Resolution for Recognition of SUNY Albany Peace and Justice
For discussion at the 10/27/2003 Senate meeting.
Presented by Professors Steve Seidman, Lana Cable, Bret Benjamin and Larry Wittner

 

WHEREAS the faculty organization SUNY Albany Peace and Justice has a designated contact person and conducts regular meetings on campus without official recognition; and WHEREAS in taking the name "SUNY Albany Peace and Justice" rather than "University at Albany Peace and Justice", the organization has chosen to identify its relation to the SUNY system in a way that allows potential companion Peace and Justice organizations on other SUNY campuses to adapt the name for their own organizations if they wish to do so; and WHEREAS the faculty organization SUNY Albany Peace and Justice is aware that the Committee on Academic Freedom and Ethics (CAFE) is examining models on other campuses for creating and sustaining faculty organizations, but due to the apparent complexity of these models, CAFE is not expected soon to complete its review or soon to make a recommendation to the Senate; and WHEREAS the objective of faculty organizations is to develop and promote a sense of community, collegiality, and unity of purpose among all faculty and staff; to provide the opportunity for social and intellectual discourse, interaction, and networking across departmental and divisional boundaries; and to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information necessary to fulfill the University at Albany mission; and WHEREAS the University at Albany Mission Statement, adopted in 1992 and reconfirmed in Chapter II of the University at Albany Self-Study Report A Decade of Progress, 1990-2000, includes in its list of qualities defining the University "a commitment to the larger interests of society through acts of public service, and by fostering the ideals of social justice"; and WHEREAS SUNY Albany Peace and Justice is a group of faculty, students, and staff at the University at Albany committed to building a peaceful and just world by distributing literature, sponsoring lectures and public fora, and engaging in other educational projects that foster informed discussion of peace and justice issues and activities within the university and within the broader community; and WHEREAS SUNY Albany Peace and Justice requires official recognition by the University at Albany Senate in order to pursue these activities with the benefit of resources currently available to other officially recognized units on campus, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The University at Albany Senate grant official recognition to SUNY Albany Peace and Justice as an organization of faculty, students and staff with all of the rights and privileges accorded to officially recognized student organizations, excluding funding by the Student Association or Graduate Student Organization, and including, but not necessarily limited to: Access to University facilities, through the various reservation systems Access to podium posting & Campus Center banner posting A liaison to other university departments & offices (e.g., Plant Department, Athletics, etc.) Event posting on various event calendars Access to a faculty organization web account