Good evening! We are now calling the Board Committee on Faculty, Staff and Administration to order, last meeting of the 2013-14 academic year. Our first Action Item is the approval of the Minutes of April 7, 2014. May I have a motion for approval? -So moved. -So moved. -Second? -Second. It’s been moved and second,
-all in favor please say aye? -Aye! Aye! Opposed? Abstention? The motion carries. Thank you! We will now move to our Policy Calendar. Our first item is the CUNY Policy on the Reporting of Alleged Misconduct. May I ask Senior Vice President Rick Schaffer to present Item I-B-01? Yes! Thank you!
There were some significant amendments to the New York State Not-for-Profit Corporation Law last summer, most of which don’t apply to CUNY, but this one does. It requires education corporations, which we are within that definition of that particular statute, to adopt what is colloquially known as whistleblower policies, policies that set forth a procedure
For the reporting of a legal conduct, and further provide that it is against the policy for anyone to be retaliated against for reporting such conduct. And so this is kind of a fairly straightforward, plain vanilla policy to accomplish those two things, to set forth the procedure and to provide prohibition on retaliation.
That’s what’s before you. Thank you! -May I have a vote for approval? -So moved. Second? -Can we have a discussion? -Yes. It’s been moved and second, do you have any questions? Yeah, just a quick question, I noticed that in outline hazing and I don’t see anything in terms of physical assault or fighting,
Would that be covered under hazing? That’s my first question. And I guess my second question would be given sort of the national discussion around campus assault issues, is that something that we are saying would be left out of a misconduct reporting or would that fall into another category? No. I mean, I think…
I am sorry, but it’s not popping up on my screen, but I thought… first of all, the list is not intended to be exclusive about the things as examples, and I thought we had discrimination. Discrimination is here, I guess I am talking more about physical assault, fighting, hitting.
There was no intent at all and the mission was just intended to give some examples of the most common things that often get reported under whistleblower policies. Hazing is covered in that. No, no, no, I said I saw the hazing, but I didn’t see the sort of the campus assault,
And the only reason because it’s so front of mind in all the universities around the country. If the Committee is of a mind to sort of approve by consensus we could certainly add another bullet or include those categories under one of the existing bullets; there is certainly no intent to exclude it.
-I even think… -… different policies. Those type of things I think are included in workplace violence. But it says it’s not limited to, right? Yeah, yeah. But I think Trustee Robles-Román makes a good point in this… at this particular moment with sexual assault being so much in the news,
It could only be to the good to improve that. So if there is no objection I will tweak this a little bit before the Board Meeting to include that example. -Makes sense. -Makes sense, yeah. -Second. -It’s been moved and second, all in favor with the tweaking of the language? Aye! Aye!
With the official language. Opposed? Yes! We appreciate the… Vice Chancellor Schaffer is working with the University Faculty Senate, to clarify language there was an ongoing dialogue and we appreciate that ability to have that dialogue. -Thank you! -Thank you! I appreciate that! I always share policies with the University of Faculty Senate
And they often have good suggestions and there was an inadvertent word, and really one word in the policy that raised some concerns, totally unintentional, and we’ve resolved it. It’s always my pleasure to work with the UFS. It has been moved and second, -all in favor please say aye? -Aye! Aye!
Opposed? Abstention? The motion carries. Thank you very much! I’d now call on Glenda Grace, Executive Counsel and Labor Designee at Hostos Community College to present Item I-B-02 – Amendments to the College Charter of Governance. Thank you and welcome! Thank you! Good afternoon! Good evening! President Matos Rodríguez
Is at the kickoff for jobs for the New Yorkers, so I am here to present the Amendments to the Hostos Charter of Governance. In 1995, that was the last time we had the opportunity to amend our Charter of Governance. So these revisions represent a lot of work on behalf of our faculty, staff
And student members of our Senate. The changes reflect what’s happened in the last 19 years at Hostos and at CUNY, and also it directly references the Open Meetings Law. This is especially important because in 2006 Hostos was the subject of a New York Court of Appeals case where it was made clear that
We were subject to the Open Meetings Law, and so we have introduced different changes relating to those requirements, including notice of meetings, attendance and recording of ballots. Also we have included amendments that expand a representation to include adjuncts as well as part-time students. We also increased HEO representation on important Senate Committees;
And we also add new provisions on how to amend the Charter. Are there any questions? May I have a motion for approval? So moved Madam Chair. Second. It’s been moved and second, all in favor? -Aye! -Aye! Opposed? Abstention? The motion carries. Thank you very much! Julia Wrigley, Interim Executive Vice Chancellor
And University Provost will present Items I-B-03 through I-B-07 – Appointments of five new Distinguished Professors and we will consider these appointments as a group. Thank you! The first nominee is Professor Cathy Davidson, to be appointed Distinguished Professor of English at The Graduate Center and with a compensation of $28,594
And extra stipend for the… Professor Davidson comes to CUNY from Duke, where she has currently got two different named Chairs, and she is an esteemed innovator and visionary in the digital humanities. She is the Co-Founder and Director of HASTAC, which stands for Humanities Arts Science Technology Advanced Collaboratory.
