2013-2014 University Senate
Monday, April 7, 2014
2:45 pm, Assembly Hall
Christine Wagner, Chair
MINUTES
Present:Bushra Alam, Deborah Bernnard, Sridar Chittur, Mark Cohen, Anthony DeBlasi, Evgeny Dikarev, Edward Fitzgerald, Michael Ford, Cynthia Fox, Elizabeth Gaffney, Glyne Griffith, Yenisel Gulatee,Janell Hobson, Steve Hogan, Caitlin Janiszewski, Michael Jerison, Lani Jones, Genevieve Kane, Ann Kearney, Igor Kuznetsov, Andrei Lapenas,Danielle Leonard, Dan Levy, Andi Lyons, David Mamorella, Daniel Markisello, Janet Marler, David McCaffrey,David McDowall, John Monfasani, John Murphy, Saggi Nevo, James Pasquill, Greta Petry, Susan Phillips, Nancy Poehlmann, Nathan Powers, Sanjay Putrevu, Rich Eliot,Helene Scheck,John Schmidt, Emma Schwab, Kendra Smith-Howard, Kabel Nathan Stanwicks, Joette Stefl-Mabry, Caro-Beth Stewart, Christine Wagner, Kevin Williams, Oscar Williams, Mark Wolfe, Elga Wulfert, Yuchi Young, Alan Zemel
Guests:Jon Bartow, Grace Begany, Susanna Fessler, Celine Forsyth, Aubrey Galusha, Bill Hedberg, Karin Reinhold, Arnaldo Robles, Jessica Watson, Kathie Winchester
The meeting convened at 2:49pm.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of March10, 2014. The minutes were then approved as written with the following voting results: Approved: 30 (86%); Opposed: 0; Abstained: 5 (14%)
PROVOST’S REPORT – SUSAN PHILLIPS
Academic Updates: First the Provost announced she had spent the previous afternoon at the President’s Awards for Leadership for our students and faculty, including recognizing our own Mark Cohen and Caitlin Janiszewski who she thanked and congratulated. Next, Provost Phillips provided a synopsis of what has happened since the Academic Retreat last May:
- A recent e-mail had been circulated on the development of a new engineering portfolio. The Computer Engineering program which we had applied for under the SUNY high needs program is funded. We have a group from CCI and CAS working together developing a curriculum, which should be ready for Senate review in the fall. In addition, others parts of the portfolio being considered are in areas like Environmental Engineering, Bio/Biomedical Engineering, and Information/Health Information Systems Engineering, all of which are being developed for the President’s consideration by the end of the semester.
- Programs in Allied Health are also being developed by a group from Arts and Sciences, Social Welfare, Education, and Public Health, working on 3 areas: 1) Ways we can develop more opportunities for our students to go into medical fields; 2) Other Allied Health Professions students might be interested in; 3) A new area in Behavioral Health which cuts across multiple schools and colleges, looking at what regional employers tell us about the kinds of opportunities there will be for employment under the Affordable Care Act, and designing with that in mind. We hope to have more specific proposals in hand by the beginning of the fall.
- A third area coming out of the Retreat is ‘Engaged Learning’ – developing ways to allow our students
experiential learning in their fields. David Roussseau, Sue Freed and Noah Simon are working to identify and ultimately grow and coordinate the different opportunities already on campus, including internships and field placements across the University. Our goal is to gather information about these opportunities into an identifiable place to help our students find them more easily.
- Other retreat follow-ups fall under the category of “from major to profession.” Jeanette Altaribba and Kevin Williams are working on the idea that departments are interested in developing more of a connection between curriculum and possible careers students can pursue. New combinations of degrees are thus being considered, such as Business and Sustainability, Social Welfare and Spanish, and Informatics and Japanese, to provide pathways for students to find a particular niche or set of skills for an occupation.
