RUTGERS UNIVERSITY SENATE
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
MINUTES
April 5, 2024

MEMBERS PRESENT: Boxer, Esposito, Foster, Giraud, Haley, Kiss, Olivera, Parsa, Roth, Simonds (Chair), Thompson

ALSO ATTENDING: T. Ayorinde (BOT Graduate Student Representative), R. Boikess (BOT Faculty Representative), V. Hewitt (University Senate Executive Secretary), P. Moghe (Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs), K. O’Halloran (Vice President for Academic Planning & Administration, EVPAA), H. Pierce (BOG Faculty Representative), R. Schwartz (BOT Faculty Representative), S. Searcy (BOG Student Representative), M. Smith (University Senate Administrative Assistant)

The regular meeting of the University Senate Executive Committee was held on Friday, April 5, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. remotely via Zoom.

Chair’s Report– Adrienne Simonds, Senate Chair

Chair Simonds called the April 5, 2024 Senate Executive Committee meeting to order at 12:02 p.m.

Secretary’s Report– Vicki Hewitt, Senate Executive Secretary

• The April 5, 2024 Executive Committee Agenda was approved, with the addition of one item of New Business.
• The March 1, 2024 Senate Executive Committee Minutes were approved.
• Administrative Response
  • Response to S-2315: University Vision Benefits
• Policy Updates
  • University Policy 40.2.25 Service Center Policy / Core Facility Policy
  • University Policy 90.3.1 Research Core Services
• Communications
  • Nominations for Senate Leadership Positions are due at noon on Fri. April 19.

Administrative Report – Prabhas Moghe, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dr. Moghe provided the Administrative Report consisting of the following topics:

• Notifications to PIs about awards and grants that are ending
• Katherine Soss Prihoda (Rutgers School of Nursing-Camden) recognized by New Jersey State Nurses Association
• Lecturer Professional Development Fund
• Staff programs at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
• Alumna Lynn M. O’Connor named first Black female colorectal surgeon to the medical division of the New York Police Department
• Nominations open for the PreDoctoral Leadership Development Academy (PLDA)
• Rutgers-Camden student Sophia Mora secured a NASA-sponsored internship
• Rutgers Community Engaged Scholarship Symposium on Tue. April 23
• Rutgers Day on Sat. April 27

Dr. Moghe then answered questions on the following topics:

• Increases in class size
• Students facing academic integrity violations for the non-intentional use of AI
• Administration’s Response to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce Letter to President Holloway

Response to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce Letter to President Holloway

Senators Boxer, Foster, and Haley will draft a resolution on this issue to raise as New Business at the April Senate meeting.

Functioning of the Senate

Senators Esposito, Foster, and Pierce will work on developing educational materials on parliamentary procedure for senators.

Workshop on Academic Freedom

Senator Foster will bring this up for discussion at the June EC meeting.

Leadership Structure for the Medical Schools

Chair Simonds will raise this issue with the Board of Governors. The Ad Hoc Committee on Continued Assessment of Ongoing Merger Process of New Jersey Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School will also discuss at its next meeting.

Process for Bylaws Adoption

The current draft Bylaws will be made available to the 2024-25 Senate for review over the summer. Comments received during the review process will be forwarded to the Ad Hoc Bylaws Committee. The Senate will consider the draft Bylaws at its fall meetings with the goal of completing the process by the January meeting. Special meetings or forums to discuss the draft Bylaws may be scheduled in the fall.

Review of Policy Revisions on Research Centers & Institutes

The draft policy revisions and the Qualtrics link to provide feedback and comments will be distributed to the full Senate.

Standing Committees/Panels

Committee Report and Recommendations:

Budget and Finance Committee – Abdelrahman Ibrahim and Carolyne White, Co-Chairs

Report on S-2308-1: Conflict of Interest Declarations

The committee was charged as follows:

Investigate and make recommendations on public declarations of conflicts of interest by politically exposed persons at Rutgers, including all members of the BoG and all those involved in significant financial decision-making.

Outcome: This report was added to the March Senate agenda as New Business and will be on the April Senate agenda as Unfinished Business. The question for the Executive Committee was whether it should be docketed as information only since it lacked recommendations. The Executive Committee docketed the report as information only, pending receipt of a revised report containing recommendations.

Committee Report and Recommendations:

Information Technology Committee – Katie Anderson and Adrienne Esposito, Co-Chairs

Report on S-2319: Explore Mechanisms, Methods and Processes for Senators to Communicate Senate Work and Information to their Constituents

The committee was charged as follows:

The Senate should explore mechanisms, methods and processes for senators to communicate senate work and information to their constituents.

Outcome: The Executive Committee suggested minor revisions to the recommendations. The Executive Committee docketed the report for the April Senate agenda pending receipt of revisions.

Committee Report and Recommendations:

Ad Hoc Committee on Senate Officer Compensation – Michael Joseph and Suja Patel, Co-Chairs

Report on S-2312: Senate Officer Compensation

The ad hoc committee was charged as follows:

To provide guidelines for appropriate compensation for Senate officers and other Senators whose duties as Senators represent a significant fraction of their university obligations. The resources for such compensation should be provided in a manner that does not create conflicts of interest. Procedures for such compensation already in place at some of our peer aspirant universities may serve as useful models.

Outcome: The Executive Committee docketed this report for the April Senate agenda.

Committee Report and Recommendations:

Ad Hoc Committee to Propose Changes to the Senate Handbook to Add the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee – Antoinette Farmer and Ronald Quincy, Co-Chairs

Report on S-2328: Propose Changes to the Senate Handbook to Add the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee

The ad hoc committee was charged as follows:

To propose changes to the Senate Handbook to add the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. The Senate adopted a resolution on Fri. Oct. 20, 2023 to re-instate this standing committee and, to formally complete the process, a Standing Charge for the committee needs to be added to the Senate Handbook.