She is a prolific writer and researcher with 18 authored or co-authored books to her credit. She has received major grants from the National Science Foundation as well as from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. A graduate of Elmhurst College; Professor Davidson earned her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in English
From SUNY Binghamton. She also completed postdoctoral study in Linguistics and Literary Theory at the University of Chicago. The Graduate Center and the City University of New York would be well-served by her appointment as a Distinguished Professor. She is probably the leading person in the country
On the use of digital media in the humanities, both in teaching and in research. Yes, she is a… She is a great appointment. Thank you! You can continue. Okay. The next nominee is Anthony Tamburri from Queens College. He came to Queens College in 2006 when he was appointed both Professor
In the Department of European Languages and Literatures and Dean of the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from Southern Connecticut State University, a Master’s degree from Middlebury College, and a Ph.D. in Italian (with a minor in Spanish) from the University of California, Berkeley.
He is widely recognized and praised for his contributions to the fields of Italian and Italian-American culture and literature. In addition to several authored and edited books, Dr. Tamburri is Co-Founder of the Italian-American Digital Project, Co-Founding Editor of a journal dedicated to Italian-American studies, and Executive Producer for Italics, The Italian-American Magazine TV Show.
Queens College and CUNY we believe would be well-served by his appointment as a Distinguished Professor. If there are no further comments on that I move on to the next one, with appointment nomination of Jeanne Theoharis as a Distinguished Professor at Brooklyn College. She joined the faculty at Brooklyn College’s Department of Political Science
As an Assistant Professor in 2006. She earned her Bachelor’s degree magna cum laude with the highest honors from Harvard and her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in American Culture from the University of Michigan. In 2013, Beacon Press published her book, ‘The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks’.
This book has won quite a number of awards, including the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work and a Letitia Woods Brown Award from the Association of Black Women Historians. It was also named one of Choice’s 25 Best Academic Titles of 2013, and earned a place on The New York Times’ bestseller’s list,
Which I might add is a rather rare experience for most academic works. Brooklyn College and CUNY we believe would be well-served by her appointment as a Distinguished Professor. Our next nominee is David Waldstreicher as Distinguished Professor at the Graduate Center. He comes to CUNY from Temple University.
He has also taught at the University of Notre Dame, Yale, and Bennington College. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and Master’s and Doctoral degrees in American Studies from Yale. He is a prominent specialist in early American history and the author of three very widely acclaimed books.
One is called ‘Slavery’s Constitution: From Revolution to Ratification’; one is ‘Runaway America: Benjamin Franklin, Slavery, and the American Revolution; and the third is ‘In the Midst of Perpetual Fetes: The Making of American Nationalism, 1776-1820.’ He also has won many awards and honors, including a scholarship from the Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
At the New York Public Library, a Gilder Lehrman Fellowship, and the Jamestown Foundation Prize for best first book manuscript. And finally, our last nominee in this cycle is the appointment of Eric Weitz at City College. He came to City College in 2012 from the University of Minnesota, where he held a named Chair.
In addition to his faculty appointment in City College’s History Department, he is Dean of the College’s Division of Humanities and Arts. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from SUNY Binghamton and his Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Modern European History from Boston University. His international scholarly reputation is grounded in his books,
The most recent of which, ‘Weimar Germany: Promise and Tragedy’ was published in 2007 by Princeton University, with an expanded edition published in 2013. That book has been translated into five languages and has received accolades, including starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and Editor’s Choice citation
In The New York Times Book Review. Two more books in progress are under contract to Princeton University Press. That concludes the descriptions of the five nominees. Thank you! And we are delighted to have such a distinguished panel of professors join us. May I have a motion for approval? So moved. -Second? -Second.
