Meeting Minutes #273
[Under Construction]
Members Present: Alexander E. Pichugin, Alisa Belzer, Alvaro Toledo, Ana Pairet, Andrew Baker, Anna Haley, Benjamin Paul, Bret McCandless, Cara Cuite, Carmel Schrire, Crystal Akers, Daijiro Okada, Dave Smith, David Kryscynski, Diane Shane Fruchtman, Ed Cohen, Edward P. DeMauro, Elin Wicks, Ellen Williams, Estelle Mayhew-Timmerman, Francois Berthiaume, Francis Ryan, G. Tony Bell, Gerben Zylstra, Glenn Amatucci, Hanan Kashou, Heather Moulton, Heather Pierce, Jeff Zahn, Jehan Mohamed, Jennifer Shukaitis, Jeremy Morgan, Jeremy Morgan, Jessey Choo, Kaysha Corinealdi, Kemal Gursoy, Kenneth McKeever, Kraig Williams, Laura White, Marci Meixler, Mariann Bischoff, Michael Rossi, Michele Bakacs, Miranda Lichtenstein, Peter Jin, Peter Morrone, Rebecca Biebel, Rebecca Reynolds, Ronnee Ades, Sanjib Bhuyan, Santiago Cuesta, Silke Severmann, Sophia Fu, Sue Shapses, Suneet Bhatt, Teona Williams, Thomas Figueira, Tim Power, Tom Davis, Tom Stephens, Triveni Kuchi, Xenia Morin.
Non-Members Present: Jackson Lockhart, Parliamentarian
1. Call to Order and Welcome Statements:
The meeting was called to order by Associate Professor of Social Work and Council Chair Haley on Friday, September 26, 2024, at 1:10 pm via Zoom. Chair Haley amended the meeting agenda to reflect the Parliamentarian for the day as Jackson Lockhart, with Zackary Korczak taking the minutes. With the amendment approved without objection, Chair Haley moved to approve the minutes for the May 2nd, 2025, Council meeting. Minutes were approved without objection. The Chair then welcomed everyone to a new council year, including 26 new representatives, existing members, and student staff. She then pointed to 6 open seats within the School of Arts and Sciences, the largest number in her time as Chair. Professor Heather Pierce then brought up 3 lecturer seats that were also open, and highlighted that any units are welcome regardless of academic discipline. A new Executive meeting member, Andrew Baker, was introduced, who will be joining the returning members: Sanji Buyan, Anne Pearson, Crystal Akers, and HP (aka Heather Pierce). Chair Haley then mentioned the upcoming leadership elections within each committee. Two reports were then raised to the attention of the council, one being the annual report regarding activities within the last academic year, and another being an evaluation of the council’s functioning. Both reports have been emailed to members. A Committee Member Toolkit is also an open resource to members. A draft of possible work topics was said to be underway, input from existing members being key to producing an adequate final copy. An in-person social event is being planned, but specific dates and times were said to still being developed. The University is experiencing massive changes in leadership with new administrators at every level, this change. In regard to the current environment around higher education, public expression, and academic freedom, the council will use the devices at their power to best meet the moment, including bringing in subject matter experts to speak with the council, identify critical issues, utilize an Ad Hoc committee working with the chancellor to respond to federal actions, potential collaboration with the University Senate, and connecting with other university entities to engage in joint work on issues across campuses affecting faculty. Chair Haley wrapped up by saying the work to meet the challenges in front of the council would be done with the input and avid participation of faculty, facilitated by the council Chair.
2. Tribute to Bob Boikess
Professor Bhuyan opened this section with an acknowledgement of the passing of Professor Boikess and handed it to Professor Stephens. Professor Stephens highlighted the accomplished life of Professor Boikess, noting his strong belief in the rights of people, mistrust of authority, and love for Rutgers. Professor Boikess was at Rutgers for key milestones of the University throughout the last 45 years, taking a loud role in the progression of Rutgers, and serving as a friend to many within the council and out. Professor Bhuyan moved to his own tribute, lifting up the respect, worldliness, and strength of Professor Boikess. Professor Boikess was said to always be a guide, a strong advocate for what he knew to be right, and someone sorely missed. Chair Haley mentioned how Professor Boikess was a grounding force for her in exploring her own journey in working for shared governance and impact to improve Rutgers. In honor of Bob, Chair Haley recommended a series on academic freedom that faculty could take part in. Professor Figueira believed the series should be narrowed down to being about governance and shared his own tribute to Professor Boikess.
3. Committee Reports
Student Affairs – Alisa Belzer, Chair
Chari Belzer reporting, 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:
- Supporting undocumented and immigrant students
- Dining hall issues
- LGBTQ protection
- The student transitions from high school to college
- Being effective as a committee by utilizing a broader set of sources
A committee poll will be going out to figure out the top three priorities, with a commitment to decide on priorities by the end of October.
