College of Arts and Sciences
Council of Chairs
February 20, 2008
2:30 p.m., AS 122
Meeting Minutes
Present: H. Baran, J. Berkowitz, J. Collins, A. DeBlasi, K. Doolen, R. Dressler, E. Gaffney, S.
Galime, K. Gersowitz (recorder), D. Goodwin, G. Griffith, R. Hamm, T. Harrison, D. Hernandez, M.
Hill, V. Idone, J. Kimball, J. Mandle, A. Millis, J. Monfasani, G. Moore, J. Mower, C. Olsen, M.
Sattinger, L. Schell, C. Scholes, G. Stevens, M. Sutherland, K. Williams, E. Wulfert, A. Zak.
Introductory Remarks: Acting Dean Wulfert called the meeting to order at 2:35 p.m.
Minutes of the meeting of January 30, 2008: A motion to approve the minutes was moved by R.
Hamm, seconded by K. Williams. The meeting minutes for the January 30, 2008 Council of Chairs
were unanimously approved.
Announcements:
 CAS Authors and Artists reception – This event is scheduled for April 17, 2008. Chairs were asked to
forward the names of any participating faculty members to Debernee Privott.

Department Recognition Ceremonies – Many Departments present graduates with a certificate at the
individual recognition ceremonies. Some students have used these certificates in place of diplomas.
Chairs were asked to be sure that certificates do not include all three of the following: the graduate’s
name, official seal, and signature. A sample certificate was distributed. It was suggested that a letter
of recognition might be an appropriate substitute or a generic certificate without the student’s name.

New majors/minors – Because our resources are limited, Acting Dean Wulfert reminded Chairs that
prior to entering into any discussions about potential new majors or minors, Chairs should first discuss
the possibility with the Dean’s Office. We do not currently have plans to institute any new majors or
minors.

Spring newsletter – Please forward any information for the spring newsletter to D. Parker by March 14,
2008.

Fall 2008 classes – G. Stevens announced that there are still a few classes that have not yet been
assigned rooms. Ellen Weatherby will be in touch with Departments to see if times might be changed
in order to find rooms for these classes. G. Stevens also reminded Chairs that the program used by E
Weatherby to assign rooms will default to a smaller room size if requests are not specific.

Undergraduate Research Conference – Jeff Haugaard, Dean of the Honors College, has announced that
the deadline to submit proposals for the Undergraduate Research Conference is March 10, 2008. The
conference will be held in the foyer of the Science Library on April 12 and 13th.

Budget Update – Acting Dean Wulfert announced that the University could be facing a 2.5% budget
cut next year and that Deans will be meeting with the Provost in the next few months to discuss budget
plans. Please note that hiring plans are due in the Dean’s Office by March 21, 2008.

CAS Teaching Award – R. Dressler reminded the Chairs that the deadline to submit nominations for
the CAS Teaching Award is March 3, 2008.
Old Business:
At the last Council of Chairs meeting it was announced that agendas for future meetings would include
items Chairs wished to bring forward. Acting Dean Wulfert encouraged the Chairs to share their ideas
for future agenda items.
A number of concerns were raised:
 J. Kimball inquired about finding ways to improve Internet services on campus. E. Gaffney
responded that the Academic Support Committee was looking at this issue. It was also
suggested that he bring any concerns to University CIO, Chris Haile.

V. Idone noted that in his Department a recent January hire received a smaller paycheck than
anticipated. S. Galime assured the Chairs that any January hires did in fact receive the correct
salary, but confusion can occur due to the number of pay periods the salary is spread across.
He also noted that HR is working to develop language to be used in offer letters to help new
faculty in their financial planning.

A question about timely processing of paperwork for search committee expenses was raised. S.
Galime reminded the Chairs that state accounts could not be used to reimburse faculty members
for luncheon expenses and that they should instead use the Research Foundation account
established for this purpose or Albany Foundation funds. Please contact S. Galime with any
questions.
The following were suggested as future Council of Chairs agenda items:
 Development Ideas – R. Hamm suggested that we invite a speaker from the Development
Office, perhaps Acting Vice President Fardin Sanai, who, along with M. Messitt, could speak
to the Chairs about potential development ideas.

Personnel Issues – J. Collins suggested that we add an agenda item to an upcoming meeting
addressing the advisory role the Dean’s Office can play in personnel issues.

