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College Council Minutes November 13, 2019

Wednesday, 11/13/19, 3:30 p.m.
Hegarty Room

Present: T. Moretti, D. DeFino, A. Howerton-Fox, A. Kelso, E. Mariola, M. Nadel, K. Kosakevitch, H. McGowan, S. Carey, D. Wheeler, R. Highfield, J. Stabile, Z. Altinay, A. Camara, T. Delgado, J. Haber, E. Procario-Foley, A. Stackhouse, C. Winkler, M. Varner, D. Hopkins, M. Reilley, A. Schettini-Lynch

Excused: E. Hamerman, J. Meyer, H. Park, I. Stabell

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

Approval of Minutes

Minutes for the 10/16/19 meeting of the College Council were approved via e-mail on 10/30/19.

Announcements

  • None

Information Item: President’s Report

  • The approved Strategic Plan will be disseminated to the College community within the next few weeks.  The plan is built around three themes-- Student Success, Academic Distinctiveness, and Talent—and offers the College a great deal of flexibility in terms of implementation
  • The review team from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) last week. The visit team had concerns about the Business School not having a strategic plan and a few related issues. Work toward correcting this is already underway and AACSB will be back in one year
  • Iona hosted its first of two fall Open House Events on 10/27 and will host the second on 11/16. 512 families registered for this Saturday. In addition, on Veteran’s Day 67 families visited the Iona Campus. Admissions is continuing work to refine processes and messaging. In addition, President Carey has been supporting Vice President for Enrollment Management, Kevin O’Sullivan and next week will join him in hosting 60 guidance counselors in New Jersey
  • A team from Iona took a trip to Drexel University to learn more about and explore potential Coop opportunities. Their visit will help Iona think about and build a more robust community engagement and internship program which will be integrated into the curriculum
  • Last Friday President Carey held a meeting with several Iona Faculty at the President’s Residence to facilitate a conversation about how to best celebrate and showcase best pedagogical practices

Information Item: Provost’s Report

  • Phase 2 of the compensation process remains on target to meet the May 2020 deadline for Board approval
  • A Town Hall on faculty development will be held in Romita on 11/21 at noon
  • In support of retention efforts, faculty and advisors are urged to remind students about the benefits of timely enrollment in Spring and Special Sessions courses
  • The Middle States Working Group (M. Jordan, T. Moretti, J. Steele) attended the Self-Study Institute in Philadelphia (10/28-10/29)
  • Thanks to Rudin Center, CAP, ICSuccess, and all others working to support student success, engagement, and retention
  • Work continues on preparing a Nursing Education proposal for NYSED
  • An articulation agreement with Westchester Community College has been completed, and others with Bronx, Suffolk, Rockland, and Borough of Manhattan community colleges are in process
  • The Provost will meet with SGA to report on graduation list notification within the next two weeks

Information Item: Core Curriculum Committee Report

  • CCC met on 10/24 and 11/7
  • A subcommittee on Assessment and ePortfolio met on 11/5 with Tony Iodice to block out the steps and timeline for each semester’s tasks relating to ePortfolio uploads and subsequent assessment
  • The Columba Cornerstone and Learning Communities Freshman Survey will be released to students on 11/18
  • CCC is continuing working toward developing focus groups for sophomores through seniors
  • CCC continues to review incoming syllabi
  • CCC cancelled its annual Listening Session with CC/LC fall faculty due to a conflict with the faculty development Town Hall; we are looking into an open-ended response questionnaire to solicit feedback on the CC/LC experience and the various components; this would be anonymous and provide a different mode of fall evaluation

Information Item: Hynes Institute Report

  • Six student representatives from the entrepreneurship club (CEO) attended the annual CEO Conference in Tampa, FL (10/31-11/2)
  • Three Iona students have been accepted to the 2019-20 University Innovation Fellows program of Stanford University’s d.school. The official pinning ceremony and induction to the fellowship will be held on 12/6
  • Since the last Council meeting, the Hynes Institute held seven entrepreneur talks
  • The Hynes Institute held 2 additional Lunch & Learn seminars (Topics: Being Agile in Any Discipline; Creating in the Classroom)
  • The Fall 2019 Hynes Distinguished Speaker Series is excited to welcome Tania Vargas ’90 (cofounder of Goat-Milk Kidware) back to campus on 11/14 at noon in Romita

