FACULTY SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Minutes of March 28, 2007
(unapproved)

The Faculty Senate Executive Committee met at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, March 28, 2007, in 567 Capen Hall to discuss the following agenda:

1. Report of the Chair
2. Report of the Provost
3. Report on Disability Services
   Randy Borst, Director
4. Centralized Advertising for Recruitment and the UB Jobs System
5. Adjournment

Item 1: Report of the Chair

The Chair reported that SUNY Provost Risa Palm unfortunately will not be able to attend either of the last two Senate meetings scheduled for this semester.

The Chair delivered a talk on faculty governance at the Educational Opportunity Center downtown on Tuesday, march 27.

The Secretary had issued a call for nominations to replace him for a one-year term; so far, only one person has expressed interest. The Chair asked members of the FSEC to ask among their colleagues whether anyone else might be interested.

The Affirmative Action Committee is finalizing the Recruitment and Retention Handbook . It met with Vice-Provost Finley and will make further changes with the expectation that the document will be presented at a meeting of the Provost and the deans.

The Computer Services Committee heard from two IT transformation task force members, Joe Mantione and Charles Dunn, who reported on the current progress of the group. They examined the IT infrastructure at UB (excluding the research centers), and determined that there are 1,000 servers on campus, 131 web servers, 12,194 users, 15,279 workstations, 72 TB of capacity being used for storage and 580 GB for e-mail purposes. They proposed improving service, consolidating the number of servers to a minimum, leveraging existing server -ups and existing skill-sets, and are in the process of developing a faculty survey. UB Mail is in the beta testing stage. They also reported that five teams are at work on various aspects of IT --- anti-virus, firewall, and patch; e-mail; database; directory services; and file, print, and net appliance.

Item 2: Report of the Provost

Provost Tripathi reported that Distinguished Professor Bruce McCombe has accepted the position for Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and thanked the faculty for their participation in the process. He also reported that SUNY Provost Risa Palm has been appointed as a faculty member in the UB Geography department.

Item 3: Report on Disability Services

Randy Borst, Director for the Office of Disability Services, began by stating the mission of Disability Services (DS), namely, to function as a coordinating center for providing services and opportunities, to qualified individuals with disabilities, in education, campus life, information, and University employment. The responsibilities of DS include intake, assessment of service and accommodation needs, and service coordination, consultation, and advocacy. In addition to the Director, staffing for DS includes a Staff Assistant (as educational access specialist), a keyboardist/receptionist, a secretary (Assistant to the Director), and two new positions to be filled --- a disability services counselor and an associate counselor for testing services.

For each student, DS determines the nature of the disability, the special accommodations needed, and suggests recommendations to the student’s instructors regarding these accommodations. DS serves about 525 students per academic year; this includes, for 150 of these students, about 2,000 monitored tests per year. Services fall into three major categories: testing services, classroom accommodations, and direct services. Testing services may include granting extended time, providing readers and scribes, the use of computers / calculators, and finding distraction-reduced settings where the individual may take the exam. Classroom accommodations include peer or instructor lecture notes, permission to leave class to attend to health-care needs, permission to make audio recordings of class lectures, permission to stand or stretch during class, reasonable modification of class attendance policies, and the use of assisted listening devices in class. The direct services are many:

• Accessible parking permits;
• Advocacy services;
• Assistive technology assessment;
• Assistive technology training;
• Course substitution recommendations;
• Disability service counseling;
• E-text --- there is a requirement that the University provide auxiliary aids and equipment, which means we need to find electronic versions of textbooks; New York State has a law (“Chapter 219”) that requires publishers of textbooks to make electronic files of course materials. Not all publishers, Borst added, cooperate, nor are they punished if they fail to. With permission, DS makes about 50 to 60 book scans per year.
• Early registration;
• Emergency assistance;
• Intercampus transportation;
• Loaner equipment;
• Off- and on-campus referral for living and housing accommodations;
• Readers aid;
• Self-advocacy training;
• Sign interpreter;
• Snow clearance.

