FACULTY SENATE MINUTES NO. 1

September 2, 2003

1.� CALL TO ORDER: The 1^st meeting of the Faculty Senate for 2003-2004 was called to order at 1:17 PM on September 2, 2003 in the Jacobus Lounge, Brockway Hall, by Chair Jeffrey Walkuski.

SENATORS AND MEMBERS PRESENT: J. Walkuski, B. Jackson, P. Buckenmeyer, K. Coombs, B. Mattingly, D. Berger, P. Walsh, G. Beadle, A. Johnson, A. Young, T. Phillips, E. Bitterbaum, E. Davis-Russell, R. Franco, W. Shaut, C. Plunkett, C. Poole, S. VanEtten

SENATORS AND MEMBERS ABSENT: M. Ali

GUESTS PRESENT: P. Koryzno, C. Malone, M. Prus, E. Caffarella

II. SENATE ACTIONS:

There was a motion to approve the Standing Rules as amended (Passed)

There was a motion to approve discontinuation of the Verbatim Minutes and reverting to the older format of a summary Faculty Minutes to be distributed on campus (Passed)

III.� APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: There was no motion to approve the minutes from the last year�s business.

IV.� CHAIR�S REPORT: Chair Walkuski opened the meeting welcoming everyone to the Faculty Senate.� He started out by saying that he felt this year was going to be an important year with a variety of challenges to face offering a wide range of opportunities.� He encouraged everyone to participate and have a voice.� He indicated there was work to be done in the academic area as well as policy areas and governance and he hoped that the process of deliberations would bring forth a table of spirit and passion tempered by civility.�

The Chair then offered a discussion of approval of the Standing Rules.� He explained that they had been modified the previous year with the meeting time being changed from 1:00 to 1:10. On the agenda items there was a more substantial change which he read: (changes in italics ) The appropriate committee or person shall publish the exact wording of all resolutions, committee motions, recommendations, two weeks in advance of the meeting in which they are to be considered.�� There was a motion to approve the Standing Rules as amended which passed.

The Parliamentarian read a passage from Robert�s Rules for the Senators stating the need for such rules and order in the Senate. He then went on to say, �The reason I say that something is out of order in my best interpretation, that it is out of order, and that is the way business should be conducted. I am not the perfect parliamentarian and I may make some mistakes. In the future, however, my intent is to really govern, to have Senate run according to the proper rules and proper order...�� He then passed around a handout of motion sheets for future use which would, hopefully, assist the Senate in running more efficiently.�� When there is a motion to be put forward it was asked that the individual write the exact wording down and pass it forward to the Chair.

Poole�s last item of business was that he had found some good tutorials on Robert�s Rules and offered them to anyone who might be interested.�

Dean Malone offered a suggestion, that it might be useful if this tutorial were made available on the Faculty Senate website for anyone�s use. Chair Walkuski agreed and thanked him for the valuable suggestion.

VII.� VICE CHAIR�S REPORT: Vice Chair Jackson greeted everyone and introduced himself and, without anything to report he said, �...as a mentor to my students, as a faculty member, as a delegate to my assembly UUP, I think faculty governance is important so I am honored to be able to serve my colleagues. I look forward to serving you next year.�

VIII.� TREASURER� S REPORT: Treasurer Karen Coombs introduced herself to those who did not know her from last year. She implored the Senate and it�s constituents to pay their dues, either by bringing them to her in the Library, or giving them to their Senators, or another means. She urged them how important the dues are to fund the Faculty Scholarship and Memorial Plaques in the Library for retired faculty.� She said she would be repeating this plea at every Senate meeting and offered that maybe the Chair would be willing to offer a reward to those individuals who bring in the most dues.

Walkuski reinforced the need to get Memorial Plaques up which has not been done in the past few years due to lack of funds, and also for deserving students for the Faculty Senate Scholarship.

The Provost asked about a letter from a constituent which requested Faculty Senate funds for students who travel to attend conferences and present papers.

