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JPBC Minutes: October 24, 2019

Time & Location: 8:30 – 10:30 a.m., 220 Seymour 

Attendees

Voting Members

  • Sondra Aman
  • Mike Andriatch
  • James Cordeiro
  • Frances Dearing
  • Kandie Gay
  • Scott Haines
  • Tom Hernandez
  • Katy Heyning
  • Sara Kelly
  • Jose Maliekal
  • Pat Maxwell
  • Dave Mihalyov
  • Kathy Peterson
  • Craig Ross 
  • Ed Ryan
  • Susan Stites-Doe
  • Katy Wilson
  • Jim Zollweg

Non-Voting Members

  • Denise Copelton: Co-Chair
  • Crystal Hallenbeck
  • Cathy Houston-Wilson
  • President Macpherson
  • Karen Riotto
  • Jim Wall: Co-Chair
  • Melissa Wight

Guests

  • Lynda Cochran
  • Bob Cushman
  • Michael Harrison
  • Kevin Rice

Regrets

Voting Members

  • Meaghan Irving
  • Summer Reiner
  • Elliot Weininger

The meeting was called to order at 8:31am

Approval of the Minutes

Dr. Copelton asked the committee to review the minutes from the October 3, 2019 meeting. Ms. Maxwell motioned the minutes to be approved, Dr. Ross seconded the motion and all present voting members were in favor except for one abstention. Therefore, the minutes were approved.

Dr. Copelton asked the committee to review the minutes from the October 10, 2019 meeting. Dr. Peterson motioned the minutes to be approved, Mr. Haines seconded the motion and all present voting members were in favor except for two abstentions. Therefore, the minutes were approved.

Announcements

Dr. Copelton made the following announcement:

  • There is a Budget Town Hall on Thursday, November 7 at 11:00am-12:15pm in the Seymour Union Ballroom.

5-Year Financial Model Update

Presented by Jim Wall, Vice President for Administration and Finance

Note: Presentation is available on Blackboard

Mr. Wall presented information on the 5-Year Financial Model update. The following questions, answers and discussion points occurred during the presentation:

  • The question was raised if the air conditioning units in Morgan could be repurposed for other buildings. Mr. Rice stated that for energy efficiency, we are trying to avoid using window air conditioning units, but anything that can be salvaged from Morgan will be.
  • The question was raised if the College purchases energy on a consortium or separately. Ms. Riotto stated that it is a combination of both. Mr. Rice stated that our energy is very low carbon footprint because 99% of the electric comes from the hydro in Niagara.
  • The question was raised with enrollment being down; when vacancies occur will they not be filled. President Macpherson stated that we do not have a hiring freeze right now. We are being cautious when a vacancy appears to determine if that position is needed.
  • The question was raised regarding if faculty should be able to purchase their own printers and paper and still utilize them on campus. Mr. Wall stated that faculty should not be bringing in their own printers because they are still using energy and we are trying to reduce the cost of energy with printers.
  • Clarification was requested regarding the PIF grant review and if it is to just evaluate the grants to see if there is value in the College continuing to fund the project. Mr. Wall stated that was correct. Dr. Copelton asked if there would be information released on the findings of the review. Mr. Wall stated that there is one more grant ending and once the review is complete, the information can be shared.
  • The question was raised regarding Events Management and if more events are brought to campus, whose budget does that impact? Mr. Wall stated that would be various different budgets based on the services being utilized.
  • The question was raised how reducing the loss of the Grab and Go area for BASC helps the deficit of the College, as they are a separate budget. Mr. Wall stated that if we help the profitability for BASC, it helps the College because BASC provides support funds.
  • The question was raised regarding the review of the fee-based budget and if the Campus Based Fee Review Committee would be involved with this. Ms. Riotto stated that there will be a more detailed report at our next meeting, but there will be a student fee forum this fall to educate students and the campus community on the fees. In addition, there will be financial analysis conducted by the Budgeting Office of the budgets and follow-up meetings with the Fee Based Managers and their Assistant Vice President and Vice President. The meeting will discuss how to continue to provide services to our students and how are we able to fiscally sustain these operations.
  • The question was raised regarding the timeline and the cost-saving projects that are being reviewed, will some of the projects be able to be implemented so that we can reduce the deficit going into next year. Mr. Wall stated that we are currently working on some projects that we hope will reduce the deficit. The biggest project that we need to do is re-engineering of work processes when looking at future retirements. This will help us to determine which positions need to be filled.
  • The question was raised regarding the reduction of printers and how it will be announced to the campus community. Mr. Wall stated that a memo would be going out in the next week providing information regarding printers. President Macpherson stated that this initiative is being driven by Systems.
  • The question was raised if there is a recycling plan for printers and printing supplies. Mr. Wall stated that there is a team that is working on a plan.
  • The question was raised regarding gain sharing from Special Sessions and if there is any thought on ending that program. President Macpherson stated that there is no decision to end this program but it does need to be reviewed to ensure that the funds are being used to invest in faculty and student success. Dr. Heyning stated that she met with the Dean’s Council and discussed the gains sharing and has requested that the funding be tracking in terms of the amount received and what it was spent on. Dr. Maliekal added that some funds in the school have been set aside to cover the cost of expenses for potential equipment repairs and replacement. President Macpherson stated that being planful is a good thing, but there needs to be communication about those plans so others are aware of why a certain amount of money is sitting in a budget and that may not be the most appropriate place for that funding.
  • The question was raised if there is a SUNY recycling process for equipment. The understanding was that a process did exist but when a department tried to proceed with that, the equipment was thrown in the trash instead of being recycled. Ms. Riotto stated that there is a SUNY and Statewide process for recycling of assets. President Macpherson stated that given this knowledge, this is an opportunity to review our process to prevent this from happening in the future.
  • Clarification was requested about E-Procurement and how it will change what we are doing now because we already purchase items off the state contract. Mr. Wall stated that the E-Procurement system will put all the contracts in one area to make purchasing easier and it will be able to monitor what is purchased to see if certain contracts are needed. It also allows for multiple campuses to potentially pool their purchasing power to save money.
  • President Macpherson stated that she was recently at a meeting with the SUNY Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Mr. Wall has been praised in his projects and how other campus CFOs are learning from him. Brockport is now being looked at as a leader because of the work that Mr. Wall has completed and continues to do.

Vote on Budget Prioritization Requests

Some members expressed concerns over endorsing budget prioritizations without having an amount or even a range. Dr. Copelton reminded members that this committee is a recommending body to President’s Cabinet and that we are currently in the first phase of these prioritization requests. In the future, more information will be provided to the committee regarding these requests. Members agreed to vote on the endorsement of the budget prioritization requests. The voting results of the present voting members and any
discussion points for each budget prioritization request are as follows:

1.1 – Continued funding for additional 3 credit APS for Emerging Scholars

  • Endorse – 15
  • Not Endorse – 0
  • Abstain – 0

1.1 – Continuation of Starfish Analytics retention software

  • Endorse – 17
  • Not Endorse – 0
  • Abstain – 0

1.1 – Additional I.T. Staffing – college priorities, improvement in programming and database customization

  • Endorse – 17
  • Not Endorse – 0
  • Abstain – 0

1.1 - Full-time Tutor Specialist

The question was raised if the utilization of online tutoring services were ever discussed or
considered. Dr. Kelly stated that we do have Star NY, which is an online tutoring service, but there is growing usage for online and in-person tutoring services. Dr. Peterson asked if we pay for Star NY. Dr. Kelly stated that Star NY is a consortium and you have to be invited to attend. In addition, you have to provide a faculty member whose area of expertise is needed for the online services and there is a small fee. Dr. Maliekal added that it is a SUNY funded initiative managed by SUNY Cortland.

  • Endorse - 17
  • Not Endorse - 0
  • Abstain - 0

1.1 - Course re-assignment/stipend for five faculty master advisors to create and provide faculty advisor training 

  • Clarification was requested if this is to replace the faculty members. Dr. Heyning stated that this is to re-assign or provide stipends for the extra service.
  • The question was raised if this is would be out of the Academic Success Center or out of the departments. Dr. Heyning stated that it would be managed jointly.

