The academic year’s first meeting of the Binghamton University Council occurred the morning of Friday, Sept. 16.
The BU Council is a group of 10 members, consisting of nine members that are appointed by the governor of New York and one Binghamton University student who is elected by the student body at the end of each academic year. Members of the Council are generally prominent members of the community, such as the president of United Health Services, Inc. and a retired New York state attorney general.
The group has supervisory powers of a variety of administrative functions at the University, from nominating candidates for president of the University to naming buildings on campus.
“The Council is the governing body of the University and President [Harvey] Stenger’s boss,” said Nicholas Ferrara, president of the Student Association (SA) and a senior majoring in political science. “One notable thing the Council does itself every spring is approve the Code of Student Conduct for the following year.”
In their first meeting of the semester, Stenger, Student Representative Ryan Sheppard and Chief Diversity Officer Valerie Hampton each spoke to the Council and summarized the previous year, outlined plans for the coming year and addressed events that have already occurred on campus this semester.
Stenger reviewed his State of the University address and went over macro trends with the Council members. He praised the change in the University calendar, which changed freshman move-in day to a Sunday, instead of the traditional Thursday. This change offered parents with full-time jobs more flexibility to help with moving in.
“Move-in on a Sunday was a brilliant idea,” Stenger said. “We are going to repeat that at least two more times.”
According to Stenger, the new move-in day also led to the highest attendance rate for University Fest in years.
He further stated that the University has surpassed 17,000 students and that all growth since last year has been among graduate student programs. The count of undergraduate students has remained steady at 13,500.
Even with the growth in revenue from an enlarged student body, Stenger expressed some concern regarding BU’s budgetary situation. He emphasized that the University has contingency plans for any amount of funding Albany decides to grant.
“We’re in a year of uncertainty,” Stenger said. “There is no SUNY 2020 legislation. So what do you do in times of uncertainty? You plan.”
Sheppard generally praised the University administration and the SA’s work thus far, specifically noting the “It’s On Us” campaign against sexual assault, efforts to revise the Student Code of Conduct and increased Off Campus College Transport bus system efficiency.
“The blue bus system has come light years since I first came here as a freshman,” Sheppard said.
Hampton presented on the progress of the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She noted progress in hiring underrepresented minorities due to targeted hiring initiatives run by her division. She emphasized the need to continue and expand this type of recruiting.
“We have to make sure we are creating a holistic retention activity and a holistic recruiting activity so folks want to come here and stay with us,” Hampton said.
Hampton also described the process of converting bathrooms to gender-neutral facilities, which was undertaken last year. She noted some difficulty and roadblocks in the process, but expressed relief that the change was made successfully.
“I laugh because it has been an interesting experience,” Hampton said. “One would think something as simple as providing more access for a population of humanity would be a simple thing. What I’ve discovered in my line of work is that you have to find just the right time.”