Academic Senate Meeting Minutes

Queensborough Community College

The City University of New York

 

MINUTES

of the March 14, 2023 Academic Senate

 

Steering Committee Chairperson Dr. Steven Dahlke called the first regularly scheduled meeting of the Academic Senate to order at  3:14 PM. The meeting was held in a hybrid format, with attendees both in M136 and on Zoom. Chairperson Dahlke chaired the meeting from M136. 

 

I.  Attendance

54 votes were recorded at the time attendance was taken; 57 members of the Academic Senate were present during the meeting.

 

 

Absent:  Alai, Azadeh; Byfield, Carlene; Chropufka, Mark; Kolios, Anthony; Lieberman, David; Mayeli, Azita; McDonald, Alfred; Menendez, Anne Marie; Nguyen, Andrew; Parrinello, Emil; Prince, Kezia; Quinonez, Silvia; Rachiele, Laura; Rome, Barbara; Tariq, Hafiz; Tawde, Mangala; Tayson, Richard; Van Der Horn-Gibson, Jodi; Vasquez, Chenyl; Ward, Leslie; Willis, Davia;  

 

II.  Approval of the Agenda

Chairperson Dahlke used unanimous consent to approve the agenda. There were no objections.

 

III.  Consideration of the Minutes from the February 14 meeting 

Chairperson Dahlke used unanimous consent to approve the minutes. 

 

IV.  Communications from:

A. President Christine Mangino

 

The Senate received President Mangino’s report 

 

Though the transfer to our new email system has experienced some glitches, we are aware of the issues. These include issues logging into zoom, proper transfer of emails to the new system, and lost access to list serves. Because the email system is centralized it must be fixed by CUNY Central. There are workshops available as well that faculty and staff may attend. 

 

The budget due this Friday must include $3.15 million in proposed cuts. While we are still working on logistics, we can provide this overall figure. Part of these cuts can be offset by collection rates and enrollment, but that is a difficult task. We will not have assistance helping students to register going forward either. This loss in assistance amounts to $ 0.5 million per 200 students. We must push forward with efforts to register students. Summer enrollment hopes to increase 3-5%, and we will engage in marketing efforts. We will ask departments to offer summer courses, and we hope to increase collection by 1%. We also received 8 lecture lines from funds provided by the NYS Governor. While we currently have three faculty fellows, next year we will have only one. 

Regarding course enrollment, when multiple sections aren’t completely full, the strategy will be to offer reduced sections while still fulfilling student needs. 

 

We are also looking elsewhere for funding. There is a proposal being developed for $1.5 million to be presented to the House Appropriations Committee. We are also considering working with the JFK Redevelopment Fund, which is required to spend $43 million on community projects, and faculty are currently working on proposals. Last year we received $1 million to make locker rooms and bathrooms ADA compliant. We are receiving publicity about our efforts, and as an example the Male Resource Center was recently discussed in the media. 

 

We know budget cuts will hurt, but working together we will find how we can get money we need for our planning and to move forward with our strategic plan. 

 

Dr. Pecorino stated: 

 

The Budget Advisory Committee submitted a report last summer concerning budget challenges. There are troubled times ahead, but it has been obvious to our committee that any proposal that would hurt students or full-time employees would not receive serious consideration. We hope our new budget proposal will be approved by CUNY, but we don’t know at this point. There are campuses that have deeper cuts than ours, and we are managing ourselves better than most colleges. There are worries that if we balance everything, we will in turn have more funding cut from future budgets. I believe our administration has been doing work to mitigate the harm caused by our budget challenges. 

 

B.      UFS Report

 

In December we welcomed the Vice Chancellor, who spoke about budget issues. Overall, approximately $140 million will be lost in tuition revenue. Now the university is working on an overall budget. Amidst these challenges, CUNY is thinking of ways to save against this structural deficit. If a college wanted a full-time hire, it would be reviewed at both the campus and central CUNY levels. They also want students to be aware of various financial aid opportunities. The most important thing happening now is the Vice Chancellor’s campaign to standardize curriculum across the university, beginning with 6 majors but eventually looking at all majors across CUNY. Online Ed is also underway, with a broad request of proposals for various instruction modalities. 

 

 

C.  Steering Committee Monthly Report

 

Emily Tai’s efforts are a good example of university-level service. 

 

CCCRC requests 3 nominees every 2 years, one of which will be chosen to serve the position. We are calling on department chairs to submit nominee names to Sandra Palmer. Please think about expanding your service. 

 

It was great to work with colleagues and the President yesterday in Strategic Planning. A number of books have been published recently and will be presented to the campus at large. 

 

With Isabella’s leadership, the Massage Therapy program has remained successful. 

 

Please remember to send the Steering Committee any important items and we will share it. We have some items to share with you today: 

 

Jeff Jankowski described Trevor Milton’s presenting his works in Social Sciences 

 

Kathleen Wentrack described a Gallery X exhibit by Art and Design entitled, “A Room of Her Own.”

Regarding College Coordinators for the LGBTQ Consortium: each campus was awarded $40k for events and related efforts. QCC will be representing all CUNY colleges in the June Pride Parade. 

 

As a reminder, we are in the middle of the faculty member at-large nomination process. Chairs, please speak to your faculty and field interest in running. We try to have as much representation as possible. 

 

Another reminder that the COACHE survey deadline is approaching on April 7. Emails have been sent about this important survey effort. Please consider participating. 

 

Ray Perez, congratulations on your retirement. We thank you for your great work and contributions to the college and wish you the best. 

 

V.  January 2023 Graduates List 

There was no discussion concerning the January 2023 Graduates List

 

VI.  Monthly Reports

A.  Curriculum Committee Attachment B: New Program, A.S. Degree in Computer Science 

 

The proposal passed with 56 - 0 - 1

 

Abstain: Christina Manzo

 

There was no discussion of the item prior to voting. 

 

 

VII.  Unfinished Business

 

There was no unfinished business to report.

 

 

IX. New Business

A.  Melissa Riggio Higher Education Program Presentation 

 

The AHRC is the largest organization supporting people with intellectual disabilities. Riggio is just one program in that portfolio, focusing on providing a post-secondary college experience. Currently, there are 315 programs of its kind in the US, 30 of which operate in NY State. 

 

Riggio students are enrolled college students, and must enroll in 2 classes per semester accompanied by a peer mentor. Their participation is similar to an audit. We don’t expect students to fulfill all course requirements, but to complete what may be appropriate for them individually and to ask them to reflect upon what they have learned. 

 

Before the student comes to class, the metro is asked to engage the student with pre-teaching materials. Mentors also take notes to post-teach the student according to their learning styles. In coordination with the professor, to the extent the professor wishes to be involved, we make suggestions for how the student may best interact with the course material to showcase what they have learned. 

 

We are available to maintain communication to make sure students are successful and to work through any issues that may arise. There is also communication with faculty prior to enrolling a student in their class, with faculty expressing whether they would like to participate. The program also participates in cooperation with college disability offices. 

 

 

 

Meeting Adjourned at  4:16pm 

 

Scott Litroff, Secretary 

Academic Senate Steering Committee