Minutes - September 9, 2019 - 3:05pm
CCSU FACULTY SENATE MEETING
Present: Al-Masoud, N.; Amaya, L.; Arena, J.; Austad, C.; Bailesteanu, M.; Baratta, C.; Barr, B.; Best, F.; Bishop, J.; Boscarino, N.; Bray, A.; Broulik, W.; Chen, S.; Donohue, P.; Fafunwa-Ndibe, S.; Foster, P.; Ghiloni-Wage, B.; Gichiru, W.; Givens, E.; Halkin, S.; Hou, X.; Hughes, H.; Jarmoszko, T.; Kapper, M.; Kean, K.; Kriscenski, J.; Kullgren, A.; Kurkjian, C.; Langevin, K.; Latour, F.; Leonidas, E.; Mahony, M.A.; Matzke, B.; Menoche, C.; Misbach, K.; Mongillo, M.; Morales, A.; Oyewumi, O.; Pancsofar, E.; Paolino, J.; Phillips, E.; Ragusett, J.; Ruhs, T.; Sakaki, H.; Salama, T.; Sikorski, J.; Singhal, R.; Sohn, Y.M.; Sommers, B.; Spear, E.; Spillman, D.; Sylvester, C.; Tafrate, L.; Wang, W.; Watson, S.; Williams, L.; York, C.
Ex-Officio: Dauwalder, D.; Kim, J.; Robinson, C.; Toro, Z.; Wolff, R.
Parliamentarian: Dimmick, C.
President of the Senate: Jackson, M.
Guests: Nancy “Rusty” Barceló (Diversity & Equity); Michael Jasek (VP Student Affairs); Yvonne Kirby (OIRA)
1. Minutes
- Approved unanimously
2. Introduction of Senators
3. Announcements:
a. AAUP President (L. Williams)
- The negotiations for the next Collective Bargaining Agreement will begin in October 2020. The theme of AAUP's campaign will be "Higher Expectations for Public Higher Education".
- The Chapter Meeting will be on Wednesday, September 18, 3pm, Connecticut Room.
b. SUOAF-AFSCME President (L. Bigelow)
- No announcements.
c. SGA (R. Tahir)
- No announcements.
d. FAC to the Board of Regents (S. Adair)
- No announcements.
e. President of the Senate (M. Jackson)
- President Jackson discussed the status of the upcoming Campus Climate Survey, which is part of the effort to re-engineer Human Resources, Diversity & Equity, and the Ombudsperson's office.
- The Faculty Senate needs a representative on the President's Commission on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Senators are encouraged to send nominations to President Jackson. Vice President Bishop, who is the Chair of the Diversity Committee, will be a member, but we need another Senator.
- The President's Opening Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 12, 3pm, in Alumni Hall.
- The Strategic Plan is expevted to be ready for approximately February 2020.
- A major topic of discussion for this year is likely to be the FYE program.
4. Elections
a. Elections Committee
- Senators Foster, Kurkjian, Latour, Menoche, Spear, and Spillman were elected to the Elections Committee.
- Senators Al-Masoud, Best, and Jarmoszko were elected to the Committee on Appointments and Personnel.
b. Committee on Appointments and Personnel
5. Committee Reports
a. Community Engagement Committee (M. Dischino, N. Thai)
- Report accepted by the Faculty Senate, and Senator Halkin commended the members of the committee for the vast amount of work that they performed last year.
b. Council of Academic Chairpersons (D. Carter)
- Report accepted by the Faculty Senate
6. New Business:
- Senator York provided the Faculty Senate with an update on various safety initiatives on campus.
- There will be several free General Safety Training sessions at CCSU, led by Fire Lieutenant Terry Ferrarotti and supported by Karen Misbach, Director of Environmental Health & Safety, the CCSU Police Department, and the Faculty Senate Student Affairs Committee. The first one will be on Friday, September 13, at 9am, in the Philbrick Room of the Student Center.
- There will also be CPR training and First Aid training.
- Senator Amaya reminder the Senate of the importance to have phone service available everywhere on campus, especially in places where the cell phone signal is weak or nonexistent (such as the first floor of Copernicus Hall).
- Our new Interim Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Dr. Nancy “Rusty” Barceló, introduced herself, spoke of her experiences, her guiding principles, and of the importance of working with faculty to promote the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.
- Dr. Barceló will be hosting Culture over Coffee, a joint initiative of the Center for Teaching and Faculty Development, along with the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity, the Office of the Provost, and the Office of the President, to be held on Tuesday, September 24, 2019, from 8:00 – 11:00 am in Memorial Hall’s Connecticut Room.
a. Student Affairs Committee (C. York)
b. Diversity and Equity initiatives (N. Barceló)
- Approved unanimously
d. Approval of Steering Committee
- A Steering Committee consisting of the three Senate Officers, along with Senators Best, Kean, Kullgren, and Sakaki, was approved unanimously.
7. President’s Report (M. Jackson)
- President Jackson spoke of: the FYE task force, the Campus Climate Survey, being a champion of shared governance, the necessity of doing everything as well as possible despite budget crunches, and the need to make sure that whatever comes out of the BOR's "Students First" is good.
8. Adjournment
- The meeting adjourned at 4:18pm.