DRAFT 12/6 Faculty Assembly Minutes

Faculty Assembly Minutes

December 6 2017 Pavilion 1 pm

Faculty Assembly President: Tae Kwak

Secretary: Hugh Sheehy

• Tae Kwak called meeting to order 12:40 PM

• Minutes of 11/1 Approved

• FA President’s Report: Tae Kwak is nearing the end of this term as FA President. If you are interested in running for this position, please contact him. Kwak has asked half the current FAEC members to delay stepping down to ensure some degree of continuity in membership. New FAEC members should slect an alternate from their UC. Kwak announced he has donated some FAEC funds to address emergency student needs. Faculty are invited to make any donations they see fit. There are homeless students on campus. SGA is taking the lead on this. It is the FAEC’s hope that the College will find a solution for them. At the end of the semester, Luminis service will be terminated. Faculty still using Luminis should migrate to Moodle.

• College President’s Report: Applications and deposits are up since this time last year. The President believes this is due in part to the vibrant cultural life on campus stemming in part from faculty-led and –planned events. Mercer hopes to get a public transit line to the College to potentially increase the number of students from public transit-dependent areas; the President is optimistic about the incoming administration’s reception of this suggestion. The President believes it would behoove the College to have a presence at the American Dream Meadowlands.

A faculty member inquired as to what kind of presence the College might have. The President speculated about a range of possibilities, including a satellite MBA Program.

• Provost’s Report: Barnett hopes to have an update on new CA Dean by next FA. There will be another round of emeriti applications in the Spring. ITS is adopting new software to support Spring Semester Teacher Evaluations; the tool will remain the same, but Barnett encourages the faculty to form a Task Force to revisit that evaluation instrument. There is a new final exams policy on the Provost’s website; please see the College website for the new exam schedule for the Spring. The Provost invites faculty interested in participating in the College’s self-study for Middle States to volunteer quickly, as there is much work to be done in a relatively short period of time.

• Task Force on Shared Governance (Ken McMurdy, Chair): McMurdy went over the plan overview and discussed the need for faculty to get involved and devote themselves to implement the principles articulated in the Shared Governance Plan. A number of faculty members praised the TF’s work. A faculty member asked whether the TF has a timeline for implementation of the Plan. The Provost answered this question by stating that this depends on the College community’s acceptance or rejection of the Plan and the consequent reaction; it might charging involve another Task Force or making a decision in connection with the possible adoption of a College Senate. McMurdy added that he believes the first step needs to be taken quickly, whatever it is. A faculty member requested that if the faculty votes for the Plan that it then move to vote on a structure. Barnett stated that SGA and the President’s Cabinet are also voting whether to adopt the Plan. A member of FAEC stated that the President and the Provost have been supportive throughout this process and that the FAEC expects the Administration will support the Plan. A faculty member asked to see the results of the faculty survey on the Shared Governance Plan. McMurdy said he will share it, though he did not have the numbers available to share at Faculty Assembly. McMurdy discussed the “Dynamic Protocol for Decision-Making Within Shared Governance”; he walked the Assembly through the Task Force’s “Practical Recommendations for Implementation”; finally, he stated the TF’s conclusion that Shared Governance is possible with sufficient involvement from community members.

Vote on TSFG Report: 100 Votes (89 Yes, 4 No, 7 Undecided)

• Library architects will be on campus on 12/13 to answer faculty, student, and staff questions and hear concerns about the plans for the new library. They will hold two sessions, one from 10:00 AM-11:00 AM in SC 156/157 and another from 4:00 PM-5:00 PM in ASB 136.

• Search Committee for New Provost (Yvette Kisor, Chair). Kisor reminded faculty that external search firm will be coming to campus and discussed their role in the search process. External Search Firm for New Provost will be on campus and available at various times on Monday, 12/11 and Tuesday 12/12. From the College’s official email:

The team from Witt Kieffer has been provided the results of the Provost Characteristics Survey and will be hosting a series of meetings on-campus next week. These meetings are designed to provide the team with first-hand experience of our campus. Meeting discussions will be geared toward understanding more fully the complexities and challenges of the Provost position, gleaning multiple perspectives on the skills and qualities a highly qualified Provost at Ramapo College will need to succeed, and generating a leadership profile that is both strategically aligned to Ramapo’s needs and attractive to a diverse pool of candidates.

The schedule for Witt Kieffer’s visit to campus is:

Monday, December 11 in Alumni Lounges/Student Center Room 156
10-10:45AM  with Faculty
11-11:45PM with Staff
1-1:45PM with Conveners
2-2:45PM with Faculty
4:15-5PM with Cabinet
5:15-6PM with Student Leaders
6:30PM with Trustees

Tuesday, December 12 in Alumni Lounges/Student Center Room 156
9-9:45AM with Direct Reports
10-10:45AM with Deans
11-11:45AM with Faculty and Staff

• Tae Kwak spoke about the memorial service for Professor Seung-Sup Kim and relayed an invitation to faculty to celebrate Prof Kim’s life next Wedneesday 12/13 6-7:30 PM in SC 219.

• Tim Judge (AFT Vice President of Adjuncts) invited faculty to attend today’s AFT meeting, at which the contributions of adjuncts will be acknowledged.

full-time faculty and students about adjunct faculty who have made a significant impact

• General Discussion: Ann Lepore asked volunteers for Shared Governance interested in making provisions for international students to contact her. A faculty member stated a concern that administrative offices on campus are not taking the responsibility they should for emergency situations involving homeless students and international students; if the College will not take care of its international students, this faculty member stated, then international education should not be a pillar of the College. The faculty member stated an opinion that the faculty needs to focus on identifying and solving the “systemic problem” that makes it possible for emergencies such as the recent ones involving international students to go unattended. FA President stated that it is his goal to solve this problem, as well as his hope that this conversation is the beginning of the solution. The faculty member who stated the initial concern reiterated the view that stakeholders and decision-makers in the College offices who might be held responsible for the lack of resources for international students should be identified. FAEC President argued the College might view international students as adding value to Ramapo College in a way similar to the way athletes add value to campus and to then make equal provisions for those international students. There was some discussion of the problem of how to identify precisely how many international students need assistance during breaks. After a good deal of crosstalk and argument about misinformation and scapegoating, a faculty member stated that President Mercer had identified the Roukema Center as the campus organ through which support for international students should be arranged. A faculty member stated that Roukema Center is currently helping. A faculty member argued that the Dean of Students, not the Roukema Center, should be held responsible; the faculty member stated that the larger takeaway is that various College bodies need to work together to ensure international students receive the appropriate support.

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