Steering Committee Chairperson Dr. Steven Dahlke called the seventh regularly scheduled meeting of the Academic Senate to order at 3:12 PM. The meeting was held through the Zoom platform.

I.             Attendance

57 votes were recorded at the time attendance was taken; 62 members of the Academic Senate were present during the meeting.

II.           Approval of the agenda

Chairperson Dahlke used unanimous consent to approve the agenda. There were no objections.

III.         Consideration of the minutes from the March 9, 2021 meeting

Chairperson Dahlke used unanimous consent to approve the minutes (Attachment A). There were no objections.

IV.         Communications from:

A.           President Christine Mangino

The Senate received President Mangino’s April 2021 report.

President Mangino began her remarks by asking for a moment of silence for Daunte Wright: she urged faculty and staff to use their power as educator to help make a difference against needless violence. She also expressed her empathy for those suffering from the aftermath of the storms in Barbados and St. Vincent, noting that the QCC student there is alright.

President Mangino announced the upcoming opening of the vaccination site at QCC and alerted the Senate that she was working to reserve time at the site for QCC students.

The college has been working on a virtual gala this year, hoping to offer free musical acts from Broadway for the first half then offer separate, breakout rooms with the stars as a fundraiser.

In an effort to move towards reopening, QCC’s HVAC systems have been examined. In the fall, sports will reopen.

The AAC&U (Association of American Colleges & Universities) accepted QCC for the first stage of creating a Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center. President Mangino acknowledged the hard work it took to make this happen.

There is mixed news regarding the budget. The college’s enrollment for the summer is 5% higher than last summer and President Mangino urged faculty and staff to encourage students to register for summer and fall classes. She also announced the 100% pass rate for nursing students on their exams, which is a huge accomplishment given all of the challenges of the pandemic. The Business students in their tax class also passed their IRS exams and helped the community with income tax returns: they have saved the community $50K of fees and more money in refunds. In other exciting college news, the food drive, aided by student government and local cafes, was a success.

President Mangino also updated the Senate on the strategic plan. Over 300 individuals attended at least one of the forums and the task force is now working on how to measure the identified goals. President Mangino expressed her thanks to the taskforce for their hard work.

B.           University Faculty Senate

Senator Tai reported from the most recent UFS plenary.

When the UFS met in March, it reviewed the budget with Vice Chancellor Sapienza. One notable item from the budget is that money from the federal government is on its way and the funds should allow institutions to make up for some of the revenue lost from the pandemic.

C.           Steering Committee

The Senate received the Steering Committee’s report for April 2021.

Chairperson Dahlke reminded the Senate that we are in election season and that the May meeting would request nominations for Committee on Committees, Steering Committee, STO, and Parliamentarian. The Steering Committee encourages any senator to take on these roles. He extended his thanks to VP William Faulkner for his work as COVID liaison and to VP Stephen Di Dio for his work on the Town Hall. Thanks also go to Isabel Hocevar, Director of Health Services, and Anne Marie Menendez, Chair of the Nursing Department. Chairperson Dahlke thanked Margot Edlin and the FEC for their work on the spring faculty meeting and Sharon Lall-Ramnarine and Kerri-Ann Smith, faculty fellows, for their presentations.

V.          Monthly Reports of the Committees of the Academic Senate

A.           Committee on Curriculum

There were four votes taken on the materials from the Committee on Curriculum (Attachment C).

1.            A motion was made, seconded, and adopted 61-0-1 to approve one

new course (TH901).

2.            A motion was made, seconded, and adopted 62-0-0 to approve one

course revision (BU301).

3.            A motion was made, seconded, and adopted 61-0-1 to approve one

program revision (Speech Communication and Theater Arts).

4.            A motion was made, seconded, and adopted 62-0-0 to approve one

new General Education Outcome (Scientific Reasoning).

The Curriculum Committee also discussed the formation of a new sub-committee to review computer science courses because of past overlap among the Math, Business, and Engineering Departments).

B.           Committee on Committees

There were two votes taken on the materials from the Committee on Committees (Attachment B). First, the committee updated the Senate that the election results for the Faculty-At-Large were distributed. There is one vacancy, which will be filled at the May meeting.

1.            The full slate of committees was ready for a vote, but due to somecontroversy surrounding the Committee on Curriculum, the senate will vote separately on this one committee. Senator Patrick Wallach spoke about his decision to petition for a seat on the Committee on Curriculum after the Committee on Committees deliberated and chose not to place him back on the committee.  Senators elected three of the four candidates [Isabella Lizzul (Health, Physical Education and Dance), Kendra Mason (Academy Advisement), Howard Sporn (Mathematics and Computer Science), and Patrick Wallach (Mathematics and Computer Science)]. Elected: Isabella Lizzul, Kendra Mason, and Patrick Wallach

2.            A motion was made, seconded, and adopted 61-0-1 to approve the Committee on Committees presented slate with an updated Committee on Curriculum.

VI.         Old Business

There was no old business.

VII.       New Business

A.           Senator Rezan Apkinar (and Chair of the Committee on Academic Development) updated the Senate on the work of the committee on the updated student evaluation form, particularly its applicability to all teaching modalities.

B.           Provost Lynch offered the Senate two updates.

1.            CUNY Central requests that each campus submit a slate of three nominees for the Common Core Review Committee. Central will choose one candidate of the three to serve on the committee. Nominations from Chairs were requested and three were received [the current representative Beth Counihan (English), Adam Luedtke (Social Sciences), and Franca Ferrari-Bridgers (Speech Communication and Theatre Department)]. Senator Yao (Chair of Mathematics and Computer Science) announced that he had nominated Karan Puri, however Provost Lynch noted that the nomination came in past the deadline. Puri was offered as a floor nomination. Senators elected three of the four candidates. Elected: Beth Counihan, Adam Luedtke, and Franca Ferrari-Bridgers.  

2.            Provost Lynch also announced the sunsetting of the 24 credit GED program. Students can now earn a GED through Continuing Education more cost effectively.

C.           Senator Lizzul announced that a massage therapy student, Steve Castillo, won the Vanguard non-traditional student award. Massage Therapy Healing Arts Program students also had a 100% pass rate on the New York State Licensing Exam.

D.           Senator McGill announced the streaming of She Kills Monsters, a show designed for social Media platforms.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:07 PM.

Zivah Perel Katz, Secretary

Academic Senate Steering Committee