RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW JERSEY
UNIVERSITY SENATE

MINUTES: Regular Meeting of the University Senate

DATE: May 1, 2020

TIME AND PLACE: 1:10 p.m., WebEx

MEMBERS PRESENT:  Acosta, Agboste, Albert, Alexander-Floyd, Alizadeh, Ardeshna, Aubert, Avallone, Bachmann, Barbarese, Barchi, Bekdash, Bhuyan, Boikess, Bora, Borisovets, Brewster-Bauzyk, Bridgeman, Buyske, Castaneda, Chaudhary, Chiu, Coleman, Colley, Crews, Dasari, DiLalo, Dool, Doumit, Everett, Felder, Figueira, Gillett, Giraud, Goldfarb, Goonetilleke, Gould, Gower, Gursoy, Hartman, Hsueh, Hunter, Hunter Fratzola, Jarrin, C. Kane, E. Kane, Kashalikar, Kaye, Kettle, Kosar, Kovacs, Kustka, Langer, Lee, Lutz, Maglione Rico, Mahajan-Cusack, Mansukhani, Marchetta, Markert, Markowitz, Marsic, Matto, Mayes, Mena-Segovia, Miranti, Moomjy, Norris, O’Brassill-Kulfan, Oliver, Ozel, Pandey, Pappas, Parsa, Paskhover, Patel, Perez, Pichugin, Pinto-Figueroa, Paskhover, Ponzio, Posluszny, Powell, Rabinowitz, Ravichandran, Rivera, Roth, Ryan, Saltzman, Sanchez, Schwartz, Schwartz, Sesti, Shapiro, Shinbrot, Shobut, Silver, Simonds, Sinacori, Song, Speigel, Steinberg, Struble, Sztatrowski, Takhistov, Thompson, Torres, Tracey, Trees, Tsakalakos, Vargas, Vidal, Volino, Walkup, C. Wang, X. Wang, White, Willett, Wirtenberg

EXCUSED: Maloney

ABSENT:  Adya, Akbar, Alidou, Assaf, Atkins, Barone, Bator, Beegan, Bembry, Blanchett, Britton, Bugel, Cantor, Cohen, Conway, Cotter, DeFilippis, Dowlin, Dreyer, Eaton, Ebert, Emmons, Esposito, Farris, Feldman, Fischer, Flynn, Fox, Gonzales, Goodman, Gotur, Govil, Graber, Guo, Haddon, Haley, Halkitis, Hara, Hatefi, Henderson, Huang, Joergenson, R. Johnson, S. Johnson, Joy, Kartik, Kaul, Kukor, Lamar, LaPointe, Lei, Lewis, Liu, Lopez, Maddox Douglas, Madsen, Mahon, Mammis, Mandalapu, March, Marchitello, Masiello, Mazurek, McKeever, Menifield, Mitra, Molloy, Moore, B. Murphy, K. Murphy, Mutcherson, Nath, Nickitas, O’Connor, O’Rourke, Omotoso, Oukil, Pardlo, Porumbescu, C. Potter, J. Potter, Pradhan, Prasad, Puar, Rajan, Robbins, Romanko, Schiavo, Schneider, Sen, Shankar, Shapses, Sinnott, Stephenson, Stoprya, Strom, Tan, Thakuriah, Tharney, Thuravil, Titus, Tomasko, Umarov, Van Stine, Veysey, A. Wang, Zheng

ATTENDANCE SUMMARY: Faculty: Of 114 total: 79 present (69%), 1 excused (1%), 34 absent (30%); Students: Of 51 total: 16 present (31%), 0 excused (0%), 35 absent (69%); Administrators: Of 40 total: 2 present (5%), 1 excused (3%), 37 absent (93%); Staff: Of 18 total: 14 present (78%), 0 excused (0%), 4 absent (22%); Alumni: Of 6 total: 3 present (50%), 0 excused (0%), 3 absent (50%)

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 1:17 p.m. via WebEx. He welcomed all to the final meeting of the 2019-20 Senate. He thanked all Senate members for their dedication to the Senate’s mission sending a special thanks to the committee chairs, the Executive Committee, Senate Parliamentarian and Vice Chair Peter Gillett, Senate Executive Secretary Mary Mickelsen and Senate Administrative Assistant Morgan Smith. He also encouraged all members to follow the Senate on social media (Instagram and Twitter: @RutgersSenate) and were hopeful some of the student senators would join in creating some TikToks to increase the Senate’s visibility.

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 February 21, 2020 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:
    • Policy 50.2.1: Senate Membership and Organization
      • Policy 50.2.1: Senate Membership and Organization Strikeout Version
  • Mickelsen also asked any seasoned senators who were interested in volunteering at the New Senator Orientation on September 11, 2020 to please contact her via email.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Instruction, Curricula, and Advising Committee (ICAC) Response to Charge S-1809: Student Success/Advising and Career Services – Natalie Borisovets, ICAC Chair

The USGC was charged as follows: Examine issues relating to undergraduate advising and career services across the university and make appropriate recommendations.

Senator Borisovets summarized the background and work of the committee, then read the corresponding resolutions. There was some discussion especially surrounding the usability of Degree Navigator and the how pass/no credit option (being offered to students due to the drastic change in teaching style in the form of remote learning due to the current COVID-19 pandemic) would affect their GPA and their ability to complete their degree on time. The resolution was then voted on by the Senate and passed unanimously. 

