Tag Archives: budget

5/8 Graduate Council Meeting minutes

by Jessica Mahlbacher
I. Approval of the Minutes: March 5, 2014 – Interim President Robinson p.13
A. Minutes approved! Chase was very thankful.
II. Opening Comments – Interim President Robinson
A. State Budget Announcement:
1. Good News:
a. Major colleges received an additional 45 million in funds to primarily to cover fringe benefits.
b. They will also receive 65 million to cover the increased tuition revenue, much of that is to cover the difference between tap assistance and the rising tuition level.
TAP has been raised from 5154
c. Community colleges did well, and will now receive 75 dollars more per student from the state.
d. Good for capital funding
2. Okay news:
a. The state is not funding the costs of moving the faculty through contractual steps, this is now on the university.
b. There is some variance in terms of state bureaucratic commitment to assisting CUNY in closing the gap between TAP assistance and rising tuition levels.
c. There were also a number of smaller programs funded by the state.
d. Moderate decrease in what the state is going to allocate for maintenance, but an increase in strategic projects. Chase did not want to proclaim doom and gloom too soon, but the building is 40-50 years old. While the building has been well looked after, we are incurring costs all of the time, including a new set of chillers (which should in the long run save us money).
3. Chase Robinson: “The future is… obscure”: next year will be the end of the five year contract and the governor’s race is coming up. The current occupant of the gubernatorial seat likes to style himself as a “cost-conscious democrat.”
a. The biggest variable is the modified priority of an incoming chancellor. This will not cause problems in the upcoming fiscal year, but it will affect the long run.
B. Commencement!:
1. Dance card for the event
a. There will be the awarding of a Distinguished Alumni Medal: Carol J. Oja https://www.music.fas.harvard.edu/faculty/coja.html
b. Chase wants this to be continued and perhaps expanded, at the very least institutionalized.
c. Professor Uday Mehta will be giving the faculty address, Suzanne Tamang of Computer Science will be giving the student address.
d. The Chancellor will come!
C. Chase wanted to give a shout out to this event with Thomas Piketty. Even has had millions of youtube views.
D. Student Awards:
1. 2 graduate NSF research fellowships
2. The Society of Behavioral Medicine awarded a Distinguished Award for Student Research in 2014
3. One Guggenheim Fellowship to a recent alumni in Philosophy
E. Faculty Honors:
1. Two of the faculty were chosen to be on the National Academy of Science’s panel on the integration of immigrants into American society
2. Matt Gold and the Digital Humanities crew won an NEH start up grant
3. Michelle Fine 2014 Recipient of the Education Award from the Center for Fair and Open Testing
4. The EO of Physics won the Jefferson Science Fellowship Award from the State department
F. Recent Faculty Appointments (Props to the Provost and the English Department:
1. Eric Lott will join the English Department, from the UVA. Also American Studies
2. Feisal Mohamed will join the Department of English in 2015 from the University of Illinois.
3. Chase is delighted for them.
G. Offers are out Urban Education, Anthropology, Jewish Studies, Psychology. It may be awhile before closure.
H. Admission Season (Final numbers will not be ready until the fall).
1. Total number of applications is slightly higher than last year (by 9!), in spite of concerns that it would be down. Chase is heartened by this considering anecdotal evidence points to the national numbers being down.
2. The number of offers is the same as last year.
3. Chase thanked everyone for their hard work, particular props go to the Provost.
4. Anecdotal evidence suggests that it was an extremely strong season, filled with quality students.
I. The Doctoral Student Parental Policy is out, Chase thinks the product is sweet. Props to the members of the Provost and members of the DSC (including our own Sarah Kostecki)
1. Accommodations up through the age of six
2. This is a two year pilot program, this can be tweaked as needed.
3. Chase advises that under this policy, one can have a plethora of children, but they have to be sequential. No doubling up due to twins, triplets, sextuplets etc. “Live long and multiply, but not at the same time!”
III. Granting of Degrees and Certificates to May 2014 – Interim Provost Lennihan
A. Doctor of Philosophy Degree is given to 120 candidates, the Doctor of Musical Arts Degree is given to 1 candidate, Masters of Arts Degree is given to 48 candidates, Master of Philosophy Degree is given to 121 candidates, the Doctor of Cardiology is given to 9 candidates, Doctor of Physical Therapy is given to 47 candidates, and the Doctor of Public Health be given to 1 candidate.
B. Motioned, seconded. Nobody disapproved.
IV. Results of Election to College Association – Professor Thistlethwaite
A. Klara Marton from Speech, Language and Hearing Science
B. Herb Saltzstein from Psychology
C. Thom Thurston from Economics
V. Nominations for two faculty to serve on the Student Complaint Appeals Committee for 2014-2015 -Professor Thistlethwaite (only faculty can make nominations)
A. The biggest single issue that Polly wanted to highlight, and was highlighted repeatedly, was the issue of preferential voting. All candidates, no matter how many there are, have to be ranked under the system of preferential voting. Anyone who puts down their choices, without ranking all of the choices has their vote disqualified. Not for the whole ballot, for that particular slate.

