University Life Council
DRAFT Minutes of Meeting
March 3, 2008
Terrace Lounge
Present:
John Dias, Phil Erner, Julia Filippone, Michele Forte, Teresa Harrison, Candace Merbler,
Lee McElroy, John Murphy, Bill Reese, Gladys Santiago, Joan Savitt (Chair), Dan Smith,
Robert Yagelski, Adam Zonder
Regrets:
Brenda Seckerson
Meeting Commenced at 3:30pm.
Minutes from the Feb. 4th, 2008 meeting were approved.
Chair’s Report
a. Sexual Assault Prevention - Chair Savitt mentioned that she is serving on the President’s council
for the prevention of sexual assault as the link to campus governance. The committee has only met
once and that meeting helped bring people up to date on the work done last year by the task force,
on which she also served.
b. Reducing Faculty/Student Ratio – Chair Savitt mentioned that it is a major campus goal to try to
reduce this ratio.
c. Action Items – Chair Savitt reminded the council that if they have any action items we need to
gather information to bring them forward.
Old Business
Wellness Report: [previously shared by email and therefore read into the minutes]
Continued Discussion on the Smoking Policy:
· Committee members reported on the smoking policies for the universities/colleges that were
chosen to be investigated.
· In comparison, UAlbany’s “10 feet from the building entrance” policy is the shortest one. More
commonly used by other campuses is 20 feet from an entrance.
· Questions: Can we increase the footage allowed in our policy? Can there be more signs for
posted stating the allowed distance for smoking? Would this help?
· It was discovered that Penn State uses their Blue Lion paw to clearly designate smoking areas.
Could we somehow use the Great Dane paw in this manner?
· Discussed other aspects of the current needs regarding smoking on campus. It was noted that the
west end of the podium is insufficient for smokers. (Not enough cigarette disposal sites) The Arts
and Science building only has one cigarette disposal site.
· Littering (of cigarette butts) is another adverse side-effect of the smoking on campus – not just the
second-hand smoke issue in entrance-ways and residence halls.
· Question was raised…Do we need to focus on getting people to quit, or do we focus on the
modifying the current policy, creating better signage, and raising awareness about the effect of
smoking on the University community as a whole?
·
·
·
·
Jennifer Manganello, Associate Professor in the School of Public Health, suggested designing a
campaign to promote wellness for the University community which could encompass the smoking
issue (courtesy smoking), littering, recycling, eating local/healthy foods, walking/biking instead of
driving, etc.
As an aside to the exploration of wellness campaign idea…it was noted that the Colonial Quad
Dining Hall now has the “Balanced Choices” Program. Students on other quads might not be
aware of this dining hall’s healthy & balanced menu. Including things like the Balanced Choices
Program in the campaign would help to raise awareness about what is available on campus to
support a healthier lifestyle.
Jennifer discussed the possibility of using the development of a “campus wellness campaign” as
an assignment for her Communication & Public Health class...that could be the starting point.
If a campaign like this were to be created and launched, who on campus would need to be
involved? (Balanced Choices (UAS), EAP, Go Green, Purple Path, University Health Center,
etc.)
Another Concern Raised:
·
Candy Merbler said she receives numerous requests for access to a fax machine and the occasional
use of a typewriter to complete certain forms. Student Necessities: A faxing service and
typewriter. Candy noted that Shipmates Store (Stuyvesant Plaza) is going out of business. Copy
Plus (Campus Center) is closed during the break. Is this need something to bring to the attention
of Student Success?
New Business
Chair Savitt introduced Dr. Lee McElroy, Vice President for Athletic Administration and Director of
Athletics, and Professor Teresa Harrison, the faculty athletics representative, which is a position that is
present on all NCAA scholarship campuses.
Harrison distributed a handout which contained information regarding the academic standing of studentathletics. The data was as follows:
1. Incoming freshman class comparison of 2006 to 2007
 There are more students in the incoming class of 2007
2. Breakdown of Majors and Schools of athletes on campus
3. GPA breakdown by both team and gender
 Harrison mentioned that 41% of student athletes have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
4. Graduation Success Report (GSR) – Defined as graduating within 6 years of entering the school
 It was pointed out by Teresa Harrison that there is a variation across teams.
 Baseball and Softball tend to have lower GSR because of students transferring.
Dan Smith asked what happens with a student who transfers 3 times before graduating.
