Transcript Intent to Raise Questions - California State University

Intent to Raise Questions
Responses to questions from February 24, 2015
A. Morris: Bike Sharing
 A. Morris: request for administration to look at enhancing
bike share – are there funds available to help faculty
purchase bikes? Reasoning = enhances efficiency due to
faculty spending less time getting to / from appointments
/ classes given current parking “issues”
Response from Ray Porras,
Director of Parking and Transportation Services:
 I have been researching Bike Share Programs for the
campus and have found The Collegiate Bicycle
Company which is currently in use at UCSB. I am open to
any suggestions regarding bicycle programs that the
Senate may have. I am currently working on building the
next phase of parking on University Dr. We are also
looking at the feasibility that we can have sufficient
financial resources to be able to provide an electric
shuttle program to assist transporting people from these
distant parking lots.
L. Sanchez: CI Outreach to Local
High Schools
 Luis Sanchez: what plans does CI have for outreach to
local high schools? Is there any existing outreach
program where CI ensures that local high school
students, especially those in underserved communities,
view our campus as a viable option to earn a college
degree?
Ginger Reyes, AVP/Director of
Admissions and Records:
 List of schools that CI actively recruits at within local area (56 high
schools & 8 community colleges)
 2013-2014 Recruitment Calendar (anything in yellow are the
activities we have done specifically for our local area schools)
 2014-2015 Recruitment Calendar to date (anything in yellow are
the activities we have done specifically for our local area schools)
 Currently, I have a staff of 3 full time recruiters who conduct visits
and represent CI at on and off campus events. I also utilize them to
assist with the admission evaluation processing of our 15,000
applicants. We work with a travel budget of about $18,000 so any
expansion of activities, service or recruitment area will be
dependent upon resource availability.
S. Kelly: Information Request by FPC
 S. Kelly: question directed at VPs for Academic Affairs,
Student Affairs, Business and Financial Affairs, Technology
and Communication – According to the By Laws of the
Academic Senate, the charge of the Fiscal Policies
Committee is to “review the University’s annual budget” and
make “policy recommendations concerning the optimum
utilization of resources in the achievement of university
academic objectives.” To comply with this charge we
require information from the major divisions of the University.
Through the office of the Provost, the Fiscal Policies
Committee has requested information from each of the
major divisions of the University regarding the use of
resources in their areas. Do you intend to supply the Fiscal
Policies Committee with this information? If so, what is your
timeline for doing so?
Response from G. Hutchinson:
 G. Hutchinson had received info, and forwarded to VPs –
meeting who met the next day. The VPs responded to
Fiscal Policies with a statement of willingness to
participate in an open process and hoped for a better
timeline for discussions in the future.
 Strategic Resource Planning Taskforce is following
through on this request.
J. Meriwether: Status of BA in Global
Studies Degree Program
 J. Meriwether: pleased to get President Rush’s email
about new Doctorate in Education degree program;
however, please provide an explanation to faculty as to
why the BA in Global Studies degree program –
approved by the Academic Senate a full year prior to
the Ed.D. program – has yet to be approved by the CO
and has now been leapfrogged.
Response from William Cordeiro, AVP
MVS School of Business:
 Early February the CO was asked about the BA in Global
Studies Degree. The response was they were busy
preparing for the Trustees Meeting and would respond
later.
 In the meantime, a letter of support for the EdD was
obtained from the Chancellor as a special request to
meet the WASC deadline and sent directly to Dr. Gary
Kinsey
 The CO said they will review the BA in Global Studies
soon.
A. Perchuk: Tree Trimming
 A. Perchuk: is it possible to trim the large palm tree on the
north side of Camarillo Road, which is protruding into the
breakdown and travel lanes, causing a hazard for
motorists, cyclists and pedestrians?
Response from R. Banuelos:
 Thank you for alerting us to campus safety issues. This
palm tree was trimmed on 3/11/15.
 If you have any other concerns of this nature, please feel
free to contact us at 805-437-8464.
A. Jimenez: Use of Humanely-raised
Animal Products at Food Services
 A. Jimenez: are Food Services on campus taking any
steps to include animal products that are humanely
raised? If so, what are these steps? If not, please explain
why not.
Response from Erik Blaine, AVP for
Administrative Services:
 University Glen Commercial Services is in its 5th year of
providing food services to the CI and University Glen
communities. A fact that places it in comparable
infancy when matched against most nationwide
university food services. Since its inception UGC
Commercial Services has embraced sustainable
practices where economically possible. All of the coffee
we have served since opening is certified Fair Trade and
organically grown.
Response continued…
 When faced with the inability to utilize washable plates
and silverware in Islands because of infrastructure
limitations that did not allow the building of a dish room,
a fully compostable product line was introduced to
maximize that sustainable effort. During the early Spring
Semester this year all seafood served in UGC facilities is
certified by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.
This program recommends which seafood to buy or
avoid, helping you select items that are fished or farmed
in ways that have less impact on the environment.
Response continued…
 A natural next step is to consider “humanely raised
animal products.” Products to be considered are cage
free eggs, free range chicken, and pasture raised grass
fed beef. Unfortunately the cost increases associated
with conversion to these products is significant. The
difference between our current pricing for eggs and
cage free eggs is a 106% increase. Similarly, the average
cost difference with conversion to humanely raised
animal products represents an average 61% increase
over current pricing.
Response continued…
 Based on our current average usage a complete
conversion to the new product line is estimated to
represent an annual cost increase of over $100,000.
Based on this significant cost increase, and other
economic pressures including implementation of the
Affordable Care Act, a minimum wage increase and the
implementation of sick leave for hourly employees, it is
not feasible to convert our product line at this time.
B. Monsma: Public Outdoor Shared
Spaces
 B. Monsma: can there be attention devoted to creating
more public outdoor spaces that can be shared use
among students, faculty and staff? Recently, outdoor
eating/meeting space has been privatized and fenced
in, and plans for new dining spaces will also be private. If
public funds are used to provide space to meet the
business model of a contractor, can funds also be
designated to meet the non-commercial needs of the
community? These spaces are essential for creating the
kind of community that CI has long articulated itself to
be.
Response from John Gormley, Campus
Architect/Senior Director, Planning Design &
Construction:
 The short answer is yes, we are constantly looking for
opportunities to create more programmable exterior spaces
for instructional, gathering and other co-curricular uses. In
fact, there is an area just to the east of Del Norte Hall
adjacent to Madera Hall that was developed as part of that
project for that purpose. Sierra Hall has a second floor
terrace that has similar uses. We have outfitted the second
floor terrace in the Bell Tower with tables and chairs, as well
as the Bell Tower East Courtyard. We also provided space in
the Burgess Courtyard (the renovated courtyard between
the Bell Tower and Student Union). Both student housing
villages have significant exterior spaces for programmable
uses, and Student Housing Phase III will also have outdoor
space for gathering.
Response continued…
 The primary reason we don’t have more exterior space
for gathering though is an issue of available financial
resources. We have plenty of courtyard spaces that can
be transformed into usable space, so with opportunities
for capital projects, we always attempt to create an
inviting exterior environment that supports both the
physical beauty of the campus, but also the academic
mission as well.