The Provost provided updates on additional topics as follows:
Regarding the Internationalization Review, a self-study of our campus’s international work and agenda: Ray Bromley, Kevin Williams, and Bob Andrea led the review team. Their work included consultant from the University of Minnesota, and produced a report on our current status and recommendations to President Jones at the end of January. Their top recommendations were as follows: provide a scholarship program for high achieving international freshmen; reinforce the Vice Provost position with the support of a tenured faculty member who can share responsibilities; add a sponsored international recruiter and coordinator; add opportunities for faculty international travel for conference presentations and research; establish an international alumni database to assist with program planning and outreach; reduce the cost of study abroad.
CNSE transition separation discussions, Provost Phillips reported, are ongoing. A Campus Advisory group has met 2 times, and teams from CNSE, Albany and SUNY Systems are also meeting. CNSE has requested General Education, food and housing, physician appointments, and recreation. A number of additional transition issues are being discussed, including such areas as student group memberships, campus services and infrastructures including Police, IT, and Facilities. The Board of Trustees made a resolution at their March meeting to move forward with CNSE joining SUNY IT, proposed to become the SUNY Institute for Nanoscale Science, Engineering and Technology. The next step is for them to seek State Ed and Middle States accreditation for this new entity.
From the Albany NYSUNY 2020 RFP process, 158 new hires will be made over the five year period: 152 faculty, about two thirdsof which are full time. The new positions are across all 6 areas in the UAlbany 2020 plan including Climate/ Environment, Emerging Technologies, Human Health/Biomedical Science, Public Service and Policy, Business and Entrepreneurship, and Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Regarding the COACHE survey of satisfaction of full time tenured and tenure track faculty, a summary went out several months ago and was followed up with chats where small groups of people from each of the schools and colleges convened to give advice about things we ought to change and implement first. Those recommendations should be coming out by the end of the semester.
Regarding work to improve the promotion and tenure review process: School and College review committees, the CPCA, Department Chairs, Deans, and others would be receiving an e-mail tomorrow to review and provide feedback on the newly revised guidelines for putting together cases.
Lastly, Provost Phillips shared news from SUNY on the seamless transfer discussion. The System Provost put together online discussions, and across SUNY 1,000 faculty participated along the 36 different major academic pathways. The results of the reactions will hopefully reach our campus by the end of the week.
Provost Phillips offered to answer any questions. Regarding a question on the timing of the CNSE separation and for student transfers, the Provost responded that a new entity has to first exist, with the approval of the State Education Department, Board of Regents and Governor, a process which will now start. The Middle States accreditation process has to be completed for SUNY IT to offer a new area, level and location. It is anticipated those processes will be complete by late fall 2014, and that the newly approved entity would be able to admit students in spring 2015. The plan for students currently in those programs is that they would have a choice to complete their degrees at UAlbany or transfer to the new entity, though the timeline for this choice has not been finalized.
UNIVERSITY SENATE CHAIR’S REPORT –CHRISTINE WAGNER, CHAIR
A proposal to establish a Graduate Certificate Program in International Health and Human Rights has been approved by GAC and UPPC. The Bill will go to the Senate 4/7/14.
The Senate Chair has received a proposal for a Faculty-Initiated Interdisciplinary Undergraduate Major in Bio-Instrumentation. The proposal was approved by UPPC and is currently under review in UAC. Should UAC raise any concerns regarding resources, UPPC could revisit the proposal.
A Charter Amendment (1314-02A) regarding the composition of CPCA, introduced by GOV, was distributed to the Senate on 3/3/14. The Amendment will come up for a vote at the 4/7/14 meeting in accordance with Faculty Bylaws Article IV.3.
The Faculty Athletics Representative, Teresa Harrison, requested to make a report to the University Senate about the intercollegiate athletics program at UAlbany. She will report to the Senate on 4/28/14.
Bill 1314-03 Proposal to Establish a Master of International Affairs (M.I.A.) Degree Program was approved in the Senate on 3/10/14 and approved by the President 3/24/14.
The Senate Chair has received a proposal from the Department of English to create a Certificate in Teaching English Composition. The proposal has been forwarded to UPPC and GAC for review.
