2012-2013 University Senate
Monday, April 8, 2013
2:45 pm, Campus Center Assembly Hall
Andi Lyons, Chair
Minutes
Present:
J. Philippe Abraham, Aymen Assuwiyan, Hassaram Bakhru, Steve Beditz, Lee Bickmore, Leona
Christie, Thomas Devlin, Diana Dumensnil, Keith Earle, Sue Faerman, Erzsebet Fazekas, Susanna
Fessler, Richard Fogarty, Cynthia Fox, Elizabeth Gaffney, Timothy Groves, Yenisel Gulatee, Jean
Guyon, Janell Hobson, Michael Jaromin, LaRae Jome, Ann Kearney, Daniel Keyser, Alice Krause,
Igor Kuznetsov, Vincent LaBella, Andi Lyons, JoAnne Malatesta, Dan Markisello, John Monfasani,
John Murphy, Nancy Newman, Susan Phillips, Sanjay Putrevu, Rich Eliot, Marc Cohen, Helene
Scheck, Lawrence Schell, Joette Stefl-Mabry, Pavel Terpelets, Sandra Vergari, Christine Wagner,
Oscar Williams, Mark Wolfe, Alissa Worden, Edelgard Wulfert
Guests:
Carly Briggs, James Broussard, Teresa Harrison, Kevin Ramer, Christa Taylor, Kathie Winchester
The meeting convened at 2:46 pm.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of March 11 were approved with following voting results: Approved: 27; Opposed: 0; Abstained: 4.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT—ROBERT JONES
President Jones began his report with an update of the finalized state budget:

State aid for SUNY will remain at its current level of commitment due to the maintenance of effort
agreement. The residence hall program has been taken out of the debt cap, creating additional debt
capacity for future capital plans and enabling us to build and renovate student housing in the future.

President Jones said he was disappointed that no allocation was made for capital projects. Chancellor
Zimpher has requested approximately $2 billion for critical maintenance. The president has met with
members of our legislative delegation to build a strong case for additional critical maintenance funding.

The president discussed concerns about the budget situation with SUNY Downstate Medical Center. The
budget did not provide additional funds for the center although Chancellor Zimpher has requested up to
$150 million. The state has asked SUNY to develop a sustainability plan which is due in June before they
will discuss the financial need. President Jones said the major concern is the impact it will have on the
state operated campuses if the state does not provide funding for Downstate Medical Center during its
financial crisis.
The campus has launched a national search for a chief financial officer. President Jones thanked Steve Beditz for
his great job in this capacity and for his many years of service. A search committee has been formally charged
with the search and will be chaired by School of Business Dean Donald Siegel and Vice President for University
Development Fardin Sanai. The position plays a key role for the university at this juncture and everyone’s input is
welcome during the process. President Jones said he hopes to conclude the search by the fall.
President Jones discussed the possibility of collaboration between UAlbany and the Albany Institute of History and
Art. He said he believes it will benefit both students and faculty by having a presence at the Insitute. The
president has had conversations with the directors of both parties and believes the collaboration will create a winwin situation for both institutions. Over the long term, collaboration would provide UAlbany with a closer link
and presence to the community.
President Jones addressed speculation that CNSE may become independent from UAlbany. He said the media leak
that occurred provided an opportunity to consider the relationship between the Nano College and the rest of the
university. He said until he sees a plan he cannot respond but hoped that a plan will be made available over the
next couple of weeks. His primary goal is for the University at Albany to remain strong. President Jones
expressed his appreciation for the value that CNSE has brought to the region as an economic driver. The president
wants the entire community to have an opportunity to respond.
The president’s nine county tour of the capital region kicked off with tours in Greene County last month and
Schenectady County today. President Jones said the goal is to familiarize him with the area so he can do a better
job of positioning UAlbany as a critical partner. He discussed the importance of communicating to the school
districts in each county that this is a great university and should be at the top of the list for their students to
consider when applying for college. He said the tour would also assist him in his role as co-chair of the Capital
Region Economic Development Council.
President Jones referred to the Community Engagement forums held last week. The events were led by the
president’s colleague from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Andrew Furco. Dr. Furco is one of the leading
scholars in the area of community engagement. The president said UAlbany has the expertise and talent to develop
community engagement as a core value of the university and to move UAlbany to the next level of being engaged.
