Faculty Senate

CCSU Faculty Senate

Minutes—November 5, 2001

VAC 105  3:00 PM

Members Present: Abadiano, Alewitz, Altieri, Austad, Baratta, Benfield, Bianco, Blatz, Braverman, Calvert, Capitao, Casella, Chasse, Cohen, Conway, Crundwell, Cueto, Czymik, Fried, Gilmore, Halkin, Halloran, Johnson, Jones, Kim, Kjell, Kurkjian, Larose, Leake, Lemaire, Martin, Martin-Troy, Moran, Odesina, O’Connell, Osterreich, Sarisley, Sevich, Stanley, Stawicki, Thornton, Terezakis, Williams(C), Williams (M), Wolff.

 

Ex‑Officio Members Present: V.P and Provost Bartelt, Deans Whitford, Demos, Kremens, Lemma, Higgins.

 

Guests: Paul Petterson Chair, Curriculum Committee, Larry Klein (Teacher Ed.), Donna Munroe (Human Resources), Laurie Deane (Affirmative Action), Nanjundiah Sadanand (Physics).

 

Meeting was called to order by Vice-President Abadiano at 3.05 p.m. in Vance 105.

President Best sent his apologies for his absence, which was due to a family emergency.

  

I. Approval of Minutes of 10/15/01

 

Sen. Jones requested a correction whereby the word CAP be added after reference to Part-timers under 2.a.

The minutes of Oct. 15. on the web will be modified to reflect these changes

 

Motion to accept with changes

Martin-Troy/Wolff

Carried unanimously

 II. Announcements

a. AAUP Report. Sen. Austad

The Board of Trustees will be at central November 8 in open forum and all are encouraged to attend and especially speak to the issue of Part-Timers.

 

b. President Judd.

In his annual presentation to the Senate, President Judd addressed six major issues:

1.       Budget. There will certainly be a budget deficit this year. The amount is as yet undetermined and change almost daily but it should be in the order of $2-3 million. Administration and the State are looking closely at the rollover in order to return some of it if at all possible. However administrative and support staff hiring’s are now frozen but not faculty lines. Why there is a deficit is complex; suffice it to say that CCSU block grants and have not been sufficient and tuition fee increases have been limited so fiscal restraint is necessary. It should be noted that bond issues have not been stopped but all must be aware that capital projects generate additional operational expenses (Power, maintenance) and this must be accommodated in fiscal planning.

2.       Doctor of Education. We sailed through our external evaluation (there were some minor library upgrade issues) and the degree program now goes before the Board of Governors Advisory Committee on November 19 and then to the full BOG in mid-December. We have a Cadillac program and it should commence in the classroom in June 2002.

3.       Academic Misconduct. Dr Judd has been part of the process and at this point he has been advised and concurs that the proposal (to be presented later under V) is sound.

4.       Critical Incident Plan. We have a well-defined, well-ordered plan with as comprehensive a (potential) response as is possible. (He exemplified with our response to the Anthrax scare in the previous week-all worked according to plan). We are vigilant and communicating…and we know our plans work. At this point this is the best anyone can do.

5.       Web Grading…will now be available for the end of this semester. 85% of all registration is now done on the web and the issue of advising with such a system is being addressed.

6.       Construction is still disruptive and inconvenient but…

Copernicus: Bonded and contracts have been put out. Construction will begin in February (at the earliest), as the roof is the issue. Too much technical equipment on the top!

Parking Garage (Between Welte and Maloney) Work to commence the end of March. 1000 car capacity and will take one year to complete. In the process the daycare center must be moved and we now have a viable option for its relocation. This will occur in the fall of 2002.

Admin/Alumni building (Site of present Police Station): In late June the Police will move to Seth North and construction will begin.

Student Center: On track to be completed spring 2002, with opening planed for summer.

Energy Center: The tunneling will start Jan 2002 with a 12 ' x 12 ' concrete tunnel starting at near the Wells Street garage. The project will take 2 ½ years to get to the current Power House. The issue of the smoke stack and use of the old facility will be addressed during this period.

Kaiser.  A $ 6 million renovation is underway to the Academic and coaching areas to be done over the next 18 months.

Willard/Diloreto. Design funds to be expended in 2002 and 2003 should see the bid tender process commence. Overall $ 35 million will be dedicated to this area.

Others: There are many in process-work in Barrows, the library and other student housing. All tax our infrastructure but all add to the quality of CCSU ‘s campus in the short and long term.

