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College Council Minutes September 18, 2019

Wednesday, 9/18/19, 3:30 p.m.
Faculty Reception Room

Present:  T. Moretti, D. DeFino, A. Howerton-Fox, A. Kelso, E. Mariola, M. Nadel, S. Caruselle, H. McGowan S. Carey, D. Wheeler, R. Highfield, J. Stabile, T. Delgado, E. Procario-Foley, I. Stabell, C. Winkler, M. Varner, D. Hopkins, A. Schettini-Lynch
Excused: J Haber, E. Hamerman, T. Lyle, J. Meyer, H. Park, A. Stackhouse
Guest: J. Morris

T. Moretti called the meeting to order at 3:34. Quorum was met.

Approval of Minutes

Minutes for the 5/1/19 meeting of the College Council were approved via e-mail on 6/10/19.

Announcements:

  • Jewish-Catholic Studies will sponsor a dialogue titled “The Real Jews and Pharisees vs Their Portrayal in Christian Preaching” on 9/23 at 7:30 p.m. in Burke Lounge
  • The Dean’s Lecture Series, “From College to Career,” will kick off at noon on 9/26 in Romita Auditorium with presentations by two alumni, J. Mott ’07 and N. Costantini ‘10

Information Item: College Council Overview

  • T. Moretti reviewed the role and procedures of the committee

Information Item: President’s Report

  • S. Carey thanked the members of the College Council for their attendance, and shared his enthusiasm for joining the Iona community
  • At the first meeting of the Board of Trustees held last week, S. Carey shared with the Board what he believes is the current position of the College, emphasizing the need to be an outlier, bucking current higher education trends, implementing the best ideas while moving away from protectionism, and turning challenging economic, demographic and cultural conditions into opportunities
  • The new Vice President for Enrollment Management, Kevin O’Sullivan will begin on 10/1.  Coming to us from Sacred Heart University, which has defied every trend in higher education, Kevin knows how to be an outlier, how to manage college admissions and the markets Iona needs to focus on, and the strategies to implement
  • S. Carey noted that the entire College needs to support these efforts, tell the Iona story the right way, tell it well, find the platforms for the story to work, and ways to help faculty to unleash creatively in telling the story
  • S. Carey invited the members of the College Council to seek him out anytime with questions or concerns noting that he is ready to meet with and speak with each member

Information Item: Provost’s Report

  • D. Wheeler welcomed members of the College community back to the new academic year and thanked all who attended Faculty Convocation on 9/12
  • The Faculty Compensation Plan and Performance Review Working Group met today (9/18) and will have more to present in the coming weeks. The group is currently reviewing feedback from the Faculty Senate and planning for the implementation of Academic Cluster working groups
  • The Provost’s Office is currently reviewing edits to the Faculty Handbook submitted by T. Moretti and the Faculty Senate
  • The State of the College Town Hall will take place on 10/10 at noon in Murphy Auditorium
  • Additions to weekly activity hours approved last spring will be implemented beginning in the Fall 2020 term
  • Pending final endorsement by the College Council and the Board of Trustees, implementation of minus grades approved last spring will begin in the Fall 2020 term
  •  Implementation of new Peoplesoft grading options (the addition of “I” and removal of “N” will begin this term (Fall 2019)

Information Item: Core Curriculum Committee Report

  • CCC met 5/2 and 9/8
  • CCC conducted a day of Cornerstone Learning Community professional development on May 7
  • CCC conducted a meeting with the Humanities chairs on 5/15 to discuss ICT procedures and begin to revise ICTs; revision work will continue
  • CCC conducted Core Assessment on 6/4
  • On 9/18, K. Kristian and E. Procario-Foley submitted an NEH Humanities Connections grant proposal worth $100,000 titled “Connecting Knowledge Across Disciplines through Thematic Integrative Learning for Undergraduates.” Notification to applicants will be on 5/1/20. Procario-Foley thanked B. Chen, Director of Grants & Sponsored Programs, for his expert assistance with the grant process. Thanks for support of the grant were also expressed for the Provost’s Office, deans, librarians, Mission and Ministry, and the Hynes Institute

Information Item: Hynes Institute Report

  • In July, the Hynes Institute offered a pre-college program to regional high school students which was comprised of two one-week courses: Creativity for Innovation (12 students from 6 schools) & Design Thinking for Entrepreneurship (13 students from 8 schools).
  • On 9/12, Iona celebrated the official ribbon cutting ceremony for the new home of the Hynes Institute in Spellman Hall
  • The fall semester will feature robust programming for students (E-talks, workshops, competitions) and faculty (e.g. Lunch & Learn seminars), five sections of ENT 200, and Hynes Institute participation is several learning communities