He thanked everyone who participated.
The university hosted the 2nd Annual Bunshaft Lecture on April 5. Jonathan Rochelle, Class of ’85, and cofounder of Google Apps, delivered an inspiring address. President Jones said Mr. Rochelle is a prime example of
what UAlbany graduates can accomplish. The president said the campus will work with people like Mr. Rochelle
and other distinguished alumni to deepen our community engagement.
President Jones was pleased with UAlbany’s rankings in the US News and World Report. UAlbany had 19
programs ranked in the top 100. He said this was a very good indicator of the university’s excellence. The
president commended the faculty, deans, and administrators who have contributed to its success. President Jones
referred to the campus highlights at the sign-in table. He said many of the achievements have been noted in media
outlets such as CNN as well as the New York Times, and have brought notoriety to the University at Albany.
President Jones acknowledged those students who were recipients of the Chancellors Awards for Student
Excellence. He commended them for their engagement. Faculty and staff will be recognized at the President’s
Excellence Awards ceremony on April 11. The event will be a celebration of exemplary service of sixteen
members of the University at Albany.
President Jones congratulated both the men’s and women’s basketball teams. He said their conduct on the court
and in the classroom serves as a prime example of being students first and athletes second. Their success increased
traffic on our web page six-fold and brought positive publicity and PR to the University at Albany. On April 11, a
celebration of their achievements will be held in University Hall. The President encouraged all to attend and
recognize our student athletes.
PROVOST’S REPORT—SUSAN PHILLIPS
Provost Phillips announced the Bookstore is accepting orders for faculty regalia for spring commencement. She
noted the importance of a strong faculty and staff presence for our students and their families at the ceremonies.
The graduate ceremony will be held on Saturday, May 18 and the undergraduate ceremony will be held on
Sunday, May 19. She encouraged all to attend.
Provost Phillips thanked everyone who has worked on the implementation of the strategic plan. The working
groups are close to finishing their second year of work on a wide range of topics. She expects a “year 2” report to
be available shortly. One of the working groups has been addressing online teaching and learning. Forums on the
subject were held recently and were well attended. Provost Phillips expects the group to report on feedback it has
received before the beginning of summer.
Provost Phillips recognized Associate Professor Anthony DeBlasi and his efforts to bring the Confucius Institute
to the university. Progress towards securing the required signatures is moving forward. The Confucius Institute
will connect the campus and community with Chinese language and culture.
The Provost referred to a call that was sent to submit applications for Provost Fellowships. This is an opportunity
to pursue and important and timely project. Applications are due by April 15 and Provost Phillips encouraged
everyone spread the word to their colleagues.
Provost Phillips reported that a full complement of student opinion survey is available on the Institutional
Research web page. The undergraduate reports include surveys from SOS and NSSE. The reports include the
first graduate student survey as well. The reports can be found at http://www.albany.edu/ir/reports.htm
NCAA Athletics Program Report -- Teresa Harrison, Faculty Representative
Professor Harrison thanked Senate members for receiving her report today. She said today she would provide a
report of the academic success and academic profile of our student athletes. Professor Harrison said she would
also provide information on the majors chosen by student athletes, and how they perform on average on an
institutional basis. She presented several statistical charts which are summarized below. The complete charts
appear at the end of these minutes.
 GPAs and SATs for Student Athlete and Traditional Admits: The chart shows some improvement for
student athletes. Over the past six years they have hovered around 88 to 89 for GPA scores and 1000-1100
for SATs.
 Student Athlete Majors by School/College: The information is closely mirrored to that of traditional
students. Student Athletes are present in every school and college and a large percentage are double
majors.
 College of Arts and Sciences: Student Athletes are present in every department of CAS with the strongest
concentration in the School of Business.
 Major for Premier Sports: Concern is that students from a given sport may cluster in certain disciplines.
The charts show that student athletes from premier sports are well distributed across disciplines.
 GPAs for Spring 2012 and Fall of 2012: The charts are computed by male and women’s teams. Women’s
teams generally have higher scores than men but the statistics are a national trend.
 Graduations Success Rate & Federal Graduation Rate: Our rates are relatively high and the FGR is very
high. The FGR does not include students who transfer in and out of an institution.