Interdisciplinary Humanities Collaboration – M. Hill is interested in pursuing a discussion
regarding interdisciplinary humanities collaboration, similar to activities taking place at Stony
Brook and Buffalo. It was noted that R. Dressler is currently working on a project in this area
and, once complete, it would be a good time to add this topic to the agenda.
J. Collins recommended that a reminder requesting suggestions be sent to the Chairs prior to upcoming
meetings.
Business arising:
Faculty participation in Graduation
Acting Dean Wulfert queried the Chairs for ideas for encouraging more participation in graduation by
our faculty. It was agreed that in general, faculty attendance at both the Department recognition
ceremonies and University graduate ceremony were good, however the undergraduate ceremony is not
well attended. We need to encourage more marching faculty at this ceremony. Acting Dean Wulfert
asked the Chairs for examples of how they share this responsibility in their Departments.
D. Hernandez stated that in the Sociology Department graduation ceremony responsibilities are
assigned on a three year revolving basis. If you are assigned this service you are expected to attend the
December ceremony, as well as the undergraduate, graduate, and department recognition ceremonies.
He reported that this works quite well and that it is an accepted part of the distribution of
responsibilities within the Department.
A. Millis reported that he keeps a spreadsheet and considers attendance at graduation ceremonies a
service assignment.
M. Sutherland noted that the undergraduate ceremony presents some challenges for faculty attending,
including parking. Perhaps if this were addressed we would see greater participation. It was also
noted that it is important that the University pay for faculty regalia.
Acting Dean Wulfert asked the Chairs to encourage their faculty to attend the undergraduate ceremony
this May.
Chairs’ Compensation
Currently all chairs receive a $4,000 stipend. At the last Council of Chair’s meeting, Acting Dean
Wulfert asked the Chairs to consider alternatives. She noted that the Dean’s Office had looked at
various models, including adjusting stipend levels depending on the size of a Department or raising
stipend levels based on a Chair’s performance review.
Acting Dean Wulfert opened the floor for discussion and asked the Chairs to identify criteria they felt
were appropriate.
K. Doolen argued against using the size of a Department as a factor in determining a Chair’s stipend.
He noted that larger Departments are not necessarily harder to manage as there are fewer faculty in
small Departments to cover the many Departmental responsibilities. He suggested this model would
breed discontent and suggested a raise in stipends across the board, with the discretionary process
providing another opportunity to adjust salaries.
V. Idone agreed that all programs are time consuming. He also noted that the stipend level for Chairs
has remained the same for many years and it is a timely matter to discuss.
Speaking from the perspective a large Department, A. Millis stated that the Chair’s responsibilities are
year round. He suggested that the Chair’s compensation be pro-rated to 12 months, which might
encourage more faculty to consider the position.
L. Schell asked about the stipend levels in other schools and colleges at the University at Albany. S.
Galime answered that he believed that UAlbany stipends were probably $4,000 or perhaps a little
lower.
M. Sattinger noted that the time commitment of the position may be of greater concern to Chairs than
the stipend levels.
G. Griffith agreed that time was an issue. He suggested the possibility of a semester-off for Chairs at
the end of their terms.
J. Collins noted that he gets good support from his Assistant to the Chair. He suggested that to begin,
we should consider raising stipends across the College and after that look for ways to address the time
issue.
Gwen Moore noted that in addition to having fewer faculty to carry the load, smaller Departments also
have less clerical assistance and no assistant to the chair.
J. Berkowitz commented that it would be a recipe for bad morale to try and compare administrative
duties of the Departments.
R. Hamm suggested a model where Chairs would be compensated for specific tasks on top of their
stipend. For example, if a Department was going through its self-study or if there were tenure cases to
manage.
J. Mower noted he would like to see an increase to the base, which would result in lower turnover,
although it was noted that this might impact the research of chairs. It was also observed that turnover
in the position can be beneficial. Acting Dean Wulfert noted that a Chair-elect should begin working
with the incumbent Chair a year in advance of taking over the position to assure continuity.
G. Griffith noted that turnover in the position can promote collegiality and allows many in a
Department to gain a better understanding of how the Department, College, and University are run. It
also distributes the institutional history among many faculty.
D. Hernandez stated that he favors turnover in the position. There should not be too much power
invested in one person. In his experience, past Chairs have been generous with their time in training
the new Chairs. He stated that it would be too difficult to sort out the workloads of the different
Departments and he would prefer an increase across the College. He also agreed with the idea of
granting Chairs additional time off to focus on their research.
Acting Dean Wulfert summarized the discussion by stating that, as a group, it was determined that
differential stipends would bring about bad morale and that this idea would not be pursued further.
She noted that we will continue to examine the situation.
Adjourned: The meeting was adjourned at 3:55.
Handouts:
Agenda
Minutes of 1/30/08 Council of Chairs meeting
Sample Recognition Ceremony Certificate