Treasurer Coombs told the Provost the Steering Committee was aware of the request, although Senate funds are presently diminished.�� Chair Walkuski added that he had some ideas and would talk to the Provost regarding the project.

IX.� SECRETARY�S REPORT:

Phil Buckenmeyer introduced himself although he had the opportunity to e-mail some constituents previously regarding their elections.� This is his second year on campus although he had shared in faculty governance at the University of Akron on their Senate.� He passed around a sheet in an attempt to verify Senate terms so that he could update the Senate roster.

X.� PRESIDENT�S REPORT:

President Bitterbaum offered some exciting news he wanted to share that the campus had received the international award from Edu Cause.� He said it was extraordinary for him being here at the college as he previously mentioned in his opening remarks to the campus.�

Another initiative of his is offering lunch passes, funded by his office, for students to take their professors out to lunch, away from the normal academic venue to get to know them better.� He said that the idea was neither new, nor his own, but other campuses such as Harvard, Yale and Berkeley are presently doing it.�

As far as enrollment, SUNY Cortland is short in graduate enrollment this fall and where we have to turn away thousands in freshmen enrollments, the same is not true for graduate enrollments. He invited any Senators to visit department heads and offer input which would be welcomed to get the graduate enrollment out.�

He also mentioned his interest in retention and the idea of bringing back former Vice President for Enrollment Management Toni Tiburzi from retirement, to consult us in this area.�

The state is on track in the with projects being paid of the Construction Fund monies with construction presently being undertaken in campus.�

His last business was about a meeting he attended of 180 alumni from the Binghamton area. He was amazed how much beloved SUNY Cortland is and he asked if anyone knows names of alumni or possible donors to please let him know in the interest of making a difference.� He is also calling on our Co-Chapters going back to the 40's to recent graduates to find people who are willing to give their time and to let us know what is happening.� He said that the tragedy is that although there are many former Physical Education teacher alumnus, we need the captains of industry to assist us, whether it be friends, parents or whatever the case may be.

XI.� QUESTIONS FOR THE PRESIDENT:

Senator Beadle made a statement regarding declining graduate enrollments, the link being attributable to the real shortage of graduate courses being taught on campus, especially during the summer, due to inequity in summer salaries.���

There was general debate about just how much the summer salaries were.� It was mentioned that former Chair Jalal Alemzadeh had offered a motion last year regarding the summer salary inequity issue.�

Senator David Berger offered his input saying, �I am not sure what could be done but I am hoping something could be done about losing students, because if we tell students they can take that course in the summer and then we cancel it, they pretty soon come to the conclusion that Cortland doesn�t have what they want and they will go somewhere else.�

President Bitterbuam agreed with Senator Berger and offered that we could recruit students who are entering college in the fall with introductory courses and our need to become more entrepreneurial.� He said, �I�ve had some preliminary discussion with some of our colleagues and I think everyone believes a lot more can be done in the summer and both the faculty can benefit and we can benefit but I�d be curious of any other thoughts you would have, please.�

Provost Davis-Russell mentioned that often when classes are canceled there is a discrepancy between what students want to take or need to take as opposed to what departments are offering.� She felt we need to do a better job of offering courses that entail a students� needs rather than just what the faculty would like to teach during the summer.� She ended by saying, �We have the graduate office each year do a short list of courses that they need to take, courses they want to take during the summer.� I would strongly urge the departments to look at this and plan that way.�

Bitterbuam mentioned General Psychology which he considered always �golden� for us during the summer.� �I just think we�re not being very aggressive, and you can survey our own students and let students know that they can concentrate on some course work....students will have a great opportunity.�

XII. STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Long Range Planning Committee - no report.

Educational Policy Committee - No Chair has been yet appointed.

Student Affairs Committee - No Chair has been yet appointed.

Educational Policy Committees - No Chair has been yet appointed.

