Faculty Assembly

October 5, 2022FA 09/28/22

Faculty Assembly Meeting

September 28, 2022

1:00 pm

Friends Hall (SC-219)

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.

President’s Report (Ken McMurdy):

John McTighe announced as Parliamentarian
Provost Search Update: Search Firm meetings with constituencies at Ramapo were very productive and positive.
- Themes:
  - Shared-governance
  - Passion for teaching
  - Personal investment in the institution by constituencies
- Drafting provost position document
President Jebb’s inauguration – October 14. If you want to bring your class, please RSVP. Streaming the inauguration to classes is also an option.
Provost Bite-Sized Research Presentations are kicking off soon. October 3, it is listed on the FA calendar, please consult for more details.
FAEC At-large councilors are still unfilled. We need people to step forward for these positions.

President Jebb:

Acknowledgement of our concern for those in Florida as the hurricane approaches.
Discussion of the Future Series and PNP’s. Strategic Planning process and master planning process is a priority for the college. Strategic writing team is in full swing
Discussion of the reorganization and how it has been improving organizational functionality at the college.
Discussion of the fiscal state of the college, steps the college has taken to improve matters, steps that we hope to take in the future, and intention for future collaborations.

Interim Provost Gaulden:

Gave a shout out to “The Class of Covid-19”
Faculty Resource Network: our level of membership has been raised back to level prior to the pandemic. Faculty are encouraged to engage with it.
Director of International Education: Ruma Sen is chairing the search committee.
BS in Neuroscience has been approved by the state of New Jersey for Ramapo College
Faculty Handbook revisions – currently under review by the Provost’s office

VP Virginia Galdieri:

Sabbaticals: 8 sabbatical semesters for the 2023-2024 academic year
Promotions: 4 for associate professor, 3 for full professor
Tenure/Reappointment/Promotion Process: employee relations has conducted two training sessions, one for career development and one for promotion. Recording of the promotion training is available online at the ER website. We are on track for the calendar for these matters.
HR Reorganization: HR is split between a people operations division and an employee relations & strategic initiatives division. Several vacancies currently exist
Faculty Handbook: discussion of potential timelines under consideration and especially when it will be implemented when ultimately approved
Faculty with questions regarding ER matters can contact Virginia, as well as reaching out to ER in general.

Nicole Morgan-Agard:

Bias incident occurred, but details cannot be shared
Discussion of college response to incidents, how and when to distribute college-wide acknowledgement of events happening and condemnation of such events.
Reviewing placement of cameras and patrols, should resources be shifted or expanded to provide security to campus community

Academic Master Plan Task Force (AMPTF):

Faculty raised concerns over the method by which the membership of the task force was determined – selected versus elected. Faculty raised concerns over the term “low-hanging fruit” and what that exactly means as the task force moves forward.
Faculty raised concerns over moving forward with the academic master plan task force while a provost search is underway.
5 Candidates for the 3 Elected Positions on the Task Force, candidates introduced themselves
- Carol Bowman
- Stephanie Sarabia
- Emily Leskinen
- Lisa Cassidy
- Ruma Sen
Voting will be done by Qualtrics survey after the meeting

Adjourned: 2:30pm

Categories: Uncategorized

October 5, 2022FAEC MINUTES 09/28/22

FAEC MINUTES 09/28/22

Present: Ken McMurdy (President, TAS), Katie Cohen (Library), Amruth Kumar (TAS), Marc Gidal (CA), Malakiva Sundararajan (ASB), John McTighe (SSHS), Dean Chen (Vice President, HGS), Jeffrey Ellsworth (Secretary)

* Both Councilor-at-Large positions are currently open.

Vote to bring the meeting to order at 10:00am.

Minutes Approval: The 09/21/22 minutes were approved.

FA President’s Report:

Provost Search: Ruth and Fiona (search firm individuals) – excellent themes emerged through the engagement with the search firm last week. Ruth, Fiona, Chris Romano, and Ken McMurdy are crafting the profile statement.
Provost Council: deliberation on a lot of academic policies. Minimum and maximum course capacity policy is under review.
Ruma is the search chair for director international studies.
Progress on the front of transparency regarding compensated service.
Concerns raised regarding the time restrictions on when OSS provides exam proctoring – if faculty are providing exams later in the day/evening exam proctoring is not available.

