Steering Committee Report April 2022
The Faculty Member at Large Senate vacancy election is underway. Sender Christine Mooney sent an email at 6:00 AM on Wednesday, March 30th. If you haven’t voted already, open that email to vote. Voting closes at 12:00 PM on Tuesday, April 12th, and new senators names will be announced at the Senate meeting that afternoon. There are fourteen vacancies and nineteen colleagues have come forward for election. We thank all nominees, and encourage all faculty members in Instructional and Professorial series to vote.
During election season the Committee on Committees performs the crucial tasks of establishing a ballot of Standing Committee members for the coming year, and overseeing Senate vacancy elections. Senators will vote at the April meeting on this ballot. At present there are several committee slots that have no nominee to fill them, due to a lack of eligible members stepping up to serve. Department chairs, please reach out to your faculty, especially those who will in upcoming semesters be considered for tenure and promotion, and stress to them the value of college service in their dossier.
Chair Christine Mooney and secretary Julian Stark have ably administered Committee on Committees processes this year, and we thank them for their service. There will be four vacancies on Committee on Committees for the coming year that will be filled by nomination and vote at the May Senate meeting. Chairs of eligible departments, please encourage available faculty members in your departments to run for a seat on the committee. All departments but the following are eligible to forward a nominee or nominees: English, Business, Chemistry, Biology, and Nursing. Membership on Committee on Committees is particularly crucial service to the college.
At the May Senate, elections will be held for the three Steering Committee positions one-year terms – chair, vice-chair, and secretary. Jannette Urciuoli will be stepping off the committee, so there will be a vacant position – that of secretary – needing to be filled. Though Steven Dahlke and Zivah Perel Katz plan to run for reelection to the seats of chair and vice-chair, Steering Committee as always encourages interested senators to run for a seat on the committee. To be effective, shared governance must offer opportunities broadly, so we encourage interested senators to ask their department chair to nominate them from the floor at the May meeting.
Likewise, nominations are requested for the one-year term Senate Officer positions of Parliamentarian and Senate Technology Officer. Senators wishing to run should ask their chair to nominate them from the floor.
At the April meeting, it will be proposed, if there is no objection, that the Steering Committee sign on behalf of the Senate a Grade Policy Retraction Request to the Chancellor from Faculty Governance Leaders across CUNY. The request is in response to changes to grading policy made at the University Registrar level in May 2021. A brief summary of the request follows:
- Grade Appeals -- remove new deadline, restore campus appeals-processes authority
- INC reversal deadline -- retract removal of possible extension, honor campus policies
3 WU grade point value change -- allow campuses to set policy regarding number of WUs allowed, or follow standard protocol of campus consultation and BOT approval to establish new policy
Senators, please carefully review the full text of the Retraction Request included with Agenda materials to determine whether there is any objection to Steering Committee’s signing the document.
Commencement will be an in-person event this year, and in addition to celebrating the accomplishment of our graduates the installation of Dr. Christine Mangino as our College President will be commemorated. Faculty are reminded to order their academic attire if they plan to attend and support our students. See an email from the Office of Student Affairs sent on March 23rd at 4:19 PM.
Zivah and I have worked so closely with Jannette Urciuoli on Steering Committee these past three years, and Jannette and I began our time together on Steering Committee a year before that under Joel Kuszai’s leadership. To work with Jannette has been an honor and a pleasure. She has a keen mind that grasps process and detail well, and has a long record of service to the college that has been invaluable in our work. To this is added a love for our college and its mission and a sense of humor that makes our tasks fun. We salute Jannette as she steps off the committee and look forward to working with her and enjoying her company in new ways in the years ahead. Thank you, dear friend!
Colleagues, look around you. I am confident that there are many colleagues in your life here whose work and fellowship you cherish. Don’t let a moment with them go to waste.
Academic Senate Steering Committee ([email protected])
Dr. Steven Dahlke, Chair [email protected]
Dr. Jannette Urciuoli, Vice-Chair [email protected]
Dr. Zivah Perel Katz, Secretary [email protected]
