Adopted:
October 26, 2001
MEETING OF
SEPTEMBER 28, 2001
President
George Rupp, the chair, called the Senate to order at 1:15 p.m. in Schapiro
Engineering Auditorium. Forty-seven of 79 senators were present during the
meeting.
President’s report: President Rupp welcomed
senators to the first meeting of the 2001-2002 academic year. Referring to the
terrorist attacks of September 11, he said the year began somberly, and he
thanked the Columbia community for its efforts to pull together in this
difficult time, which he said is not over.
The
president reviewed some highlights of a busy summer of Columbia activities. One
was a successful session of Columbia Summer in Washington, a program that now
provides internships to some 100 Columbia students in various Washington
offices, along with weekly talks by prominent people with connections to the
University.
Campus
renovations proceeded on an unprecedented scale this summer, with classroom
projects in Hamilton, Jerome Green, Pupin, and the Engineering School. Major
work continued in Butler Library and Avery Hall, along with lab upgrades in
Chandler and the construction of the Institute for Social and Economic Research
and Policy and the Language Resource Center. Among student projects, a WKCR
studio, a black box theater, and meeting rooms were completed in Lerner Hall,
as well as renovations to River and Wien halls.
Final
financial results for 2000-2001 were very good, with a solidly balanced budget
and built-up reserves against difficult times that lie ahead, and an eighth
consecutive annual record in fund-raising, with $359 million in total
contributions, some $70 million more than last year’s record total, and more
than triple the level of eight years ago.
The
president provided updates on some other small, successful initiatives. The
Columbia Housing Assistance Program is one of the few benefits programs set up
for lower-income Columbia employees, with modest incentives for home ownership.
Of 18 employees who have actively sought homes through the program, 10 have
completed purchases. Most of these are in Harlem, including four directly
across Morningside Park from the president’s house. The president recalled a
hope he had expressed in 1993, his first year, that within a decade Columbia
employees would live across the park and walk across it to work.
The
president said architectural planning for the new building is proceeding, and
the University has held many meetings to learn and address community concerns.
Although Columbia can accommodate the program of the Social Work school in an
as-of-right building, everyone involved has agreed that certain zoning
variances would result in a building better suited to the school and the
neighborhood. The University is seeking commitments from all interested parties
to support these variances. In sum, the project is on track, but every
construction project in New York City takes a long time.
Sen.
Richard Bulliet (Ten., A&S) asked about Columbia’s interest in two
buildings on Morningside Drive that St. Luke’s Hospital has recently vacated.
The president said Columbia is interested in any nearby real estate.
Sen.
Rohit Aggarwala (Stu., GSAS/SS), asked whether there would be storefronts in
the new Social Work building. The President said there will be commercial space
there; the University wanted the same thing for the Business/Law building on
Amsterdam, but there was resistance from the two tenants.
Minutes and agenda: The minutes of April 27,
2001, and the agenda were adopted as proposed.
Nominations to committees: Executive Committee chair Paul
Duby presented the standing committee roster, which had been distributed at the
door.
Sen.
Roosevelt Montas (Stu., GSAS/Hum), chair of the student caucus, added the
following student nominations: Sen. Scott Sandler (Bus.) to Budget Review and
Sen. Jasmine Tashman (PH) to the Commission on the Status of Women.
In
response to a question, Sen. Duby said the Rules Committee, whose roster is
nearly empty, has been on standby for several years. The Executive Committee
wants the caucuses to appoint members to the committee now, and for it to meet
once or twice, and to go over the Rules of University Conduct, which govern
political rallies and demonstrations, so that it will be ready if needed.
With
a few corrections from the floor, the Senate approved the roster without
dissent.
Report of the Executive
Committee chair: Sen. Duby welcomed new and returning senators, urging them to contact
the staff or himself with any questions.
He
was pleased to report that a Senate office request for a modest budget increase
had been approved by the provost for this year. As a result, the office will
have three full-time staff members, a restoration of support that Sen. Duby
hoped will continue in the future.
