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Cornell University

Office of the Assemblies

University Assembly Meeting

Tuesday, October 21, 2025

  • Term:
    2025-2026
  • Assembly/Committee: University Assembly
  • Date & Time:
    Tue, Oct 21, 2025 - 4:45pm
    to
    6:15pm
  • Location:
    401 Physical Sciences Building/Zoom
  • Agenda:

    I. Call to Order
          a. Roll Call
          b. Land Acknowledgment of the Gayogo̱ho:nǫ (Cayuga Nation)
          c. Call for Late Additions to the Agenda


    II. Approval of the Minutes
          a. September 16th meeting minutes


    III. Business of the Day
          a. Katie King, Associate Vice President, Cornell Office for Civil Rights
          b. Avery August, Deputy Provost and Special Advisor to the Presidential Task Force on Institutional Voice


    IV. Assembly Reports
          a. Student Assembly
          b. Graduate and Professional Student Assembly
          c. Employee Assembly
          d. Faculty Senate


    V. Committee Reports
          a. Executive Committee
          b. Campus Codes Committee
          c. Campus Welfare Committee
          d. Campus Committee on Infrastructure, Technology, and the Environment


    VI. Liaison Reports
          a. Campus Planning Committee
          b. Coalition for Sexual Violence Prevention
          c. Student Health Benefits Advisory Committee
          d. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Carbon Neutral Campus Steering Committee
          e. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Education & Engagement Steering Committee
          f. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Campus Operations Steering Committee


    VII. Open Forum


    VIII. Adjournment
    University Assembly Agenda October 21, 2025.pdf (107.23 KB)
  • Meeting Packet:
  • Audio Recording:
  • Minutes:

    I. Call to Order
         a. Chair I. Gatimi called the meeting to order at 4:59 PM.
         b. Members Present: A. Aftab, D. Bateman, I. Gatimi, W. Treat, J. Butcher, A. GarciaOrtiz, E. Gainor, E. deRosa, E. Chaudhuri, J. Chobirko, K. Nguyuen, N. Brennan, C. Tarala, Z. deRham.
         c. Members Absent: V. Bell, M. Benda, A. Cardenas, S. Bruyere, A. Haenlin-Mott, S. Resue
         d. Also Present: R. Platt.


    II. Land Acknowledgement of the Gayogo̱ho:nǫ(Cayuga Nation)


    III. Call for Late Additions to Agenda
         a. None.


    IV. Approval of 9/30 meeting minutes
         a. I. Gatimi motions to amend the minute date to September 16.
         b. N. Brennan motions to move N. Brennan’s attendance to present.
         c. Minutes approved by unanimous consent.


    V. Business of the Day
         a. Katie King (Associate Vice President, Cornell Office for Civil Rights) Presentation
              i. K. King gave an overview of the COCR which offers a variety of civil rights work for both students and employees.
              ii. K. King fielded questions from members.
         b. Avery August (Deputy Provost and Special Advisor to the Presidential Institutional Voice) Presentation
              i. A. August gave an overview of the Task force on Institutional Voice, its charge and membership and draft recommendations.
              ii. A. Avery responded to questions and collected comments from members.
         c. I. Gatimi reminds the UA that recommendations and suggestions for the presenting offices are due November 14th.


    VI. Assembly Reports
         a. Student Assembly
              i. President Kotlikoff came to speak, voted to pass resolution 10, which incited crowd opinions.
              ii. Passed a resolution that recommends enforcing disability accommodations.
              iii. Finished vacancies for:
                   1. Human Ecology representative.
                   2. Brooks School of Public Policy representative.
                   3. First generation student representative.
                   4. AAP representative.
         b. Graduate and Professional Student Assembly
              i. Great meeting:
                   1. Filled UA committee appointments and vacancies within their own bodies.
                   2. Considered funding Annabelle’s Grocery for the next two years.
                   3. Concert commission presentation.
                   4. Ivy plus coming this weekend.
                   5. Next meeting is on Oct 27th.
         c. Employee Assembly
              i. Passed a resolution: Staff Inclusion on University Committees and Reviews.
                   1. Urges to include more staff in future campus committees.
              ii. Will have a special meeting regarding upcoming changes to benefit rates this coming Thursday.
              iii. Next regular meeting is on Nov 5th.
                   1. Guest speaker Kathy Burkgren about professional growth opportunities.
              iv. President Kotlikoff will come to speak on Dec 3rd.
              v. Jan 8th will be the President’s Address to Staff, still waiting for the location.
         d. Faculty Senate
              i. Next meeting is on Oct 22nd.
                   1. Office of Civil Rights and General Counsel will come in to discuss how the university handles complaints of discrimination.


    VII. Committee Reports
         a. Executive Committee
              i. Planning out speakers.
              ii. President coming in December meeting – preparing for this.
              iii. Katie King and Institutional voice came to present.
         b. Campus Codes Committee
              i. There were many interests in a variety of different resolutions.
              ii. Will hopefully come forward with a few resolutions next meeting.
         c. Campus Welfare Committee
              i. Had a follow up meeting.
              ii. Planning to have first official meeting on Nov 3rd .
         d. Campus Committee on Infrastructure, Technology, and the Environment
              i. Scheduled to meet next week for the first time.
                   1. Email will be sent out later.


    VIII. Liaison Reports
         a. Campus Planning Committee
              i. First meeting is Nov 7th.
         b. Coalition for Sexual Violence Prevention
              i. First meeting will be in early November.
         c. Student Health Benefits Advisory Committee
              i. Met with Dean Love last week regarding the university’s response to sexual assault on campus.
              ii. Talked with Task Force and shared a preliminary report regarding this issue.
              iii. Still unsure if there is a UA liaison for this committee this year.
         d. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Carbon Neutral Campus Steering Committee
              i. Positions still vacant – no report.
         e. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Education & Engagement Steering Committee
              i. No report.
         f. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Campus Operations Steering Committee
              i. No report.


    IX. Open Forum
         a. W. Treat brings up work location attestation form – wishes to maintain accurate employee records – asks individuals to confirm current work and home location, which raises anxiety. Concerns regarding tax implications that the university is responsible for. Concerns regarding remote working continuity.
              i. E. deRosa explains how there are more regulations regarding how NYS is paying people working within NYS and that it’s only to verify working statuses.


    X. Adjournment
         a. I. Gatimi motions to adjourn.
              i. N. Brennan seconds to adjourn.
         b. Meeting is adjourned by unanimous consent

    UA Oct21 Meeting Minutes.pdf (147.58 KB)