February 2013
Vol. 39 • No. 4
It’s the end of the world as we know it
photo by NYSUT
by Ellen Schuler Mauk
Ellen Schuler Mauk, shown above in 1985, has been fighting to improve faculty working conditions at SCCC for over three decades.
just be slightly rearranged within the
Faculty Association.
At the February meeting of the FA
Executive Council, I announced that
I would not be running for re-election
as FA president in the upcoming FA
officer elections. I have decided to retire
at the end of the 2012-13 academic
year.
For many of you, I have been the
only FA president that’s even run
for the office since you’ve been at the
continued on page 4
1
2
3
4
Ellen Schuler Mauk retirement
FA spotlight: Troy Tucker
FYI and other news of note
34 years of union leadership
6
8
9
10
FA officers say, “Thanks, mom!”
Cuomo’s budget and community colleges
FA spotlight: Victoria Sinacori
Update on non-monetary MOA items
11
12
13
15
SUNY CID; AFT grants & scholarships
Adjunct update: Assignments
Spring FA elections
Promotion: Don’t fall through cracks
FASCC • The WORD
Before you even think it—yes,
there’s a bit too much drama implied in
this headline, especially when nothing
really earth-shattering is going to take
place.
The world will continue; it will
February 2013 • page 1 •
FA spotlight: Celebrating members’ success on campus
May the grant be with you
Money. The love of it is said to be the
root of all evil, and yet it is impossible to
run any institution without it. Keeping
us from being seduced by the dark side
is SCCC’s own Jedi knight, Dr. Troy
Tucker.
Troy is a grant specialist on the
Ammerman campus with a variety of
duties and responsibilities. He helps to
write large institutional grants for the
college; monitors state, federal, local
and private grant-giving agencies for
opportunities; and analyzes data about
SCCC in order to present information
in proposals. These proposals need
to be persuasive but also informative
regarding the college’s strengths and
needs.
Troy also assists faculty interested
in obtaining grant funds starting
with project design, proposal and
budget preparation, submission and
(hopefully) award receipt. He monitors
most of the grant-funded projects
underway at the college to help ensure
that the grants meet their objectives and
remain compliant with federal and state
regulations. Troy’s office must report
these results to upper administration
and the SCCC community as well
as guide college policies to make the
process of getting grants and managing
successful projects easier and more
accessible.
Cynthia Eaton.................Editor-in-Chief
FASCC • The WORD
Kevin Peterman..................PR Director
William Burns...............................Writer
Susan Rubenstein DeMasi.........Writer
• February 2013 • page 2
photo by Kevin Peterman
by William Burns
Troy’s goals are to increase the
college’s grant productivity and to
improve the college’s compliance and
management efficacy. Concurrent with
these obligations, he must increase
his own knowledge and skills through
research and networking.
Troy has been at SCCC for five
years. He was hired as grant specialist I
for the Office of Grants Development
and, beginning this semester, has been
promoted to grant specialist II. Troy
received his bachelor’s degree from the
University of Utah and his master’s
degree and Ph.D. from the University
of New Mexico, where he studied
anthropology.
After finishing graduate school,
he worked as a grant-funded research
scientist for ten years. During this time,
he wrote or co-wrote twenty-four grants
requesting more than $26.5 million.
He spent seven years of that time at
a scientific research company near
Stony Brook where he was responsible
for designing and managing multiyear projects for NASA, the EPA, the
Army Corps of Engineers, NSF, NIH
and Pfizer. Troy’s extensive knowledge
and experiences with government and
private sector institutions provided him
with the tools that he uses at SCCC.
The college community has been
friendly, helpful and welcoming from
the very beginning of Troy’s time here.
He enjoys working with administrators,
faculty and staff on all three campuses,
noting that everyone has made him feel
at home.
The true crucible was the roll-out
for the Title III project. Troy had to go
to each campus and speak about the
project as well as organize the Title IIIthemed professional development day.
He was worried that all of this exposure
might have worn out his welcome
at the college, but instead it led to
more opportunities to make friends
and increase enthusiasm for grantsponsored programs.
When he isn’t getting the college
multi-million dollar grants, Troy’s life
revolves around his family. He has
two young children and a working
continued on page 12
FYI: Highlights from the Executive Council
and other news of note
• Spring 2013 adjunct/overload
checks: According to payroll, for
the spring 2013 semester, there
will be seven adjunct/overload
paychecks beginning March 7 and
ending May 30 as follows:
March 7
March 21
April 4
April 18
May 2
May 16
May 30
• Prescription drug claim forms:
2012 Benefit Fund prescription
drug claims must be received by
Daniel H. Cook by April 30.
Because Express Scripts does not
mail prescription drug printouts,
you should go to www.expresscripts.
com and register your online
account for your prescription history. You can also obtain one from
your pharmacist(s).
The Prescription Drug Claim Form
is available at the Benefit Fund office,
Southampton 224D, Ammerman
campus, or on our website:
www.fascc.org/beta/docs/rx2010.
doc. For assistance, call Mary at
732-6500.
