Meeting Minutes #266

Members Present: Thomas Figueira, Miranda Lichtenstein, Ralph Bowen, Kenneth McKeever, Mariann Bischoff, Eleanor LaPointe, Carmel Schrire, Tom Davis, Ellen Williams, Anna Haley, John Evans, Mark Bray, Michele Bakacs, Sanjib Bhuyan, Don Schaffner, Julia Maxwell, Amy Jordan, Heather Pierce, Nikolaos Linardopoulos, Ana Pairet, Gerben Zylstra, Francois Berthiaume, Kaysha Corinealdi, Lei Yu, Diane Fruchtman, Elin Wicks, Jeff Zahn, David Kryscynski, David Smith, Karen Thompson, Linda Oshin, Tom Stephens, Lisa Rodenburg, Crystal Akers, Francis Ryan, Mei Ling Lo, Marci Meixler, Narayan Mandayam, Robert Boikess, James DeFilippis, Tanja Sargent, Alisa Belzer, Alexander Pichugin, Jennifer Shukaitis, Meenakshi Dutt, Peter J. Morrone, Dilafruz Nazarova, Julia Maxwell, Mark Bray, Benjamin Paul

Non-Members Present: Martha Cotter, Parliamentarian; Christopher Godoy, student helper; Brielle Fedorko, student helper; Francine Conway, Chancellor Rutgers New Brunswick; Patrick Nowlan, Executive Director, Rutgers AAUP-AFT

1. Call to Order and Welcome Statements

The meeting was called to order by Chair Haley on Friday, September 27, 2024, at 1:10 pm via Zoom. Chair Haley welcomed both new and returning NBFC members to a new academic year, introduced the Executive Committee members, as well as two student helpers, who will update the website, help with the minutes, and provide expertise in parliamentary procedure. She then advertised the two "Open House" meetings to help orient new NBFC members, announced that individual standing committees would run elections for co-chairs, and asked members to send nominations to her for that purpose.  Finally, she announced that a teaching conference, jointly sponsored by the NBFC and the Provost, will be held later in the semester around the theme of artificial intelligence in education, and that a social gathering is planned as well.

2. Chancellor's Report and Q&A - Francine Conway

Note: Due to her limited availability, the Chancellor's Report was moved ahead of schedule in the agenda. 

Chancellor Conway thanked Chair Haley for her leadership, thanked the Council for the help it gave her last year, and expressed her belief that we can accomplish even more together this year. She announced that she would not give a formal presentation but would be happy to answer questions. In the Q&A that followed:

  • Tom Figueira asked about the follow-up on the faculty dining resolution. Chancellor Conway replied that she has set up a task force to address this issue and appointed its administrative members. She asked for the NBFC to contribute members to this task force. 
  • Heather Pierce asked the Chancellor if she would ask faculty members to hold their classes asynchronously online on election day to make it easier for students to go and vote. Chancellor Conway replied that President Holloway is considering this request and she will align with his decision. She also mentioned that there are several voting sites on campus.  
  • Lisa Rodenburg asked about the issue of graduate students appointed as Fellows receiving lower financial support and benefits than they would receive if they were appointed as Graduate Assistants (GAs), a situation that is clearly counterproductive to our efforts to recruit an excellent and diverse graduate student body. The Chancellor replied that a committee led by EVPAA Prabhas Moghe is working on this issue to try to figure out ways to make compensation received by students more equitable across funding sources. Furthermore, she added that more generally she wants to work to change university policies that interfere with our efforts to better support students, but this is more difficult to do than in many other institutions because of the unusually high fringe benefits rate at Rutgers.
  • Francis Ryan asked about the future of the Labor Education Center given the construction in the area and plans to redevelop the Douglass campus. Chancellor Conway replied that she has heard of no redevelopment ideas or plans that would endanger the Center and that everyone will be informed if any such ideas or plans emerge. She noted that the Labor Ed Center is historically important, even iconic.
  • Ellen Williams asked about the status of the Brandt Behavior Health Center. Chancellor Conway explained that a soft ribbon-cutting ceremony was held but minor fixes to the building are needed before it can be fully operational. She described the Center, which is completely funded by a donor, as a model, unique interdisciplinary center providing opportunities for research and training to students from all the different New Brunswick schools, as well as offering both outpatient and inpatient services focused on behavioral health, health equity, and wellness.

3. Approval of the Agenda

The agenda was belatedly approved.

4.  Approval of the Minutes of the Meeting of April 19, 2024

The minutes were approved.

5. Revised NBFC By-Laws – Anna Haley 

Chair Haley explained that the most recent version of the new by-laws was accessible via a shared document on which NBFC members are invited to add their comments and proposed changes. The plan is to incorporate these suggestions and have a final discussion of the proposed by-laws, as well as a first vote on approval, at the October NBFC meeting. If a simple majority of those voting vote to approve the by-laws, we will follow up with an online ballot on the motion to adopt these new by-laws. Two-thirds of those voting must approve the revised by-laws in order for the motion to pass.

