Meeting of a Sta Senate of New NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
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NEW YORK UNIVERSITY __________________________________________________________ Minutes Meeting of a Stated Meeting of the Senate of New York University February 3, 2011 A stated meeting of the Senate of New York University was held on Thursday, February 3, 2011, at 2:00 p.m., in Room 914 of the Kimmel Center for University Life. The meeting was convened with Dr. Sexton in the chair. Faculty Senators Council Members Present: Susan Anton, Levon Capan, Sylvain Cappell, Raphael David, James Fernandez, Ricki Goldman, William Greene (for Kose John), Floyd Hammack, Christine Harrington, Carol Hutchins, Mary Ann Jones, Anthony Kovner, Carl Lebowitz, Ted Magder, Marie Monaco, Terence Moran, Jason Phillips, Laurin Raiken, Robert Schacht (Chair), Eric Simon, Carol Sternhell, Arthur Tannenbaum (for Nicholas Economides), Paul Thompson, Nancy Van Devanter, Anthony Vernillo, Paul Wachtel and Daniel Zwanziger. Student Senators Council Members Present: Vitali Bourchtein, Mason Braswell, Yao-Chia Chang (for Gregory Dussaq), Felipe Cole, Michael Elias, Miriam Fink, Chirag Hirawat, Kristen Holman, Jake Honig, Edline Jacquet, Mustfa Manzur, Doug Martin, Luis Mendez (for Albert Cotugno), Michael Miller, Malaika Neri, Rebecca Phillips, Kathleen Sylvester (Chair), Nipun Tulshian and Malina Webb. Deans Council Members Present: Jess Benhabib, Charles Bertolami (Chair), Robert Cameron (for Mary Schmidt Campbell), Susan Greenbaum (for Frederick Choi), Joanne Hvala (for Peter Blair Henry), Richard Kalb (for Matthew Santirocco), Robert Lapiner, Tyra Liebmann (for Ellen Schall), Mal Semple, Lynn Videka, Beth Weitzman and Susanne Wofford. Administrative Management Council Members Present: John DeSantis, Katherine Drummond, Anita Dwyer (Chair), Marguerite Sharkey and Michael Summers. University Administration Members Present: Michael Alfano, Robert Berne, Bonnie Brier, Martin Dorph and David McLaughlin. Minutes/University Senate February 3, 2011 Page 2 Review and Approval of the Minutes of the December 2, 2010 Meeting Upon motion duly made and seconded, the Minutes of the December 2, 2010 meeting were approved unanimously. REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT Dr. Sexton referred to the memorandum that was circulated to each Senator and is attached to these minutes as Exhibit A outlining some of the individual and collective achievements at the University since the Senate's last meeting. Dr. Sexton also noted that all NYU students, faculty and staff in Egypt have been safely evacuated, with the exception of two Egyptian nationals who wished to remain. Dr. Sexton noted that not all of those evacuated from Egypt were registered with NYUTraveler, NYU’s travel locator service, and asked that all NYU students, faculty and staff who travel for University business register their travel itineraries with NYUTraveler. Students, faculty and staff can access NYUTraveler via the Home tab in NYUHome and Albert, or by going directly to https://traveler.nyu.edu/traveler. Global Study Away Sites – Expansion and Identities Dr. Sexton introduced Dr. Ulrich Baer, Vice Provost for Globalization and Multi- Cultural Affairs, to report on the University's study away sites. Dr. Baer advised that NYU Global Programs offers more than 425 unique courses for 2,973 students, mostly undergraduates, with 510 course sections taught each semester by 462 NYU- appointed faculty members. The Provost’s Global Research Initiatives include: global research centers in Berlin, London, Florence and Prague; a Summer Dissertation Writing Program where doctoral students can apply to dissertation-writing workshops in Florence, Berlin, and London; research initiatives linking the academic centers; the Global Institute for Advanced Study (GIAS), designed to facilitate collaborative research on an international scale and to enable sustained attention to significant, long-term research programs; and housing at Washington Square for visiting researchers. Dr. Baer suggested that all students who have completed a study away program email him with suggestions for how that study away can be improved. Minutes/University Senate February 3, 2011 Page 3 Update on Sustainability Initiatives Senior Vice President for University Relations and Public Affairs Lynne Brown introduced Mr. Cecil Scheib, Director of Energy & Sustainability, to report on University Sustainability Initiatives. Mr. Scheib related that since 2006, the University has seen a 28% reduction in energy use and a 32% reduction in emissions, supporting Mayor Bloomberg’s goal to reduce New York City’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2017. The University’s recycling program also improved with the introduction of “mixed recycling,” which allows glass, paper and metal to be