College Council Meeting Minutes: April 12, 2024

Present

  • Mili Makhijani, Chair
  • Melissa Archbold
  • Phillip E. Elliott
  • William A. Hohauser
  • Martha Maffei (Via Zoom)
  • Theresa A. Regnante
  • Amira Crystal T. Richardson
  • Scott D. Reich

Call to Order/Welcome 

  • Chair Mili Makhijani called the College Council meeting to order at 12:40 p.m. The Chair welcomed Nicholas Capriola, the new liaison to the College Council, and wished Ms. Denee Jenkins luck in her new role at Columbia University. The chair also welcomed the new alumni representative, Dr. Lorraine Cadogan-Cochraan. She replaces Mr. Lionel Chitty as Alumni Association President.
  • Acknowledging that everyone received a copy of the October 27, 2023, College Council meeting minutes and appendices, the Chair acknowledged that she worked offline with Council Members Reich and Hohauser on the amended language in the “Open Meeting” section of the minutes. The chair called for a motion to approve the minutes. Dr. Phillip Elliott motioned to accept, seconded by Ms. Melissa Archbold.
  • Acknowledging that everyone received a copy of the December 15, 2023, College Council meeting minutes, the chair called for a motion to approve the minutes. Ms. Theresa Regnante motioned to accept, seconded by Dr. Phillip Elliott.

President's Report 

  • President Timothy Sams welcomed the College Council members and then started his formal report.
  • Highlights & Updates
    • LEAP-UP Grant with Brookhaven National Lab: The President shared that the university welcomed over thirty leaders from Brookhaven National Laboratory for BNL at Old Westbury Day. This event served as a kickoff to the recently signed MOU agreement for $1.15 Million over three years. The LEAP-UP grant is a much more focused opportunity that will better animate the B.S. in Physics program.
    • FAFSA Completion Corps: The President went on to discuss the FAFSA Completion Corps. This team was put together as a pilot for SUNY to help assist prospective students and their families navigate thru the new FAFSA form and its process.
    • M.S. in Forensic Accounting Degree Ranked: Dr. Sams informed all that SUNY Old Westbury was just ranked 3rd in the Nation among the “Best Master’s Degrees in Forensic Accounting”.
    • Public Health Accreditation Visit: Earlier this week, an accreditation team from the Council of Education for Public Health visited campus. This is the latest step in securing the continuing accreditation of the Bachelor of Science in Public 
      Health program.
  • Trans Athletes Ban in Nassau County: Vice President for Communications and Universit Relations Michael Kinane discussed the Trans Athletes executive order issued on February 22nd. This order relates to the use of county parks and facilities for athletic and sports competitions. This ban has no impact on our athletic programs as we do not utilize Nassau County facilities.
  • NYS Budget Update, Implications and Expectations: Vice President for Business and Finance & CFO Martha Santana gave an update on the budget. As of 4/11, the State budget has not been passed and was extended until 4/15.
    • Based on the proposals being reviewed, the University expects an additional $54M in operational support. The specific amount which the University will receive will be determined.
    • The expectation is for continued support of employee benefits and debt services, TAP Gap support, salary and benefit support for new FT faculty.
  • Admissions Activities for Fall 2024: Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing Bryan Terry provided an overview of the FASA situation that many students are currently facing. With the new FASA simplification, problems have begun to arise with the calculations.
    • When the University received its FAFSA information, we received about 5% errors. Nationwide, the number of students filling out the FAFSA is down by 40%. Dr. Terry told us that last year, we had 14,000 FAFSA processed compared to this year’s 6,957.
    • To help students with their FAFSA, SUNY Old Westbury is participating in FAFSA Corps. This initiative allows training administrators to help students fill out their FAFSA.
      • Council member Regnante proposed a FAFSA day on campus or the possibility of working with libraries/retired teachers in the surrounding communities to help students through the FAFSA process.
    • Dr. Terry reported that there are 706 more applications this year than last year. With this, the University has admitted 1216 more students, and 313 more students have already paid their deposit.
  • Shared Governance: Dr. Sams discussed the shared governance process and the three main areas addressed:
    • Identification, roles and responsibility
    • How policies are developed

    • Consultation process: President Sams shared a diagram that outlines who is responsible for what in a life of the university. • Dr. Sams talked about the work being done in terms of the sponsorship of policies. With this piece, the sponsor must be a stakeholder member of the group affected by the new policy.

      Dr. Sams explained that when he arrived, folks were telling others what to do and it wasn’t approved. This is a conscientious attempt to clean that up in addition to making the policy clear going forward in terms of how we make decisions around policies themselves.

