Library and Information Technology Committee

University Faculty Senate

December 9, 2016
Draft: subject to approval

  1. Call to order:
    Prof. Jochen Albrecht called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. in room 1047 at the CUNY Central Office, 205 East 42nd Street
  2. Roll call:
    Present were: Roberta Brody (Queens), Tracy Chu (Brooklyn), Mark Eaton (Kingsborough CC), Robert Nolan (GC), Philip Pecorino – Liaison (QCC), YuliyaShneyderman (BMCC), Pamela Stemberg (CCNY), Leslie Ward (QCC), Judith Wild (Brooklyn), and Stasia Pasela (UFS staff).
  3. Open Issues:
    The committee decided to form three sub-committees to work on our long list of charges (see below).
    Their titles are for identification and are not inclusive of their important roles:
    - Education (Leslie, Robin, Phil) for charges 3, 4, 5 and 6
    - Information technology (Pamela, Tracy, Mark, and Robert) for charges 1, 7 and 8
    - Library matters (Judith, Yuliya, Morris, Phil) for charges 2 and 9, as well as, the future of CUNY Academic Works.
    Members not present were asked to select a sub-committee by email to Prof. Albrecht. Leslie, Pamela, and Judith were asked to organize the first meetings of their respective sub-committees.
    Prof. Albrecht has cleared Tuesday afternoon/evenings for the spring semester meetings. However, he emphasized the sub-committee work is more important than his presence. The next UFS plenary meeting is on Tuesday February 7, 2017.
  4. Liaison Report:
    Prof. Pecorino requested the LIT committee consider becoming a conduit of faculty concerns about software and application needs to CIS (CUNY Information Services) via Steven Willner, Director of Project Management. Prof. Pecorino also informed the committee about the online education blog posts that the UFS Executive Committee wants to receive from Senators and collect into a white paper.
  5. Adjournment: Prof. Albrecht adjourned the meeting at 3:00 p.m.
    Minutes submitted by: Jochen Albrecht.

Library and Information Technology Committee
University Faculty Senate

Goals for 2016-17 Academic Year:

  1. (Ongoing) Develop a working rapport with:
    Chairs of the IT Steering Committee working groups on:
    IT Applications and Systems
    IT Policies and Procedures
    Chair of the Blackboard Management Council
    Chair of the Committee on Academic Technology
  2. Review the Master Plan for items relevant to LIT and provide a 1-page brief for the Plenary
  3. Provide (or request same from University Director of Academic Technology) a 1-page update on the ebook projects funded by CUNY in 2011 (Spring). See:
  4. Provide a 1-page update on John Jay’s MOOC experience with Literature & Law of American Slavery. Determine if additional MOOCS are being planned elsewhere in CUNY. (Spring)
  5. Provide a 1-page report on the number of asynchronous and hybrid course offerings by discipline available throughout CUNY (Spring).
  6. Report to the plenary early in the fall about CUNY Central’s RFP to find a vendor to help colleges establish online courses/programs.
  7. Recommendations on what should be added to the CUNY Virtual Desktop suite.
  8. Recommendations on (a) site licensing of teaching software and (b) academic advisory role to the administration of site licenses
  9. Report on the CUNY Libraries Strategic Plan

The primary central administration contacts for this committee are the

• Chief Librarian (position currently open), the

• Chief Information Officer, and the

• Executive Vice Chancellor/Chief Operating Officer.