• Upcoming prescription benefit • EMHP claims deadline: Faculty
changes: EMHP has completed
must submit all unpaid 2012
the bidding process for the
medical claims to Empire Blue
prescription benefit provider and
Cross by March 31 to receive
the successful bidder is Optum Rx.
reimbursement for covered out-ofpocket expenses.
The change in our prescription drug
coverage is scheduled to take place • Locate your union dues in the
on April 1 and, at that time, we will
college portal: Did you know that
be required to use mail order for
union dues are tax deductible and
our maintenance drug coverage.
that you can locate your total dues
deductions in the MySCCC portal?
The county will issue an All
For instructions to obtain your total
Employees Memo in the near future
union dues deductions, follow the
detailing the change as well as what
link at the FA website: www.fascc.
we will need to do to change from
org.
Express Scripts coverage to Optum
Rx, the new drug provider, and to
In addition, the IRS requires
transfer our maintenance drugs to
nonmedical benefits to be listed as
the new mail order.
income, so you will find an item in
your earnings history regarding the
• Faculty development deadline:
legal benefit. It is $75 for full-time
FA members planning to apply for
faculty and $10 for adjunct faculty.
faculty development and retraining
for summer 2013 or the 2013-14 • Conference attendance funding:
academic year should contact FA
FA members have $1,400 available
secretary Marie Hanna for assistance
to support conference attendance
in completing the application,
until August 31, 2013, then the
which is due April 15.
funding increases to $1,500.
The panel sponsored by the FA is shown at right. Titled
“Together,” the artist is David Walker. The quotation below
it reads: “I believe all students should be a part of society.”
The exhibition is displayed at colleges and school districts
around Long Island.
FASCC • The WORD
A Faculty Association donation of $500 supported the
2013 Embracing Our Differences exhibition affiliated with
the Suffolk Center on the Holocaust, Diversity & Human
Understanding.
February 2013 • page 3 •
Ellen’s retirement
FASCC • The WORD
continued from page 1
college. For a few others, you may only
vaguely remember when I was elected
but you do remember that there were
others before me. Now, after 34 years as
FA president and 43 years as an SCCC
faculty member, it’s time for a change
and it’s the right time for me.
Unbeknownst to me when Suffolk
offered me my first teaching job out
of graduate school in 1970, the newly
formed Faculty Association was hard
at work negotiating its first contract.
You can imagine my surprise when I
received a letter, seemingly out of the
blue, from the college the summer
before I moved to New York indicating
that the salary offered to me would be
increased by $1,000 as the result of the
recently negotiated collective bargain-
• February 2013 • page 4
ing agreement.
This probably was the first sign that
I was going to have a good relationship
with the union but at the time I
was much too busy anticipating my
academic career to notice.
Nevertheless, I suppose the FA and
I “grew up” together at SCCC. As
circumstance would have it, I was an
FA member like most other faculty
members. I volunteered to serve on one
or two FA committees, marched on the
many informational picket lines we had
in those days and chaired a constitution
revision committee.
But then, again out of the blue, I
was asked to fill the unexpired term of
FA secretary when the elected secretary
accepted an administrative position.
Without realizing that I had made a
life-changing decision, I accepted the
position.
Then I ran for vice president and
was subsequently encouraged to run
for and was elected president when the
president I served with chose not to run
again. Back then, FA presidents ran for
one term, negotiated a contract and
then someone else ran for FA president.
Back then, I too had no intention of
running for more than one or, maybe
to break the pattern, two terms.
Over the years, as I matured, the
union also developed into a fullfledged labor organization that has
both challenged as well as partnered
with the college on behalf of the
membership just as it has become an
The current remaining officers—
Kevin Peterman, Joyce Gabriele, Marie
Hanna, Sean Tvelia and Cynthia
Eaton—are among the best that any
organization could wish for and any
president could hope to serve with.
They have the talent and the experience
to allow the FA to continue the world
as we know it. As they run for FA office
and develop their leadership team, I
know you will give them the support
and involvement you have given me
over the years.
As it was and will continue to be…
In solidarity,
Ellen
PS: Although I will be retiring from
SCCC, I will not be entirely stepping
away from the union. “Activism works”
even for retired members!
For the next year and a half, I will
continue to serve on the NYSUT
Board of Directors and the AFT
Higher Education Program and Policy Committee. In those positions I
will continue working with the FA
leadership as NYSUT and AFT work
on community college issues and
legislation.
And after that, who knows!
continued on page 6
FASCC • The WORD
active participant in the political and
legislative life of the county on behalf
of the membership.
And just as I became part of the lifeblood of the FA, the life-blood of the
FA certainly became part of me.
When I first started as an English
faculty member at SCCC in 1970,
becoming the FA president was not
part of my professional grand design.
But grand design or not, being the
FA president and representing SCCC
faculty has probably been the most
fulfilling career I could have hoped for.
I thank you all for that.
Over the years I have worked with
so many talented and dedicated faculty
members as part of the FA leadership
team.
February 2013 • page 5 •
The FA officers say, “Thanks, mom!”
