Chair: Susan Camp

Recorder: Anthony Procopio

Members Absent: C. Clabough, J. Jubin, L. Fuller, T. Ramalho, W. Silky, R. O’Connor, L. Hernandez, W. Rule, D. Tascarela, S. Ressing, J. Langenfeld-Rial

The meeting was called to order at 3:10 P.M.

I.    Approval of Agenda

The agenda, with the addition of adding the President and Provost Report after the reports of councils, committees, and task forces, was approved unanimously.

II.    FA Chair’s Report – S. Camp

S. Camp welcomed all members back to Faculty Assembly and the then proposed adding the President and Provost Report after Reports of Councils, Committees and Task Forces on the agenda. She then asked that a weather safety resolution please be placed under new business. She also mentioned that there is an invitation to be involved in Student Graduation Outcomes. She also stated that The Professional Development Center Task Force proposal has been distributed via e-mail and in hard copy today. She reported that the General Faculty meeting is rescheduled for March 26 after spring break.

 Lastly, she presented a commendation and thank you resolution that expressed deep appreciation for the maintenance staff for their tireless work to keep our roads and sidewalks clear and to open our building to our colleagues and our students during the unprecedented time of extreme weather. It also thanked auxiliary services staff who cooked and served the food for our students’ well being.

-- This commendation and thank you note was approved unanimously by Faculty Assembly.

III.    Senator’s Report (see attached)

IV.    Reports of Councils, Committees and Task Forces

Graduate Council met on February 16^th and the following course was approved by the Council:

EAD 660 Organizational Change for Building and District Leaders

Also, the council approved a change of title for HCI 520, from “Design User Interfaces” to “Graphical User Interfaces”

Undergraduate Curriculum Council met:

Meeting on November 8, 2006: (this one slipped through the cracks!) Members of UCC met for the third time fall semester. It approved two new courses, once of which has already been reported to FA. The other approved course is:

- ENG 265 Sophomore Studies: Studies in Genre

Meeting on December 6, 2006: Members of UCC met for the last time fall semester and reviewed 9 new and existing courses and one proposal for a general prerequisite revision. The committee approved 6 course proposals and the prerequisite revision while tabling three proposals pending further clarification from their respective departments. The following new and existing courses were approved: 

            New Courses (total 4):

            - ANT 332 Explorations in Archaeology

            - ART 365 History of Graphic Design

            - ASL 201 Intermediate American Sign Language

- ASL 202 Continuing Intermediate American Sign Language

            Existing Course Updates/Changes Approved (total 2):

- CSC 322 Systems Programming

- PSY 442 Theories of Personality

Proposal for prerequisite revision (made by Department of Biological Sciences):

- In the wake of revisions in the curricula for the Biology and Zoology majors and minors, UCC approved a request from the Department of Biological Sciences that all courses that previously required BIO 213 as a prerequisite now require BIO 120 as the prerequisite instead (this is in regards to the following courses):

BIO 289 Computer Applications in Biology

BIO 301 Topics in Modern Biology

BIO 303 (ANT 303) Conservation and Ethical Treatment of Non-human Primates

BIO 309 Cellular Physiology

BIO 310 Microbiology

BIO 315 Genetics

BIO 325 Behavioral Biology

BIO 340 The Plant Kingdom

BIO 558 Plant Ecology

Meeting on January 31, 2007: Members of UCC met for the first time this semester and revisited 3 courses that had been tabled and 2 new courses. The new courses were approved and the tabled courses remained tabled pending further clarification from the sponsoring departments. UCC approved the following courses:

            New Courses (total 2):

- AMS 100 Introduction to American Studies

- NAS 499 Independent Study

V.     The President and Provost Report

The President made a special report to the Faculty Assembly in regards to the strange weather that we had in the past few weeks and the cancellations that persisted because of this weather. She made it abundantly clear that her number one priority is safety and it always has been in her administration. She also went into a deep discussion of what had been done through this time of extreme weather conditions in regards to predictions of if we should cancel classes, removal of the snow, and things of this sort.