XIII. SUNY SENATOR�S REPORT:

SUNY Senator Tim Phillips thanked everyone for electing him to his second three year term in the Senate representing University Faculty Senator.� He announced that next Thursday he would be attending the Fall Plenary meeting and mentioned that, as he told the Senate last year, he was elected to represent a smaller group on September 11.� He said that is where all of the business is conducted and if anyone had some issues they�d like to bring forward or for the Plenary meeting in October.� He mentioned a resolution that had been submitted by Chancellor King and the Board of Trustees in late June and offered anyone a copy if they were interested.�

Chair Walkuski said the Chancellor King resolution could also be posted on the Faculty Senate Web site.�

XIV. COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Committee on Committees - Bernard Jackson mentioned a lot of activity with elections coming up and stuffing envelopes. He urged everyone to vote for the proposed motion of having the election process available electronically to streamline the process.

Walkuski mentioned the necessity of mentioning to constituents the opportunity of being on consultative committees that would help to expedite the search process.�

XV. NEW BUSINESS:

Karen Coombs read a proposal to modify the format of the Senate Minutes.��� She mentioned the verbatim format which required a lot of administrative work for the Recording Secretary and offered that the Senate revert back to the old format of distribution of a summary Faculty Minutes across campus.� Senator Van Etten asked if the tapes would be retained and the Recording Secretary applied in the affirmative.� The motion carried with no debate.

The next motion was put forward by Gordon Beadle which proposed that the administration not be present at Faculty Senate meetings.

It had also been offered that the Administrator�s report be submitted electronically before the meeting and the President and his administration only attend for a brief question and answer period.

President Bitterbaum was cooperative in doing whatever the body decided in order to more efficiently conduct Senate business.

Senator Phillips mentioned he felt it was helpful having the administration there when other issues came up outside of the administrative report.� He also stated his belief in shared governance.

Van Etten agreed with Walkuski�s proposal that an alternating attendance schedule could be proposed.

Senator Andy Young mentioned lengthy oral reporting and questioned whether or not this was the best use of administrator�s time.� The administration could deliver their report beforehand, come in for a brief question and answer period, and leave.

Bitterbaum mentioned models and Francis said that it had been discussed at the Steering Committee meeting the time would be scheduled and the administration could come only upon request on an as-needed basis.

Phillips offered he would vote against the motion in favor of having the President and his team present.

The motion will be voted on at the next meeting in two weeks.

Chair Walkuski mentioned the Senate goals as decided on jointly by the Steering Committee for the upcoming year. The first one is trying to increase faculty and staff involvement including the� shared idea of community.� The second goal is review of the composition of the Senate and chairing a committee to address campus growth and reorganization.� He suggested ideas of sharing of ideas such as brown bag lunches and talking across constituencies to create a campus dialogue.� The third goal is utilizing Banner Access to streamline the voting process for future elections.� The fourth goal involves working with different individuals to create a web page regarding housing in the Cortland community and trying to integrate the Cortland web site and the Cortland.com website.� The final goal was to review the structure of Senate and colleague committees.

Executive Assistant Patty Francis mentioned that the last goal of committee review had been undertaken by Chair Steven Estes and Vice Chair Tom Bonn in 1997-1998. Walkuski replied that he felt since it has been six years it should be part of the entire review process.

Bitterbuam talked about getting together with the Chamber of Commerce and Director of our Business Development, Steve Hunt, to address a strong need for more suitable residence housing.� He talked about Clinton Avenue as showing a negative impression of the town and the need for faculty and staff to work together, along with Mayor Leonard, so that housing can be obtained at minimal cost and renovated, to improve both of campus life and the community.�

Walkuski announced that he had sent out an e-mail asking if the Faculty Senate wants to be involved on the searches for Vice President of Financial Management, Dean of Arts and Sciences and Director of the Annual Fund, in addition to Associate Dean of Professional Studies and Athletic Director. �The motion passed without debate.

