Steering Committee Report October 2022
We appreciate senators’ flexibility and willingness to return to an in-person format for Senate meetings as of the October meeting. Open Meetings Law has long required that the business of public bodies be conducted at an announced location at which interested individuals might witness the business of the people of New York. As a public institution of the City of New York, CUNY’s business is the people’s business and therefore must be undertaken in public. Per Open Meetings Law, quorum must be present for business to proceed; without quorum, the Senate cannot meet and curricular decisions and other policy actions would stop. Electronic voting at meetings will take place using Zoom, with senators using their own devices. Academic Computing Center is providing several laptops where needed, WiFi signal has been strengthened, the meeting room (M-136) will be open at 2:40 for senators needing assistance, and flyers with log in instructions will be supplied. The meeting will be called to order only when all senators are comfortably ready for the meeting to begin. Log in information, including instructions are shown on the Current Agenda page of the Senate webpages. Steering Committee understands that this change may raise questions. The Steering Committee webpage provides more information on Open Meetings Law, and we are available by email to answer any questions.
At the time of the October meeting final interviews and campus visits by Provost candidates will have been one half completed. We thank VP Brian Mitra and President Mangino for inviting Faculty Governance Leaders to participate in the interview process, and we anticipate a fruitful new chapter under a new Provost. We want to take this opportunity to thank Sandra Palmer again for her stalwart and extended service to QCC.
Service to the college is more crucial than ever. Several Senate Standing Committees have vacancies, and more than one person is serving on multiple committees. Two examples of outstanding service (among others) are Prof. Timothy Keogh, Lecturer, Department of History, who finished a three-year term as officer of one committee and stepped directly the following year into the role of Chair on the Awards and Scholarships Committee; and Dr. Tony Monahan, Associate Professor, Department of Health, Physical Education, and Dance, who is now concurrently serving as Chair of eLearning Committee and as liaison to Environment, Quality of Life, and Disability Issues. We thank Prof. Keogh and Dr. Monahan for their exceptional service, and note that the weight of serving the college is not spread equitably among our colleagues. We remind everyone that we are privileged to work at a college that values shared governance, and this means that we the faculty and staff make the college operate and should shoulder the responsibility together. Department Chairs, please encourage your faculties to offer their service – email Committee on Committees Chair Danny Sexton to do so.
We thank the following committees for submitting their Annual Reports: Bylaws, Dr. Scott Litroff, Chair; Cultural and Archival Resources, Prof. Nathaniel Sullivan, Chair; Continuing Education, Prof.. Alison Cimino, Chair; eLearning, Prof. Susan Lago, Chair; Food Insecurity, Prof. Ashlie Klepper, Chair; Library, Dr. Jodi Van Der Horn-Gibson, Chair; and Vendor Services, Dr. Karan Puri, Chair.
We thank all senators and Standing Committee officers and members for their service, and wish everyone the best as this important semester and academic year progresses.
Academic Senate Steering Committee (AcademicSenateSteeringCommittee@qcc.cuny.edu)
Dr. Steven Dahlke, Chair SDahlke@qcc.cuny.edu
Dr. Zivah Perel Katz, Vice Chair Zkatz@qcc.cuny.edu
Dr. Scott Litroff, Secretary Slitroff@qcc.cuny.edu
