FACULTY ASSOCIATION SUFFOLK COMMUNITY COLLEGE Minutes of the Executive Council June 5, 2012 Ammerman Campus at Selden Smithtown Science, 110 Present: Officers: Ellen Schuler Mauk, Kevin Peterman, Joyce Gabriele, Marie Hanna, Sean Tvelia and Cynthia Eaton Adjuncts: Stephen Serrecchia, Business, Accounting, Communications, Telecom; Frank DiGregorio, Social Sciences; Kelliann Flores, Foreign Language/ESL/Sign Language/ Music/Visual Arts/Philosophy; Michele LaPorte, Humanities; Marshal Stein, Foreign Language/ ESL/ ASL/Reading; Maureen Sanford, PA-Skills Center PAs: Steve Ortiz-Rios, Technical Areas/Instructional Centers; Deb Kiesel, Instructional Labs Ammerman: Alexander Nohai-Seaman and Sara Rafferty, Music/Visual Arts/Theartre/Philosophy/Women s Studies; Lisa Aymong, Nursing, Health; Jane Marie Wright, Math; Dante Morelli, Comm/Lang/Reading, TV/Radio/ Film; Michelle Fowler, Library, Central; Karen Pepe, Counseling/Co-op Ed East: Louise Johnston, Library, Humanities, Counseling; Anthony Napoli, Science, Math, Social Sciences, Business, Nursing, Culinary, PE Grant: Al Heraghty, Nursing, Health Sciences, PE, Veterinary Science; Mohini Ratna, Library, Counseling, Media; Pete DiGregorio, Business, HVAC, CIS, Technology, ETU Coordinator; Andrea Macari, Social Sciences Ellen Schuler Mauk called the meeting to order at 1:05 p.m. Welcome New EC Reps: Schuler Mauk welcomed our new EC reps: Dante Morelli, Comm/Lang/Reading, TV/Radio/ Film; Michelle Fowler, Library, Central; Al Heraghty, Nursing, Health Sciences, PE, Veterinary Science; Marshall Stein, Foreign Language/ ESL/ ASL/Reading; Alexander Nohai-Seaman, Music/Visual/Arts/Theatre/Philosophy/ Women s Studies; Stephen Serrecchia, Business, Accounting, Communications, Telecom; Anthony Napoli, Science, Math, Social Sciences, Business, Nursing, Culinary, PE; Michele LaPorte, Humanities; Andrea Macari, Social Sciences. Official FA bags were given to each of them. Schuler Mauk reviewed the index of the EC manual and the importance of reading this manual. She also encouraged them to display the EC rep decal on their office doors and to wear the FA pin proudly.
June 2012 Minutes of the EC 2 Certify EC Rep Elections: Hanna presented the most recent election winners in the following areas: AMMERMAN CAMPUS Alexander Nohai- Music/ Visual Arts/ Theatre/ Philosophy/Women s Studies Seaman GRANT CAMPUS Andrea Macari Social Sciences Steve Ortiz-Rios motioned to approve the election results; Wright seconded the motion. The election results were unanimously certified. Hanna reported that Susan Harper, the newly elected adjunct EC rep for English on the Grant campus, resigned. This position will remain vacant until the next election is held in May 2013. There is also a vacancy on the Grant campus in the full-time Humanities area. If a faculty volunteers to represent this EC area we will certify the position at that time. Approval of the May 10, 2012 Minutes: Aymong motioned to approve the May minutes; Peterman seconded the motion. The minutes were approved with 12 abstentions. These individuals abstained because they were not present at the May meeting. EC Rep Issues: Schuler Mauk reviewed, for the benefit of our new EC reps, how this agenda item is addressed at EC meetings. She recommended that prior to the meeting they send an e- mail to their constituents asking them if they have any issues or concerns that they would like you to bring to the EC meeting. She also suggested that after the meeting, e-mail them again to share the issues that were addressed. Pepe asked where we were with the negotiations on our health plan and what happens when our contract expires? Schuler Mauk stated that we should be in a period of negotiating. However, this is not on the top of the agenda for the County. Schuler Mauk further stated that the Labor Relations person from the County sent a letter to all the unions in EMHP requesting a meeting. A response was sent back asking for dates. This Thursday, all of the unions will meet to have a discussion before they meet with the County officials. Contributions are on the table; however, cost containment doesn t have to be contributing. We saved $15 million with the last negotiations. Approximately, $4 to 7 million could be done without contributions by members. Intense negotiations will take place this summer because County Executive Bellone needs this information before he can set the county budget which is due in September. If there isn t an agreement by 12/31/12 EMHP will go into Triboro which keeps the current contract as is. A change cannot be made unless it is negotiated by all 11 unions. Negotiations should have begun 1 ½ years ago and if an impasse was reached an arbitrator would have been called, but we only had one year for that to happen. Kiesel asked if faculty had to do the tenured faculty development process, how many faculty got this letter and how many times does one have to do it? Peterman