Faculty and Personal Affairs - Heather Pierce, Chair
Chair Pierce reporting, the committee brainstormed what they wanted their focus to be for the academic year, and will make firm decisions later in the semester. The Chair reiterated the committee’s existing activities, including:
- Review of Course Atlas
- Inclusion and department decision-making by teaching faculty
- A library of all department and unit bylaws
- DEI resolutions
Things talked about in the September committee meeting:
- Workloads
- Combatting the push to online and AI-involving classes
- Clear promotion guidelines are being implemented for those on the tenure track
- Getting a dental plan
- Grade inflation (the lack of minus or plus grades, the origin of the system at Rutgers, and the ways this creates poor incentives)
- Overview of the system in general that has to do with shared governance
The committee was asked about H1B issues by Professor Pairet, to which Chair Pierce informed Professor Pairet that the issue was being looked at by the committee and in other faculty organizations as well. Professor Pairet recommended circulating information about foreign national employment protections and other facts.
Budget Planning and Infrastructure – Tom Davis, Co-Chair; Thomas Figueira, Co-Chair
Co-Chair Davis reporting, the committee discussed many issues during their meeting, including:
- Protocol for committees regarding the election process
- The consultant transportation report that came out earlier this year
- Recommendations around transportation, including a new comprehensive transportation management tool
- A letter concerning the hybrid attendance possibilities
- The status of EV charging stations on campus
- Software issues, overlapping from last year
- The lack of a relationship in coordinating around Course Atlas
Co-Chair Thomas Figueira reporting, the committee has learned the faculty dining hall on Busch campus has been reopened. Co-Chair Figueira has already attended it, and is eager for as much information as possible from faculty around it in order to bring data for the improvement of the facilities. He then mentioned that he would step down as Co-Chair within the next few weeks. Co-Chair Davis then mentioned new business included greater transparency in funding admin and athletic roles.
Athletic Affairs - Kenneth McKeever, Chair
Chair McKeever reporting, the committee discussed issues of both past business and future aspirations, including:
- Goals and outlooks for the committee
- What can be done about budget issues
- Improving relations between Athletics and the Faculty Council
- Discussion on the Big Ten academic alliance
- A meeting was held with the new athletic director to address concerns for students and student-athletes
- The possibility of changing what transfer credits are accepted from other universities
- Rewarding aid on a fairer, faster basis
- Open space within the Athletic Affairs Committee
Academic Affairs - Xenia Morin, Chair
Chair Morin reporting, the committee has welcomed five new members to their committee. The committee has a wide charge and has significant overlap with other committees. Chair Morin recommended that this should encourage collaboration with other committees. the committee discussed issues of both past business and future aspirations, including:
- Staffing issues around the Honors College
- A consensus vote the committee was passed on getting the Honors Dean to inform with the council on procedures
- Improving disability accessibility
- Allowing language teachers to better access advisors to advocate for their courses
- Hiring more staff for and investing in university libraries
- Dealing with AI encroachment on academic integrity, while acknowledging the pros of the technology
- Academic freedom
- Student instructional surveys
A comment was lodged after the report acknowledging that students with temporary conditions are not given access to the university’s disability services. Chair Morin mentioned that this extended to faculty as well. Professor Pairet pointed out that the Dean of Students can be contacted to support temporary condition students. Chair Haley mentioned the potential new General Studies school.
4. Breakout Rooms
Notes from breakout rooms
Professor Belzer’s group advocated a focus on improving library services, as they cut across every committee and discipline represented in the Faculty Council.
Professor Bhuyan’s group recommended that committees work together to empower the council’s collective interests.
Professor Baker’s group touched on themes including the importance of academic freedom of teaching and learning, support in a broad sense for undocumented and international students, generating greater empathy and awareness across disciplinary boundaries about the different types of challenges that different parts of the university are experiencing, and taking advantage of the recent, administrative transition to try to develop connections to the new president and other new leaders as a means of facilitating greater involvement of faculty and governance.
Professor Morin’s group discussed the existential crisis of chaos coming out of Washington, with the H-1B being the latest example, and figuring out what role the New Brunswick Faculty Council plays in that. Other topics included research grants being clawed back, a potential committee for research, and organizational structure being clarified.
Chair Haley’s group discussed shared governance and the nature of managerial prerogatives not being mutually exclusive, a current conflict between the Chancellor and Deans. Professor Pierce discussed the work being done in the Senate about this issue, and the honing of the definition of shared governance for the council's purposes.
9. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 2:52 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Zackary Korczak, student worker and Parliamentarian