VI. Nominations for Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary of Graduate Council for 2014-2016 – Professor Thistlethwaite
A. The chair and the vice chair have to be faculty members, the secretary can be faculty or a student.
B. Marty Burke as chair for 4 years. No one wanted to take this away from him.
C. Gerald Creed has been Vice-Chair. He was (quietly) begging for competition. Somebody nominated Jeremy Porter from Sociology. He decided to stand for the election. Polly said that all we were allowed to know was the department. No one started the revolution.
D. Polly announced that she, as the current Secretary, was the only one who had put her hat in the ring for this position. She hoped for competition. All she got was polite laughter.
VII. Committee on Committees Presentation of nominees for Standing Committees for 2014-2016 -Professor Thistlethwaite
A. There was confusion over whether students could only vote for students, and faculty could only vote for faculty. It was decided that nominations could be made by faculty for faculty, and students could only nominate students, but that everyone could vote for everyone.
B. It is not clear yet whether students’ votes actually count for the faculty, but they figured they could disaggregate the vote to ensure that policy is followed.
C. The Committee on Research is the most popular committee in town.
D. There was no excitement for the rest of the elections for the standing committees. No last minute nominations.
E. The nomination and elections process took a good 35 minutes. Chase warned that we had not heard the last of preferential voting. Clearly its minutes were numbered.
VIII. Committee on Curriculum and Degree Requirements – Ms. Anne Donlon p.17
A. Change to PhD in Computer Science, the new first exam is getting a 70% or higher on the algorithms test and a B+ average in the 4 core classes. New Classes added.
B. Change in Criminal Justice PhD, elimination of Forensic Science specialization. John Jay had provided the funding, and they elected to no longer spend the money. Current students shall be supported.
C. PhD Program in Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian Literatures and Languages Changes to Admission and Requirements. Two new core courses as well.
D. PhD program in Nursing- Changes First Examination: “State of the Science” paper.
E. New MALS track in Childhood and Youth Studies and two new courses, Introduction to Childhood and Youth Studies, Childhood and Youth Studies. Potential link with the Brooklyn BA program, no MA exists like this yet in CUNY.
F. 0 credit course on prospectus and dissertation seminar for Philosophy department
G. The department of Public Health is trying to make the tracks more distinct in accordance with their accrediting body. They are changing the credits and also adding new courses.
IX. Minor Items
A. Change to 2 HLBLL courses
B. Computer Science is changing credit hours for 3-4, and then the Seminar “Research at CUNY” is now the “Research Survey”
X. Committee on Structure:
A. Changes to the Bylaws and the governance of the Graduate School from the governance. Get rid of preferential voting, instead going with plurality voting. That was not voted on in the session, the “Committee on Committees” gets the final say in how the voting would take place.
1. Chase points out that the arcane elements of preferential voting are not fully appreciated. Many people will not know “how to compare a candidate that we do not know well with a candidate that we do not know at all.”
2. The Committee on Structure is most concerned about disenfranchisement. Proper filling out of paperwork
3. Polly is also worried about the distribution of candidates, and the large number of candidates for committees such as Research
4. In the end, preferential voting was eliminated from the bylaws and the governance.
C. New governance for the Masters in Middle Eastern Studies.
D. Revised governance for the Women’s Studies Program.
XI. Presentation of the Standing Committees
XII. Professor Burke gave a report from the university faculty senate.
A. Still short on alternates for the Faculty Senate
B. Project for a larger institutional repository program is still in process, it is hoped this will be tied to the CUNY commons. It should be voluntary, not mandatory.

March 5 Graduate Council Minutes

by Sarah Kostecki

I. Approval of the Minutes: December 11, 2013 – Interim President Robinson

Minutes approved

II. Opening Comments Interim – President Robinson

First discussed Andre Aciman and Bill Kelly in Conversation – “The Art of Writing” the previous evening. Noted the event went well.
5 Main items discussed:

1) Chase Highlighted Bill Kelly’s letter on his decision to return to the faculty. Chase noted the GC is what is because of Bill and that we are fortunate he is stepping down, but not leaving the GC. Stated there is currently a search to fill GC Presidency. First meeting of the Presidential Search Committee on March 4^th was well attended.

2) Noted it was admission season. He highlighted the new funding packages (again), and the increased recruitment support to departments. He noted the quantity and quality of applicants has not fallen, though quantity varied across departments. Stated there were many exceptional candidates across the board.

3) Paul Krugman to join LIS this year and the Economics faculty in September 2015. Highlighted a critical factor of Paul’s decision to join the GC is his public commitment to the study of income inequality.

4) Chase nominated 2 professors for the title of distinguished professor – David Joselit (History Dept) and Joan Richardson (English).