Information Item: Reports from Constituent Assemblies

Faculty Senate

  • S. Carey and D. Wheeler visited to discuss growth strategies, including building on Iona’s identity and resources, showcasing and supporting faculty work, and supporting innovation
  • T. Moretti reported that the Middle States Steering Group will be requesting self-nominations for 8 or 9 working groups, who will help to research and draft specific elements of the Middle States Report
  • The Senate reviewed faculty comments posted on the Senate portal, and shared a summary with the Provost and the compensation working groups

Staff and Administrative Council

  • No report

Student Government Association

  • SGA meets weekly
  • At the request of S. Lee, SGA offered feedback on planning for Iona Scholar’s Day
  • A representative of Chartwells visited SGA to present changes to dining options
  • J. Stabile visited SGA to answer questions about OI, WI and other Core requirements
  • SGA continues to review by-laws, especially those related to election procedures
  • SGA and Student Life will participate in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Information item: Reports from the Standing Committees

Committee on Academic Affairs

  • CAA approved a transfer credit policy proposal to accept transfer credits for C and above
  • CAA accepted the 2020-21 Academic Calendar
  • CAA reviewed the updated 5-year review schedule
  • CAA reviewed POIs from Honors, Finance, and Core
  • CAA approved a new course proposal for SOC 201: Science, Society, and Self

Committee on Budget

  • The Committee on Budget met on 10/30
  • K. Zaromatidis presented comparative graduate tuition and fees pricing for local and competitive schools and data on various Arts & Sciences programs; and provided recommendations for per credit tuition increases for 2020/2021 for EDU, CSD, OT, and all other A&S programs. Budget voted to accept these recommendations.  A.M. Schettini-Lynch informed the committee these recommendations had not yet been reviewed by the Finance Office; upon review, the recommendation may require further discussion
  • Finance gave an update on Fall 2019 enrollment

Committee on Human Resources and Compensation

  • HR&C met on 11/8
  • J. Haber was re-elected chair
  • HR&C approved the removal of Columbus Day and Veteran’s Day from next year’s holiday calendar

Committee on Rank, Tenure, and Awards

  • No report

Committee on Libraries and Information Technology

  • No report

Committee on Institutional Advancement

  • Advancement met on 10/29
  • The Advancement team gave updates regarding Homecoming
  • A discussion took place regarding 50 Years of Women at Iona in the context of alumni engagement

Committee on Student Life

  • No report

Committee on Athletics

  • Athletics met on 10/29
  • J. Fogarty reported on mid-term academic evaluations of student athletes and progress with registration
  • J. Fogarty announced the new hire for Assistant AD/ Academics
  • M. Glovaski reported progress of fall sports that are in mid-season and preparation of winter sports teams
  • M. Glovaski reported on student athletes’ participation in community service
  • M. Glovaski reported on the renovations the athletics center and homecoming event activities
  • o Replacement of the static hall of fame wall with an interactive one, second phase of renovations including locker-room, lounge for athletes, ticket office)
  • M. Glovaski reported on attendance to Meet the Coaches event
  • M. Glovaski announced new women’s lacrosse coach
  • The committee discussed students’ involvement with summer internships
  • The committee discussed enrollment issues with upper level classes, along with potential remedies

Committee on Diversity

  • No report

Committee on Enrollment Management

  • No report

Committee for Environmental Sustainability

  • CES met on 10/31
  • T. Van Wert of Cenergistic will be on campus for the next four and a half years, helping to improve energy efficiency
  • A. Albrecht reported on several sustainability projects being carried out or considered on campus
  • The Sister Kathleen Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit was launched on 10/1
  • A proposal revamping the Environmental Studies major will be completed soon
  • IC Green is focused on food service issues, such as the use of single-use plastic
  • Methods for improving the committee’s communication with campus constituencies were considered
  • Suggestions were solicited for Earth Week activities, in conjunction with President Carey’s installation
  • On communication with non-member visitors to committee meetings: the committee approved a policy whereby, those who wish to remain on the distribution list inherited from previous environmental committees will receive all communication

There being no other business, T. Moretti adjourned the College Council meeting at 4:32 p.m. The next Council meeting will be held on 12/4/19 at 3:30 p.m. in the Faculty Reception Room