Meeting Minutes #217

Members Present:  J. Aiello, E. Alessi, S. Bhuyan, R. Boikess, S. Connolly,, M. Cotter, M. Doerfel, M. Flahive DiNardo, J. Flieger, J. Friedman, Z. Gajic,, M. Gliserman, D. Hamilton, P. Hirschfield, M. Kiessling, T. Kuchi, K. Kwan, C. Lugg, M. Mayer, K. McKeever, R. Niederman, T. Ozel, A. Pichugin, J. Pietruska, M. Rockalnd, J. Shandler, N Shapley, T. Stephens (Chair), T. Szatrowski, P. Takhistov, K. Thompson, J. Worobey, L. Yu

Non-Members Present: R. Edwards (New Brunswick Chancellor), M. Mickelsen (U. Senate Administrative Assistant), M. Norin (Sr. VP and Chief Information Officer)

1.    Call to Order – Tom Stephens, New Brunswick Faculty Council (NBFC) Chair
 
Council Chairperson Tom Stephens called the 217th meeting of the New Brunswick Faculty Council to order at 1:09 p.m. on Friday, April 21, 2017 in Busch Student Center Room 174, Busch Campus. 

2.    Approval of Agenda
 
The Agenda was approved as distributed.
 
3.    Approval of Minutes of March 31, 2017

The March 31, 2017 NBFC Minutes were approved

4.    Chair's Report - Tom Stephens, New Brunswick Faculty Council Chair

Council Chair Tom Stephens' Chair's Report included comments on:

  • thanking all members for their commitment this year especially the Executive Committee and Chancellor Richard Edwards;
  • congratulating Martha Cotter on her retirement and highlighted her many contributions to the NBFC;
  • reminding any members interested in serving on the Executive Committee next year that elections will be at the end of this meeting;
  • thanks to Ken Swalagin and Mary Mickelsen for their commitment and assistance to the Council this year; and
  • announcing that this would be his last year as chair, but that he would continue to serve until August 31st.

5.    Administrative Report - Richard Edwards, New Brunswick Chancellor

New Brunswick Chancellor Richard Edwards' administrative report included comments on:

  • congratulating Chair Tom Stephens on a very productive year, and Martha Cotter on her retirement and her many accomplishments at the Rutgers;
  • new New Brunswick Chancellor, Deba Dutta, is to begin July 1, 2017;
  • final stages in the search for a dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy;
  • Adrienne Eaton has been appointed the Acting Dean of the School of Management and Labor Relations; 
  • ongoing search for the new Zimmerli director;
  • federal funding cutbacks and what they might mean for the University, especially in the areas of student aid and indirect cost recovery; and
  • his gratitude to all members of the NBFC for their time and commitment, and his looking forward to rejoining the ranks of the faculty.

Edwards then responded to questions, or heard comments, on the above subjects as well as:

  • Obamacare and university hospital affiliations;
  • departmental operating budgets; 
  • international students and faculty and their visas; and
  • the possibility of a free-tuition plan and the pros and cons thereof.

[Committee Reports were moved forward in the agenda to 1:40 p.m. and were scheduled to break at 2:00 p.m. for Michelle Norin's presentation.]

6.    Committee Reports

Restructuring of Standing Committees of the NBFC - Martha Cotter

Martha Cotter discussed a proposal to restructure the NBFC Standing Committees.  The proposal was discussed and approved with an amendment to rename the "Budget and Planning Committee" the "Budget, Planning, and Infrastructure Committee".  The amended proposal will go before the entire NBFC due to it being a change to the NBFC Bylaws.

[The Council recessed from 2:02 p.m. to 2:07 p.m. and suspended Committee Reports]

7.    Future IT Endeavors - Michelle Norin, Sr. Vice President and Chief Information Officer

Michelle Norin, Sr. Vice President and Chief Information Officer, spoke to the Council about her plans for Information Technology at Rutgers.  The presentation can be found here.

Norin then responded to questions, or heard comments, on the contents of her presentation as well as:

  • coordination with the local and enterprise levels in regards to their IT needs, specifically when it comes to research;
  • file sharing sensitive data and the use of Office 365;
  • data storage for national accreditation accountability reports;
  • collaboration with different integrated student data systems; and
  • lines of communication between faculty and IT and using the faculty councils as a conduit.

[Sanjib Bhuyan successfully moved to extend the meeting time by 30 minutes.]

6a.    Committee Reports (continued)

Curriculum, Teaching and Honors Committee (CTHC): CTHC Chair Martha Cotter presented a report on Resolution on Keeping and Supporting Sakai. The resolution was discussed and unanimously adopted with a few minor corrections.

Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee (FPAC): FPAC Chair Jeff Friedman presented a Report and Resolution on Searching for and Hiring the President of the University (and other Senior Academic Administrators.  The resolutions was discussed and unanimously adopted.  The report will be sent to the President of the University and the Board of Governors.

8.    Election of Vice Chair and Executive Committee Members for 2017-18 and University Senate Faculty Senator At-Large New Brunswick

Tom Stephens led the process for electing 2017-18 Council leadership and the University Senate, Faculty Senator At-Large New Brunswick seats.  Nominations were made and members voted which resulted in the following:

  • 2017-18 Council Executive Committee 
  • University Senate Senator At-Large New Brunswick
    • Kenneth McKeever, 1-year term ending June 30, 2018
    • Alexander Pichugin, 2-year term ending June 30, 2019
    • Robert Boikess, 3-year term ending June 30, 2020

9.    Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 3:44 p.m.

 

Minutes written and submitted by,
Mary Mickelsen
Substitute NBFC Recording Secretary