University at Albany
State University of New York
2003-04 University Senate
Minutes of October 27, 2003
Present: Donna Armstrong, Hara Charalambous, Nancy Claiborne, Richard Collier, Florencia Cornet, Diane Dewar, James Doellefeld, Bruce Dudek, Sue Faerman, Sally Friedman, Robert Geer, Robert Gibson, Reed Hoyt, Michael Jerison, Sung Bok Kim, Justin Koehler, Anton Konev, William Lanford, Raef Lawson, Sophie Lubensky, Andi Lyons, Terrence Maxwell, Carolyn MacDonald, Maritza Martinez, David McCaffrey, Louise-Anne McNutt, Heinz Meyer, Gwendolyn Moore, Jeryl Mumpower, Christine Pearce, John Pipkin, Marjorie Pryse, Michael Range, Joan Savitt, Helene Scheck, Lawrence Schell, David Shub, Glenna Spitze, Lynn Videka, David Wagner, Joan Wick-Pelletier, Edelgard Wulfert
Guests: Bret Benjamin, Dean Peter Bloniarz, Lana Cable, Richard Farrell, Kathryn Lowery, Nancy Persily, Steven Seidman, John Wolff
Approval of Minutes: The minutes of September 22, 2003 were unanimously approved.
University Faculty Senate Report: By Richard Collier, SUNY Senator. The MOU on systemwide value added assessment was defeated.
Chair's Report: Chair Pryse asked Senate members to approve the appointment of Susanne Lee and Donald Byrd to GAC. This request was made by GAC in order to add more field diversity and to increase the number of teaching faculty in its membership. A motion was made, seconded and approved unanimously.
Chair Pryse asked the Senators that had reports to speak quickly, defer them, or send written reports to be posted on the website because of the many items on the meeting’s agenda.
Council Reports:
CPCA: Professor Glenna Spitze, Chair. No report.
EPC: Professor Edelgard Wulfert, Chair. EPC will present a proposal for the new certificate program for the SPH later at this meeting. At its last meeting, EPC discussed the Letter of Intent in Applied Chemistry. It was approved by both EPC and GAC and is on its way to SUNY System Administration. The newly elected EPC representative to URPAC is Professor Timothy Hoff, SPH.
GAC: Professor Hara Charalambous, Chair. She will post the report to the website.
UAC: Professor Joan Savitt, Chair. UAC has three bills on the agenda today; she will discuss them later.
RES: Professor Lynn Videka, Chair. She will post the report to the website.
LISC: Professor David Wagner, Chair. He will defer his report to the next meeting.
CAFE: Professor Donna Armstrong, Chair. CAFE is reviewing structures and approval processes for faculty groups in connection with Resolution 0302-02R.
ULC: Professor Gwendolyn Moore. Chair. She will defer the report to the next meeting.
CERS: Professor Bruce Dudek, Chair. No report.
Bylaws: Professor Carolyn MacDonald, Chair. Will defer to new business.
Old Business: none
New Business:
Senate Bill Number 0304-01: Faculty Bylaws Amendments. Presented by Professor Carolyn MacDonald on behalf of the Bylaws Committee. This bill proposes to change the Bylaws of the faculty at large, not the Senate. If the Senate passes it, CONE will give faculty members two to six weeks notice prior to holding a faculty meeting. There is a need of at least 493 members of the voting faculty to be present to constitute a quorum at such a faculty meeting
A motion was made and seconded to send the Bylaws revisions to the faculty for a vote.
A question was raised regarding Council Chairs, i.e., it was noted that six or eight were appointed Senators, and it was thought that power should be in the hands of the elected Senators. Professor MacDonald explained that the proposed revised Bylaws would create more Senators, and that the new Bylaws will indicate that each council will have four Senators. Council terms are being changed to two years, which should allow for more continuity. The mechanism for appointing senators will still exist, but it will only be invoked if a council cannot elect a senator chair from among its membership. Then, if the mechanism for appointing senators is invoked, the proposed appointed senator would already have been elected chair by a council.
Professor Range made a motion to amend the motion to create two different classes of ex officio members of the Senate, those with voting rights and those without voting rights. The motion was seconded. Discussion followed on why there is an increase in ex officio members in the Senate under the revised Bylaws, and noted that the President is the only administrator specifically mentioned as being a member of the faculty and member of the voting faculty. Professor MacDonald responded that the Bylaws Committee split its vote on the question of vice presidents’ and other ex officio administrators’ voting rights. Professor Pipkin commented that there was a great deal of discussion within the Bylaws Committee during the previous year and that it had concluded that it was very important for the Deans of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies to be ex officio voting members of the Senate. Professor Lanford spoke supportively of the motion to amend, stating that only elected members of the Senate should have the right to vote.
Professor Dudek urged members to defeat the amendment as it is written, with a reoffering including the Dean of Graduate Studies.
Professor Range wanted it on the record that he said there is no question of wanting to eliminate administrators from the Senate; he would like to see them on councils, and there is no question that administrators will be involved in the working of the Senate. His concern was only that they not be allowed to vote.
