FACULTY SENATE MINUTES #7
December 1, 2009
The seventh meeting of the Faculty Senate 2009-2010 was called to order by Chair Kathleen Lawrence on Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at 1:15 PM in Brockway Hall, Jacobus Lounge.
SENATORS AND MEMBERS PRESENT: K. Lawrence, D. Miller,
D. Videto, D. Driscoll, W. Miller, D. Berger, R. Kendrick, M. McGuire,
J. Reese, S. Wilson, O. White, K. Hempson, K. Pristash, E. McCabe,
J. Walkuski, M. Ware, P. Schroeder, A. Batchelder, J. Campanaro,
E. Bitterbaum, G. Sharer, R. Collings,. G. Clarke, M. Connell
SENATORS AND MEMBERS ABSENT: T. Vigars, R. Grantham, S. Rayl, B. Buxton, J. Kim, R. Borden, L. Klotz, A. Swindon, D. Harrington, T. Slack, B. Schecter, G. Magnanti
GUESTS PRESENT: P. Koryzno, J. Mosher
I APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: There was a motion for approval of the minutes from November 17, 2009.
II. SENATE ACTIONS:
There was a vote to approve the Minutes from November 17, 2009 (Approved)
There was a vote to adopt the changes to Article X: Elections in the College Handbook (Approved)
There was a vote to adopt the changes to Article XI: Conduct of Business in the College Handbook (Approved)
There was a vote to adopt the changes to Article XIII: Review of Governance Structure in the College Handbook (Approved)
There was a vote to adopt the changes to Article XIV: Amendments in the College Handbook (Approved)
III CHAIR’S REPORT: Chair Lawrence welcomed everybody and asked those who wanted to participate in the group photo for the Faculty Senate Website to do so. She reported on the gifts that were collected for the Toys for Tots Drive being conducted by SGA, which can be dropped off at 217 Corey Union or the President’s Office, Room 408 Miller Building. The Chair thanked Secretary Vigars who was ill and unable to attend the meeting, for her efforts regarding electronic voting, the photo arrangements and the new Senate Website.
The Chair announced that the new Senate Website is up and running and encouraged anyone with comments and/or suggestions to contact her. Chair Lawrence then encouraged chairs of committees to contact student representatives with information on the time/location of the meetings, since student representatives are eager to commence their work. Chair Lawrence reminded everyone that the Senate will meet in the spring in the Park Center, Hall of Fame Room.
IV. VICE CHAIR: D. Miller – No report.
V. TREASURER’S REPORT – D. Videto – There was $821.69 in the Faculty Senate Memorial Scholarship account. Treasurer Videto reported that Paypal should be available next week for payment of dues electronically.
VI SECRETARY’S REPORT: - T. Vigars – No report (absent)
VII. PRESIDENT’S REPORT: The President gave a brief report.
VIII. STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Student Affairs Committee - M. Connell – M. Connell reported that his committee has been attempting to meet with SGA on their charge but his committee members have been having difficulty.
Academic Faculty Affairs Committee – R. Collings – No report.
Long-Range Planning Committee – No report (absent)
Educational Policy Committee – R. Spitzer – No report.
Professional Affairs Committee – G. Clarke – No report.
IX. OTHER COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Committee on Committees - J. Barry, Chair – No report.
College Research Committee – P. Ducey – No report (absent)
General Education Committee – J. Hendrick, Chair – D. Miller reported that his committee is operating smoothly.
X. AREA SENATOR’S REPORTS:
There were no Area Senator’s reports.
XI. SUNY SENATOR’S REPORT – SUNY Senator Ware gave a report which is appended to the Minutes {SEE Appendix 1} She announced that the Winter Plenary will be held the last weekend in January, 2010, at SUNY Cobleskill, which she will be attending.
XII. STUDENT SENATOR’S REPORTS: The students gave a brief report.
XIII. OLD BUSINESS: The Old Business item regarding the College Handbook, Article X, Elections; Article XI: Conduct of Business; Article XIII: Review of Governance Structure; and Article XIV: Amendments, were discussed, voted on and approved {SEE Senate Actions; SEE Appendix 2}
XIV. NEW BUSINESS: There was no New Business.
The following reports are appended to the minutes in the order they are submitted:
- SUNY Senator’s Report, submitted by M. Ware
2. College Handbook, Draft 11/05/09 Article X, Elections; Article XII; Article VIII; Article XIV submitted by S. Anderson and D. Miller
Respectfully Submitted:
Barbara Kissel
Recording Secretary
APPENDIX 1
University Faculty Senator’s Report Dec. 1, 2009
As previously reported, I was unable to attend the Fall Plenary at SUNY –IT due to a professional meeting previously scheduled.