It’s been moved and second, -all in favor please say aye? -Aye! Aye! Opposed? Abstention? The motion carries. Thank you very much! Vice Chancellor Ginger Waters will present Item I-B-08 – Amendments to the Board of Trustees Statement of Policy on Multiple Positions. Thank you Madam Chair!
As most of you know, it’s typical for universities to provide support to faculty for research as a part of their recruitment packages, for that reason Section 2.d of the Board of Trustee Statement of Policy on Multiple Positions is being revised to permit the President of a CUNY College or a Vice Chancellor
To authorize compensation from tax-levy funds to support a faculty member’s research during the first three summers of the faculty member’s employment. The compensation would be subject to the same limitations as other summer activities for which the University pays its faculty. That is, the total payment for all CUNY-related summer activities
May not exceed three-ninths of the faculty member’s annual salary. This reversion will allow CUNY to be competitive in recruiting and retaining facility with prominent research agendas. Madam Chair, I propose Item I-B-08 for the Committee’s approval. This kind of policy is very, very common in places like Yale and Columbia.
It’s part of a recruitment typically of a younger faculty member -to include summer research. -Professor Martell! I think this is a brilliant revolution. …help the University be competitive in attracting and retaining faculty members who are productive researchers. Amen! My one hope and concern would be that the three years become a longer period.
This is one of the… it’s relatively easy to ascertain whether someone getting research support for the summer is in fact worthy of that support. The proof of the pudding becomes manifest very, very quickly, just like we read a series of rather impressive résumés, it’s my view that if we’re able to supplement salaries
With a specific research component and give them summer support, we will encourage just what we want, more faculty research, leading to a better reputation and ranking for CUNY as a whole. So the fact that we’re adding this degree of flexibility to the way we manage our HR is quite positive.
I would only hope that in the fullness of time we could think about extending it since we can in fact ascertain ex-post whether the money was well spent. We will certainly look at it. Thank you! We will take that into consideration. May I have a motion for approval? So moved. -Second? -Second.
It’s been moved and second, -all in favor please say aye? -Aye! Aye! Opposed? Abstention? The motion carries. Thank you very much! President Pérez, will you join us at the table for Items I-B-09 and I-B-10 – two naming opportunities at Borough of Manhattan Community College. We will consider these two matters as a group.
Yes. We have two opportunities for naming at the College. The Derfner Foundation has generously given us $250,000 to create a state-of-the-art speech lab for our students. And the second is one of our faculty members, who has promised a $50,000 gift and the ownership of what’s widely known as the TIAA-CREF,
Valued at $1 million, and we’re naming a math lab after Professor Peskoff. We are very fortunate. We realize that… -Congratulations! -Thank you. …that at the College the need to sell some real estate; now, obviously we’re not going to sell the building, but the naming opportunities are there,
And this is the beginning of BMCC naming certain areas of the College. -Congratulations! -Thank you! Congratulations on both! I’ll move them both. It’s been moved, may I have a second? It’s been moved and second, all in favor please say aye? Aye! Aye! Opposed? Abstention? The motion carries. Congratulations! Thank you very much!
And please stay at the table and we will move on to the Chancellor’s University Report and introduce your new provost, Item I-C-01. It’s a great pleasure that after a rather lengthy search process we found our candidate next to home. It was not our intent when we began to search,
But as we’ve been very fortunate that we have found Dr. Karin Wilks. Karin, as many of you may know, served as the Acting or Interim Senior Vice President and Provost at Medgar Evers College. While there she led the successful effort to reaffirm accreditation through collaborative development of a Middle States Monitory Report
And Institutional Assessment Plan. She also worked to enhance report for faculty research and to implement multiple strategies to improve remedial outcomes at the College. Karin has served in Public Higher Education Administration for over 25 years and has extensive experience developing and evaluating policy and programs aimed at improving student learning outcomes,
Particularly for underserved population. Her areas of special interests include strategic planning, policy development assessment, college readiness, K-16 partnerships, development of education and working with faculty for teaching and learning purposes. Prior to going to Medgar Evers many of knew Karin when she worked here as the University Dean
For Undergraduate Studies in the CUNY Central Office, working with her colleagues across 19 CUNY undergraduate institutions to identify and study innovative approaches for improving student learning outcomes. Prior to coming to CUNY she was with the University of Vermont System, where she served there as a Senior Vice President.
Karin has an EdD in Policy and Leadership Development and an M.Ed in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Vermont, and her BA is in History and Creative Writing from Middlebury College. It is my pleasure to introduce to the Board Dr. Karin Wilks.
