University Assembly Meeting

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

• Term:
  2025-2026
• Assembly/Committee: University Assembly
• Date & Time:
  Tue, Jan 27, 2026 - 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. December 2nd meeting minutes

  
  III. Business of the Day
       a. Final Draft of the Ombuds Report
       b. Campus Code Committee Resolutions (attachments)
       c. Speakers for the rest of the term

  
  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. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Carbon Neutral Campus Steering Committee
       d. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Education & Engagement Steering Committee
       e. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Campus Operations Steering Committee

  
  VII. Open Forum

  
  VIII. Adjournment

  University Assembly Agenda January 27th, 2026 final.docx (46.45 KB)
• Meeting Packet:
• Audio Recording:
  UniversityAssemblyMeetingRecordingFebruary92026.m4a (49.9 MB)
• Minutes:

  I. Call to Order
       a. Chair I. Gatimi called the meeting to order at 4:48 PM.
       b. Members Present: A. Aftab, D. Bateman, V. Bell, N. Brennan, S. Bruyere, J. Butcher, E. Chaudhuri, J. Chobirko, Z. deRham, E. De Rosa, E. Gainor, A. Garcia-Ortiz, I. Gatimi, A. Haenlin-Mott, S. Resue, C. Tarala, W. Treat
       c. Members Absent: M. Benda, A. Cardenas, K. Nguyen

  
  II. Call for Late Additions to the Agenda
       a. None.

  
  III. Approval of the December 2nd meeting minutes
       a. W. Treat motioned for future meeting minutes to be in past tense.
            i. I. Gatimi motioned to amend current meeting minutes in accordance.
            ii. A. Garcia-Ortiz seconded the motion.
            iii. The motion passed by unanimous consent.
       b. D. Bateman motioned to amend the minutes and change the word choice of “emphasizes” in line item 5(a)(i)(1) to “said.”
            i. J. Chobirko seconded the motion.
            ii. The motion passed by unanimous consent.
       c. S. Bruyere motioned to approve meeting minutes.
            i. J. Butcher and J. Chobirko seconded the motion.
            ii. The meeting minutes were approved by unanimous consent.

  
  IV. Business of the Day
       a. Final Draft of the Ombuds Report
            i. The assembly reviewed the Ombuds Final Report.
       b. Campus Codes Committee Resolutions
            i. J. Butcher presented Resolution X: Institution of Core Values as a Positive Governance Document to the assembly.
                 1. J. Butcher addressed questions, comments, and recommendations from the assembly.
                 2. J. Chobirko motioned to end the discussion.
                      a. W. Treat seconded the motion.
                      b. The discussion ended with unanimous consent.
                 3. J. Chobirko motioned to table the resolution.
                      a. W. Treat seconded the motion.
                      b. This resolution had been tabled for the next meeting.
            ii. J. Butcher presented Resolution X: University Assembly Authority to Appoint Members to Governance Committees to the assembly.
                 1. J. Chobirko motioned to extend the presentation period by 2 minutes.
                      a. A. Garcia-Ortiz seconded the motion.
                      b. The motion passed with unanimous consent.
                 2. J. Butcher addressed questions and concerns from the assembly.
                 3. J. Chobirko motioned to end the discussion.
                      a. D. Bateman and A. Garcia-Ortiz seconded the motion.
                      b. The discussion ended with unanimous consent.
                 4. J. Chobirko motioned to table the resolution.
                      a. A. Garcia-Ortiz seconded the motion.
                      b. This resolution had been tabled for the next meeting.
            iii. D. Bateman introduced Resolution X: Resolution Regarding Proposed Student Code of Conduct Reform to the assembly.
                 1. D. Bateman addressed comments and suggestions from the assembly.
                 2. J. Chobirko motioned to end the discussion.
                      a. A. Garcia-Ortiz seconded the motion.
                      b. The discussion ended with unanimous consent.
                 3. J. Chobirko motioned to table the resolution.
                      a. A. Garcia-Ortiz seconded the motion.
                      b. The resolution had been tabled for the next meeting.
            iv. D. Bateman introduced Resolution X: Campus Codes Committee’s Involvement in the Student Code of Conduct Review and Revision Process to the assembly.
                 1. J. Butcher and D. Bateman addressed comments from E. Gainor regarding the resolution.
                 2. J. Chobirko motioned to end the discussion.
                      a. A. Garcia-Ortiz seconded the motion.
                      b. The discussion ended with unanimous consent.
                 3. J. Chobirko motioned to table the resolution.
                      a. A. Garcia-Ortiz seconded the motion.
                      b. The resolution had been tabled for the next meeting.
                      c. Speakers for the rest of the term
                           i. I. Gatimi updated the assembly on the current list of speaker topics, including:
                                1. Transportation Updates
                                2. Health Promoting Campus
                                3. Campus Sustainability Programs
                                4. AI Innovation
                                5. Healthcare Costs
                           ii. I. Gatimi clarified that not all meeting slots are booked, and the list above are considerations.
                           iii. I. Gatimi reminded the assembly to email her or A. Haelin-Mott if there are any guest speaker recommendations.

