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Baruch College Faculty Senate Plenary Meeting Minutes of May 3, 2018MINUTESSenators Attending: E. Axelrod (Law), D. Caplan (FPA), M. Edwards (Law), W. Finke (ModLang), B. Fontana (Pol.Sci.), K. Frank (Eng), W. Gordon (Math), A. Grein (Mkt/Int’lBus), K. Guest (Soc/Anth), C. Hessel (Eco/Fin), S. Johnson (Psy), C. Kulatilleke (NatSci), T. Martell (Eco/Fin), W. McClellan (Eng), R. Merkin (Comm), M. Ozbilgin (Acct), J. Peifer (Mgt.), G. Petersen (Soc./Anth), L. Rath (Lib), M. Seltzer (SPIA), C. Tuthill (Lib), A.Vora (Eco/Fin), R.Wilkins (Comm), S. Wine (IS/S), Bi-Juan Zhong (Mkt).Senators Absent: S. Altman (SPIA), K. Bahar (FPA), E. Chou (Eng), C. Christoforatou (ENG), S. Dishart (Comm), ), L. Friedman (IS/S), R. Freedman (ZSB), S. Gross (IS/S), S. Korenman (SPIA), D. Luna (Mkt/Int’lBus), R. McManus (Pol.Sci.), E. Minei (Comm), L. Placido (Econ/Fin), P. Sethi (Mgt), R. Sawant (Mkt.), E. Stepp (Math), S. Thomas (Acct), Y. Yildirim (Real Est).Twenty-one additional members of the faculty, staff and students noted their presence, making a total attendance of forty-five.The meeting was convened at 12:45 p.m. in Newman Conference Center by Professor Samuel Johnson, Chair of the Baruch Faculty Senate. Approval of Agenda: The agenda was approved by assent.Approval of the Minutes: Minutes of the April 12, 2018 meeting were approved by assent.Report from the Chair:Professor Johnson continues his efforts to encourage shared governance across the college. Report from the PresidentGuggenheim FellowsThe President reports on the news that Professors Esther Allen and Alison Griffiths, both faculty members in the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch have been awarded 2018 Guggenheim Fellowships. It is highly unusual for a faculty of our size to have two faculty named as fellows in the same year, and both are the only candidates selected in their respective disciplinary categories.0832104000 Professor Allen is a member of the Department of Modern Languages and Comparative Literature, and she was named a fellow for translation. Professor Griffiths is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies, and was named for Film, Video, and New Media Studies. Drs. Allen and Griffiths are among 173 scholars, artists, and scientists chosen from almost 3,000 applicants on the basis of prior scholarly achievement and exceptional creative ability in the arts. We are very proud of both individuals, as this demonstrates the caliber of faculty who teach at Baruch. Strategic Plan UpdateThe penultimate draft of the 2018-2023 Strategic Plan is now available on-line for your review. It is accessible on the College website. We encourage faculty and staff to provide written feedback or to attend one of the remaining feedback forums, which will be held on: Friday, May 4th, Monday, May 7th, Tuesday May 8th. Please feel free to contact the President’s office for details. Five overarching goals are highlighted in the strategic plan, based in large part on themes that emerged during the information gathering stage:566674083489804004 Teaching and Learning, Curriculum Development and Update, Diversity and Inclusion, Student Success and Support, Increased Institutional Effectiveness to Support Student Success. Please note that the comment period will close on Friday, May 11. We are also now in the process of creating an implementation plan to ensure that the College makes measurable progress towards these goals over the course of the next five years.Concerns regarding 17 LexThe President notes that his office is monitoring the working and learning conditions in 17 Lex and he is doing his best to minimize the inconveniences and to address any and all health and safety concerns as they arise. As noted previously, the project is being managed by CUNY, not by Baruch, and it is being supervised by the university's on-site construction manager, the LiRo Group. Baruch's Campus Facilities unit, under AVP Lisa Edwards' leadership, is also working to address specific concerns as they are identified, either handling them directly where possible or engaging CUNY and LiRo to request immediate action.083102456006 Given that this renovation project will continue for many years, we intend to remain vigilant, and we encourage everyone to bring any concerns or problems to Lisa's attention without delay.College RankingsOnce again this year, the College has received strong rankings from a number of different organizations. Both the Zicklin School of Business and Marxe School of Public and International Affairs Secure have been included in the US News and World Report ranking of the Nation's 2019 Best Graduate Schools. Zicklin placed #1 in New York State for business among public institutions, and the Marxe School083521557007 ranked #1 in New York City for public affairs among public institutions. Zicklin's Full-Time MBA program received its highest all-time ranking of #55 out of 480 graduate business programs surveyed throughout the country, moving up two spots from last year. And Zicklin's Part-Time MBA jumped 22 places to #56 nationally. Both MBA programs placed #1in New York State, and, for the third consecutive year, #1 in New York City among public institutions. The Mare School of Public and International Affairs received a national ranking of #34 out of 282 schools surveyed in the United