Governance Council
Monday, November 24, 2014
3:00 PM
UNH 306
Cynthia Fox, Chair
Minutes
PRESENT:
Chesin, Sorrell E; Cruz, José; Fox, Cynthia A; Gulatee, Yenisel; Janiszewski, Caitlin I;
Kearney, Ann; Kuznetsov, Igor; Malavasic, Jolene; Moore, Chris; Scheck, Helene; Zemel, Alan
The meeting convened at 3:03 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes of November 10, 2014 were unanimously approved, with minor changes.
CHAIR’S REPORT
Suggestions for committee candidates have been forwarded to Interim Provost Mulcahy. Per the memo from
President Jones, Provost candidates will be coming to campus after Thanksgiving break. Forum participation was
encouraged.
Interim Provost Mulcahy has indicated that he will be working on the StartUp NY consultation issue.
OTHER REPORTS
Committee on Assessment of Governance & Consultation
The Committee is still short two faculty. It is hoped it will be filled by the end of the week.
Committee on Liaison & Elections – Chair Yenisel Gulatee
The Committee met for the first time. It discussed ways to make the website more vibrant and better reflect the
Senate’s mission and vision. Constraints and barriers to becoming senators will be further explored. The Committee
will also be working with the schools and colleges on better communicating Senate reports in departmental
meetings.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Request to Form a Department of Computer Engineering
The review process in the creation of a new major had been considered, and the consultation issue has been mostly
resolved. SUNY Central has changed the process for new proposals, outlined in a document on the SUNY website.
UPPC Chair Wagner will be sharing a summary through UA’s point of view so that GOV can further review the
process.
Though UPPC’s main function is budgetary, another function is academic consultation per the Charter:
X.2.3. The Council shall have the responsibility for the oversight and development of the educational,
research and service programs of the University. The Council shall coordinate with other Senate
councils and with academic, governance, and administrative units, as appropriate, in carrying out this
responsibility. The Council shall make policy recommendations to the Senate.
NEW BUSINESS
Request to Review Ex-Officio Voting Privileges
The President’s letter of November 14 requesting that the Senate consider removing remove voting privileges from
ex officio members who serve on the Senate by virtue of their administrative positions was discussed. It was noted
that the request would formalize the recommendation that appears in the Senate Handbook:
Since the actions and recommendations of the Senate and its Councils and Committees are advisory to
the President, and hence to the cognizant administrative unit, such advice should reflect as much as
possible the voice of the Faculty and other members of the Senate, separately from any administrative
voice. Consequently, ex officio members of the Senate and its Councils who are members of the
administration should abstain from voting on bills or other recommendations, especially in matters that
will be referred to their own administrative unit.
It was also noted that ex officio administrators are unusual in that, unlike other ex officio members or Senators more
generally, they are not voted into their position and do not have constituents.
The different procedures for By-laws and Charter amendments were discussed. As the By-laws require a quorum of
30% of voting members, with a 2/3 approval, it was stressed that participation in voting needs to be encouraged. It
was noted a By-laws amendment 2 years ago did not get a quorum. Charter amendments go only to the Senate,
though there is a timing issue regarding introduction of and voting on the amendment. The timeline of both
amendments was further discussed. The By-laws amendment will be drafted by GOV member volunteers for
discussion discussed at the next GOV meeting on December 15th. The Charter amendment(s) are more complicated
and issues or red flags such as how they could affect quorum will be considered at the next meeting. The SEC will
need to review the Charter Amendment, while GOV will review the By-Laws process.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 11:35 a.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Elisa Lopez, Recorder