Ellen has dedicated her 34 years
as president of the FA to make this
union the best community college
local in nation! Being re-elected
every two years for the last 34
years says it all!
Plus, Ellen is the only one I know
who enjoys the monthly Friday
EMHP meetings.
~ Kevin Peterman, Executive Vice
President
I will always remember how Ellen
makes people feel like any task can
be accomplished, that we have within
us the capacity to make the college a
better place for all.
She has given us the history of the
college along with the language that
has given us the best contract for a
community college in New York state.
Ellen has taken such good care of SCCC
faculty, and I am so proud to have
worked with her. Solidarity forever!
FASCC • The WORD
~ Marie Hanna, Secretary
• February 2013 • page 6
all photos pages 4-7 by Kevin Peterman
(except those in which he is featured)
Ellen has been so much
more than a president to
me; she has been a mentor
and a friend as well, guiding
me through one particularly
difficult professional situation.
Even when Ellen made decisions that did not coincide
with my beliefs, I didn’t care
because I have so much respect for the process by which
she arrives at her decisions.
As grievance officer I often consult
with Ellen regarding current problems
facing faculty. No matter the issue, at
some point Ellen will point in the air
and say, “Oh, wait a minute!” and reach
for a document that always seems to
be right on top of her desk. Inevitably
it’s just the policy or side letter I need to
win the grievance. I’ll miss that!
I am grateful for the ways her
fairness and objectivity and
her intellectual breadth have
shaped our union.
~ Cynthia Eaton, Adjunct
Coordinator
~ Sean Tvelia, Grievance Officer
And, of course, I’ll miss my “birthday
buddy” with whom I share not only
the date (not the year) but our middle
name.
~ Joyce Gabriele, Treasurer
FASCC • The WORD
We’ll miss Ellen’s extensive knowledge
of the history of the college and the
reasons we have every single contract
provision.
February 2013 • page 7 •
Cuomo’s budget flatlines community colleges
by Kevin Peterman
That did not just happen. We got it
because we used NYSUT’s website
to fax our legislators in Albany. We
made phone calls to state senators and
When Governor Cuomo released his assemblypersons. We got it because we
2013-14 executive budget on January visited legislators and explained our
22, I was hoping it would be different situation and needs.
The FA leadership will be going to
from past years. It was not.
The proposed budget provides for Albany several times in March to lobby
flat year-to-year overall state operating our elected officials.
aid to the SUNY campuses. As for
will
community colleges, the base aid • We
participate
support, known as full-time equivalent
in NYSUT’s
(FTE) support, is also the same as last
Committee
year.
of 100 on
But what needs to be noted is that
March 4-5. This is a group of more
the current FTE aid is $2,272. In last
than 500 NYSUT leaders from
year’s executive budget, the governor
K-12, higher ed, and SUNY health
again proposed no increase in base aid
care providers. We will make the
which was $2,122 per FTE.
case for more resources for more
The state Legislature increased the
investment in education and health
aid by 7 percent, adding $150 per FTE.
care.
In 2008-09 the funding level from the
state was $2,675 per FTE. As you can
see, community colleges are trying to • March 11-12 is NYSUT’s annual
Higher Ed Lobby Day. This is
return to a funding level we had several
where we can get to the specifics of
years ago. A flat rate is, in effect, a
SCCC’s needs. Spending the day in
decrease in aid.
the Legislative Office Building, we
While the executive budget provisit every senator and assemblyman
vides $3 million for community
from Suffolk County. Ellen Schuler
college performance-based economic
Mauk, Joyce Gabriele, Sean Tvelia,
development funding, that argument
Kevin McCoy, Matt Zisel and I
is not significant enough to have any
will be SCCC’s team this year.
real impact. Thirty community colleges
We will give specific examples of
would be “competing” for that $3
what SCCC needs and how that
million.
additional funding will help our
And consider the fact that 52
students.
percent of all SUNY students attend
those 30 community colleges across
the state. So while over half of SUNY’s We will be laying the groundwork for
students attend community colleges, you! In March we will be emailing you
the amount of state funding support and asking you to contact legislators. It
is a simple link, which takes very little
does not reflect those numbers.
The only way we can get the support time yet can produce big results. So
when we contact you and ask you to
we need is to get active!
Look what happened last year—we get active, please do it because activism
got a 7 percent increase in FTE aid. works!
FASCC • The WORD
Editor’s note: A version of this column
was printed as a letter to the editor in the
Feb. 5, 2013, issue of Newsday. • February 2013 • page 8
Our parent union, New York State
United Teachers (NYSUT), has
provided us with a summary of
the 2013-14 executive budget.
Here is what they said about SUNY
Community College Base Aid:
• The executive budget provides
state base aid to these
campuses at last year’s level
of funding in the amount of
$2,272 per full-time equivalent (FTE) student; however,
total state aid decreases by
$8.1 million for a total of
$431 million.
This decrease reflects a
reduction in the total amount
of projected student FTEs in
2013-14.
• Next Generation NY Job Linkage Program. The executive
budget provides for $3 million for community college
performance-based economic
development funding.
