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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

February Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes


MONROE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY SENATE

February 26, 2004

PRESENT: G. Anderson, T. Archie, P. Bishop, W. Brewer, D. Brown, F. Burger, S. Cable, S. Callan,
L. Chrzan-Williams, D. Cox (President), K. Doyle, J. Ekis, C. Gilbert, E. Grissing, M. Harris, A. Hughes,
K. Humphrey, J. Kaufman, T. Keys, E. Laidlaw, D. Leach, A. Leopard, M. Marino, M. Mendez-Rizzo, M. McKinzie, S. Murphy, P. Peterson, S. Ruckert, P. Sarantis, L. Silvers, J. Smith, M. Timmons,
T. Tugel (Secretary), H. Wheeler, W. Willard, H. Wynn-Preische

ABSENT: I. Benz, M. Bower, T. Digiacomo, K. Farrell, M. Filozof, R. Kuempel, J. McCauley, M. Pastorella, E. Stewart, G. Toth,

STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES:
GUESTS: C. Adams, S. Blacklaw, K. Canfield, D. Cecero, B. Connolly, C. Cooper, R. Degus, F. Rinehart, S. Salvador

Meeting called to order at 3:39 p.m.

1. Guest Speakers:
A. Dr. Susan Salvador, Vice-President of Student Services
· The offices for Transfer and Placement and Continuing Education have been re-located to the Career Center in the campus center. The Advisement Center is now centrally located within the Counseling Suite of Building 1. Additionally, President Flynn was honored for his many years of service at the recent ribbon-cutting ceremony for the R. Thomas Flynn Campus Center.
· The Student Government at DCC has changed its name from Parliament to SEGA (Social Events and Governance Association), to more accurately reflect the work of the organization.
· The three residence halls opened for the Fall 2003 semester are filled to capacity. Applications for the Fall 2004 semester are being accepted and it appears the halls will be filled with some students placed on waiting lists. All students whose names had been on waiting lists for Fall 2003 were accommodated. Currently there are nine Resident Assistants and two Resident Directors, with plans underway to hire a third Resident Director. "Community Assistants" within the halls assist RA's with the planning of programs and events for residents. Several partnerships between residents and College faculty/staff have already been established. The HALL Committee, comprised of students, faculty and staff, has been working to integrate residents and faculty/staff through various activities. Health Services is involved with a peer education program, promoting health awareness for students on campus and within the residence halls. Also, grants to establish two learning communities will be offered to new residents. Dr. Salvador responded to several questions from the Senate:
Priority for admittance to the residence halls is based on the date and time a student's application is received and whether or not students are registered for classes at MCC.
Applicants for Resident Assistant positions should be students of high caliber. These positions provide students with a stipend in addition to full room and board. Student Services hopes faculty can assist in increasing the applicant pool for Resident Assistants by providing names of qualified students.
The ownership and operation of the residence halls is not the business of the College, but a separate organization, the MCC Association, Inc. The Association intends to keep the residence halls open throughout the year. To remain in the dorms between the Fall 2004 and Spring 2005 semesters a student must be enrolled in an intercession course. For Summer 2004, students must be enrolled in at least one course to live in the halls. In future summers, the requirement will be increased to enrollment in two of the three summer sessions. Residence halls will also be offered for housing in conjunction with area organizations offering a variety of summer programs.
Students within the dorms have the capability to access the Internet but not the M: drive. While there has been some discussion of increasing library hours on weekends, changes will be made based on demand and as such, remain unchanged.
· The League for Innovation will be offering a library of its materials through the League's web site. An A-Z index will link to PDF files of manuscripts, books and abstracts as well as video and audio clips on specific topics. More information will be forthcoming.
· There is considerable dialogue across the institution with regards to civility on campus, both in and out of the classroom. Initiatives include the 3 R's campaign begun by the Faculty Senate and the Personal Health and Safety Committee's study of ways different departments and services can work together on civility issues. Public Safety is now able to issue moving traffic violations on campus and stop signs are to be installed at several intersections around the campus. Faculty questioned what steps are being taken to alleviate the hallway congestion where Buildings 11 and 1 meet the campus center. Public Safety has placed personnel at this location during College hour, primarily to keep people from standing in the doorways. With the completion of the campus renovations, this area should not remain the primary point of ingress to and egress from the center and the problem should be resolved.
· In response to faculty questions, Dr. Salvador stated the College is looking at the current types of health services and times of their highest demand at DCC and will then consider the best way to meet these. Also, the College is aware of the interest in shuttle transportation between the Brighton and downtown campuses and is researching means to provide this service.


