RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
UNIVERSITY SENATE

MINUTES: Regular Meeting of the University Senate

DATE: January 24, 2020

TIME AND PLACE: 1:10 p.m., Multipurpose Room, College Avenue Campus Center, New Brunswick Campus

MEMBERS PRESENT:  Acosta, Albert, Alexander-Floyd, Alizadeh, Aubert, Avallone, Bachmann, Barbarese, Bekdash, Bhuyan, Boikess, Bora, Borisovets, Brewster-Bauzyk, Bridgeman, Castaneda, Chaudhary, Coleman, Colley, Dasari, DiLalo, Doumit, Dowlin, Dreyer, Ebert, Esposito, Everett, Felder, Figueira, Fischer, Fox, Gillett, Giraud, Goldfarb, Goonetilleke, Gotur, Gould, Gower, Gursoy, Haley, Hsueh, Hunter, Jarrin, Joergenson, Johnson, Kane, Kashalikar, Kaye, Kettle, Kosar, Kustka, Lamar, LaPointe, Lee, Lutz, Maddox Douglas, Madsen, Maglione Rico, Mahajan-Cusack, Mandalapu, Mansukhani, Marchetta, Markert, Markowitz, Marsic, Matto, Mayes, McKeever, Mena-Segovia, Miranti, Mitra, Murphy, Norris, O’Brassill-Kulfan, O’Connor, Oliver, Omotoso, Ozel, Pappas, Parsa, Perez, Pichugin, Pinto-Figueroa, Ponzio, Posluszny, Powell, Pradhan, Rabinowitz, Ravichandran, Rivera, Robbins, Roth, Saltzman, B. Schwartz, S. Schwartz, Sesti, Shankar, Shapses, Shobut, Silver, Simonds, Speigel, Stephenson, Sztatrowski, Tan, Tharney, Thompson, Thuravil, Torres, Tracey, Trees, Tsakalakos, Van Stine, Vargas, Volino, Walkup, A. Wang, C. Wang, X. Wang, Willett, Wirtenberg, Zheng

EXCUSED: Agboste, Alidou, Altman, Assaf, Atkins, Awari, Barchi, Barone, Bator, Beegan, Bembry, Blanchett, Brunson, Buyske, Cantor, Cohen, Conway, Cotter, D’Anna, DeFilippis, Dool, Eaton, Emmons, Farris, Feldman, Ganesh, Guo, Haddon, Halkitis, Hara, Hartman, Hatefi, Henderson, Henderson, Huang, Johnson, Kartik, Kukor, Langer, Lei, Liu, Lopez, Mahon, Maloney, Mammis, Manek, March, Marchitello, Masiello, Menifield, Molloy, Moomjy, Moore, Murphy, Mutcherson, Nath, Nickitas, O’Rourke, Oukil, Pandey, Pardlo, Paskhover, Porumbescu, Potter, Potter, Rajan, Sass, Schiavo, Schneider, Sen, Sinnott, Steinberg, Strom, Thakuriah, Umarov, Vidal

ABSENT:  Ardeshna, Britton, Bugel, Crews, Gonzales, Goodman, Graber, Hunter Fratzola, Kane, Kaul, Kovacs, Lewis, Mazurek, Patel, Puar, Romanko, Sanchez, Shapiro, Shinbrot, Sinacori, Song, Stoprya, Struble, Takhistov, Titus, Tomasko, White

ATTENDANCE SUMMARY: Faculty: Of 114 total: 70 present (61%), 15 excused (13%), 29 absent (25%); Students: Of 49 total: 29 present (59%), 7 excused (14%), 13 absent (27%); Administrators: Of 38 total: 1 present (3%), 3 excused (8%), 34 absent (89%); Staff: Of 18 total: 15 present (83%), 3 excused (17%), 0 absent (0%); Alumni: Of 6 total: 5 present (83%), 1 excused (17%), 0 absent (0%)

 

CALL TO ORDER, DETERMINATION OF A QUORUM, INTRODUCTION OF COMMITTEE CHAIRS AND CHARGES, AND CHAIR’S REPORT – Jon Oliver, Chair

Senate Chair Jon Oliver called the meeting to order at 1:10 p.m. in the Multipurpose Room of the College Avenue Campus Center, New Brunswick Campus. He noted that Rutgers now has a President-Designate, Dr. Jonathan Holloway and that he will be joining us starting July 1. He announced Chancellor Brian Strom will be delivering his Chancellor’s Report and Robert Kopp and Kevin Lyons will be providing the Task Force report on Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience. He noted Robert and Kevin’s leadership and scholarship are just the latest examples of various groups, centers, and individuals that we want to continue to bring in to showcase all the amazing work and service that our faculty, staff, students, and alumni are doing at this university.

