Steering Committee Chairperson Dr. Steven Dahlke called the first regularly scheduled meeting of the Academic Senate to order at  3:14 PM. The meeting was held in a hybrid format, with attendees both in M136 and on Zoom. Chairperson Dahlke chaired the meeting from M136. 

 

I. Attendance

51 votes were recorded at the time attendance was taken; 61 members of the Academic Senate were present during the meeting.

 

Absent: Aalai, Azadeh; Armendariz, Raul; Li, Jeremy; Mayeli, Azita; Mcdonald, Alfred; Nguyen, Andrew; Parrinello, Emil; Petersen, Joan; Rachiele, Laura; Vasquez, Chenyl; Vasquez, Odette; Wentrack, Kathleen; Williams, Constance; Yao, Haishen

 

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 Sept. 13 Meeting 

Chairperson Dahlke used unanimous consent to approve the minutes. 

 

IV. Communications from:

 

A.  President Christine Mangino

 

The Senate received President Mangino’s report. 

 

President Mangino thanked the executive senate committee for their patience and for assisting with technology during senate meetings. She pointed out that there are many standing committees with vacant positions and encouraged faculty to consider serving. The CoC should be contacted if a faculty member desires to serve on a standing committee.

 

There are two more candidates to meet with on campus for the Provost search. President Mangino reminded the AS to please participate in the ongoing opinion poll related to the search. During the recent open forum, there were about 25 live attendees and 55 Zoom attendees. It is an important hire and your opinions matter, as more feedback translates to a better candidate selection. 

 

President Mangino mentioned putting a call out for merit increases. Many have taken on significantly more work, and nominations are important to recognize this work. She also reminded the Senate of several upcoming Jewish holidays that are not on the Academic Calendar but may be observed by students, and reminded that religious accommodations must be granted for those holidays. 

 

On Friday, October 14 there will be a Professional Development event on transparency in the enrollment process, with suggestions on how to improve enrollment. There is significant work being done in this area and everyone is encouraged to attend. 

 

The Chancellor is examining how well students do after graduating from AAS degrees and is tracking wages. So far, the data shows that students are not earning as much as they should be. There may be a call for curriculum revisions, and there is decent money available for curriculum as well as funds for expanding apprenticeships. Anyone who is interested in learning more information about available apprenticeships should reach out to Sandra Palmer. 

 

During President Mangino’s report, a representative of SG asked about the availability of honors programs. Sandra Palmer responded that we currently have an honors program, requiring 12 completed honors credit in order to graduate as an honors scholar. President Mangino added that there is also a bridge program being formed for transfer students. 

 

In response to this conversation, Steven Dahlke asked student representatives to introduce themselves, adding that it is important for all of us to see who we are working for. He also thanked President Mangino for her service to the college and thanked her for keeping the QCC community involved in the Provost selection process. 

 

 

 

 

B.     University Faculty Senate Liaison to the College 

 

Dr. Emily Sohmer Tai shared transactions from the USF Committee on Student Affairs. There will be a change in the learning management system in a transition from Blackboard to another platform. Training will be on the horizon. Dr. Sohmer Tai then highlighted the work done within the QCC Food Insecurity Committee with its recent mention in the UFS Student Affairs Committee.

 

With regard to the change in CUNY’s learning management

 

 

Steven: there will be a transition period so that we can get accustomed to that change. 

 

We already voted on June Graduates in May but congratulated them 

 

C.      Steering Committee Monthly Report 

 

Steven Dahlke began by noting that while June Graduates had already received a vote in May 2022, we congratulate them once again. 

 

Regarding the recent survey, he highlighted the importance of everyone feeling their voices are being heard and that every should feel comfortable expressing their opinions even if they disagree with others. He offered that the Steering Committee is committed to addressing any and all concerns, and that it is possible to create subcommittees to address individual issues. He then expressed a special thanks to colleagues serving on standing committees, specifically mentioning that Daniel Armstrong has agreed to serve as secretary for the Committee on Continuing Education once again. Lastly, he congratulated students for serving on standing committees, as Mohammad Balo was recently appointed to the Committee on Assessment. 

 

V.       Annual Reports 

 

Annual Reports of Academic Senate subcommittees were not discussed during the meeting. 

 

 

VI. June 2022 Graduate - Informational Only 

 

VII. Monthly Reports of the Committees of the Academic Senate 

 

A.          Committee on Bylaws motion passed with 59-1-1.

                      Against: Osorio, Jose 

                      Abstain: Carter, Ronaldo 

              

 

B.        EQLD motion approved through unanimous consent.

 

VIII. Unfinished Business 

 

A.  Updates from the Transfer Resource Center 

 

Dr. Renee Rhodd commented that on the topic of honors programs, ASAP is sponsoring the Cooke Transfer Scholarship, an award of up to $55k for tuition and expenses. The TRC would like faculty to know about these programs and related workshops to encourage engagement. Dr. Rhodd also mentioned that staff members including herself provide support and training for T-Rex. Colleagues may have received an email about this training opportunity, which will help to make the process easier and more universal. 

 

Next week is National Transfer Student Week, and several activities will be taking place across CUNY, SUNY, and private colleges, including transfer fairs. There will also be a sponsoring program from CCNY, with a virtual information session to allow underrepresented students in the field of law to receive more support. There will also be a workshop on T-Rex for students. TRC hopes to attract other members of the community to learn more about the transfer process. TRC will be adding more information to the website shortly, including information about the Baruch Business Academy. Though Dr. Rhodd encourages students to attend these live and virtual events, she made it clear that TRC’s policy is to discourage students from missing classes in order to attend. 

 

 

IX. New Business

 

Steven Dahlke shared the updated Senate Website, which includes streamlined links to important information as well as a link to the 2022 Assessment of Governance survey. 

 

Dr. Philip Pecorino reminded the Senate of the upcoming meeting of faculty with luncheon. One of the focuses of the meeting will be student retention and learning what faculty can do to help in those ongoing efforts. 

 

 

Dr. David Lieberman suggested that the AS may want to consider reducing the size of standing committees. 

 

 

 

Scott Litroff, Secretary 

Academic Senate Steering Committee