5) Acknowledged the budget – no new news on this. On Friday, March 7^th Chase (along with others I presume) is meeting with Gale Brewer in The City Council, and others from Albany and elsewhere to make a pitch for increased resources to the GC. Chase said he plans to be as persuasive as possible and is filled with optimism regarding the fiscal stability of the GC in the coming years.

III. Granting of Degrees and Certificates to February 2014 Interim Provost Lennihan

M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D. candidates (only faculty vote on this item)

Approved

IV. Granting of Honorary Degrees for May 2014 Commencement – Interim President Robinson

Professor Emeritus Eugene Goodheart – Doctor of Humane Letters

Mr. Leonard A. Lauder – Doctor of Humane Letters

Ján Vilček, M.D., Ph.D. – Doctor of Humane Letters

Approved with Abstentions. A faculty member from the Linguistics department asked why there were no women included in the list for Honorary Degrees. Chase responded with something about the search committee, lack of viable candidates, and that the search committee plans to be “more inclusive” in the future.

V. Committee on Curriculum and Degree Requirements – Ms. Anne Donlon

A. Major Items

1. Ph.D. Program in Art History – Changes to Curriculum p.18

2. Ph.D. Program in Psychology – Clinical Psychology – changes to curriculum p.21

3. Ph.D. Program in Psychology – Clinical Psychology – new courses p.24

a. Integrative Foundations in Psychotherapy

b. Lifespan Development

c. Health of Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals

d. Clinical Issues in Adolescence

e. Contemporary Psychoanalytic Theory: Winnicott

f. Family Systems Theory, Treatment, and Research II

g. Theory and Practice of Group Psychotherapy

h. Special Topics in Clinical Psychology

4. Ph.D. Program in Psychology – New Course p.38

a. Neuroscience Rotation

5. Doctor of Public Health Program – Changes to Curriculum p.40

6. Doctor of Public Health Program – New Courses p.44

a. Health Policy and Management

b. Health Policy Analysis Methods

7. Certificate in Critical Theory – new course

a. Critical Theory: Foundations and Practices p.48

All approved

B. Minor Item

1. Certificate Program in ITP – change to course p.50 a. ITCP 89010

Approved

VI. Committee on Structure – Prof. Barbara Weinstein

2 Previous meetings were cancelled due to snow. At the next Grad Council meeting they will have an update on bylaws revisions.

VII. DSC Information Packet on Expressive Activities Appendix 2

The policy on expressive action was tabled at the last Grad Council meeting. The item was removed from the table. There was a discussion about the merits and necessity of the Draft Policy on Expressive Activity from 6/27/2013. No statement is slated to be sent to the Board of Trustees this year. Some thought the Grad Council should not be voting to approve or not approve a policy. Another faculty member expressed confusion as to why the prohibited actions were necessary when most of them were already against the law. She didn’t think CUNY should be in the habit of making law.
Therefore the Grad Council voted the draft of the policy from 6/27/2013 is obsolete.
We moved to amend only the bottom three paragraphs of the proposed Resolution on Draft CUNY Policy on Expressive Conduct. The amended resolution will now read as followed:

“Whereas existing educational laws and CUNY policies already set legal standards for protests at CUNY; therefore be it Resolved, that as a university founded as the result of dissent, CUNY should uphold the highest standards for freedom of speech and assembly; and Resolved that the Graduate Center Graduate Council calls on the University Administration to withdraw from any future consideration by the Board of Trustees the proposed “Policy on Expressive Conduct and any successor draft that may be issued

VIII. University Faculty Senate – Report Prof. Martin Burke

No report given

IX. New Business

None.
Meeting Adjourned at 3:49 pm

Executive Committee Minutes, 12/13 meeting

by John McMahon

I. 5-year response to 10-year review

Progress Report on 21 recommendations from external reviewers in 2008 review of the program: in-progress, in draft form
Plan is to use this as clarification/emphasis on asking for resources (e.g,. central line American Politics hire after Prof. Piven retires; hire in IR (in IPE)
Issues of discussion in report
- Course offerings and role of consortial faculty
  - Some concern expressed that GC attempting to move away from having faculty from the campuses teach at GC
  - Fewer consortial faculty teaching at GC was true for budget reasons 1-3 years ago, but not the case now
  - Program enrollment numbers can maintain similar number and distribution of courses
  - Acknowledgment that program needs to do better institutionalizing process for recruiting, bringing in campus faculty to teach, get to know GC faculty and students, and eventually become consortial doctoral faculty
    - Obstacles: budgets, varying interest and relationships with the chairs of POLSC programs across CUNY
    - Currently, Core Seminar in program every year taught by faculty from a CUNY Campus (Prof. Majic this year, Prof. Feldman last year) with eye to adding them to doctoral faculty down the line
- Need expressed to increase efforts to recruit MA students
- Discussion over whether the 700-level/800-level distinction actually works in practice
  - Is there really a difference between the two? Often have 700-level courses with seminar papers
  - Program could make courses be worth any number of credits
    - Any adjustments would have to take into account what Fellowships will cover for international students and first year of out-of-state students before they get residency status
  - Student Reps asked to conduct survey of student body to gather data regarding experience and perception of 700/800-level distinction
    - Will take place in the Spring