The next item of business was a motion involving a proposed change by the Chair and distributed as a handout.� It involved 3 members from the academic schools being on each search committee, as opposed to the old model of two schools.� For Dean of Arts and Sciences there would be 8 academic faculty, two elected by School of Arts and Sciences, two from Professional Studies and two from School of Education. The change is that an additional at-large member would be from the School of Education and the other addition to the search for the Dean of Arts and Sciences, two members to be elected by and from the School of Education.�

Treasurer Coombs asked if this would include additional representation from the Library.� Walkuski replied that since this was an emergency measure in nature there could be an additional motion put forward regarding library representation on those committees.

Dean Malone asked if it could not be amended to accommodate the librarians and Walkuski reinforced since this was an emergency measure to expedite the search process this could be undertaken at another time.

Vice Chair Jackson asked about the search for Athletic Director inquiring if more cultures would be involved in that search.� Chair Walkuski responded by stating that the composition of committees is outlined in the College Handbook and the different areas are adhered to as such.

XVI.� AREA SENATORS REPORTS:

Senator Friga asked if he was a voting member since he had received an e-mail indicating new elections maybe have to be run.�

Walkuski replied that, as interpreted by the Steering Committee, according to the College Handbook, offices of the Senate will take office technically at the last meeting of the Faculty Senate in the spring.� He explained that interpretation led some to believe that the terms are actually an academic year term as opposed to calendar year.� He opened the floor up for discussion.

Friga asked for clarification if he could vote since he would have to run a new election to which Walkuski replied in the negative.� Friga then asked what defines a quorum to which Walkuski replied that a quorum would be the majority of voting members who are present.� Friga felt that technically this was in question since some voting members had no voting power under the new rules as opposed to the old rules.� Walkuski replied that this would be taken care of in the near future.

Senator Fay asked if that would have an impact on the election and Walkuski replied that the e-mail he sent out addressed some of these issues.

There was general discussion from Chair Walkuski in answer to a question from Senator Walsh about the reorganization of the Senate due to growth and the addition of a new school on campus. He said, regarding the status of the new School of Education, that the Senate Chair has the authority to appoint a committee and that was his intention to address this issue.� The committee would consist of two members from School of Professional Studies, two from the School of Education, two from Arts and Sciences, one member from Professional Studies, one member from the Library, one student, one graduate faculty representative, and one part-time representative.�

Senator Fay inquired about how the Senate roster would change to address reorganization in the School of Professional Studies, especially HPER, which does not presently reflect ESSS.� Walkuski stated this would be one of the goals of the committee and it would be addressed at that time.� Fay asked for clarification and guidance in terms of conducting elections in their department.� Walkuski replied, �At this point elections should be held, since the structure should not be undertaken, the election should be held as is. There is no other procedural way of doing it....�� The Chair also addressed some procedural issues which would have to be changed as far as the roster and EDU-SHH which would now have to be considered.

Friga asked if one had to be a member of the Senate to sit on such a committee and Walkuski said that was not a requirement.

Ed Caffarella, Dean School of Education, had a question asking if the School of Education should elect a senator to fill the vacant slots.� Walkuski reiterated that things will continue under the present structure which is in place; however, the question would come up once the Senate was reorganized whether or not a new slate of elections would have to be held.� The Chair ended by encouraging people to talk to their constituencies and have them e-mail him or speak to him at the next meeting regarding this issue.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:21 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Barbara Kissel

Recording Secretary

The following reports are appended to the Minutes in the order reported and submitted by Senators and other members.

(1) Proposal to the SUNY Cortland Faculty Senate - Search Committee Membership submitted by Chair Jeffrey Walkuski.

(2) Standing Rules for the Faculty Senate submitted by Chair Jeffrey Walkuski.

(3) Proposed motion regarding Minutes format submitted by Karen Coombs, Treasurer.

http://www.cortland.edu/senate/minutes/m1.html

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