During
the summer, several committees kept working, under summer powers delegated by
the Executive Committee. The ad hoc committee of researchers established last
year had several meetings, with Executive Vice Provost Michael Crow and other
administrators. The Online Learning Committee held its first meeting in July,
then another one in mid-September.
Structure
and Operations asked the Executive Committee to exercise its Statutory
prerogative to extend the terms of senators from constituencies affected by the
reapportionment plan adopted by the Senate in April, which must await final
Trustee approval on October 6. The Executive Committee unanimously agreed to
this request.
At
its September 21 meeting, the Executive Committee also took up its recurring
September duties, including appointments of a number of people involved in the
administration and adjudication of the Rules of Conduct. To finish this job,
the committee will need another meeting, where it will consider some student
appointments.
Interactions with Trustees: The June 6, 2001, plenary
meeting of the Trustees, which Sen. Duby and Sen. Aggarwala had attended as
Senate observers, included reports from the President on the University’s sound
financial condition and from a new Trustee subcommittee on digital media. The
Legal Affairs Committee also reported on its collegial dealings with the
Advisory Committee on Socially Responsible Investing, whose chair, Prof. Harvey
Goldschmidt of the Law School, had reported to the Senate in April 2001. The
Trustees had accepted some but not all of the advisory committee’s
recommendations on shareholder resolutions. Executive Vice Provost Michael Crow
also introduced Barry Osmond, the new director of the Biosphere in Arizona.
Prof. David Hirsh, chairman of the department of biochemistry and molecular
biophysics, and until the arrival of Gerald Fischbach, Vice President for
Health Sciences, interim dean for research, spoke about new biotechnology
initiatives under way near the uptown campus.
Sen.
Duby reminded the Senate that the Committee on Honors and Prizes, which does
not normally report to the Senate, needs the help of all senators in thinking
of worthy candidates for the honorary degrees awarded at Commencement.
Sen.
Ree DeDonato (Lib. Stf.) said the Libraries have formed an emergency task force
devoted to preserving archives that may have been damaged in the terrorist
attacks of September 11 or may relate to responses to these events. She invited anyone with questions, or with
documents for the task force to consider, to contact Jean Ashton, head of the
Rare Book and Manuscript Library, or University Archivist Marilyn Pettit.
Sen.
Jonathan Cole, the provost, added that Columbia has begun to compile oral
histories from survivors of the September 11 disaster and their families, in
conjunction with the New-York Historical Society. A number of students will be
involved in this effort, which has already received funding from the National
Science Foundation. He invited faculty whose students might want to participate
to contact him or Prof. Peter Bearman.
New business:
--Update on sweatshop issues (External Relations):
Sen. Eugene Litwak (Ten.,
A&S Social Sciences), chair of External
Relations, praised Columbia’s proactive efforts as a member of two anti-sweatshop
organizations--the Fair Labor Association and the Worker Rights Consortium. He
said Ginger Gentile, a Columbia College student and member of External
Relations Subcommittee on Sweatshops, has joined the WRC Executive Committee,
and Columbia’s executive director of Business Services, Bob Moskovitz, has
joined the coordinating council of the universities affiliated with the WRC.
When one apparel manufacturer, New Era, applied for membership in the Fair
Labor Association after failing to respond to a WRC report critical of its
operations, Mr. Moskovitz wrote to urge the FLA consider this failure in
weighing New Era’s application. Mr. Moskovitz’s aggressive oversight has also
helped to assure that nearly all of Columbia’s 68 licensees have affiliated
with the FLA.
--Resolution to change the name of the Department of
Chemical Engineering and
Sen.
Duby, an engineering professor, said department faculty unanimously supported
the proposal, which resulted from a serious review. So did the full engineering
faculty.
The
Senate unanimously approved the resolution.
The
president adjourned the meeting shortly before 2 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Tom
Mathewson, Senate staff