I have appended to this report the summary of “sector concerns” from our 4-year college sector which was produced at that meeting. It reflects the current climate of SUNY now – with concerns about the budget being primary.
The resolutions and committee reports from the Plenary are still being edited and have not yet been posted on SUNY’s website. When they are, I will make a more substantive report to you on those.
One other item of interest follows: SUNY’s undergraduate committee is hosting a showcase of scholarly posters by students participating in undergraduate research. It will be held in the Legislative Office Building in Albany in early February. A liaison from each campus has been appointed to select and arrange for posters to be displayed. Information on that event is also appended to this report.
The winter plenary is scheduled for Jan 28-30, 2010 at SUNY Cobleskill.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Ware, University Faculty Senator
Item I -
SUNY Undergraduates Shaping New York's Future:
A Showcase of Scholarly Posters at the Capitol
On behalf of our colleagues on the Undergraduate Committee of the State
University of New York University Faculty Senate, we are inviting your
campus to participate in "SUNY Undergraduates Shaping New York's Future:
A Showcase of Scholarly Posters at the Capitol." The event is scheduled
for February 2, 2010 in the Legislative Office Building in Albany - a
venue that receives high foot traffic during the peak legislative
season.
This celebration is designed to bring together some of SUNY's most
talented undergraduate scholars with SUNY Administration officials and
members of our New York State Legislative delegation and their office
staff. The midday poster session will allow SUNY undergraduates the
opportunity to present their research and creative academic projects to
a large audience at Albany's Legislative Office Building. We hope to
create a truly memorable experience for our student presenters and our
audience.
To participate, each SUNY campus is asked to self-select up to three
undergraduate research or creative endeavor posters that represent a
sampling of the breadth of academic work offered at its campus and/or an
academic or research specialty that highlights the individual campus.
Poster/Display parameters and other details will be communicated via our
event website, which is currently under construction.
If your campus chooses to participate in this event by sending students,
their research/creative endeavor posters and the faculty mentor(s), we
ask you to assign an individual to serve as campus liaison and send
their contact information, by November 16, to the University Faculty
Senate office via the response form at www.suny.edu/facultysenate
Item II -
University Faculty Senate
Sector Concerns, University Colleges
10/23/09
The University College sector met on October 23 at the fall plenary of the UFS. The senators endorsed four areas of concern. We also continued compiling our tri-annual lists of all current University College budget strategies.
Assessment streamlining
The University Colleges support the recent proposal for streamlining SUNY assessment procedures. We believe the new proposal will address system redundancies and will allow SUNY to reduce delivery costs of some assessment programs. The streamlined plan will also foster a better sense of local ownership and management of assessment.
Changes in General Education
The University Colleges support recently proposed changes in the delivery of general education, vis-à-vis potential diminution in the numbers of required GenEd areas. We feel a rebalancing of SUNY-GER will encourage greater flexibility and curricular integrity in both the two-year and four-year colleges. We also believe that greater flexibility within General Education will promote a decentralization, similar to earlier models of General Education, that will yield the same sense of local ownership and management that assessment streamlining will accomplish.
Budget Concerns
As responses to the recent 90 million dollar reduction in SUNY budgets are devised, we recommend that the Chancellor and the Budget Task Force avoid repeating the budget reduction implementations of 08-09 that required the University Colleges and Colleges of Technology to bear a disproportionate share of the cuts.
Mission Creep and Program Approval
We respectfully request further clarification from the Chancellor concerning 4-year degree options being considered for SUNY’s community colleges. SUNY’s 4-year colleges have long-standing practices of degree proposal and approval. We believe those practices ensure good education and sound pedagogy. What part of the proposal and approval systems should we apply equally to all campuses in SUNY? Specifically, does authorization of four-year degrees at two-year institutions result in mission creep?
University Faculty Senators for the Comprehensive Colleges
Mark Noll, Brockport
Patricia Ralph, Brockport
David Carson, Buffalo State
John DeNisco, Buffalo State
Mary Ware, Cortland
Phil Ortiz, Empire State
Renata Barneva, Fredonia
María Lima, Geneseo
Rose Rudnitski, New Paltz
Runi Mukherji, Old Westbury
Orlando Legname, Oneonta
Gwen Kay, Oswego
Karen Volkmann, Plattsburgh
Joe Hildreth, Potsdam
James McElwaine, Purchase, sector representative
APPENDIX 2
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ARTICLE X: ELECTIONS
1. Offices of the faculty to be filled by election by the voting faculty:
a. Vice chair of the Senate and chair designate.
b. Secretary
c. Treasurer
d. Three or four members each year of the Committee on Committees.
e. Representative and alternate representative to the State University Senate.
f. Two faculty representatives to the Student Senate.
g. Elected representatives of the faculty to other organizations.