Director Borst expressed the hope that, in the near future, fewer and fewer disability services will be needed as more and more products and services are created following the “Universal Principles of Design”; the basic idea is that products and environments will be so designed as to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. Specifically, these Principles are:

1. Equitable use
2. Flexibility in use
3. Simple and intuitive use
4. Perceptible information
5. Tolerance for error
6. Low physical effort
7. Size and space for approach and use

(Details can be found at: http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/about_ud/udprinciplestext.htm )

Dr. Durand asked if it were appropriate for a faculty member, who suspected a student of having a disability, to send that student to DS to be tested and diagnosed. Director Borst replied that they could discuss with the student a possible appropriate referral, but that DS does not provide diagnostic services. Because DS is familiar with most of the problems, its staff can find the proper referrals in most cases. Professor Churchill inquired about the breakdown of types of handicaps among the student population; Director Borst said that, of the ones they know (there are several others), “the greater preponderance of them are people with so-called less visible, less obvious […] disabilities --- learning disabilities comprise nearly half” of the cases. The fastest growing group includes those people with mental impairments such as depression and bi-polar disorder. Of the students DS serves, there are about 20 with visual impairment, and about 4 or 5 who need a wheelchair. Following up on this last point, Professor Rittner asked whether any efforts were underway for retro-fitting lavatory facilities on campus for those in wheelchairs who do not have exceptional upper body strength; she added that these facilities do not provide any sort of privacy either. Borst affirmed that there are, but that University Facilities is responsible for code compliance modifications to entrances, elevators, washrooms, curb ramps. Although not “every square inch of campus” will be modified, the extensive work on facilities will significantly increase program accessibility.

Professor Danford, referring to the Universal Principles of Design, pointed out that although North Carolina State University was the federally funded research center for universal design for about ten years, it is now here at the University at Buffalo. Professor Horvath asked about the progress of web design for those with disabilities, and Borst replied that this is an area that needs more attention at the program level to comply with both State and federal regulations. Blackboard is one of the exceptions, since it can be made accessible in various ways, and is already being used by the visually impaired.

Professor Adams-Volpe informed the FSEC that a number of products designed along the Universal Principles of Design can be viewed on-line at http://ubdigit.buffalo.edu .

Item 4: Centralized Advertising for Recruitment and the UB Jobs System

Barbara Burke, Associate Director of Equity, Diversity and Affirmative Action Administration (EDAAA), informed the FSEC that a Central Advertising Project launched in 2003 revealed a number of problems associated with CIT / professional staff recruitment: repetitive postings for certain titles, duplication / inconsistency in advertising, and expenses distributed all over campus which hindered any evaluation of cost / benefit. The committee working on the project raised certain issues and concerns. First, what was the applicability to faculty recruitment? (The project was designed to look at staff recruitment.) Secondly, how and where should the process be centralized? How would costs be allocated? It was also unclear whether there would be a central funding source. The report drafted by the committee was never implemented, and so the project ended up in “bureaucratic purgatory”.

The new Central Advertising Project (2007) will first review Affirmative Action policy, in need of updating because there are new definitions in the federal regulations. The committee will also update advertising requirements, improve recruitment effectiveness, and provide tools to assist the various units in their searches. It hopes to achieve these through the new recruitment process called UBJobs .

There are three components of the proposed plan. The first, “UB Image / Branding”, will run regular local and national image advertising in selected publications, and will showcase UB 2020 and our campus initiatives. The ads will be more global, not job-specific, and will direct the reader to the UBJobs website.

The second component concerns the “Faculty Recruitment Cycle”; there would be school- or university-wide ads designed to emphasize a more prominent nation UB presence; these would not replace discipline-specific journal ads and other AA outreach groups. They are intended to improve recruitment results, as well as cost effectiveness by creating ads that cover more than one position. A Faculty recruitment Pilot was run in November 2006. A half-page ad in the Chronicle of Higher Education (both paper and electronic versions) listed all the CAS departments that were recruiting at that time. It directed applicants to the CAS website, and all open postings were listed with links to the individual departments. The $4,100 eliminated advertising costs for the individual departments and represented significant savings overall. The Chronicle received over 1,100 hits, and the CAS website over 1,000 in the 30 days during which the ad ran.

The third component is a toolkit for general advertising for use by all departments. Human Resources is working with Creative Services to develop standard, web-based advertising templates with consistent UB logo, consistent language, consistent EEO statement, with standard sizing for newspapers and journals; the templates and instructions will be linked to UBJobs for all hiring managers. The ads will be camera-ready copies in PDF format.

