MINUTES
University Assembly Meeting
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
4:30 � 6:00 PM
401 Physical Science

I. Call to Order

J. Cai called the meeting to order at 4:40pm Present: K. Albert, J. Blair, J. Cai, T. Grove, R. Kay, N. La Celle, J. Lee, E. McNelis, E. Newbury, M. Paine, P. Scelfo, R. Wayne

Absent: J. Burns, A. Gitlin, B. Schaffner

Also Attending: A. Bores, M. Lukaciewicz, A. O’Donnell

II. Approval of the Minutes, 1 min.

The September 11, 2012 Minutes were approved by unanimous consent.

III. Reports

a. Executive Board, 5 min. � Elizabeth Newbury

E. Newbury reported there were 3 main categories of discussion: UA Committees, bringing in speakers, and initiatives to improve communication with campus. They have asked all committees to be staffed by 10/1 and hold their first meetings by 10/16. In regards to communication, they are considering holding a Coffee Hour akin to that held by the SA and reaching out to the Daily Sun to print more articles. Future issues to be brought to the UA are transportation, JA staffing, and public safety.

b. Student Assembly, 5 min. - Adam Gitlin

A. Gitlin not present, so M. Luksiewicz gave the SA report. She mentioned the SA is officially filled now that elections are over but they are still working on filling committee seats. Currently in the SA, there is a focus on advertising the BLUE transportation night busses, significant progress on Cayuga’s Watchers, and a resolution on gender-neutral housing.President Skorton and Vice President Murphy will be speaking at the next SA meeting. J. Blair asks if there will be a diversity class for freshmen. A. Bores replied that the SA is postponing the public announcement so that they can communicate the idea with as many faculty members as possible. J. Cai mentioned the upcoming resolution will be postponed until the issue matures a bit more.

c. Graduate Student and Professional Assembly, 5 min. - Mitch Paine

M. Paine began by saying the GPSA is working on filling out its voting members. A resolution was passed yesterday (9/24) to support the Dining Committee’s proposal to make a graduate-friendly meal plan. The GPSA is undertaking a Graduate Community Initiative Update as well as working to see if they can pass a policy to ban smoking outside Big Red Barn due to complaints they have received.

d. Employee Assembly, 5 min. - Tanya Grove

T. Grove said they had been looking through responses from last years employee survey. Vice President Mary Opperman and President Skorton are scheduled to be guests at the next EA meeting.

e. Faculty Senate, 5 min. - Joe Burns

J. Burns not present, so R. Kay gives a report in his stead. He mentioned that J. Burns gave a presentation during the last meeting and does not remember the specifics of what it entailed. MOOCs (massive open online courses) are an immediate issue — there will be a faculty forum to hold a discussion on the matter. __ J. Cai mentioned Dr. Renee Alexander was unable to attend the meeting due to protest issues with the recent biased events on campus. She is working to reschedule that presentation. A. Bores mentioned that people were organized outside Day Hall to demand an immediate result to the sexual assault cases. He continues by saying that Daily Sun articles have criticized the campus climate around race, sexual orientation, bias, etc. He also said there was a fake email sent out under the name of President Skorton mocking the responses he has given — the administration is looking into the matter. There was a community forum held by Dr. Renee Alexander to discuss what is to be done moving forward — the recording for that will be up on CornellCast shortly. The general sense of the populace is people are not satisfied with Cornell’s response.

J. Cai asked if A. Bores would be willing to give a brief presentation on MOOCs. He reported that MOOCs really took off after a startlingly successful course from Stanford — enrollment of 160,000 from 190+ countries. There are currently multiple consortiums of schools participating in MOOCs and Cornell is flirting with he idea. Nothing is set up, but it is a work in progress. J. Cai opened Open Forum.

E. Newbury brought up the idea of creating a Communication Ad-Hoc Committee. J. Blair said Tommy Bruce has put a lot of effort into posting progress of the UA in the Daily Sun — he would be a great person to work with. M. Lukasiewicz mentioned the SA hasn’t had success with passively waiting for people to seek them out — they are focusing on active engagement. M. Paine said Coffee Hours without a theme or focus seems pointless. E. Newbury said the Executive Board is potentially going to set up an advertising campaign to help promote the UA around campus.

IV. Business of the Day

a. Presentation about the IT Strategic Plan by Tedd Dods, Chief Information Officer and Vice President for Information Technologies, 20 min.

Ted Dodds and Steve Schuster gave a presentation on the IT Strategic Plan. The value of IT to the university can be split into two main areas: differentiating activities and utility services and infrastructure. Their goal is to redirect investment in those areas so as to focus more on differentiating activities while still maximizing the value of utility services and infrastructure. The strategic plan will affect how people interact with technology (learning technologies, student experience, research, IT career framework, and service excellence). The Senior Advisory Council will oversee the process, with input from Standing and Ad-Hoc Committees. The hope is to present the plan by March 2013.

Steve Schuster mentioned they realize they cannot be fully inclusive, but are reaching out to representative groups. E. Newbury asks how they plan to identify differentiators that aren’t immediately obvious, and if they are working with the Tech Campus. Ted Dodds responded they are working to practice openness to usage of technology from outside Cornell — will draw on those experiences to help in the differentiating activities. In regards to the Tech Campus, they are helping with the infrastructure for the beta class to be held in January 2013.

V. New Business

a. Confirmation of Faculty Appointees to University Hearing and Review Boards, 5 min.

J. Cai asked if anyone opposed the new appointees to the UHRB; Professor Gilbert and Professor Naylor. Seeing no objections, the aforementioned professors were officially appointed.

VI. Adjournment

J. Cai adjourned the meeting at 5:54 p.m.