190th Plenary: Post Plenary Report   

Winter 2022 Plenary, View from the Executive Committee
  • TBD

Resolutions, Winter 2022 UFS Plenary​​ ​
Requests from committees

Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Committee
  • If your campus has identified resources that help faculty develop their expertise in teaching courses that fulfill the learning outcomes of the “Diversity: Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice” General Education Category or that provide faculty professional development in Inclusive Pedagogy, please email EID chair, Dr. Sinikka Grant at [email protected], so we can take those resources into consideration in creating guidelines, websites, and other resources.  
  • Ongoing request: please encourage all members of the campus community to take advantage of already existing Professional Development opportunities in EID, such as the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Teaching and Learning Certificate Program offered by SUNY Center for Professional Development.  

Ethics Committee
  • The Committee would be happy to continue to receive any comments on JCOPE.
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Programs and Awards Committee
  • Please be sure that your campus is aware that the deadline for receipt of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service, Librarianship, Professional Service, Scholarship and Creative Activities, and Teaching nominations for the academic year 2021-2022 is Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Undergraduate Academic Programs and Policies Committee
  • UAPPC would like to prepare something for the Fall 2022 Plenary regarding “Pandemic retrospective in Curriculum and Pedagogy,” if such a retrospective is indeed possible by that point. In particular, we want to engage with the idea of “Resilient Pedagogy,” reflecting on what we have learned about adapting to unpredictable circumstances. Suggestions regarding exemplary campuses or faculty members to include in planning are welcome.


Plenary Reports and Presentations

President's Report 
President Landa reported on the SUNY leadership transitions and vacancies, presidential search processes in progress, impressions of the State of the State and budget proposal, the Gen Ed Framework implementation including the development of resources for the diversity category, and progress updates on the SUNY-wide migration to Brightspace. Below are a few highlights; details can be found in the President’s slides:
  • There will be a national search for the new Chancellor.
  • For most, the Gen Ed Framework is to be implemented in Fall 2023.
  • The first cohort of the SUNY LMS migration to Brightspace (30 campuses) is underway.  Updates can be found at SUNY’s DLE website.

Executive Committee Report and Resolutions
Vice President/Secretary Hamilton shared the facilitation plan for Saturday’s resolution session and introduce the two resolutions on the agenda for consideration.
  • The first resolution is focused on the inequities and needs of historically underrepresented faculty.
  • The second resolution is focused on the implementation of the diversity category of the new General Education Framework.

Faculty Council of Community Colleges
Christy Woods reported on the many activities and areas of focus of the Faculty Council on Community Colleges, including upcoming events, resolutions in process, executive budget concerns, and presidential searches in progress.  Below are some additional highlights.
  • Resources promoting all of the community colleges have been created, Community Colleges at a Glance.
  • A condensed document for faculty about the Gen Ed Framework is available.
  • Swipe Out Hunger is a program where students can donate unused meal plan points for other students to use.
 
CUNY Faculty Senate
Martin Burke reported on concerns faced by CUNY including matters of budget, consultation, consolidation of faculty lines into lecturer lines, DEI mandates, and shifts toward workforce development. Below are a few considerations. 
  • Bylaws may need to change to allow lecturers to serve as Chairs.
  • There is concern that Governor Hochul’s goal of 500K students may put CUNY and SUNY in competition with each other for enrollments.
  • Vice Chancellor is to be named soon.

United University Professionals
Fred Kowal reported on matters of budget, advocacy, contract negotiations, and Governor Hochul’s goals for SUNY.  Below are some key observations.
  • The state is in good fiscal standing, and Governor Hochul’s focus on SUNY during the State of the State address bodes well for SUNY.
  • The SUNY hospitals need more support than they are currently expected to receive.
  • Contract negotiations will be getting underway after the February planning meeting.

SUNY Student Assembly
Bradley Hershenson reported that students are very excited by the governor’s proposal.  They are advocating for free tuition (From Freeze to Free), disability services, and mental health.  One plan is to work with SUNY students to train them how to support one another. 

How Shared Governance Can Impact SUNY Sustainability Initiatives
Bob Haelen and Karren Bee-Donohoe provided a presentation on sustainability including what sustainability is and why it matters, history of LEED and Energy Smart, Environmental Justice, and research by SUNY into matters of climate and sustainability.  Below are a few points of interest; details are available in the Haelen and Bee-Donohoe slide file.
JCOPE Panel Discussion
A panel including Andrew Fitz-Gibbon, Cara Palumbo-Schrantz, and Eve Clark Benavides sorted out some important aspects of ethics for state employees. Topics discussed include financial disclosure and financial prohibitions (e.g., no compensation for lobbying), training requirements, nepotism, conflicts of interest, and post-employment bans on certain work activities. Some additional restrictions are mentioned below.
Nominations Committee
David Vitt announced the upcoming election for VP/Secretary.  Senators and Officers are eligible.  Self-nominations are welcome.
  • Nomination deadline is March 11th.
  • Submit a one page CV and one page statement to [email protected].

SUNY Financial Report 
Bob Megna and Josh Sager provided a presentation on the budget and overall fiscal climate including the Executive Budget and timeline as well as the overall funding landscape at this time.  This should be a particularly good year for budget requests as the State is in good fiscal standing. Good news and cautions are shared below.
  • EOC and EOP have been included along with other student aid programs.
  • Long-term problems of marketing, recruitment, and adult learner needs will not be solved easily.
  • Management of the resources will require care and consideration.

Provost's Report
Provost Sandvik along with Kim Scalzo (SUNY Online) provided an update on the General Education Framework and Implementation as well as the migration to the new digital learning environment (Brightspace). Provost Sandvik also wanted to share information about microcredentials, but time was not sufficient. Details can be found in the Provost’s slide file.
  • The framework was adopted by the Board of Trustees in November 2021 and will take effect for most programs Fall 2023. Keep up on Gen Ed developments at the SUNY Gen Ed website.
  • Resources and training for the diversity category should be available by Fall 2022.
  • Four cohorts of migrating campuses have been identified and will complete migration to Brightspace by December 2023.
  • Two work groups are generating templates and training resources for campus teams to use when migrating.

SUNY Board of Trustees
Merryl Tisch provided a brief statement indicating that the Chancellor search would address some of the disappointment over the previous Chancellor’s appointment as well as the need to put resources behind enrollment concerns.
  • Subgroups of interested parties will be part of the Chancellor search process.

Interim SUNY Chancellor's Report
Deborah Stanley, Interim Chancellor, provided some opening statements then discussed concerns from each of the sectors. Her statements underscore the positive position SUNY and the State are in this year in terms of the budget and the governor’s commitment to investing in SUNY. 

Committee Reports:
  • The Graduate and Research Committee provided an update on the response to their first virtual graduate research conference. Nearly 100 abstracts were received. For details go to the Graduate Conference website.
  • The Operations Committee has been working on resolutions for recent and future plenaries as well as a Combined Administration White Paper for the next plenary and a best practices report for search committees. The Committee is also consider what, if any, role Operations would play in the General Education Framework Implementation or the Distance Education and Innovation Final Rule implementation.
  • The Communications Committee has been busy with articles from member campuses, current events, SUNY advocacy initiatives, and UFS Connects.  Please visit UFS Connects to read and comment on news and articles posted there.

Friends of the Senate Awards
Friends of the Senate Awards were posthumously awarded to John Graham and Teri Miller. 


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