Chair Haley went over the highlights of the document while it was being shared by Zoom, and invited comments from NBFC members present. Ellen Williams asked for some information about the proposed community engagement standing committee. Chair Haley explained that this committee is meant to disseminate our work and seek out, in a proactive way, issues of interest for the Council to work on. However, it was decided not to pursue the creation of this committee after all, to avoid taking members away from existing committees. Furthermore, the student helpers that have been hired can fulfill these tasks.

6. Update on Fringe Rate Negotiations with the State  – Patrick Nowlan, Executive Director, Rutgers AAUP-AFT

Executive Director Nowlan gave a presentation on the origins of the very high fringe benefits rates on grants established by the State of New Jersey and efforts to lower them.  He explained that the origin of the problem goes back to taking faculty out of the State retirement program and establishing the Alternate Benefits Program (ABP) and that a long-term fix would require the State to pass legislation to establish an ABP fringe benefits rate separate from that of the State retirement program, something the State is reluctant to do. Instead, the State gave Rutgers and the other public universities subsidies as a short-term partial fix. The subsidies can now be used to lower both federally-funded and nonfederally-funded rates but Rutgers has chosen to apply all its subsidy to federally-funded grants, which has decreased the federal rate somewhat while the nonfederal rate remains very high (approaching 80%), which makes it increasingly difficult for Rutgers investigators dependent on nonfederal funding sources to run their research programs. The Union is working to achieve a fringe benefits rate that is both reasonable and uniform for all funding sources.

7. Committee Reports 

Academic Affairs – Ted Szatrowski, Chair

In the absence of Committee Chair Szatrowski, Sanjib Bhuyan reported that the committee first discussed the topic of faculty participation in the search for a new Rutgers president and then discussed a number of issues that the committee is working on and/or may wish to work on this academic year, including:

  • Issues related to honors scholars
  • Test-optional admissions
  • Course Atlas
  • Issues related to our library collections
  • The impact on the Writing Program of the non-reappointment and subsequent reappointment of many lecturers
  • Implementation of the Discovery Advantage recommendations.

Student Affairs – Crystal Akers and Ana Pairet Vinas, Co-Chairs

Co-chair Akers reported that the committee meeting focused largely on introductions, orientation of new members, and explanation of how the committee works. More specifically topics discussed included:

  • Last year’s investigation of the 1st day program
  • Last year’s investigation of CAPS and how well it works in practice
  • Other issues related to student mental health
  • Inviting Vice-Provost Mena to a committee meeting
  • Communication with the Executive Committee

Faculty and Personnel Affairs – Francois Berthiaume and Heather Pierce, Co-Chairs

Co-chair Berthiaume reported that the committee discussed a number of issues including:

  • The committee’s standing charge and work procedures
  • The upcoming election of committee co-chairs
  • Implementation of the recommendations in the committee’s resolution on providing the opportunity for faculty to include DEI contributions on form 1As
  • Issues the committee has worked on but not completed its work including incorporation of lecturers in departmental structure and decision-making, term limits on department chairs, and the impact on faculty of the increasing number of courses being offered both online and in person
  • Other issues that the committee might be interested in considering.

Athletic Affairs – Ken McKeever, Chair

Tom Stephens, substituting for committee chair Ken McKeever, reported on the committee’s discussion of three basic topics:

  • The interplay between NCAA athletics and club sports and the need to provide more support for the latter
  • Inviting the Interim Athletic Director Ryan Pisarri to a committee meeting to discuss his view of the future of athletics at Rutgers
  • Inviting Scott Walker, the Executive Director of Student Athlete Academic Support, to a meeting.

Budget, Planning, & Infrastructure – Thomas Figueira, Chair

Committee Chair Figueira gave the committee report, in which he made the following points:

  • The committee acquired two new members but still is short-staffed. It needs more members, particularly members with budgetary planning experience.
  • Chair Figueira is willing to continue as chair of the committee but really needs a co-chair. This need has been exacerbated by his becoming a co-chair of the Senate Budget and Finance Committee.
  • Chair Figueira is convinced that the key overlying issue for the NBFC is the shape of the new administration and that we need to prepare a budget and finance plan and send it to the presidential search committee and the Boards of Governors and Trustees and distribute it widely enough so that potential applicants for the job might see it.

8. Other Business

  • Chair Haley took the opportunity to thank Martha Cotter for her service to the Council in the past few years as Parliamentarian, and going back a few decades, for her many previous shared governance roles including NBFC Chair. This was followed by a discussion by Sanjib Bhuyan of Martha's many contributions to shared governance, including chairing the Senate as well as the Faculty Council.  Martha Cotter expressed her gratitude for the recognition and said she would like to remain involved in the Council as a volunteer.
  • Chair Haley elaborated on the ongoing work to implement the resolution on faculty dining that was discussed earlier in the meeting. In addition, she provided an update on implementation of the Council resolutions on the poet laureate initiative from Vice Provost Jason Geary, Chair of the implementation committee: a call for proposals is expected soon and the inaugural laureate is expected to be named in 2025.
  • Heather Pierce advertised an upcoming Statewide Conference on Freedom of Speech at the Labor Ed Center on October 26th.

9. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 3:00 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Francois Berthiaume, Vice Chair; written with the help of Martha Cotter