FA Minutes 09/06/23

Faculty Assembly Meeting
September 6, 2023
1:00 pm
H-129

Faculty Assembly is open to a general college audience, including administrators, but only FA members may vote. Faculty, including library faculty and all full-time employees contractually obligated to teach are FA members as defined by our bylaws.

* FA Secretary position is currently open. Meeting minutes taken by Dean Chen.

Agenda

Approval of Minutes (4/26/2023)

Faculty Assembly President’s Report:

• Integrated Calendar Task Force: FA representatives, Lysandra Perez-Strumolo and Debbie Yuster, would like to hear from faculty any concerns and/or suggestions regarding the current academic calendar at Ramapo. A survey has been sent and will remain open until 9/13.
• Stephen Larson is the new ASB rep to the FAEC.
• FA Secretary position remains open. Faculty who are interested should talk to FA President Ken McMurdy or their FAEC rep.
• Ramapo’s Annual Family Day will be held on Saturday, October 14. Faculty will again be asked to contribute student research posters for display.
• Faculty Development Day: Held on Wednesday, October 18, 2023. Theme of Artificial Intelligence. See Tammi Redd and Michael Bitz for details.
• Enrollment Update: VP Chris Romano’s report will be included in the follow-up email.

College President’s Report:

• Welcomed Provost Middleton to Ramapo College.
• Expressed appreciation to FYS Director Yvette Kisor for inviting guest speaker Grace Cho to this year’s Convocation. Cho is the author of Tastes Like War: A Memoir, the 2023 First Year Seminar summer reading selection.
• Expressed appreciation to FA President Ken McMurdy and FAEC members for work over the summer.
• Class of 2027, our second largest and most diverse class ever, continues the trend of outstanding academic achievement.
• The College earned grants that support academic research, mental health, and hunger relief.
• Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center hosted a highly successful international conference this summer.
• Our students returned to studying abroad and are more fully engaged in community service, internships, and leader development opportunities.
• The College secured state resources that included $31.7 million to repurpose Linden Hall, $1 million in support of our Nursing Program, and $1.8 million in support of our strong student outcomes.
• Ramapo was home to some great summer programs including Upward Bound, Educational Opportunity Fund, and First-Generation Student Legacies. We also hosted a summer concert series and myriad camps and activities.
• The Mahwah Regional Chamber of Commerce is now headquartered on our campus, and we are creating spaces and gathering opportunities through our new E-Sports lab, Berrie Center Student Gallery and Performance Space, Multicultural Center, micro-markets, and Student Wellness Room.
• Celebrate faculty achievements (David Coleman, Jacob Labendz, David Gurney, Catalin Martin) and conferences coming to Ramapo this fall (COPLAC, International Conference on Taiwan and China).

Provost’s Report:

• Over the summer, the provost has met with people across the TLC to understand how he might better support their work. He also met regularly with deans and FA leaders to plan together. In the new semester he will be visiting Unit Council meetings and hopes to visit classes as well. All of these efforts will help him better partner with faculty to advance the College’s core mission of teaching and learning.
• An area of concern that has emerged among faculty is the need for clarity and transparency in identifying and distributing funding to faculty for travel, professional development, and special projects. The Provost’s Office has compiled a list of funding opportunities for faculty, which was sent out in the provost’s welcome letter on August 30, 2023. The resource guide should be helpful and informative in planning requests for support.
• Recently updated Ramapo’s Academic Integrity policy with particular attention to artificial intelligence (AI) and other technology tools and websites that have raised questions and concerns. Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, necessitating an on-going conversation and shifts in policies and practices to keep up with those changes.
• For faculty, pragmatic implications for technology evolution include continual attention to learning about new tech tools that impact teaching and learning, updating syllabi and assignments to adjust to those changes, and more focused conversations with students to set expectations for appropriate use of technology tools in your classes, including clarity in your syllabi. On Wed, October 18, Tammi Redd and Michael Bitz will be holding a Faculty Development Day to focus on AI, with an exploration of how AI tools may be implemented in our curriculum to enhance learning and ways our faculty can establish clear expectations for students.
• Comprehensive Academic Plan reflects Ramapo College’s liberal arts traditions and values, underscoring faculty-student relationships that serve as the central focus of our work on campus – nurturing student growth, understanding, and aspirations.
• Faculty achievements (David Coleman, Jacob Labendz, David Gurney, Catalin Martin) and conferences coming to Ramapo this fall (COPLAC, International Conference on Taiwan and China).

Introduction:

Bernadette Connors, the new Assistant Director of Grants and Sponsored Programs, will work on comprehensive policies for research grant submissions to better support faculty in their efforts for scholarship funding. Her office is in Mansion Room 213.

Presentations/Discussion Items:

Comprehensive Academic Plan (formerly Academic Master Plan)
Ken Goldstein, Stephanie Sarabia (CAP co-chairs)

• Reviewed progress since Spring 2023 and previewed next steps.
• Town Hall/Reflections session for CAP to be held on Wednesday 9/20 in ASB-136 from 2:45-4:00. Faculty may also provide feedback through a qualtrics survey sent out by the CAP Task Force co-chairs.
• Final CAP to be sent out to faculty on 9/27.
• Faculty Assembly will vote to endorse the plan at the 10/4 FA meeting.

Curriculum Review Process
Ken McMurdy, David Oh (ARC chair)

• Would like to refocus curriculum development and review process at the local (Convening Group, Unit) levels, thereby gaining meaningful content review without sacrificing accountability.
• Removing technical syllabus policing duties from the ARC would enable it to play more of an All-College consultative role and concentrate more on new programs.
• ARC will bring forward proposed revisions to the ARC manual for a vote at the FA meeting on 10/4. (The revised manual will be shared with all faculty a week in advance of the FA meeting.)
  Note/Correction: After the meeting and based on faculty feedback, it was decided that a Faculty Forum on this topic was warranted. The Forum will take place after FA at 2pm on 10/4, and any proposed revisions to the ARC Manual will be brought to FA for a vote on 11/8. In the meantime, faculty are to follow the existing process.

GECCo Updates
Chris Reali, Sarah Carberry (GECCo co-chairs)

• New course submission pause for AY 2023-24, with the exception of the Systems, Sustainability, and Society Distribution Category.
• GE workshop to be held on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, either before or after the AI workshop.
• GECCo encourages faculty to participate and serve on the Curriculum Assessment Teams (CATS).
• GECCo is looking for new members to join and coordinate the committee’s Global Awareness, Historical Perspectives, and Scientific Reasoning categories.

Proposal for In-Meeting Voting Method:
Ken McMurdy, Alexia Mavros (ITS)

FA meeting adjourned at 2:45.

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