2. Offices to be filled by election by the professional staff:
Members of the College Review Panel will be chosen in elections conducted by the professionals, not in conflict with the bargaining contract.
3. Offices of the faculty to be filled by election within areas:
a. School committees, as provided in Article II, Section B.2.
b. Representatives to the Faculty Senate, as provided in Article VI, Section A.
4. Terms of Office:
a. At the regular election each year, a candidate shall be elected to the office of vice-chair. The candidate shall serve as vice-chair for one year and as chair for the following year. The terms of office of the secretary and of the treasurer shall be for one year.
b. The Faculty Senate chair shall assume office on the day following Commencement. Other officers of the Senate shall assume office immediately following the last day of examinations in the spring semester.
c. The terms of office for the elected representatives of the Schools of Arts and Sciences, Professional Studies and Education, the professional staff, library, and management/confidential shall be two years.
d. At each regular election, one or two Senators shall be elected from each of these areas as needed to ensure a full representation for each area. The term of office for representatives to the Student Senate shall be one year.
5. Eligibility for Office: Every member of the voting faculty is eligible for any office, except that:
a. No member shall become a candidate for office until s/he has accepted the nomination.
b. No member may be elected to more than two successive terms in one office.
c. Members elected to the offices of vice chair, secretary, treasurer, or elected as chair of any policy committee, or serving as representative to the State University Faculty Senate, shall be ineligible to hold, concurrently, any other elective office of the Senate.
d. Members elected from a particular area of the College must be members of that area and shall be ineligible to continue in office in the event they cease to be a member of that area.
6. Elective Procedures:
a. The Committee on Committees shall prepare a slate of nominees for presentation to the faculty at a time designated by the chair of the Faculty Senate in consultation with the Senate. The slate shall be publicized at least one week in advance of the faculty meeting at which further nominations will be received from the floor.
b. The chair of the Senate shall ask for the report of the Committee on Committees at a meeting of the faculty, after which s/he shall ask for nominations from the floor. Any candidate so nominated must consent to run for the office before his or her name is proposed. The final slate shall be posted at least one week in advance of the election.
c. Elections shall take place not later than four weeks before the last day of classes of the spring semester each year. The Senate shall establish the time, place, and manner of balloting. Voting shall be by secret ballot. In order for an election to be valid, at least one-third of the eligible faculty must vote. Persons receiving a plurality of the votes cast shall be considered to be elected.
d. The Committee on Committees shall, upon request from the Senate, prepare slates of candidates for any special election which may be necessary. Special elections shall be conducted in the same manner as regularly scheduled elections.
e. In elections conducted by the Committee on Committees, except for the offices of vice chair, secretary, and treasurer, when the number of candidates is equal to the number of openings for a given position, the secretary of the Senate may be
directed by the Senate directed by the Senate to cast a single ballot on behalf of the faculty to elect those candidates.
f. Area elective procedures shall be established by the respective areas and shall conform to the procedures for general Faculty elections. Responsibility for seeking nominations and conducting elections shall rest upon Faculty Senators from their respective areas.
7. Installation of Officers:
Newly elected officers and representatives of the SUNY Cortland Faculty shall be installed at a faculty meeting called by the retiring chair of the Senate in consultation with the Senate, prior to the last day of classes of the spring semester. They shall assume their duties at the end of the spring semester as outlined in Article X, Paragraph 4.b.
8. Vacancies:
a. A vacancy in an elective office shall exist when a person resigns from the office, takes leave for one semester or longer and is not available to serve, or is no longer a member of the faculty.
b. Any vacancy occurring among the elected officers or members of the Senate shall be filled by a special election, conducted among the appropriate voting constituency, within one month from the date that the vacancy occurs.
c. All other vacancies (not mentioned in the preceding statement) shall be filled by appointment by the Committee on Committees, subject to approval by the Senate, such appointment lasting until the next regular election or special election is held to fill a vacancy.
d. The term of office at this election will be for the unexpired portion of the incumbent’s term.
e. Vacancies in elective offices filled from the separate areas of the faculty will be filled in the same manner, except that appointment must be made from the area in which the vacancy occurs.
f. A vacancy may also be declared to exist by a two-thirds vote of the Senate if it is clear that a person is not attending, or cannot attend, the necessary meetings or fulfill the functions of the office.
