Approved by Faculty Senate on 05/6/2008

MINUTES OF THE FACULTY SENATE MEETING

February 5, 2008

The second Faculty Senate meeting of the 2007-2008 academic year was called to order by Prof. H. Richard Naslund (Geological Sciences and chair of the Faculty Senate) at 11:45 a.m. in UU 133. Prof. Naslund reported that Prof. Peter Knuepfer (Geological Sciences) has agreed to serve as parliamentarian.

1. Minutes. A member questioned the last sentence in the second paragraph of the October 23, 2007 minutes saying that a word or phrase had been omitted. Prof. Naslund said he would refer the matter to the secretary. On voice vote, the minutes of the October 23, 2007 meeting were approved pending the noted omission.

2. Announcements/Questions. a) Prof. Naslund reported the death of former Prof. David Nielson (History) and Prof. Frederick Arnold (Chemistry). The Senate observed a moment of silence. As is established practice, a note of condolence has been sent to the families.

3. New Business. a) Proposal for Masters degree in Student Affairs Administration (attached to agenda). Prof. Sharon Holmes (College of Community and Public Affairs) reported that prior to her coming to the university, an outside consultant was hired to determine the need for such a program. Many students were already taking courses toward such a degree in the former MASS (Master of Arts in Social Sciences) program.

Provost Mary Ann Swain commented that the practice in student affairs on this campus is done very well. Given this fact and the student interest in the program, the decision was made in part to propose this program over others. Prof. Rodger Summers (College of Community and Public Affairs) added that when he was vice president for student affairs many colleagues expressed concern that Binghamton was losing professional employees to other institutions and suggested that Binghamton would be ideal to host such a program.

Prof. Andrew Scholtz (Classical and Near Eastern Studies) asked for comment on additional funding required by the program for new faculty, library resources, etc. Regarding library resources, Prof. Holmes said that the new cost is minimal, under $300, since the program can draw from resources already available. Regarding faculty hiring, Prof. Holmes reported that she was hired to be the director. She had experience in student affairs as did Prof. Dina Maramba, hired a year before. One faculty member is currently being recruited.

Dean Patricia Ingraham (College of Community and Public Affairs) reported that the funding for the faculty line being recruited for and some other resources have been provided for some time. There will be no shifting of funds from other areas. Provost Swain stated that the campus and its programs are funded by tuition dollars and state tax support tied to the students. The revenue generated by this program will provide more resources than needed making some funding available for other programs.

Prof. Libby Tucker (English) said that as faculty master of Hillside and Susquehanna Communities she is in favor of the program. She asked for information about the 15 assistantships that will be offered. Prof. Holmes said that the program would work with the division of student affairs to certify and place eligible students.

After a vote, the proposal was approved as submitted, 37 for, 0 against.

4. Reports. a) Report by Prof. Sandra Michael (Biological Sciences and University Faculty Senator). Prof. Michael reported on items discussed at a recent meeting of the University Faculty Senate: Binghamton has three advocates on the SUNY Legislative Alumni Caucus; Conversations in the Disciplines grant applications are due in Albany on April 4; SUNY 2008-2009 budget request initiatives including greening SUNY and energy saving issues, increased support for graduate students, 2,000 additional faculty hires for SUNY and CUNY, upcoming 60^th anniversary of SUNY system, transfer issues between community colleges and SUNY schools, greater flexibility at campus level for cash management and purchasing, list distributed by SUNY Provost Risa Palm of full time faculty needed per campus to match aspirational peers – Binghamton would need 179 full time faculty or about 33%, VSA (voluntary system of accountability).

Prof. Michael asked Provost Swain to comment on the VSA. Provost Swain explained its components and commented that it would be in Binghamton’s best interest to get involved now, as it would become a national information source for students and faculty, a national advertising campaign for the quality of Binghamton’s program.

b) Report by Mr. Matt Landau (Student Association Academic Vice President and member of Bookstore Campus Advisory Committee). Mr. Landau reported on a recent survey regarding the campus bookstore. He urged faculty to submit book requests as soon as possible in order for the bookstore to locate reasonably priced suppliers, and to avoid when possible requiring custom made books as they are costly.

The meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m.

Present: Allan Arkush, A. Serdar Atav, Douglas Bradburn, Cassandra Bransford, C. Beth Burch, Sandra Card, Jaimee Wriston Colbert, Michael Conlon, David Davies, Albert Dekin, Patricia Dilorenzo, James Dix, Richard Eckert, John Eisch, Alex Feingold, Joseph Graney, Vincent Grenier, Fernando Guzman, Sharon Holmes, Gary James, Karen Kozlowski, Srinivasan Krishnamurthy, Harold Lewis, Patrick Madden, William Martin, Sandra Michael, H. Richard Naslund, Vladimir Nikulin, Neil Christian Pages, Maxim Pensky, Sara Reiter, Nadia Rubaii-Barrett, Andrew Scholtz, Olga Shvetsova, Antonio Sobejano-Moran, David Stahl, Mary Ann Swain, Eugene Tettey-Fio, Gary Truce, Libby Tucker, Srinivasa Venugopalan, Deanne Westerman, Zili Yang, Matt Landau, Teresa Partell

Excused: Maureen Boyd, Gladys Jimenez-Munoz, Jonathan Krasno, Kenneth McLeod, Douglas Summerville, Caryl Ward

Absent: Anne Bailey, Bruce Borton, Lois DeFleur, Frederic Deyo, Ronald Gonzalez, Celia Klin, Brett Levinson, Bruce Murray, Haim Ofek, Isidore Okpewho, James Pitarresi, Glenn Pitman, Don Weiss, Thomas Wilson, Joseph Goldman, Wazir Mohamed