Nov. 16, 2023
Welcome Center Presentation Room
SUNY Oneonta
DRAFT
Present
Mr. Joe Bernier
Ms. Emily DeStefano
Maj. Gen. Anthony German
Dr. Diane Georgeson
Ms. Stacie Haynes
Mr. Gary Herzig
Ms. Debra Parisian
Mr. Will Rivera
Mr. Daniel Sniezek
Presiding
Mr. Gary Herzig
University Administrators
Mr. Paul Adamo, Vice President for College Advancement
Ms. Karen Brown, Assistant Vice President of Enrollment
Mr. Dirk Budd, University Police Chief
Dr. Alberto Cardelle, University President
Dr. Tracy Johnson, Vice President for Student Affairs
Ms. Lisa Miller, Senior Communication and Marketing Officer
Ms. Julie Piscitello, Vice President for Finance and Administration
Dr. Bernadette Tiapo, Chief Diversity Officer
Ms. Karyn Wendrow, Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Executive Communications
Presenters, Invitees, Observers
Mr. Raphael Web, Instructional Support Technician
Dr. Keith Jones, Presiding Officer of the Faculty and Chair of the College Senate
Call to Order
Mr. Herzig called the meeting to order at 4:04 p.m.
Approval of Minutes
Dr. Georgeson made a motion to approve the minutes of Sept. 27, 2023, seconded by Mr. Bernier, who pointed out an error in the section on the amount of money raised for the Student Emergency Fund. The figure was corrected from $4,000 to $400,000, and the corrected minutes were approved by unanimous vote.
Chair’s Report
Mr. Herzig did not have a formal report but shared a story about a recent SUNY Oneonta graduate with whom he had interacted in 2020 as part of a City of Oneonta task force on police reform. He serendipitously met her in person following the Spring 2023 commencement ceremony and she later asked him to be a reference for a job she was seeking and – subsequently landed – at a law firm.
President’s Report
President Cardelle talked about SUNY Chancellor John B. King’s affinity to SUNY Oneonta, including his attendance at SUNY Oneonta’s Alumni of Distinction event in October, and made several announcements:
- SUNY Oneonta is participating in a grant-funded project to demonstrate the use of rechargeable batteries for energy.
- Oneonta joined 14 other SUNY campuses in becoming a National School of Service, and will offer deferred admission, scholarships and other incentives for AmeriCorps program alumni seeking to enroll at SUNY Oneonta.
- The departure of Hartwick College President Darren Reisberg and a December event at SUNY Oneonta to wish him well and welcome interim President James Mullen Jr.
- SUNY Oneonta has hired a graduate dean, Dr. Gabriel Aquino from Westfield State University, as well as an Assistant Dean, Dr. Cindy Falk from Oneonta’s Cooperstown Graduate Program in Museum Studies.
- Dr. Cardelle is co-chairing the SUNY Sustainability Advisory Council with SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry President Joanie Mahoney and was also recently appointed to the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council.
- SUNY Oneonta’s 2022-2023 annual report has been submitted to SUNY and will be shared with council members.
- Although Brockport and Geneseo have moved to the Empire 8, Morrisville and Canton have joined the SUNYAC as full members, as well as Alfred State for track and field. Wrestling was added. Oneonta’s women’s cross-country and men’s soccer finished second in the conference and men’s soccer advanced to the NCAA tournament.
- Reminders about Giving Tuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and Fall Commencement on December 10.
President Cardelle then introduced a discussion of recent challenges the university has faced, including reactions to an institutional statement on terrorism and war in Israel and Gaza and related campus events, including a student vigil in solidarity with the Jewish population, a student-led rally in support of Palestine, two healing circles and an interfaith discussion.
Dr. Cardelle asked Dr. Johnson to give a summary of how the campus has coped following the deaths of four members of the campus community during the fall semester. Dr. Johnson gave an update on postvention and prevention initiatives and the many things the university is doing to address mental health and wellbeing, including on-call counselors, events to bring the campus community together, resources for first responders, a holistic approach to health and wellbeing and increased staffing in the counseling center.
