FAEC Minutes, March 17th, 2021

FAEC MINUTES 3/17/21

 Present: Naseem Choudhury (President, SSHS), Bonnie Blake ((Councilor-at-Large over 11, CA), Katie Cohen (LibraryScott Frees (Vice President, TAS), Kim Lorber (Secretary), Lisa Lutter, (CA), Thierry Rakotobe-Joel (ASB), Mihaela Serban (SSHS), Ed Shannon (HGS)

Guests: Leah Warner, SSHS; Emily Leskinen, SSHS; Virginia Galdieri (Assistant Vice President, Human Resources and Benefits Administration); Janet Faber (Assistant Director, Employee Relations & Faculty Services (AFT)

Vote to bring meeting to order at 10:02am.

Minutes Approval: The 3/10/21 minutes will be approved next week. 

FA PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Discussion with Provost: Naseem met with the Provost.

• Connect: We are not obligated to complete these; however we are encouraged to do so where it benefits our students.
• FA Endorsement for Provost Council Items: The Provost has approved this for some things. The first will be 300T: Online and Remote Policy. After the Provost Council discussion, the item will be discussed at Unit Council, and Ann LePore will present it for a final vote at FA.
• IT Assistance with Web Page Updates: Provost Gaulden supports having assistance for faculty needing to post on the website. She does not have funds for this but will consider options.
• Distinguished Professor: The Provost is considering this, a title above full professor. Dr. Anthony Padovano had this designation. Faculty have been discussing this. Naseem will speak with HR, ER, and AFT to see if this exists.
   
• Deans/Student Complaints:
  •     Deans should always send students back to first meet with faculty regarding complaints/concerns. The Provost will remind all deans of this policy. They should not speak with students first. Students may report they spoke with their professors, but this may have been during class. They should meet outside of class with the faculty member to share their concerns before the dean becomes involved.
  •     There is a form to appeal grades.  The Student Complaint Form. Students can fill this out for academic grade appeals; these are reported to Middle States. https://web.ramapo.edu/provost/student-complaint-form/

Presidential Transition Team: Naseem has been asked by BoT Chair Susan Vallario to join this team.

FAEC DISCUSSION

Air Quality Concerns: Continuing concerns regarding HVAC system, and ventilation of classroom spaces was sent to the Health and Safety Committee. It was requested that a prevention maintenance schedule should be created and available for review by anyone. Response from Gina Costa-Mayer indicated that “all related HVAC records are maintained in the Office of Facilities.” Problems have continued.

Provost’s Email: There was a suggestion for faculty to not change teaching mode; we cannot be sure what things will be like in September. It will be more difficult to change a remote course to one using in-person delivery.

Campus Graduation: Can we have details soon? It would be nice if more faculty could be involved. What are the details regarding who can attend and participate? This may be an AFT issue.

USED NAME POLICY REPORT (Leah Warner, SSHS; Emily Leskinen, SSHS)

The BoT Cabinet has approved of a new Used Name Policy which allows students to select the name of their choosing to be used on a number of College documents – including their diploma.  This policy has been strongly supported by the faculty, Provost Gaulden, and VP Romano.

EMPLOYEE RELATIONS REPORT (Virginia Galdieri and Janet Faber)

All College Promotions Committee: Begins today.

Unemployment: HR is doing what it can but much is beyond its control. Reach out to Lori Zuccola (lzuccola@ramapo.edu) who has been helpful in this regard. Some issues required minor corrections. This is still a problem for many.

Vaccines: Saint Peters University has made vaccination appointments available to their staff and faculty. NJIT has made this a priority and is working with University Hospital to get their faculty and staff vaccinated. Is there any Ramapo news? State discussions have been started but there has not been a response.

Faculty Handbook: The task force had been reconvened. Is there a timeline ETA? The subcommittees are meeting. A strong draft will possibly be ready in October or November. The timeline will be constructed based on committee reports. Will sections be reviewed for faculty feedback or the completed manual? Key informants from each unit will be called upon to give feedback for completed sections. 

Meeting adjourned at 12:10pm.

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