II. Interim EO

Appointment decisions for Interim EO position entirely run through office of GC President and Provost
- Current EO and many faculty expressed frustration that this process has yet to be completed by GC administration
- No formal process for GC administration
- No formal mechanism for faculty or student advising
Hopefully will find out soon
Prof. Rollins leaves program for sabbatical mid-January

III. Spring events

Resources exist for to invite speakers in Spring for talks on income inequality and related issues
- May partly function as highly informal pre-recruitment situation to engage with potential future applicants for American Politics line once Prof. Piven retires
  - Upshot: GO TO THESE – may be chance for input down the line

IV. Gittell Professorship

kind of a mess: 2 failed searches for Gittell Professorship
- one problem: difficulty finding one person for different programs (POLSC, Sociology, Psychology) to agree on

V. Website

Committee okays plan for semesterly review of student section of website to be conducted by Executive Committee student reps
after argument/discussion, student research interests will not be added to student portion of website

10/16 Grad Council Recap

by Sarah Kostecki and Kristofer Petersen-Overton

1 – Opening Comments (Interim President Robinson)

Interim President Robinson kicked off the first meeting of the 2013-2014 Academic year and made several acknowledgements:

1 – Bill is doing well in his new position as interim chancellor

2- Expressed his gratitude for chairs of Graduate Council Committees – recognized them all by name. Said that committees are important in shaping the way we exist as a community of scholars.

3- Stated how much he valued being a part of the community – used this to lead into his October 23rdcommunity meeting that will be taking place on October 23rd at 4 pm in room 8201.06. All are welcome to attend.

4- There was no wine at the meeting. Restaurant associates is liable for any issues if anyone drinks too much…so now it is harder for the GC to serve alcohol in public. I’m unsure if there are going to be issues going further regarding wine and cheeses organized by our department.

5- Budget: No news (which is good news). We are in the 4th out of our 5th year of the current budget. He is hopeful with the prospective new Mayor that funding should be secured in the future, though Gov. Cuomo is pushing for tax cuts which could affect revenue and expenditure. He will work as hard as he can to make sure that our funding is secure in the years ahead.

6 – The search for VP of Development is coming to a close.

7 – He welcomed new faculty in various departments.

8- Stated that the Advanced Research Collaborative (ARC) is off to a great start under the guidance of Don Robatham. 15 fellows from across the globe are working with 30 GC students on various collaborative topics.

9 – Public programming – he highlighted the year long programming on the NY Economy. Emphasized for all to attend.

10 – The Grad Center submitted a bid with CSI to the state for 11 million in funding in order to create a center for data visualization.

11 – Financial Aid and Student Support – emphasized this is always on the highest list of his priorities. They are in the process of putting a Parental leave policy in place as well as figuring out a new workload for current ECF’s. He said nothing is in place yet, but that he should have more news at the next meeting.

2- Approval of the Minutes: May 8, 2013 (Interim President Robinson) (approved)

3 – Granting of Degree and Certificates to 2013 DMA, DPT, MA MPhil and PhD Candidates (Interim Provost Lennihan) (approved)

4 – Committee and Degree Requirements (Anne Donlon)

Major Items

1 – PhD program in Nursing – Changes to Curriculum Sequence, Revised Courses, courses withdrawn (approved)

2 – PhD program in Art History – Changes to Degree requirements (approved)

3 – PhD program in English – New and Revised Courses,

a. New Course (approved, but with a little controversy over one of the new course titles – let me know if you would like further detail)

Minor Items

1 – PhD program in English, changes to existing courses and courses withdrawn

a. Changes to existing courses (approved)

b. Courses withdrawn (approved)

2 – PhD program in Nursing – changes to existing courses, courses withdrawn

a. changes to existing courses (approved)

b. courses withdrawn (approved

5 – Committee on Structure (Prof. Weinstein)

There are several new governance documents in the pipeline. They are working on the documents now.

6 – University Faculty Senate Report (Prof. Albrecht)

There is a proposal to give the senate more power to amend their charter in order to streamline the process for quicker change.

Grad Council Meeting – March 6th

by Sarah Kostecki and Kristofer Petersen-Overton

Overview:

I. Approval of minutes of December 12, 2012
II. Opening comments
III. Granting of Degrees and Certificates to February 2013 Phd, DMA, MA, M.Phil, DPT candidates (only faculty voted on this item)
IV. Nominations for two faculty to serve on the the Student Complaint Appeals Committee for 2013 – 2014
V. Committee on Curriculum and Degree requirements
VI. Structure Committee
VII. University Faculty Senate – Report
VIII. New Business