Dr. McElroy informed him that often the 3rd school will get credit for the student graduating, but the first
2 schools will get “dinged”. He also informed the council that the two primary reasons for students
transferring are based on playing time and also personal/financial distress.
Dr. McElroy also informed the council that there are currently 8 men’s and 11 women’s teams in order to
comply with title IX
Teresa Harrison mentioned that currently there is a 72% graduation rate across all of athletics as
compared to a 64% rate for the general population.
5. Academic Progress Rate Report:
 Points are awarded to the University for academic eligibility and also for those who stay in
school.
 Teams with less than 925 points receive penalties for falling below threshold.
Chair Savitt inquired about what kind of scholarship money students receive and was informed by Dr.
McElroy that it depends on the type of scholarship, whether it is a full or partial.
Recreation
Teresa Harrison informed the council that Alisha Hennet was hired last fall as the Director of Intramural
and Recreation. Alisha is taking over Intramural activities which had formerly been covered by Student
Association hires. She has a staff that includes 20 part time work study students.
Dr. McElroy mentioned that there are 500-700 people utilizing intramurals and the fitness facilities based
on a manual log that is kept. He added that it is tough to get an exact count based on SUNY card not
registering.
Harrison handed out information on hours for the fitness facilities.
Chair Savitt mentioned that there was a concern about intramurals not starting early enough in the
semester.
Dr. McElroy responded to this by letting the council know that intramurals won’t start the 1st week of
classes due to work studies who have to go through federal funding clearance and training.
Dr. McElroy mentioned that the heaviest usage of fitness facilities was between 1:00pm -5:00pm and that
more facilities were needed. He also responded to a question regarding the pool closing earlier than the
building itself and mentioned that this was due to safety issues.
Michelle Forte asked if this information was shared with freshman as part of orientation to which Dr.
McElroy responded that it was.
Chair Savitt asked if the soon to be vacant Health Center would be used for athletics. Dr. McElroy
responded that all possibilities were being explored. He also mentioned that Empire Commons has a great
facility that does not get a lot of usage at certain hours.
Athletic Events
Teresa Harrison informed the council of an increase in attendance at events over the past few years.
Increase of 32% in 2004-2005 compared to 2003-2004
Increase of 62% in 2005-2006 compared to 2004-2005
Increase of 25% in 2006-2007 compared to 2005-2006
Increase of 20% in 2007-2008 compared to 2006-2007
Dr. McElroy added that in that time the University has won 33 conference titles and has sent 13 teams to
NCAA tournaments.
Dr. McElroy thanked the council for their time.
Athletics Committee
Chair Savitt then asked if there were any concerns of the athletics committee.
Dan Smith mentioned that the committee had their first meeting which was an informational meeting and
that their next meeting will be information sharing.
Other Business
John Murphy mentioned that he has been named Chair of the Behavioral Risk Committee (BRisk)
committee appointed by interim President George Philip.
The focus of the committee is to identify current and desired levels of mental health personnel at
UAlbany; review mental health training practices and opportunities for faculty, staff and UPD; develop
easily accessible guides for dealing with and reporting behavioral risks; designate and publicize the
appropriate office that should receive reports of at risk students; make clear for faculty and staff the legal
and ethical guidelines for the disclosure of academic and mental health records and review current
withdrawal policies for students posing imminent risk to self or others and make recommendations
regarding the need for an involuntary administrative/psychiatric withdrawal policy within legal standards.
John also discussed the College/University Behavioral Intervention Team (CUBIT) and mentioned how
the team recently came together to intervene in helping a student at risk get the support he needed
promptly. He added that faculty concern has increased following the incidents at Virginia Tech and
Northern Illinois and that faculty should contact Clarence McNeil, Assistant Vice President and Director
of Conflict Resolution and Civic Responsibility, first followed by him.
John added that the key is to develop a culture of communication. He mentioned that workshops need to
be put together so faculty are aware what services are available to them and how to identify “red flags”.
Michele Forte asked if they will work with Teaching Assistants, to which John Murphy responded they
would.
John Murphy agreed to share more information at the March 17th meeting.
Award Recipient
Dan Smith mentioned that it was brought to his attention that an ineligible student was the recipient of a
President’s award. Dan brought it to Interim Vice President Christine Bouchard’s attention who said that
they will be well aware of this next year.
Next Meeting is March 17, 2008 at 3:30 in the Terrace Lounge.
Meeting was adjourned at 4:55 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Noah Simon, Recording Secretary