Address any questions or comments on the content of this update to the Faculty Senate Chair at a Senate meeting or via email at faculty-senate@buffalo.edu. Suggestions of items to include in future Updates are welcome.
The Faculty Senate Executive Committee selected the seven faculty representatives to the UB Presidential Search Committee. Sincere thanks to everyone who participated in the nomination and selection process, which was more rushed than we would have liked. The identities of the members of the search committee will be revealed by the Search Chair, Mr. Jeremy Jacobs, who is the Chair of the UB Council. I am not sure when that will happen, but expect it to be within a couple of weeks. I am confident that the faculty will be represented very ably by those who were selected.
We began a discussion of the qualities that the faculty would like to see in a new UB president at our Senate meeting on October 21. We expect to continue the discussion at our November 18 Senate meeting and hope that members of the search committee will attend to hear the discussion. Anyone who wants to join the meeting, either in person in Capen 10 or via Zoom, is welcome. Request the Zoom link by sending an email to faculty-senate@buffalo.edu.
Also at the October 21 meeting, the Senate heard from the President and Provost about a new state policy that requires all state employees to get approval before any contact with representatives of foreign governments, including in some cases foreign academics. As written, the policy applies to SUNY, but, in the opinion of many, its provisions are not well suited to academic exchange. SUNY has been working with the state to create clearer and more effective guidelines and procedures in regard to academic exchange as part of the new policy, and the hope is that new guidance will be issued within the next couple of months. In the meantime, though, faculty can learn about the new state policy via this link to a UB website concerning it. If you have any questions about it, please consult your dean and/or John Wood of the Office of International Education (his contact information is on the webpage linked to above).
A call for nominations has been issued for the election for Secretary of the Faculty Senate. If you are interested in serving as Secretary beginning in July 2026 you are welcome to reach out to the current Secretary, Turquessa Francis, and/or to me to learn about the position and get a copy of the nomination form (which was attached to the call you should have received on October 21).
The SUNY UFS Fall Plenary took place October 9-11 in Syracuse at the SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry. A number of significant issues were addressed in resolutions and discussed with SUNY administrators. You can read a summary of the Plenary here: link to a full report on the UFS Fall Plenary. At its November 11 meeting, the FSEC will decide whether to ask the full Senate to endorse any or all of the UFS resolutions. If you have views on that, please share them with your unit’s FSEC rep(s).
One of the resolutions passed at the UFS Fall Plenary calls on SUNY to offer more aid to campuses to facilitate compliance with ADA Title II, which will be required during the spring semester. I have mentioned this issue in previous updates and hope all faculty are learning about what needs to be done. At the October 21 Senate meeting, Carol Van Zile-Tamsen updated the senate about the work going on on campus to assist faculty. She also received many questions from senators and will work on getting answers to the questions posted on the CATT webpage devoted to this issue. She also noted that CATT offers many workshops to help departments and faculty learn how to make their digital materials accessible. You can sign up for them via the website linked to above.
As you may have seen via the “Working at UB” email from Human Resources (sent out today, October 22), there is a new form that faculty can use to request to “Stop the Clock Toward Continuing or Permanent Appointment,” which includes “Special Circumstances.” Special circumstances may include disruption of research due to sudden changes in the environment for research support. The Faculty Senate’s past chair, Suzanne Laychock, collaborated with Bob Granfield, the former Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, last year to update the form. The option to request a clock-stoppage due to research-related delays had been available to faculty on a case-by-case basis, but now the option is public and included on the UB forms. Approval from chairs, deans, and the Office for Faculty Affairs is still required for such "special circumstances" clock stoppages.
One of the perks of service as Chair of the Faculty Senate is a complimentary ticket (with a plus one!) to each Distinguished Speaker event. Shortly after the October 21 Senate meeting, I was pleased to attend the lecture by former NATO Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis. I was particularly pleased to see the current Chair of Political Science, Professor Jake Kathman, ably handling his duties as moderator of the Q&A with Admiral Stavridis. Good job, Professor Jake!