Members Present: Dave Michalak, Fred Loveland, Tim Skinner, Suzanne Shepard, Jim Muccio, Meghan McGuinness, Howard Streby, Dan Brennan, and Bill Hollister.
Meeting called to order at 11:05 AM.
Minutes: February minutes passed. Motion by Howard Streby, Seconded by Meghan McGuinness. Unanimous.
President’s Report
- In Joe Spence’s absence, Bill Hollister was asked to take minutes and accepted said responsibility.
- FA Scholarships – Balance allows for two $750 scholarships. Applications have been vetted and this year’s Patrick O’Neil scholarships will go to Logan Vibbard and Aleksandr Boychuk. Thank you to Megan McGuinness, Timothy Skinner, and Julie Klepfer for serving on the scholarship committee.
- Elections for FA Rep Council Members/Officers – Joe Spence will be sending out notification regarding elections for Rep Council members/officers for the next academic year (2015-2016). Only stipulation for running for FA President – “President shall have served on the Representative Council within five (5) years prior to their nomination.” The FA will make a concerted effort to disseminate and collect ballots by end of April. Howard Streby indicated his willingness to serve another year on the council. Part-time adjuncts will be on the ballot this year.
- Members are encouraged to bring forth issues with promotion process/contract details.
- The College Assembly is looking at inclement weather campus closing procedures. It is likely that the college may implement a “delayed opening” procedure whereby all class periods would be compressed throughout the remainder of the day. Safety wise this makes sense. Issues will arise: other obligations of part-time employees, clinical schedules, etc.
Vice President’s Report
- Part-time Adjunct Dismissal – One of our part-time adjuncts was told his/her load would not be reinstated for the Fall semester. Reasons given for this action were related to attendance not submitted on time and a class absence was not reported. A serious medical issue for the faculty member caused the delayed call regarding the missed class at a later time in the day. The FA intervened for due process reasons and the member has been restored to a status quo position for next Fall.
- Full-time Adjunct Change in Status – A full-time adjunct since 2009 was moved to a TAP position a few years back. While most faculty retained FTA status removed and he/she was bumped to part-time. The FA has worked to get this employee reinstated to full-time adjunct. Full-time adjuncts generally have priority over other part-time adjuncts.
- Clinical Laboratory Specialists: Nursing – One clinical lab specialist of ten years running and another who is currently up for continuing appointment have been told they cannot perform their regular duties evaluating students without a Master’s Degree. This is in accordance with a change in accreditation regulations put into effect by ACEN (Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing). As of late, another nursing faculty member with a Master’s Degree has been supervising to be in line with this regulation. The FA will make every effort to see that these two employees retain their current compensation.
- Labor Management Meeting Goals – Approval of an MOU Re: Surveillance. Approval of an MOU Re: Fast Forward. The FA will propose that the following to be included in the FA contract article Re: Load… In the event of retrenchment, tenure-track faculty would team teach with the high school teacher instructing Fast Forward.
- Negotiations – The Negotiations Team has finalized an FA contract proposal, and they are waiting to meet with administration. Howard Streby asked if the proposal could be forwarded to the Negotiations Resource Committee. Regina Losinger suggested ground rules; Chief Negotiator Mike Lynch declined. The Negotiation Team will be establishing an FA meeting open to the entire membership to share some general aspects of the proposal. Officially, Mike Lynch is chief negotiator, but Fred Loveland will speak for the team when Mike is not on campus.
- Health Insurance Shift to New Provider – Meg Smith in Human Resources will handle any difficulties with any current health insurance claims. Contact Meg if problems arise, as the FA has no say in any specifics regarding insurance claims, nor which health provider is adopted by the college. However, be aware that there can be NO CHANGE in benefits provided by the new alternate provider, as the membership transitions to Excellus Blue Cross and Blue Shield this summer.
Promotion Subcommittee Report – Presented by Suzanne Shepard
A pamphlet has been produced regarding the promotion procedure. The pamphlet will contain details stipulating the specific timing and number of classroom evaluations (peer/student), chair observations, etc.
Motion to adjourn made at 11:55 AM by Howard Streby, seconded by Jim Muccio. Unanimous.
Respectfully submitted,
William R. Hollister
For FA Secretary, Joseph S. Spence
SUNY Broome Community College 