FAEC Meeting Minutes Sept 29, 2021

FAEC MINUTES 9/29/21

 Present: Naseem Choudhury (President, SSHS), Katie Cohen (Library), Donna Flynn (Councilor-at-Large under 11, TAS), Ken McMurdy (TAS), Kim Lorber (Secretary), Lisa Lutter (CA), Thierry Rakotobe-Joel (ASB), Mihaela Serban (SSHS), Ed Shannon (Vice President, HGS), Bonnie Blake (Councilor-at-Large over 11, CA)

Vote to bring meeting to order at 10:08am.

 Minutes Approval: The 9/22/21 minutes were approved. 

FA PRESIDENT’S REPORT

 Naseem attended Provost’s Council, Shared Governance, and Board of Trustees meetings.

 Provost’s Council:

 Revisions to By-laws: Provost’s Council will have representatives from the five schools and the Library, as well as SGA, EMSA, ITS, International Studies, EDIC. We should encourage Unit representatives to give updates.

 Course Delivery Modes: Virtual delivery (synchronous/asynchronous) may be available for winter and summer sessions. It will not be available in Spring 2022. The Provost may charge a Faculty Assembly task force to make recommendations about future course delivery modes.

 Used Name Policy: This is being encouraged and supported.

 Vaccinated Students: Faculty should not ask students if they are vaccinated. Students can be told that they cannot attend face-to-face classes unless they are vaccinated or have a Ramapo approved exemption. A standard statement for advisors and others can be crafted for faculty to include in their advisement email.

 Meeting With President Jebb:

 Discussion: Many topics were addressed.

 Faculty Not Wearing Masks: SGA expressed student concerns that some faculty members are not wearing masks and/or not enforcing mask rules.  Students should be advised to discuss such concerns with the faculty member, or bring them to their SGA representative, Convener or Dean if they desire anonymity. 

Meeting Frequency: Under the previous administration, the College President met more frequently with the FA President/Vice-President. President Jebb has been asked to resume this schedule.

Unit Council Visits: President Jebb may begin these in the Spring.

EDIC Training: This was discussed.

October 7: Reflections will be held in-person only.

Future Seminars: Conversations about core values will be introduced. These will inform future directions of the College. Naseem will work with the administration to include as many people as possible in these seminars.

November Faculty Assembly: This will be set up in the Pavilion with a Webex kit.

         In-Service: Today’s program will be presented with the Webex chat function disabled.

Board of Trustees Meetings:

Faculty Masks: The SGA President and a representative brought up faculty and staff  not wearing masks. (See above.)

Financial State of The College: This was discussed.

FAEC DISCUSSION

Common Misconceptions: Perhaps it would be useful to have an orientation for students about elements like mask wearing, the role of the deans, etc. Some students have shared their understanding that deans tell faculty what grades to give, etc. They are experiencing the same stresses we are and clarification for new students at Ramapo would be helpful.

Shared Government Meeting: This was a good opportunity to begin working on improving shared governance under the new administration. SGA and RSA representatives attended. President Jebb discussed her plan to hold a series of seminar style meetings, focused on core values and the future of the College, which will contribute to the new Strategic Plan in Fall ‘22. She will seek to engage as many people as possible.

Staff: We would like to see this body better represented across campus. They do not have a voice in many aspects discussed and implemented across campus.

Spring 2022: Faculty Assembly will be hybrid next semester. Venue requests will continue to include a Webex kit and a larger meeting space. The chat function will be off with a 90 second to 2 minutes time limit. Hands should be raised to pose questions.

COVID-19 Alerts: Who is informed if someone in a class has COVID-19?

Meeting adjourned at 11:48am.

Categories: FAEC meeting Minutes 2021, RAMAPO FAEC, Uncategorized