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY – Mary Mickelsen, Executive Secretary

• Agenda: The meeting’s agenda including time limits, was approved by the Senate.
• Minutes: The Minutes of the December 13, 2019 Senate Meeting were approved as distributed by the Executive Secretary.
• Communications: The following communications were presented by the Executive Secretary:
  • The following polices have been updated/added in the University Policy Library:
    • University Policy 10.2.11: Code of Student Conduct
    • University Policy 10.3.12: Student Policy Prohibiting Sexual Harassment, Sexual Violence, Relationship Violence, Stalking, and Related Misconduct
    • University Policy 40.2.14: Investment Policy

COMMITTEE REPORTS

University Structure & Governance Committee (USGC) Response to Charge S-1607: Committee Structure Review – Adrienne Esposito, USGC Chair

The USGC was charged as follows: Consider and make recommendations for modifying the Senate’s standing committee structure and standing charges.

Senator Esposito summarized the background and work of the committee, then read the corresponding resolutions. There was some discussion as to what type of charges would be assigned to the proposed Senate Information Technology Committee and the importance of having such a committee at Rutgers. The resolution was voted on by the Senate and passed. 

University Structure & Governance Committee (USGC) Response to S-1907: Composition of the Senate  – Peter Gillett, USGC Co-Chair (report linked is as amended)

The USGC was charged as follows: Consider which of the recommendations in the USGC’s response to charge S-1605 (many of which were important in practice through incidental to the original purpose of the charge) should be brought back to the Senate, and how this should be best achieved. Make appropriate recommendations.

Senator Gillett summarized the work of the committee and the USGC’s response to Charge S-1907 on Composition of the Senate. Gillett read the resolution and answered related questions. The Resolutions were voted on separately as follows:

• • Resolution #1 – passed
  • Resolution #2 and 3 – Senator Jeremy Posluszny proposed to postpone both resolutions indefinitely – the vote passed
  • Resolution #4 – passed
  • Resolution #5 – withdrawn by the USGC on the Senate floor

CARBON NEUTRALITY & CLIMATE RESILIENCE TASK FORCE REPORT – Robert Kopp and Kevin Lyons, Task Force Co-Chairs

Kopp and Lyons presented the Carbon Neutrality and Climate Resilience Task Force report and answered questions on the following topics:

• • more effective and cost friendly charging stations for electric cars;
  • establishment of a timeline for complete carbon neutrality

CHANCELLOR’S REPORT – Brian Strom, Chancellor, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences

Chancellor Strom presented the Chancellor’s report and then answered questions on the following topics:

• • budget concerns surrounding RWJMS;
  • making a good faith effort to ratify contracts with medical school faculty;
  • the future relationship between RWJMS and NJMS.

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT – Barbara Lee, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Senior Vice President Lee provided the Administrative Report which consisted of the following topics:

• the selection of President-Designee Jonathan Holloway;
• Governor Murphy honored Rutgers in his State of the State Address on January 14, 2020, declaring “As Rutgers goes, so does New Jersey”;
• Opening of the JBJ Soul Kitchen in Newark, which helps to address food insecurity;
• Men’s Basketball ranked in the top 25
• Chancellor Haddon was named Chair of the Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia;
• Ramy Youssef first Rutgers Alumni to win Golden Globe

SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT – Senate Vice Chair Peter Gillett reported on the January 10, 2020 Executive Committee meeting.

REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES TO BOARDS OF GOVERNORS AND TRUSTEES: Board of Governor’s Faculty Representative, Rachel Kaye reported on the December 17 and January 21 meetings of the BOG. The Board of Trustees had not met since the last Senate meeting.

REPORTS OF CAMPUS FACULTY AND STUDENT LIAISONS: Camden Faculty Senator Samuel Rabinowitz reported on the last Camden Faculty Council meeting. Camden Student Senator Michael Van Stine reported on the activities of the Camden students. New Brunswick Faculty Senator Tugrul Ozel, New Brunswick Faculty Council Chair, reported the New Brunswick Faculty Council will meet January 31. New Brunswick Student Senator Emily Kane reported on the activities of the New Brunswick students. Newark Senator Ricky Castanada reported on the recent activities of the Newark students. Senator Carol Lutz reported on the RBHS Faculty Council’s current initiatives.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 3:59 p.m.

Minutes prepared by:

Mary Mickelsen, Executive Secretary of the University Senate

Committee Meetings

Academic Standards, Regulations & Admissions Committee Meeting

CASC Room 413 @ 10:30 am

Budget & Finance Committee Meeting

CASC, Atrium Conference Room @ 10:00 am

Faculty Affairs & Personnel Committee Meeting

CASC Room 411 @ 10:00 am

Instruction, Curricula & Advising Committee Meeting

Alexander Library, University Librarian's Conference Room, 3rd Fl @ 10:00 am

Research, Graduate & Professional Education Committee Meeting

CASC, Room 109 @ 10:00 am

Student Affairs Committee Meeting

CASC, Graduate Student Lounge @ 10:15 am

University Structure & Governance Committee

CASC, Room 115 @ 10:00 am