Governance Council
Monday, April 1, 2013
2:00PM
UNH 306
Christine Wagner, Chair
Minutes
Present:
Anthony DeBlasi, Cynthia Fox, Yenisel Gulatee, John Schmidt, Joette Stefl-Mabry, Karen
Torrejon, Christine Wagner
Guests:
Richard Fogarty
The meeting convened at 2:03 pm.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
IRCUAP: Guest: Rick Fogarty, Chair of Undergraduate Academic Council
Chair Wagner discussed the recent presentation UAC Chair Fogarty made to the SEC. His presentation
described the charge of UAC per the Charter and its procedures. Chair Wagner felt his presentation could be
informative to the IRCUAP discussion. She provided an overview of IRCUAP and GOV’s discussions.
GOV has agreed that IRCUAP is not operational but has not come to an agreement about whether it should
remain in the Charter. Chair Wagner hoped that at the end of today’s discussion, GOV would enter into a
motion and vote on whether or not IRCUAP should remain in the Charter. Chair Wagner directed her
question to Chair Fogarty to consider IRCUAP in light of existing UAC guidelines in the Charter.
Chair Fogarty said while it would be up to GOV to decide if IRCUAP remains in the Charter, he felt it was
not operational. Proposals come from the schools and colleges or other academic units. He referred to the
charge of UAC as stated in Section X.3.3 of the Charter:
“The Council as a whole shall have the responsibility for implementing the conduct of the
University’s undergraduate educational program.”
In his view, Chair Fogarty felt this covered everything to do with undergraduate curriculum, including those
things not coming from schools and colleges, thereby providing UAC with the right of oversight which was
significant to the discussion. The first paragraph of Section X.3.4 is aimed at programs and proposals
created as charged in Section X.3.4.1. The two paragraphs state respectively:
X.3.4. The Council as a whole shall review all new undergraduate academic program proposals and
all proposals that would affect the continuation of undergraduate programs. It shall submit
recommended programs or eliminations to the University Senate for approval.
X.3.4.1. All proposals for new undergraduate academic programs shall be submitted to the
Council, which shall consult with the University Planning and Policy Council and, when
appropriate, with the Graduate Academic Council as part of its deliberations.
Chair Fogarty also referred to Section X.3.4.3 stating:
X.3.4.3. Normally new undergraduate courses shall receive final approval from the schools and
colleges, but the Council shall have the power to review the academic merit of courses and
require reconsideration. The Council shall approve all revisions in existing undergraduate
instructional programs. The Council may, at its discretion, delegate authority for minor revisions
to the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education.
He said this section refers to undergraduate courses coming from schools and college but also encompasses
those not from a school or college. Individual course proposals are reviewed by UAC’s committees even if
they come from a school or college. Chair Fogarty referred to Section X.3.7 which allows the Council to
establish committees to meet its objectives. He added that without the review of the Committee on General
Education, proposals would not be implemented. Chair Fogarty referred to the language in Section X.3.11.7
which gives the Council oversight of UNI courses that do not come from schools or colleges. Additionally
UAC reviews proposals from EOP and the Honors College. In his view, IRCUAP is unnecessary due to the
language in Charter Section X.3.
Professor Schmidt expressed concern that no intermediate level of review exists for courses that are expected
to arise separate from schools and colleges. He added that a potential lack of vigilance exists due to the
turnover in council and committee memberships. Professor Schmidt said he believed the thinking behind
IRCUAP was to have an intermediate level of review in place. Chair Fogarty responded that from his
perspective, these types of courses are university wide and approval would be university wide. A procedure
of double review would be in place with the courses being reviewed by a sub-committee as well as UAC.
Chair Fogarty said that in reviewing the UAC section of the Charter, he found that sufficient review was in
place.
There were no further questions for Chair Fogarty. Chair Wagner thanked him for being part of the
discussion and Chair Fogarty excused himself from the meeting.
GOV continued its debate about whether or not IRCUAP should remain in the Charter. Chair Wagner
expressed concerns that it could set a precedent for future amendments that have not been properly vetted.
She asked GOV members to also consider the possibility of drafting a new amendment which could go
through the proper channels. If approved by the Senate it could be forwarded to the president for his
signature.
Senator DeBlasi said in his view there was ambiguity about the process, triggering debate about the process
as opposed to the legislation. He suggested removing IRCUAP from the Charter and introducing a new
IRCUAP, otherwise the Charter would become contradictory to the Senate’s procedures.
