FACULTY SENATE MINUTES #7

                                                        ��������������� �����November 25, 2008

 

1. CALL TO ORDER:  The 7th meeting of the Faculty Senate for 2008-2009 was called to order at 1:10 PM on November 25, 2008 in Jacobus Lounge, Brockway Hall by Chair William Buxton.

 

SENATORS AND MEMBERS PRESENT: B. Buxton, K. Lawrence, J. Duncan, I. Jubran, H. Botwinick, D. West, �J. Reese, A. Dahlman,

J. Governali,� O. White, D. Harrington, T. Vigars, S. Snell, M. Prus, J. Duncan, S. Anderson, R. Kendrick, J. Rayle, J. Shedd, C.� Cirmo

 

SENATORS AND MEMBERS ABSENT: �N. Helsper, D. Miller, T. Phillips, D. Videto, M. Ware, M. Dwyer, M. Rainsford, C. Hahl, J. Walkuski,

B. Langhans, E. McCabe, E. Bitterbaum, R. Franco, W. Shaut, G. Sharer

 

GUESTS PRESENT: �P. Koryzno, B. Mattingly

 

II. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: �The minutes from November 11, 2008 were approved.

 

III. SENATE ACTIONS:

There were no Senate actions.

 

IV. CHAIR�S REPORT:

The Chair opened his report by announcing that, due to a miscommunication involving the Committee on Committees, the process for constituting the ad hoc committee for creation of a Professional Affairs Committee was not undertaken, however, the chair stated it is now in process and apologize for the delay.

 

V. VICE CHAIR'S REPORT:

No report.

 

VI. SECRETARY�S REPORT:

No report.

           

VII. TREASURER�S REPORT:

No report (absent.)

 

VIII. PRESIDENT�S REPORT:

M. Prus gave a report in the absence of President Bitterbaum who was traveling over the holiday break.� The Provost mentioned the significant amount of success on the athletic playing fields this fall including the men�s cross country team winning the national championship the prior weekend.� He also reported on the men�s football team playing the prior Saturday, advancing to round 16 in the NCAA tournament and scheduled to play Curry College the upcoming Saturday.� Provost Prus reported that the women�s cross country was playing that night in a national championship, women�s field hockey finishing 5th� and men�s soccer tied for 17th nationally.� Prus concluded by stating that, given the success of the fall sports teams, SUNY Cortland was in good shape in terms of the Men�s Director�s Cup competition.

 

Reporting on Interim Chancellor Clarke, who resigned his position, Prus stated that to his knowledge no other interim has been appointed and he also believed that there were no viable internal candidates.

 

Provost Prus reported on the tuition increase and the status of campus improvement projects.

 

The Provost responded to questions regarding the implications of the tuition increase and the scheduling of NCATE visits.

 

IX. STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:

 

Long Range Planning Committee � �C. Cirmo, Chair � The chair reported that the LRPC Committee is moving forward with a clarification on their procedure which will eventually be presented to the Senate for approval, perhaps next semester.� There is a plan to air the procedures at Joint Chair�s Council next month.

 

Educational Policy Committee � R. Kendrick, Chair � R. Kendrick reported on the Summer Scheduling Proposal and read the EPC statement dated 11/13/08 in support {SEE Appendix 1): �We support the move to a four-day per week summer session schedule for regularly schedule on-campus courses; the four-day per week, Monday through Thursday, summer schedule should not preclude other scheduling arrangements. We do not agree that summer 2-1/2 week sessions B and D should be eliminated; and we propose that, in addition to Raquette Lake, the schedule should be explicit about the use of Brauer Education Center, and other sties, for one-week summer session courses. The EPC would emphasize the importance of fully informing students about the refund policies for summer courses, particularly one-week courses, as stated in the summer session proposal.�

 

Chair Kendrick mentioned 5-day programs such as the writing workshop downtown that the EPC Committee did not feel should be affected.� He also indicated his committee wanted items �B� and �D� to remain, since summer sessions are moneymaking propositions for the college.