States, up 11 spots from the last U.S. News & World Report ranking, which was released in 2016. U.S. News will henceforth be evaluating schools of public affairs annually, rather than every four years. The MPA program ranked #1 in New York City among public institutions, and #2 in New York State. Finally, just within the last week, we received word that the Forbes Magazine ranking of the Top 300 Value Colleges and Universities in the U.S. has ranked Baruch College at #12. This ranking considers such factors as overall cost, availability of financial, average student debt at graduation and average salary for first job. We compete head-to-head with all of the major public universities and with the elite private institutions as well. Baruch's high ranking separates it from the rest of CUNY the next most highly ranked CUNY college was Queens, coming in at #51. Commencement0111125000By way of reminder, the 2018 Commencement proceedings will take place on May 30th at 9:30am at The Barclays Center. Jane Chu, the Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, will be the commencement speaker. Ms. Chu holds bachelor's degrees in piano performance and music education, as well as master's degrees in music and piano pedagogy, a PhD in philanthropic studies and an MBA. She is truly an inspiration to our students, given that she represents the interests of all three schools at Baruch. We will be honoring Jane Chu with an honorary degree and Austin Marxe, an alumnus and generous donor, will also be receiving an honorary degree in honor of his groundbreaking, $30 million gift to the Marxe School.Q&AProfessor Seltzer commends the president for his efforts to integrate the issue of diversity into the strategic plan. Professor Seltzer requests that the heading “Diversity” be changed to “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.” Professor Glenn Peterson requests that the handles on the enrty doors to the college be repaired and attended to. Professor Marios Koufaris notes that there is a serious lack of attention to the support of research in the strategic plan. The strategic plan reads like the plans one might get from a teaching college and not a research institution. The President reaffirms that there is no intent of changing the mission of the school and that we want good faculty and we want to encourage the research. Tweaking the language of the strategic plan will reaffirm the goal of advancing research at the college. Report from the Provost Dave ChristyNew York State Puerto Rico InitiativeThe Governor has announced several responses to the rehabilitation needs of Puerto Rico that would become priorities of the State of New York. Among them, 500 CUNY and SUNY students will be mobilized to assist in this recovery effort. Students must apply and 250 from CUNY will be selected. They will receive a small stipend and the opportunity for academic credit. An announcement has been sent to all faculty, and will be updated as Additional information becomes available.Cloud ComputingCUNY has heard faculty concerns about Cloud Computing load and clear. A task force has been formed that includes VP Arthur Downing. There is a need to insure security of information stored on the cloud, but that will be balanced with the academic research needs of our faculty.Online ProgramsNew on-line and graduate degree programs must have evidence that enrollment demand is sustainable. There will also be a first-to-the-gate policy to prevent duplication of programs. For example, the first campus to propose a fully on-line MA in Sociology will be the only campus to be authorized to have such a program.Software SolutionsTwo new software solutions are moving through procurement and will be rolled out to the campuses. The first is advising software with superior analytics called the Student Success Collaborative from EAB. The second is course scheduling software that collects information about student demand for courses. Strategic PlanThe Provost is leading several listening sessions for faculty and staff to gather feedback on the recently released strategic plan draft. These will continue during the next 20 days. Senior International OfficerVice Provost Myung Soo Lee will step down from his role as Senior International Officer at Baruch. This is a faculty position with 2/9th summer salary to lead and develop programs that assist the College is making a global perspective part of the education of every Baruch student. Please indicate to the Provost if you are interested. Some international travel is expected. Workload UpdatePlease see the “Workload Update Memorandum” on the Faculty Senate website.Q&AProfessor Kevin Frank asks where the idea that the “first-to-the-gate policy to prevent duplication of programs” has come from? The Provost responds that the Board of Trustees are advancing this idea although at this point no written mandate is available. Professor Elisabeth Garies reads from the following statement regarding the workload at the college:The Strategic Plan of 2013 called for “sustainable plans for regular support of research-active faculty in all three schools.” Research-active faculty currently have this regular support. So, thank you! We are now calling on the administration to find a way to fund this system for the future. In fact, we should add this to the new strategic plan. Here is the issue: What we hear increasingly