UB Faculty Senate

FACULTY SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Minutes of April 18, 2007
(unapproved)

The Faculty Senate Executive Committee met at 2:00 PM on Wednesday, April 18, 2007, in 567 Capen Hall to discuss the following agenda:

Approval of the Minutes of March 28, 2007
Report of the Chair
Update on State Travel Issues
Online Sexual Harassment Education Program
Barbara Burke, Interim Director, Office of Equity, Diversity, and Affirmative Action
Report of the Faculty Senate Affirmative Action Committee
Review of the Faculty Senate Calendar for 2007-2008
Executive Session
Adjournment

Item 1: Approval of the Minutes of March 28, 2007

The Minutes of March 28, 2007, were approved.

Item 2: Report of the Chair

The Chair requested a moment of silence in remembrance of the faculty and students who died in the Virginia Tech tragedy.

He announced that next Wednesday would be the final public session for the FSEC this academic year, and that the FSEC would need a brief executive session today to solicit nominations for the Search Committee for the Dean of the Law School.

The Academic Planning Committee met last week with the Provost and talked about how it can be more proactive in its approach. The APC will interact next Friday with Professor Shibley in order to have a better understanding of how facilities are being planned for the future.

Item 3: Update on State Travel Issues

Ms. Heidi Retzer, Manager of Travel Services, presented an update on travel services to clear up any confusion and answer any questions the faculty may have regarding business-related travel.

She announced that the Research and State travel offices will merge on May 1, 2007, to create a “one-stop shop”. There will then be one office to service travel customer needs and to administer the Travel Card, as well as to revamp travel policies to offer one set of comprehensive guidelines.

Policies on airfare differ significantly between State and Research travel. State policy requires all employee airfare to be billed to the Central Travel Account (CTA); receipts remain in the departments or other central internal locations. The advantage of the policy is that there are no out-of-pocket costs to the employee; the airfare is directly billed to the department. For Research travel, allowable airfare may be charged to the form of payment of choice. However, the Federal Fly America Act --- which stipulates that the grantee must fly on a U.S. carrier --- must be followed for use by federally funded grants (90% of UB grants). Boarding passes should be retained in order to be reimbursed. (Professor Horvath asked if the UB Foundation followed these guidelines; Ms. Retzer was not sure.)

For lodging, both State and Research travel must follow federal per diems. Conference rates for single rooms are reimbursed above the per diem with appropriate documentation. New York State sales and occupancy taxes are not reimbursable; all other State and occupancy taxes are reimbursed.

State and Research travel meals (= breakfast and dinner) can be reimbursed if they are not included in a conference or provided by a sponsor; the agenda or registration detail will be reviewed to check whether the meal was included or not. Per diem or actual costs (not to exceed per diem) can be claimed, and per diems are based on the federal rate schedule. The meal breakdown varies according to policy; the breakdown is currently under review. Per diems cannot be claimed if either a banquet or a buffet is included in / provided by the conference; they can be claimed (if desired) for continental breakfasts, receptions, parties. Professor Batalama asked how many meals are allowed for the travel days. Ms. Retzer explained that, for every night spent at a hotel, one is eligible for a dinner and a breakfast; thus it depends on part on the times one arrives and leaves.

Car rental may be used when allowable by the appropriate travel policy (best interest / cost effective). When one attends a conference and stays at a conference hotel, car rental reimbursement requires justification and may not be allowable, because shuttle and taxi services are usually provided at a lower cost (sometimes at no cost). Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) is included in the Bank of America corporate travel card; or one may purchase CDW if no corporate travel card is used. No other insurance is required, not will be reimbursed. One must rent in the name of New York State or the Research Foundation, and must sign the agreement as agent for the entity that applies. Taxis, tolls, and parking can be claimed when in direct relation to UB business or when allowed by a grant. Gasoline may be reimbursed when purchased for a rental vehicle, if the vehicle is allowed per specific policy. Mileage rate is reimbursed when a personal vehicle is used.

Travel Services is piloting a new corporate credit card (available probably late this summer), which is a VISA credit card for University travel-related expenses, separate from one’s personal credit card(s). Although no credit check is involved, the individual is responsible for paying the bill. It offers 24-hour VISA travel and emergency assistance, online tracking of transactions, online payments, travel accident insurance, auto rental insurance and roadside assistance, and $3000 lost luggage insurance. The University logo is on the card, and there is no annual membership fee. The cardholder submits reimbursement requests to the Travel Office; all State and Research travel policies remain in effect and must be followed when using this card.

Item 4: Online Sexual Harassment Education Program

Barbara Burke, Associate Director for the Equity, Diversity, and Affirmative Action Administration (EDAAA), explained that her office had been studying how to improve its outreach to the campus community regarding sexual harassment education. One result has been the development of an online training program. In addition to basic, necessary information on the topic, it offers a range of auxiliary materials ---- scenarios, relevant articles, examples of legal cases, and exercises for the user.

Why is such a program necessary? Burke explained that the EDAAA office has several responsibilities related to University compliance with non-discrimination laws, among which are the investigation and resolution of complaints of harassment; sexual harassment constitutes the single largest category of complaints the EDAAA receives. EDAAA has three major obligations with respect to compliance with the law:

a clear policy against sexual harassment;
an established complaint procedure;
to be proactive in harassment/discrimination education efforts.

