results are CCN’s best effort given the multiple factors in placing members. There were no
questions concerning the proposed roster. A motion to approve memberships was made and seconded, and
approved with the following voting results: Approved: 34; Opposed: 1; Abstained: 2.
Election of Senate Vice-Chair for 2013-2014
Chair Lyons announced that Joette Stefl-Mabry has agreed to stand for election for Senate Vice-Chair. She asked
if there were any nominations from the floor. There were none and ballots were distributed and collected. After
the ballots were counted, Chair Lyons announced that Senator Stefl-Mabry was the elected vice-chair for 2013-
2014, and offered her congratulations and appreciation on behalf of the Senate.
NEW BUSINESS
Proposal to Modify Senate Bill 9293-08, “Criteria for Capping or Restricting a Major (UAC)
UAC Chair Fogarty introduced the bill, which proposes two changes in Senate Bill 9293-08. The new bill would
include evaluating requests to restrict enrollment in minors, and the criteria to apply during periodic review of
restricted minors. In terms of the current review process, restricted majors are reviewed every five years. That
process has proved to be cumbersome both for UAC and departments. The new review process would be aligned
with the university’s assessment schedule and would revisit the rationale for maintaining restricted majors and
minors at the time of program review.
Senator Scheck asked if the modification would exclude UAC’s involvement about restricting minors. Chair
Fogarty said it would not and that applications would have to be submitted to UAC to restrict a minor. He said the
process is aligned with the assessment process but UAC still maintains authority for restrictions. A motion to
approve the bill was made and seconded. The bill was approved with the following voting results: Approved: 34;
Opposed: 3; Abstained: 1
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 3:30 pm.
Respectfully submitted by
Gail Cameron, Recorder