 Academic Progress Rate 2010-2011 (Men and Women): If student athletes do not make progress towards
graduating, they are not eligible to compete and the NCAA imposes sanctions against the institution for
students performing under 925. Our men’s teams performed well above the minimum; the women’s teams
have performed exceptionally well.
Professor Harrison concluded that student athletes at the University at Albany resemble traditional students in
academic interests. In some instances they perform better academically than traditional students. On an
institutional basis, we can justify that student athletes are making good progress towards graduation. There were
no questions for Professor Harrison.
UNIVERSITY SENATE CHAIR’S REPORT – Andi Lyons, Chair
The appointment of the committee to conduct a nationwide search for Vice President for Finance and Business was recently announced,
following consultation with the Senate Governance Council and officers of the Senate.
The Campus Committee on University Community-Engagement is sponsoring a two-day program on April 2 and 3. Sessions are cosponsored by the SEC and Councils with particular ties to certain topics, and Senate members’ involvement is anticipated.
Professor Teresa Harrison is our campus Faculty Athletics Representative, which is a position mandated by all NCAA-affiliated
institutions. Her position involves overseeing the academic integrity of the intercollegiate athletics program and monitoring efforts to
certify the eligibility of student-athletes for competition. In this role, during the April 8 Senate meeting, Professor Harrison will present
her annual report to the faculty about the academic character of UAlbany student-athletes.
In May 2012, the Senate charged the Undergraduate Academic Council with clarifying its procedures as they relate to the Senate Charter.
The UAC completed preliminary work on this task and reported to the Senate Executive Committee during its March 25 meeting. The
council hopes to introduce a bill to modify previous legislation before the end of this Senate session.
OTHER REPORTS
UFS (University Faculty Senator’s Report) –Danielle Leonard, J. Philippe Abraham & Shadi ShahedipourSandvik, SUNY Senators
At the winter plenary meeting the UFS Committee on Diversity and Cultural Competence submitted the first page (a teaser) of what is a
multiple-page report that includes recommendations to make diversity a more meaningful element of our campus cultures.
The full report (attached) comes with a request that it be widely distributed across campuses and discussed, either by a governance group
or by the Executive Committee of your governance groups. UFS needs to have UAlbany’s comments returned to the committee chair
(Phillip.Ortiz@esc.edu) by March 15. This will give the committee the time needed to examine our suggestions for a final revision of its
report, which will be submitted to the UFS at the May plenary. The new Budget Allocation Model has been postponed for a year. The
Graduate Research Symposium was held at the Legislative Office bldg. on Feb 26th with representation from 19 SUNY campuses and 11
of CUNY schools. The UFS senators plan to attend the Spring Plenary meeting in Syracuse in May.
Graduate Student Organization Report – Thomas Devlin
GSO President Devlin reported that the constitution will be up for a vote next week. He thanked the members of the
constitution committee for their hard work.
SA (Student Association) – Marc Cohen, Student Association Representative
The Student Association will host Parkfest on April 11th. Tickets cost $15 for general admission and $20 for VIP. 2 Chainz and Travis
Porter will be performing. April 21st is the Cultural Carnival and Guinness World Record breaking attempt. Francis Ageymang has been
elected as the new President of SA and Nick Butler was elected Vice President. The Student Activity Fee passed. A new election for
Senators will be held April 8-9 due to a technical glitch during the first round of balloting. From Student Group Affairs: The Purple and
Gold Awards with be taking place on April 22nd.
New Student Recognition, Spring 2013
Temporary:
UA Smash Bros Club, February 14th 2012.
Albany Lifting Club, 03/04/13
Albany Bioethics Team, March 14th 2013
Pitch Please, 3/11/13
Film Enthusiasts, March 7th 2013
Permanent:
UAlbany Peace Action, 2/25/13
Student Revolutionary Coalition, 2/25/13
Trans-Action, 3/04/13
Reactivation:
Paintball Club, February 14th 2012
Mr. Cohen reported that over 1,000 tickets have been sold for Parkfest. On April 13-14, an open house will be held for
students who have been accepted to the university. SA Elections were held. Due to difficulties with the voting system, the
activity fee has not passed and will be up for a re-vote on April 8 and 9.
