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Cornell University

Office of the Dean of Faculty

Connecting & Empowering Faculty

Faculty Senate – August 5, 2020

Date and Time: Wednesday, August 5, 3:30-5:00pm

Zoom Link
Links to audio and chat below.

Agenda

Announcements [ slides  ]

Preliminary discussion of the Anti-Racism Initiative: Summer Update and Fall Plans [20 min, slides ]

Neema Kudva and Charlie Van Loan

Open Discussion on Reopening Activity including an update from the Modeling Team by Professor Peter Frazier. [60 min, slides ]

Some Reopening readings:

Answers to NYS Assemblyperson Barbara Lifton’s Reopening Questions (7/23)
Additional Questions from NYS Assemblyperson Lifton (7/30)
Modifications to the Quarantine Plan  (7/30)
Clarification of the Modified Quarantine Plan  (8/4)

Slide Deck

Meeting Recording (audio) (chat)

Meeting Minutes

4 thoughts on "Faculty Senate – August 5, 2020"

  1. Three key questions have arisen during my consultation with my faculty colleagues. I would welcome them being addressed in our Wednesday meeting:
    Re. the COVID-19 planning:
    How does the policy change announced by the President last week affect the model predictions undertaken by the Frazier group?
    How should/are the model predictions being updated due to the influx of students ahead of the university’s rollout of widespread testing AND ahead of their “behavioral compact” with the students?
    Re. the pay reduction/benefits reductions:
    Much is made of the University compliance with federal law regarding student grades being held in confidence (scanning fo faculty computers, no emailing of grades etc). Would anyone involved like to comment on/apologize for the violation of faculty and staff rights to privacy during the recent open email communication regarding pay reduction/benefits reductions?

  2. I just read the president’s response to representative Lipton’s questions. They are wonderful questions, and the answers are wholly unsatisfactory. In particular the answers to questions 2 and 14 are inconsistent. One claims we have no control over off campus students if campus is closed, which is false. The other claims we have total control over off campus students because we know who they are and where they live and we can require testing and prevent partying. The truth is our control over off campus students is independent of campus opening. Opening in-person instruction only brings more students to ithaca. It has no other effect on off campus students. Both the president and the Frazier model are wrong to use it to justify opening. We should demand a reconsideration of this ill-conceived opening decision.

    • This is of course the crux of the matter. If we must open because there will be no control over off campus students if we don’t open, the administration must concede that there will be no control over off campus parties and other social events if they do open, a major concern of neighboring residents. They have not shown how it can be both ways.

  3. Both the president’s behavioral contract and Frazier model restrict student parties to 50 people. So, we are going to allow lots of parties of up to to 50 people. I don’t know if they realize that students go to multiple parties in a given night. How is it different to go to 5 parties of 50 people than it is to go to one party with 250 people? The fact is that limiting the size of parties is a useless exercise, and any conclusions drawn from that restriction is likely to be nonsense. I suggest we all write to the governor’s office and and ask him to stop this risky and nonsensical experiment of prematurely opening the campus.

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