I want to applaud you for continuing on with Dr. Wilks. She did a wonderful job at Medgar Evers in a very difficult situation. So I think it’s a well tribute to CUNY that we’re able to continue to keep good talent here at the University. So I will move the approval of this.
-May I have a second? -I second it. All in favor please say aye! Aye! Opposed? Abstention? The motion carries. I’d like to also make a statement that the job that Dr. Wilks did at Medgar was outstanding. So the professionalism that she brought, the sensitivity, her interpersonal skills in managing internal and external relationships,
It was a fine performance and enabled us to continue with the success, so just really glad that you’re going to be coming to BMCC and continuing with that level of professionalism. Thank you very much! [Applause] So thank you President Pérez and thank you all for your kind words
And your support and your confidence. I am deeply honored to become the next Provost at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, particularly since I’ve been a fan of BMCC for several years; a fan because of its mission, a fan because of its scope, a fan mostly because of its impact
On students in particular, all of that was very wonderfully illustrated on Friday when I attended the commencement ceremonies and I was very struck by, as the graduates who walked across the stage, how much… the extent to which they really represent the world, and the world literally,
But also the world of opportunities and possibilities. So again, thank you very much for this! I look forward to working with the President and his excellent leadership team and the excellent faculty. I’ve had the opportunity to meet many people over the last several weeks because I’ve been in transitional role
And I’m very, very excited and honored to have this opportunity. Thank you! Thank you and congratulations! Thank you! Will President Jennifer Raab please join us at the table to introduce Item I-C-02 – Appointment of an Acting Vice President for Administration and Chief Operating Officer at Hunter College.
Thank you so much for this opportunity! This is very a happy day for Hunter College, for me personally, and I think a wonderful CUNY story. Many of you may remember Giancarlo Bonagura, who was one of the very bright, talented, savvy, insightful financial managers who I was very fortunate to recruit
To come from New York City early in my tenure. Giancarlo had great experience at the Office of Management and Budget in New York City and then moved onto Department of Transportation, first as an Assistant Commissioner and then as a Deputy Commissioner. So we were very fortunate
When Giancarlo joined us at CUNY in 2007. He was the Assistant Vice President and Chief of the Business Office, with a very wide-ranging portfolio of all sorts of business and budgetary activities, including the payroll, overseeing the bursar. But he had a much broader portfolio than that and thinking through the entrepreneurial opportunities
And commercial real estate opportunities that Hunter was presented with. As sometimes happens at CUNY, fabulous CUNY managers get poached by other great educational institutions, and we have some wonderful alums form NYU Law School at the table who will be happy to know that NYU was smart enough to recruit Giancarlo
To become their Chief Financial Officer and Associate Dean. He spent a very profitable two years at NYU increasing his knowledge of financial management and also enhancing his portfolio of working in a private institution, being exposed to many of the fundraising and money management issues that confronted NYU. When Giancarlo left,
He said that he wasn’t going to be for good and we’d work together again, and so today, as I said, is a very happy day as I ask the Committee to approve Giancarlo as becoming our Acting Vice President for Administration and Finance at Hunter College and our Chief Operating Officer.
I would like to vote it. Second. It’s moved and second, all in favor please say aye? Aye! Aye! Opposed? Abstention. The motion carries. And welcome to your new position! Would you like to address the Committee? Thank you very much! And I am enormously grateful for the opportunity
To come back to Hunter and CUNY. Thank you President Raab for giving me that opportunity! I didn’t think it was going to be as soon as it is, but it is. I know what I am getting into, it’s very challenging, a lot of jobs, lot of… lot of issues
That are… that are complex and challenging, but that’s the reason why I am coming back. So I look forward to working with the senior staff; most of… many of whom I’ve already worked with. And thank you! Thank you for joining! Thank you very much! President Diane Call
Will now introduce a new Vice President for Student Affairs at Queensborough; Item I-C-03 on our agenda. Good afternoon! Good afternoon! I am so very pleased to present to this Board a candidate for Vice President for Student Affairs at Queensborough Community College. Our Chief Student Affairs Officer is retiring after ten years
And it was not easy to find someone who could fill her shoes. We were very, very fortunate to recruit through research Michel Hodge. He is part of the CUNY family, having served at York College for many years, and I have to thank President Keizs for her graciousness in allowing him this opportunity
To stay with us. Thank you! Michel has done great work at York in enrollment management. He also assisted as Executive Director of their ERP when Jerry Posman left. He brings to us I think a wealth of experience both in student-centered for him; he was in the private sector
Where he focused on service and for us, students are the center of our universe. So he brings that great strength and sensitivity and also the administrative strength, which is so important. So we are very, very grateful to have this opportunity to present to you, and I know he will be an amazing asset
To our College, our students, and certainly to the University. Thank you! I will move. -And may I have a second? -Second. It’s been moved and second. -All in favor please say aye? -Aye! Aye! Opposed? Abstention? The motion carries. And thank you President Keizs for sharing! Thank you! And welcome to your new position!