June 2012 Minutes of the EC 3 responded that the contract is very clear that this is required. Approximately, 25 to 40 faculty go through this process which is based on seniority. The history of this process goes back to when a former president of the college wanted to eliminate tenure. This tenured development process was a compromise. When faculty are notified they have one year to complete the form. So if you received a letter now your report is due next May. There are two ways to complete this process. You can write a 3 to 5 page self-report or complete a B Form which involves an observation (you would select a peer and an administrator would be involved). Guild members also have to comply with this process. After completing this process it is sent to the campus dean who then sends it to the FA office where it is held. It cannot be used for disciplinary action. This report is requested every 5 years after receiving tenure. Officers Reports: President s Report: Schuler Mauk reported that: She met with Executive VP Mazzarelli on various issues. She discussed the advisement concerns and emphasized that the time frame was too short. The FA s New Member Program was also discussed as were the programs offered by the College to classroom faculty for faculty development throughout the year. Parts of this program were not appropriate for non-classroom faculty so the program ended. In the fall there will be 14 new classroom faculty hired so it is the intent of the Office of Academic Affairs to restart this faculty development program in collaboration with the FA s New Members Program. Schuler Mauk, and Darryl Butkos will work along with the college on this program. FA Community Outreach Program Professors on Wheels has developed a relationship with nursing homes where faculty give presentations on various topics. For the last two years one of the nursing homes held a graduation ceremony for those residents that attended the programs presented by our faculty. This is good publicity for both the College and our members. Recently, unions have been looked on as unfavorable but we are showing this community that our faculty members are giving back to the community. Leisure Village has contacted us to bring this program to their institution. We need more faculty volunteers in order to meet the demands of these additional facilities. Schuler Mauk encouraged all EC reps to reach out to their constituents to encourage them to participate in this program. The average length of each program is 45 minutes. There is information on the FA website. Peterman stated that the College recognizes the value of this program and President McKay has acknowledged publically that this activity counts toward promotion. Flores asked if the faculty member needs to bring their own equipment if PowerPoint slides are part of their presentation. Hanna stated that the FA owns a laptop and will purchase a desktop projector in the fall so our faculty can bring this equipment with them if the facility is unable to provide one. Heraghty encouraged faculty to allow enough time for set up when bringing equipment with them. Pepe stated that one of our AME retirees is currently in a nursing home and actually attended a program at his facility and really enjoyed the presentation. Al Cofone was featured in the Speak Out, On Campus article in the AFT publication for Higher Education, May/June issue, titled Should career
June 2012 Minutes of the EC 4 counseling be mandatory in the first year of college? and in the technology section of this issue Eaton discusses how to confidently assess and evaluate online students in the titled article No Cheaters Allowed. Vice President s Report: Peterman reported that: Anita Greifenstein, the FA office manager, had surgery and is now home recovering. We sent her flowers and she is doing ok. She will be back by the middle of July. The FA office is staffed by Judi Greifenstein Monday through Thursday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. in the BSC Orient room until the renovation of the Southampton building is completed. The A form deadline for a September 2013 promotion is June 15, 2012. The first page of the A form was due May 15 th. Dean Sherwood reported that he received twenty-five A forms so far. Last year there were 62 college-wide applications. Adjunct promotions are evaluated once in the fall and then again in the spring. The Office of Academic Services notifies faculty and reminders are also sent out. However, faculty should be aware of all deadline dates. Information can also be obtained on the FA website: click on Professional Life: then click on Promotions. Politically the college budget asked for less money $1.5 million less than last year because of a decrease in enrollment. The county executive agreed with the college budget. As part of staying within its budget when there is less enrollment, the college reduced spending by 2.5% across the board and achieved $1.8 million in savings in utilities and contractual services (increase in class size). The College's capital projects are being voted on today and hopefully will be put back into the County's Capital Budget. County Executive Bellone took all of these projects out of the budget even though they are funded with 50% coming from the county and 50% coming from the state. The projects include the construction of the Health & Sports facility at the Eastern campus, the renovation of Kreiling Hall, renovation on the Ammerman campus, the Traffic Circle on the Ammerman campus, the construction of the Plant Operations building on the Grant campus, and the construction of the Warehouse building on the Eastern campus. Political influence of having VOTE-COPE and the political endorsements (all of the legislators we endorsed won) will help get these projects back in the county budget. The FA should not have to deal with this issue but look at Wisconsin. Treasurer s Report: Gabriele reported that: The March and April treasurer s reports were distributed. The last year s budget did not include some items in this year s expenses. Adjustments need to be made in order to purchase two computers and telephones that needed to be replaced, the renovation of the FA office and Anita s replacement for 6 weeks. Agency fee letters were sent to those who are not FA members and do not want to pay FA dues that relate to political fundraising. This notice is required by state
