1.  FA procedure:  This is a special added Faculty Assembly.  Wayne Hayes graciously pushed back the AFT meeting to 4 p.m. to accomodate this meeting (thank you, Wayne) so I have promised him that we will stop promptly at 4 p.m. so that people can go to that meeting. Whatever agenda items we don't reach today will be automatically relocated to the May 24 meetings.   We have  only two hours for today's meeting.  The Unit Plan (or what we have been calling CLA) has now been formally approved by the BOT at its most recent full board meeting on April 28.  This is huge!  Congratulations and thanks to everyone along the line who made that possible!  

The next piece in the CLA development is the shape of the new General Education program and the associated school cores as they might appear under the new Unit Plan. We will concentrate today largely on the CLA Preliminary Proposals for Gen Ed posted at http://phobos.ramapo.edu/facassem/CLAgened55proposal.html      We will focus closely on the revised language for the course/category descriptions provided in the chart which was posted Friday:  http://phobos.ramapo.e.du/facassem/clagenedchart57.html    This meeting is intended to provide opportunity for discussion on the CLA preliminary proposal -- but not yet formal motions or votes.  The final two FAs of the year May 24 10-12 and May 24 2-4 will focus on the formal full recommendations from ASEC and the CLA Committee which will have been revised in light of whatever the committees found useful from the feedback they have received.  Voting on those final proposals will follow the May 24 meetings and will be conducted by mail ballot so that the entire faculty can speak to whatever changes we are proposing to our academic structure and to our curriculum.   Ballots will be due back June 7.  Results will be announced June 8.

When we get to the CLA Gen Ed agenda item today we will set aside a maximum of 1 hour for the CLA team -- moderated by Eddie Saiff, CLAIII Chair to report on the Preliminary Proposals and then to take input from the group.  Martha Ecker and Babs Varano will also  sit with the group to answer specific questions.  Reminder:  we will be following scrupulously the three minute maximum guideline for each faculty comment and there will be only one comment per person until everyone who wishes to speak has had an opportunity to do so or until we have reached the end of the hour.  We will again be attentive to civility and David Greene will keep us on good parliamentary footing.

Following Faculty Assembly additional responses regarding the CLA Proposals -- or other matters of course -- are encouraged but very swiftl y.  The CLA committee and the ASEC committee only have 4 days left to polish whatever their final versions will look like so they can be posted by May 17, a week in advance of the May 24 meetings.  Please send your responses/comments/questions directly to the committee and/or to me for general posting.

2)  CLA/ASEC Implementation Timeline:  As you know -- and as we are all just beginning to fully realize and appreciate -- the conversion to a Unit Plan for our curriculum (and whatever changes need to be put into place from what we decide on re: ASEC) have enormous implications for every part of the college.  The faculty work is only a part -- the centerpiece is true -- but still only a piece of what these changes require.  The Faculty Advisory Council and I met with President Rodney Smith, Provost Sandy Pfeiffer, and Vice Provost Martha Ecker this morning to discuss and identify some of these issues that need to be worked through and steps that need to be accomplished as we move from the exploration/planning phase which has occupied the past two years to the implementation plan which will need to be carried out over the next several years in order to make this transition effectively, credibly, and with the minimum disruption to students and staff and faculty.  I am just going to sketch in a few of those issues here and we will return at the May 24 meeting with a much more fully fleshed out timeline.  1)  Recruitment:  We have already begun recruiting students for Fall 2005 and our recruitment materials and information are all based around our existing credit system, expectations for graduation etc.   Once a clear decision has been reached on what the general curriculum is going to look like all of those materials need to be reframed.  Special efforts will need to be put into the recruitment packets and approach to international students.  2)  We need to solve numerous problems such as how much tuition should be charged per unit, how grant programs and outside agencies like the VA are going to react to the changes and what kinds of explanations and information they will need.  For example, what would a full-time student status look like under our new plan and is the Social Security Administration going to accept that definition for a student drawing SSI monies? 3)   We need to put the entire new curriculum into the Banner system -- and have the appropriate time to test the system for glitches so that we don't end up with very costly -- and very embarassing -- mess ups in student records, graduation audits etc.  4)  Various groups such as the EOF program, the Office of Specialized Services etc. will have to evaluate what will be needed to best support the students in these programs under this new system.  5)  We need to review and revise all of our articulation agreements with community colleges as well as how our curricular information is presented to external bodies at the state level, etc.  