• Rental aid for leased space is
maintained at last year’s level
for a total of $11.6 million.
• Funding for child care centers
is reduced by $653,000 for a
total of $1 million.
• Funding for high need
programs ($1.69 million), contract courses ($1.88 million)
and low enrollment colleges
($940,000) are maintained at
last year’s levels.
FA spotlight: Celebrating members’ success on campus
Behind the lens
“A photograph is worth a
thousand words, so if that is
one way I can contribute to
the union that has spoken a
thousand words for me, I feel
like it’s the least I can do.”
Victoria enjoys working with students in many
capacities. In addition to
taking photographs that
are used in college videos,
advertisements and publications, she signed on
last year as advisor to the
photography club on the
Grant campus.
A native of Long
Island who grew up in
Farmingville,
Victoria
attended Pratt Institute
where she earned a BFA
with a concentration in
photography. Her work
has been featured in
gallery shows on Long
Island and in Manhattan,
with photographs chosen
for the two most recent
Long Island Biennial
Artist Showcases at the
Hecksher Museum in
Huntington.
Her artistic interests extend into
areas other than photography. Last
semester she took a neon-light design
class in Brooklyn. This semester she is
enrolled in a challenging but enjoyable
glass-blowing class.
Victoria’s community service activities in recent years include working
with the Long Island Latino Teachers
Association. In that capacity, she
photographs and speaks at the annual
women’s conference and participates in
the group’s career day held for middle
school students.
Victoria has shared her talent with
the FA too, taking photographs for The
WORD. “I want to continue doing
that, to contribute even more in the
future. I hope to participate in more
community outreach events and intend
to join Team FA for the next Making
Strides Against Breast Cancer walk.”
Being part the FA since she started at
SCCC has made Victoria appreciate all
that the union does: “I really appreciate
the FA lobbying for my professional
career and the medical benefits I
have come to greatly appreciate since
becoming a member. A photograph is
worth a thousand words, so if that is
one way I can contribute to the union
that has spoken a thousand words for
me, I feel like it’s the least I can do.”
There is one place where Victoria
will (mostly) be on the other side of her
camera. That will be at her wedding,
planned next year at the Riverhead
Aquarium. Anyone who knows her,
however, also won’t be surprised if they
see her grab a camera and start snapping
photos of her own special event.
FASCC • The WORD
You might not know her name, but
surely you’ve seen her. She’s the one
racing around with a camera at most
college events, capturing and preserving
important moments in the lives of our
students, staff, faculty and institution.
From commencement to sporting
events to theatre productions, Victoria
Sinacori, professional assistant
in
library/media services, has the talent,
personality and energy to cover the
multitude of SCCC events held every
year.
The resulting images can be seen
on the college website and numerous
SCCC publications. Her creativity is
also on display in the many Long Island
landscapes and campus scenes she’s
photographed, enlarged and framed to
help beautify college buildings.
For Victoria, who came to the
college four years ago, photography
is not only a career, it is her passion.
When asked for this profile what she
likes to do for fun, she answered, “I
like to take photographs. Photography
is my life. I’m very fortunate to have
a career which lets me do something I
love on a daily basis.”
“I enjoy all of the events,” she added.
“and the opportunity to meet students,
faculty and staff, whether it’s an ESL
graduation, honors convocation or
student activities day. When President
McKay throws out the first pitch at a
baseball game, the photographs I take
not only preserve the moment but also
promote the college.”
photo by Victoria Sinacori
by Susan Rubenstein DeMasi
February 2013 • page 9 •
Update on 2011-15 memo of agreement: Non-monetary items
by Ellen Schuler Mauk
Back in 2010, during negotiations
for the 2011-2015 contract, the college
and the FA immediately addressed
monetary issues which are outlined
in the memorandum of agreement
(MOA) on the FA website (www.fascc.
org/contract.asp). As noted in that
MOA, it was also agreed that a labormanagement committee would meet
from 2011-15 to address ongoing nonmonetary issues.
Recent discussions have resulted
in agreements on the following issues
that the membership had indicated, via
surveys and during meetings, were of
importance to them. The college and
the FA have agreed to the following:
Election of chairs
FASCC • The WORD
• Contractual language to revoke
the provisions of Article IV.J.4
Academic Chairs and to substitute
the following in its place and
stead...to commence with elections
in spring 2013 with terms to begin
in the fall 2013 semester.