from the administration is that we need more publications in top-tier journals, serve on more review boards of top-tier journals, and obtain more funding from outside sources. This simply can’t be done on a 3/3 workload. The output expected of us is more in line with 2/2 workloads or those even lower. We need the reassigned time for active scholars to free us up for research and as an incentive. But we also need it to continue on our path toward parity between the schools. The accrediting body of Zicklin lists, as academic qualification standards, the publication of 2 journal articles in 5 years, or 1 article and 3 presentations (among other possible combinations) for business schools. That’s at the basis of the automatic RRT for active scholars at Zicklin. It is similar to what we have at Weissman . . . and to what faculty at Queens College and other CUNY research institutions have had for decades. The system provides equity between the schools at Baruch and between Baruch and other CUNY research institutions. Apropos equity at Baruch. It turns out, and this was confirmed by the Zicklin dean’s office, that Zicklin, Weissman, and Marxe faculty receive different workload credits for teaching jumbos. A common jumbo size is 115 students (that’s because of the jumbo classrooms on the 3rd and 5th floor of this building). Weissman and Marxe faculty get 6 workload credits; Zicklin faculty--and this has been confirmed--get 7. 5 workload credits for such a class. So, in effect, Zicklin faculty members who teach these jumbos have a de facto 3/2 workload. If we are measured by the same yardstick for tenure and promotion at Baruch, we need the same core conditions. So, again, we call on the administration to continue the RRT system and to address other core discrepancies between the schools. The PSC workload reduction is a perfect time to move forward on this.Provost Christy notes that college presidents continue to retain discretion over what reassigned time for research can be awarded and the President notes that the agreement has struck an unfundable mandate. A taskforce will be created to help this issue move forward. Old Business:The following resolution is introduced to the Senate by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee:Baruch College and the CIA Signature Schools ProgramWhereas, (a) the Baruch College Administration signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the CIA to become part of the CIA’s Signature Schools Program without consultation or notice to the faculty, and failed to reveal the MOU until a CIA press release was discovered by Baruch faculty;(b) Faculty Senate bylaws, and norms of shared governance, require the College’s administration to consult with the Senate, which, on behalf of faculty and students, will “review and comment on policies contemplated or initiated by the Administration;” (c) the terms of the MOU have explicit implications for matters of educational policy and academic freedom;(d) the formal relationship with the CIA threatens the research and safety of faculty doing research abroad and endangers such faculty and their subjects, and (e) the formal relationship with the CIA may imperil our students and their families who live in countries where the CIA’s activities are perceived as threatsWhereas, (e) Baruch faculty support our students in their job searches with a wide variety of employers, and students seeking employment with the CIA have been able to meet with CIA recruiters during regular career fairs since 2011 without the need for Baruch’s participation in the CIA’s Signature Schools Program,Be it resolvedThat the Baruch College Faculty Senate is opposed to renewing the college’s participation in the CIA Signature Schools Program at the conclusion of the current one year term, August 30, 2018, or at any time in the future. The resolution is discussed on the senate floor. Professors Bill Ferns, Carla Bellamy, Stephanie Golub, Eva Chou, and Kenneth Guest offer comments and statements in support of the resolution. Resolution passed by secret ballot: 21 Yes, 2 No, and 1 abstention. A total of 24 senators present. Professor Richard Wilkins, Faculty Senate Secretary, reminds senators of the upcoming senate elections to be held May 17 in VC 14-250 12.30-2.15. Four Category III interim one-year positions need to be filled. Professor Wilkins is in contact with the Chairs of the eight largest departments at the college for their Category II nominations. Two chairs, drawn each from Zicklin and Weissman, and one representative from the Marxe School also need to be nominated to fill the Category I openings. Nominations will also be taken for Senate Chair and Secretary, five vice-chairs, and five additional senators all to serve on the 2018-2020 senate executive committee. New Business: None Announcements: Jody Vaisman, Director of the Macaulay Honors Program at Baruch College, reminds us of Creative Inquiry Day to be held on Thursday, May 10 to celebrate the strength and diversity of Baruch’s undergraduate students. She encourages faculty to attend and support undergraduate work. Theses, art and multimedia installations, and other projects will be showcased from 12:30 to 2:30 pm at the NVC Main Gym. Adjourned 2:15pm.Respectfully SubmittedRichard WilkinsBaruch Faculty Senate Secretary ................
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