Approved Resolutions
Please report any campus actions that respond to UFS resolutions using this form.  For resolutions going back to the 153rd Plenary Meeting (Fall 2009), see the Resolutions & Responses page on the SUNY UFS archive site.  For earlier resolutions, please contact us.

191st Plenary, Spring 2022
Tarrytown, NY (Optometry and Downstate, co-hosts)
April 9, 2022

• HSC: "191-01-1 Successful Implementation of the SUNY Health, Wellness, and Well-Being Infrastructure and Leadership Architecture"  
  • To expand wellness services for students and employees, appoint the Vice Chancellor position, provide guidance for the work of the office, and fund related campus positions.
  • For: 39 / Against: 2 
• OP: "191-02-1 Costs of Administration Study"
  • To establish a comprehensive study of the structure and costs of administration within SUNY and its campuses.
  • For: 37 / Against: 3
• EXEC: "191-03-1 Recognition of Service to UFS by Vice Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Elizabeth Bringsjord"
  • To recognize Vice Provost Bringsjord's past work and wish her a wonderful retirement.
  • For: 42 / Against: 0
• Upstate: "191-04-1 Updating, Revising, and Clarifying The State University of New York Guide to Presidential Searches at State-Operated Institutions (document #8400)"
  • To clarify faculty composition, the role of campus Chief Diversity Officers, representational searches, and other matters in relation to Presidential searches.
  • For: 29 / Against: 8

"A Resolution Reiterating University Faculty Senate Commitment to Condemn Workplace Bullying and Harassment" was referred to the Executive Committee, for further consideration.

190th Plenary, Winter 2022
Online
January 22, 2022

• EID & OP: "190-01-1 Advancement of Historically Underrepresented Faculty"  
  • To raise awareness of, and make recommendations for, specific inequities in hiring, mentoring, and evaluating historically underrepresented faculty.
  • For: 43 / Against: 2 / Abstain: 1
• EID: "190-02-1 Successful Implementation of the SUNY General Education Category, 'Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice'"
  • To ensure appropriate support and professional development is available for instructors who will be teaching courses in this category as well as to ensure that institutions that need to hire faculty to do so will be able to. 
  • For: 41 / Against: 1 / Abstain: 3
• Please note:  The UFS also endorsed the FCCC Statement entitled, "SUNY Chancellor and Executive Leadership Searches."  
  • For: 41 / Against: 1 / Abstain: 4

189th Plenary, Fall 2021
Online
October 9, 2021

• GOV: "189-01-1 Proposal to Amend UFS Standing Rules"
  • To formally authorize virtual plenary meetings while identifying in-person as our typical modality and specifying how to keep our amended Standing Rules in accordance with the “all face-to-face” language in Bylaws VII.1(a).
  • For: 39 / Against: 4 / Abstain: 2
• COMM: "189-02-1 Executive Budget Resolution"
  • To influence development of Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget so that New York State becomes “a national leader in sustainably and equitably supporting and advancing SUNY and CUNY’s core academic missions.”
  • For: 43 / Against: 0 / Abstain: 2
• OP: "189-03-1 Telecommuting Policy"
  • To urge Chancellor Malatras and the unions to work with GOER to extend and make permanent SUNY’s telecommuting policy, with an emphasis on flexibility and productivity, while drawing on stakeholder input.
  • For: 27 / Against: 13 / Abstain: 2
• UG: "189-04-1 Contact Hours in Applied Learning"
  • To urge Chancellor Malatras to make SUNY’s 1976 policy on applied learning contact hours congruent with current New York State regulations.
  • For: 38 / Against: 1 / Abstain: 3
• UG: "189-05-1 In Support of AAUP Joint Statement"​
  • To reiterate SUNY UFS's commitment to education about racism and American history, to make SUNY UFS a signatory of the "AAUP Joint Statement on Legislative Efforts to Restrict Education about Racism and American History,” to urge campus governance bodies to endorse the AAUP Joint Statement, and to encourage all members and leaders of SUNY governance bodies to "educate their communities on the dangers of such described legislation and the importance of racial equity and academic freedom."
  • For: 38 / Against: 0 / Abstain: 1