4.a. When a vacancy occurs for
the position of academic chair
or assistant chair or when an
incumbent has served for three
academic years if no vacancy exists,
the appropriate executive dean/
campus CEO shall notify members
of the department/discipline at
least two weeks prior to the election
that nominations/applications for
the position(s) should be forwarded
to his/her office. A job description
and the conditions of employment
will be sent out with the call for
applications/nominations for the
position.
b. No sooner than two weeks
after the announced vacancy, the
• February 2013 • page 10
executive dean/campus CEO shall • Contractual language formalizpresent the confirmed faculty
ing that DE mentors can include
nominations/applications
to
adjuncts. Current language only
the department/discipline and
includes full-time faculty.
shall hold an election, by written
and sealed ballot, the results of • Contractual language that defines
which shall be made known to
emergency assignments (specific
department/discipline
members
language still to be determined) for
and shall be submitted to the
which non-classroom faculty may
president by the executive dean/
be given compensatory time on
campus CEO. The submission
an hour for hour basis. Individuals
shall consist of the complete list of
(the faculty member and his or her
applicants and nominees with the
supervisor) would have to sign off
final vote tally for each. At his/her
on the assignment and the comp
sole and absolute discretion, the
time would be taken within a
president may appoint one of these
specified period of time. Comp
individuals to the position.
time must be used within the
semester it was earned or the time
c. The same procedures and time
will be lost and such time will not
frames will be utilized for the
be paid upon separation.
election of the assistant academic
chair. However, if the election • Contractual language for reassigned
for the position of the assistant
time equivalents to be placed in
academic chair is as a result of the
the contract. Specific language
election of the academic chair, the
will be agreed to that defines nontime frames to be utilized will be
contractual time that is granted at
one week for nominations and one
the sole discretion of the college
week to vote.
and that requires a minimum time
commitment/contact hour, i.e., a
d. Academic chairs and assistant
minimum of 35 clock hours for
academic chairs who stand for
one contact hour of reassigned time
election shall continue to accrue
and multiples of that.
discipline seniority.
• Contractual language indicating
Other issues
the non-classroom faculty who
can teach COL101 and COL105
• Contractual language that the
during the day and under what
adjunct professional development
circumstances. If approved, the
money will be divided into $10,000
hours will be an exception to the
each semester (rather than $20,000
current contract prohibition on day
each year) and allow for any money
overload. Subject to the approval
left over from the fall semester to
of the supervisor, the time will be
be carried over into the spring
worked and made up the same
semester for allocation. All other
day as the day overload as part of
language in the current agreement
an acceptable approved schedule.
remains, i.e., first come, first served
each semester.
continued on page 11
by Bill Burns
On April 5, on the Michael J. Grant
campus, SCCC will host a one-day
multidisciplinary SUNY Conversations
in the Discipline conference entitled
Digital Humanities and the Transformation of Scholarship. It is funded
by a grant from SUNY with additional
support from SCCC.
In addition to digital poster and
panel sessions throughout the day, the
guest speaker for the conference will be
Will Hermes, author and senior critic
for Rolling Stone magazine. The focus
of the conference will be on how the
digital age has transformed academic
work and research in the humanities.
Presenters will include nationally
and regionally recognized scholars such
as Dr. Hugh J. Silverman from Stony
Brook University, Dr. Derek Owens
from St. John’s University and Dr. Alex
MOA update
continued from page 10
The approval to teach and of the
scheduled time for the hours to
be made up must be approved in
advance of the class acceptance.
The schedule of times to make up
the hours must be mutually agreed
to.
Reed from SUNY Buffalo.
SCCC faculty members will also
be well represented on the panels and
in sessions. Colleagues from all three
campuses such as Martha Kinney,
Kevin McCoy, Mary Ann Miller,
Bruce Seger and Gertrude Postl will be
discussing topics like scholarship and
research in the digital academy; digital
humanities and practice: composition,
reproduction, transformation; and
authority and identity in the digital
text-world. Students will also have
opportunities to contribute to the
conference through a student/faculty
digital art exhibition and to participate
in sessions.
For more information, contact
Karen Dovell or Sue Demasi, or use
the conference email address: cid@
sunysuffolk.edu.
the college will review the training
and make a decision on the
frequency. All new employees to
the college willl be required to
take the training during their first
semesters even if the college isn’t
conducting training for all other
fall and part-time faculty. The
training is mandatory for all fulltime and adjunct employees of
the college. Adjuncts who do not
comply with the requirement will
be subject to removal from the
seniority list until such time as the
training is completed. Also, specific
training for all members of the
discrimination/sexual harassment
committees.
• Specific training for all FA
members
without
additional
cost to the college in the areas of
discrimination/sexual harassment,
unlawful harassment for higher
education, diversity, EEO and
Discrimination in Higher Ed,
Bullying Prevention in Higher Ed
and OSHA Right to Know. The • Faculty who retire must return their
initial training will take place over
college IDs and if requested will be
a period of 18 months. Thereafter,
issued a new ID that states retired.
AFT offers ten $1,000
grants and four
$8,000 scholarships
by Cynthia Eaton
Continuing your education for
promotion or for other professional
reasons? Looking for funding sources
in addition to the professional development funds we’ve negotiated for you?
The AFT’s Robert G. Porter Scholars
Program can help!
Full-time and adjunct FA members
who have at least one year as an AFT
member in good standing are eligible
for ten $1,000 grants from the Porter
Scholars Program. These grants are
designed to help members continue
their education in their field of work.
In addition, if you have a child who
is a high-achieving graduating senior
with plans to attend college, the AFT
offers four $8,000 scholarships.
Porter, the late AFT secretarytreasurer, was a dedicated union activist
from the time he joined his first AFT
local until his death in 1991. For
nearly four decades, he gave his all to
education.