B. Richard Degus, Executive Assistant to the President
· March 15th is the target date for the opening of the south lounge area with seating for approximately 35 people. Java Joe's has contracted with the College to open a coffee shop in the lounge.
· By May 1st, all site work is to be completed and all equipment associated with the construction/renovation project will be removed. At that time landscaping of the area will begin.
· A parking lot will be established in the perimeter loop behind the campus center, providing 70 - 90 parking spaces for off-campus visitors.
· The area previously occupied by the Brick Lounge will be remodeled this summer.
· Simply Crepes, owned by MCC alumni, will be piloting their food service on the 2nd floor next to the library.
· Long range plans call for the gutting and rebuilding of classrooms in Building 9. However, this will not occur until a downtown technology center has been established. The RAITN room has been converted to a full purpose classroom and plans are being considered to retrofit an additional biology laboratory. The College is also considering increasing the number of courses offered during College hour to help alleviate the shortage of classrooms.
· The response to the Middle States Study has been overwhelming, with 150 volunteers to date. The process of forming the Steering Committee is underway.
· Several faculty noted a strong odor on the first level of the stairwell in Building 8. R. Degus will speak with
D. Schottler to make sure the facilities department is aware of this and working to resolve the problem.
· Telephones are being installed in all smart classrooms and the only remaining ones are those in buildings 6 and 9. Telephones will be placed in other classrooms as demands warrant.


Announcements (D. Cox)
· S. Wynne is working to move all senate folders/files to one central location on the M: drive.
· Tom Cooper reported the Faculty Council of Community Colleges continues to stand firm on its refusal to participate in SUNY's campus-wide, or value-added assessment plans. MCC's response to the FCCC, while not endorsing SUNY's proposal but encouraging continued debate among all parties, was in the minority. Although SUNY now refers to this as "strengthen campus-based assessment", it is still a complex issue and requires broad representation on any committee designing the plan.

3. Approval of Minutes: Minutes of the January 29, 2004 meeting were approved as written.

4. Standing Committee Reports

Academic Policies (E. Laidlaw):
The committee will be meeting with Dean Otero and R. Ryther on March 24 to discuss the Academic Honesty policy, and working with the Testing and Placement Committee to align revised TRS 103 and TRS 104 courses with Accuplacer placement policies.

The committee requests any current or former Senate committee chairs forward policy resolutions or amendments to policy resolutions passed during their appointments to S. Wynne for inclusion in the policy handbook.

Curriculum (H. Wheeler):
Currently, 15 proposals are posted for faculty review, including several program changes.

NEG (S. Cable):
The committee has begun working on the issues surrounding Faculty Senate membership and voting faculty. The Executive Committee has requested the committee's report by May 6.

In preparation for the election of MCC's representative to the FCCC, Tom Cooper has been asked to outline the responsibilities and duties of the position. Watch the Tribune for information on this. The terms for 12 Senate seats expire at the end of August 2004. NEG will be contacting the departments and/or areas affected.

Planning (T. Keys):
The review of Strategic Planning grants has been completed and recommendations have been given to President Flynn. Notices regarding these should be out within the next few days.

Professional Development (W. Brewer):
Nominations for the Dr. Wesley T. Hanson Award for Teaching Excellence and the MCC Award for Excellence in Professional Service are due by 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 7, 2004. Criteria for the awards and application forms can be obtained at:
M:\MCC\Teams\Faculty Senate\Professional Development\Hanson Award Application.doc.

SCAA (L. Chrzan-Williams for J. McCauley):
Four candidates have been selected to interview for the position of Dean of Workforce Development. Open hearings with the candidates will be announced. The committee will begin preparations for upcoming chair elections.

5. Old Business
There was no old business.

6. New Business
There was no new business.

Meeting adjourned at 4:33 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Donna Cox Terri Tugel
President Secretary

Minutes approved at the March 25, 2004 Faculty Senate meeting.



Faculty Senate
Faculty Senate Office
03/29/2004