VI.    Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Report- J. Gelfand

J. Gelfand reported to the Faculty Assembly about what he has done and what he plans on doing. He first started his report off with a bit of a summary of the different stages of research development. He mentioned that research development and career development are intertwined with one another. His goal is to help faculty organize their intellectual activity so as to make their research. He proposed that we need a mentoring program for research and scholarships similar to the one for learning and teaching. He also mentioned that we need to advertise more to attract applicants with an interest in students. He is also working on a way to systematically manage corporate donors. Lastly he addressed the issue that the support for travel and publication charges is very fragmented. He concluded that we need a simpler organization for distribution and that is what he is pursuing.

VII.     Elections

Elections for vacancies on FA Councils and Committees

Information Technology Council (FA rep)

Randy Odendahl­­

Academic Outreach Council (FA rep)

Randy Odendahl

Enforcement of Prerequisites Ad hoc Committee Members

Motion to expand the committee to faculty and professional staff: passed unanimously

one of the six needed members be professional staff: passed 26 - 0

Sciences: Terri Tiballi

Humanities: Donald Vanouse

School of Education: Thomas Kubicki

School of Business: Paloma Jalife

Fine arts and library: no nominees

Social and Behavioral science: no nominees

VIII.     Unfinished Business

-- Proposed Conflict of Interest Policy was withdrawn and the CIPE Task Force will bring forward a new proposal.

  IX.        New Business

-- Professional Development Task Force proposal passed 28 – 0.

-- Weather Response draft resolution tabled indefinitely: 29 – 1.

 The meeting was adjourned at 4:57 P.M.

Faculty Senate

Plenary Session

January 25-27, 2007

Following a warm welcome from Stony Brook Senator Norm Goodman and President Shirley Strum Kelly, Faculty Senate President Carl Wiezalis reported on

Services Corps for retirees:  if this initiative works well it may be expanded to incorporate other groups, such as students. 

Research: a symposium is being organized for those who wish to change the direction of their research. 

Alignment Problem:  preparing (aligning) P-12 students for college.

Teacher Initiative:  partnering with organizations, such as UUP, to develop teacher education and teacher support and development.

CFO Kim Cline spoke of increased enrollment, higher standards, and sponsored research.  She recommended that we join CUNY in advocacy (lobbying) strategies. 

New York State Senator Ken LaValle was the morning’s guest speaker.  He was open, entertaining, and supportive of SUNY.   Sen. LaValle is optimistic that Gov. Spitzer will be an education-friendly executive.  The governor has proposed additional millions of dollars for K-12. 

Sen. LaValle would like to see money set aside for routine maintenance of SUNY buildings. He talked of the need for more full-time faculty.  He discussed community colleges, which are the gateways to higher education, particularly for single parents.

Sen. LaValle stated that SAT exams should be fair to everyone, that they should not be biased for or against any group.  However, he stated that currently the SAT Board is accountable to no one. 

He encouraged everyone to contact her/his legislator and Sen. LaValle and tell her/him what we need on our individual campuses. 

The senator closed with a plea that we address the needs of our students so that living in New York is affordable.  Students need affordable loans, affordable housing, and affordable healthcare.    

At the Sector session there were concerns raised about faculty empowerment.  At one school the established mentoring organization was dismantled without any notice.  A new organization was created by the administration with no input from faculty. 

Reportedly, CUNY is administering a standard test across the board.  The test was created with no faculty consultation.  The head of the CUNY Board of Trustees sits on the executive board of the company responsible for the test.  Questions of conflict of interest were raised. 

Most of the session was spent on the National Center for Academic Transformation, a website of Carol Twig.  Provost Palm talked of Carol Twig in her presentation later in the day. 

The Student Assembly President told us that Plattsburg and SUNY Buffalo students might now pay an optional $5 on their semester’s bill.  The money will be spent on renewable energy.  As of July 2007 all resident halls will be smoke-free.

The afternoon’s guest speaker was Samuel Bacharach who spoke on development of faculty leadership.  Leadership requires mobilization (getting people on your side) and sustaining momentum (keeping people on your side.) 

