I want to take this opportunity to express my sincerest appreciation for your thoughtfulness, patience and well-wishes as I process my personal tragedy. Your support has demonstrated to me, with the most deep-seated emotional impact, the comforting effect of such consideration and understanding.
Recently, the NCCFT elected Prof. Noreen Lowey and Prof. Phyllis Kurland as negotiators-at-large to the NCCFT Negotiating Team. The College has asked to meet with us for a preliminary meeting and we have scheduled this for Friday, March 6, 2020. More to follow.
There has been a great deal of concern regarding the COVID-19 Coronavirus both on and off campus. The Leadership Council: Stephan Krumpier, Noreen Lowey, Anissa Moore, and myself met with Dr. Williams, VP Collins, and VP Conzatti to discuss this issue. One of the topics we discussed is the NCC Emergency and Recovery Procedures Manual. This manual establishes the framework and chain of command to address emergencies that occur on campus. In addition, the College is engaged with the Nassau County Department of Health, NYS Department of Health, SUNY Administration, and the other Colleges in our area in an effort to gather information and assess the always changing progress of this virus. The College will provide the campus with the resources needed to stay abreast of the most recent information available as it is provided by our health agencies. If you have a laboratory in your area, you might request cleaning supplies to wipe down sensitive electronic or other equipment under your department’s control. You may also contact Joe Muscarella if you need any cleaning equipment, notice a hand sanitizer needs filling, hot water is not available, or any other assistance in order to ensure the safest possible environment.
As we are all aware, the Supreme Court Janus decision has changed the way unions across the nation must conduct business. These changes necessitated a review of the NCCFT Constitution and Bylaws in order to comply with the new law and formulate adaptations. The NCCFT Executive Board formed an ad hoc Constitution and Bylaws Committee to conduct this review. The Committee noted that the current Constitution and Bylaws have been in place since 2002. Therefore, they were charged to conduct a total review of these documents. By unanimous vote of the Executive Board at its meeting on March 3, 2020, an updated constitution was approved. This document has been sent to each of you via department mail and email. Ratification of this Constitution will be on the agenda at the March 17, 2020 NCCFT General Union Meeting. Please make every effort to attend.
The Search Committees for Vice-President of Academic Affairs (VPAA) and Academic Area Dean for Math and Sciences have been formed in accordance with the NCC Search Guidelines. The NCCFT representative for the VPAA position is NCCFT Vice President-Classroom Faculty, Donna Hope. The Chairs of the Math/Science area selected their representatives and the Academic Senate Executive Committee (ASEC) selected the Academic Senate representative for the Area Dean search.
Once again, there have been statements on campus regarding the status of the Academic Senate. The Academic Senate is led by the ASEC, comprised of Prof. Anissa Moore, Dr. Ethel Weeks, Prof. Lynn Bergin and Prof. Julie De Lalastra—“Sista’s on Fire”, as re-coined by Prof. Anissa Moore. They have proven themselves competent, dedicated and influential in conducting the business of the Academic Senate. In addition to the ASEC serving as ex-officio members of the Academic Senate Committees, the ASEC meets on a regular basis with Dr. Williams, while Prof. Moore meets regularly with the Academic Chairs, Leadership Council, NCCFT, Board of Trustees, and a host of other entities both on and off campus. The Senate is represented on the Faculty Council of Community Colleges, Administrative Search Committees, and plays an active and vital role in campus forums and colloquiums. In addition, the Academic Senate has representation from the entire Campus, including NCCFT, NCCAA, AFA, CSEA and the NCC students. Finally, in an agreement that is extremely rare in higher education, our Academic Senate is embedded, memorialized and protected in the NCCFT Collective Bargaining Agreement. It is a disservice to the work of the ASEC, Senators, Senate Committee Chairs and members to denigrate their dedication, commitment, and contributions in maintaining the greatest shared governance model in New York State. The very function of the Senate is to provide a forum for dealing with the issues listed in the articles in Section 20 of the CBA. I believe an alternative to disparaging the status of the Academic Senate would be to continue to do the business the Senate is charged to do, recognize the accomplishments of its members and do everything we can to maintain the enthusiasm, dignity and influence the Senate has to offer.
If you have any comments, please make them in the comments section for this post. If you have any questions or if I may be of any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the NCCFT office.
In solidarity,
Frank