Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly announced Wednesday that a Campus Facilities Advisory Board will be formed, partly because of the campus-wide controversy that the $6 million University Place promenade caused last spring and during the summer.

The board, announced at the first University Senate meeting of the semester, will assess all academic and non-academic investments within the Campus Framework plan. The meeting also included a discussion on the university’s position on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy.

Wheatly will co-chair the board with Vice President and Chief Campus Facilities Officer Pete Sala. Professor Catheryn Newton, special adviser to the chancellor and provost for faculty engagement, will serve as the lead faculty adviser to the board. Other board members will be announced this week.

“This board will be charged with developing best practices for all the campus engagement, decision-making and communication in regards to renovation, new construction and best use of facilities,” Wheatly said.

Wheatly said the new committee was created in response to the Senate and its requests for more transparency and communication about the infrastructure on campus, specifically renovations. She said the administration can do a better job at collaborating with the rest of campus, and that the board will hopefully create “a flow of information so we get broader input on some of our decisions” regarding facility renovations.

The Senate meeting opened with discussion on a hotly-debated resolution presented to the Senate by the Graduate Student Organization. The resolution called for Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud to clarify the university’s stance on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and undocumented students.

Syverud has previously voiced his support for the program, including on Tuesday in his address to the community. The chancellor added SU as a signatory to a formal written commitment supporting DACA on Nov. 17. The program, which was started by United States President Barack Obama, allows some undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. who entered the country as minors to avoid deportation.

Some members of the Senate argued that the resolution was too vague and simply called for the chancellor to speak to the SU community. GSO representatives responded and asked for specific clarifications regarding the role of DPS in potential deportations and, if a student is deported, what resources would be available to them to finish their degrees. The resolution passed and Syverud said he expects to respond “quickly.”

Wheatly also provided a short update on the Faculty Salary Review Committee, which plans to release faculty salary data and analysis. Robert Van Gulick, a philosophy professor, pushed Wheatly on the issue, and asked if the public would ever get the information that was provided by Committee Z.

Committee Z provided public records that compared average faculty salaries across gender, schools and colleges and other factors. Van Gulick wanted that information to be more widely available beyond the committee.

In response, Wheatly said senators should let that committee do its work and report back to the central administration, something that was met with groans from the Senate. Van Gulick continued to question Wheatly, pointing out that Committee Z has been around for 50-plus years, and that he didn’t understand why the detailed information isn’t still available.

Syverud interjected from his seat on the right side of the stage and said the committee is being charged with figuring out what to do with salary data.

“It’s not just to look at the data, it’s what to do to replace that (Committee Z) data and transparency and communication going forward.” Syverud said. “…The answer is that the jury is still out until this committee does its work.”

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Other business from Wednesday’s meeting:

• Wheatly charged the recently formed internalization council with three action items. These items include recommending specific resources and support that will provide international students with a better experience on campus.
• Wheatlysaid the search for a Martin J. Whitman School of Management dean is “well on its way” and that the search for a permanent dean of the University College will begin soon.
• The Student Life Committee presented to the Senate and asked for additional monetary and staff resources for the Office of Career Services. Members of the Senate wanted further research and more collaboration to be done with the Budget Committee.
• Wheatly announced that SU is building a search committee for the position Vice President of Research.

Published on January 18, 2017 at 10:29 pm

Contact Jacob: jagedets@syr.edu