Academic Senate Meeting Minutes
November 12, 2024
Steering Committee Chairperson Dr. Litroff called the third regularly scheduled meeting of the Academic Senate to order at 3:15 PM. The meeting was held in a hybrid format, with attendees in M136 and ZOOM. Dr. Litroff chaired the meeting from M-136.
I. Attendance
57 were recorded when attendance was taken, and 61 members of the Academic Senate were present during the meeting.
Absent: Rezan Akpinar, Charles Chiu Fu Chen, Zivah Perel Katz, Sasan Karimi, Amaris Matos, Andrew Nguyen, Joselyn Ojeda, Sean Persaud, Laura Rachiele, MD Mahbubur Rahman, Barbara Rome, Julian Stark, Isabel Torres, Gilmar Visoni, and Haishen Yao.
II. Approval of the Agenda
Approval of the Agenda –Dr. Litroff used unanimous consent to approve the agenda, and there were no objections.
III. Consideration of the minutes from October 8, 2024 (Attachment A)
Dr. Litroff used unanimous consent to approve the agenda. Two corrections are needed: John Talbird and David Lieberman attended the October Academic Senate Meeting.
IV. Communications from:
President Mangino stated there were pre- and post-election de-stress reduction events for students and faculty and that they would continue for the next few months. There will also be programs on immigration, and we will work closely with Citizenship Now and other organizations to help provide services for students who might be able to obtain permanent citizenship. Also, to let students know that we do not collect data on undocumented students, and we can never be required to give out any information.
At the beginning of the semester, some students had to be transported to the hospital for suicidal ideation and had a plan, and some students were referred to the counseling department who also had suicidal ideations. President Mangino encouraged faculty to be aware of students in the classroom who may need counseling services.
In the past week, 3,100 students registered for classes, and President Mangino encouraged faculty to remind students to register for classes.
On Friday, we celebrated with 116 faculty members who completed the AQ training, and over 300 individuals completed one course. Ten faculty members are part of a cohort going to the Equal Justice Institute and the Legacy Museum in Alabama, and a report will be forthcoming. There is also funding from the City Council to support one faculty from each community and senior college across CUNY. There will be 20 individuals going in February.
There was a meeting with ATD coaches about AI, and they encouraged those present to consider their ideas on AI. There is a great deal of free support through Copilot and Microsoft.
We also have our three-year graduation rates for our latest cohort. Graduation dropped slightly during the pandemic. Last year it was at 19.6% and increased to 23.2%. When one looked at the black male students last year, there was only a three-year graduation rate of 12.6%; this year, it is 20.2 %, with a 7.5% increase. Regarding Hispanic males, the graduation rate was 17.8% and now is 26.4%. We will figure out a way to celebrate with the community and share this data. President Mangino thanked everyone for their efforts.
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Communication from the Liaison to the University Faculty Senate - Dr. Emily Tai
There was a cohort from several community colleges to support students who were facing food insecurity and housing insecurity, all of which can be traced to undocumented status. It is important to remind students of all the services available through CUNY. There is a discussion about expanding CUNY cares.
Within the UFS meeting, the main guest was outgoing Executive Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs Wendy Hensel, who discussed the initiatives about transfer, the unrolling T-Rex, and the discussion of academic technology for student success.
The Lippman Report was also discussed. The University Faculty Senate put forth a resolution that discusses the recommendations that Judge Lubman made and who also has a history of supporting CUNY. As discussed, there is a desire to create a freedom of expression policy.
Anuradha Srivastava, in the Biology Department, is another representative of QCC in the University Faculty Senate and has also been chair of the Committee on Community Colleges for more than 15 years and is looking at community college enrollments, scholarly support for community college faculty and teaching loads. If anyone has specific concerns about community college and faculty issues, please contact her.
The Steering Committee intended to find a total of 7 volunteers for the approval of the Special Committee on AI. As of today, there are three faculty volunteers, and it is prudent to move forward in cooperation with OAA and form the committee. If any other faculty members wish to serve or be placed on a committee, please let the members of the Steering Committee know.
CUNY Tuesday fundraising efforts are underway, which began November 11 through December 3 and encouraged everyone to support.
V. August Graduates List - Informational
VI. Monthly Reports
• Committee on Curriculum - Attachment B - Dr. Vazgen Shekoyan presents
Policy Proposal - After a discussion, it was decided that this proposal should be postponed to another time.
Program Revision: Communication, Theater, and Media Productions:
The motion passed unanimously.
New Course: LC 401: Chinese Culture and Society
The motion passed unanimously.
Five (5) Course Revisions
The motion passed unanimously.
VII. New Business
• Santora Natatorium Proposal - Attachment C - Dr. Andrea Salis presents
The motion passed unanimously.
• Steering Committee Presentation on Zoom SSO Login
Dr. Litroff spoke about the efforts to make 100% use of a device for attendance and surveys and to help anyone with issues. Login is the same as Brightspace.
• Students from the Music Department, led by Dr. Litroff, will hold a performance on November 20th for the State of the University Address.
VIII. Unfinished Business - No unfinished business
Meeting Adjourned at 4:10 PM
Philip Nelan, Secretary
