Meeting Minutes #178

Members Present: G. Ashley, B. Avi-Itzhak, R. Boikess, E. Boling, C. Clauss-Ehlers, P. Gambarota, T. Gerhard, M. Gordon, M. Haggblom, D. Kumar, P. Leath, K. McKeever (Chair), J. Markert, S. Martin-Marquez, L. Nepomnyaschy, D. O’Connor, P. Panayotatos, J. Phillips, J. Reed, L. Rodenburg, A. St. John, R. Schwarzschild, J. Shapiro, G. Springs, T. Szatrowski, J. Theiss, K. Thompson, L. Wiggins, R. Wilson, L. Windsor, T. Yang

Non-Members Present: P. Furmanski, K. Swalagin (Recording Secretary)

1. Call to Order - Ken McKeever, NBFC Chairperson

Council Chairperson Ken McKeever called the 178th meeting of the New Brunswick Faculty Council (NBFC) to order at 1:16 p.m. on Friday, December 10, 2010 in the Rutgers Student Center Graduate Student Lounge, College Avenue Campus. After welcoming everyone to the meeting, he thanked the Council’s Executive Committee for assembling the day’s agenda, which it did at a meeting chaired by Joel Shapiro, and held while McKeever was at a conference in South Africa.

2. Approval of Agenda and Minutes

The current meeting agenda, and the Minutes of the October 15, 2010 NBFC meeting were approved.

3. Progress Reports - Joel Shapiro

Joel Shapiro, reported on progress of Council actions and considerations, including:

Discussion and administrative action related to the Council’s resolution on Deadline for Submission of Promotion Packets to Deans by Academic Departments: Shapiro reported that Furmanski has informed the deans of the resolution, and that it does not appear to be a problem except perhaps at the School of Arts and Sciences-New Brunswick, from which there has been no response yet.

Budget reports in response to the Council’s salary-cut resolution: In October 2010, the Council had adopted a resolution which was included in a report on Paying Salary Increments, as follows:

Be it resolved that we strongly urge the Administration to cancel the current salary freeze and to implement all previously agreed upon salary increases now, retroactive to the date on which they were originally to have been implemented, or provide, before the November 12 New Brunswick Faculty Council Executive Committee meeting, data that would allow the Faculty Council to propose possible alternatives.

When the resolution was adopted, Executive Vice President Furmanski was asked for salary information that would allow the Council to consider alternatives to the salary freeze, with a view to submitting those alternatives to the administration. In the interim, Furmanski had provided the salary data, which was distributed as a hardcopy handout at this meeting. It was noted that only the education-related material was included in the data, but that expenses related to athletics were not included. Furmanski commented that athletics expenses are public information, and are embedded somewhere in the information provided, but said he would provide the data specifically. [See also Item 7 below.]

4. Administrative Report - Philip Furmanski, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Philip Furmanski delivered an administrative report, which included comments on:

• the anticipated release of the New Jersey Higher Education Task Force Report, the expected content of which was Furmanski’s primary focus during this administrative report, and, in particular:
  • its recommendations regarding the structure of higher education in New Brunswick, and what will happen to UMDNJ in the long term;
  • the structure and governance of higher education in New Jersey; and
  • funding and other economic considerations in support and recognition of New Jersey’s state higher education institutions, including capital expenditures;
• the current and anticipated state-funding situations;
• ongoing negotiations about a state-proposed residency requirement for New Jersey state employees, for which an exemption for current employees has been established, but for which no blanket exemption for higher education has yet been established; and
• potential for another mid-year budget rescission, and the related possibility of furloughs, the extreme difficulties of which were described by Furmanski

Proposed Charges to Committees

Ratio of Full-Time to Part-Time Faculty: Karen Thompson proposed a charge to the Faculty Affairs and Personnel Policy Committee (FAPPC) on Furmanski’s recently forwarded (to the University Senate) Updated Report on Balance of Full-time and Part-time Faculty Teaching at Rutgers. It was noted that this matter has currently been charged to the FAPPC’s counterpart in the University Senate. No charge was issued.

Requirements for Curriculum Committee Approval for Teaching Method Changes: Paul Leath summarized a proposed charge to the Curriculum, Teaching and Honors Committee (CTHC) on looking into guidelines and/or requirements for getting curriculum committee approval for material changes to how a course is taught. He said that curriculum committees should be looking not only at approving individual courses, but also at material changes in how a course is taught. He cited examples of online or hybrid courses, and proposals to teach science laboratory courses online. The CTHC will take up this charge.

Policy on Requiring Posting of Syllabi, and Content: Leath summarized a proposed charge to the CTHC on whether to require all instructors to post syllabi online, and what content should be required in those syllabi. Shapiro suggested looking at compliance and enforcement of such a requirement as well. The CTHC will take up this charge.

Chairperson McKeever asked all Council members, as representatives of their departments, to email him any suggestions for issues that the Council should address. McKeever offered to bring those suggestions to the Council Executive Committee for consideration.

6. Report on AAUP Conference on Shared Governance - Paul Panayotatos

Paul Panayotatos reported on an AAUP conference on shared governance in higher education which he had attended in Washington DC earlier that month. He prefaced his report by saying that he was hoping that EVP Furmanski would be there for his report on the conference (Furmanski had left the meeting before this part of the agenda was reached), and that the Council should be careful that its meetings were not only or primarily Furmanski’s administrative reports. Panayotatos reported at some length about the portions of the conference he attended. McKeever asked him if he would summarize the key issues and bring those to the next Council Executive Committee meeting. Panayotatos said he would do that.

7. Reconsideration of Salary Freeze in Light of Provided Data

Various aspects of the Council’s October 2010 resolution on paying salary increments (See item 3, part 2, above), and the related budgetary information supplied by EVP Furmanski, were discussed. The Council considered asking for additional information, whether the Council itself had the resources to deal with the issue, previous work done by unions on this matter, and what potential outcomes of further Council action might be possible. The issue of incremental promotion salary increases was also discussed specifically. Chairperson McKeever asked the Council members to email him their ideas on this matter.

8. Old Business

There was no old business.

9. New Business

Caroline Clauss-Ehlers said that the Byrne Seminars had started that week, and that so many students were now interested in the seminars that they need more proposals. She asked Council members to email seminar proposals to her or to Kathy Hull, who directs the seminars.

Ken McKeever said he’s on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and said the number of returning military veterans coming to Rutgers New Brunswick has increased 43 percent from last year. He asked if Council members had assisted veterans, if they were aware of services for veterans, and if they would like more information on veterans’ services. He suggested adding to the next Council agenda a discussion of transportation, counseling, curriculum and other aspects of educating military veterans. McKeever said he will discuss that with the Council Executive Committee at its next meeting.

10. Adjournment

The meeting adjourned at 3:37 p.m.

Written and Submitted by:

Ken Swalagin Recording Secretary