——-

I. President Bill Kelly and the Council approved the minutes from December 12, 2012

II. President Kelly then made his opening comments:

a) Budget – nothing to report. The current 5 yr. agreement will continue as planned for the next 3 years
b) Sequester – President Kelly and others are “maintaining consciousness” of the current sequester at the federal level. There is always the potential that cuts could make their way to the state and city level. No planned changes due to the sequester at present.
c) Update on 2012 – 2016 Strategic Plan – 3 Main Goals:
1) Enhance finance support – He gave a recap of the incremental rise in PhD financial support since 2006 and has noted that support has gradually become more generous (as we all know). In 2006 the university first began tuition remission. In 2009 – out of state/international ECF’s became available. NYSHIP was also extended to adjuncts and other ECF’s. 2011 – the opening of the first residential facility.
2013 –
New students:
-New ECF’s will go into effect, value of 25K and 1/1 teaching load.
-All incoming students without an ECF will receive 5 year full tuition fellowships and will be placed into teaching positions as they become available
-Goal is that in 5 years all PhD students will be fully funded
-In total 52 million was added to financial aid roles for Fall 2013
Continuing students:
-University has expanded en route support to current PhD students (no further details)
-Expansion of dissertation fellowships – in 2013 70 fellowships were awarded totaling 1.2 million. In 2014 the goal is to expand dissertation funding and award 85 fellowships totaling 1.5 million.
Fellowships will also include full tuition.
-ARC (Advanced Research Initiative), The Demography Program, and Digital Initiatives expansion will also provide more funding opportunities to students
-Harrison Fellowships (based on academic merit and need) – funding has increase almost 96% over the past few years
Teaching disparities between current and incoming GTFs
-President Kelly said this issue will be addressed in 2014. They are identifying resources and partnerships that will help decrease the work load of current GTFs (no further detail was given)

2) Expand professional development
-As already communicated, Jennifer Furlong of Penn, NYU and the Chronicle of Higher Ed began as the head of the new Office of Career Planning and Professional development earlier this year.
She will speak at a future Grad Council Meeting.
The office was put into place as a direct result of the Spring 2012 student survey. While 88 percent of students stated they were satisfied with Grad Center resources, lack of professional
development was a concern.
3) Deepen the culture of collaborative research
-The GC’s goal is to identify important topics of increased academic interest, ie. – globalization and inequality – and provide opportunities for faculty, students, and outside scholars to work together
on collaborative research initiatives that focus on these topics. The Provost will address this more during the next Grad Council meeting.

Other topics:
1) The rooftop project will get underway this summer. A glass pavilion will be installed on the roof of 34th and 5th that will hold GC events. New artwork and a stairway will be installed.
2) Glass canopies. The glass canopies over the doors to the GC are finally being fixed. Apparently it took a while to find someone to fabricate the lost and broken pieces to match what was already there.

II. Granting of Degrees – Provost Robinson then took the floor to announcing the granting of degrees (Approved by faculty only).

III. Polly Thistlewaite announced the 2 nominations to the Student Complaint Appeals Committee; Victoria Pitts Taylor (Sociology) and David Gordon (History) (both approved). No additional nominations were made.

IV. Our own Joe Rollins announced curriculum and degree changes. 16 changes total. Kris and I voted for all of them.

a. Major items
1) DNS – Nursing Science – Change in Admissions requirements (Approved).
2) Doctor of Physical Therapy program – CSI – Change to degree program – PHT 80000 to summer program new course – PHT – 80000, Revised Course – PHT 80500 – Reduction in credits from 3 to 2
3) PhD Music – Change to Degree Program – Revisions to First examination and Course requirements (Approved).
4) Doctor of Public Health – Creating a New Concentration in Maternal, Child, Reproductive, and Sexual Health and New Courses – PUBH 870 – Maternal Child, Reproductive and Sexual Health in Context, and PUBH 871 – Maternal, Child, Reproductive and Sexual Health – A life course (Approved).
5) PhD program in Clinical Psychology at Queens college – Increase in credits from 81 to 90. ****Discrepancy here on the voting ballots. Ballots said a decrease in credits from 90 – 81 instead of an increase in credits from 81 to 90. This was noted and approved under the condition the ballot would be re-worded (Approved).
New Courses – Psych 85408 – Supervision and Consultation, Psych 82908 – systems of Psychotherapy. Changes in existing courses – Name Changes: Psych 71000 – Advanced Physiological Psychology is now Sensory and Motor Systems. Psych 82908 – Psychodiagnostics 1: Interviewing and Assessment of Intelligence and Personality is now Psychodiagnostics 1: Intelligence Testing. Psych 766 – Psychodiagnostics II: Applied Assessment, Consultation and Supervision is now Psychodiagnostics II: Personality Assessment (Approved).
6) PhD program in Behavior Analysis – Program reduction in credits from 72 to 60 (Approved).