Secretary Gulatee suggested strengthening UAC’s charge in reviewing courses. She questioned IRCUAP’s
purpose if UAC already has a mandate to review courses and proposals. Professor Schmidt said that
proposals coming from schools and colleges are missing the intermediate level of review. Chair Wagner
asked GOV to consider whether the essence of IRCUAP could potentially become a subcommittee of UAC.
It would not require the provost to appoint anyone but would provide the additional layer of review required
in IRCUAP. Professor Schmidt agreed it would be a more feasible approach. Senator DeBlasi added that it
could make the review more rigorous. He suggested that IRCUAP be removed from the Charter but was
unsure which arm of governance would be responsible for doing so. Chair Wagner said she believed that
GOV had the authority to remove if they decided to do so. If GOV decided that IRCUAP should be removed
then Section X.3.4.4 would have to be removed as well. Chair Wagner asked for an actionable motion on
IRCUAP on which to be voted. She would take the motion to the SEC and consult about whether or not to
introduce an amendment to remove it or let it stand in GOV’s minutes that IRCUAP should not be in the
Charter.
Professor Schmidt moved that while most Charter amendments would not require the approval of the
President, IRCUAP should not have been inserted in the Charter as it requires the action of the provost and
was not approved by the President. Therefore, Section XI: IRCUAP and the reference to IRCUAP in Section
X.3.4.4 should be removed from the Charter. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.
Chair Wagner agreed that it would stand in the minutes and she would take the motion to the SEC.
A second motion was made by Professor Schmidt that in the coming year, GOV revisit the possibility of an
intermediate level of review similar to IRCUAP as a designated subcommittee of UAC in Section X.3 of the
Charter, for the purpose of reviewing programs and courses not coming from a school or college. The
motion was seconded and approved unanimously.
CHAIR’S REPORT
Call for Council Service
Chair Wagner reported that a Call for Senate Council Service email with reminders was sent to voting
faculty to serve on councils. Today is the deadline to respond and 50-60 responses have been received.
After the elections, the Committee on Council Nominations will meet to begin the work of populating the
councils.
Election Slate and Election Process
Chair Wagner informed GOV that the final slate of candidates for at-large and SUNY-wide senators, and
UAS board members was distributed to all voting faculty. Elections are now in process. An announcement
of the results will go out within the next week.
Senators from Schools/Colleges
Chair Wagner provided a breakdown of the number of senators from each of the schools and colleges. She
also provided the names of new senators from those schools and colleges that have already responded.
Update on names for Vice President for Finance and Business Search Committee
At the request of President Jones, GOV provided recommendations to serve on the search committee. Chair
Wagner provided a complete list of the members who will comprise the committee.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The meetings of March 4 were approved by a vote with one abstention.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS (CONTINUED)
Voting process for Bylaws Amendment
Chair Wagner reviewed the timetable and procedures for distributing the amendment prior to the vote at the
spring faculty meeting. In order for the measure to pass it requires a response from 30% of the voting faculty
with two-thirds voting yes. Chair Wagner said it seemed unlikely that the required turnout would be present
at the faculty meeting. She proposed circulating the amendment on April 8 and conducting the vote on
MyUAlbany from April 22 through May 3. If the required number of votes were not cast, an attempt to pass
the amendment could be made in the fall. GOV discussed the options and concluded that conducting the
vote electronically was the favored option. Secretary Gulatee will check with IT to see if any other elections
are being conducted at that time. Assuming the two week window is available, the vote will be conducted
electronically.
CAIR:
Senator Stefl-Mabry, chair of the Committee on Administrative Evaluation (CAE) requested a meeting with
the subcommittee members in response to the memo from President Jones. Chair Wagner said the
president’s position on administrative evaluations is positive but clarification was needed from Vincent Delio
in the President’s Office. Subcommittee members, John Schmidt and Cynthia Fox agreed to meet, and to
discuss the process at the University of Minnesota. Chair Wagner will update the rest of GOV with a memo.
NEW BUSINESS
Proposed Bylaws Amendment(s)
Chair Wagner asked if there were any additional amendments besides the pending amendment to Article II,
Section 7.7.1. Senator DeBlasi referred to the change highlighted by Senator Hoyt in the fall to title of the
Dean of Undergraduate Studies. Chair Wagner said since the position is in transition it’s possible it could
change and would not address at this time.
GOV will meet again on April 22.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 3:35 pm.
Respectfully submitted by
Gail Cameron, Recorder