Faculty Assembly Executive Council | Minutes | 1/30/19

Faculty Assembly Executive Council [FAEC] Meeting Minutes

Date: Wednesday, Jan  30, 2019 | Location: A220  | Time: 10:30 am to 12:00 pm

Attendees: Kathryn Zeno, Tae Kwak, Donna Flynn, Sam Mustafa, Kathy Zeno, Renata Gangemi, Christina Connor, Hugh Sheehy, Eva Ogens, Catalin Martin

Secretary: Nakia Matthias

Guests: President Mercer

1.  FAEC Minutes Approved

2.  Tenure and Promotion

The FAEC discussed the policies and rationale for promotion as the new criteria for promotion present differences in their implementation.  These criteria will not impact existing promotion applications. The faculty handbook will be updated to reflect the new criteria.

The former provost converted full professorships to associate professorships to clear an apparent  bottleneck that existed. This has now caused a bottleneck with full professorships. Provost Becker aims to transform the culture that views promotion to full professor as the ultimate end of an academic career at Ramapo College of New Jersey.   President Mercer agrees that there is nothing wrong with retiring as an associate professor. He expressed concern that numerical indicators my prohibit faculty from being promoted and is considering to require tenure and associate professorship decisions be determined simultaneously. President Mercer has not divulged the formula or guidelines for the process of determining slots for full professorship. He has stated that retiring professors are taken into consideration in the creation of slots for full professorships.  

The merger of these decisions would require a contractual revision.  He acknowledges that the criteria for tenure and associate professorship are slightly different and not clearly understood.  Therefore, there are challenges to employing a combined committee for this review process but faculty do already have the option to request this.  As cost savings is an issue in full professorship considerations a reduced number of full professors warrants an decrease in salaries and benefits for full professorships.  

Should qualifications for tenure and full professorship be changed or elevated then faculty would like these measures to be communicated and documented formally with clear guidelines for the process.

President Mercer also affirmed that sabbatical should not be a contest and that money should not be a factor in determining when sabbaticals are granted and whom receives them.

3.  Faculty Handbook

There is a commitment from Human Resources Director and AFT to prioritize the revision of the faculty handbook. The revisions have been underway for five years to date.  

4.  FAEC Term Limits  and Faculty Assembly

FAEC term limitations are ambiguously worded.  There is a two-term limit for unit representatives but it remains unclear as to how long representatives must be away from duties in order to be re-elected or reinstated in a new term.

In the past it was also unclear as to whom should and should not participate in FA voting. Thus the FA unintentionally and routinely excluded faculty with membership voting rights.

Furthermore, based on the FA bylaws  there is a lack of clarity regarding the FA President’s involvement with the President’s “Cabinet” and the Provost’s “Cabinet.”  This is the case as the FA President is not allowed to serve on the President’s Cabinet and the Provost’s Cabinet does not exist.  (The FA President serves on the President’s Advisory Council and the Provost’s Council, both very large groups.)

5.  State of the College

The State of the College address was announced relatively late and there was some initial confusion about its start time.  

6.  Start date of Academic Year

A Provost’s working group examined the feasibility of starting the academic year before Labor Day.  A contingency in the local AFT agreement stipulates that Ramapo can start up to one week earlier then it has ordinarily started.

The Registrar is waiting for the BoT to approve the dates for the academic calendar and has submitted future academic calendars for up to October 2025.  From 2020 -2025 the Registrar proposes that we start on September 1st or 2nd. Faculty may start after September 1st but are under contract at the start of this date.  Convocation is normally on the first day of September in the past. Additionally, In-service Day/Faculty development day is contractually stipulated.

7.  Late grade submissions   

The provost office seeks to address the repeated instances of late grade submission.  Suggested measure include sanctioning faculty for professional conduct violations. Other options will be considered for ensuring that faculty submit grades by the published deadlines.  

8.   Ramapo College Parking Lots

Parking in lots has become problematic as there needs to be greater enforcement of designated spaces for faculty, staff and students.  The safety of the parking lots during icy weather conditions is an issue as the ice is not adequately cleared. Anticipated weather conditions should warrant greater attention to managing the accumulation of ice in the parking lot.  Furthermore, there needs to be enhances regulation of driving speed throughout campus.

9.  Economic Education Summit and the New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education

The New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education, Zakiya Ellis Smith  has accepted an invitation made by President Mercer to attend the Economic Education Summit which will take place at The Meadowlands on February 5, 2019.

To date, Secretary Ellis-Smith has in attendance at the President’s Council meetings more times than her predecessor.  The Secretary also has a new strategic plan for higher education but will only make its contents known after the Governor releases his budget.

Meeting Adjourned at 12:00 pm

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