June 2012 Minutes of the EC 5 law. It is approximately $1 of local funds which will be reimbursed to 3 people who requested their refund. VOTE-COPE funds are kept separate from FA funds. The mileage cost of officers attending fundraisers is the only political expenditure coming from our local dues. All VOTE-COPE funds are officially accountable and Gabriele files as a PAC in January and July each year. The budget for the 2012-2013 academic year will be distributed to EC reps in August and will be reviewed at our first EC meeting of the new academic year. Secretary s Report: Hanna reported that: The EC list of all EC reps that was distributed at today s meeting needs to be reviewed by all. Revisions will be made to this list since there were some errors with telephone and office numbers. This revised list will be distributed at our August meeting. Please remember to call the FA office if your home phone or address changes so that we can have the correct information for you. Grievance Officer s Report: Tvelia reported that: Dealt with four discrimination/sexual harassment grievances 3 out of 4 have been dismissed. These centered on students that didn t like their final grade. One grievance will incur serious discipline for that faculty member. EC reps should send faculty to him if a faculty member receives a letter notifying them of being accused of discrimination and/or sexual harassment and a charge has been brought against them. An investigation follows because there are legal factors involved. The college s investigation procedures have improved. If there is no evidence no, charges are brought forward. A faculty member has been terminated. This individual did not have tenure. Harassment by a chair involving a PA. This was dealt with, but a number of colleagues have come forward and brought more information to the FA. Tenure does not mean that a person cannot be terminated. Tenure means that an individual has due process. The college has the burden of proof. An arbitrator hears both sides. If the charges cannot be sustained or are not credible, an individual is brought back and made whole. A termination due to program curtailment is the hardest to deal with. Adjunct Coordinator s Report: Eaton reported that: Adjunct inquiring on how they can find out if their seniority is being violated for the summer session classes. Directed them to call the Office of Faculty and Professional Advancement. Fielding calls regarding health insurance questions Adjuncts need to check that they are requesting both teaching and PA assignments on the NORA and to speak with the department chair regarding their assignment.
June 2012 Minutes of the EC 6 Schuler Mauk reminded all that the total number of contact hours, if split between PA and instructor, is still 8 contact hours per semester. If you are a new adjunct EC rep field as many questions as possible and cc Eaton. She will e-mail you the answer and then you can respond to your constituent. Unfinished Business: At the last meeting Tvelia was asked the following: How many adjunct faculty does each EC member represent? o A handout was distributed with the number of constituents in each area for both full-time and adjunct EC reps as well as an e-mail list that EC reps should use when contacting their constituents. This e-mail list will be automatically updated. He reminded all that some faculty have indicated that they do not want to be included in these e-mails so their names have been removed. If an individual asks why they aren t getting any e-mails from you, ask them if they want to have their names places back on the e- mail list. If they indicate that they do, e-mail Tvelia and they will be reinstated. It was agreed that the subject title will say that this is a message from your EC rep along with the EC reps name. The EC rep will be included in the distribution list so you can see the e-mail you sent Why a counselor s requested overload could not be viewed by her chair for an overload request in another department? o The administrator was reading the program incorrectly. How does an adjunct faculty change the information on the online directory so that students can find them on campus? o This is a Banner problem which has been placed on the list of things that need to be corrected. New Business: The first EC meeting for the 2012-2013 academic year will be held on August 30, 2012 @ 3:45 pm, location TBA. Napoli motioned to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Aymong. Schuler Mauk adjourned the meeting at 2:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Marie S. Hanna, Secretary