Chair Pryse asked whether the Senate was ready to vote on the amendment proposed by Professor Range. 15 were in favor, 17 opposed, 4 abstained. The amendment was defeated.
Another motion was made to send the Bylaws to the faculty, and it was seconded.
Professor Lubensky asked to move an addition to the preamble as follows:
The main route for the faculty to participate in University decision-making is by electing representatives to governance bodies or by serving on such bodies, just as the main route for the administration to seek faculty's input is to consult with the elected governance bodies. In addition, individual faculty members may offer their input following the disciplinary path in which faculty within a department, school, or college advise their chair or dean who then advises the Provost and President. Faculty may also be called upon for advice by the administration for participation in task forces, ad hoc committees, etc. In a spirit of cooperation, it would be advisable that such task forces, ad hoc committees, etc. be constituted in consultation with the elected governance bodies and that their composition and activities be made known to the broad university community.
The amendment was accepted as a friendly amendment.
Student Senator Konev referred to Page 7, Article II, Section 2.1. He asked to change the wording from “ the Chair of the Student Association Senate” to “the President of the Student Association or the Chair of the Student Association Senate or designee.”
The amendment was accepted as a friendly amendment.
Student Senator Konev questioned the increase in faculty participation versus the decrease in student participation. Senator Collier said the rationale was based on proportionality. Senator Konev made a motion to amend to increase the number of students to 19 from the current 15 in order to keep the number of undergraduates at their current level and to increase participation of graduate students. The amendment was defeated by a vote of 2-20-11.
Professor Range proposed another amendment, to add the Dean of Graduate Studies as an ex officio member. The amendment was seconded and accepted as friendly.
[note new paragraph here] The process was explained that there must be a special meeting of the voting faculty and that the potential for further amendments still exists. The Trustees’ language says that any part of the faculty bylaws requires the President’s signature.
Chair Pryse asked whether the members were ready to vote to send the bylaws revisions to the faculty via the CONE mechanism. The bill passed 34 to 2, with 1 abstention.
Senate Bill Number 0304-02: Faculty Bylaws Amendment for Part Time Representation.
A motion was made and seconded to send this to the faculty for a vote. Questions arose regarding the definition of part time faculty and how it will work if one is elected to a two-year term, but did not work one or more semesters during the two years. Professor MacDonald referred to the Bylaws section on replacement of senators.
The bill passed by a strong majority in favor, 1 opposed and 3 abstained.
Senate Bill Number 0304-03: The Senate Charter. A motion was made to take up the Charter next Monday; the motion was seconded. Eleven members were in favor of postponing; 18 opposed, 9 abstained. The motion was defeated; the bill was moved and seconded, and the discussion began.
There was a question concerning the reduction in the number of undergraduate students appointed to councils. Professor MacDonald explained that since most all of the councils have had a reduction in real numbers, they will now have membership limits. Therefore, the balances will not change.
Dean Faerman opposed the Council on Academic Assessment, Section 6.7. General Education Assessment Committee. She made an amendment to move the Section 6.7 General Education Assessment Committee to a subcommittee of the Undergraduate Council in Section 3.10.
Chair Pryse asked for a vote on the amendment to move the General Education Assessment Committee to a subcommittee of the Committee on General Education. The amendment passed, 18 were in favor, 4 opposed, and 8 abstained.
Chair Pryse asked for a motion to extend discussion until 5:15; a majority was in favor and the meeting was extended.
A motion was made to vote on accepting the charter as amended. One opposed, three abstained. The Charter passed by an overwhelming majority.
Resolution 0304-01:
The resolution was thoroughly discussed and amended several times. It was finally moved to strike the original second and third paragraphs beginning with �whereas� and to insert the following:
The University at Albany Senate hereby resolves:
It was moved to vote on the amendment, and it was suggested to vote in a secret ballot. The motion was seconded and the secret ballot took place. The amendment passed, 21 approved, 9 opposed.
There was discussion concerning adding a clause referring to “political nature” in the resolution. The clause “that these clashes are of a politicized nature,” was agreed upon to be added to the last sentence in the first paragraph following the word “and.”
This amendment to the amendment was moved to a vote, it was seconded, and a majority approved adding this to the resolution.
Professor Range made a motion to keep the first paragraph as is, remove the second two, then after the words “Chancellor King” add “the UA Senate hereby resolves to urge Chancellor King to keep political considerations out of the evaluation of chief administrative officers of SUNY campuses.” Professor MacDonald asked for an immediate vote on whether to allow the substitute amendment. A motion was made to vote on Professor Range’s substitution; 19 opposed, 8 were in favor. The substitution did not pass.
A vote took place on ending the debate on the amendment; 19 were in favor, five wished to continue the debate. The debate ended.
A motion was made to vote on the Resolution as amended. It was seconded, and the Resolution passed, with 26 in favor, 2 opposed, and 2 abstained.
Professor MacDonald moved to recess until Monday at 3:30 p.m. and the motion was seconded.
Meeting adjourned at 6:15.
Respectfully submitted,
Jayne VanDenburgh, Recorder