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ARTICLE X: ELECTIONS
1. Offices of the faculty to be filled by election by the voting faculty:
a. Vice chair of the Senate and chair designate.
b. Secretary
c. Treasurer
d. Three or four members each year of the Committee on Committees.
e. Representative and alternate representative to the State University Senate.
f. Two faculty representatives to the Student Senate.
g. Elected representatives of the faculty to other organizations.
2. Offices to be filled by election by the professional staff:
Members of the College Review Panel and the Committee on Professional Evaluation will be chosen in elections conducted by the professionals, not in conflict with the bargaining contract.
3. Offices of the faculty to be filled by election within areas:
a. School committees, as provided in Article II, Section B.2.
b. Representatives to the Faculty Senate, as provided in Article VI, Section A.
4. Terms of Office:
a. At the regular election each year, a candidate shall be elected to the office of vice-chair. The candidate shall serve as vice-chair for one year and as chair for the following year. The terms of office of the secretary and of the treasurer shall be for one year.
b. The Faculty Senate chair shall assume office on the day following Commencement. Other officers of the Senate shall assume office immediately following the last day of examinations in the spring semester.
c. The terms of office for the elected representatives of the Schools of Arts and Sciences, Professional Studies and Education, the professional staff, library, and management/ confidential shall be two years.
d. At each regular election, one or two Senators shall be elected from each of these areas as needed to ensure a full representation for each area. The term of office for representatives to the Student Senate shall be one year.
5. Eligibility for Election: Every member of the voting faculty is eligible for any position, except that:
a. No member shall be elected until s/he has accepted the nomination.
b. No member may be elected to more than two successive terms in one elective office of the Senate.
c. Members elected to the offices of vice chair, secretary, treasurer, or elected as chair of any policy committee, or serving as representative to the State University Faculty Senate, shall be ineligible to hold, concurrently, any other elective office of the Senate.
d. Members elected from a particular area of the College must be members of that area and shall be ineligible to continue in office in the event they cease to be a member of that area.
6. Elective Procedures:
a. The Committee on Committees shall conduct all elections, regular or special, for officers and members of the Senate. Voting shall be by secret ballot, using written or electronic means. Persons receiving a plurality of the votes cast shall be considered to be elected.
b. A regular election shall take place on or before April 15 each year. The Senate shall establish the time of any special elections that may be required.
c. The Committee on Committees shall prepare a slate of nominees for presentation to the faculty at a time designated by the chair of the Faculty Senate in consultation with the Senate. The slate shall be publicized at least one week in advance of the Faculty Senate meeting at which further nominations will be received from the floor.
d. The chair of the Senate shall ask for the report of the Committee on Committees at a Faculty Senate meeting, after which s/he shall ask for nominations from the floor. Any candidate so nominated must consent to run for the office before his or her name is proposed. When the number of candidates is equal to the number of openings for a given position, the Senate may immediately direct the secretary to cast a single ballot on behalf of the faculty to elect those candidates. When the number of candidates exceeds the number of openings for a given position, the final slate shall be posted at least one week in advance of the balloting.
7. Installation of Officers:
Newly elected officers and representatives of the SUNY Cortland Faculty shall be installed at a faculty meeting called by the retiring chair of the Senate in consultation with the Senate, prior to the last day of classes of the spring semester. They shall assume their duties at the end of the spring semester as outlined in Article X, Paragraph 4.b.
8. Vacancies:
a. A vacancy in an elective position shall exist when a person completes the term of office, resigns from the position, takes leave for one semester or longer and is not available to serve, or is no longer a member of the faculty. A vacancy may also be declared to exist by a two-thirds vote of the Senate.
b. Any vacancy occurring among the elected officers or members of the Senate shall be filled by a special election, conducted among the appropriate voting constituency, within one month from the date that the vacancy occurs.
ARTICLE XI: CONDUCT OF BUSINESS
1. Business of the faculty, at the discretion of the chair of the Senate and with the consent of the Senate, may be conducted by distribution of information and ballots through the mail or electronically, providing that all other requirements of this constitution are met.
ARTICLE XIII: REVIEW OF GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE
Section A.
There shall be a mandatory review of the entire governance structure at least every five years after the adoption of these bylaws. The last such review took place during the 2007-08 academic year.
ARTICLE XIV: AMENDMENTS
This constitution or its bylaws may be amended as follows:
3. Voting on amendments to this constitution or its bylaws shall be by mail or electronic ballot and shall be approved by a two-thirds vote.
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