VI. Governance Structures and Bylaws – Professor Barbara Weinstein then walked us through a few changes to governance structures and bylaws.

a. Africana Studies – New Governance structure (Approved)
b. Change to Graduate School Governance – Section 4.2 E – Change to certificate program language (Approved)
c. Change to Graduate Council Bylaws – Addition of “one elected representative from among the Library Faculty” to section 2.1F – Members Ex Officio and Appointed Members of Graduate Council (Approved)

VII. University Faculty Senate (UFS) – Professor Stefan Baumrin then gave us a report on the UFS
1) The Chancellor spoke yesterday regarding putting more resources behind interdisciplinary masters degree programs at CUNY Campuses. Many were closed in the 70/80’s and need to be recreated. Faculty are invited to share their suggestions.
2) John Jay/Brooklyn College/School of Professional Studies – the names of students and faculty were made public on a site called Inyourclass.com<https://inyourclass.com/>, with no way of requesting removal of your name. Prof. Baumrin said this invasion of privacy did not go through review boards and doesn’t anticipate something like this happening at the GC.
3) Kroll Report – A report by private security company Kroll on the protest that took place at Baruch College on November 21st, 2011 was published in January. For those of us who were there and witnessed the violence unleashed against protesters, the report is a white-wash. It’s available online here: https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/chancellor/Kroll-Report2013.pdf Check out Occupy CUNY’s response here: https://occupycunynews.org/2013/01/25/12-things-to-know-about-the-kroll-report/
4) CUNY Portal – 800 more Pathways Initiatives are now a part of university curriculum
5) Cuny 2020 – 50 million dollars worth of grant money has been set aside for grant competitions. CUNY colleges will be able to propose and compete for resources that foster economic development and employment opportunities. See a statement of this initiative here: https://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2013/01/22/statement-by-chancellor-matthew-goldstein-on-governor-andrew-cuomo’s-2013-14-executive-budget-proposal/<https://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2013/01/22/statement-by-chancellor-matthew-goldstein-on-governor-andrew-cuomo%E2%80%99s-2013-14-executive-budget-proposal/>
6) UFS will be moving to 42nd street from 80th street on the 15th of March

VIII. New Business – President Kelly then closed out the session with new business. A few things to note here:
1) Someone asked if CUNY would be able to take over the SIBL and OUP space once these partners leave the building.
President Kelly answer: NO. Capital funds would need to pay for this and it won’t happen.
2) Someone else asked if the main elevators now go up to the 10th floor pavilion.
President Kelly answer: NO. This can’t happen because CUNY would have to make all elevators handicap accessible. There will be separate (handicap accessible) elevator access to the roof.
3) A student asked if CUNY would be adding NYSHIP healthcare to the dissertation fellowships.
President Kelly answer: The GC can only offer NYSHIP to students if they are employed by one of the campuses. Pres. Kelly and others are working on an arrangement where dissertation fellowships will be attached with an appointment at the GC or another CUNY campus so that students can continue to receive healthcare while they are writing their dissertation. He didn’t offer any detail as to what these appointment might be, or how many hours a week students would be required to work.

Dec. 2012 Executive Committee Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes from 12/7/12 Executive Committee Meeting

(more or less in order of importance)

Course evaluations: They are happening!

We’ve worked on a number of drafts of the evaluations, getting lots of feedback from various faculty
The goal is to collect information that will be valuable primarily to students in choosing classes, but also helpful to the EO and faculty
There will be evaluations for this past Fall semester, which will be used as somewhat of a trial run to see how well the designed evaluation works, collect preliminary data, etc.
The current plan is that the results will be available online, potentially on the Political Science Student Representation website
Fall 2012 Course Evaluations were sent out to the student listserv last Friday, and by Margaret earlier today. The link is here.

New Fellowship program: will go into effect for incoming Fall 2013 class

A fixed number of students: 12, all of whom will receive funding
- 9 “GC Fellowships”
  - expectation to be full-time students
  - 3 Tuition-only fellowships
    - directed to incoming students who have full-time jobs and/or other sources of funding
  - There was much debate about whether 12 is an absolute cap
    - President’s office and Provost’s Office say yes
    - Questions about whether we could add more if there weren’t fellowships attached, or if there was other money in one way or another
    - If there’s going to be any effort to admit more than 12, it will be on an individual, concrete case-by-case basis
      - More-or-less a consensus among the faculty on not wanting to make hypothetical challenge/request for flexibility
  - Our department has been at the 12 number give or take a few for the past couple of years
Process/logistics
- The GC Fellowships will be a $25,000/year stipend, with NYSHIP, for a 1/1 teaching load (probably can be adjusted to a 0/2 or 2/0 depending on student and campus needs on a case by case basis)
  - Will probably be able to “bank” up to one year leave of absence
  - The Admissions Committee will be ranking all candidates and go down the ranked list to fill the 12 spots
    - MA students applying to the PhD program will apply like everyone else, and will essentially be like “new” people in the applicant pool
  - Will not lose department Grad B’s
  - There will be money (unclear from where?) provided to campuses to hire more adjuncts
  - MA programs will be used to “fill bodies in classes”
Concerns and Criticisms
- Some departments (especially Sociology) has voiced concerns about the cap on the number of students
  - Especially if there is money at the department level to support more students
  - Concern that this will lessen the number of minority students
  - Possibility that this will make it more difficult for international students given visa-related and other restrictions they may be facing
We raised the (in our minds completely legitimate) concerns that many of you have voiced regarding the inequities that this creates: in addition to the current funded/no-funded stratification, there will now be another stratification where incoming students will be receiving $7,000/year more than current ECFs for half the work/year, not to mention the inequality created between incoming funded students and people without ECFs. The response was unsympathetic. The common responses included that this benefits us all in the long-run (reasoning: better students and a better reputation) and that isn’t a matter of great concern.
From the administration’s perspective, this is a done deal in all regards.

