Minutes
University Assembly Meeting
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
4: 30 � 6:00 p.m.
316 Day Hall

I. Call to Order

R. Orme called the meeting to order at 4:42 p.m.

II. Roll Call

Roll was taken via sign-in sheet. Present: J. Cetta, K. Laden, E. Strong, B. Webb-Binder, S. Zhang, R. Orme, M. Hatch, E. Sanders, C. Walcott, R. Wayne

Not Present: I. Akinpelu, L. Lawrence, K. Speiser, W. Ghiorse, E. Loew

Also In Attendance: A. Epstein, P. Beach, A. O’Donnell, Y. Zhang

III. Call for Late Additions to the Agenda

R. Orme welcomed everyone, and asked that everyone sign in please. He then asked if there were any additions. There were no late additions to the existing agenda.

IV.Welcome to University Assembly

R. Orme welcomed the new and returning UA members back and said he hoped this would be a very productive year. He then noted that there were a few things carried over from last year they would need to address this year. One very important item is the revision of the UA charter, and another newsworthy area is Sustainability.

V. Elect Chair/Vice Chair of the University Assembly

R. Orme said they would need to elect the chair, co-chair and the rest of the executive committee members. There was a discussion on what the commitment was for the executive members, and also the way the members wanted to proceed with this. It was agreed that even though some members were missing, that they would go ahead with electing executive committee members, and they would revisit this at another time if necessary. K. Laden nominated Rodney Orme as the Chair of UA for 2009–2010. R. Orme accepted the nomination. There were no other nominations. The members voted and the nomination was accepted unanimously. M. Hatch then nominated Charles Walcott as the Vice Chair of the UA. C. Walcott accepted the nomination. There were no other nominations. The members voted and the nomination was accepted unanimously.

VI. Confirm Constituents to the Exec Committee

The representatives to the executive committee were decided by acclamation: Rodney Orme (for employees), Charlie Walcott (for the faculty), Ed Strong (for the graduate students), and Kade Laden (for the undergraduate students).

VII. Convene Committees of the UA

M. Hatch suggested they go through the committees one by one. M. Hatch asked if Kade Laden would be the liaison to the CJC again this year. He said he was not, but that John Cetta would like to fill that role this year.

J. Cetta asked if they should re-approve the appointments to the Hearing & Review Board. M. Hatch motioned to re-approve the UA appointments to the Hearing & Review Boards that were done by the UA at their last meeting in May. C. Walcott seconded the motion. There was no debate. The motion was voted on and approved unanimously.

M. Hatch then suggested that the UA finalize the actions that S. Pardo worked on for the relationship with University Health Services.

There was discussion on the many UA committees, and which ones needed liaisons. P. Beach gave some history on committees and their reporting to the UA. M. Hatch suggested they go through to see which ones are active, and if there is no interest, then we should consider if those committees still fit with the UA. M. Hatch asked C. Walcott if he knew if the UA had any contact with this committee in the past. C. Walcott said he thought not, but said he felt the UA should have a more active role in the Budget Planning Committee since the coming year or two things will be very closely scrutinized in this area. He volunteered to find out more about this committee and report back to the UA at the next meeting.

He reported the Sustainability Committee has been very active over the summer and said he would have reports soon from them. There was discussion about committees and their purpose.

R. Wayne and E. Sanders agreed to continue as the liaisons from the UA to the Campus Planning Committee. K. Laden asked if this committee has any “at large” members. P. Beach said there were members of all constituents on the committee. K. Laden said he has opinions on the campus and would like to participate on the committee. A. Epstein said this committee helps decide the details once a building has already been approved for building.

R. Orme noted the Family Services and its sub-committee the Childcare Services Committees are very important and need to have liaisons/conveners. Abe Stroock, former UA member, was the liaison to the Childcare Services Committee, and R. Orme said he would like to replace him soon, since this committee has been very active and engaged. There were no volunteers to be the liaison for either committee.

K. Laden volunteered to be the UA liaison to the Cornell Campus Store.

B. Webb-Binder voiced her interest to be the liaison with UHS. R. Orme said they tried last year to make this a more flexible committee, but that needs to be finalized.

R. Orme said he would like the UA to re-visit this issue at the next UA meeting all the members who are absent at this meeting.