And would you like to address the Committee? Yes. Thank you very much for this opportunity! Of course, CUNY welcomed me with open arms to York nine years ago and I was exposed to a jewel of the City, and I don’t want to leave, and I am so happy that I have another opportunity
To give back. And President Call has given me an opportunity after the wonderful training from President Keizs to do what I love to do, which is to help students be successful. And with the combination of using my management skills to deal with our enrollment opportunities, this is a perfect match
For what I like to do at the University, deal with students, but also help an organization move forward. So I am looking forward to this opportunity and I thank you very much. Thank you and congratulations! [Applause] President Fritz, would you introduce your new appointment at the College of Staten Island?
Good evening and thank you! Good evening! I know that I need to be brief but I have to highlight the career of a truly remarkable individual faculty member and administrator, and no matter how long I talk I am going to shortchange his record. Distinguished Professor Naider has a long and exemplary career
At the College of Staten Island and CUNY. He joined the faculty of the Chemistry Department in 1973 at our predecessor Institution of Richmond College. During his time at CSI, Distinguished Professor Naider has served as Chair of the Chemistry Department, Acting Dean of Science and Technology, and has served on numerous College
And University Committees. Dr. Naider has received many grants in support of his research. His research has been continually supported by the NIH for more than 35 years, which is a remarkable achievement and really stands up as… as a national record of achievement to his scholarship.
He has published more than 250 peer reviewed articles and has been invited to speak at universities and symposiums on a national and international level. He has given invited lectures throughout the United States, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Israel, Spain, and Switzerland, to name just a few. He remains a very active scholar to this day.
Most recently, Dr. Naider has served with distinction, honor and integrity as Interim Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs since 2012. As Interim Provost he was instrumental in advancing many significant presidential priorities, including the creation of CSI’s first three academic schools and has quickly become a trusted
And respected senior level administrator at the College and among his CUNY peers. Furthermore, there is no one on the CSI campus more dedicated to students and to student success than Fred. This includes his own students and his own lab that he continues to mentor today, as well as his administrative decisions
Which have really been focused on increasing the level of student success. And as with his research, the amazing thing is to me that he still takes time to meet with individual students, and so it’s just with great pleasure that I recommend him to the Board. Thank you! I will move that.
-May I have a second? -Second. I would like… I have a comment. Please! Dr. Naider, you have a long, distinguished record at CUNY. I was reading your CV and it’s just a terrific CV. Thank you! You are a tremendous resource and you have been to CUNY, so I want to say that.
I also want to say something else and that is that I do encourage CSI, and… as I would any other CUNY unit, to conduct national service searches when we are filling positions as important as this one. I say that while I am also recognizing the superb record that you’re providing to the University.
Thank you! It’s been moved and second, -all in favor please say aye? -Aye! Aye! Opposed? Abstention? The motion carries. And I would just like to say how excited I am, having sat on so many searches at this University, of the wealth and the depth of talent that exists in this University.
I concur about the national searches, but I am just ecstatic that often the best is right in our backyards, and I am glad that we afford those who are in our backyards the opportunity to continue to serve this University and… and work to balance looking externally, but I am really ecstatic
That we give internal people the opportunity that so often we have to leave just to come back. So welcome and I am glad you gave this opportunity President! I have a question, which is, will you be able to maintain your laboratory work as Provost? For the last two years acting as Provost
I have maintained my laboratory. I have published six papers and peer reviewed articles. Only six? It has been a decrease and I am still putting in grant proposals, but obviously it’s been a challenge. I would like to say to the Board, first of all, thank you very much!