Moving forward: this spring, EO wants to discuss the possibility of more strictly capping enrollment in courses

Concerns include too many students in some classes, too many students from other programs, too many MALS students
- Possibility that non-political science students would have to “apply” to take (all?) (some)? POLSC classes
One potential problem is that if the department was to limit the number of non-political science students in POLSC classes, it might make it more difficult for us to enroll in non-POLSC classes.
Stay tuned…

Archiving of select dissertation proposals: per a request from the DSC, the department will (soon?) be implementing an online archive of select dissertation proposals

In attempt to collect only the “good” ones, this will be a decision made by each student’s committee at the send of the Second Exam
There was also discussion of adding a central database of titles of those currently working on dissertation
- Perhaps they get added after passing Second Exam?
- How to systematically collect for people who have already passed Second Exam?

Student Satisfaction Survey

We received results from the GC-wide student survey from this past Spring
EO and other faculty understood the data very positively (and there are some things to be positive about)
Also much to be concerned about in the report, which we plan to bring up at future meetings (discussion was cut off due to time constraints)
Data to be used in future professional development workshops and other areas
Still a question how public this data is going to be made – our hope is that at the very least all students have access to it
EO wants the raw data so that further, more refined analysis can be done to it

Career Development Office: A new Career Development Office will be opening in February

Will centralize letter-writing services (as opposed to using Interfolio)
May help with workshops on the departmental level

Budget: Effect of Hurricane Sandy on budget is unclear

December Grad Council Meeting

by Sarah Kostecki and Kristofer Petersen-Overton

Overview

I. President Kelly
II. Prof. Rollins on curriculum and degree changes
III. University Faculty Senate report
IV. New business

I. President Kelly on the state of the university:

a. No sign of budget cuts that would affect the GC and an attempt to open a new residence hall in Long Island City is in the works. The one in Harlem very popular (there’s a long waiting list) and in the green, much to everyone’s surprise.

b. The GC continues to push for better student funding packages, while simultaneously reducing incoming class size; the goal, according to Kelly is to “make sure each incoming class has better funding than the previous…” They’re also exploring ways to offer greater funding opportunities for current students and those in dissertation phase especially.

c. An emphasis on professional development is set take effect next semester. The GC just hired Jennifer Furlong of the Chronicle of Higher Education to lead the professional development initiative beginning this February (nothing more specific was offered). The idea is to offer greater placement opportunities for graduating students. Furlong recently helped NYU develope a similar focus on professional development.

Also, Kelly announced that new digital signs will replace the easels by the elevators on each floor. New spaces will be made available for posters and fliers.

II. The “dapper” Professor Rollins walked us through curriculum and degree changes. Nothing big here. Sarah and I voted in favor of each item.

Major items:

a. MALS – New track in Sustainability , Science, and Education (Approved)

b. MALS – New course MALS 75600 Sustainability and Human Ecodynamics (Approved)

c. MALS – New course MALS 75700 Field Course in Island Long Term Human Ecodynamics (Approved)

d. MALS – New track in individualized studies (Approved)

e. Ph.D. program in Psychology – LPBA name change (Approved)

f. Ph. D. program in Comparative Literature – Change in language requirement (Approved)

Minor items:

a. MALS 70500 – Repeatable course, change to existing course (Approved)

b. Ph.D. Program in Anthropology – Human anatomy change in course credits, change to existing course (Approved)

III. The University Faculty Senate (UFS) reported on its recent passage (63-3) of a non-binding board resolution to place a moratorium on the infamous Pathways initiative. Though non-binding, the resolution is the strongest rebuke yet to Chancellor Goldstein and his minions — ahem — administration. If you’re interested in the content of the resolution, you can find it here: https://www.thenewyorkworld.com/2012/12/10/pathways-resolution/ Moreover, the UFS is launching an investigation into the possible impact of Pathways. The investigation is slated to begin immediately, though doubts were expressed as to whether or not such an effort could begin so soon.

The UFS also reported that NY state has cut funding in a way that reduces CCNY’s budget for furniture and equipment by $120 million. Chancellor Goldstein has said there is funding set aside for this already, but the UFS rep speculated that there may still be a $90 million shortfall once the money made form the sale of 80th St. is accounted for (~$30 million).

