Einstein Senate

Senate Meeting: Wednesday, July 10, 2024

  • Dr. Tomer presented the Dean's Report. He reviewed the proposed updates to the appendix to the bylaws, which impact the MD Curriculum Committee, Committee on Student Promotions and Professional Standards, and Einstein Council for Diversity and Inclusion. The changes reflect the way these groups are already functioning and are needed to comply with LCME. The Senators then voted via Poll Everywhere and were unanimously in favor of approving the edits. This is the second vote required to make the approval official; the first vote at the June meeting also approved the changes without any dissenting votes.
  • Dr. Tomer next discussed the recent tragic death of MD-PhD student Karen Tong, and how Einstein immediately responded to support Karen's close collaborators, fellow students, boyfriend, and family. He also spoke about the fire on Friday, June 5th in the 1945 Eastchester Building, including the cause, the sequence of events, and the lessons learned for the future.
  • The Dean finished by updating the Senate regarding the incorporation of the feedback received on the Strategic Plan during its public posting. The updated Strategic Plan will hopefully receive approval from the Board of Trustees shortly and begin implementation. In addition, the faculty promotion criteria are being revised to give more emphasis to teaching Einstein students and that draft is projected to come to the Senate for a vote in August.
  • Dr. Arnsten announced that the next Senate meeting will take place, per the usual pattern, on the first Wednesday of August. The date of the July meeting was an exception due to the July 4th holiday. The meeting attendees were also asked to talk to their departments about becoming or remaining Senators now that the new academic year has begun. Finally, Dr. Arnsten answered a question about the updated faculty promotion criteria, which will ideally be ready for Senate approval next month so they can be use starting in the upcoming cycle.
  • There was no additional old or new business at this meeting.