The Senate Chair has received a letter of intent from the Department of Geography and Planning to establish a Master of Science Program in Environmental Geographic Information Science (MSEGIS). The letter of intent is under review in UPPC and GAC.
A Charter Amendment (1314-03A) regarding the charge of CAFFECoR, introduced by GOV, was distributed to the Senate on 3/31/14. The Amendment will come up for a vote at the 4/28/14 Senate meeting in accordance with Faculty Bylaws Article IV.3.
Chair Wagner highlighted that Bill 1314-03 had been approved and was on its way through the SUNY system. She also mentioned that included inthe meeting materials was proposed Charter Amendment 1314-03A, distributed 3 weeks prior to the vote which would occur on April 28th.
OTHER REPORTS
UFS (University Faculty Senator’s Report) –Danielle Leonard, J. Philippe Abraham &John Schmidt, SUNY Senators
The UFS Senators are looking forward to the Spring Plenary May 1st-3rd hosted by Empire State College.
Upcoming public events of note include:
- April 1, 2014Innovative Exploration Forum: Undergraduate Research in NYS Public Higher Education System
- Legislative Office Building, Albany, NY
- April 23-24SUNY’s First Annual Conference on Shared Governance
- Holiday Inn Wolf Road, Albany, NY
Senator Leonard added that a bidder had been approved within the past 3 days for the Long Island College Hospital, and more information would be forthcoming.
GSA (Graduate Student Association) – Caitlin Janiszewski, GSA President
The GSA is very busy with completing our new bylaws, running our elections and preparing for the President's Forum.
The GSA and SA both attended the SUNY-wide SA Conference that past weekend. The Contingency Faculty Equity Pay Resolution and a Resolution protesting the implementation of edTPA both successfully passed, and support was appreciated. The President’s Forum was confirmed for 4/23 at 4:00 pm in the D'Ambra Auditorium of the Life ScienceBuilding.
SA (Student Association) – Marc Cohen, Student Association Representative
Elections are this Wednesday and Thursday, continuous meetings on the upcoming Presidential Forum, Purple and Gold Awards are coming up.
Elections happened for SUNY Rep and University Council, for which the votes were decisive. Elections for SA President and Vice President were to be held again for a re-vote on Thursday. The Purple and Gold Awards deadline had passed, and the scholarship deadline was that day at 5:00 pm. Parkfest was a sold outshow and went very well.
COUNCIL/COMMITTEE CHAIRS’ REPORTS:
CAA (Council on Academic Assessment) –Deborah Bernnard, Chair
The Council on Academic Assessment has met and approved a report from the Academic Program Review Committee on the Mathematics and Statistics department and a report from the General Education Assessment Committee reviewing the Arts General Assessment for both the University and the University in the High School courses.Nothing to add.
CAFFECoR (Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of Expression, and Community Responsibility) –Susanna Fessler, Chair
Nothing to report.Nothing to add.
CERS (Committee on Ethics in Research and Scholarship) – Susanna Fessler, Chair
Nothing to report.Nothing to add.
COR (Council on Research) – John Monfasani, Chair
Nothing to report.Nothing to add.
CPCA (Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments) – Sanjay Putrevu, Chair
The next CPCA meeting is on March 26.There are no cases, but the Council expects late cases and will meet again and handle them as they come through.
GAC (Graduate Academic Council) –Ronald Toseland, Chair
The GAC has been considering two petitions from students to be reinstated to graduate programs. Decisions will be made about these petitions at the next meeting of the GAC.Nothing to add.
GOV (Governance Council) –Joette Stefl-Mabry, Chair
GOV met on 03/24/2014
Recommendations for the Provost of Academic Affairs Search Committee
On March 19th GOV Chair Stefl-Mabry received an email from Senate Chair Wagner explaining that the President’s Chief-of-Staff, Leanne Wirkkula had requested, via email (March 18th), a request for 2-3 names as recommendations for the Provost of Academic Affairs Search Committee. GOV discussed in depth possible candidates, collectively created a list, and ranked the candidates through an anonymous vote. GOV Chair Stefl-Mabry emailed the names of the top 5 candidates to Senate Chair Wagner to be forwarded to Chief-of-Staff Wirkkula.