 

In conclusion, the next meeting of the EPC is on December 4 from 2-3 PM in Old Main 218 where the committee will be taking into consideration the feedback regarding the major/minor overlap proposal.� Dr. Kendrick stated that there were some substantive reasons received why the proposal may not be the best idea.

 

Chair Kendrick responded to a question from A. Dahlman regarding whether the intent of the summer scheduling proposal was to save money on energy. Kendrick yielded the floor to B. Mattingly who replied that energy savings was not their initial intent but rather to reduce travel time for students and faculty, hopefully leading to stronger summer enrollments.

 

M. Prus also made a statement reinforcing the strength of Brauer Educational Center as an attractive facility.

 

Student Affairs Committee � T. Phillips, Chair � No report (absent.)

 

Faculty Affairs Committee � J. Walkuski, Chair � No report (absent)

 

College Research Committee � No report (absent)

 

General Education Committee � D. Miller, Chair �� No report (absent)

 

X. OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS:

 

Committee on Committees -� J. Barry, Chair � Chair Buxton read the report for the Committee on Committees announcing the formation of the ad hoc committee for creation of the Professional Affairs Committee; the referendum ballots being prepared for dissemination to the campus next week for adding two full-time lecturer voting seats to the Senate and the Faculty Affairs Committee proposal {SEE Appendix 2)

 

XI. AREA SENATOR�S REPORTS:

T. Slack gave a brief report regarding buses on campus and indicated that any decisions on whether the campus runs four or five days courses will have a significant impact on how the campus is run. (SEE Appendix 3)

 

T. Slack responded to a question from A. Dahlman regarding the transportation fee and whether or not it was in addition to the costs specified in the handout.

 

Slack responded that how busing is funded and where the funds come from are two separate issues.

 

K. Lawrence asked a question regarding the cost of painting of the buses.

 

T. Slack responded that it would be somewhere between two and three thousand dollars.

 

J. Governali asked Chair Buxton a question whether or not a schedule had been set up for the faculty referendum. Chair Buxton responded that he felt the two items that were passed this fall should be put forward now in a referendum due to the long time period until spring. No schedule as yet has been set up.

 

J�. Governali reported that the ad hoc committee to determine a new Senate time/day has not met yet.

 

Chair Buxton reported that the Ad Hoc Committee on External Review is meeting and hopefully will have a report soon.

 

XII. SUNY SENATOR�S REPORT � M. Ware � No report (absent)

 

XIII. STUDENT SENATOR�S REPORTS:

No report (absent)

 

XIV. OLD BUSINESS:

The Old Business item regarding the Summer Scheduling Proposal was discussed and will be an agenda item under Old Business at the first Senate meeting in Spring 2009.�

 

The Summer Session 4-day work week draft proposal was discussed.� Many individuals from the floor brought up important drawbacks and procedural issues to the proposal which they felt should be taken into consideration, including offices such as the Admissions Office, the Bursar�s Office, the Registrar�s Office, Student Accounts and Financial Aid in the Miller Building being open without air conditioning on Fridays in the summer.�

Senator Dahlman also mentioned important events taking place on campus including orientation, alumni weekend, Senior Games, Summer Camps, the Special Olympics and the Empire Games.� It was decided that these items needed to be brought to the attention of the administration.� Dahlman concluded that she felt the cost factor possibly driving people away, instead of attracting them to the campus, should be taken into consideration.

 

The policy was not officially endorsed by the Senate since it was decided it was informational only and is already under effect voluntarily.

 

H. Botwinick ended the meeting by reporting that he will be on sabbatical next semester and unable to finish out his Senate term.� Dr. Botwinick made a plea to the Senate to continue the work of the Review of Governance Committee culminating in a year and a half effort. He stated that he felt that unless some of the recommendations were put forward the Senate would revert to the past where faculty did not feel they had a voice, Arts and Science seats were left empty and there was no strong leadership.

 

XV. NEW BUSINESS:

There was no new business.

