Meeting Minutes #229

Members Present:  J. Aiello, S. Bhuyan, B. Boikess, B. Castallano, S. Connolly, O. Carbonell-Nicolau, M. Doerfel, B. Faga, M. Gliserman, A. Gould, E. Greenfield, P. Hirschfield, R. Kettler, D. Knight, T. Kuchi, J. Longo, J. Mathew, K. Morgan, F. Ryan, S. Shapses, T. Stephens, T. Szatrowski, K. Thompson, E. Williams, R. Womack,

Non-Members Present:  M. Cotter (Parliamentarian), C. Molloy (New Brunswick Chancellor), M. Mickelsen (NBFC Recording Secretary) 


1.    Call to Order – Sanjib Bhuyan, New Brunswick Faculty Council (NBFC) Chair 
 
New Brunswick Faculty Council Chairperson Sanjib Bhuyan called the 229th meeting of the New Brunswick Faculty Council to order at 1:10 p.m. on Friday, February 22, 2019 in Room 174 of the Busch Student Center, Busch Campus. His report included comments on:

  • Reminder of the Election for NBFC Executive Committee during the April meeting
  • Chancellor Molloy to deliver the Administrative Report

2.    Approval of Agenda 
 
The Agenda was approved
 
3.    Approval of Minutes of January 18, 2019 Meeting

The January 18, 2019 NBFC Minutes were approved.

4.   Faculty Concerns Regarding the Erosion of Tenure Track (TT) lines to Non-Tenure Tack (NTT) or PTL (Part-time Lecturer) Lines – Karen Thompson

Supporting Documentation

Thomspon shared data obtained from the University Senate Office’s request of President Barchi for information regarding the number of full- and part-time faculty along with the number of classes and students taught by each (see “Supporting Documentation” above). This information is data needed by the Senate Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee (FPAC) to complete a charge surrounding contingent faculty. Thompson stated SVP Barbara Lee will be attending the next Senate FPAC meeting in March for clarification.

Thompson expressed concern the data was incomplete and only reflects numbers up to 2017. She then asked for feedback from the NBFC that can be shared with the Senate FPAC and SVP Lee, to include:

  • capped benefits of tenured lines;
  • budget cuts and department deficits constraining hiring of TT;
  • increase in administration hires;
  • increase in undergraduate students;
  • discrepancies in the data – some slides showing the Medical School numbers and other slides do not;
  • how this may affect the student experiences – not knowing who to go to for references/advising;
  • clearing the lines of responsibility between TT and NTT/PTL; and
  • creating a path for PTL’s similar to NTTs.

5.    Administrative Report – Christopher Molloy, Chancellor – Rutgers New Brunswick

Chancellor Molloy greeted the council and thank everyone for their well wishes around the announcement he has been selected to serve as New Brunswick Chancellor.  He dispelled concerns he may not be as supportive of the humanities as others would like.  he expressed his full support of this area of Rutgers’ mission and has no plans to reduce this part of the school.

He also commented and answered questions on:

  • the 2020 budget
    • looking to evolve into a simpler model – RCM is proving to be a challenge;
    • asking deans to evaluate expense vs. revenue and where can they save;
  • Infosilem
    • second simulation was more successful than the first;
  • Administrative Searches:
    • Jennifer Hollingshead was hired as the Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications
    • Search for Vice Chancellor of Finance and Vice Chancellor of Diversity continues
  • Deferred Maintenance Concerns
    • Psychology Building, Hickman Hall, and Loree Hall are the biggest concerns
    • Cook/Douglass needs to be reinvested in
  • Marketing and the Student Experience
    • funding for global training/study abroad programs/internships
    • reorganizing of the Career Services Department
    • online course capabilities
    • management of the Athletic Support Group

6.   Committee Reports

  • Inclusion of the New Brunswick Faculty Council in the University Policy Library – Martha Cotter, Martin Gliserman, Ann Gould (Ad-Hoc Committee)
    • Gliserman reported on the draft resolution to include all the campus’ faculty council bodies in the University Policy Library.
    • Ann Gould proposed the following second resolution –
      • “and, Be it further resolved that this resolution be forwarded to the Rutgers University Senate for consideration.”
      • the proposed resolution passed
    • The resolution passed as amended on the floor.
  • Academic Affairs Committee - Robert Boikess
    • Boikess reported on his committee’s discussion regarding copyright infringement on faculty course content (notes, syllabi, exams, etc) and their intent to draft a resolution asking the administration to investigate what information was posted without consent.
       
  • Athletic Affairs Committee – Tom Stevens
    • Stevens reported on his committee’s discussion surrounding the CCS report and issues to be discussed when the chair, Ken McKeever returns. He also discussed the committee’s plan to draft a resolution at that time.
    • Chair Bhuyan asked members to send their questions regarding the CCS report to Stevens for discussion at the next meeting.
  • Budget, Planning, & Infrastructure – Ryan Womack and Triveni Kuchi, Co-Chairs
    • Womack presented the results of the parking survey and expressed their intention to wait for more faculty feedback before they approach the Parking Department with a report. They intend to have the report completed by the March meeting and invite representatives of the Parking Department to attend a meeting in the fall.  Womack and Kuchi also reported on rumors of the Media Center of the New Brunswick Libraries closing and 5 faculty members will lose their jobs.  They expressed concerns with investigating this matter since they are both members of the Library faculty.  Chair Bhuyan then assigned the investigation to the Academic Affairs Committee.
  • Faculty and Personnel Affairs - Karen Thompson/Tugrul Ozel, Co-Chair
    • Presentation by Karen Thompson earlier in the meeting sufficed as the Faculty and Personnel Affairs Report.
  • Student Affairs – Sue Shapses, Chair
    • Shapses reported her committee’s discussion around student stress and how faculty can be more engaged/aware.  The CAPS Director has been invited to the March Student Affairs meeting. The committee also discussed their goals for the coming year.

7.   New Business 

Job Action Survey – Ellen Williams

Williams discussed the Job Action Survey (https://tinyurl.com/rustrikeready), of which 1,000 members have participated in by the time of this meeting, that was created due to the lack of response by the administration to contract negotiations.

8.   Adjournment 

The meeting was adjourned at 3:15 p.m.

Written and submitted by:

Mary Mickelsen
NBFC Recording Secretary