Began in 1993, the Porter Scholars
Program has awarded almost $500,000
to help AFT members learn more about
labor and to further their education as
well as to support members’ dependents
in their educational pursuits.
Students applying for scholarships
as well as members applying for grants
must write an essay in addition to
completing the appropriate application
Learn more at www.aft.org/benefits/
scholarships/eligibility.cfm.
Applications are due April 1, 2013.
FASCC • The WORD
FA members help plan, will participate in
SUNY Conversations in the Disciplines
February 2013 • page 11 •
Adjunct update: Assignments
by Cynthia Eaton
Questions often arise
about how adjuncts’ seniority
ranking can seem to increase
or decrease radically from
semester to semester. This
happens because the seniority
lists are constantly in flux.
For example, say that you
were ranked #14 college wide
in your department in fall
2012, and you discover that
you are ranked #20 in spring
2013. Why does this happen?
A number of factors come into play:
FASCC • The WORD
• Some adjuncts only work in the
fall or in the spring semesters.
• Adjuncts can remain on the
seniority list for up to eight
semesters without receiving an
active assignment.
• Seniority is calculated on both
number of semesters served and
number of contact hours served.
• Seniority is college wide, so
the seniority list in your home
campus department/area doesn’t
give the full picture.
So if you were ranked #14 last fall, but
this spring three more senior adjuncts
who are spring-only get assignments,
another more senior adjunct who has
been away for two years comes back
and gets an assignment, and two peers
earned more contact hours than you
did last fall, then you could easily find
yourself suddenly ranked #20.
Adjunct faculty also call with this
question about assignments: “How do
I know if a class or assignment should
have been given to me if I don’t know
which adjuncts are more or less senior
than me?”
Every adjunct at SCCC has the right
to know their seniority standing in
relation to others in their department
or area. You can now log into MySCCC
• February 2013 • page 12
and see how many semesters and hours
you have. Click the faculty tab, then
adjunct faculty seniority.
Now, what about other adjuncts?
To find out, contact the Office of
Faculty and Professional Advancement
(OFPA) and give the names of the
specific individuals whose seniority
rankings you’d like to know.
Sometimes adjuncts ask me,
as adjunct coordinator, to do this
for them. I cannot do this because
assignments are made not on seniority
alone but also on campus preference,
certifications and the availabilities that
you entered in your NORA form. Since
you know that information, you should
look at all of the courses/assignments,
see which ones you believe should
have been given to you, make a list of
the adjuncts currently holding those
specific assignments, then call OFPA
with those names.
Again, OFPA cannot provide you
with a set seniority list but if you give
them specific names, they can confirm
whether or not those adjuncts are
less senior than you. If a less senior
adjunct has been given an assignment
for which you’re certified, on a campus
and during a time that you listed as
available in your NORA form, then
you should contact your chair and/or
me immediately.
Troy Tucker
continued from page 2
spouse. At home, the family dynamic
is all about science, art, and education,
trying to make the world a better place.
Troy credits his “millennial” kids and
“brilliant” wife as the catalysts for his
civic engagement.
These personal interests extend into
his work as he seeks to design and find
support for innovative educational
programming. Troy also is an avid
horror and science fiction fan, amateur
astronomer and all around geek.
In the next five years, Troy hopes
that the Obama administration’s
support for community colleges will
result in a plethora of grants and
resources for educational reform and
workforce development investments.
He believes that SCCC could be
the beneficiary of many of these
opportunities, particularly in the areas
of science, technology, engineering and
math (STEM), offering innovations in
alternate energies and renewable and
sustainable technologies.
Troy dreams of creating a National
Science Foundation Regional Advanced Technology Center at SCCC.
This is one of the largest and most
prestigious grants a community college
can be awarded and it would bring
together a large number of faculty and
programming from all three campuses.
He would also like to see more
proposals to the National Endowments
for the Humanities and Arts and grants
from the state department to bring
foreign scholars to the college to teach
as well as sending our faculty and
students abroad. These opportunities
can become a reality through facultyled initiatives, such as the SUNY
Conversations in the Disciplines
conference that will be held at SCCC
in the spring. Helping to make these
visions a reality, Troy Tucker is the
Force.
It’s election season in the FA
by Marie Hanna
As chair of the elections committee, I remind the membership that elections are being held for all six of the officers positions
and several Executive Council seats, according to the rules in Section VII.B. of the FA election procedures, which reads
in part that “The EC rep in each constituency shall be designated the elections chairperson of that consituency, and shall
conduct elections, unless he/she is running for office, in which case an acting elections chairperson shall be designated.”
The names of officers and EC reps whose terms are expiring are in parenthesis. This is the election timetable:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
March 14, 12 p.m. April 1, 12 p.m. April 18, 3:30 to 4 p.m.
April 22, by 5 p.m.
May 7, 12 p.m.
May 9, 3:45 p.m.
