EINSTEIN SENATE MEETING
January 5, 2011
Minutes
The December minutes were approved.

Dean’s Report
Dean Allen Spiegel announced that a Faculty Recognition Nominating Committee is in the process of being formed.  This new committee will work to identify and nominate Einstein faculty for honorific awards and membership in prestigious societies.  The Dean differentiated this from the long-standing Einstein Awards Committee, which is currently being refreshed and a new Chair appointed.  Robbie Burk was acknowledged for his many years of devoted service as Chair of this committee.  Finally, the Dean reported that he is in the process of reviewing the Einstein Faculty Mentoring Report, a document that arose from the Faculty Mentoring Retreat held in May 2010.  He indicated that many of the recommendations in the report will be implemented, and that this is a very high priority.

Speaker’s Report
Senate Speaker Jeff Segall announced the faculty members of the Senate Council for 2011.  They are Aviv Bergman, John Blanchard, Harris Goldstein, Susan Horwitz, Todd Olson, Ellie Schoenbaum, Vic Schuster, Pamela Stanley, Elyse Sussman, and Jon Warner.  He also thanked the outgoing members for their past service.  Elections for the student and postdoc members of the Senate Council have not yet been decided. 

Committee on Committees
The current compositions of the Senate standing committees (i.e., Quality of Life, Benefits, and Legal) were presented for approval by the Chair of the Committee on Committees, Vinayaka Prasad.  The Senate formally approved the composition of all three committees.

Victoria Freedman:  An Update from the Graduate Division
Vici Freedman, Assistant Dean for Graduate Studies, gave an update on the activities of the Graduate Division.  She described the results of the “Graduate Student Study,” which was designed to answer several important questions regarding the future of the graduate school, including whether the size of the incoming class should be altered and how best to reduce the average time-to-degree.  From this work, the Graduate Committee concluded that the size of the incoming class should be maintained, and now several mechanisms have been put in place to better monitor student progress in an attempt to reduce the average time-to-degree.  Vici also announced the creation of the Training Grant Task Force which was formed about eighteen months ago and has led to the centralization of the training grant application process within the Graduate Division.  The recently expanded Career and Professional Development Program was also highlighted.