R. Wayne said there is a very important faculty meeting at CALS today regarding the Deans search. K. Laden asked if it was a public meeting. R. Wayne said he thought it was.

R. Wayne said that he felt the tax on luxury items at the Campus Store should be increased while the tax on textbooks that is paid to the university should be reduced or removed completely. He said he would like to address this issue this year. There was a brief discussion on this.

R. Orme said they would discuss a liaison for Family Services at next meeting.

VIII.CcoC revision put forth by the President in last year’s changes

R. Orme said he brought a resolution on this just in case they needed it, so they were not writing it on the floor during the meeting. He reported that the President approved of all the changes made by the CJC except for the provision on the discrimination policy. A. Epstein gave some history about this policy and how it came up last year. President Skorton has said he would like to have a footnote added. J. Cetta gave a bit more detail about what the president has requested. C. Walcott suggested the CJC take a look at this request. He then suggested they approve the resolution provided. K. Laden motioned to pass Resolution 1 remanding the CJC entertain the President’s comment. C. Walcott seconded, the members voted, and the resolution passed unanimously. R. Orme explained the president had asked for some extra time over the summer to review this due to all the budget meetings that were taking place. J. Cetta voiced his agreement that this policy should be more developed. R. Orme said he would like to have this back by October 14th.

R. Orme mentioned that discussion about the Sustainability Committee is on the agenda for the meeting on September 30th. Mike Walsh will also be attending that meeting to give some information on the Climate Action Plan. E. Strong gave some background and history about this. R. Orme announced there will be a presentation from the team that is in charge of the accreditation of Cornell. The President will come to the December 2nd meeting to discuss “Reimagining Cornell.” R. Orme said the fall meetings are mostly planned, but spring meetings are all open as of now.

IX. Goals for the year: Charter revision

R. Orme noted that charter revision comes up every year and said he felt now is a good time to do it. J. Blair was going to head this up, but he has retired from Cornell, and has left the UA. M. Hatch wanted some discussion on what the UA objectives should be before any revisions to the charter take place. The charter should empower the UA to do what it needs to do. He referred to the Assemblies Orientation last week, and said the UA’s responsibilities have decreased from what they once were, but perhaps the UA should re-exert its authority over some areas. Discussion about committees and their role with the UA continued.

E. Sanders commented she thought maybe some committees should be let go, so that some others could be concentrated on. B. Webb-Binder urged the UA not to dismiss any committees right now. She said she has strong opinions on Family Services, so she agreed to be the liaison for this committee.

R. Orme told the group they have been asked to submit questions for the president in advance of his attending the December 2nd meeting.

M. Hatch apologized for not following proper speaking procedure. R. Orme asked the members to state their names for a while in order to help with the minutes. M. Hatch asked for a more informal structure to the meetings, perhaps 30 minutes of an “Open Forum.” K. Laden said the Roberts Rules would help the UA to be more efficient, and he is in favor of this. A. Epstein suggested that the UA could consider appointing a Parliamentarian to help the Chair. He did not recommend they adhere to all 600 pages strictly, just enough to get the meeting business handled. R. Wayne said he did not think the UA had a problem with this. E. Strong added that we need to make sure all are heard and considered. K. Laden emphasized the role of the chair, and the need for formality at meetings. C. Walcott said Rodney had taken the UA through the agenda and he saw good progress today.

M. Hatch reminded the members there will be a presentation by Mike Walsh on the Climate Action Plan at the next meeting and he will have a resolution to endorse the report. The Sustainability committee will discuss the resolution, and they will probably have a resolution from them on revolving loan funds. He said the resolutions will be sent in advance of the next meeting.

R. Orme asked the UA to approve the minutes from the 5/6 meeting. B. Webb-Binder made two spelling changes. M. Hatch said he had some corrections that he will e-mail to the Office of Assemblies. Approval of the minutes for the 5/6 meeting was delayed until the next meeting.

There was a discussion on how the Charter revision process could work.

X.Adjourn

M. Hatch motioned to adjourn the meeting. E. Strong seconded. The members voted to adjourn. R. Orme adjourned the meeting at 6:02.

Respectfully submitted,

Alexandria Sun
Student Clerk, Office of the Assemblies