  
  V. Assembly Reports
       a. Student Assembly
            i. Made sure that undergraduates can maintain their Wall Street Journal subscriptions.
            ii. Had a listening session for Codes and Procedures Review Committee.
                 1. Z. deRham answered J. Chobirko and elaborated on how the listening session went.
       b. Graduate and Professional Student Assembly
            i. The university librarian came to discuss changes to library fundings.
            ii. J. Chobirko presented on the final charge of the Special Grants Committee.
       c. Employee Assembly
            i. Michelle Artibee, Director of Workforce Wellbeing, shared informative resources to staff about how to stay mindful of your personal wellbeing.
            ii. The Representative for Health of Safety stepped down.
            iii. Planned to host an Employee Assembly Coworker Coffee on March 11th from 11 AM to 12 PM, the location is to be determined.
            iv. The last meeting of the year is scheduled for May 13th and held as a hybrid meeting.
            v. President Kotlikoff and Interim Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Sean Moeller is scheduled to visit Employee Assembly on March 4th.
            vi. Had the special meeting listening session yesterday.
       d. Faculty Senate
            i. Had a special meeting with President Kotlikoff and Provost Bala last Wednesday and discussed the following three topics:
                 1. Public safety
                 2. Federal agreement
                 3. Timeline for the Student Code of Conduct review
            ii. Next meeting is scheduled for February 11th

  
  VI. Committee Reports
       a. Executive Committee
            i. Had been planning out speakers and discussing next steps for resolutions.
            ii. President Kotlikoff and VP of University Relations Kyle Kimball is scheduled to visit the University Assembly on February 24th.
            iii. A. Haenlin-Mott reminded the assembly of I. Gatimi’s email today and submit questions for the Q&A through the Qualtrics form by February 10th.
       b. Campus Codes Committee
            i. The resolutions were updated during the meeting – no report otherwise.
       c. Campus Welfare Committee
            i. The next meeting is scheduled for January 29th.
            ii. J. Chobirko addressed W. Treat’s comment and requested for individuals to email him personally if they are not receiving emails or being contacted from the Campus Welfare Committee.
            iii. J. Chobirko answered S. Bruyere’s question and stated that the last meeting was from 12 PM to 12:30 PM and occurred virtually.
       d. Campus Committee on Infrastructure, Technology, and the Environment
            i. A. Aftab sent out an email today to schedule a meeting.

  
  VII. Liaison Reports
       a. Campus Planning Committee
            i. No report.
       b. Coalition for Sexual Violence Prevention
            i. No report.
       c. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Carbon Neutral Campus Steering Committee
            i. The next meeting is scheduled for February 13th.
       d. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Education & Engagement Steering Committee
            i. No report.
       e. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Campus Operations Steering Committee
            i. No report.

  
  VIII. Open Forum
       a. W. Treat addressed B. Platt’s comments regarding Cornell’s governance bodies.

  
  IX. Adjournment
       a. N. Brennan motioned to adjourn the meeting.
            i. J. Chobirko seconded the motion.
            ii. The meeting was adjourned with unanimous consent

  Jan 27 UA Meeting Minutes.pdf (122.71 KB)