CUNY Graduate Center
Doctoral Students’ Council
Steering Committee Minutes -- [DRAFT]

December 5, 2008
Chair: Christine Pinnock (CP)
Present: Jill Belli (JB), Gregory Donovan (GD), Ally Foster (AF), Anton Masterovoy (AM), Chris Sula (CS), Suzanne Tamang (ST), Denise Torres (DT), Tasha Youstin (by Proxy: Philip Kopp)
Absent: Rob Faunce (RF)

Meeting called to order at 6:18 PM
I. Approval of Agenda
CS adds (c) Department/At-Large Representatives to IV. New Business.
AF moves to approve, PK seconds the motion, which passes by unanimous consent.

II. Approval of old minutes
GD moves to approve, JB seconds the motion, which passes by unanimous consent.

III. Old Business
a. Student Survey
Questions submitted and feedback they generated form other SC members were discussed. Two key questions or themes from each topic area were identified and will be used to revise the questions submitted. In summary (and referring to the distributed survey draft):
• Health Issues – Wellness Center and Psychological Counseling Center (I.3,4,5)
• Cost of Living Financial Aid – level of unmet need and financial aid (II.1,3,4,5,7)
• Technology – Laptop-friendliness and printing (III.6, IV.I)
• Library – CLICS and library collection (IV.3,4,7)
• Professional Development – usefulness of existing PD workshops and potential workshops (V.1,4)
• Building & Facilities – recycling and commuting behavior (VI.2,3,4)
• Food Access/Cost – food options and access hours (VII.2,4)

b. Health Insurance
No new announcements.
c. Tuition
Board of Trustees will meet on 12/8 and vote to give the Chancellor the power to make the decision on increasing tuition.
Executive Committee has issued a statement concerning proposed budgets cuts, emphasizing the value of CUNY.
Executive Committee has met with the Adjunct Project (AP) and others to discuss and address issues concerning tuition hikes and the impact of budget cuts. AP is planning several efforts, including a CUNY specific equity week. AP will develop and disseminate resource materials that adjuncts can use to teach about inequities in the CUNY system (e.g. power, budget) and will be encouraged to speak to DSC representatives at future plenaries.
Bill Kelly will attend 12/12 plenary to discuss impact of budget cuts on GC.

IV. New Business
a. Nominations/ Voting
GD states that requests for 2009-2010 DSC nominations will begin in February. In March, templates for the voting system will need to be produced with the assistance of SC members. Focused election work needs to be completed by SC members to move this process along and keep the election on schedule. CIRC will be responsible for validation of election ballots and final results.
b. Holiday Party
Tasks have been allocated and will occur on 12/12, beginning post-plenary and ending at 10:30.
c. Department/At-Large Representatives
CS states that attendance of representatives at DSC meetings is in the interest of students to maintain quorum at DSC meetings. Departments with representation issues have been contacted, so that they may address the requirements to receive their budget allocation. The following individuals will be contacted by email to inform them that they need to attend or provide a proxy on 12/12 or they will be decertified from DSC:
Oren Tzfadia – Biology
Igor Draskovic – History
Aaron Ibur – Political Science
Marsha Brown – Forensic Psychology
At-large - Rachel Meyer and Robert Azzarello
CS moves to have them removed if they do not attend the upcoming plenary, GD seconds the motion, which passes by unanimous consent.
At our last meeting, six representatives were provisionally decertified. One reclaimed her seat at the last Plenary, and two departmental seats were resigned or vacated. Three at-large seats became available. Three individuals were nominated for those three decertified At- Large positions:
CS: Malav Kanuga – Anthropology
CS: Sari Altschuler – English
AF: Kate Broad – English

Nominations pass with unanimous consent and openings were filled.

V. Student Affairs Report (GD)
Online rosters will be available next week.
The process of getting all eligible chartered student orgs office space, phone and other office equipment is in process.
Opencuny.org beta is live with several blogs/ websites. CS suggests grant recipients and committees should use the space.

VI. Communication Report (RF by email)
`Much of the last month has been spent dealing with tuition increases and other issues that have been discussed earlier on the agenda of the SC meeting.’
Duplex attachments for printers have been purchased for each department.
EOs have been informed that a Mac is available for their department.
Concourse level of the library will have a Mac lab. Delay is not a funding issue but a coordination of services issue. All the hardware and software licenses are purchased or in place. However, due to service issues concerning furniture use of the lab by the GC community is on hold.

VII. Business Report (CS)
Submission of check requests by 12/12 is required for reimbursement before the holidays. Otherwise, there is no guarantee that they will be processed quickly.
Submit system has been changed so that when a signature is needed by a SC member a notice will post to the DSC Gmail account. So far and in general, the system performance has been good.
Task slots for spring SC meeting were passed around and responsibilities for the spring were allocated.
New binder for room requests has been purchased and existing 2008 requests were inserted. JB suggests we sort requests by date approved and SC members agree.
CS working on automating room request process with submit system. However, not likely to be implemented in the spring.
New carpet was installed in rooms 5414 and 5409.

VIII. USS Report (AF)
Vice Chancellor attended most recent USS meeting and discussed budget cuts. USS is attending meetings regarding the impact of the cuts and organizing protests.

IX. Committee Reports
Health Issues – JB states that meeting scheduled for 12/11 at 1PM. The agenda will soon be posted. Direct concerns regarding the committee can be placed to JB or DT.
Technology - Print Management Taskforce members need to respond to CS regarding the presentation of feasible printing solutions, ideally by 12/12 plenary.

X. Announcements
TY will be back in NY by next SC meeting
Holiday party 12/12 from 8-10:30.

XI. Adjournment
CS moves to adjourn, CD seconds the motion. The motion was approved: YES – 8, NO – 1, ABSTENTIONS – 0.