COUNCIL/COMMITTEE REPORT
CAA (Council on Academic Assessment) – Adrian Masters, Chair
At its meeting on March 27th the CAA discussed the impending implementation of the new Gen. Ed. Curriculum. Of particular interest to
the CAA is how the student learning objectives that pertain to the competencies in the major are to be assessed. We have yet to receive
this information from the Gen. Ed. Advisory Board.
CAFFECoR (Committee on Academic Freedom, Freedom of Expression, and Community Responsibility) –
Leslie Saint-Vil, Chair
Senator Fessler reported that at the request of the SEC, CAFFECoR is in the process of circulating a proposal for its
dissolution. Once completed, the proposal will be sent to the SEC.
CERS (Committee on Ethics in Research and Scholarship) – Carolyn MacDonald, Chair
CERS will be meeting April 4th to discuss training and reporting requirements.
COR (Council on Research) – John Monfasani, Chair
COR has voted approval for the establishment of a new Institute for Health and Human Rights, headed by Kamiar Alaei, MD, as Director
and Arash Alaei, MD, as Associate Director, who together founded the Institute and have built a wide network of alliances with multiple
departments and schools at UAlbany, with institutions in the Albany area, such as Albany Law, and with human rights organizations
worldwide, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Physicians for Human Rights. COR’s decision goes as a
recommendation to the Vice President of Research James Dias, who has the final decision in the matter.
CPCA (Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments) – Sanjay Putrevu, Chair
The next CPCA meeting is on Friday, April 5.
Chair Putrevu reported that the council is near completion of the current case load. In spite of its best efforts to have cases
submitted in a timely manner, the council is expecting new cases and will do their best to complete the review process of all
cases. He thanked Provost Phillips for her attempts to have files submitted timely.
GAC (Graduate Academic Council) – Tim Groves, Chair
The GAC met on March 12. The CC&I presented minor changes to existing curricula for two programs which they had approved. GAC
voted to approve the changes. Prof. Rick Fogarty, Chair of UAC, presented the results of UAC deliberation regarding changes to
Academic Integrity language in the UAC bulletin. Prof Suraj Commuri, Chair of the CP&P committee of GAC agreed to have that
committee examine the UAC deliberation, and formulate a recommendation for a GAC position. The goal is to send a joint UAC-GAC
bill to the senate for approval before the end of Spring 2013.
GOV (Governance Council) – Christine Wagner, Chair
GOV met on 3/4/13. Nomination slates were finalized for Senator-at-large and SUNY Senator positions. Nomination slates were also
finalized for positions on the University Auxiliary Board. The nomination slates and the procedures for additional nominations were sent
to all voting faculty by email on 3/121/13. The final slates with instructions for voting were sent to all voting faculty by email on 3/26/13.
Elections are being held electronically on MyUAlbany from April 1 through April 5. GOV will meet again on 4/1/13.
Chair Wagner reminded Senate members of the Bylaws amendment that will be coming up for a vote by the full faculty. The
amendment addresses the issue for adding items to the Senate agenda. The amendment was approved by the Governance
Council and SEC. According to the Bylaws, GOV reviews proposals and forwards them to members of the voting faculty.
Chair Wagner said the amendment will be circulated via e-mail to the voting faculty and added to the Senate web site. A
quorum comprising 30% of the voting faculty will need to vote and two-thirds will need to vote yes in order for the
amendment to pass. She encouraged those present to vote and to encourage their colleagues to vote. The voting will be
conducted on MyUAlbany. Chair Wagner reported that Senate elections were held and completed this past week. Of the
1,429 eligible voters, 228 voted. Results will be available next week.
Senator Schell asked how electronic voting compares in results to ballot voting. Chair Lyons responded that, given the low
attendance at the spring faculty meeting it is not impacted significantly.
LISC (Council on Libraries, Information Systems, and Computing) – Elizabeth Gaffney, Chair
The next LISC meeting is scheduled for Monday April 1st. We will hear a presentation about the merger of ERes and Blackboard by
Kabel Stanwicks from the Library and Chris Moore from ITS.
Chair Gaffney reported that members of LISC heard the presentation on the ERes and Blackboard merger. In the future,
students will only have one board to go to.