The new program is one of these efforts, one immediately accessible to the wider campus community. It is used by over 250 universities nationwide, customized to suit each institution’s needs. It presents essentially the same content in a variety of scenarios tailored to the different roles of people at the university faculty, students, etc.). Ms. Kesha Lanier gave a brief demonstration of the program. Objectives include: enabling the user to identify behavior that might constitute sexual harassment, to explain and understand the legal (and other) consequences of harassment, to know what actions to take against it, and to be aware of the policy in place at UB. The program allows each user to contact EDAAA electronically in a secure, confidential manner, to learn about services available at the University, to take a final mastery test, and to print out a certificate as evidence of completion of the program.

The vendor can update the program, typically within 30 days, as legislation changes. EDAAA plans to post the program on its website as well as on MyUB. Professor Batalama asked if taking the program and test would eventually be made mandatory; Burke replied that although some universities require it, UB does not, partly due to technical difficulties. In response to a follow-up question, she made clear that “taking the program doesn’t really protect you if you misbehave”. Professor Horvath asked if this would be made part of TA orientations; Burke replied affirmatively.

Item 5: Report of the Faculty Senate Affirmative Action Committee

Professor Arrington reported for Professor Mattie Rhodes, Chair of the Affirmative Action Committee (AAC). The Committee, in an attempt to address the declining diversity of the faculty at UB, has been working on a Recruitment and Retention Handbook that proposes various approaches that will hopefully be useful in increasing the numbers of minority and women faculty across the campus. The AAC considers the project important, not only in providing a more well-rounded educational experience for all university students, but also to provide minority and female students role models with whom they could more easily identify and from whom they might seek support they sometimes need “when the going gets tough”. Because declining diversity is a national collegiate concern, the AAC examined numerous models at other institutions (the Ohio State University, UC – Santa Cruz, Michigan State University) as well as the AAUP’s [American Association of University Professors] recommended procedures for increasing the numbers of minority and women faculty.

The Committee also had Eulis Boyd from the Rochester Institute of Technology conduct a seminar for the members, where he shared how RIT significantly increased the diversity of its faculty. RIT was highly motivated to do so, because companies in the Rochester area stressed the need to hire graduates who had been exposed to diversity and who were better able to adjust to various cultures around the world.

The draft of the handbook has undergone several revisions, and is divided into two sections:

Recruitment --- containing subsections on Preparation Planning, the Search Committee, Methods of Recruitment, Interviewing, and the Selection Process;

Retention containing subsections on Mentoring, Procedures for Career Interviews & Evaluations, Promotions, Faculty Development Programs, and Creating a Welcoming Climate.

The handbook draft as been shared with the Provost. There have been several meetings with the Vice-Provost for Faculty Affairs, who made suggestions for revisions. The Committee will now seek input and suggestions from other segments of the University community.

The Committee believes there are well-qualified women and minorities capable of filling some of the positions that will become available and hopes that, with additional efforts and ingenuity, UB can find them. Retaining women/minority faculty has been a problem; Professor Arrington noted that some departments have very effective retention programs, that cold be reduplicated in other units.

One recommendation the Committee would make is to establish the practice of conducting exit interviews with faculty who are departing. This could provide useful information for future retention efforts.

Professor Rittner noted that we could make (potential) candidates aware that “it does not snow twelve months out of the year” in Buffalo, and that “it is possible to live in New York and not hemorrhage about a million dollars for 900 square feet” as one might in California. If we could promote this on the UB website, we could attract not only more faculty (minority and others), but highly qualified students as well. Professor Wooldridge agreed, and suggested we post a number of cross-links to relevant websites for comparison.

Professor Horvath inquired into the general trend for diversity among faculty at UB; Professor Arrington replied that --- other than for Asians --- the trend is downward. EDAAA Associate Director Burke noted that at the present time, our faculty profile shows 82 African-Americans, 58 Hispanics, 295 Asians, and 13 Native Americans. The total minority faculty are 448 in number, the total non-minority 1868. Professor Churchill, commenting on the exit interview proposal, noted that there are at least three categories of departing faculty --- those who failed to succeed academically, those who found a better position, and those who do well but become disaffected with UB; it is this third category we should target.

Item 6: Review of the Faculty Senate Calendar for 2007-2008

The Faculty Senate calendar for 2007-2008 was approved.

Item 7: Executive Session

Item 8: Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 3:45 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 (P), K. Tekeuchi (P), D. Street (P)
Dental Medicine: R. Hall (A)
Education: T. Schroeder (P)
Engineering & Applied Sciences: S. Batalma (P), S. Dargush (P)
Public Health & Health Professions: P. Horvath (P)
Law: J. Milles (A)
Management: W. Lin (P)
Medicine & Biomedical Sciences: William Fiden (P), M. Dayton (E), James Springate (P), J. Hasset (A)
Nursing: P. Wooldridge (P)
Pharmacy: G. Brazeau (A)
Social Work: B. Rittner (P)
SUNY Senators: W. Baumer (P), H. Durand (E), H. William Coles III (E), P. Bradford (P)
University Libraries: JA. Volpe (P)

Guests:

B. Burke (Associate Director, EDAAA), D. Bray (EDAAA), K. Lanier (EDAAA), L. Arrington (EOC), L. Labinski (PSS), H. Retzer (Manager, Travel Services), M. Cochrane (The Reporter), N. Jowsey (GSA)

Tel: 716-645-2003
Fax: 716-645-2717
Email: facultysenate@buffalo.edu
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FACULTY SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Minutes of April 18, 2007 (unapproved)

Minutes of April 18, 2007
(unapproved)