Faculty Council Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
7:00PM – 9:00PM
A&E VIP Room
Attendance: Diane Birr; Bridget Bower, Vivian Bruce Conger, Melinda Cozzolino,
Charis Dimaras, Duncan Duke, Jason Freitag, Ted Galanthay, Matthew Geiszler,
Cynthia Henderson, Diane Long, Jason Harrington, Chris Hummel, Paula Cole Murray,
Tatiana Patrone, Brad Rappa, Deborah Rifkin, John Rosenthal, Peter Rothbart, Stan
Seltzer, Tom Swensen, Don Tindall
Absent: Calida Barboza, Saviana Condeescu, Phoebe Constantinou, Jeanne
Copenhaver-Johnson, Heather Dichter, Kaitlin Logsdon, Christine McNamara, Alex
Moon, James Pfrehm, Colin Stewart, Matt Sullivan, Anne Theobald, Michael Trotti,
Moustafa AbuELFadl, Jennifer Strickland, Rachel Wagner, Ivy Waltz, John Winslow,
Patrick Winters, Kyle Woody
Guest: Linda Petrosino, David Prunty, Steve Skopik, Tom Rochon
Call to order: 7:18PM
Approval of Minutes: Minutes for the April 7th meetings were approved unanimously.
Chair’s Comments:
 Peter has released the Shared Governance Research Task Force Report online
for comments. However, there is no central resource for faculty feedback on
Sakai. He hopes to create something during the summer.
 He gave an update on Faculty Council (FC) reapportionment. FC has grown in
size and all positions will be filled.
 Peter sent a letter to the head of Human Resources (HR) in regards to the
Faculty-Staff Benefits Committee. After two meetings, HR will reach out to the
chair of that committee.
Bylaw:
 A motion was passed to accept the changes to section 1.6.3 Faculty Council in
the bylaws. They will appear online in the policy manual.
Nepotism Document:
 A motion was passed, with two abstentions, to accept the removal of “friends” in
section 3.6.1.
Higher Education Opportunities Act (HEOA):
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David Prunty, Executive Director, Auxiliary Services, spoke about HEOA. They
are working to bring Ithaca College into compliance with the federal mandate to
give students information on the cost of course materials before registration.
Currently, a policy to address textbook compliance is being created.
Deadlines will always be a concern; there needs to be some information
available when students register for classes. Legislation calls for “reasonable
effort” which David says is fairly broad. They are working to have a compliance
policy in the manual.
Though some course materials may be unknown at time of registration,
institutions offer a listing of materials that may be required, adding more
information as received, including price changes.
The campus bookstore is the central resource to offer information on course
materials. To be in compliance, price information is linked to the bookstore.
Therefore, faculty must submit course information to the bookstore.
Who polices this policy and what are the consequences?
o David urged FC to make an effort as it is not the campus bookstore’s job
to police faculty.
o Linda Petrosino added that Middle States has a standard about
compliance with institutional and state regulations and will, therefore, be
looking for this at Ithaca College.
o Faculty can have books ordered outside of the bookstore, but they still
need to give course material information to the bookstore to be available
for students.
There was a question about what constitutes course “materials.” David answered
that course materials refers not just to books, but can include anything students
have to buy, such as art supplies.
As course packets are often put together in late May or June, course information
will have to be an estimate until the price is verified.
There was some concern over the use of the word “Sakai” noting a more generic
term should be used in its place.
Tenure and Promotion:
Steve Skopik, Chair of Faculty Handbook Amendment Committee (FHAC), discussed
proposed revisions made to the handbook. As he has been working for over a year, he
was hoping FC would have some additional comments.
 Service 4.12.2.4.4: a series of items came out of FC discussions last year; there
was some confusion about the term “community” as it’s used many different
ways. Also, is there a requirement for community service? – These areas were
addressed; “community” stands for a “traditional” service and refers to areas
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outside of IC within the Ithaca community, but may also be done with a faculty’s
professional practice.
To gain faculty input, a survey was conducted with 198 responses, which far
exceeded FHAC’s expectation. The final copy will be added to Sakai.
Once complete, FC will vote on the handbook; if the handbook is rejected, FHAC
will retract it.
In regards to the scholarship of application, the term scholarship will be
interpreted by the planning (department) units. How the categories are applied
will also be determined by the planning units.
John Rosenthal suggested FC inform faculty the handbook will be voted on in
October. Holding off until then will not affect people who are coming up for tenure
in the 2015/16 academic year.
In regards to section 4.12.4.2.4, FC suggested it be separated into two different
issues; does the dean have the “power” to lean on personnel committees? Have
procedures been followed?
A motion to thank FHAC for their hard work was unanimously approved.
Compliance with Tenure and Promotion Documents:
 President Rochon spoke on the current issue of compliance with tenure and
promotion documents. He receives an “email blitz” and petitions concerning
tenure candidates, which he views as an attack on the college. He explained how
this affects the fairness to the individual candidates, as it could result in a
negative or positive recommendation that goes to the deans, Provost, and/or
President.
 He went on to report that some candidates have campaigns and/or petitions
created from an outside source, a process resulting in an uneven playing field, as
it may be influential and is unfair to the other candidates. Instead, it needs to be
based solely on the dossier.
 President Rochon also said it’s an attack on faculty governance as it undermines
faculty driven practices and process. It can be seen as an attack on the college,
opening IC up to litigations. In sum, he said this is an attack on the fairness and
stability of the college.
 In response to several questions, President Rochon assured FC the tenure
review is based on the dossier, that his role is to make sure the faculty, deans,
and Provost have gone through the dossier and to make sure all the pieces are
there; that if there is a disagreement between the deciding groups, his or the
Provost’s role becomes a little more important; that the Board will be made aware
of what voices said and of any disagreements but that in the end, the Board has
the last vote.
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There was a question of trust in committee leadership and where faculty can
provide input about their concerns. President Rochon’s reply was to remind FC
they have ownership of this governance document and can make changes as
they see fit. He stresses the important of trust and to trust fellow colleagues who
have gone through the dossier.
President Rochon asks FC what it wants in the tenure policy. What do you want
in outcomes? He asks FC to make a formal statement saying it is not appropriate
to bring in outside arguments, that this is a problem for effective fairness, and
that tenure promotional review is based on the policy manual.
He also questions why these things happen to begin with? Having this dialogue
on campus would be helpful so he asks FC to have such conversations.
Intellectual Property Rights Policy:
 A motion to postpone intellectual property rights revisions and make it the highest
priority for the September agenda was passed, with one abstention.
Elections:
 There are two positions for IEBC:
o John Rosenthal was approved for the two year position
o Scott Erickson was approved for the three year position
 CCR will have to be an all campus election
 Officers
o A vote for Peter Rothbart as Chair was unanimously approved
o Tom Swenson was elected secretary
o Jason Harrington, Tatiana Patrone, and Jason Freitag were voted to be on
the executive committee
o There were no nominations to serve on APC
A motion to thank Linda Petrosino for serving as interim provost was passed.
Adjournment: 9:07PM
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