14 years ago I came before this Board when I was appointed as a CUNY Distinguished Professor, and I can tell you that was one of the proudest moments of my life. I am now in my 42nd year in the University, having started as an Assistant Professor,
So I’ve spent my entire career at CUNY. I value our mission and I value our students. Two years ago Chancellor Goldstein actually called me up and asked me if I would serve as the Interim Provost and also asked President Fritz. And when I went home and I told my wife,
She said to me, why? And I said to her because it would give me another opportunity to be able to serve the students and the faculty, and what I’ve learned over the last two years as the Interim Provost is that now I can conduct some things from a global perspective
That I could not conduct as a research professor. So I just want to tell you I am very grateful for your recognition and I will continue to do my utmost to serve both the mission of the College of Staten Island and this great University. Thank you very much! Thank you! [Applause]
Dean Ann Kirschner, will you join us to introduce a new Vice President of Advancement at Macaulay? Did we vote that? -Did I vote it? -No. I didn’t? Thank you! I move it. We’ll do it again just to make sure. It’s moved and second, -all in favor say aye? -Aye! Aye!
Opposed? Abstention? The motion carries again. Twice as good. Twice as good. Thank you! Thank you! It’s my pleasure to be here today to present to you Sean Moriarty as Vice President of Advancement for Macaulay. He will not only be the first Vice President of Advancement,
He will be the first Vice President at Macaulay, which I think is a sign of the maturation of the institution, as well as a sign of the importance of developments throughout CUNY. He comes to us after an extensive search with tremendous background in leadership roles and development departments,
Most recently at the New School, and delighted that another proud Nebraskan; President Kerry was a glowing reference for him. Before coming to the New School, he was Deputy Director of Development at London School of Economics, Vice President at St. Francis College and a number of other positions.
He’s got a fabulous track record in development and in capital campaigns, which are very important leadership skills for us at Macaulay at this point in our history. So it’s my great pleasure to present to you Sean Moriarty. Thank you! May I have a motion for approval? So moved. -Second? -Second.
It’s been moved and second, all in favor please say aye? Aye! Opposed? Abstention? The motion carries. Welcome to CUNY! Thank you! Would you like to address the Committee? Well, thank you for this incredible, incredible opportunity and honor! I am privileged to be here.
And I think there is… there is a lot of great work to do at Macaulay and I think Macaulay is really well-positioned to be a real model for philanthropy in Urban Education Landscape and I am very happy to be a part of that. So thank you! Thank you for joining!
Thank you very much! Thank you very much! -And good luck! -Thank you! I will now call on Kenneth Norz from the Office of Academic Affairs to present Items I-C-06 through I-C-08 – Appointments of full-time faculty members requiring Bylaw Waivers. We will consider these three appointments as a group.
This first item is the appointment of Dr. Serene Khader as Associate Professor of Philosophy at Brooklyn College, appointing her with immediate tenure, not holding tenure at a previous institution. Dr. Khader is currently a candidate for tenure and promotion at Stony Brook University. Based upon her qualifications
And her six years of full-time teaching experience, it is the belief of Brooklyn College that if she were currently a candidate for tenure and promotion at Brooklyn she would certainly be approved for both. Hence, the College requests this Bylaw Waiver to appoint Dr. Khader with tenure.
Second is also the appointment of a new faculty member without tenure at Brooklyn College, Dinaw Mengestu, a Professor in the Department of English. Since August of 2012 Professor Mengestu has held the Lannan Chair in Poetics, a distinguished visiting position, at Georgetown University. He is an internationally acclaimed novelist
And… and has numerous prestigious awards, including a MacArthur Fellowship. On the basis of his current position, his M.F.A. from Columbia University and his writing awards the College requests this Bylaw Waiver to appoint Professor Mengestu with tenure. And the third is the appointment of a Substitute Professor without the appropriate academic credential.
This is for Alan Ramlal at Medgar Evers College. Mr. Ramlal is a longtime adjunct faculty member at Medgar Evers College. While the College continues to search for a full-time tenure track faculty member with the appropriate credentials, having Mr. Ramlal serve as a full-time faculty member will assist the College with staffing courses
And student advising. The College therefore requests that Mr. Ramlal be appointed Substitute Assistant Professor for the academic year 2014-15, with a Waiver of the degree requirements in Bylaw 11.5.1. Thank you! May I have motion for approval of I-C-06 through 08? -So moved. -May I have a second? It’s been moved and second,
All in favor please say aye? Aye! Aye! Opposed? Abstention? The motion carries. Thank you! Section 2 advises the Committee of a number of reappointments of faculty with early tenure pursuant to the Bylaws. These items appear on the agenda for informational purposes only and do not require a report or a vote.