On the faculty end we still have serious outstanding issues.  A significant number of convening groups still need to complete reconceptualizing their majors and minor programs in terms of the Unit Plan.  We need to put a concentrated and thoughtful effort into examining what should happen with the graduate programs as we move into the Unit structure.  How many units, for example, would be needed to complete a master's program in one of our fields?  We will need to actually identify and -- where necessary -- create courses to satisfy the various categories under our reconceptualized Gen Ed/School Core program.  We will also need to shift curriculum plans, teaching loads, etc. to address courses which will be needed in fewer sections -- if at all -- as  a result of the Gen Ed shift.  For example, if we now offer 3 sections of an intro. course because it fits a gen ed category, we may only need 1 under the new program.  We will need to develop a detailed transition plan for those students who entered under the existing system and now find themselves attending a college with a new system altogether.  It will be 5-7 years from the point where we begin to award units before all the students in the transition phase have graduated from Ramapo and we have an entire cadre of students who have only ever been under the Unit Plan.  We will need to recast our own courses -- and in some cases create wholly new ones -- to meet the new needs of our majors, our minors, general education, etc.  We will need to have a new advisement system in place for all students a full year in advance of the change in the curriculum which will affect their college careers so profoundly.  

These are just the high points of the next phase.  We will be creating for next year an Implementation Task Force to identify and oversee the various steps needed to get us to successful installation.  That group will have members drawn from this year's CLA group, this year's ASEC group, ARC, FAC, and professional staff. Sandy will be talking to us a bit more later about the implementation process.

3)  Nominations needed SBR/Sabbatical;  Nominations Close May 24: We will need to elect representatives for next year to the All-College Research Committee or, as it is also called, the SBR/Sabbatical Committee.  Note representatives must include one each from Arts, Business, Humanities, Science, Social Sciences, and one At Large.   There is also a Professional Staff rep and a rep from the Provost's office.  For guidelines for the All-College Research SBR Sabbatical committee see http://phobos.ramapo.edu/facassem/allcollegeresearchsbrsabb.html  (taken from the Faculty Handbook).  Reminder you cannot both serve on the committee and apply for research support under SBR or Sabbatical.  So if you have plans to apply please decline the nomination so we won't have to make last minutes switches in the committee membership.   If you served this year for a first year of a two-year term and are willing and able to serve the second year please let me know before May 24. You will be automatically renewed for your category.  Nominations will close on the floor of the FA on May 24 and the nominees will be announced at the final Faculty Assembly.  Ballots will be sent out following the May 24 meeting by mail to the entire FA membership and will be due back June 7.  Results will be announced June 8.

4)  Nominations needed for BOT Comm. Reps.:  Nominations close May 24.  We will also need to elect representatives to the various BOT committees, i.e. Capital Improvement, Finance, Institutional Advancement, Student Affairs.  I will take nominations and self-nominations for all of these positions over the next ten days.  Again, the nominations will close on the floor of the FA May 24 and the nominees will be announced at the final Faculty Assembly.  Ballots will be sent out following the May 24 meeting by mail to the entire FA membership and will be due back June 7.  Results will be announced June 8.

5)  Interim President/ Presidential Search:  All of you are now aware that Sandy Pfeiffer has been named Interim President for next year.  Let us congratulate him.  The Board of Trustees at its meeting on 4/28/04 also named the representatives to the Presidential Search Committee.  Faculty representatives selected are:  Recently tenured faculty:  Paramjeet Bagga, Middle Faculty: (Under 15 years): Susan Eisner and Faculty Over 15 years:  Sam Pinn.  I will also sit with the search committee ex officio as Faculty Assembly President.  This group had its initial meeting the afternoon of May 11.

6)  Planning Process:  The organizational meeting of the new All College Planning Council also took place May 11.  Faculty representatives to this group are Ellen Kaiden for FAC, Stephen Klein for ARC, Michael Edelstein for SBGC, Joe Dallon for the MFSA, and myself as FAP.  Information on the Planning Process, the Planning Calendar, groups involved etc. as well as links to the College's Strategic Plan can be found at http://guide.ramapo.edu/content/StratPlan/index.html

7)  Academic Space: We are again adding faculty lines for next year -- yay!  -- but we do not yet have new academic space -- sigh.  Consequently, there are some real issues in how space will be allocated to accomodate our new colleagues.  Any questions regarding Academic Space issues should be directed to Linda Padley.