Information Item: Internal Audit of Governance Committee Minutes

  • J. Morris, who led last year’s audit, outlined recommendations, noting the following:
    • When taking minutes, it is important to remember that they will be made public
    • Broad strokes and uniformity are the goals
  • Next steps include determining the best place to store and make minutes accessible
  • D. DeFino will share sample minutes with committees to use as guidelines
  • Given the confidential nature of IRB and RTA deliberations, their minutes will be even less specific, and not distributed publicly

Information Item: Reports from Constituent Assemblies

Faculty Senate

  • The Senate met on 8/29
  • Policies for filling faculty committee vacancies outside the normal election cycle were approved
  • A response was drafted to a 6/28 memo from J. Nyre proposing changes to the Faculty Handbook
  • The Senate discussed the feasibility of establishing Senate liaisons with the major governance committees
  • Responses were drafted to proposals by working groups on the Faculty Compensation Plan and Performance-Based Pay Metrics

Staff and Administrative Council

  • While SAC has not yet met this term, J. Ford wished to highlight two items:
    • A memorial service for Anthony Mastantuoni will be held in Arrigoni on 9/30
    • SAC has been involved in discussions over the summer regarding the implementation of the Staff Compensation Plan and Performance Review

Student Government Association

  • SGA met on 9/5
  • The Registrar and IT came to discuss changes in format to Peoplesoft and the degree audit, as well as issues concerning Wi-Fi and Microsoft Office apps
  • The Grade scale implementation update was discussed
  • Major SGA goals for the year were discussed, including:
    • Continued implementation of SGA Constitutional changes, which will be done through updating by-laws and improving communication between umbrella organization and clubs
    • Bolstering student engagement, with the help of Constitution changes and additional activity hours
    • Enhancing civic engagement through SGA-sponsored events such as voter registration

Information item: Reports from the Standing Committees

Committee on Academic Affairs

  • No report

Committee on Budget (T. Delgado)

  • Budget met on 9/9 and 9/16
  • At the 9/9 meeting, T. Delgado was elected chair; and the committee reviewed:
    • the tentative 2019-20 budget process and timeline
    • parameters set by the Board of Trustees for FY 2021
    • revenue and expense breakdowns
    • tuition and fees
  • At the 9/16 meeting, the committee reviewed:
    • the final 2019-20 budget
    • summer and fall enrollments
    • tuition and fees, including scenarios for % increase for 2020-21

Committee on Human Resources and Compensation

  • No report

Committee on Rank, Tenure, and Awards

  • J. Meyer reminds faculty that RTA forms have been removed from the Iona website, and are now available directly through the respective Deans’ offices

Committee on Libraries and Information Technology

  • The committee met on 9/12
  • The minimum password length will be increased to 11 characters
  • Wi-Fi bandwidth allocation will be adjusted
  • This year’s funds for lab computer replacements will be going to the labs in LaPenta
  • New databases are now available through https://guides.iona.edu/az.php
  • To sign up for workshops for faculty (accessibility in Ally and Word) and students (RefWorks and Researching Current Events), go to https://www.iona.edu/academics/libraries/services/faculty-services.aspx https://guides.iona.edu/research/workshops
  • Recent phishing scams resulted when network credentials were obtained, so online education will be required for faculty and staff through HR
  • Dual authentication for email is not yet required, but it will likely be in the near future.  The process would require access to a secondary device.  Testing is beginning on a volunteer basis in offices with access to critical information.  The committee discussed potential issues and questions about future implementation
  • Because some students don’t have access to OneDrive or other Microsoft Office applications, licenses are being reassigned

Committee on Institutional Advancement

  • No report

Committee on Student Life

  • No report

Committee on Athletics

  • No report

Committee on Diversity

  • COD met on 9/10
  • The committee solicited nominations for a new Chair, but the process was unsuccessful.  As a result, the outgoing Co-Chairs will work with the Faculty Senate to identify possible candidates
  • The committee set the meeting calendar and identified key agenda items for the upcoming year

Committee on Enrollment Management

  • No report

Committee for Environmental Sustainability

  • CES met on 9/5
  • N. Naqvi and M. Nadel were elected co-chairs
  • The committee’s work during 2018-19 was reviewed
  • Meetings held over the summer on behalf of the suspension of the Environmental Studies major were discussed. Work will continue on Environmental Studies major curriculum proposal
  • K. Deignan and K. Cawley provided an overview of the new Deignan Institute for Earth and Spirit, which will incorporate three current spirituality initiatives
  • The Thomas Berry Award is being presented by the Thomas Berry Foundation to Iona’s Thomas Berry Forum for its work over the past 10 years
  • All are encouraged to attend various Institute for Earth and Spirit events. Look for announcements
  • Students and other members of the College community are encouraged to attend the School Strike for Climate this Friday. Buses are being provided one-way. Sign-up is through OSD

Action Items:

None.

There being no other business, T. Moretti adjourned the College Council meeting at 4:38 p.m. The next Council meeting will be a General Assembly held on 10/16/19 at 3:30 p.m. in the Hegarty Room (Hynes Athletic Center)