Dr Judd entertained Questions?

Sen. Cohen: Where will the daycare go?

Dr Judd: Not at liberty to reveal that at this point.

Sen. Austad: We paid $ 25 million for Banner…was it worth it?

Dr Judd: Well what Banner addresses certainly had to be addressed. However it is fair to say the complexity and therefore the expense was underestimated. As an example he noted Ms. Munroe’s Human Resource area was (still) processing four separate payrolls in July!

Sen. Jones: Is Dr Judd aware that e-mail is an ongoing problem for many.

Dr Judd: No…he was not and he encouraged those with a problem to call the appropriate area.

Larry Klein: Given the overall reliance on E-mail and apparent problems could he not set a policy?

Dr Judd: A policy is not the answer just plain dissemination in the most appropriate manner seems to be the common sense answer.

Sen. Crundwell. Sought clarification on what to do in the event of suspicious mail.

Dr Judd: Call Campus police and the system for the incident plan for such a concern will be actioned.

Sen. Braverman: Will the Daycare now be handling more children?

Dr Judd. No…it is already at capacity and losing money. Indeed a private sector operator in our part of the city would be is desirable and encouraged.

 

Sen. Abadiano thanked Dr Judd for his time and his usual candor and comprehensive presentation.

 

III. Elections

a.       Sen. Crundwell has resigned from the Foundation Grant Advisory Committee (as he intends to seek a grant, clearly oblivious to the fact that all grants awarded to date have merit as a criteria). Sen. Braverman called for nominations from the floor.

Sen. Crundwell noted that they will be meeting soon and the successful member should be aware of that.

Shelley Osterreich was nominated.

Sen. Martin Troy motioned to close the nominations with her usual alacrity.

 

Motion to add Sen. Osterreich to the Zfoundation grants committee

(Martin-Troy/Austad)

Passed unanimously

 IV. Senate Committee Reports

a.       Curriculum Committee.

Chairman Petterson indicated that an e-mail vote amongst Curriculum Committee members had been undertaken on the following request:

 

"1(A) Department of Computer Science

Revise major in computer science B.S (Hons) to a. append to current description: "Students in this honors program are required to take a proficiency test specified by the Department during their senior year" and (b) ad PHYS 338 to advanced area courses (as a result Advanced Area Courses goes to 10 credits, and auxiliary Electives goes to 3 credits"

The vote was conducted by e-mail given the urgency by the department of Computer science to forward such a change to their accreditation body before the next Curriculum Committee meeting.

 

Motion to accept the Curriculum Committee report for November 5

(Martin-Troy/Wolff)

Passed Unanimously

 

b.       Proposed Change of By-Laws for P & T. Sen Crundwell

 

In response to a concern over representation on the P & T committee from all schools the Committee on Committees had been charged with reviewing the by-laws and suggesting possible changes. Sen. Crundwell introduced the results of these deliberations, namely:

 

V Current bylaws provide for adequate representation from each of the four schools only on the slate voted upon by the Senate; but once the University-wide elections were held, voting results could theoretically neglect equal representation.

 

V There is still a total of 11 members on the University-Wide Promotion and Tenure Committee. However, the number of Associate Professors has been changed from three to four members to insure the highest vote getter from each School will represent his/her School regardless of rank. The number of Full Professors has been decreased from eight to seven.

 

V The remaining complement of Associate Professors shall be chosen by picking the highest vote getters among candidates of that rank.

 

V The remaining complement of Full Professors shall be chosen by picking the highest vote getters among candidates of that rank.

 

V Tenured librarians, coaches, and counselors occupy an ‘At-large’ category on the ballot.

 

V An Associate Professor that is awaiting a decision upon promotion to Full Professor will run as an Associate (not Full) Professor. If he/she so chooses, his/her name can be asterisked on the ballots to indicate his/her situation.

 

Sen Wolff: Noted that the committee had labored long and hard over the process to ensure fairness and that it is streamlined.

Sen. Martin-Troy had difficulty with item 6(b)

Motion to accept the recommendations of the Committee on Committees to change the by-laws of the election of members to the Promotion and tenure Committee (Wolff/Halkin)

Carried-31 in favor with 4 abstentions

By-laws of the Promotion and tenure committee as passed by the Senate.

 

V. Old Business

 

Academic Honesty policy

Sen. Moran indicated that this was a new and improved policy, particularly in the areas of:

(i)                  Organization and structure.

