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DEANS COUNCIL

Deans Council Meeting

January 23, 2013

C 131

Note: At times, issues of confidentiality may require that some items discussed in these meetings be excluded from these minutes.

Members: Rich Cole, Tom Currin, Ruston Hunt, Thomas Nelson, Jeffrey Ray, Han Reichgelt, Zvi Szafran

Members Absent: Han Reichgelt

Guests: Joel Fowler, Faculty Observer; Becky Rutherfoord for Han Reichgelt

Item 1. Updates

Dr. Szafran updated the Council on the following:

Pulitzer Prize Winner – Isabel Wilkerson will be presenting a lecture on Tuesday, January 29, 2013.
Future Cities and Game Jam will be on campus this weekend.
The System Office approved Albany’s State’s proposed degree despite our objections.
Bronne Dytoc, Architecture – received a Top 30 Educators Award
ET Student of the Year – went to a CET student at SPSU; no nomination submitted system wide for Engineering Student of the Year
Transfer student open house will be during the week later in March and may prohibit some students from attending. It was questioned why this event was not scheduled for a Saturday instead.

Item 2. Space Issues

Three space modification requests were submitted for discussion and approval:

Arts & Science’s request for a classroom modification was approved.
Establishing a department office for Systems and Mechanical Engineering was discussed and determined to be a real need. Tom Currin and Jeff Ray will get together to see if office space on the first floor of Q Building could work for SME’s department office.

It was noted that the University is growing as a whole and there is no plan in place to deal with this. Szafran suggested he is looking at trying to secure some space in Norton Hall for faculty offices and asked the Council if he should push for that space. The Council agreed that Szafran should pursue space in Norton Hall for academic use. Szafran will pursue space in Norton Hall for academic use. Also under consideration is the off-campus space across the street from the University. It all goes well and all conditions are met, the acquisition should be on the February Board of Regents agenda for approval. There have been no decisions made about how and who would use that space but it was suggested that various campus entities could move there thus freeing up space on campus. Look at all space on campus currently being used by part-time faculty, student organizations and clubs, retirees, etc. to see what could be repurposed for high priority needs. It was also suggested to identify less desirable classroom space and convert it into offices.

Building O Autoclave Cover – After a brief discussion, Jeff Ray agreed to discuss the implications of constructing a cover over the autoclave with Steve Kitchen and the student groups affected and make a decision whether to go forward or not.

Item 3. Targets & Salaries for Part-time Faculty

Today’s discussion about part-time faculty salaries covered many points including:

There is no consistency for part-time faculty salaries within schools and between schools and vary widely.
Faculty teaching in two different departments may be paid at different rates.
Based on a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education about pay rates for part-time faculty, our salaries are close to the average for the majority of our part-time faculty.
Need a system for salary progression for part-time faculty
Establish a tiered pay scale with factors such as Ph.D. versus Master’s degree, teaching undergraduate versus graduate courses, and teaching on-line verses live courses, and consideration for whether the faculty member is new, experienced, or has taught for us long term. This might be a disincentive for full-time faculty if established for part-time faculty only. Per Board of Regents policy, regular faculty teaching overloads for extra compensation cannot exceed that paid to a part-time faculty member teaching a similar course.
Allocate money to the deans and have them make decisions.
Szafran charged the deans with gathering part-time pay rates and policies used to determine them within their schools and report back to him on February 6. This discussion will continue after all data is collected and reviewed.

Item 4. New Business

M-100 – Jeff Ray reported that audio/visual changes need to be made in that room but is having difficulty getting a quote for the work without establishing how much money is available. Jeff Ray will get more details on the quote issue for audio/visual equipment for M-100 so that Zvi can follow up with the appropriate person.
Capital spending should be around $1,000,000 and Szafran asked the deans for priority lists and department requests. Items cannot be considered that have recurrent costs associated with them nor software that has a recurrent license fee. Anything over $500 and considered fixtures or furnishings and equipment can be considered. Space and IT needs and costs must be fully disclosed.
The computer replacement policy will replace eligible computers to the current standard but not cover upgrades beyond that therefore the departments will be responsible for any upgrade costs. Currently replenishment is running about one year behind. Replacement computers can be submitted as a capital request.

Action Item(s):

Tom Currin and Jeff Ray will get together to see if office space on the first floor of Q Building could work for SME’s department office.
Szafran will pursue space in Norton Hall for academic use.
Jeff Ray agreed to discuss the implications of constructing a cover over the autoclave with Steve Kitchen and the student groups affected and make a decision whether to go forward or not.
Szafran charged the deans with gathering part-time pay rates and policies used to determine them within their schools and report back to him on February 6.
Jeff Ray will get more details on the quote issue for audio/visual equipment for M-100 so that Zvi can follow up with the appropriate person.

Future Agenda Item(s):

Meeting adjourned at 3.35 P.M.