Provost Palm spoke of

Spellings Commission Report that calls for accessibility to strengthen K-12; affordability that includes clear disclosure of college costs; and accountability that includes accreditation, learning outcomes, and transparencies.

National Center for Academic Transformation (www.centerrpi.edu) that is run by Carol Twig.  Twig claims that if large multi-section courses are reorganized that 39% of the money spent on these courses could be saved.  The Provost offered financial support to Departments that wish to change the way they deliver their courses.  The means of reorganization may run counter to U.S. News and World Reports.    Dr. Palm noted that eleven General Education courses account for 32% of SUNY courses taken each year.  The Provost stated that Twig recommends:

an initial assessment be made of each student’s skill level and preferred learning style;

an array of of high quality interactive learning materials and activities be available;

individualized study plans for each student be prepared;

continuous feedback be built in to each course;

varied kinds of appropriate human interactions be available in each course.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Dr. Palm at www.risa.palm@suny.edu

The final speaker of the day was Chancellor Ryan.  He responded to each sector’s questions.  His opening statement was, “I am a fan of General Education.  I am a fan of assessment as you do it.”  The Chancellor repeated his commitment to increasing the number of full-time faculty.  He referred to full-time faculty as the heart and soul of our institutions.   His goal is to hire 300 new full-time faculty this year.  When asked about the libraries in the SUNY system the Chancellor stated that he would examine the situation and that the current state of affairs is not healthy for students or the community.

Saturday morning Kim Reiser, outgoing president of the Faculty Council of Community Colleges, addressed the group briefly.  She recommended an article that questions the value of standardized tests by Trudy Banta in the January 26, 2007 edition of Inside Higher Education.  She stated that there is no evidence that Twig’s CLA “helps us to enhance transfers” as it is advertised.

Manfred Phillip, the head of CUNY faculty senate, spoke warmly of our University Faculty Senate and the strong relationship we have with UUP.  CUNY is, unfortunately, not as closely aligned with its union.   

The Governance Committee is examining on-going faculty leadership development. Workshops to address leadership may be organized and they may be open to interested faculty.  UFS approved the by-laws amendment.

The Awards Committee has distributed applications to the campuses for Conversations in the Disciplines (CID).  Everyone is encouraged to apply.  An online review procedure is in development. 

Student Life Committee report focused on the astonishing number of students who go to college with psychotropic medications.  In the Midwest a survey determined that 40% of the students arrive on campus with prescribed drugs.  Discussion suggested that SUNY students were comparable.  It was reported that one-third of SUNY students are uninsured.  This figure is unsettling.  The disparity between costs and coverage of campus insurance plans across the state is remarkable.  

Undergraduate Academic Programs and Policies Committee has completed a draft of an Internship Guide.  I have a copy of this guide should anyone wish to peruse it.

The Operations Committee has compiled a report that establishes that white males are the most heavily represented group of SUNY professors and that the numbers of everyone-who-is-not-white-male are inching up very slowly.  I have a copy of the preliminary findings.  Questions were raised about the retention and attrition rates of non-white  tenure and non-tenure track lines. 

I will be seeking a vote on the resolution on Enhancing SUNY Access to Electronic Databases, a resolution that has been passed unanimously on several campuses already.   UFS passed two other resolutions last fall but there has been no action by the Chancellor or the Provost.  The lack of action raised questions as to the commitment to library resources by these SUNY administrators.

SUNY Energy Task Force continues to organize a 2007-08 conference on a “green energy” policy, in conjunction with the Graduate and Research Committee. The conference is tentatively scheduled for August 1, 2007.

The Graduate and Research Committee is also planning another conference aimed at fostering research mentorship.

Campus Governance Leaders have initiated a survey to examine release time, budgeting and college councils.  CGLs often need leadership training.  Our own Dr. Camp worked on a report to the UFS on STEM ( Science, Technology, Engineering, Mechanics). 

UFS resoundingly passed a resolution in support of the SUNY Health Care Facilities:

Be it resolved that the University Faculty Senate reaffirms support for SUNY’s continued, greater than 50 year, commitment to public health care education, research and service in New York State and reaffirms its opposition to privatization of SUNY hospitals.