June 4, 1 p.m. Request for nominations (form available at www.fascc.org/docs/nomination2013.docx)
Close of nominations (nominations must be submitted to FA office in writing)
Close of voting
Ballots will be mailed to all registered FA members
Close of voting, ballot counting
Certification of election results at EC meeting
Terms begin for elected officers and EC reps
FA Officers and Delegates
• President (Ellen Schuler Mauk)
• Executive VP (Kevin Peterman)
• Treasurer (Joyce Gabriele)
• Secretary (Marie Hanna)
• Grievance Officer (Sean Tvelia)
• Adjunct Coordinator (Cynthia Eaton)
• Delegate (Lisa Aymong)
• Delegate (Tim McHeffey)
Full-time Representatives
Ammerman
•
•
•
•
•
•
Eastern
• Science, Math, Social Science, Business, Nursing, Culinary, PE (Anthony Napoli)
Grant
• Business, HVAC, CIS, Technology, ETU Coordinator (Pete DiGregorio)
• Social Sciences (Andrea Macari)
• Natural Sciences (Deborah Wolfson)
Nursing, Health and Human Services, Physical Education (Lisa Aymong)
Math (Jane-Marie Wright)
Communications, Languages, Reading, TV/Radio/Film (Dante Morelli)
Library, Central (Michelle Fowler)
Social Sciences, Behavioral Sciences, Criminal Justice (Denise Haggerty)
Counseling and Cooperative Education (Karen Pepe)
In the case of at-large college-wide, constituent-based PA representatives as well as the adjunct representatives, the FA
elections committee will conduct elections.
College-wide Constituent-based Representatives
• Programmatic (Maureen Arma)
• Instructional Labs (Deb Kiesel)
• Business, Accounting, Communications, Telecom (vacant)
• Counseling, Education, Freshman & College Seminar (Darlene Aiken)
• Culinary, Fire Protection Technology, Library, Electrical Tech, Drafting, Interior Design
(Priscilla Pratt)
• Science, Engineering, Automotive (Doug Cody)
• English (vacant)
• Humanities (Michelle LaPorte)
• Math (Russell David)
• Guild/Retiree, PA/Specialist - Programmatic (Chris Gherardi)
FASCC • The WORD
Adjunct Representatives
February 2013 • page 13 •
Promotion criteria for full time and adjunct faculty
by Kevin Peterman
Time in Rank Criteria
Full-time Faculty
•
•
•
•
•
•
promotion to assistant professor promotion to associate professor
promotion to professor
promotion to professional assistant (P1)
promotion to professional assistant (P2)
promotion to specialist 2
•
•
•
•
•
•
three (3) years as instructor
four (4) years as assistant professor
five (5) years as associate professor [with mid-term evaluations]
four (4) years as professional assistant
four (4) years as professional assistant (P1)
four (4) years as specialist 1
Adjunct Faculty
• promotion to adjunct assistant professor • promotion to adjunct associate professor
• promotion to adjunct professor
• promotion to adjunct professional assistant (P1)
• promotion to adjunct professional assistant (P2)
• ten (10) semesters and thirty-nine (39) teaching hours as adjunct
instructor
• fourteen (14) semesters or fifty-four (54) teaching hours as
adjunct assistant professor
• eighteen (18) semesters or sixty-nine (69) teaching hours as
adjunct associate professor
• fourteen (14) semesters as adjunct professional assistant
• fourteen (14) semesters as adjunct professional assistant (P1)
Educational Requirements*
Below are the general educational requirements for each rank. There are some variations for some areas. In addition, faculty
may request a substitution of performance/experience for credits toward promotion. Please check the FA website for a
complete list of educational requirements and for the credit substitution form: Request For Substitution of Performance/
Experience/CEU’s/Undergraduate Credit for Credits Toward Promotion. For faculty hired before 8/28/06, these are the
minimum educational requirements for promotion:
•
•
•
•
•
•
promotion to assistant professor
promotion to associate professor
promotion to professor
promotion to professional assistant (P1)
promotion to professional assistant (P2)
promotion to specialist 2
•
•
•
•
•
•
masters
masters plus 18 credits
masters plus 36 credits
bachelors
bachelors plus 15 credits
masters
FASCC • The WORD
For faculty hired on or after 8/29/06, these are minimum education requirements for promotion:
•
•
•
•
•
•
promotion to assistant professor
promotion to associate professor
promotion to professor
promotion to professional assistant (P1)
promotion to professional assistant (P2)
promotion to specialist 2
•
•
•
•
•
•
masters plus 6 credits
masters plus 21 credits
masters plus 36 credits or two masters
bachelors
bachelors plus 15 credits
masters
* Faculty who need to take courses to meet the above criteria must have prior approval from their campus executive dean.
• February 2013 • page 14
Don’t fall through the promotion cracks
by Kevin Peterman
professor are eligible to apply for
My annual reminder of the timepromotion to associate professor by
in-rank criteria and educational
June 15, 2013.
requirements for promotion is provided
•
Full-time faculty hired with the
at left on page 14.
rank of associate professor or
For this year’s promotion cycle, then,
granted a promotion to associate
here’s the time in rank information you
professor on or before September
need to know:
2009 or hired January or February
2010 with the rank of associate
• Full-time faculty hired with the
professor are eligible to apply for
rank of instructor on or before
promotion to professor by June 15,
September 2011 or hired January or
2013.