Executive Committee action
August 18, 2021

• EXEC: Ram Chugh Senate Outstanding Service Award for Norm Goodman 

188th Plenary, Spring 2021
Online
April 24, 2021

• OP/GOV: "188-01-1 Implementation of 360 Reviews for SUNY’s Management/Confidential (M/C) Employees"
  • This resolution requests that the Chancellor direct campuses to implement 360 reviews of M/C employees, that the cycle of reviews is accessible to campuses, and that support for the process is made available by System.
  • For: 33 / Against: 13 / Abstain: 2
• SL: "188-02-1 Holistic Student Space". 
  • This resolution requests that the Chancellor direct campus presidents to ensure that there are both physical and virtual spaces available to support the holistic wellness needs of students, including plans to promote and maintain these spaces once established.
  • For: 41 / Against: 5 / Abstain: 3
• UG: "188-03-1 On Academic Planning for Responding to Future Crises" 
  • This resolution urges System Administration and campuses to develop plans for maintaining academic functions in the event of future emergencies similar to the covid-19 pandemic, and to examine policies regarding the various instructional modalities used during such emergencies.
  • For: 46 / Against: 1 / Abstain: 0
• UG: "188-04-1 Recognition of COVID-19 Pandemic Response and the Need for Continued Support" 
  • This resolution recognizes the hard work and resilience displayed by faculty, staff, students, and administrators in responding to the pandemic, recommends that these good efforts be documented and memorialized, and requests that System Administration continue to provide wellness, mental health, and professional development support going forward.
  • For: 41 / Against: 1 / Abstain 0
• UCenters: "188-05-1 TIAA Divestment". 
  • This resolution expresses support for TIAA fossil fuel divestment resolutions that have passed across the system, and calls of the Chancellor to encourage TIAA to invest in renewable energy funds.
  • Note: Background information will be added listing or linking to the divestment resolutions that have been passed on various SUNY campuses.  Until then, this resolution is provisionally posted, so that members can share the approved text with their campuses.
  • For: 28 / Against: 10 / Abstain: 4

​187th Plenary, Winter 2021
Online
January 22, 2021

• EXEC: "187-01-1 Shared Governance in These Times of Extraordinary Challenges"
  • This resolution requests that system and campus administration work with shared governance bodies when making decisions during challenging times, especially in the areas of health and safety, instructional modality, and budget.
  • For: 43 / Against: 0 / Abstain: 0 
• BLM: "187-03-1 Board of Trustees Acknowledges that Black Lives Matter"
  • This resolution requests that the Board of Trustees acknowledge that Black lives matter and work to include anti-racist language in the SUNY Mission.
  • For: 39 / Against: 1 / Abstain: 2
• BLM: "187-04-1 University Faculty Senate Recognizes and Supports Black Lives Matter"
  • This resolution requests that the University Faculty Senate acknowledge and support Black Lives Matter in its own work, and ask campus governance bodies to work to eliminate racial injustice on our campuses.
  • For: 33 / Against: 5 / Abstain: 4

UG: "187-02-3 On Academic Planning for Responding to Future Crises" was referred back to the Undergraduate Committee

186th Plenary, Fall 2020
Online
October 17, 2020

• EID: "186-01-1 Racial Equity and Social Justice Curriculum"
  • This resolution asks Senators to work with campus shared governance to develop and implement (or expand upon existing) curriculum and all-campus programming dealing with the issues of Racial Equity and Social Justice.
  • For: 45 / Against: 0 / Abstain: 1​
• EXEC: "186-02-1 Joint Statement on the Search for the SUNY Chancellor"
  • A joint UFS - FCCC statement to the Board of Trustees, urging that a national search that follows principles of shared governance when replacing outgoing Chancellor Johnson.
  • For: 41 / Against: 0 / Abstain: 6
• EXEC: "186-03-1 Vote of No Confidence in Politically Appointed Members of SUNY Board of Trustees"
  • Joint UFS - FCCC resolution of no confidence in response to the Board of Trustee's appointment of Chancellor Malatras without having a formal search.
  • For: 38 / Against: 4 / Abstain: 4
• GOV: "186-05-1 Importance of maintaining effective shared governance practices during times of crisis"
  • This resolution asks the Chancellor to reinforce to campus Presidents the importance of supporting shared governance even in times of crisis, and calls on Campus Governance Leaders to ensure that campus governance bodies have structures and processes that allow them to respond expeditiously when campuses are dealing with emergency situations.
  • For: 46 / Against: 0 / Abstain 0

EXEC: "186-04-3 Failure of shared governance at the University at Albany regarding program change" was referred back to the Executive Committee

185th Plenary, Spring 2020
Online
April 17, 2020
There were no resolutions presented at the 185th Plenary.

184th Plenary, Winter 2020
University at Albany
January 16-18, 2020

• Executive Committee: "184-01-1 SUNY/CUNY Budget Resolution"
  • This resolution asks the Governor and Legislature to increase the share of SUNY and CUNY operating budget that is covered by public funding instead of student tuition, fully fund SUNY and CUNY critical maintenance needs and capital projects, and establish a SUNY endowment.  It also asks that SUNY UFS expand its coordination with governance bodies and union chapters across SUNY and CUNY in budget advocacy.
  • For: 36 / Against: 0 / Abstain: 0
  • Letter templates: For CGLs / For individuals (with campus endorsement) / For individuals (without campus endorsement yet)  