Student Affairs Committee (SAC) Response to Charge S-1913: Health and Wellness Support for Rutgers Students – Elizabeth Matto, SAC Co-Chair

The SAC was charged as follows: Investigate health and wellness services available to students and the initiatives utilized to promote awareness across the University and make recommendations.

Senator Matto summarized the work of the committee and the SAC’s response to Charge S-1913 on Health and Wellness Support for Rutgers Students. Matto read the resolutions and answered related questions. There was some concern expressed by Senators that the report and recommendations were focused on Camden, Newark, and New Brunswick Campuses and did not touch on RBHS.  Matto explained this was not to exclude any students, it was just a matter of time and resources. Matto also accepted the suggestion that a separate charge could be assigned to the SAC in the future to focus on RBHS students. The report was then voted on and passed.

Executive Committee Resolution on PTL Healthcare – Karen Thompson, PTL Member of the Executive Committee *Resolution linked as amended on the Senate floor

Senator Thompson reported on the background and read the resolution. During the discussion, Thompson proposed an amendment that added “(also known as Part-Time Lecturers or Adjuncts)” after Part-Time Faculty in the resolution. The amendment passed with no objections.  The resolution was then voted on, as amended, and passed. 

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 announcement of her stepping down from the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs position and returning to the faculty;
• Student Awards and Accolades
  • 10 Fulbright Grants; 2 Goldwater Scholarships; Harry S. Truman Scholarship; Princeton in Latin America; First ever Marshall Scholar at Rutgers
  • Business School won 2^nd place in the world at the PRMIA Risk Management Challenge
• MGSA Professor Steffani Jemison named 2020 Guggenheim Fellow
• COVID-19 Update
  • Spring and Summer semesters have moved to a fully online platform and offer a pass/no credit option;
  • Faculty with movement toward tenure have a 1 year extension on their tenure clock. Student evaluations will be conducted, however it is up to the faculty’s discretion as to whether they are included in their promotional packet;
  • Decisions about fall instruction have not been decided yet, however preparations for a continuation of the remote instruction have been initiated;
  • 2020 Commencement Ceremonies
    • Committee has been formed to look at ways to honor graduates including virtual graduations and in-person graduations when the social distancing restrictions are lifted
    • Medical Schools and Nursing Schools have graduated some students early (all of which have completed all necessary requirements) in order to move those graduates into their respective fields and aid in the COVID-19 battle
  • President Barchi distributed an email to members of the Rutgers community outlining the financial burden Rutgers has undertaken in the last few months and ways to mitigate further damage moving forward.

Lee then answered further questions on the below topics:

• Hiring freeze due to COVID-19, especially concerning PTLs
• Early retirement – if interested to contact the Office of Academic Labor Relations
• The exact amount of money that Rutgers has lost over the last several months and if the cut senior level administration is taking for the next 4 months is enough
• A request for financial statements, especially in light of COVID-19 losses, to be sent to the Senate Budget and Finance Committee for evaluation
• If any lobbying is being done at the state and/or federal level to aid in funding to Rutgers.

NEW BUSINESS

Resolution Celebrating Robert Barchi’s Tenure as University President

Chair Jon Oliver introduced this item under New Business and passed the floor to Senator Ann Gould who introduced the authors (Senators Borisovets, Gillett, and Gould) and read the resolution. Oliver initiated a vote by unanimous consent, however it was challenged by Senator Nikol Alexander-Floyd, who subsequently asked for a vote due to her disagreement with the Resolution.  As requested, a vote was carried out, and the resolution passed.

Resolution on RBHS Contract Negotiations

Senator Boris Pakshover requested this item be added under New Business, and with no objection, it was approved.  Paskhover described the background and read the resolution. With much discussion, mainly in support, the resolution was voted on and passed.

SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT – Senate Vice Chair Peter Gillett reported on the March 6, and April 17, 2020 Executive Committee meetings.

REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES TO BOARDS OF GOVERNORS AND TRUSTEES: Board of Governor’s Faculty Representative, Rachel Kaye reported on the April 7th meeting of the BOG. Boris Paskhover reported that the Board of Trustees had a very abbreviated remote meeting since the Senate last met.

REPORTS OF CAMPUS FACULTY AND STUDENT LIAISONS: Camden Faculty Senator Samuel Rabinowitz reported on the last Camden Faculty Council meeting. Camden New Brunswick Faculty Senator Tugrul Ozel, New Brunswick Faculty Council Chair, reported on the New Brunswick Faculty Council which met on April 24th. Newark Senator Sarah Shobut 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 4:03 p.m.

Minutes prepared by:

Mary Mickelsen, Executive Secretary of the University Senate

 

Committee Meetings

Academic Standards, Regulations & Admissions Committee Meeting

No location or time for this committee meeting

Budget & Finance Committee Meeting

No location or time for this committee meeting

Faculty Affairs & Personnel Committee Meeting

No location or time for this committee meeting

Instruction, Curricula & Advising Committee Meeting

No location or time for this committee meeting

Research, Graduate & Professional Education Committee Meeting

No location or time for this committee meeting

Student Affairs Committee Meeting

No location or time for this committee meeting

University Structure & Governance Committee

No location or time for this committee meeting