Instead of a report from the Vice Chancellor at this time, I would like to call Michael Rhim to the table, and he will… Michael Rhim is from PRM Consulting, and they were our consultant to the CUNY-defined Contribution Investment Oversight Task Force. That’s quite a lot. That’s quite a mouthful.
I would like to thank everyone’s participation on that task force. They diligently worked, notwithstanding my request that we can get this done by June, and accelerated timeline, but I am delighted to say that they — we have met that accelerated timeline. And I will just give Michael an opportunity
To just give us an update. I’ll jump to the bottom line though and say, we have Michael as our interim consultant to help us find the ultimate financial advisor, and we have selected our ultimate financial advisor… I mean, investment advisor, but Michael, would you just give an oversight of the task force?
Sure! Good evening everyone! First, I’d like to congratulate the Committee for taking a very thorough process. The trend in higher education these days is really to start taking a much deeper look at the investment options available onto the retirement programs. So this process was a very thorough one in that
We initiated it looking at 33 firms across the country to see if they would meet the requirements that was put together by the Committee. Those 33 firms had to meet the requirements of what we call an RFQ, Request for Qualification process, and through that process we affirmed eight institutions
That met the criteria we were looking for to be able to move forward with the RFP process. We then carried out the RFP, Request for Proposals to those eight firms, excuse me, to seven firms; one firm did not meet the requirements, and during that process one of the firms dropped out,
So we ended up looking at six firms that was evaluated by the Committee. And we broke those down to three finalists that were invited in to meet with the Committee to make a presentation to determine which one would be the best fit on a go forward basis to provide…
To provide the investment advisory services for the over $8 billion pension plan. And that’s the process that we… we just completed. The Committee made a recommendation going forward. Madam Chair, would you like to make that announcement or would you like me to? I’ve been told by my procurement lawyers
That I cannot announce the name tonight. Okay. But that a firm has been selected and they are doing their diligence right now. Okay. But… so I cannot announce the name until procurement finishes their diligence, but we’re… we’re confident that that they will survive the diligence process. They are very diligent.
When will the participants in the retirement plan be informed of their options or who the financial advisor is? So let me… I’ll just skip ahead of what the scope of services of the investment advisor. We have asked the investment advisor to look at all of our plans, to benchmark them against best practices,
To examine the fees we are planning we are… what I call the shareholders, but the… Participants –participants are paying. You are also going to look at benchmark each fund and each offering against a relevant index, etcetera to see if they are returning. We have instructed — our goal is to have that
Examination completed during the first… the September through December timeframe. We will report back to this Committee sometime December, January with our findings and with the… some governance issues, as well as some recommendations, possibly about restructuring. And this Committee will then look at those findings and make recommendations.
And after that time an educational process will begin to the participants as to what… over the next academic year. Our feeling based upon the preliminary is that it will take us the next academic year to clearly understand, I think we have a 101? 150. 150 offerings with different fees structures
And we’ll be charging the consultants to evaluate that and to make sure that we exert our fiduciary responsibility in looking at them, and we will be coming back to the Committee with our recommendations about potential governance changes. There will be potentially actions that will have to be taken by the Board
And other items that we will be addressing. Well, I’ll just make one comment. I believe we have a fiduciary responsibility that each of the investment options that we provide for all the participants meets certain basic criteria with respect to performance and, you know, honesty and so on.
I think one of the issues that the Committee should consider is how many options we can have that kind of oversight, because it needs to be a continuing oversight, not just occasional. Right! And it seems to me that a 150 is an awful lot to expect us to have,
You know, a continuing oversight sense of are they good performers for our participants. Well, each one of our consultants in their presentations said exactly that, including Michel, and we will be coming back to the Committee as to the how to achieve that goals. So we’re looking at currently who…
We may have a 150, but two-thirds of them may not even be used and we may be paying administrative costs associated with it. So those are the tasks and charges that we are… we have charged the the consultants to look at and to come back with us, to this Committee
And to develop best practices compared to our — I don’t think there is anybody else like CUNY that has this large a portfolio but… -There are. -I know. to come back with recommendations and we hope over the next year for this Committee to make those kinds of…
The biggest thing for us is to come up with, where are the appropriate benchmarks; we’ve never even established what the appropriate benchmarks are. So that’s their first order of business is to come up with the benchmarks. What fees are being paid? What is the competition?
