Publications Committee, Sept. 11, 2019
Minutes
The Academic Senate Committee on Publications met on Wednesday, September 11, 2019, 03:10 PM-04:15 PM, RFK 216
Committee Members in Attendance:
Aviva Geismar (Chair), Kwang Hyun Kim, Vazgen Shekoyan (Secretary), Kerri-Ann M. Smith
Liaisons in Attendance:
Stephen DiDio (President’s Liaison)
Visitors: Jannette Urciuoli, David Moretti
Business:
The meeting was called to order at 03:10 PM
QUEENSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE
Submitted Date: October 29, 2019 September 11, 2019 Minutes
Publications Committee Meeting Minutes (2018-2019)
Meeting date: Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Time: 03:00 PM-04:15 PM
Location: RFK 216
Chair: Aviva Geismar
Secretary: Vazgen Shekoyan (voted on the same day as a replacement for Dolores Weber)
The meeting was called to order at approximately 3:10pm
The committee voted to meet on the first Wednesday of each month during the semester. Spring meetings will be determined as soon as schedules are finalized. Jannette suggested that it would be helpful to have a consistent meeting time for the entire year. Since our meeting time conflicts with Dolores’ schedule, Vazgen Shekoyan will serve as the committee’s secretary, going forward.
The committee read and reviewed our charges and discussed the following items:
- The committee sought clarification on the meaning of the term “editorial board.” Jannette explained that this committee could have helped to edit the faculty handbook, which was recently updated. If we focus on the handbook, we can keep it up-to-date. Dave informed us that the handbook is no longer in print and is fully digitalized.
- VP Didio suggested that we monitor the handbook starting next semester and perhaps find out who is in charge of each aspect of the handbook and update the college catalog and handbook simultaneously to avoid confusion. Debra DiBattista worked on the last handbook updating and would be a key contact to identify stakeholders.
- If we can identify key persons for each department, we can establish and maintain contact to ensure that the handbook is up-to-date.
- We can also keep a list of web coordinators for each department
- Editorial work should be divided among committee members to ensure that we cover all ground and each committee member may serve as a liaison for their assigned departments.
- We should request a committee email via Ralph Romanelli
- Editorial board suggests that we don’t have to necessarily do the editing, but rather facilitate the editing of the many documents produced by the college. The committee may make recommendations about updates and can follow-up to see how departments and offices follow-through with those recommendations.
- Jannette informed us that we may amend our charges as we see fit and we might even want to add more members as we expand our role as a committee.
There was extensive discussion concerning the school’s website and the overwhelming task of keeping tabs on such a large volume of information from multiple places. We discussed strategies for streamlining information and for helping departments update their sites. We discussed uniformity and the importance of having a transparent and informative website. There was some discussion on the challenges associated with training webmasters when there is a high turnover of volunteers from each department. Based on these discussions, the committee determined that there should be a sub-committee of the publications committee that focuses solely on web relations. Since its establishment, the form and content of campus publications have changed significantly, so the publications committee might need to be supported by a web committee that trains and follows-up on web-based materials. This is an option the committee members will explore, going forward.
Meeting adjourned at approx.4:15pm
Respectfully prepared by Kerri-Ann M. Smith for Dolores Weber
Respectfully submitted,
Vazgen Shekoyan
Committee on Publications, Secretary
Minutes typed on September 18, 2019
