Faculty Senate Minutes September 12, 2024
September 12, 2024, 3:30 p.m., Charter Room
Present: A. Rosenfeld (Chair), D. DeFino (Secretary), M. Bard, D. Brophy, C. Carlson, K. Engemann, M. Higgins, M. Hughes, L. Ivanov, N. Kyaw, S. Petrovic
Excused: B. Gaines, G. Grimaldi, J. Haber, Y. Kang, J. Klein, A. Qayyum
Guest: S. Carey
A. Rosenfeld called the meeting to order at 3:34 p.m. Quorum was met.
Announcements
None
Copy Services
Paper will be supplied in the convience copy room; the University will continue to assess the effectiveness of the new Minuteman copy system; the business office will let faculty know well in advance of proposed changes to service
Constitution Changes
The Board of Trustees has not yet taken up proposed changes to the University Council Constitution, which were approved by the Council last year; a new round of proposed changes will be moved forward to accompany originally submitted changes
Faculty Liaisons
Building upon work done last year to improve communication between faculty, the Senate will assign liaisons to reach out directly to various departments and programs; several slots still need filling, and senators are asked to sign up prior to our next meeting
Committee Vacancies
Several vacancies remain on elected and appointed committees: senators are asked to reach out to colleagues for volunteers
Meeting With Committee Chairs
At the Senate retreat, a recommendation was made for the Senate chair to meet with chairs of all governance committees; A. Rosenfeld is currently working on arranging suitable date
President Carey’s Visit
The Senate welcomed President Carey, and discussed several important topics, including: new programs and initiatives coming out of the Gabelli Center; Iona’s commitment to becoming an elite teaching institution; the importance of graduate programs to the health of the university; faculty concerns regarding compensation and recent health insurance increases; ways of improving university-wide communication and partnerships between campus constituencies
Committee Faculty Ratios
The Senate discussed the need to re-calculate the school-affiliation ratio of faculty representation on committees, due to a significant uptick in SHS full time faculty; a new ratio will be proposed and voted on shortly
Adjunct Faculty on Departmental Web Pages
L. Ivanov raised the issue of including adjunct faculty on departmental webpages; Senate agreed that it made sense; L. Ivonov will continue to pursue the matter with IT and and P. Tascio (webmaster) and apprise the Senate of his progress
Approval of New Committee Members
The Senate voted unanimously to approve the following faculty volunteers for service on elected committees: C. Awosan (RTA); B. Cesario (HR&C); B. Lacey and B. Sengupta (CAA)
There being no other business, A. Rosenfeld adjourned the Faculty Senate meeting at 5:32 p.m.. The next Senate meeting will be held via Zoom on 10/10/24 at 3:30 p.m.