RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY
OF NEW JERSEY
UNIVERSITY SENATE
MINUTES: Regular Meeting of the University
Senate
DATE: November 13, 2015
TIME AND PLACE: 1:10 p.m., Essex Room 232, Paul
Robeson Campus Center, Newark Campus
MEMBERS PRESENT: Abacan, Ahmed, Aioub, Alder,
Anderson, Ardeshna, Asker, Avadhani, Avakame, Barchi, Borden,
Borisovets, Calabrese, Cantor, Chandler, Chayko, Cotter, Cruz, Dasari,
Davis, A. Dsai, DiVito, Drachtman, Durham, Edwards, Eisenstein, Faenza,
Fagley, Fennell, Fitzgerald-Bocarsly, Gillett, Gold, Gonzalez, Gould,
Gramieri, K. Gursoy, M. Gursoy, Huselid, Israel, Jamknanawala,
Joergensen, Joo, Kalan, Kelshikar, Killingsworth, Kressel, Kustka,
Kuzma, Lado, Langer, B. Lee, Jan Lewis, Lu, Markert, Meck, Meyer,
Morrell, Mouradian, Norville, Oleske, Oliver, Otto, Pandey, Parisi,
Pereira, Pintar, Pirrello, Pitt, Ponzio, Prestigiacomo, Puhak, Pusukur,
Rabinowitz, Roth, Ryan, Samant, Santana, Scheck, Schulberg, Schwartz,
Scoloveno, C. Scott, K. Scott, Settles, J. Shapiro, Singh, Spiegel,
Stein, Tamburello, Theiss, Thomson, Thompson, Toney-Boss, Torres,
Wagner, Wakim, Williams, Winkler, Winterbauer, Zurlo
EXCUSED: Ahluwalia,
Balog, Barbarese, Bhuyan, Boikess, Boruchoff, Bridgeman, Butler,
Charles, Covello, Delnevo, R. Desai, Dreyer, Edward, Esposito,
Fletcher, Hayton, D. Hughes, Janniger, Kirna, K. Lee, Mahtabfar,
Maloney, Martinez-San Miguel, Mazurek, McKeever, Miranti, Murphy,
Nissen, O'Connell, Rajesh, Saltzman, Shaban, Shapley, M. Shapiro,
Shinbrot, Struwe, Sung, Szabo, Trehan, Wang
ABSENT: Alizadeh, Anaele, Anthony, Barone,
Barraco, Benford, Blanchett, Bugel, Burley, Capone, Chau, Chen, Cooper,
Covington, Deans, Dixon, D'Souza, Eastman, Farmbry, Farris, Fehn,
Feldman, Gabriel, Gajic, Ganesh, Goh, Goodman, Gower, Grant, Grave,
Haddon, Heckscher, Holzemer, Holzer, J. Hughes, Johnson, Kantor,
Kolbaba, Kukor, LaBella, Lei, Jane Lewis, Lindenmeyer, Lynch, Mahon,
March, Marcone, Maruna, McGinnis, Messer, Mhaske, Miller, Moran,
Oberdiek, Palmer, Patel, Portillo, C. Potter, J. Potter, Ramsamy,
Robinson, Salmond, Schiavo, Scotto, Sharp, Stauffer, Stillwagon, Strom,
Szatrowski, Takacs, Thomas, Toth, Wasserman, White, Wise
ATTENDANCE SUMMARY:
Faculty: Of 104 total: 55 present (53%),
22 excused (21%), 27 absent (26%); Students:
Of 45 total: 24 present (53%), 10 excused (22%), 11
absent (24%); Administrators: Of 43
total: 7
present (16%), 3 excused (7%), 33 absent (77%); Staff:
Of 18 total: 11 present (61%), 4
excused (22%), 3 absent (17%); Alumni:
Of
6
total: 3 present (50%), 2 excused (33%), 1 absent (17%)
View Senate
Attendance Record for this year
CALL TO ORDER and CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT - Ann
Gould,
Chairperson
Chairperson Ann Gould called the meeting to order at 1:17
p.m.
in the Essex Room 232 of the Paul Robeson Campus
Center, Newark Campus. She welcomed all
attendees, and thanked Chancellor Nancy Cantor and her office
for hosting the Senate, and
for providing lunch. She then summarized the meeting agenda, and
reminded those who arrived in Newark on the Senate's charter bus that
the bus would depart for the return trip to New Brunswick 15 minutes
post-adjournment.