8)  WAC in-service workshops are May 27 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. on the 2nd floor of G wing.  General session opens at 10 in G202.  There will be a lunch served for all participants at 12:00 in G202.  Presenters include Donna Crawley, Carol Hovanec, Scotty Massimo, Rob Mentore, Arlene Pincus, Eddie Saiff, Ed Shannon, and Frances Shapiro-Skrobe.  The full program is available on the announcements page of the FA website at http://phobos.ramapo.edu/facassem/announcements.html  or directly at http://phobos.ramapo.edu/facassem/WACmay04inserviceday.html

9)  Reminder Commencement is May 25.  We begin robing at 9:15 a.m. Full details on the FA website or directly at http://phobos.ramapo.edu/facassem/commencementinfos04.html

10)  Henry Bischoff Award:  Deadline for nominating a colleague for the Henry Bischoff Excellence in Teaching Award is today.  Send nomination to Ira Spar.  See FA website or directly at http://phobos.ramapo.edu/facassem/bischoffcalls04.html for details.

11)  Conveners/Searches:  There has been a great deal of discussion about Provost Pfeiffer's recommendation that conveners no longer serve on faculty searches.  Sandy asked the Faculty Advisory Council and myself to analyze this question and make a recommendation.  After canvassing faculty, reading and listening carefully to all input we received, and discussing this issue with some care, the FAC and I recommended to Sandy that from now on current or incoming Conveners sit on search committees and read applications, be present for interviews and demonstration classes, etc. but (when an internal candidate who has been hired by this person is in the applicant pool), conveners recuse themselves from the discussion and voting on the applicant pools.  Conveners would then have an opportunity to give their input to the dean after the finalists have been sent forward by the committee and will be able to do so with full knowledge of all the semi-finalist candidates.  Full details on the recommendation are available through the website or directly at http://phobos.ramapo.edu/facassem/conv&searchpolicyfacrec.html

10)  Recognition of faculty service:  An amazing thing happened on Friday that necessitates my taking ten minutes at this time to do something vital which so far as I know has never been done. But first the background:  Having just in the past two weeks (as I mentioned earlier) seen faculty selections for 2 new all-college committees (4 faculty + myself for the College Planning Council and 3 faculty + myself ex-officio for the Presidential Search committee), I received an email from Denise Coleman asking me to find volunteers for the Code Hearing Board -- not a new committee, but again needing faculty representation.  (If you are interested for details see the announcements page on faculty assembly or go directly to http://phobos.ramapo.edu/facassem/codehearingboardcall.html  )  Knowing how heavily burdened the faculty is already I put the invitation out with a sigh and the vaguest of hopes.  Within hours I had 3 volunteers: Lysandra Perez Strumolo, Donna Crawley, Sharon Rubin. As of this point Carol Bonilla Bowman,  Stephen Klein and Anita Stellenwerf have also volunteered.   That's the kind of faculty we have.  So would the six of you please stand up and remain standing for a bit.  I would like to also ask George Gonpu to stand and congratulate him (as I forgot to do last meeting) on his re-election as Faculty Assembly Secretary.  George would you also please remain standing for a little while.  

We are approaching lift off on most of the heroic efforts we have been engaged in as a faculty this year.  People are getting noticeably frayed and staffering as we enter the final stretch so I think this would be a good time to pause and reflect on the enormity of what we have undertaken this year and to congratulate each other on all the hard work that has taken place.  Note that the order in which I call you does not reflect a ranking of importance of contribution.   All of these contributions are vital and appreciated.  I also don't care a whit whether you are faculty, staff, or administrator.  When your tune is called, get to your feet!  Would the following people stand as I call your group and remain standing until we finish.  If you are already standing and I mention something else that you have been involved in this year -- put up a finger.  If you end up with all 10 fingers up -- you are free to sit down at that point.  I should note that I am not here making any reference to your wonderful teaching, advisement, working with students on research projects, scholarship, presentations, grants, service off-campus, etc.  -- only your college and faculty service.

College Service List.

Finally, please stand if you have served on that other committee that I forgot to mention. Please high five your neighbor and then let's have a standing ovation for everyone involved this year. This is a faculty who defines service.  I see Full Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors, Adjunct Faculty, Staff, Administrators, people from AIS, CA, Library, SAB, SSHS, TAS, every convening group.  So when the cynics grumble tell 'em to look around them.  I don't know of any faculty anywhere who participates more fully in every aspect of making this college the best place it can be. Would you please keep on standing and keep those fingers high for just another minute while I ask our Provost and incoming interim President to come forward in preparation for his report to us so that I can present to him the hardest working, most committeed group of faculty and staff of any college in the U. S.   Bravissimo to everyone here!

Cordially, Kay Fowler, FAP