Outcome: The Executive Committee docketed this report for the April Senate agenda.

Proposed Charge:

Cost Cutting and Budget Deficits – Senator Robert Boikess, School of Arts and Sciences-NB, Faculty

Charge: Identify cost cutting measures that are being imposed on departments by their schools. Investigate the budgetary rationales for these cuts and their impact on the quality of academic programs.

Rationale: Reports from a number of SAS departments indicate that various cost cutting measures are being imposed without appropriate consultation with the departments, without adequate justification, and with little concern for the impact of these cuts on academic quality. The Senate can determine the extent to which this practice is spread across the many schools at Rutgers and the extent to which it is necessary. The Senate can then propose solutions to the problem that will be less harmful to academic quality.

Outcome: The Budget and Finance Committee, the Faculty and Personnel Affairs Committee, and the Instruction, Curricula, and Advising Committee were issued this charge with a deadline of March 2025.

Proposed Charge:

Statements by the University and Its Units and Programs on Controversial Political Issues – Senator Wayne Eastman, Rutgers Business School:Newark/NB, Faculty, and Senator Cynthia Saltzman, Lecturer-Camden, Faculty

Charge: Whether statements by the University and its units and programs on controversial political issues are appropriate, given the potential of such statements to have a chilling effect those who disagree with the position taken in them.

Rationale: Many colleges and universities, inspired by the Chicago Kalven Report or its progeny, have adopted a position of “institutional neutrality,” in part because political statements that do not directly affect the interests of the university can have a chilling effect on faculty or students who dissent from whatever prevailing orthodoxy such official or semi-official statements represent. See: https://provost.uchicago.edu/s ites/default/files/documents/reports/KalvenRprt_0.pdf ; https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2024/2/23/institutional-neutrality-feature/; https://www.thefire.org/defending-your-rights/reforming-college-policies/adopting-institutional-neutrality. One case involving such statements: The Rutgers Department of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies in New Brunswick and the Rutgers Department of Women’s and Gender Studies in Newark endorsed a statement in solidarity with the Palestinian Feminist Collective and condemning Israel.

Outcome: The Executive Committee declined to issue this charge; the proposer will be asked to revise and resubmit.

Proposed Charge:

Changes needed to current emails regarding 60.1.29 Adverse Weather and Emergency Curtailment of Operations Appendix A Attendance Requirements and Compensation (Applicable during Delayed Opening, Closure – Weather Emergency, and Closure – Emergency Curtailment of Operations), Weather Update — University Operating Status Emails – Michael Russell, Non-Senator

Charge: Since 2020 and the start of COVID/Remote Learning, there have been numerous inclement weather events that would have warranted a school closure, enacting the policy. Still, it has since been overridden by technical wording regarding faculty, management, and students working remotely. At the same time, so-called “Essential Employees” still have to venture through dangerous weather to make it on-site while getting no extra compensation for doing so.

Rationale: I would like to see these future emails from the desk of Antonio M. Calcado, (Executive Vice President & COO, Institutional Planning and Operations) amended to adequately compensate the Essential Employees for coming to work during such treacherous times while everyone else gets to work from the comfort of home.

Email Copy:

To Members of the University Community,

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for much of our area. A mix of accumulating snow and freezing rain is predicted for early Thursday into Friday morning. It is anticipated that the southern third of the state will see less snowfall amounts while the northern reaches could see upwards of eight inches.

Due to the pandemic, instruction and service delivery are almost entirely remote, and the university is expected to remain open throughout the weather event. Vice presidents, deans, and directors are asked to continue to assess their operations and to urge all employees who can telecommute to please do so. Additionally, clinic employees should check with their supervisors in the event that any adjustment in hours of operation are necessary.

As always, please stay safe and make the best choices for you, your family, and our community. Please remember to Wear a face-covering, Watch your distance, and Wash your hands!

Sincerely,
Antonio M. Calcado
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer

Outcome: The Executive Committee declined to issue this charge as this is not in the purview of the University Senate. The proposer will be advised to bring this topic to their union representatives.

Old Business

Open Charge Request:

S-2323: Definition of Environmentally and Socially Responsible Materials and Products (University Policy 20.1.11 Procurement and Payment Policy)

USGC requested clarification on why it had been assigned this charge. The committee was asked to consult with the proposer of the charge, who is a member of USGC. This was postponed to the June Executive Committee meeting.

Format of the Administrative Report

Chair Simonds will communicate the Executive Committee’s suggestions regarding the administrative reports to the EVPAA’s office.

New Business

Committee Report and Recommendations:

Budget and Finance Committee – Abdelrahman Ibrahim and Carolyne White, Co-Chairs

Report on S-2320-1: Timing and Process for Recommending Tuition, Fees, Housing Charges, and Dining Charges

The committee was charged as follows:

Review the process and timing whereby recommendations are developed and made for annual changes in tuition, required fees, and room and board, including mechanisms for input from students, parents, and other stakeholders (including tenants with rents affected by Rutgers housing rates) and including the role of shared governance in this process. Make recommendations for any changes in this process to increase transparency and confidence in the process.

Outcome: The Executive Committee suggested minor revisions to the recommendations. The Executive Committee docketed the report for the April Senate agenda pending receipt of revisions.

Adjournment

The Executive Committee adjourned at 3:29 p.m.

Minutes prepared by: Vicki Hewitt, Executive Secretary of the University Senate