SECRETARY'S REPORT - Ken
Swalagin, Executive Secretary
NEWARK CHANCELLOR'S
REPORT - Newark
Chancellor Nancy Cantor
Newark Chancellor Nancy Cantor presented the Newark Chancellor's
Report. Click the following link to view Chancellor
Cantor's PowerPoint presentation. Cantor then responded to
questions from Senators, including on the subject of Rutgers Newark's
newly forming Staff Council.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT -
University President Robert Barchi
President Barchi presented a brief administrative report,
commenting on
topics
including:
- his congratulations to Rutgers Newark for its commitment to the
City of Newark, and for showcasing the city for President Obama during
his recent visit;
- Scarlet Raiders' successful season, especially in women's soccer;
- faculty scholarship and research;
- fundraising;
- investments in fossil fuel;
- Rutgers' 250th anniversary;
- a committee being formed by Richard Edwards, New Brunswick
Chancellor, charged with looking at the question of Rutgers'
historical role in slavery and displacement of indigenous populations;
- the state budget and financial support of Rutgers; and
- research and related funding.
President Barchi then responded to questions, or heard
comments, on
the above and a variety of other subjects, including:
- a call for voting student membership on Rutgers' governing boards;
- how university presidents react to protests;
- Rutgers' medical and health services to underserved populations,
especially women and children, and the need for a children's hospital
in Newark;
- costs related to the law schools merger;
- establishing staff councils in Camden and New Brunswick, and at
RBHS, to mirror the one created in Newark;
- availability of documentation on Rutgers' budget; and
- needed improvements to University Hospital.
COMMITTEE
REPORTS
USGC
Co-chairs Jon Oliver and Robert Puhak summarized their committee's
report on Honorary Degree and Commencement Speaker Selection Processes,
which was a response to the USGC being charged as follows:
The report was discussed, and modified slightly by friendly amendment
from the USGC. Because the resolution contained recommended changes to
Senate bylaws, those changes were introduced but not voted on at this
meeting. The portion of the resolution not related to bylaws was
adopted with three opposed, as follows:
Be it resolved that the University
Senate endorses the USGC's recommendations as contained in this report
regarding the process to select honorary-degree recipients and
commencement speakers, and asks the University administration to
implement that process going forward, starting with 2017 commencement.
Executive
Committee (EC) Resolution in Support of Part-Time
Lecturers
- Brandon Theiss, Camden Student Member of the Executive Committee, for
the Executive Committee
Camden Student Member of the Senate
Executive Committee Brandon Theiss presented a Resolution in Support of
Part-Time Lecturers, on behalf of the Senate Executive Committee.
Without further discussion, the resolution was adopted by the Senate
with two opposed.
Briefing
on Web Accessibility Policy,
and Committee-of-the-Whole Discussion - Senator
Natalie Borisovets moved the Senate into committee of the whole to
discuss the policy. In
response to Gould's request, motions were made successfully extending
total meeting time by 15 minutes, and setting a 15-minute time limit
for the committee-of-the-whole discussion. Senate
Vice Chair Peter Gillett assumed the chair while Gould went to the
floor for the discussion. Gayle Stein, Associate Director for
Instructional Technology,
OIT-Office of
Instructional and Research Technology; Christian Aziz, Manager of
Information Technology, and William Welsh, Executive
Director, Office of Disability Services, then summarized the Web
Accessibility Policy, and responded to questions, and heard comments
from the Senate. Following
discussion, Senator Martha Cotter moved the Senate out of committee of
the whole. Gould then resumed the chair.
OLD
BUSINESS:
There was no old business.
NEW BUSINESS: There was no new
business.
SENATE EXECUTIVE
COMMITTEE
REPORT - Senate Vice Chair Peter Gillett reported on the October
30, 2015 meeting and activities of the Senate Executive Committee.
REPORTS
OF THE REPRESENTATIVES TO BOARDS OF GOVERNORS AND TRUSTEES:
Senator
Samuel Rabinowitz, Faculty Representative to the Board of
Governors, said that there had been no meeting of the Board of
Governors since the previous Senate meeting. Senator Asha
Samant, Faculty Representative
to the Board of Trustees, said that there had been no meeting of the
Board of Trustees since the previous Senate meeting.
CAMPUS FACULTY AND STUDENT LIAISON
REPORTS:
Senator Samuel Rabinowitz, a member of the Camden Faculty Council, said
that there had been no meeting of that council since the previous
Senate meeting. Senator Brandon Theiss reported on
recent Camden student plans and activities. Senator
Mark Killingsworth, New Brunswick Faculty Council Chairperson,
reported on that
group's activities and plans. Senator Justin Schulberg, New
Brunswick
Student
Member
of the Senate Executive Committee, reported on New Brunswick student
governing association activities. Newark Student Senator Kimberly Lu
reported on Newark student governing association
activities. Swalagin read to the Senate a report prepared by
Newark Student Member of the Senate
Executive Committee Edmund Janniger (who was again unable to attend the
meeting) on Newark student governing association activities.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting adjourned
at 3:46 p.m.
Minutes Written and Submitted by,
Ken Swalagin
Executive Secretary of the University Senate