 

Respectfully Submitted:

 

Barbara Kissel

Recording Secretary

 

The following reports are appended to the minutes in the order they are submitted:

 

(1)   �EPC Statement dated November 13, 2008 submitted by R. Kendrick, Chair

 

(2)   �Committee on Committees report submitted by J. Barry

 

(3)   �Busing Overview submitted by T. Slack

 

APPENDIX 1

EPC Statement dated November 13, 2008

We support the move to a four-day per week summer session schedule for regularly schedule on-campus courses; the four-day per week, Monday through Thursday, summer schedule should not preclude other scheduling arrangements. We do not agree that summer 2-1/2 week sessions B and D should be eliminated; and we propose that, in addition to Raquette Lake, the schedule should be explicit about the use of Brauer Education Center, and other sites, for one-week summer session courses. The EPC would emphasize the importance of fully informing students about the refund policies for summer courses, particularly one-week courses, as stated in the summer session proposal.

 

��������� APPENDIX 2

 

Committee on Committees � Report to the Faculty Senate

November 25, 2008

Submitted by� J. Barry

 

Item # 1

  • The Committee will be issuing the campus-wide referendum on the changes to the Faculty Affairs Committee next week.

 

Item #2

 

  • The Committee has sought and is awaiting clarification on the campus-wide referendum regarding full-time lecturers.�

 

Item #3

 

  • The Committee has sought and is awaiting clarification regarding the ad hoc committee to review and make recommendations for the proposed Professional Affairs Committee.

 

APPENDIX 2

Busing Facts

Submitted by T. Slack

 

1. How much diesel does one bus typically use in a single day?  18 gallons on average

 

2. How many buses does SUNY Cortland own? Nine, though we generally only operate eight. Due to age and condition, the 9th bus is used only on a very limited basis as an emergency backup on campus. We plan to trade-in that bus on our next new bus purchase.

 

3. How much total diesel is used per day/week in our buses on average? Average per week 859 gals for 3436 miles

 

4. How often do the buses need to fill up/ What is the tank capacity? Fill-ups are done every other day in an average amount of 38 gallons. All tanks have a 50 gallon capacity, except one which has 100 gals.

 

5. How many miles do the buses get per gallon? 4.3 MPG

 

6. Type of diesel engines in buses? All bus engines are 6 cylinder diesels and most are turbo charged. One bus has an International engine, 5 have Cummins engines, and 3 have Caterpillar engines. Our two newest buses use the newest Cat technology with regenerative exhaust to minimize pollutants.

 

7. At what cost does the college get their diesel? The price of diesel fuel has ranged from $4.3232 per gallon in July to $2.7854 per gallon on our most recent invoice.� We plan to spend between $90,000 and $100,000 this year on diesel fuel.

 

8. How much does the average bus driver make? Full timers with benefits are in the $30,000 neighborhood, annually. Part-time drivers make $13.03 per hour.

We have 9 permanent employees and 10 part time drivers

Our staff consists of �

A.     Nine permanent employees

a.       One transportation supervisor

b.       7 full time drivers

c.       One half time driver

B.     Ten part time employees

a.       Two used for cleaning and prepping busses

b.       Five used for filling in, and weekend service

c.       Three security service aids

9. �How often do the buses break down or require maintenance?  On average: one bus repair per day, one breakdown per month, routine scheduled maintenance performed every two months on each bus.

 

10. How much money is spent per year keeping a typical bus running. For repairs, tires and routine maintenance, on average $8312 plus fuel $11,523, or roughly $20,000 per bus, per year, not including depreciation or amortization of the original purchase cost. Not that each bus uses on average one set of six tires per year, each tire costing about $300.

 

11. Cost of the last bus purchased for SUNY Cortland cost? $144,000

 

12. Expected life of a bus.� 8-10 years

 

� 13. Operational cost of weekday intramural bus service (on campus)

$20,000 fuel and parts, $30,000 in driver wages x 5 busses� $250,000

Simple depreciation on five busses $15,000 x 5 =������������ $� 75,000

Support operations (management & cleaning) =�������������� $� 25,000

Total��� ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������� $350,000

�����������������������������������������������������������������������

��Weekday bus service������������������������������� ����������� T-Th

�M-W-F

 

 

http://www.cortland.edu/senate/minutes/0809min7.html