February 2012 are eligible to apply
for promotion to assistant professor • Full-time faculty hired with the
rank of PA, PA1 or specialist or
by June 15, 2013.
granted a promotion to PA, PA1 or
• Full-time faculty hired with the
specialist on or before September
rank of assistant professor or
2010 or hired January or February
granted a promotion to assistant
2011 with the rank of PA, PA1
professor on or before September
or specialist are eligible to apply
2010 or hired January or February
for promotion to PA1, PA2 or
2011 with the rank of assistant
specialist 2 (respectively) by June
15, 2013.
Note: If you were an adjunct for at
least 30 credit hours and then hired as
full-time faculty member, the time in
rank needed for the first promotion is
reduced by one year.
All promotions will be effective
September 2014.
Promotion Workshops
Grant: Wed 3/13 11-12:30
Sagtikos 259
Ammerman: Wed 3/20 11-12:30
Southampton 30
Eastern: Wed 4/3 11-12:30
Peconic 228B
Faculty Association 2012-13 Executive Council
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ellen Schuler Mauk — President
Kevin Peterman — Executive Vice President
Marie Hanna — Secretary
Joyce Gabriele — Treasurer
Sean Tvelia — Grievance Officer
Cynthia Eaton — Adjunct Coordinator
EC Reps: Ammerman Full-time
• Kevin McNamara — Accounting, Business
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Administration, Business Information Systems,
Legal Studies
Matt Pappas — Biology, Physical Sciences
Dante Morelli — Communications,
Languages, Reading, TV/Radio/Film
Karen Pepe — Counseling, Cooperative
Education
Mike Simon — Engineering, Computer
Science/Industrial Technology
Maria Kranidis — English
Michelle Fowler — Library, Central
Jane-Marie Wright — Math
Alex Nohai-Seaman — Music, Visual Arts,
Theatre, Philosophy, Women’s Studies
Lisa Aymong — Nursing, Health and
Human Services, Physical Education
Denise Haggerty — Social Sciences,
Behavioral Sciences
EC Reps: Eastern Full-time
EC Reps: Collegewide Adjuncts
• Louise Johnston — Library, Humanities,
• vacant — Business, Accounting,
• Tony Napoli — Science, Math, Social
• Darlene Aiken — Counseling,
Counseling
Science, Business, Nursing, Culinary, Physical
Education
EC Reps: Grant Full-time
• Pete DiGregorio — Business, HVAC, CIS,
•
•
•
•
Technology, ETU Coordinator
vacant — Humanities
Mohini Ratna — Library, Counseling, Media
Deborah Wolfson — Natural Sciences
Al Heraghty — Nursing, Health Science,
Physical Education, Veterinary Science
• Andrea Macari — Social Sciences
EC Reps: Professional Assistants
Full-time
• Maureen Arma — Programmatic
• Deb Kiesel — Instructional Labs
• Steve Ortiz-Rios — Technical Areas/
Instructional Centers
Communications, Telecom
Education, Freshman & College Seminar
• Priscilla Pratt — Culinary, Fire
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Protection Technology, Library, Electrical
Tech, Drafting, Interior Design
vacant — English
Marshal Stein — Foreign Languages,
ESL, ASL, Reading
Chris Gherardi — Guild, Retiree, PAs/
Specialists in Programmatic Areas
Michelle LaPorte — Humanities
Russell David — Math
Sarahjeanne Goldstein — Nursing,
Physical Education, Health Sciences
Maureen Sandford — PAs/Specialists in
Academic Skills Centers
MaryAnne Ellinger — PAs/Specialists in
Instructional Labs
Doug Cody — Science, Engineering,
Automotive
Frank DiGregorio — Social Sciences
New York State United Teachers
• Jonathan Rubin — Labor Relations
Specialist
FASCC • The WORD
Officers
February 2013 • page 15 •
Faculty Association
Suffolk Community College
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FASCC • The WORD
Ellen Schuler Mauk, right,
pauses after choking up during her
announcement at the Feb. 14 Executive
Council meeting that she plans to retire
at the end of this academic year.
The surprise announcement created
an emotional moment as the over two
dozen EC reps in attendance gasped at
the news and teared up too. Her tireless
work on behalf of the membership led
many to believe that we’d continue
have the benefit of her smart, capable
leadership for a long time to come.
Schuler Mauk had intended to
read aloud the letter of resignation
she had prepared to send to President
McKay but when emotions took over,
FA secretary Marie Hanna finished
the letter on her behalf.
Schuler Mauk spoke of the deep
honor she feels at having been able to
work in the service of her colleagues,
the SCCC faculty, for the past three
decades. “It’s the right time for me to
retire,” she told the EC reps, but also
assured them that she would continue
her union work in other capacities.
Emotions took over again when
she received a standing ovation from
everyone in attendance.
• February 2013 • page 16
photo by Kevin Peterman
Ellen Schuler Mauk to retire after 34 years as FA president