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College Council Minutes, December 1, 2021

Minutes
College Council
Wednesday, 12/1/21, 3:30 p.m.
Via Zoom

Present:  T. Moretti, D. DeFino, M. Bard, A. Howerton-Fox, M. Hughes, T. Kelso, E. Mariola, A. Rosenfeld, M. Veyvoda, K. Geslak, C. Normil, J. Ford, A. Saccoman, D. Wheeler, L. Richardson, J. Stabile, J. Gerometta, O. Huk, I. Stabell, R. Weaver, E. Procario-Foley, C. Winkler, M. Callaghan, A. Schettini-Lynch
Excused: A. Aggarwal, T. Delgado, J. Haber, T. Lyle, M. Malenbaum, N. Naqvi, M. Newell, A. Stackhouse

T. Moretti called the meeting to order at 3:36. Quorum was met.

Approval of Minutes

Minutes from the 11/10/21 College Council meeting were approved via e-mail on 11/24/21

Announcements:

  • The Fall Faculty Survey was distributed today, and will be open until midnight on 12/14
  • The Shared Root, Divergent Paths Series will continue at 7:30pm on 12/9 with an interactive Zoom program titled, “Does Faith Inform Civil Discourse?”

Information Item: President’s Report

  • Closing on the Bronxville Campus will take place on 12/7; at which point the second planning phase will commence
  • The College continues to work toward more effective, efficient student services, which includes the recent launch of IC 360 and plans to consolidate services in a single location
    • M. Hughes asked whether these plans include the hiring of more support staff; S. Carey responded that he would be making such a recommendation at the next Board meeting
  • NYSED will soon be lowering requirements for university status; looking forward, the College will consider whether applying for such a designation is in its best interests
  • A Holiday Party is planned for 3pm on 12/15, COVID permitting

Information Item: Provost’s Report

  • Faculty and staff feedback on the UAchieve Degree Audit has been invaluable to making improvements
  • The search for the inaugural Dean of the School of Health Sciences continues on schedule
  • If you haven’t yet done so, please complete the Advising Survey
  • Faculty are asked to remind students of the necessity of getting all work in on time, so that all instructors can meet deadlines for posting course grades (12/23)
  • Faculty are asked to please provide struggling students with feedback to increase their chances of success this semester and moving forward
  • The Provost’s Office will be hosting a Friday Faculty Gathering on 12/10
  • A number of new cases of COVID have arisen following the return from Thanksgiving break; the College continues to closely monitor, and to follow quarantine protocols
  • The College continues to work on strategies for enforcing the mandatory mask policy

Information Item: Core Curriculum Committee Report

  • CCC met once since the last Council meeting
  • On 11/12, CCC hosted a Town Hall to invite faculty feedback on the Core
  • CCC has continued recruitment for the Fall 22 COL 150 and Learning Community courses
  • CCC has fielded questions from faculty and students regarding Core Signature Assignment uploads
  • CCC gave input to OIEP, who launched a survey for faculty to provide information about their experiences with the Core

Action Item: Adjunct Promotion Procedure

  • D. DeFino presented a Faculty Senate proposal for revisions to the language of the Adjunct Promotion Procedure; the voting members of the Council unanimously endorsed the changes
  • Item closed

Information Item: Reports from Constituent Assemblies

Faculty Senate

  • The Senate has not met since the last Council meeting

Staff and Administrative Council

  • SAC continued to discuss recommendations for faculty representation on governance committees proposed by Faculty Senate; along with SGA, SAC is eager to ensure proportionate representation among constituencies
  • Concerns about students parking in the Columbia lot during restricted hours, and in spaces too small for full-sized vehicles have been shared with Campus Safety, along with a recommendation that employees should be notified when spaces will be blocked off
  • SAC discussed concerns about employee turnover, the need for cross-training, situations where employees are expected to do more than what is indicated in current job descriptions, and general concerns about being spread too thinly; SAC urges better on-boarding procedures for new hires, a review of policies, and making the employee handbook more searchable to alleviate confusion
  • SAC members discussed concerns about the lack of information sharing between departments and teams, and the perception that groups seem increasingly siloed
  • Questions were raised about why the College no longer observed Columbus Day, and whether the College has plans to offer COVID-19 booster vaccines to employees

Student Government Association

  • SGA met once since the last Council meeting
  • SGA discussed College participation in the Thanksgiving Day Parade, and SGA’s participation in the Iona Thanksgiving Basket program
  • Executive Board elections are currently in the planning stages
  • The Executive Board meets weekly to deliberate on its role

Information item: Reports from the Standing Committees

Committee on Rank, Tenure and Awards

  • In the Fall 2021 semester, the committee review eight cases: 1 tenure, and 7 contract renewals

Committee on Academic Affairs

  • CAA met on 11/9
  • Several POIs were received and reviewed
  • The criteria for Medals and Awards were approved
  • The 5-year review schedule will soon be posted; 4/12/21 has been set as the date for CAA approval

Committee on Budget

  • Budget met on 11/17
  • 2022/23 Graduate Tuition and Fee Rates for both A&S and LSB were discussed
  • The committee voted to recommend a 3% increase to LSB tuition and fees, and a 3.5% increase in graduate A&S tuition and fees
  • The committee discussed whether they should be more regularly informed about fees currently managed by their respective departments (such as CAP)

Committee on Human Resources and Compensation

  • No report

Committee on Libraries and Information Technology

  • No report

Committee on Institutional Advancement

  • Advancement met on 11/16
  • The committee reviewed fall alumni events, including the mentoring program, the football reunion, Homecoming, Breakfast with Santa, basketball games, the completion of the Iona Forever Campaign, and student-centered fundraising initiatives
  • The committee discussed more targeted approaches for engaging faculty in alumni recruitment

Committee on Student Life

  • The committee reviewed student satisfaction surveys and noted general contentment and a strong preference for in-person learning
  • The committee discussed several events that took place as part of the First 50 Days initiative, including Class of 2020 in-person recognition ceremony
  • SGA continues to draft changes to its Constitution, and expects to bring them through the legislative process in the spring term

Committee on Athletics

  • No report

Committee on Diversity

  • CoD met on 11/10
  • The committee discussed the diversity spotlight event; agreed to hold a digital vote to decide which topic will center the event; and will reach out to the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to extend the programming beyond a one-off event

Committee on Enrollment Management

  • The committee met on 11/23
  • A new chair was elected
  • The committee reviewed the Fall Open House events
  • The committee discussed several new recruitment initiatives to be rolled out over the next year, including enrollment information sessions for faculty and staff

Committee for Environmental Sustainability

  • CoES met on 11/18
  • K. Cawley represented the College at an 11/5 celebration of New Rochelle City Hall
  • The Institute for Earth and Spirit will partner with the Mariandale Center for the St. Catherine of Siena Environmental Advocacy Day
  • A subcommittee was formed to review the use of water filtration stations on campus
  • A survey on single use plastics, food, energy and water conservation will be distributed, pending iRB approval
  • The committee discussed the feasibility of replacing some gas-powered mowers and leaf blowers with electric units
  • A. Albrecht has been chosen as SAC rep, a voting member of the committee

There being no other business, T. Moretti adjourned the College Council meeting at 4:22pm. The next meeting of the Council will be held on 2/9/22.