FAEC Discussion:

Susan Gaulden:
- promotion and sabbatical discussion.
- Commended “The Class of Covid-19” a work of collaboration between a Ramapo instructor, Shawn Adler (editor), and high school students.
- Provost is reviewing the proposed faculty handbook
- Increased level of membership of the Faculty Resource Center, membership was decreased during the height of the pandemic.
- McAllister and Quinn: firm that assists in applying for grant funding. The firm will assist primarily with applying for funding for the PNP’s. The firm may be able to assist with faculty in applying for other research grants, but this will be an add on cost at the approval of the college.
Cindy Jebb
- Thoughts for those in Florida where a hurricane is imminent.
- Updates that will be shared at the Faculty Assembly this afternoon.
- Discussion of COVID numbers, which are rising again as we head into the fall semester.

FAEC Guests: Cindy Jebb (President), and Susan Gaulden (Interim Provost)

Meeting adjourned at 12:00 am.

Categories: Uncategorized

October 5, 2022FAEC MINUTES 09/21/22

FAEC MINUTES 09/21/22

Present: Ken McMurdy (President, TAS), Katie Cohen (Library), Amruth Kumar (TAS), Marc Gidal (CA), Malakiva Sundararajan (ASB), Dean Chen (Vice President, HGS), Jeffrey Ellsworth (Secretary)

* Both Councilor-at-Large positions are currently open.

Vote to bring the meeting to order at 10:04am.

Minutes Approval: The 09/14/22 minutes were approved.

FAEC met with the search firm for the provost search prior to the regular FAEC meeting.

FA President’s Report and FAEC Discussion:

Discussion of the academic master plan task force regarding potential timeline, and potential charging instrument language. Currently there are four volunteers for the three elected FA representatives to the task force.
Planning for FA: Discussion of refreshment options.
- At the next FA, presentation of candidates for election to the Academic Master Plan task force.
- Discussion of inviting HR to present updates on HR personnel, situation regarding tenure and promotion, and the status of the faculty handbook.
Discussion of whether FAEC should appoint someone as the policy under review person who monitors which policies are under review and brings them to the FAEC’s attention to then be brought to the faculty’s attention.
Suggestion of a policy for selection versus election for representatives on task forces and committees: election when the individual is representing the faculty and acting as a liaison, versus selection when the individual is being chosen for the expertise, skills, and knowledge.
Bias Response and Prevention Team – Paul Reck is the FA rep on the team. Discussion of a recent incident.
Writing Center: Discussion of the evolution of the oversight of the center. The interaction between Center and WAC.

FAEC Guests: N/A

Meeting adjourned at 11:53 am.

Categories: Uncategorized

October 5, 2022FAEC MINUTES 09/14/22

FAEC MINUTES 09/14/22

* Both Councilor-at-Large positions are currently open.

Vote to bring the meeting to order at 10:00am.

Minutes Approval: The 08/31/22 and 09/07/22 minutes were approved.

FA President’s Report:

Provost Search: full committee meeting today with search firm. Next week search firm will be on campus for meetings with constituencies
- Next Wednesday, FAEC will meet 9:15-10am with the search firm emphasizing the importance of shared governance and the upcoming academic master plan
- Next Wednesday, search firm will meet with units during unit councils
- Next Wednesday, search firm will conduct an open forum for faculty and staff from 3:15-4pm
Strategic Plan Writing Team: membership has been established
Administrative Support from the Provost’s Office: an individual in the Provost’s Office, Ann Marie Stangl, will be providing some administrative support to FAEC moving forward. Potential areas of assistance include posting material on the FA website and assistance during votes.

FAEC Discussion:

Academic Master Plan: Discussion of the constitution and membership of the task force. FA will be voting on three members. The Provost is going to select six members, one per unit. Additional members will also be included, such as ARC Chair.
Discussion of what FAEC thinks should be prioritized in the Academic Master Plan process.

FAEC Guests: N/A

Meeting adjourned at 12:03 am.

Categories: Uncategorized

September 23, 2022FA Meeting 08/31/22

Faculty Assembly Meeting

August 31, 2022

1:00 pm

Trustees Pavilion

Agenda

Reports

Faculty Assembly President’s Report:

FAEC has been meeting and working hard over the summer.
Top Topics on FAEC’s Agenda
- Provost Search:
- Registrar’s Search:
- Strategic Planning Writing Team:
- Academic Master Plan Task Force
- Faculty Handbook – October 31
- Byte-Sized Lecture Series – Faculty Research Lecture Series
- Convenor compensation
- Centers going through changes
- ARC, GECCo, and WAC – focus on providing support to them

College President’s Report:

– Expressed her enthusiasm for Convocation and what a success it was. College is not going any testing, but is generally mask-friendly and masks are required for the time being in classrooms.

– Successful debt restructure

– Improved financial circumstances from the state, however only for this year. Needs to be included in the governor’s budget rather than done as legislative adds that need to be annually repeated.