UAC (Undergraduate Academic Council) – Richard Fogarty, Chair
The council has recently completed deliberations over clarifying its procedures with respect to curricular proposals, and reported the
results of these deliberations to the SEC. The ultimate effect of the process will be that UAC will adhere more closely to its mandate and
responsibilities as outlined in the Senate Charter. Currently, discussions are underway in the council about how to execute its
responsibilities to review periodically the university's restricted majors. There is consensus about a more effective and efficient process
for accomplishing this task, and so UAC will soon introduce a bill to modify previous legislation on the issue, making UAC review of
restricted majors a part of periodic (5- or 7-year) program reviews.
ULC (University Life Council) – Vincent LaBella, Chair
ULC held the spring faculty forums on Action Steps Towards Inclusive Excellence during the first week of March. The sessions were
attended by about 30 people total. This was about half as many people who attended in the fall sessions. Nevertheless, those who
attended enjoyed the sessions and have come up with several ideas that have been forwarded onto the Presidents Council For Diversity
and Inclusion. ULC and the faculty senate are planning to continue more sessions next year with opportunities for the faculty to meet and
engage in conversations about fostering and inclusive environment especially how it relates to teaching and instruction in a classroom
setting.
UPPC (University Planning and Policy Council) – Susanna Fessler, Chair
Our next meeting will be on April 5th. On our agenda is an update on SUNY2020 from the Provost, and an update on cross-registration
with other area campuses from the Registrar.
Chair Fessler reported UPPC discussed the SOS and NSSE survey reports. Provost Phillips provided and update on SUNY
2020. At the next meeting on April 19, University Registrar Karen Chico Hurst will give a presentation on cross registration
with other area colleges. Also on the April 19 agenda will be a discussion about the academic calendar and the new Institute
for Health and Human Rights referred to in the COR report.
NEW BUSINESS
Approval of Changes to Council and Standing Committee Memberships:
Secretary Gulatee reported that Associate Professor Yuchi Young will replace Timothy Hoff as senator from the
School of Public Health. Professor Young will serve on ULC.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 3:56 pm.
Respectfully submitted by
Gail Cameron, Recorder
April 8, 2013
To:
University Senate
From:
Teresa M. Harrison
Faculty Athletics Representative
Subject: Report on academic profile of student-athletes involved in intercollegiate competition
The data attached is provided for the purpose of informing faculty about the academic character and accomplishments of
UAlbany's student-athletes involved in intercollegiate athletics competition. It consists of the following tables:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Profile of Incoming Student-Athletes, Fall 2012
Percentages of Student-Athletes in Each School – Fall 2012 (declared and intended)
Student-Athletes by Major (declared and intended) (2 pages)
Student-Athlete majors in premier sports: Men's and Women's Basketball, Football (declared & intended) (2 pages)
Student-Athlete GPAs – Spring 2012
Student-Athlete GPAs – Fall 2012
Graduation Success Rates and Federal Graduation Rates – percentages, multiple years
Academic Progress Rate (APR), all teams, 2010-2011 (2 pages)
The Graduation Success Rate was developed to more accurately reflect mobility among all college students today. The rate
includes student-athletes transferring into institutions. It differs from the methodology of the rate mandated by the federal
government – the Federal Graduation Rate – which does not count incoming transfer student-athletes at all and counts
student-athletes who transfer out as not having graduated, regardless of whether they actually did. The Graduation Success
Rate allows institutions to exclude from the computation student-athletes who leave their institutions before graduation, so
long as they would have been academically eligible to compete had they remained.
The Academic Progress Rate is a Division I metric developed to track the academic achievement of teams each academic
term. Each student-athlete receiving athletically related financial aid earns one retention point for staying in school and one
eligibility point for being academically eligible. A team’s total points are divided by points possible and then multiplied by
one thousand to equal the team’s Academic Progress Rate score.
The NCAA calculates the rate as a rolling, four-year figure that takes into account all the points student-athletes could earn
for remaining in school and staying academically eligible during that period. Teams that do not earn an APR above specific
benchmarks face penalties ranging from scholarship reductions to more severe sanctions. Teams that score below 925 and
have a student-athlete who both failed academically and left school can lose scholarships (up to 10 percent of their
scholarships each year) under the immediate penalty structure. Teams with APRs below 900 face additional sanctions,
increasing in severity for each consecutive year the team fails to meet the standard.