Faculty Senate Minutes, October 10, 2024

October 10, 2024,  3:30 p.m., ZOOM

Present: A. Rosenfeld (Chair), D. DeFino (Secretary), M. Bard, K. Engemann, M. Higgins, M. Hughes, L. Ivanov, N. Kyaw, S. Petrovic, A. Qayyum

Excused: D. Brophy, C. Carlson, B. Gaines, G. Grimaldi, J. Haber, Y. Kang, J. Klein

A. Rosenfeld called the meeting to order at 3:36 p.m. Quorum was met

 

Approval of Minutes:

Minutes for the 9/12 meeting of the Faculty Senate were approved via e-mail on 9/2

Announcements

none

Update: Meeting with Committee Chairs

The last few university committees are expected to elect chairs shortly; at which point A. Rosenfeld will arrange to meet with them as a group to discuss strategies for supporting their work and improving communication

Update: Faculty Input on Decision-Making

Following concerns about how past decisions have been made without faculty input (including the recent decision to outsource copying), and evolving changes that directly impact faculty (such as the increased number of clinical faculty), A. Rosenfeld and T. Mulligan met to discuss the benefits of effectively and efficiently including more faculty input in decision- and policy-making

Update: Adjunct Faculty on Departmental Web Pages

Following the last Senate meeting, where L. Ivanov raised the issue of including adjunct faculty on departmental webpages, he succeeded in getting approval from IT and and P. Tascio (webmaster) to include adjunct faculty from the Computer Science Department; the Senate agreed to follow up with IT about including adjunct faculty from all departments

Update: Meeting with SGA President

A Rosenfeld met with O. Murillo to discuss student concerns, and where the Senate might lend support; among the issues raised were: limited spring advising appointments (due to the large entering class), integrating commuter students and student athletes more fully into campus life, meeting the unique scheduling needs of commuter students, improved accessibility through changes to physical plant and the use of virtual teaching technologies, and student concerns about growing class sizes

Discussion Item: Faculty Liaisons

The Senate slotted representatives to serve as liaisons with the various departments and major committees of the university; these liaisons will seek feedback on several recent issues, including the new copying policies, experiences with eFollett, suitability for clinical faculty to departmental needs, unique classroom requirements, and appropriate service roles for department members; liaisons are asked to reach out to their assigned groups prior to the next Senate meeting

Discussion Item: President Carey’s Visit

The Senate deliberated further on S. Carey’s visit at the previous meeting; comments focused on continued concerns about how the university will address faculty and staff compensation, whether Iona is positioned and/or willing to support significant efforts to develop and grow an international graduate student population, how Iona is addressing the roles and potential threats AI poses to higher education, and whether the heavy focus on AI might be preventing Iona from preparing for the next major shifts

The Senate proposed two courses of action: inviting the Graduate Director to discuss potential opportunities and barriers to international graduate student recruitment and retention; and proposing a futurist working group to be established under the aegis of the Gabelli Center for Teaching and Learning to deliberate on coming challenges and opportunities

Discussion Item: Tenure and Clinical Faculty

The Senate discussed how the increase in clinical hires and decrease in tenure-track hires might impact individual schools, departments and programs, and our ability to deliver on iona’s promise of academic excellence and institutional continuity; these questions will be taken up with departments through liaisons, and the Senate will continue to consider strategies for impacting institutional strategies for attracting, cultivating, and retaining a faculty that meets student needs and ensures academic viability moving forward

Discussion Item: Evolving RTA Criteria

The Senate considered whether the new institutional emphasis on teaching excellence will impact the way RTA handles contract renewals and promotions; for example, will there be more emphasis on teaching and less on scholarship?

Action Item: Committee Faculty Ratios

Following a discussion of shifting ratios of full-time faculty by school affiliation, the Senate agreed to propose new language for the University Council Constitution that would allow for present and future changes; the current language designates a fixed number (for example, 5 A&S, 3 LSB and 1 SHS on RTA), whereas the new language would state that the distribution will be calculated as a ratio based on faculty counts from the prior year

Action Item: Constitution Working Group

The Senate voted unanimously to appoint A. Rosenfeld, D. DeFino, and M. Bard to serve on a Senate sub-committee to propose changes to the Senate and University Council constitutions

 

There being no other business, A. Rosenfeld adjourned the Faculty Senate meeting at 5:28 pm. The next Senate meeting will be held via Zoom on 10/31/24 at 3:30pm.