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College Council Minutes, May 5, 2021

Minutes
College Council
Wednesday, 5/5/21, 3:30 p.m.
Via Zoom

Present:  T. Moretti, D. DeFino, D. Brophy, A. Howerton-Fox, A. Rosenfeld, C. Normil, M. Wydan, J. Ford, C. Procario-Foley, S. Carey, D. Wheeler, R. Highfield, J. Stabile, T. Delgado, C. Dougherty, J. Meyer, N. Naqvi, C. Procario-Foley, E. Procario-Foley, J. Rosenberg, I. Stabell, A. Stackhouse, C. Winkler, M. Callaghan, A. Schettini-Lynch, P. Sutera
Excused: N. Cosby, J. Haber, M. Hughes, A. Kelso, H. Park, M. Volza

T. Moretti called the meeting to order at 3:32. Quorum was met.

Approval of Minutes

Minutes from the 4/7/21 College Council meeting were approved via e-mail on 4/27/21

Announcements:

None

Information Item: President’s Report

  • S. Carey reflected on the extraordinary challenges and successes of the College over the past year
  • Despite the significant financial impact of COVID on the operations of the College, we were fortunate to avoid any layoffs to faculty or staff
  • The College made several key investments: most significantly the purchase of the Concordia campus, and the establishment of the School of Health Sciences, which currently accounts for 25% of incoming Fall 2021 students
  • The Strategic Innovation Committee has laid out a project-driven roadmap to enhance and resource greater educational innovation and effectiveness
  • The Honors Program has made significant improvements, both in terms of enrollments and student performance
  • The College’s focus on improving the perceived value of an Iona education is reaping real benefits, including increased retention, and enrollment numbers running well ahead of our peers
  • Of particular impact has been cohort recruitment: having students identify with affinity groups (ex: performing arts, community service) and offering student resources to support work in these areas
  • We are pleased to welcome L. Richardson as our new LSB Dean
  • The Iona Forever Capital Campaign is set to reach its goal a year early
  • Thanks to a generous contribution from the Murphy family, we will soon see the introduction of a major new green space to the campus, the Murphy Green
  • MarCom continues to roll out elements of its rebranding initiative

Information Item: Provost’s Report

  • The College looks forward to celebrating our graduating students through a series of events, including a virtual Baccalaureate Mass, Honors Convocation, and Commencement, as well as an in-person recognition ceremony
  • The College continues to work with local health care providers to ensure that we vaccinate as many Gaels as possible in short order
  • Students are encouraged to register for summer courses, which will again be offered at a discount tuition rate; summer courses will be held online
  • Final grades will be due by noon on 5/24
  • The College continues to plan for full in-person instruction in the fall term; expect updates on protocols and expectations throughout the summer

Information Item: Core Curriculum Committee Report

  • CCC met on 4/8 and 4/22
  • 2020-21 Assessment is scheduled for June
  • CCC is currently surveying COL 150 faculty regarding the FS21 Common Read; members of the ARTLC are partnering in this effort
  • A group of three students has agreed to participate in a Core focus group conducted with the help of OIEP and A. Munsch
  • CCC accepted the following Core courses this year:  7 department Core; 4 non-language DCCG; 7 language DCCG; 3 OI; 2 WI; 1 fully revised ICT; 2 “Innovation” ICT; 1 “Identity” ICT
  • CCC wishes to express its gratitude to J. Matich-Maroney and A. Munsch for exceptional service to the Core

Information Item: Hynes Institute Report

  • The 2nd Hynes Faculty Fellowship Symposium was held on 4/23
  • The deadline for 2021-22 Hynes Faculty Fellowship applications has been extended to 5/9
  • Iona Innovation Challenge finals will be held on 5/6
  • The inaugural induction of the Iona College chapter of the Sigma Nu Tau Entrepreneurship Honor Society will take place on 5/18

Information Item: Report on MSCHE

  • E. Cornacchia, chair of our Middle States Evaluation Team, participated in a preliminary virtual campus visit on 4/28; he met with members of all college constituencies
  • On 4/21, the co-chairs of the Self-Study Committee held a Town Hall on the process
  • On 4/30, MSCHE informed the College of updates to the Verification of Compliance criteria, based on new federal regulations; the Compliance Working Group will meet with the Self-Study Committee co-chairs on 5/12 to review these changes
  • The College is still on target to complete its draft of the self-study by 6/15 for internal review, and expect to have all materials ready for the Fall 2021 Evaluation Team visit

Information Item: Reports from Constituent Assemblies

Faculty Senate

  • The Senate met on 4/22
  • The Budget Prioritization Task Force is soliciting long-term budget ideas and insights
  • The Senate reviewed the College’s current approach to COVID vaccination
  • The Senate recommended self-nominated faculty to serve on appointed committees; and verified the results of elected committee ballots
  • The Senate formed an ad-hoc committee to review 2020-21 Faculty Senate Awards nominations
  • The Senate initiated a conversation about membership of college-wide committees, and ways to strengthen and streamline the shared governance process
  • The Senate set a special session for 5/13 to welcome new members and complete any remaining work from the 2020-21 AY