– 9 PNPs, one has a six figure donation to it.

– Number 1 in state for the masters in data science

– Amazon Prime is going to have a thing about Ramapo College

– Reviewed financial circumstances of college and future expectations

– Emphasized the importance of adhering to and living Ramapo’s values.

– Emphasized the importance of modeling civil discourse.

Provost’s Report:

Emphasized new hires to the college, both faculty and graduate assistants
Faculty Research and Scholarship:
- Faculty Research Room for interdisciplinary engagement
- External Agency for assisting with grant proposals and submissions
- Byte-Sized Faculty Research Lecture Series
- Master Calendar for TLC (Teaching/Learning Core)
Academic Master Plan Task Force: Will be coming soon

Faculty Engagement with President and Provost:

– Enthusiasm expressed for inviting Chief Perry to Convocation and the ongoing ties and connection to the Ramapough People.

Announcements

GECCo: Prof. Sarah Carberry – Course submissions are due October 15, firm deadline. Need Historical Perspectives person and someone from ASB. Plea that people will cooperate with assessment and provide materials when materials are requested.

WAC: Prof. Paula Straile-Costa – Course submissions are due October 15, firm deadline.

ARC: Prof. David Oh – Course submissions are due October 15, firm deadline. November 1 is the deadline for program proposals. ARC needs an SSHS representative.

Enrollment Update: VP Chris Romano – not able to attend, update will be posted

Public Safety Update: VP Nicole Morgan Agard – found a new director of public safety.

New Business

Academic Master Plan: Ken, Susan, Cindy – spoke on the upcoming task force.

Registrar Search Committee: Search firm will be facilitating the committee’s work. Firm will be meeting with various constituencies on campus in coming weeks.

Adjourn at 2:18

Categories: Uncategorized

September 15, 2022FAEC MINUTES 09/07/22

FAEC MINUTES 09/07/22

Present: Ken McMurdy (President, TAS), Katie Cohen (Library), Marc Gidal (CA), Malakiva Sundararajan (ASB), John McTighe (SSHS), Dean Chen (Vice President, HGS), Jeffrey Ellsworth (Secretary)

* Both Councilor-at-Large positions are currently open.

Vote to bring the meeting to order at 10:00am.

FA President’s Report:

Meeting with Tim Judge: Discussion of adjunct participation and representation in Faculty Assembly.
Paolo Miyashiro Bedoya: SGA President – topics they are focusing on diversity and inclusion, multi-cultural center, thoughts on masking.
Roukema Center: Ed Petkus – Ben Levy recommended faculty for the search committee for his replacement and Dean Petkus is going to reach out to these individuals to see if they would be willing to serve on the search committee.
Associate Director of Employee Relations: Lysandra Perez-Strumolo is the only volunteer to represent FA on the search committee. AFT will have two representatives on the search committee, one faculty member and one staff member.
Provost Search: firm meeting with leadership of the committee this coming Friday. Full committee next Wednesday with the search firm, and AA training for any committee members who need it. Following Wednesday at Unit Council – hopefully have search firm members circulate to the different unit councils for listening sessions to learn about Ramapo.
Provost’s Bite-Sized Faculty Research Presentation Series – website is now live.
- https://www.ramapo.edu/provost/provosts-bite-sized-faculty-research-presentations/
John McTighe is the new parliamentarian for FAEC! Congratulations John!
Academic Master Plan: Reviewed potential proposals for a charging instrument for the task force.
Discussion of a potential faculty social event for the fall semester.

FAEC Guests: N/A

Meeting adjourned at 12:01 pm.

Categories: Uncategorized

September 15, 2022FAEC MINUTES 08/31/22

FAEC MINUTES 08/31/22

* Both Councilor-at-Large positions are currently open.

Vote to bring the meeting to order at 10:00am.

FA President’s Report:

Padovano Commons: MOA reaffirming that the Padovano Commons is for faculty/staff and that the space can be reserved for faculty/staff purposes.
Campus Facilities Master Plan Task Force: Eric Weiner and Lisa Lutter are on this task force. Update from Eric Weiner via email: organization and analysis is progressing.

FAEC Discussion:

Provost Search Committee:
- Discussion of how to coordinate the election of faculty members for the search committee. Ranked choice voting from units for potential representatives.
- FAEC sends out email within the next 24 hours. Nominations by Saturday at noon, and voting to open by Saturday at 5pm and close by Tuesday 11:59pm.
- The Provost Search Committee must be finalized by September 9.

Registrar Search Committee:
- Steve Rice and Christina Connor have volunteered to be representatives. FAEC will request additional nominations and then proceed to vote.