183rd Plenary, Fall 2019
SUNY System Administration
October 10-12, 2019

• Executive Committee: “183-01-1 Research Misconduct Investigation Policies”
  • This resolution puts forth a more general statement of research misconduct investigation policies, extending the resolution of support for Downstate that was adopted in executive session this past summer.
  • For: 41 / Against: 8 / Abstain: 1 
• Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee: “183-02-1 Establishment of Standing Campus Senate EID Committees”
  • This resolution asks that campus Senates establish their own EID committees, if they don’t already have one; that the mission of campus EID committees align with the UFS EID committee charge; that campus governance bodies be intentional in their efforts to be inclusive; and that campus EID committees have representation on campus Senates.
  • For: 40 / Against: 5 / Abstain: 3
• Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee: “183-03-1 Maintaining Welcoming, Inclusive and Safe Campus Environments through Annually Affirming SUNY Diversity and Inclusion Values”
  • This resolution asks the Chancellor to require campus Presidents to annually affirm and communicate SUNY values for equity, diversity, and inclusion to campus stakeholders.
  • For: 41 / Against: 6 / Abstain: 1
• Operations Committee and Graduate Programs and Research Committee: “183-04-1 Support for SUNY Negotiations for a fair and reasonable contract with Elsevier”
  • This resolution expresses support for the SUNY team negotiating a new contract with Elsevier for access to electronic resources, asking for good faith efforts to reach a fair and reasonable agreement; recommends that SUNY negotiators take a strong stance and be willing to not enter into a new contract if a fair deal cannot be reached; and asks that campus governance bodies raise the issue of the Elsevier negotiations in terms of supporting SUNY efforts and developing campus contingency planning in case of non-renewal of the Elsevier contract.
  • For: 47 / Against: 2 / Abstain: 2
• Floor Action: “183-05-1 Recognition of 2019 Nobel Prize for Chemistry Awarded to Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science M. Stanley Whittingham”
  • This resolution celebrates the recent Nobel Prize award to Professor Whittingham at Binghamton University.
  • For: 47 / Against: 0 / Abstain: 0

In addition to the approved resolutions, the body approved the following motions of support through floor action.

• The University Faculty Senate endorses the 6 June 2019 action of the Executive Committee to pass the resolution “In Support of Downstate Resolutions on Research Misconduct Policies”
  • For: 42 / Against: 3 / Abstain: 5
• The University Faculty Senate endorses the 11 October 2019 FCCC resolution “Resolution on Open Presidential Search Processes”
  • For: 38 / Against: 2 / Abstain: 1
• The University Faculty Senate endorses the 5 October 2019 FCCC resolution “Resolution in Response to SUNY Online Response”
  • For: 42 / Against: 0 / Abstain: 3

Chancellor Johnson's responses to the Fall 2019 Resolutions 

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182nd Plenary, Spring 2019
SUNY Potsdam
April 11-13, 2019

• ​Campus Governance Leaders, “182-01-1 Proposed Policy for Appointment of Interim Administrators at and above the Level of Dean”
  • This resolution provides suggested guidelines for involving shared governance when interim administrators are appointed on campuses.
  • For: 37; Against: 1; Abstain: 2
• Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee, “182-02-1 Resolution to Ensure Numerous Pathways to Continuing Appointment and Promotion”
  • This resolution asks that appointment and promotion policies align with inclusivity goals of SUNY, that promotion be based on all of the criteria set forth in Board of Trustees policy, and that the guidelines for promotion be made clear as part of the onboarding process for new faculty.
  • For: 30; Against: 6; Abstain: 5
• Governance Committee, “182-03-1 Resolution on the Expectation of Professional Employees, as defined by the policies of the Board of Trustees, to Participate in Shared Governance”
  • This resolution requests that professional employees of SUNY be made aware of and also be supported in opportunities to become involved in governance activities at the campus and system level.
  • For: 34; Against: 5; Abstain: 2
• Operations Committee, “182-04-1 Resolution to Create Common SUNY Onboarding Information Points and Processes for New Employees”
  • This resolution recommends the development of a set of recommended onboarding practices and information for use across SUNY, including the establishment of a shared repository of onboarding materials.
  • For: 33; Against: 2; Abstain: 5
• Operations Committee, “182-05-1 Resolution to Improve SUNY Reimbursement Processes”
  • This resolution requests the development of a modernized travel reimbursement system that will provide for easy and timely submission of reimbursement requests and transparency around approval and reimbursement processing.
  • For: 38; Against: 2; Abstain: 1
• Undergraduate Committee, “182-06-1 Resolution on Campus Review of Course Withdrawal Deadlines”
  • This resolution recommends periodic review by governance of campus policies, and suggests policies involved with registration deadlines as one area for review.
  • For: 33; Against: 3; Abstain: 2
• Undergraduate Committee, “182-07-1 Resolution on Privatization, Academic Freedom, and Shared Governance in Online Education”
  • This resolution asks that shared governance be clearly involved in the development of policies and procedures for SUNY Online, and that faculty be informed of their rights to retain ownership of their work and their role in the development of online policies.
  • For: 31; Against: 2; Abstain: 7
• Specialized and Statutory Colleges Sector, “182-08-1 Resolution on reaffirming 176-11-1 Resolution in Support of Stand-Alone Unit Head for New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University” 
  • This resolution restates support for the position that there needs to be a stand-alone head for New York State College of Ceramics, at Alfred University.
  • For: 33; Against: 0; Abstain: 2

The resolution "To Form a Committee to Examine Funding Opportunities for Undocumented Students in SUNY Professional Programs" was referred back to the Graduate Programs and Research Committee.

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