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Faculty Senate Executive Committee

Minutes of January 28th, 2009

(unapproved)

The Faculty Senate Executive Committee met at 2:30 PM on Wednesday, January 28th, 2009, in the Jeannette Martin Room of Capen Hall (567) to discuss the following:

1. Approval of the minutes of October 29, and November 19, 2008
2. Report of the Chair
3. Report of the President/Provost
4. Environmental Stewardship Committee—Robert Shibley, Bradshaw Hovey, & Joseph Raab
5. Report of the Grading Committee—William Baumer, Chair
6. Interaction with Warde Manuel, Director of Athletics
7. Old/New business
8. Executive Session (if needed)
9. Adjournment

Item 1: Approval of the minutes of October 29 and November 19, 2008

The minutes of both meetings were unanimously approved.

Item 2: Report of the Chair

1. There will be no Executive Session next Wednesday; the Provost will be over in India (as will the President).
2. The Chair gave everyone advanced notice of our 2009 Celebration of Academic Excellence, to be held on Tuesday, April 7, 2009, in the Center for the Arts. He held displayed a list of UB faculty and staff to be honored at the event, including
1. 9 SUNY Distinguished Professors;
2. 2 SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professors;
3. 6 SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Teaching;
4. 3 SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities;
5. 1 SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service;
6. 3 SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Librarianship; and
7. 5 SUNY Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Professional Service.
3. The Budget Priorities Committee held its monthly meeting on Monday, January 26. Ryan McPherson, Associate VP for Government & Community Relations, delivered a presentation on the main points of the UB 2020 bill, and highlighted UB’s considerable economic impact on the community. The Office for External Affairs has developed a tightly integrated advocacy model, and has been very pro-active in adjusting to negative economic changes over the past few years.
4. The Teaching & Learning Committee now has a new Chair, Phillips Stevens (Anthropology). The chair talked to former Chair Jim Jensen, and he was most gracious in stepping aside after his years of excellent service during a difficult time. Best of all, he agreed to continue to serve on the Committee. Chair Hoeing asked Prof. Stevens to first determine who’s still on board, what gaps needed to be filled, and to convene a couple meetings this semester, if only to talk and exchange ideas.
5. Chair Hoeing forwarded the Prof. Lyon’s Writing Center proposal to Prof. Ken Takeuchi and the Educational Programs and Policies Committee for consideration and comments.
6. The University-Wide Financial Management Advisory Group was reconvened yesterday morning (7:45 AM) to receive an update on the bleak budget situation; the Group will meet more often in late February and March to propose and discuss specific actions the University will need to take.
7. The chair said he had drafted a Faculty Senate resolution in support of President Simpson’s proposed policy changes incorporated in Bill 2020; the chair added that it is time we formally voice our support and add our momentum to the considerable forces behind this proposal. This is especially important after an e-mail forwarded by UUP Central, which bewildered a number of faculty. Although the UUP may have some reservations, it is important to remember that we are first and foremost faculty, and union members secondarily. Also, pushing these reforms through is critical not only to UB, but to SUNY as a whole, the chair said. He handed out a copy of the resolution.

The FSEC moved that this resolution be moved to the Senate with the recommendation that the Senate adopt it.

Item 3: Report of the President/Provost

Echoing last week’s report to FSEC by associate VP for Academic Planning and Budget Sean Sullivan, the provost addressed the impact of the governor’s budget proposal on research universities such as UB. Research universities, the Provost said, “are taking bigger hits than the comprehensives which may be increasing their funding by a couple of percent while research universities are disproportionately affected and will see their funding decrease by 6%.” In other words, “research universities are looking at another 12 million dollar cut whereas the comprehensives will get $1 million extra money.” The Provost also mentioned that the Western New York state delegation is sponsoring Bill 2020, which proposes changes in state law in order to give UB the financial flexibility needed to achieve its strategic plan.

The provost then reported on the status of undergraduate applications, which are up 6%. Graduate student applications are up 1/4 %, he added. “It is hard to predict how the financial meltdown is going to affect enrollment,” he said, “but it something that is being watched carefully because we want to maintain the strengths we have and continue to increase the quality of the students applying.”

Paschalis Alexandridis asked whether the reforms supported by the WNY delegation signal UB’s move toward emulating private institutions. The Provost responded that many public universities already have provisions like the flexibility to lease land, institute tuition increases etc. This was really, then, “a step in the right direction to catch up with other state universities” rather than a move to supplant public with private modes of operation. He also explained that this was a pilot initiative and so will have a better chance of getting support in Albany than if the resolution came from and for the whole of SUNY. “It is an important initiative for WNY,” the Provost added, “because it is tied with the economic development of the region.” It is strongly supported not only by the WNY delegation but also by the population and the community: “People are behind it,” Tripathi said.

