Annual Report 2024-2025

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. Carolyn King, Mathematics & Computer Science (2027)
6. Patrick Wallach, Mathematics & Computer Science (2027)

Dr. Lois Florman (Human Resources and Labor Relations)

1. Rondi Davies, Biological Sciences and Geology (2026) – Chair
2. Sujun Wei, Chemistry (2026) 
3. Carolyn King, Mathematics & Computer Science (2027)
4. Patrick Wallach, Mathematics & Computer Science (2027) - Secretary
5. Mangala Tawde, Biological Sciences and Geology (2028)
6. Vazgen Shekoyan, Physics (2028)

    Dr. Lois Florman (Human Resources and Labor Relations)

Sujun Wei, Chemistry (2026) – Chair

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

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

Patrick Wallach, Mathematics & Computer Science (2027) – Secretary

During Academic Year 2024-2025, the Bylaws Committee met

in-person on October 30, 2024 

via Zoom on December 4, 2024, March 12 and May 14 of 2025

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. In October 2024, we voted and approved the following: Committee on Environment, Quality of Life, and Disability issues (EQLD) to change their name to Committee on Environment, Quality of Life, and Accessibility (EQLA). Sujun filed a report to the Senate and the case was voted on and approved on December 10, 2024.

In October 2023 our committee received a proposal from the Continuing Education and Workforce Development (CEWD) committee to update its bylaw charges. Among multiple issues, we were particularly concerned about deleting department chair in its charge #2. The case was discussed extensively over the following several months, including meeting with CEWD committee, Dr. Phillip Pecorino with the history of current charges, and Provost Phyllis Curtis-Tweed. 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. A report was sent to the Steering Committee in Summer 2024. In fall 2024, we heard back from Steering Committee asking for more detailed rationales for each proposed change, before it could be presented at the Senate floor for voting. Sujun relayed the message to CEWD committee in fall 2024 and thus far there is no follow-up from CEWD committee.   

In March 2024 Sujun suggested that the Bylaws committee generates a standardized template for the other senate committees to use when proposing bylaw changes. The template includes changes from/to, background and rationales and it can be put on our website. It started as a Word file, and it was discussed and further improved during multiple meetings. The final Word version was set on December 2024. In early spring 2025, Adam Volin suggested that he can produce a web-based submission form to generate a template file just like we finalized, other than a fillable PDF file. He went on and shared a preliminary version. It was shared with all Bylaws Committee members via email and it was slowly upgraded to a much clearer version over several months. The link is the following: https://qcc.cloud.processmaker.net/webentry/81/bylaw_Change_Request

Sujun also reached out to QCC IT and requested a shared mailbox (bylawscommittee@qcc.cuny.edu), displayed as QCC Bylaws Committee, which can be accessed by Bylaws Committee Chair and Secretary. Adam helped to link this email with the submission link so in the future any new submission from other committees will be collected in our official email. Sujun presented this case at the Senate meeting in May 2025 and it was well received. Sujun added this submission link to our committee website, which is just one click away.

In March 2025 we received a bylaws update request from eLearning Committee but it asked for editing their committee guideline. Sujun shared the standard template in Word format and received the filled-in version in April. In May 2025 our committee discussed about this case. Considering the committee is taking a step back from a lot of their responsibilities we should be sure that the staff at and eLearning Committee, Steering Committee, Committee on Committees, and Provost agree with the changes. We need more clarity about these changes before moving forward and will invite these committees to meet to discuss this in Fall 2025.

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

• Proposed to rename itself to Committee on Environment, Quality of Life, and Accessibility (EQLA). It was swiftly approved.

2. The eLearning Committee

• Proposed numerous updates on its bylaw charges to clarify its responsibilities. This is an ongoing case.

The committee will keep working on the incoming new and old cases and improve our committee efficiency internally.

I’d like to sincerely thank Drs. Mangala Tawde, Rommel Robertson, Miguel Long, Rondi Davies, Carolyn King, Patrick Wallach and Lois Florman for their collaboration and teamwork, especially Dr. Lois Florman for successfully connecting me with Mr. Adam Volin, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Digital Transformation, and her valuable insights, and Dr. Rondi Davies for recording the meeting minutes in a timely manner. I’d also like to give a special thank to Mr. Volin, who envisioned the web-based submission website, and implemented it into a perfection with numerous update requests from our committee members. It was my pleasure to work with you all and thank you very much for the support.