(ii)                The description of an appeals process and

(iii)               The relevance and reference to an offender’s possible previous record.

 

Dean Lemma: As a point of information she noted Dr Cox from Graduate Studies last year had obtained special dispensation for the Graduate studies committee to make sure that they were in conformance with the policy. This is still in effect and the policy should reflect that.

Sen. Moran: Workshops to address Academic Honesty are now available.

Sen. Baretta: Social work requires all students to read and sign that they understand the policy.

Sen. Leake: Signing does not mean they understand.

Sen. Wolff: When will this go into effect?

Sen. Moran: On signature of President

Sen. Gilmore: can we use now?

Sen. Moran: No it must be on the Presidents approval

Sen. Savich: The issue is and always has been enforcement. In the past he has exposed examples of academic dishonesty but there has been no sanction.

Sen. Fried: there is now a mechanism with a Judicial Officer and “getting away with it” should not now occur.

The University Judicial Officer, Tom Clark, said that faculty should consult him if they have academic dishonesty cases while President Judd's signature is pending on this policy.

 

Motion (Wolff/Fried) to accept the revised Academic Honesty Policy

Carried. With one nay vote

 VI. New Business

 

a.       Photo copying-New System Larry Klein

Tabled Until next meeting

At request of Dr Klein who had to teach at 4.00p.m.

 

b.       Requested resolution on freedom of thought, speech and assembly. Dr. Nanjundiah Sadanand.

Dr. Sadanand indicted that the following resolution had been drafted as a result of events since September 11,2001. The resolution was sponsored by Sen. Lemaire for discussion purposes and seconded by Sen. Austad.

 

Whilst the events of September 11, 2001, and subsequent incidents of biological terrorism, have undermined peoples' sense of security in some ways, we reaffirm the right, indeed the duty, of those in our profession to engage freely and critically in discussions aimed at elucidating the truth behind all instances of injustice, inequity and violence worldwide without fear of intimidation or sanction for espousing views contrary to that held by officials in the government or university administrative offices.

We wish to express our abiding solidarity with colleagues across the nation who have been persecuted for expressing views critical of the U.S. government in its war against global terrorism.

We hereby renew our determination to exercise our fundamental rights to freedom of thought, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

 

Faculty of Central Connecticut State University

New Britain, CT. 06050, CT.

 

Dr Sadanand presented the following rationale:

In the crisis precipitated by the terrible events of September 11, members of academic communities across the U.S. have participated in teach-ins, colloquia, demonstrations, and other events aimed at developing an informed critical understanding of what happened and why. Now that the U.S. is

waging war in Afghanistan, such activities are continuing.

 

Unfortunately, some participants in these events have been threatened and attacked for speaking out. Trustees of the City University of New York are planning formal denunciations of faculty members who criticized U.S. foreign policy at a teach-in during the first week in October. There have been similar efforts to silence criticism and dissent at the University of Texas at Austin, MIT, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and elsewhere. AAUP director of

public policy Ruth Flower told the Boston Globe on October 6, "We're watching these developments with a lot of concern."

 

Sen. Sevich made an unfriendly amendment (the first): To delete …aimed at elucidating the truth behind all instances of injustice, inequity and violence worldwide… for he was very suspicious of any person or group claiming to have found THE truth which is what this resolution suggests. Moreover he believed that resolutions purporting to be in support of Academic Freedom should not be political and that Professor Sadanand's version struck him as one stating a political dogma

Motion to amend Sevitch/Austad

Sen. O’Connell indicated that officials in government and university administrators had also been hurt for speaking out about perceived injustices and wrongs.

Sen O’Connell suggested a second (unfriendly) amendment to change the motion to read … without fear of intimidation or sanction for supporting or espousing views contrary to those…

Second Motion to amend: O’Connell/Sevitch

Sen Savitch did not address the problematic issue of In vino veritas.

Motion to amend resolution-second amendment

Carried (2 abstentions)

Motion to amend resolution-first amendment Carried (19 yea, 8 nay, 1 abstention)

Motion to support the amended resolution

Carried (30 yea, 1 abstention)

Text of motion passed by the Senate.

 

 VII Adjournment

 

Motion to adjourn

Wolff/Martin-Troy

Carried Unanimously

The meeting adjourned at 5.00 p.m.

Next Meeting is November 19, 2001 at 3.00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted

Richard W. Benfield

Faculty Senate Secretary