Endorse - 17

Not Endorse - 0

Abstain - 0 

1.6 - Funds to support new wrap-around undergraduate research are needed for (funding from campaign dollars)

  • Student mini-grants
  • Faculty mini-grants
  • Research Apprenticeship program

Endorse - 17

Not Endorse - 0 

Abstain - 0

1.6 - Additional study-abroad scholarships (funding from campaign dollars)

  • Endorse - 17
  • Not Endorse - 0 
  • Abstain - 0

1.6 - Create sustainable budget line for global recruitment efforts (funding from campaign dollars)

Concern was brought up that international students want to come here but there is a certain
population that just cannot afford the out-of-state tuition. Dr. Heyning stated that this request is to provide more targeted funds to allow individuals to speak to people abroad to inform them about Brockport and to determine how we can make this more affordable for students to attend Brockport. Other members commented on the importance of international students, but we need to be aware of resources and simply cannot afford to offer in-state tuition to all international students. Dr. Copelton stated that this effort helps the native students as it provides a broader liberal education because they are interacting with international students and learning more about cultural diversity.

  • Endorse - 17
  • Not Endorse - 0 
  • Abstain - 0

1.8 - Funding for Diversity Certification Program

  • Clarification was requested if this was funded from gift dollars. Mr. Andriatch stated that he believed that half of the total cost was covered by the gift. The gift will continue year-to-year and the funding request is to supplement the other funding needed. The question was raised that since this program is in collaboration with the Brockport Central School District, does the district provide any funding for the program. Mr. Andriatch stated that the only funding that was provided was use of space and food when the meetings were held at district office. President Macpherson said that we need to be mindful that the district has half of the participants.
  • Clarification was requested about the main objective of this program and if it has helped attract a more diverse student body. President Macpherson stated the main purpose of this program is for staff and faculty development so they can better understand the diverse needs of a diverse student body. This is the first year of the program so we do not have that kind of concrete data yet. All we know is that participants have said this program has helped them think through things differently. Dr. Houston-Wilson added that partnerships are important for accreditation for teacher education and some of our students graduate and are hired in the Brockport School District. When they graduate, they are in need of professional development. Therefore, indirectly we are assisting our students with supporting this program. This is also an important collaboration with the district and there is research that may be able to come out of this program.

Endorse - 15

Not Endorse - 0 

Abstain - 0 

1.8 Funding for EDI Online Training Modules after PIF Grant is exhausted

Clarification was requested if the training updates were in including in the contract and if the updates would be requiring internal resources. President Macpherson stated she would be having a meeting with Dr. Archie for clarification, but her understanding is that the updates are not included in the contract and the updates are made by the company based on our recommendations. A good example would be acceptable terms/language used in the past are no longer acceptable and it is a good way to make sure our trainings are up-to-date.

  • Endorse - 14
  • Not Endorse - 2 
  • Abstain - 0

3.5 - Funds required to improve fire detection, building security and access (Swipe Card System). (May be able to utilize SUCF and MCM dollars)

Mr. Wall provided clarification that this is to update the Swipe Card System so that all buildings are on the same system. Currently there are three different systems.

  • Endorse - 15
  • Not Endorse - 0 
  • Abstain - 0

4.5A - Permanent funding for Leadership Development Program

Mr. Mihalyov provided an amendment to the request that this is only for one cohort a year, therefore the funding request would be reduced from $10,000 to $5,000.

  • Endorse - 13
  • Not Endorse - 0 
  • Abstain - 0

Other Items from the Committee

Dr. Copelton stated that our next meeting agenda would include an update from the Campus Based Fee Review Committee presented by Ms. Riotto and Dr. Houston-Wilson and a presentation from Dr. Kelly, Jamie Scheid, and Robert Wyant on efforts of recruitment and retention at the College.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:17 a.m.

Next Meeting: November 7, 2019; 8:30-10:30 a.m.

DC/JW/mw