recycled in the same bin, and Styrofoam and food-contaminated waste in a separate bin. The University also introduced composting in dining halls and selected student residences. These efforts increased recycling by 178% in a trial at the Stern School of Business and will be continued University-wide, except in those University buildings where the trash is picked up by the City’s sanitation services. Dr. Brown introduced Mr. Jeremy Friedman, Manager of Sustainability Initiatives, who reported that the University achieved a gold STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System) rating, placing it among the top five high-scoring institutions in the country. STARS is the first comprehensive, transparent, peer- reviewed system for measuring an institution’s green achievements and progress in reducing environmental harm. It measures operational performance, academic leadership in curriculum and research, strategies for embedding sustainability in the administration, and public engagement efforts to all members of the campus community. Mr. Friedman related that NYU’s areas of strength include community participation, co-curricular and residential green education, energy savings, and dining sustainability—more than 30% of NYU’s dining and catering ingredients come from within 250 miles of the University. Since 2008, NYU Sustainability has participated in more than 40 University events, including Welcome Week and Earth Week, sends out quarterly emails, has a strong web presence, and is covered by Washington Square News, The New York Times, The Chronicle of Higher Education and other media outlets. Finally, Dr. Brown introduced Mr. John Bradley, Assistant Vice President for Energy, Engineering and Technical Services, to speak about the University’s new cogeneration plant. Mr. Bradley noted that the University looked into extending the life of the old plant, as well as purchasing power from Consolidated Edison, but both options were deemed not viable because of the age of the old plant and the prohibitive cost of buying power from Consolidated Edison. The new plant is located under Warren Weaver Hall, on the southwest corner of West 4th and Mercer Streets, and provides electricity to 22 University buildings and heat to 37 University buildings. The plant’s input is natural gas from Consolidated Edison and the outputs are chilled water, electricity, and steam. The plant is approaching 90% efficiency and, since it Minutes/University Senate February 3, 2011 Page 4 went online, greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 23% and the University has seen a 68% reduction of EPA Criteria Air Pollutants. Tours of the new cogeneration plant will begin on Tuesday, February 8 and will continue throughout the month. To sign up for a tour of the new plant, please visit www.nyu.edu/sustainability. REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Revised Committee Assignments Ms. Dwyer referred to the list of revised committee assignments that was included in the mailing for today’s meeting, reporting that the Committee unanimously approved the changes by mail ballot. REPORT OF THE ACADEMIC AFFAIRS COMMITTEE Professor Hammack reported that the Committee held two meetings to discuss the calendar change proposal, which would begin in the Fall 2012 semester, to reduce the length of Welcome Week, the time between Freshman Move-In Day and the beginning of classes, from the current nine days, by beginning classes on the Wednesday before Labor Day. The change also would allow for a two-day Fall Break, Thanksgiving Break to begin on Wednesday, and an additional Reading Day between the last day of classes and the beginning of exams, as well as an earlier start to exams. The change was requested by student resident advisors who believe that the long Welcome Week—much longer than the rest of our peer institutions— puts a strain on student affairs trying to program that much time before classes begin and results in behaviors that may be injurious to student health, stemming from alcohol and drug use. After soliciting comments and concerns from the University community, the Committee voted to recommend the calendar change to the Senate, but in recognition of concerns raised, also recommended that this change, if implemented, be reexamined after a few years to consider whether the negative consequences outweigh the positive. Dr. Sexton opened the floor to discussion of the matter. Criticisms of the proposal included: disruption for faculty who have children in school whose classes do not start until after Labor Day; the adverse affect on classes held on Mondays, with students effectively losing the first two weeks of class due to the Labor Day holiday; the disruption the extended Fall Break would bring to classes that meet only once a week; the disproportionality of the negatives resulting from the changes; the lack of evidence