Mr. Bernier asked Ms. DeStefano to share her perspective as a student. She said students are tired and may not see or realize everything that is being done and she is hopeful that next semester will be a good chance for proactive activities. Mr. Bernier asked how the university is supporting faculty who deal with students every day. Ms. Johnson referenced a SUNY suicide prevention training that is available to Oneonta faculty and Dr. Jones mentioned an informal discussion that occurred at the end of the last University Senate meeting, about the need for faculty to be more adequately trained.
Ms. DeStefano said the Student Association plans to attend a SUNY-wide event where a resolution asking for passage of a Suicide Prevention Act by the NYS Legislature may be discussed.
Enrollment Update
Ms. Brown gave an update on enrollment, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Nov. 15 news release about the SUNY Chancellor’s Report to the Board of Trustees on systemwide enrollment, which is up overall for the first time since 2013.
She said this is the first time SUNY has released individual campus numbers and Oneonta was positioned well, with an 18.9% increase in undergraduate first-time enrollment from 2022 to 2023.
She also gave a snapshot of where things stand with fall 2024 recruitment and discussed the impact of SUNY’s two-week free application period, which started a week earlier this year than last year. She said overall, Oneonta is up by about 20% for first-year student applications and the first admissions decisions were starting to go out to students who applied through the Early Action program.
Strategic Plan Report Out
President Cardelle shared an update on the university’s strategic visioning sessions, which wrapped up on Nov. 15. The next step will be for the Integrated Planning Council to review the notes from all the sessions and come up with 10 to 15 long-term goals.
Ms. Parisian said she attended three of the sessions and was impressed with the ideas and level of participation, particularly the student perspectives. Mr. Rivera and Ms. Haynes also shared perspectives on the thoughtful discussions and debates that occurred at the session they attended.
Dr. Cardelle mentioned several overarching themes, including mental health and well-being, the technological and digital divide between generations; rethinking how we assess our students and how we structure our courses; applied learning opportunities; and capacity for online courses. He said the plan is to generate 10-year goals, with agendas of two to three years.
University Council By-Laws Working Session
President Cardelle introduced three possible changes to the University Council bylaws, which are very general as written and could be more specific.
There was a discussion of Article II: Purpose, which breaks down the major responsibilities that university councils have, including regulatory powers (such as approving changes to the Code of Student Conduct and naming of buildings) advisory responsibilities around the presidential search process; and reviewing major plans proposed by the president. Dr. Georgeson suggested modeling the bylaws after the ACT Handbook and having the council’s role in the presidential search be listed as more than an advisory responsibility, because it is more of an engaged and involved role. Mr. Herzig said he liked the three categories and suggested that the presidential search could exist outside of those.
Dr. Cardelle suggested a revision based on past practice to Article VI, Officers and Elections, which currently states that elected officers serve for a term of one year and shall serve no more than two consecutive terms in the same office. In Article VII: Duties of Officers, he recommended that the nine duties from the ACT Handbook be incorporated to provide more specificity.
Dr. Cardelle said he would make the proposed changes and send the revised bylaws to the council members for review. Once approved, they will be sent to SUNY legal counsel for final review.
ACT Report
Dr. Georgeson reported on the ACT annual meeting, which included a report by SUNY Oneonta Director of Access and Opportunity Programs Pathy Leiva on the university’s new Heritage Language Institute, a discussion of the recent SCOTUS ruling on affirmative action, a mental health panel and a panel about support for veterans. Dr. Georgeson said it was one of the best ACT meetings she had attended.
Good of the Order
Mr. Bernier asked if council members could receive major university news releases before they are sent to the media. Ms. Wendrow said that could be part of the workflow going forward.
Adjournment
Mr. Herzig adjourned the meeting at 5:42 p.m.