MINUTES
University Assembly Meeting
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
4:30 � 6:00 p.m.
316 Day Hall
1. I. Call to Order
- Evan Cortens called the meeting to order at around 4:35 p.m.
- Roll was taken via sign-in sheet.
- The members then went around the table and briefly introduced themselves.
- Voting Members Present: Kyle Albert, Ramsey Ataya, James Blair, William Candell, Evan Cortens, Philip Goldstein, Howard Howland, Ned La Celle, Melissa Lukasiewicz, Sean Murphy, Natalie Raps, Randy Wayne
- Voting Members Absent: William Fry, Tanya Grove
- Also In Attendance: Amy O’Donnell, Ari T. Epstein, Bridget Schaffner
2. II. Approval of the minutes from May 4, 2011
- E. Cortens asked if there were any amendments to the minutes from May 4, 2011. Seeing none, he asked if there was any objection to the approval of the minutes. Without objection, the minutes were approved.
3. III.Call for any Late Additions to the Agenda
- There were no late additions to the existing agenda.
4. IV. Committee Updates
- Executive committee�summer report
- Ombudsman approval
- The UA officially appointed Charles Walcott as the University Ombudsman.
- University Hearing and Review Board Members
- The UA appointed the following slate of nominees from the Faculty Senate:
- N’Dri Assie Lumumba is a Professor in the Africana Studies and Research Center. She served as Director of the Cornell Program on Gender and Global Change and was elected to serve as a member of the Nominations and Elections Committee from 2008 to 2011.
- Ken Brown is a Professor in Mathematics. He has been a member of the University Faculty since 1971. He was recently appointed to serve a second term on the Faculty Committee on Program Review.
- Timothy DeVoogd, Professor, Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, has been a member of the University Faculty for over 25 years. He has been a member of the Faculty Advisory Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid, the Faculty Council of Representatives, and the University Hearing Board.
- Ephrahim Garcia is an Associate Professor in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and serves as a member of the University Faculty Senate.
- Tobias Hanrath, Assistant Professor, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been a member of the faculty since 2007.
- Sheila Hemami, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering. She has served as the director of the Visual Communications Lab and as Editor-in-Chief for the IEEE Transactions on Multimedia. She has been a member of the University Faculty since 1995.
- Arnim Meyburg, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been a member of the faculty since 1969. He has served on the Committee on Academic Freedom and Professional Status of the Faculty and the Faculty Senate.
- Christine Olson is a Professor in the Division of Nutritional Sciences and Director of Graduate Studies for the Field of Nutrition.
- Richard Penner, Professor, School of Hotel Administration, has been a member of the faculty since 1970. He served as Director of Graduate Studies in the Hotel School and chaired a university faculty advisory board on study abroad.
- Rocco Scanza is Executive Director of Scheinman Institute on Conflict Resolution, School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
- Michael Tomlan, a Professor in City and Regional Planning, serves as director for the Historic Preservation Planning Program. He also directs Cornell’s Clarence S. Stein Institute for Urban and Landscape Studies.
- Frank Wayno is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the College of Engineering. He has served as a past member of the University Hearing Board.
- OCR Title IX Letter
- Evan Cortens said there had been no progress of the letter made over the summer but it was still an important issue and discussions to it would continue. James Blair asked for some clarification and refresher on the issue, which Evan explained. Evan elaborated on the letter, which dealt with authorizing changes to the Campus Code of Conduct. The wording of the letter in some sections was not preferred by the Cornell Law School and had to be amended. Ari Epstein said Kevin Clermont (a Professor in the Cornell Law School) suggested that Title IX of the letter had to be put onto a separate section of the Campus Code of Conduct. However, no progress was made over the summer regarding the issue.
5. V. New Business
- Election of officers: Chair, Vice Chair, Vice Chair of Operations, Ranking Member
- The University Assembly had four officer positions to be filled: Chair, Vice Chair, Vice Chair of Operations, Ranking Member.
- Evan Cortens read from the Charter the rules on elections.
- The Chair
- Evan Cortens explained the responsibilities of the Chair.
- The floor was open for nominations for the position of the Chair. James Blair nominated Evan Cortens, who respectfully declined his nomination. Ramsey Ataya nominated Ned La Celle. Evan Cortens seconded the nomination. Ned respectfully declined his nomination. Natalie Raps nominated Melissa Lukasiewicz who accepted her nomination. Evan Cortens nominated James Blair who accepted his nomination.