IV. There was no new business to discuss.

October Grad Council Meeting

by Sarah Kostecki and Kristofer Petersen-Overton

I. President Kelly
II. Provost Robinson
III. Prof. Rollins on curriculum and degree changes
IV. University Faculty Senate report
V. New business

I. President Kelly on the state of the university:
a. The budget is stable for now, though they’re keeping on eye on any potential cuts in federal funds, which would inevitably impact NY state and CUNY by extension.
b. The GC expects to continue with the new fellowship packages.
c. The GC residency is very popular; they’ve been getting more requests than can be accommodated and plans are being developed to acquire another location.
d. “Targeted” faculty hires will be made this year; CUNY hired more new faculty than any other university in the country (not exactly a surprise given the size of the consortium).

II. Provost Robinson had faculty vote to approve the 292 degrees awarded by the GC last semester. (Approved unanimously)

III Our own Professor Rollins made his debut appearance as Chair of the Curriculum and Degree Committee. President Kelly verbally expressed his approval of Prof. Rollin’s snazzy vest…

Four major changes were approved as well as one minor change:

a. Art History added a new specialization which will include courses in Western Civilization, Islam, and Byzantium. (Appoved)
b. Criminal Justice added a new course in the history of firearms. (Approved)
c. The MA program in Liberal Studies (MALS) added a new “emerging topics” course which will encompass a wide variety of current issues. (Approved)
d. The MA program in Liberal Studies (MALS) added a new specialization in Migration and Global Cities. (Approved)

And one minor topic:

a. The English department renumbered one of its courses. (Approved, with much laughter)

IV. The University Faculty Senate reported on the (legitimate) outrage over the Pathways initiative. Two lawsuits have been jointly filed (by the UFS and PSC) challenging the plan. Apparently the library is hosting some kind of event this Friday (Oct. 26) on open access research. No further information was offered, but it shouldn’t be too hard to figure out for anyone interested. And the rules governing library employees are being changed to grant them greater representation in the UFS.

V. There was no new business to discuss to discuss.

Executive Committee Minutes, 9/21 Meeting

*Submitted by Joanna Tice, on behalf of your student representatives to the Executive Committee: John McMahon, Aleta Styers and Joanna Tice

1) New Graduate Center Fellowships: Announces major shift in the fellowship funding/structure, coming into effect for students entering in the 2013-14 school year
– The Enhanced Chancellors Fellowship will be replaced by a new fellowship (Probably called the Graduate Center Fellowship)
– Stipend increased to $25,000 annually + tuition remission
– Same 5 years guaranteed funding with 1 year RA position, 3 years teaching (reduced to a 1-1 teaching load, potentially transferable to a 0-2 or 2-0) and 5th year writing fellowship
– Purpose: to make GC fellowships competitive with other institutions.
– All PhD students NOT receiving a fellowship WILL be receiving a tuition waiver
– MA funding possibilities will remain the same (i.e., limited)
– This was accomplished by requiring a 25% reduction in funded PhD students, institution-wide. However, our department already accomplished that reduction in the last few years, so it will mean a reduction of only 1 or 2 PhD students at most for PS. This does not apply to MAs (if anything, MAs may be increased).
– THIS DOES NOT CHANGE THE FELLOWSHIP FUNDING AND STRUCTURE FOR ALREADY MATRICULATED STUDENTS

2) Composition of Entering Class this Fall: a substantial majority are Theory and IR students, followed by Comparative, American, very few in Public Policy, but those few appear very focused with research objectives already clear.

3) 1st Exam results: This year was one of the most successful years on record for successful completion of the first exam
– 25 out of 30 students passed their respective exams
– 13 students changed levels
– more people taking exams earlier
– faculty from two of the fieds commented upon relatively weak responses in some of the passing exams.

4) The Gittell Chair/Samuel’s Center Faculty Search: This search has been adjusted over the summer and the position would no longer be housed in the Samuel’s Center
– The Search is somewhat up in the air, as a permanent position has been offered but most likely this scholar will not accept (based on family situation) and thus the position will be offered to a number of visiting scholars until a match is found
– The Faculty Membership Committee is still actively pursuing an IPE line

5) Budget: Budget for the department seems stable – there will be no reduction in courses or entrenchment on hiring

6) Professional Development Workshop Planning: DEO (Rosalind Petchesky) announcement about planning process of student professional development workshop.
– Several students on the list serve have expressed interest in a workshop about the 2nd and 3rd exams. We brought this up with Professor Petchesky and she suggested that students interested in those topics suggest them on the Questionnaire sent out by the department last week (sent by Margaret on the 14th).
– If you are interested in a workshop on the 2nd or 3rd exams, please submit the questionnaire ASAP and write-in that request in the “other topics” section of the form.

7) Department Website Improvement: Joe is proposing to launch a committee to overhaul the website in the coming months. He will most likely need student volunteers to participate in that committee, if anyone has particular interest, you might let him know.

8. Changing of the Guard: Just FYI, Joe will probably be taking a sabbatical for half of next year and for half of the year after that. Apropos this, he spoke of the need to identify and train new a new EO and a new DEO to replace Ros