Staff and Administrative Council

  • SAC met on 4/29
  • SAC heard Standing Committee updates
  • Election results were finalized
  • Lingering PayCom questions were raised; HR will be invited to a future meeting to discuss
  • SAC members will solicit ideas to be presented to the Budget Prioritization Task Force

Student Government Association

  • SGA met three times in legislative session since the last Council meeting
  • C. Procario-Foley visited SGA to discuss the campus recycling survey
  • E-Board elections were concluded: M. Wydan and C. Normil were re-elected President and Vice-President of SGA, respectively
  • Senate elections will be concluded by 5/15
  • The annual Changing of the Guards will take place on 5/13
  • Students have expressed great enthusiasm for the coming graduation events: in particular, the in-person components

Information item: Reports from the Standing Committees

Committee on Academic Affairs

  • CAA met on 4/20
  • Five-Year reports were accepted from Media & Strategic Communications and Mathematics & Physics
  • Honors will reactivate HON 109 to replace HON 112
  • General BIO will replace the 3-hour lab with a 2-hour lab and 1-hour recitation
  • FPA is deactivating FPA 234 and adding an Art of Curating course to its BA in Arts Leadership
  • The Environmental Science major will no longer be offered
  • PSY will offer a new special topics course with variable credits
  • A course in Patho-pharmacology will be offered to support teach-out of current Concordia students
  • LSB will offer a minor in Business Analytics, as well as a revised Information Systems minor, with versions for BBA and BA/BS students
  • IS 492 was approved
  • 300-level pre-requisites for International Financial Management will no longer be required
  • 3 new electives were approved for the BBA in Entrepreneurship

Committee on Budget

  • Budget met on 4/14 and 4/28
  • The Budget Prioritization Task Force will take a long-term view of the budget and identify recommendations
  • Finance reviewed the 2021-22 budget, including changes to the revenue and expense sections; strategies for closing budget deficits; the inclusion of Concordia students in budget revenue; and prioritized budget contingencies for the current year
  • Members expressed concerns about closing budget gaps at the expense of faculty and staff; the finance Office shared these concerns
  • Given the continued challenges presented by COVID, the committee discussed whether adjustments would need to be made to the Endowment draw
  • Members expressed concerns about the perceptions around “operations” vs. “investments”: i.e., faculty seen as an operating expense, while Concordia purchase seen as investment

Committee on Human Resources and Compensation

  • No report

Committee on Rank, Tenure, and Awards

  • During the 2020-21 AY, RTA reviewed 51 action requests, including the following:
  • 2 second-year tenure-track contract renewals
  • 5 third-year tenure-track contract applications and portfolios
  • 10 fourth- and fifth-year tenure-track contract applications and portfolios
  • 2 sixth- and seventh-year tenure-track contract applications and portfolios
  • 14 tenure applications and portfolios
  • 2 applications to Full Professor
  • 5 clinical faculty contract applications and portfolios
  • 1 Faculty Fellowship Leave application
  • 7 Emeritus applications
  • 3 Post faculty Fellowship Leave reports

Committee on Libraries and Information Technology

  • No report

Committee on Institutional Advancement

  • Advancement met on 4/20
  • The Iona Forever Campaign is scheduled to meet it $150m goal one year ahead of schedule
  • The Trustees Gala will be held on campus on 6/4
  • A mentoring program staffed by 50 current students and alumni will launch in the fall term

Committee on Student Life

  • Student Life met on 4/23
  • M. Wydan provided an update on SGA civic engagement, plans to update by-laws, and spring elections

Committee on Athletics

  • Athletics met on 5/4
  • J. Fogarty reported on the progress of spring teams, including the Golf team securing the MAAC Championship for the third year in a row
  • J. Fogarty reported on the near-completed construction of Hynes East
  • According to new NCAA guidelines, fully vaccinated student-athletes may be exempt from surveillance testing; MAAC is still determining how to proceed with these guidelines; Iona is currently still requiring testing
  • J. Fogarty reviewed upcoming social events for student-athletes, including the annual Gaels Awards in 5/11, Senior Day games with parents in attendance, and plans for a Senior Toast in the upcoming weeks

Committee on Diversity

  • No report

Committee on Enrollment Management

  • No report

Committee for Environmental Sustainability

  • CoES met on 4/29
  • Discussion of the Indigenous Land Statement continues, with the expectation that the matter will come up before College Council next term
  • Br. Cawley’s 4/2 testimony before the NYS Public Service Commission, opposing fracking near Newburgh, NY, is posted on the Berry Forum
  • The Environmental Studies major has been put on hold
  • Two members of CoES proposed a Hynes Faculty Fellowship tied to campus sustainability initiatives
  • A recycling subcommittee was formed; a survey has been sent to students to gauge what students know and need to know about campus recycling policies and procedures
  • The committee continues to discuss the impact of federal green energy and sustainability policies might have on how we address energy and resource issues (solar, electric charging stations, etc.)

There being no other business, T. Moretti adjourned the College Council meeting at 4:29 pm.