CAFFECoR Ad Hoc Committee
The committee shared the revised CAFFECoR amendment, which incorporated suggestions provided by the Chair of CAFFECoR, Susanna Fessler. GOV voted unanimously to accept the amendment as written and send the document on to the SEC.
Assessment of Governance and Consultation Ad Hoc Committee
The committee shared the revised Survey of Evaluation of Shared Governance and Consultation at the University at Albany, which was developed in consultation with the Office of the President, to help the Senate evaluate how its constituents perceive participatory governance at the University. The current survey had been approved by the President’s office for wording and content (via email March 21st). GOV reviewed the instrument and voted unanimously to accept the survey and forward it to Associate Vice Provost for Academic and Resource Planning, Bruce Szelest to begin the implementation process.
The Survey for Shared Governance and Consultation was submitted to Bruce Szelest, and the Committee hopeswithin a week or so it will be sent out. Chair Stefl-Mabry asked all to encourage constituents to take the survey.
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing) – Elizabeth Gaffney, Chair
The next LISC Meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 31. The committee will be taking a tour of the new data center at that time.Nothing to add.
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) – Anthony DeBlasi, Chair
Nothing to report. The Council continues to work through the Gen Ed competency plans.
ULC (University Life Council) –Michael Jaromin, Chair
The University Life Council continues to support the UACCESS initiative with the Office of Diversity & Inclusion and at its next meeting will discuss issues and concerns to be proposed for the next ULC committee as well follow up any outstanding concerns such as the Tobacco Free TaskForce.Nothing to add.
UPPC (University Planning and Policy Council) –Andi Lyons, Chair
UPPC met on March 10 to review proposals for a Graduate Certificate Program in International Health and Human Rights, and a BS in Interdisciplinary Studies with a Faculty-Initiated Interdisciplinary Concentration in Bio-Instrumentation. Both proposals were approved by UPPC. The International Health and Human Rights proposal has already been approved by GAC and is now ready to go to the full Senate for approval, while the Bio-Instrumentation proposal is awaiting UAC approval before being sent to the full Senate. At its next meeting, scheduled for April 9, UPPC will consider proposals for an English Certificate in Teaching Composition, and an Environmental Geographic Information Science MS
ProvostChico Hurst would be coming to the Wednesday 4/9 meeting to discuss updates on future calendars.
NEW BUSINESS
Charter Amendment 1314-02A: Composition of the Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments; introduced by GOV
Chair Wagner read aloud the Rationale and reviewed the current Charter and proposed revision as follows:
Rationale:
On September 25, 2013, UAlbany Local Chapter UUP President, Bret Benjamin, requested that the Senate review the composition of the Council on Promotion and Continuing Appointment (CPCA) in light of the current contractual agreement between the State and UUP. Subsequently the Governance Council received a letter dated October 28, 2013, from Associate Vice Chancellor for Employee Relations, Raymond Haines, Jr., Esq., who offered his perspective of the application of the agreement to the issue of the composition of the CPCA. While the two perspectives differ, both recognize that university governance has the authority to define the composition of the CPCA. Accordingly, without deciding the merits of either UUP’s or SUNY System Administration’s position, the Governance Council reviewed the applicable provisions of the University Senate Charter (X.7.1) which defines the composition of the CPCA to include, in addition to Teaching Faculty, one Professional faculty member, one undergraduate student and one graduate student. Based upon that review, the Governance Council concluded that the CPCA’s membership should be limited to Teaching Faculty who hold continuing appointment, given the CPCA’s responsibility for the determination of a teaching faculty members’ eligibility and suitability for promotion and continuing appointment and the criteria against which such a determination is made.