Professor Adams-Volpe asked if the hits came from more experienced faculty or, as she suspected, mainly from newer faculty seeking positions; Ms. Burke replied that that has not yet been determined. Vice-Provost Finley guessed that most of the postings were for the Assistant Professor level; she added that the real benefit of the distinctive-looking UB ads in the Chronicle was the enhanced prominence they gave to the University. Professor Batalama wondered why much smaller schools such as SUNY-Brockport advertised so much more than UB, and in doing so becoming more visible to portions of the population. She also suggested that the UB site provide downloadable pictures as visual stimuli in its advertising. Ms. Burke responded that there is indeed an extensive e-library of UB images, available at

http://www.buffalo.edu/photosearch/

and Vice-Provost Finley commented that this was a top priority in marketing the University, adding that Vice-President for External Affairs Marsha Henderson had made a presentation, a few months ago, on the marketing toolkit at a meeting of the deans and Vice-Presidents. The toolkit included links to the picture art site. Faculty could be made more aware of the picture site as well, and may consider using some in PowerPoint presentations at conferences, thus promoting not only their research but their University as well.

Professor Horvath observed that the students he knows who have searched for job listings never look in the Chronicle , and wondered what was being done “to help departments make sure they get their hits from the secondary relayers of information”. He also suggested we might ask our graduate students where they look on the web to find listings. Ms. Burke replied that policies used in the past are being re-examined, and that while the branding ad will be posted in the Chronicle, the smaller templates could be used for discipline-specific journals. Professor Rittner speculated that the University’s efforts at image-making could overtake those of its individual component schools, and asked whether all ads posted in journals will be required to use the UB templates or whether flexibility would be allowed. Burke replied that this has not yet been considered, much less decided, but agreed that the relation must be a dynamic and flexible one. Vice-Provost Finley added that the idea was for the UB templates to provide a common base that could be adapted for individual needs.

Vice-President for Human Resources Scott Nostaja updated the FSEC on the development of the UBJobs web site. The site was launched on January 29, 2007, at a time when there were relatively few faculty recruitments. After implementing the system on some of those recruitments, several modifications were made to correct the shortcomings that arose. HR [Human Resources] is also planning several training sessions, and is calling upon users of the system to make suggestions for further improvement. He reported that, so far, it has proven successful, based on positive comments from candidates as well as users. UB leases the program for an annual fee from a vendor who modifies the system to suit our needs.

Professor Horvath asked what progress had been made since their last report [FSEC, January 31, 2007] regarding the system’s ability to allow electronic submission of reference letters. Vice-President Steck answered that a program has been written for this purpose; they are now trying to integrate it into the system. Professor Horvath expressed surprise, first that the program lacks that capability, and secondly, because several other universities already use systems that easily allow electronic submission of confidential reference letters. Vice-Provost Finley stressed the importance that search committees remind the people they have been recruiting to log on and enter their information into the system; in this way, the system would have “a complete reflection of the pool”. This is important for drawing data to establish reports on such matters as diversity, search approval, etc.

Vice-Presidents Steck and Linder then gave a brief demonstration of a mock posting and the on-line application process.

• Missions and Goals for each Academy;
• Defined Learning Outcomes;
• Faculty Leadership, consisting of a Master Scholar and a Board of Fellows. The Master Scholar provides the academic/intellectual leadership in designing the academy, and will be assisted by a two- or three-member Board of Faculty Fellows;
• Curricular components (courses, seminars);
• Extracurricular experiences (projects, workshops, etc.);
• Advisement services --- in particular, how students can integrate these experiences into their chose fields;
• Physical space (conference and meeting rooms);
• Living & Learning communities;
• Virtual communities (via IT tools that enable communication);
• Project grants for research, study abroad, community service and the like.

Four Undergraduate Academies have been developed so far. Civic Engagement (Fall 2007), Research Exploration (Fall 2007), Creative Expression (Fall 2008), and Global and International Issues (Spring 2008). The mission for the Civic Engagement Academy is to promote and encourage students to become active, reflective, and critically thinking citizens of their communities. Professor Peter Sobota (Social Work) will serve as Master Scholar; the advisory Faculty Fellows will include Professor Robert Granfield and another faculty member, with Amy Wilson (Leadership Development Center) as the Assistant Director providing administrative support. The mission for the Academy for Research Exploration is “to promote and encourage students to embrace critical and constructive thinking and help prepare students for post-baccalaureate endeavors”. It will be headed by Professor Tracy Gregg (Geology) as Master Scholar; Professors Peter Nickerson (Biomedical Science) and Albert Titus (Engineering) as Faculty Fellows; and Timothy Tryjanowski (Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities) as Assistant Director.