    • Dr. Sams described the shared governance process:
      • Proposal Sponsorship
      • Vetting process (consensus)
      • Presidential approval
      • Posting
      • Chair Makhijani pointed out that this process is in response to the recommendation the University received during the middle states process.
    • With this recommendation, the University formed a Policy Oversight Management Committee. This committee helps capture the policies and have them in one centralized repository.
      • Council member Regnante asked who internally is examining the university's strategy development in relation to its prowess. President Sams explained the work that is being done strategically through regular announcements and a campus booklet that highlights the university’s yearly activity. The Office of Advancement also notifies broader constituents and makes them aware of the work that is being done.
      • Council member Regnante noted that it would be easier for the people in advancement if the mission of the university was more known in terms of pointing in the direction of advanced workforce or STEM.
      • Dr. Sams explained that the process is still being structurally developed and noted that the Cabinet is responsible for the strategic advancement of the University.
      • Chair Makhijani discussed how the university’s mission separates us from many. Chair Makhijani also talked about the hunger for corporate partnerships to partner with a university like ours because they want to be known as the corporation that partnered with such a unique mission.
  • Interim Provost Dorothy Escribano discussed how the university is working on hiring a director of workforce development. Dr. Escribano also talked about the efforts of Dr. Michael Kavic who is constantly looking for grant; who needs to connect and who needs our mission.
    • Bishop Elliott mentioned that the College Council members can be utilized in outreach to the community, and all are connected in major ways. Council member Elliott proposed the idea of a retreat to discuss the windows of opportunities for the University.
    • Vice President for Institutional Advancement Angela Wambugu-Cobb brought up that the University is currently in the middle of a strategic planning process and how the idea of a retreat to really understand what talent and relationships are held within the council and foundation during this process while we are identifying the priorities of the institution.
    • Council member Archbold pointed out how Stony Brook University attends yearly ACT conferences with its agenda and how it creates partnerships with those organizations. Council member Archbold urged the university to sign up for those conferences and put what we want at the table because that is how she sees businesses and partnerships forming. She also discussed the potential for a summit with industry leaders.
  • Dr. Sams mentioned that he realized that he could’ve done an even better job explaining the institution as he had found it to the council. This would help all resist the urge to compare us to Stony Brook. Dr. Sams discussed that it is a natural comparison but an unfair one, particularly relative to the condition of the university when he found it and the mountain of challenges faced, including bringing the campus back to life post-COVID and having a certain profile of resources that are not shared with a Stony Brook.
    • Chair Makhijani pointed out that we aren’t comparing this university to Stony Brook; and that it’s more about the actual work that is being done, and that the refining is still happening here.
    • Dr. Sams discussed the understanding of the complexity of the institution and what was found and how the cabinet worked to stabilize the university.

Chair's Report/Old Business

  • Chair Makhijani didn't have anything to report and informed all that Judge Hohauser will take over the meeting as she needed to depart.

New Business

  • No Council Member had new business to report.
  • Faculty Senate Chair Report: Dr. Kyle Anderson presented a detailed report on various matters impacting faculty, committees, and the strategic direction of SUNY Old Westbury. Key points discussed during the report are as follows:
    • Faculty Morale Survey: A survey done in conjunction with Academic Affairs to assess where faculty was at. Identified areas where low scores were received and began work with the President and the Deans,
    • Faculty Handbook: Currently working on finalizing the faculty handbook. In the process of collating and collecting the recommendations based off the draft handbook. The process of putting the handbook together will extend into the Fall semester.
    • Strategic Planning: Discussed the struggles faced with getting faculty involved in the process.
    • Student Sucess: Provided an overview of efforts surrounding student success, such as the student success, and JED task force.
    • Center of Excellence in Teaching and Learning: Informed all that they are currently hiring a faculty director.
  • Alumni Representative Report
    • Alumni Association President Lorraine Cadogan-Cochrane was not present to report.
  • Student Government Association Report
    • SGA President and Council Member Amira Richardson provided a comprehensive report on various activities and initiatives undertaken by the Student Government Association (SGA). The key points discussed are as follows:
      • SGA Board: Informed all that the 2024-2025 board has been determined.
      • Student Activity Fee: Recently it was voted to remain mandatory.
      • Advocacies:
        • LGBTQIA++: Working on visual representation on campus
        • Working on getting students connected through the CORQ app and engaging with Faculty during the senate and their class time.
      • Woodlands Hall 2 Fire: Assisting students impacted by the fire. Working closely with the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Panther Community team

Open Meeting

  • No comments were presented by the public.
  • Judge Hohauser asked for a motion to adjourn. Ms. Melissa Archbold moved the motion to adjourn, and Ms. Theresa Regnante seconded the motion. All voted in favor. The meeting adjourned at 2:10 PM.