Priority Focus Items for FAEC:
- Strategic Plan Writing Team
- Academic Master Plan
- Facilities Master Plan
- Transparency on service and convenor compensation
- Centers that are in flux, leadership roles

WAC: new chair is Paula Straile-Costa
Fall ’22 Social Event Planning:
Discussion of how often and when to have guests come to FAEC and liaison.

President Jebb: Reflection on Convocation and how positive an experience it was for everyone.
- Emphasized the importance of everyone focusing on the values of the college.
- Emphasized the importance of everyone modeling civil discourse.

Provost Gaulden: Discussion of mask requirement.
- Numbers are back to pre-pandemic course modes, 92% of courses have some in-person component.
- Ramapo is welcoming a number of new faculty and staff.
- New initiatives to support faculty research
  - A space for faculty research
  - An external company will assist with grant applications
  - Byte-sized Faculty Research Series
  - Master Calendar for TLC (Teaching/Learning Core)
- Academic Master Plan
- Roukema Center: a search committee will be coming to replace Ben Levy
- Strategic Plan Writing Team: Strategic Posture Statement

FAEC Guests: President Cindy Jebb; Interim Provost Susan Gaulden

Meeting adjourned at 11:57 am.

Categories: Uncategorized

September 6, 2022FAEC MINUTES 08/17/22

FAEC MINUTES 08/17/22

*Both Councilor-at-Large positions are currently open.

Vote to bring meeting to order at 10:00am.

FA President’s Report:

Enrollment Update: 873 first time students registered for the fall semester
Family Day/Student Scholarship: suggestion to request at Unit Councils for faculty to contribute student posters that faculty already have to Family Day
Strategic Plan Writing Team: SPWT is being formed. Prof. Naseem Choudhury will chair.
Registrar Search: Fernanda has stepped down. Currently no faculty asked to serve on the search committee, as faculty are off contract in the summer. FAEC maintains that the committee should have FA representation and will pursue adding FA rep members.

FAEC Discussion:

Convenor Compensation: discussion of Interim Provost Gaulden’s plan to fund convenor compensation using recovered funds from adjusting graduate teaching +1 credit policy. Concerns raised over:
- faculty compelled to teach in graduate programs
- staffing problems in grad programs if compensation is lessened
- how sliding-scale compensation for convenors would be calculated
Transparency in Service Compensation: suggested that once a semester the Provost should publish a list of all service-related positions and their compensation (money, course-release, etc.)
Provost Search Committee: MFSA should select their own representative. Tenure should be required for FA unit representatives.
Academic Master Plan: Discussion of FAEC’s vision for the process for developing an Academic Master Plan.

FAEC Guests: President Jebb, Interim Provost Gaulden

President Jebb:
Received equity from the state regarding dollars per student (floor rate) and getting half uncovered lines covered for benefits (one time add on in state budget, need to work to keep this).
Reorg of college structure progressing well, benefits of flattening structures.
Must address budget realities: ongoing structural deficit.
COVID reverberations are still ongoing and we need more resources to address them.
Last year’s debt restructure allowed capital to be available for limited investments in college.
Complimented faculty on the quality of the work they did on faculty handbook revisions.
Building a relationship with the state is going well, additional focus on building the relationship with the county.

Interim Provost Gaulden:
Emphasized the importance of getting the academic master plan task force rolling.
Last year we offered a significant number of courses with very few students even though they were duplicate sections of the same course.

Meeting adjourned at 12:41 pm.

Categories: Uncategorized

August 21, 2022FAEC MINUTES 07/20/22

FAEC MINUTES 07/20/22

*Both Councilor-at-Large positions are currently open.

Vote to bring meeting to order at 10:00am.

FA President’s Report:

Enrollment Update
FAEC reviewed current enrollment numbers as provided by VP Romano. First year deposits are below pre-pandemic numbers, but close to projections. Bills are due on August 1st, and so updated numbers after that date will be more informative. FAEC will also ask how Ramapo’s enrollment trends compare with those of other comparable NJ institutions.
Curation of Outstanding Student Work/Family Day
Discussions are ongoing with VP Romano about how best to collect and organize samples of undergraduate research and other outstanding student work for display at Family Day. The goal is to tell the story to prospective students/parents that there are many outlets for such work at Ramapo. It was suggested that video interviews with students about their research could be even more impactful.
Councilor-at-Large Open Positions
Both positions remain open. Ken will continue to solicit volunteers.
FA Meeting Calendar/Dynamic Google Calendar
The Google Calendar version of the FA Meeting Calendar is faec.ramapo@gmail.com. This version will be updated more frequently and will include a few more all College events. FAEC will remind faculty of this option at an upcoming Unit Council.
FA Representatives on Board of Trustees Committees
The following faculty have agreed to serve as FA representatives for AY 2022-23.
- Rikki Abzug – Resources Committee
- Kathy Yeaton – Audit Committee
- David Oh – Mission Fulfillment Committee