Of the 145 returned Orientation data forms, 31 new students so far have indicated an interest in the Academies; if this ratio continues for the rest of the new student population, there will be about 650-700 entering freshmen interested in the Academies. This strongly positive response should help increase enrollment and yield of best undergraduate applicants. Vice-Provost Ryan also expressed strong hope that it will help us increase out-of-state and international enrollment, enrich our opportunities for undergraduate education, provide a focus and motivation for the undergraduate experience, and improve our retention and graduation rate. In concluding, he invited the UB faculty to volunteer to offer Discovery Seminars and to serve as Faculty Fellows for the Academies.

Professor Hoeing asked whether there would be any documented recognition for students’ participation in the Seminars and Academies. Vice-Provost Ryan affirmed that there would indeed be, and there would be several means of doing so, including possibly Celebrations of Excellence where students may present a poster on a research project, and/or, if a student fulfills a certain set of experiences, there would be an appropriate notation on the transcript --- e.g., “Research Exploration Scholar” --- to distinguish her/him. Ryan reminded the FSEC that the purpose of the Academies is not to impose extra burdens on students in pursuit of their majors, but to provide them with opportunities to combine Academy experiences with their fields of study. To Dr. Coles’ question, Ryan responded that at Summer Orientation, those students expressing interest in the Academies will have a number of events and opportunities at their disposal, such as meeting with the Master Scholar, follow-up meetings with advisors, and so on. He added that, although the Academies are being “rolled out” for entering freshmen, students already at UB can take advantage of these also. Professor Rittner asked what requirements a student would need to fulfill to qualify as an Academy Scholar. Vice-Provost Ryan answered that there will be a flexible variety of means (independent studies, regular courses, research projects, workshops) to meet certain standards for achieving this distinction. To another of her questions, he replied that many of the Seminars are indeed linked to the curricula of the Academies; they are separate entities, but will in many cases be connected. Professor Springate asked whether the Seminars were restricted to lower-division students; the answer is that they are not, but upper-division students are informed ahead of time that the Seminars are designed primarily for freshmen and sophomore and may not be as advanced as they would expect. Professor Batalama asked who decides the criteria and coursework for the Academies; Ryan answered that this is primarily the job of the Master Scholar, who will also design a specific seminar for each Academy. When asked by Professor Nickerson how well the Seminars were received by the students, Ryan responded that solid information was not yet available, but expected rather positive results.

Professor Rittner asked whether teaching a Discovery Seminar would not be valued as highly as being involved in one of the Academies; Ryan responded that the Administration values both highly, but serving as an Academy Master Scholar or Fellow requires significantly more time and energy investment, and in this sense would carry more weight than designing and teaching a one-credit course. Asked by Professor Batalama how students become members of an Academy, Vice-Provost Ryan said there are no membership criteria (other than interest), but for certain courses or projects within the Academy, there may well be prerequisites or specified GPA requirements.

Item 5: Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Robert Hoeing,
Secretary of the Faculty Senate


Attendance (P = present; E = excused; A = absent)

Chair: P. Nickerson (P)
Secretary: R. Hoeing (P)
Architecture & Planning: GS. Danford (P)
Arts & Sciences: M. Churchill (P), J. Woelfel (A), K. Tekeuchi (P), D. Street (P)
Dental Medicine: R. Hall (A)
Education: T. Schroeder (A)
Engineering & Applied Sciences: S. Batalma (P), S. Dargush (A)
Public Health & Health Professions: P. Horvath (P)
Law: J. Milles (A)
Management: W. Lin (P)
Medicine & Biomedical Sciences: William Fiden (A), M. Dayton (A), James Springate (P), J. Hasset (A)
Nursing: P. Wooldridge (A)
Pharmacy: G. Brazeau (A)
Social Work: B. Rittner (P)
SUNY Senators: W. Baumer (P), H. Durand (P), H. William Coles III (A), P. Bradford (E)
University Libraries: JA. Volpe (P)


Guests:Satish Tripathi (Provost), L. Finley (Vice-Provost, Faculty Affairs), S. Nostaja (Vice-President for Human Resources), J. Linder (HR, VP), S. Steck (HR, VP), B. Burke (EDAAA), S. Nolan-Weiss (EDAAA), D. Bray (EDAAA), L. Labinski (PSS), C. Crespo (Graduate Student Association), K. Fryling (The Reporter)

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