Item 4. Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC)—Robert Shibley, Bradshaw Hovey and Joseph Raab

Bradshaw Hovey, associate director of the Urban Design Project, School of Architecture and Planning, began his presentation by evoking the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment President John B. Simpson signed in spring 2007. This was a pledge, he explained, that commits UB to achieving climate-neutrality on campus and that required the development of an official plan within two years. After signing, the president designated Bob Shibley to chair the Environmental Stewardship committee, a committee composed of close to 100 people including senior staff people, chief of staff to the VP for external affairs, the Associate provost for undergraduate education, associate VP across human resources, information technologies, strategic initiatives etc. It also includes 6 subcommittees focusing on transportation, information technology, human resources, research, teaching and public service. The idea, Hovey said, “was to attempt to crosscut the mission of achieving climate neutrality through all the units that would have some kind of ability to act.” These groups are well-supported by consultants from the comprehensive plan, he added, who reach out to groups such as UB Green, the Environmental Task Force and Student Engineers for a Sustainable World.

Shibley explained that the final plan will include major projects in addition to more basic things such as limiting power consumption on campus, encouraging recycling, installing motion-sensitive light fictures, low-energy bulbs and so on. Some of these projects, he added, may benefit from a grant program through the New York Power Authority and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority that would bring to campus a 7.5-acre photovoltaic array (an energy source that is strong enough to power every residence hall on campus). UB is also in the process of buying a software system that will allow the university to track our carbon emissions but also to assess various scenarios “to determine our impact on the future, to test things in advance and see if we are headed in the right direction,” Shibley said

Joseph Raab, director of Environment, Health and Safety Services who also oversees UB Green emphasized the need to change campus culture rather than just work at the level of policy. “The task requires,” he said, “changing the way choices are structured, how we are getting to campus, how buildings are heated or cooled. The awareness and behavior of the whole campus community needs to be addressed.”

Shibley explained that UB is currently buying 15% of its energy from green sources. “Some sources are greener than others,” he said. “We do incinerate biofuel, we buy clean power but there is a cost associated with that purchase. The committee is considering the possibility of generating some of this power ourselves.”

Shibley listed the subcommittees and their particular areas of focus:

the “Communication and Outreach Subcommittee” looks at how the message about carbon neutrality should be spread and thinks about ways we can market our environmental culture

The “Research Teaching and Public Service” subcommittee looks at what we do across the curriculum and the ways in which the message can be incorporated into our mission.

The “Material subcommittee” looks at recycling, the purchase of materials like energy star type appliances, as well as the recycled paper policy that requires the use of 100% envirographic recycled paper.

The “Transportation Subcommittee” investigates more environmentally friendly ways of getting to UB, the shuttle system, etc.

The “Energy subcommittee” looks at how we can have greener buildings and investigates the best ways of purchasing and generating our own clean energy.

“The success of the initiative depends on integrating this initiative across the whole campus,” Shibley emphasized.

In addition, Shibley reported that UB will be participating for the first time in the Recyclomania Contest (which consists of comparing recycling rates). 3 upcoming talks have also been organized by UB Green to learn about climate change and sustainability from experts:

Feb 19 talk on “Our great lakes, our changing Climate”

March 19 “Reuse and Revitalization in Buffalo”

April 16 “Greening the Canvas: Art and Design’s Response to a changing planet”

Finally, the senators were told that there will be a forum to review a draft plan in early April and that the Environmental Stewardship Committee has a commitment to submit a final plan by Sept 15, 2009.

Marilyn McMann Kramer asked whether wind power was in the future for UB? The committee is looking into it, Professor Shibley said. Dr. Brazeau raised the issue of plastic bottles.

Item 5. Interaction with Warde Manuel, Director of Athletics

Warde Manuel updated senators on what he called “a landmark year for UB Athletics”: first, the University at Buffalo women’s tennis team headed to UCLA for their first ever NCAA Tournament. “Although they lost in the first round,” Manuel said, “this was a great experience, a great championship.” Secondly, the University at Buffalo women’s rowing team won the overall point championship of the Dad Vail Regatta in May 2008 (North America’s largest collegiate rowing regatta). Last but not least, the football team claimed the MAC Football Championship in December 2008 by defeating unbeaten and #12 ranked Ball State at Ford Field.

Manuel then went on to emphasize his commitment to excellence in academics as well as in sports. “Last year was one of our better academic years,” he said, “with the best overall GPA in 10 years.” Of more than 500 student athletes, 242 had a semester GPA of 3.0 or higher, and 8 a perfect GPA of 4.0, he said. Manuel explained that he personally reviews what athletes do in the classroom and meets with athletes and their advisors when a student has a hard time academically. Manuel stressed the importance of making sure that students understand how to manage a healthy balance between the athletic and academic dimensions of their lives: “We’re not interested in raising athletes; we’re interested in student-athletes.” He added that teams devote three to four hours a day to athletics and training and that “what we tell [students] is, you’ve got another 20 hours to figure out how you’re going to sleep, study, go to class and get the rest of your life done.”

Chair Hoeing asked whether Manuel notices potential problems students may be having internally, or whether he relies on people to report? Manuel responded that for freshmen in particular, especially those who come in and look on paper like they will be a challenge, he reaches out to faculty. Gayle Brazeau addressed the stereotyping of athletes and advocated that stories of highly and academically achieving athletes be highlighted to counteract it.

Item 6: Old New Business

Item 7: Executive Session (if necessary)

Item 8: Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 4:11 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Carine Mardorossian, Secretary of the Faculty Senate

 

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