Meeting Minutes #277

Members Present: Alexander Pichugin, Ana Pairet, Andrew Baker, Anna Haley, Anne McPherson, Cara Cuite, Crystal Akers, Santiago Cuesta, Daijiro Okada, Dave Smith, Dilafruz Nazarova, David Kryscynski, Don Schaffner, Ed Cohen, Edward P. DeMauro, Ellen Williams, Estelle, Francis Ryan, Francois Berthiaume, G. Tony Bell, Gary A. Rendsburg, Gerben Zylstra, Glenn Amatucci, Hanan Kashou, Heather Moulton, Heather Pierce, J. Sophia Fu, Janice Gobert, Jeff Zahn, Jehan Mohamed, Jennifer Shukaitis, Jeremy Morgan, Jessey Choo, John Evans, Kaysha Corinealdi, Kemal Gursoy, Khadijah Costley White, Kristin O'Brassill-Kulfan, Laura White, Marci Meixler, Mariann Bischoff, Matt Sequin, Meenakshi Dutt, Peter Jin, Peter Morrone, Rebecca Reynolds, Rob Isenhower, Ronnee Ades, Sanjib Bhuyan, Silke Severmann, Sue Shapses, Suneet Bhatt, Teona Williams, Thomas Davis, Thomas Figueira, Tim Power, Tom Stephens, Triveni Kuchi.

Non-Members Present: Jackson Lockhart, Parliamentarian; Charlie Collick, Director, Academic Technology & IT Accessibility; Carlos Ulises Decena, Associate Professor Women's & Gender Studies and Chair Latino & Hispanic Caribbean Studies; Carolyn Moehling, Senior Vice Provost and Vice Chancellor for Undergraduate Education.
 

1. Call to Order and Opening Remarks

Chair Haley called the meeting to order. The agenda and the January 30 meeting’s minutes were approved.

Anna Haley opened the meeting, framing the discussion in the spirit of shared governance, transparency, and aligning institutional actions with the university's mission. She noted that due to the full agenda, standing committee reports would be posted online, with time allotted only for brief committee updates.

2. Standing Committee Updates and Announcements

  • Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee (FPAC): Heather Pierce reported that FPAC is collecting departmental bylaws to study the inclusion of contingent faculty in governance. They are missing several bylaws, particularly from SAS, and will reach out to representatives to obtain the latest versions. It was suggested creating a dedicated space on the NBFC website to host these bylaws for transparency.
  • Budget & Planning / Infrastructure (BPI) Committee: David Kryscynski (DK) provided an update on recent meetings with Henry Velez and Nayland Smith. Discussions centered on the financial pressures from "zero cost increase" mandates and the need to manage infrastructure and salary increases through cost-cutting. A key theme was the administration's interest in improving transparency around financial decision-making.
  • Chancellor's Shared Governance Committees:
    • Ellen Williams requested the roster for the Chancellor's committees, specifically Community Engagement. Anna Haley apologized for the delay and will share the original list, noting recent staff changes in the Chancellor's office may mean the list is not fully current.
    • Heather Pierce reported that the Campus Policy Approval Committee is reviewing the new "free expression guidelines" (implemented post-Fall 2024) with the Eagleton Institute. The committee is preparing a report on the guidelines' impact on free speech, as they were implemented without following the standard policy approval process.
    • Kristin O'Brassill-Kulfan shared that the Chancellor's Committee on Native Imagery has faced challenges with unclear charges and deliverables. However, a recent conversation with Tiffany Butler suggests she may be a helpful resource for improving committee effectiveness.
    • Anna Haley noted she has conveyed concerns about the lack of process clarity to the Chancellor and encouraged members on these committees to take initiative in defining their charges, emphasizing NBFC's role in supporting and connecting with these groups.

3. Discussion: Anti-DEI Pressures at Rutgers

Anna Haley welcomed guest speaker Carlos Ulises Decena (AAUP-AFT Vice President) to discuss the union's efforts to document the rollback of DEI initiatives.