And we will be sharing that information with the Committee, with the full understanding that the ultimate goal is to make sure that the participants — I keep calling them shareholders, the participants get the best report. I just wanted to add that,
You know, at the end of the day our goal is to make sure that all of our employees have the options to invest in a diverse portfolio, with the ultimate goal of being a very comfortable retirement. And so as long as we keep that in the forefront, that is our goal.
I think we will be fine in looking at everything that we have available. I am going to call on my copartner in crime, and I say I, one partner in crime, but Professor Martell, who was also very instrumental in this process. You were saying and it’s our goal
To get this done as fast as possible, we’ve done historically not a heck of a lot of review on this so we’ve got a lot of wood to chop here. But the results of the governance… this is an ad hoc committee, It’s a task force actually.
It’s a task force, Vice Chancellor Matt Sapienza. Les Williams is on it. So I mean, you’ve got five — you’ve got five people, you’ve got to figure out what’s the most appropriate structure for this for this Committee to function going forward. You recall when this started, because there was concern
On the part of the members of the… of our Committee here that there was not necessarily appropriate knowledge to have to do this job, but we’re going to have to face that issue, because we need a permanent solution. So we’ve asked… I have a memorandum that Vice Chancellor Waters
And I are working on to outline all of the issues that came to light during this process. Michel helped us put that memorandum together, and I’ve just informed Rick that he will be getting that memorandum from us. And I’ve also said I will share it with the Chairperson
Of the issues that came to light and with the goal of getting them addressed expeditiously. So I want to, on behalf of… as the Chair really thank everybody who worked really diligently in getting this together and our goal is at the September meeting we will be meeting over the summer,
And at the September meeting Terry is not here. -Well, maybe. -Come on, I’ll be here. But at the September meeting to give you the first, at least the benchmarks of what we have found and then we’ll move forward from there. So again, thank you everyone for their diligent work,
But this is extremely important work on behalf of the employees of this University. So Michel, would you like to add any… Well, my closing comments really is that this is the start of a process that will really make your life much easier down the road, especially if you select
What we think is the right company, because it’s an ongoing monitoring process that will take place on an ongoing basis. Whether it’s starting with a 150 funds and ending with 25, those — whatever that end number is will continue to be monitored as issues come up, where funds are no longer appropriate
It will be brought back to this Committee. So this is the beginning of a process that you’re going to have in place that would really bring you what I think to participants a lot more ease in knowing that they have someone else looking over their shoulders of the investments
That they have to select from. In fact, the scope of work of the contract has them having a quarterly meeting with this Committee. So this is something we envisioned. Well, one of the things you ought to consider, is this the right Committee, because to the extent that that financial performance is sort of
The heart of the accountability that you’re looking at when you judge overall performance of these options, it could be that the Committee on Fiscal Affairs is a is better situated to judge the financial performance of these various investment options. But that’s… I think in most institutions it’s either the finance committee
Or the committee that focuses on what I call HR issues that has as it’s not an ad hoc committee. It’s a permanent committee that reviews it on an ongoing basis. And our recommendation is that we would… it forms we had a joint Committee composition and we will be making those recommendation
That this be a standing joint Committee, because we had Sapienza and the two Vice Chancellors there. So we will be coming forward. And we’ve asked the consultants to give us recommendations for governance and structure, etcetera. That is part of their charge to give us all of that. So hopefully… not hopefully, in September
We will be bringing forth our recommendation as to how we do this going forward. I think it’s probably a good thing to keep the full Board informed. Oh, absolutely! Because I think the fiduciary responsibility ultimately belongs to the Board. Now, we can delegate that down to one of the standing Committees,
But I think the Board needs to because we have been frankly in arrears on this. I don’t know why we missed this, but we have not done our job. Well, can I just say that as a non-ERISA employer we weren’t required to until a few years ago
When the rules changed, so that’s one reason. The other thing is that we have made changes to the plan over the years and those changes have always gone to the full Board. So there is actually a precedent for bringing changes to the plan typically. What we haven’t had is ongoing oversight… Correct.
In a regular way, and I think we need to we need to get there. Exactly! And there are questions about some of our offerings and some of our rules and governances and we will be bringing those to the Board, because right now we’re just asking the questions,
But over the summer we hope to get some answers and there will be some — I would say there will be some immediate actions that I think the Board will have to take to address some… I think some inconsistencies in the implementation. So we will be bringing those to you.
So thank you everyone again! That concludes our report. If there are any other questions or any other items, Madam. No. There being no other items, then this meeting is called to adjournment. Thank you very much! And have a wonderful summer!