Report University Faculty Senate University Operations Committee
Fall Planning Meeting Crowne Plaza Albany September 15-16, 2011
Members present: Chair, Ed Warzala - Empire State College Ron Foster - SUNY IT Laura Madelone - SUNY Oneonta, Operations Committee Secretary Charles Fenner - SUNY Canton Heather Maldonado - Buffalo State College Trish Ralph - SUNY Brockport Nand Relan - Stony Brook University Gregg Hartvigsen - SUNY Geneseo Kimmy Szeto - SUNY Maritime College Wendy Gilman - SUNY System Administration Carey Hatch - System Administration Liaison Ron Sarner - SUNYIT, Immediate Past Chair
Charge UFS Operations Committee
The Committee shall be concerned with the effective participation of the faculty in University personnel policies, including equal employment practices and affirmative action. The Committee shall also be concerned with the development and administration of the budgetary and planning activities of the University and shall undertake research and analysis, and shall make appropriate reports and recommendations, on models, methodologies and issues to best practices and/or policies in budgeting and operations. The committee shall also provide advice and guidance on matters related to the libraries, computing and telecommunications.
Discussion topics and action items for the 2011/2012 academic year - New Initiatives
1) The committee reviewed its charge and discussed the absence of any consultation with system leadership on the shared services initiative, which clearly falls within the purview of the committee’s responsibilities. The committee discussed at length the implications of shared governance and the lack there of in the shared services discussion. The committee welcomes consultation with administration on matters that fall within its charge and believes the quality and legitimacy of decisions is enhanced when administration consults fully with university governance structures. The Operations Committee will coordinate its efforts to promote shared governance principles with the UFS Governance Committee as the shared services initiative evolves at the system and campus levels.
2) The committee will undertake a study of the impact of budget reductions on university libraries and the implications for libraries of the shared services initiative. The study will include surveys of librarians, faculty, and students in an effort to understand how strained budgets have impacted end-users of library services. This aspect of the study includes an investigation of hours of operation across the system, personnel issues related to budget reductions, and status of librarians. The study will also evaluate and assess the potential and implications of Open Educational Resources (OER) and open source strategies that might be employed in the near future in the delivery of university library services.
3) The Operations Committee will join with the Governance Committee in a project to collect, store, and make readily accessible on the UFS website the respective faculty/personnel handbooks of the campuses. Members of both committees will attend the AAUP conference on shared governance and will gather information related to handbooks and shared governance at the November 2011 conference.
4) The committee, guided by the system liaison to the committee, will revise the budget handbook, a project currently underway within system administration. The committee will make the revised handbook available to the UFS upon completion.
5) The committee will conduct a study on how better to share system-wide information and will develop a handbook of available data and data resources.
Carry-over projects to be completed in the 2011/2012 academic year.
1) Longitudinal faculty profile completed in the previous governance year will be formatted, published and distributed.
2) Study of the use of and best practices in the use of mobile computing devices in the classroom will be completed and findings distributed.
3) Study of executive compensation within SUNY will be completed and distributed.
Submitted by Ed Warzala, Chair October 13, 2011