Annual Report 2023-2024

1. Barbara Rome, Nursing (2024)
2. Cheryl Tokke, Business (2024) 
3. Mangala Tawde, Biological Sciences and Geology (2025)
4. Rommel Robertson, Social Sciences (2025)
5. Rondi Davies, Biological Sciences and Geology (2026) - Secretary
6. Sujun Wei, Chemistry (2026) – Chair

Dr. Lois Florman (Human Resources and Labor Relations)

1. Mangala Tawde, Biological Sciences and Geology (2025)
2. Rommel Robertson, Social Sciences (2025)
3. Rondi Davies, Biological Sciences and Geology (2026) - Secretary
4. Sujun Wei, Chemistry (2026) – Chair
5. Miguel Long, Business (2027)
6. Patrick Wallach, Mathematics & Computer Science (2027)

    Dr. Lois Florman (Human Resources and Labor Relations)

Rondi Davies, Biological Sciences and Geology (2026) - Secretary

Sujun Wei, Chemistry (2026) – Chair

Rondi Davies, Biological Sciences and Geology (2026) - Secretary

Sujun Wei, Chemistry (2026) – Chair

During Academic Year 2023-2024, the Bylaws Committee met via Zoom on:

2023: October 4, October 18, and November 15

2024: February 7, March 6, April 17, and May 15

In October 2023 the Committee discussed a proposal from the Committee on Environment, Quality of Life, and Disability Issues regarding update the charges. It was quite reasonable so it was approved by our committee, and subsequently the changes were approved by the Academic Senate in February 2024.

In October 2023 our committee also received a proposal from the Continuing Education and Workforce Development committee to update its bylaw charges. We met with CEWD committee in late October and raised a series of questions, particularly on deleting department chair in charge 2. The Continuing Education and Workforce Development committee sent updated charges for consideration but still insisting removal of department chair in charge 2. Our committee consulted with Dr. Phillip Pecorino with the history of current charges in November 2023, and Provost Phyllis Curtis-Tweed in February 2024. Provost suggested keeping department chair in charge 2 and adding oversight from Office of Academic Affairs. We sent these suggestions back to CEWD committee and eventually they agreed with the feedback in March 2024. Our committee finally approved this proposal in late April 2024 and it will be voted by the Academic Senate in fall 2024.

In February 2024 we received a proposal from Publication Committee to add a new additional charge. In March 2024 our committee had a discussion and concluded that this new request is already within the power of its current bylaws. Therefore it was denied.

In March 2024 Bylaws Committee received a proposal from the Committee on Environment, Quality of Life, and Disability Issues to rename itself. In April 2024 we approved such request and also suggested to replace “Issues” with a more positive word. In May 2024 both committees came up with the idea to totally remove “Issues” from the name. It will be voted in fall 2024.

In March 2024 Sujun suggested that the Bylaws committee generates a template for bylaw changes which includes changes from/to, background and rationales. We can put this on the website. Barbara Rome made a form in Onedrive for this template and all committee members contributed to this. It’s still an ongoing project and hopefully it’ll be finalized in fall 2024.

1. the Committee on Environment, Quality of Life, and Disability Issues

• Proposed changes to charge 4 and 5 with an additional short paragraph at the beginning reflect more precisely the new circumstances in which it operates. It was swiftly approved.

2. The Continuing Education and Workforce Development committee

• Proposed changes to charge 2, 3 and 6 to improve clarity and to better reflect the work that needs to be done by the committee. It was discussed extensively over several months and the final version was approved.

3. The Publications Committee

• Proposed new addition of charge 5 to expand its ability to improve various college websites. This proposed new bylaw was considered belonging to the current charges 3 and 4 and therefore it was subsequently denied.

4. the Committee on Environment, Quality of Life, and Disability Issues

• Proposed renaming this committee by replacing “Disability” with “Accessibility" as well as deleting the word “Issues” to update the language for inclusivity. It’s still ongoing and expected to be approved.

The committee will keep working on the standardized template for other committees and post it on our website.

I’d like to sincerely thank Drs. Barbara Rome, Cheryl Tokke, Mangala Tawde, Rommel Robertson, Rondi Davies, and Lois Florman for their collaboration and teamwork, especially Dr. Mangala Tawde for successfully scheduling a meeting with our Provost Curtis-Tweed, Dr. Barbara Rome for generating the template in OneDrive so every committee member could edit it seamlessly, and Dr. Rondi Davies for recording the meeting minutes in a timely manner. It was my pleasure to work with you all and thank you very much for the support.

Sujun Wei, Chair