The conditions of both Syracuse University’s libraries and its enrollment numbers were highly debated at this month’s University Senate meeting.

In addition to a greeting from Chancellor Kent Syverud, other motions were passed at Wednesday’s meeting at 4 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium. The Senate voted to add several new classes to the university’s curricula, as well as to raise the stipend given to graduate student assistants.

To begin the meeting, Syverud gave a short speech detailing his first 72 hours in office. He said he wants to continue to familiarize himself with senate operations and university management. To do that, Syverud said he wants to host a faculty forum to discuss issues facing the university.

“This is a great private university and all of us together can make it even better,” he said.

One of the more heavily debated topics among the Senate was SU’s increased student enrollment, which was a part of a report by the Committee on Budget and Fiscal Affairs, presented by Craig Dudczak, committee chair and associate professor of communications and rhetorical studies.

SU’s endowment, which constitutes about 4 percent of the university’s budget, is lower today than it was six years ago, Dudczak said. But other numbers, such as tuition, financial aid, student debt and the number of international students have increased.

Several members of the Senate voiced their concerns with the cyclical pattern of admitting more students to receive more money but not having the resources to teach those students.

“The process of seeking a solution is actually happening right now,” Dudczak said.

There was a 19.6 percent increase in undergraduate enrollment between 2004-2011, with a 2.4 percent increase in the last year. This year, 16 percent of all students at SU are international students. Eleven percent of this year’s entering class are international students — a 253 percent increase over seven years, according to the report.

This led to a discussion about the resources provided for both international and graduate students, which were found to be insufficient.

After the presentation of these numbers, the Committee on Budget and Fiscal Affairs presented two recommendations: To set a minimum stipend of $13,000 for full-time graduate teaching for 2015 with a plan to raise minimum graduate stipends and to provide basic budget support for the Slutzker Center for International Services. Both recommendations passed unanimously.

Patrick Neary, president of the Graduate Student Organization, said he was happy to see the motion pass, adding that the current stipend is not enough for students’ research and course work.

The Senate Committee on the Library’s report discussed the state of the university’s libraries. Deborah Pellow, committee chair and anthropology professor, outlined the results of a blue ribbon panel review of the libraries conducted in 2012.

“The SU Libraries have suffered a long history of neglect,” she began. “It has been egregious over the last 10 years.”

SU’s library system and the condition of its special collections are considered inadequate for the size and ambition of the school, according to the report.

Getting enough money to fix these problems has been a long-term issue, said Pellow. SU Libraries received just $500,000 during the 2012-2013 academic year. For SU to become one of the Top 50 colleges in the Association of Research Libraries, it would need $7 million, in addition to regular increases because of inflation, according to the report.

Terry McConnell, committee chair and mathematics professor, presented the Curricula Committee’s report, which included a motion to add new classes to the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Information Studies and Martin J. Whitman School of Management. The motion passed unanimously without discussion.

Some of these new classes include: AAS 412: “Hurricane Katrina: Race, Class, Gender & Disaster”; GET 305: “Globalization, Culture and Information Technology”; and MAR 407: “Sales Management in B2B Markets.

Other business discussed:

–       The Committee of Appointments and Promotions expressed concerns about the promotions system in place, such as who should decide promotions and how.

–       Robert van Gulick, a philosophy professor, made a point about the business and engineering schools being more cautious of the criminal activity happening at JPMorgan Chase, with whom the schools are closely connected.

Published on January 16, 2014 at 2:50 am

Contact Maddy: mjberner@syr.edu