FAEC Discussion:

President’s Inauguration
Katie reported as liaison to the Presidential Inauguration Committee. The event will take place at 2pm on Friday, October 14, 2022. Faculty are encouraged to participate and will receive a form by email for RSVP and request for regalia. Concerns were raised about faculty who may wish to attend but cannot due to their teaching schedule.
Provost’s Faculty Research Lecture Series
Provost Gaulden is following up on an idea that arose in part from last semester’s Faculty Forum on Community Building, which is to establish and curate a lecture series in which Ramapo faculty give short presentations on their research. FAEC discussed ideas for making the program as successful as possible and will continue to collaborate with the Provost’s Office on this project.
Academic Master Plan
Provost Gaulden has proposed a jointly charged, faculty-driven task force that would work to develop an Academic Master Plan. For context, FAEC reviewed the final reports from the Task Force on Shared Governance (TFSG, F’17) and the Task Force on Academic Excellence and Engagement (TFAEE, S’15). General discussion surrounding possible charge, membership, timeline, etc. followed. Concerns were raised regarding the timeline and whether the task force should be delayed until after the new provost search is completed.

FAEC Guests: None

Meeting adjourned at 12:06 pm.

Categories: Uncategorized

July 20, 2022FAEC MINUTES 06/22/22

FAEC MINUTES 06/22/22

Absent: John McTighe (SSHS)*

* Both Councilor-at-Large positions are currently open.

Vote to bring meeting to order at 10:00am.

FA President’s Report:

Enrollment Update
Enrollment numbers for the fall were reviewed and benchmarked against the previous year.
Meeting Calendar for AY 2022-23
Ken presented the proposed meeting calendar for AY 2022-23 and shared some of the challenges and parameters that must be met in constructing the calendar. Out of necessity, a small number of slots will be listed as Minor/Interdisciplinary Convening Group, so that faculty in these groups can individually decide how best to use or divide up the time.
Bias Prevention, Response and Education Team (BPRET)
Paul Reck has agreed to serve as the FA representative on BPRET.
Deans’ New Oversight Roles
As part of the re-organization of College leadership, deans have been given additional oversight responsibilities as “Executive Agents of the College.” The complete list of new oversight roles can be found here:

https://www.ramapo.edu/college-leadership/wp-content/uploads/sites/59/2022/07/Org-Chart-6.20.22-with-Detail_Acronyms.pdf
Anticipated Searches/Task Forces:
Provost Gaulden is considering initiating multiple task forces in the fall. Two possible ideas are Library/Learning Commons (LLC) and Academic Integrity. She has formally proposed a faculty-driven task force that would work to develop an Academic Master Plan. FAEC will meet to discuss this idea with Provost Gaulden in accordance with the principles and guidelines laid out in the Task Force on Shared Governance report from Fall ’17.
PNP’s
At this time, the College is moving forward with twelve PNP proposals, eight of which have originated in Academic Affairs.
Grad Council Request
FAEC has been asked to encourage faculty creating new grad programs to reach out directly to the Grad Council for guidance. Grad Council Chair, Scott Frees (sfrees@ramapo.edu) is the contact person.

FAEC Discussion:

FAEC Elections and Open Positions
Dean Chen (HGS) was elected to serve as FAEC Vice President for the 2022-23 academic year. Both Councilor-at-Large positions remain unfilled at this time.
Enhanced Faculty Engagement at Unit Council
Strategies for facilitating more effective two-way communication between FAEC and faculty in their units at Unit Council were discussed. FAEC representatives will report out as usual but also solicit feedback on specific issues and welcome input on areas of concern.
Curation of Outstanding Student Work/Family Day
The Family Day Team, under VP Chris Romano, is interested in collecting outstanding student work for display in the LLC on Family Day. This work could come from a variety of sources, such as Scholar’s Day, Honors Program, various research symposia on campus, etc. It has also been suggested that such work could be archived, curated and presented on a forward-facing Ramapo webpage to attract prospective students.
Provost’s Faculty Research Lecture Series (tabled for time)
Management of the Writing Center (tabled for time)
President’s Inauguration (tabled for time)

FAEC Guests: None

Meeting adjourned at 12:00 pm.

Categories: Uncategorized

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