- Seeing no further nominations for the position, nominations were closed.
- The candidates both gave their election speeches.
- Voting was done by secret ballot. The election results were announced and Melissa Lukasiewicz, undergrad rep, was declared as the Chair of the University Assembly for 2011–12.
- The Vice-Chair
- Evan Cortens read out the responsibilities of the Executive Vice-Chair.
- The floor was then open for nominations for the position of the Executive Vice Chair. Randy Wayne nominated James Blair who accepted the nomination. Kyle Albert nominated Sean Murphy who also accepted the nomination.
- Seeing no more nominations, the nominations were closed.
- The nominated candidates gave short speeches.
- Voting was done by secret ballot. The election results were announced and Jim Blair was declared the Executive Vice Chair.
- The Vice-Chair of Operations
- Evan Cortens explained the duties of the Vice-Chair of Operations.
- The floor was then open for nominations for the position of the Vice Chair of Operations. Randy Wayne nominated Sean Murphy who accepted his nomination. Kyle Albert nominated Howard Howland who respectfully declined his nomination. Sean Murphy nominated Kyle Albert who respectfully declined his nomination.
- Seeing no further nominations, the nominations were closed.
- As there was only one candidate for the post, voting was done by a show of hands. The results declared Sean Murphy as the Vice-Chair of Operations.
- The Ranking Member At Large
- The Faculty unanimously declared Randy Wayne as the Ranking Member. Randy took the post but said he would be happy to give it up if another faculty member would like to serve.
- Committee Staffing (3 UA Members each): Campus Welfare, Campus Infrastructure, Codes and Judicial
- Evan Cortens took nominations for the Committee Staffing positions.
- The nominations for the positions were
- The Codes and Judicial Committee: James Blair, Philip Goldstein, Will Candell, Melissa Lukasiewicz
- Seeing no more nominations, the nominations were closed.
- The nominated candidates gave short speeches.
- Voting was done by secret ballot. The election results were announced and Jim Blair, Philip Goldstein, and Will Candell were elected as reps for the CJC.
- Before commencing voting on Campus Welfare members, Ari Epstein asked if the members would consent to voting by ranked ballot, rather than simply listing three names. E. Cortens asked unanimous consent, but there was significant objection, so voting continued as before.
- The Campus Welfare Committee: Philip Goldstein, Melissa Lukasiewicz, Ramsey Ataya, Randy Wayne
- Seeing no more nominations, the nominations were closed.
- The nominated candidates gave short speeches.
- Voting was done by secret ballot. The election results were announced and Philip Goldstein, Ramsey Ataya, and Randy Wayne were elected as reps for the CWC.
- The Campus Infrastructure Committee: Sean Murphy, Kyle Albert, Melissa Lukasiewicz, Ned LaCelle
- Seeing no more nominations, the nominations were closed.
- The nominated candidates gave short speeches.
- Voting was done by secret ballot. The election results were announced and Sean Murphy, Melissa Lukasiewicz, and Ned La Celle were elected as reps for the CIC.
- The next question was whether the committees themselves should choose their own chair or the UA itself should elect a chair from the three members previously chosen. E. Cortens asked unanimous consent for the latter option, and there was no objection. The question next was on how to select chairs, whether by closed ballot by all UA members or by having the three members of each committee caucus amongst themselves. After a vote, the latter option was chosen.
- The results for the position of the Chair were as follows;
- The Codes and Judicial Committee: Philip Goldstein
- The Campus Welfare Committee: Ramsey Ataya
- The Campus Infrastructure Committee: Sean Murphy
- Cornell Store Resolution (Ramsey Ataya)
- Ramsey’s resolution had two parts to it.
- The first part asked for implementation of the distribution of the booklists in a timely manner, submitted at least 3–4 months in advance of the semester.
- The second part proposed proper distribution to all vendors, so students had the best possible options available in terms of price and sellers (so that they could purchase from the Cornell Store or from another alternative of their choice).
- Due to lack of time, the issue was tabled.
6. VI. Adjourn
- E. Cortens noted it was 6 p.m. and there would need to be a motion to extend the meeting. R. Ataya asked unanimous consent, but there was objection. Without objection, the meeting was declared adjourned at 6:01 p.m.
Respectfully submitted, Shriya Patnaik