  • Union's Findings: Decena reported the union has collected numerous reports of changes driven by a "long game of telephone" from the administration, including:
    • Title Changes: The SAS Dean of DEI's title was changed without announcement.
    • Committee Dissolutions: Deans in SEBS and the Libraries were reportedly asked to dissolve their DEI committees.
    • Website & Archive Scrubbing: Language has been removed from websites, and archives from the former VP for Diversity's office were taken offline.
  • Faculty Concerns & Impacts:
    • Don Schaffner noted that some faculty support title changes to avoid potential negative impacts on grant funding.
    • Khadijah Costley White highlighted the dissolution of the STRIDE committee (which trained search committees on DEI) and framed the removal of DEI resources as "resource theft" from faculty, removing crucial support systems, especially for underrepresented faculty.
    • Ellen Williams confirmed the STRIDE committee in SEBS was disbanded without transparency.
    • Anna Haley shared that the Rutgers School of Social Work faculty voted overwhelmingly (60-3) to oppose a directive to change DEI titles, underscoring that DEI is integral to their curriculum and accreditation.
  • Discussion on Council's Role:
    • Members agreed the lack of written policy and top-down directives is a major concern.
    • Heather Pierce stressed the need for a clear statement from the administration affirming that these changes are not intended to interfere with academic freedom, particularly regarding syllabi and research content.
    • Andrew Baker suggested asking the Chancellor for the specific legal or policy basis for these decisions.
    • The group concurred that the Council's initial focus should be on process, transparency, and the inconsistent way deans are implementing unclear directives. Anna Haley will draft questions for the Chancellor based on the discussion.

4. Discussion: Standstill Budget & Financial Pressures

David Kryscynski (DK) shared insights from a BPI committee conversation with Nayland Smith regarding the standstill budget.

  • Financial Context: The pressure stems from a Board of Governors mandate to move towards a 5% operating surplus to build a financial cushion. This is partly driven by a large and growing backlog of deferred maintenance on aging infrastructure, which currently leads to costly emergency repairs.
  • 1% Revenue Allocation: Nayland Smith clarified that the 1% of revenues being directed centrally is not a discretionary fund for the President, but a pool to flexibly address emergent needs and shortfalls across units, allocated through existing cost-pool formulas.
  • Campus Impact & Faculty Input:
    • Sanjib Bhuyan (SEBS) reported his department was told to expect a 5% cut, even as the school continues new hires.
    • Kristin O'Brassill-Kulfan (SAS) noted that cuts will likely impact lecturer pay, leading to course reductions. She also flagged a planned $1.1 million expenditure on a new, proprietary AI tool that was not broadly requested.
    • Don Schaffner (SEBS) detailed that his school is planning for cuts of 3.5% of salaries and 1% of total revenues for FY27, with faculty searches being frozen.

Action: Anna Haley will compile the concerns raised about both DEI and budget processes and share draft questions with the Council for feedback.

5. Guest Presentation: Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Rutgers

Anna Haley introduced guests Charlie Collick (OIT) and Carolyn Moehling (Senior Vice Provost) to discuss the university's approach to AI.

  • Institutional Initiatives (Charlie Collick):
    • An "AI at Rutgers" steering committee with six working groups (including 140 people) has been active for a year, recently submitting 37 recommendations.
    • Key challenges include: deciding whether to license a university-wide AI tool; evaluating the proliferation of AI features in existing tools (like Canvas); and balancing the demand for AI tools with faculty concerns about monitoring and academic integrity.
    • OIT recently paused the activation of new AI features in Canvas to allow for proper faculty evaluation.
  • Pedagogical & Ethical Considerations (Carolyn Moehling):
    • She outlined "must-dos" (e.g., syllabus guidance, training, redesigning assessments) and "should-we-dos" (e.g., developing guidelines for asynchronous courses, revising the academic integrity policy).
    • She presented Ohio State University's recently adopted AI learning outcomes as a discussion point for whether Rutgers should adopt similar institution-wide competencies.
  • Faculty Q&A & Discussion:
    • Janice Gobert (GSE) discussed the challenge of preventing AI use and the existential threat it poses to higher education's core mission.
    • Anne McPherson (Mason Gross) strongly cautioned against adopting corporate or blanket workforce-driven AI goals, as AI proficiency is antithetical to success in disciplines like theater.
    • Khadijah Costley White raised the issue of AI's environmental impact and whether Rutgers is studying or planning to offset it. Collick responded that the focus so far has been on user education regarding ethical and environmental impacts, not on institutional offsetting.
    • Andrew Baker emphasized empowering individual faculty to set their own course policies and suggested exploring "AI-free" credentials for students.
    • Jehan Mohamed requested more training and resources for faculty to have informed conversations with students. Collick agreed, noting that Rutgers is significantly under-resourced in instructional design compared to peer institutions, a key recommendation from the AI working group.
  • Opportunity for Faculty Engagement:
    • Carolyn Moehling invited the NBFC to nominate representatives to the Academic Technology Advisory Council, which has four open slots for New Brunswick teaching faculty. This council vets instructional technologies and their implications.

Action: Anna Haley will circulate a call for nominations for the Academic Technology Advisory Council.

6. Other Business

Ana Pairet highlighted an upcoming "Know Your Rights" workshop (focused on immigrant justice) for faculty and staff, encouraging attendance. Anna Haley noted the relevance for supporting concerned colleagues and students.

7. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned.