University Assembly Meeting

Tuesday, March 17, 2026

• Term:
  2025-2026
• Assembly/Committee: University Assembly
• Date & Time:
  Tue, Mar 17, 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. February 24th, 2026 meeting minutes
  
  III. Business of the Day
       a. Health Promotion Initiatives on Campus: Julie Edwards, Michelle Artibee and Greta Kenney
       b. University Hearing and Review Panel Assemblies 
       c. Leadership Breakfast Updates 
       d. Resolutions Discussion
            Resolution 1: Resolution Regarding Proposed Student Code of Conduct Reform
            Resolution 2: Campus Codes Committee's Involvement in the Student Code of Conduct Review and Revision Process
            Resolution 3: Institution of Core Values as a Positive Governance Document
            Resolution 4: University Assembly Authority to Appoint Members to Governance Committees
            Resolution 5: Single-Use Plastic Phaseout
  
  VI. 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
   

• Meeting Packet:
• Audio Recording:
• Minutes:

  I. Call to Order
       a. Chair I. Gatimi called the meeting to order at 4:46 PM.
       b. Members Present: A. Aftab, D. Bateman, V. Bell, M. Benda, S. Bruyere, J. Butcher, E. Chaudhuri, J. Chobirko, Z. deRham, E. De Rosa, E. Gainor, I. Gatimi, A. Haenlin-Mott, C. Tarala, W. Treat
       c. Members Absent: N. Brennan, A. Cardenas, A. Garcia-Ortiz, K. Nguyen, S. Resue
       d. Also Present: J. Edwards, C. Levine, B. Fortenberry
  
  II. Land Acknowledgement of the Gayogo̱ho꞉no (Cayuga Nation).
       a. I. Gatimi stated the UA’s acknowledgment of the Cayuga Nation.
  
  III. Call for Late Additions to the Agenda
       a. None.
  
  IV. Approval of the February 24th meeting minutes
       a. A. Aftab motioned to approve the meeting minutes. The meeting minutes were approved with unanimous consent.
  
  V. Business of the Day
       a. Health Promotion Initiatives on Campus Presentation from Julie Edwards, Michelle Artibee and Greta Kenney
            i. J. Edwards spoke about the philosophies, guiding principles, and frameworks to support students’ physical and mental wellbeing. The presenter introduced an upstream (laws, policies, and cultural norms), midstream (health education, wellness programs, and screenings), and downstream (crisis services, treatment, and intervention) system to aid students with their personal needs and its benefits.
            ii. J. Edwards addressed questions from the assembly regarding the $20 million grant from the Ceriale family, when to reach Cornell Health in the case of difficult and offensive situations, and updates on CAPS.
       b. University Hearing and Review Panel
            i. I. Gatimi reminded the assembly of an email sent out earlier to solicit interest in filling student, faculty, and staff positions within the University Hearing and Review Panel under the Student Code of Conduct. The term runs from June 1st, 2026, through May 31st, 2028. To sign up, you cannot be a part of the Student Assembly or GPSA, but you can be a part of the assembly’s committees. The interest form was due on April 1st, 2026.
       c. Assemblies Leadership Breakfast Updates
            i. I. Gatimi brought up topics discussed during the Assemblies Leadership Breakfast, including security on campus and the Student Code of Conduct. Regarding revisions to the Student Code of Conduct, temporary suspensions were renamed emergency suspensions. There are now a higher threshold and more documentation needed to admit these suspensions. Suspensions still have a restriction on how long it can last for.
            ii. V. Bell followed up on campus security and noted how one can embed
  digital ads across campus to increase access of information overall.
                 1. J. Chorbirko noted the potential this has for election promotions.
       d. Resolutions Discussion
            i. D. Bateman clarified that this meeting served to gain last minute feedback
  and comments, and the assembly would vote on these resolutions in later meetings.
            ii. Resolution 1: Resolution Regarding Proposed Student Code of Conduct Reform
                 1. W. Treat pointed out that lines 79 and 83’s “Be it further resolved” should be bolded.
                      a. E. Gainor said that this had been taken care of.
                 2. J. Butcher and D. Bateman addressed J. Chobirko’s question of the usage of “temporary suspensions” or “emergency suspensions” in the resolution.
                      a. I. Gatimi suggested to use “temporary or emergency” consistently throughout the resolution.
            iii. Resolution 2: Campus Codes Committee’s Involvement in the Student Code of Conduct Review and Revision Process
                 1. D. Bateman stated that major edits were aimed to soften and change the language around the Campus Codes Committee’s mandates and frame the resolution within the current situation of the University.
                 2. With respect to line 69 about appointing the chair of the Office of Student Code of Conduct and Community Standards, J. Chobirko asked if there is interest in including other assemblies that contribute membership to the Campus Codes Committee instead of just saying the “UA and the Campus Codes Committee.”
                      a. W. Treat noted that since the UA acts as the umbrella assembly for all the other constituents’ assemblies, it is unnecessary to list other assemblies that contribute membership to the committee.
                      b. J. Butcher provided clarifications and distinctions between Resolutions 2 and 4.
            iv. Resolution 3: Institution of Core Values as a Positive Governance Document
                 1. J. Butcher noted minor edits that addressed typos, summarized how the purpose of this resolution is to institutionalize a document that inform people of Cornell’s value in a more positive light, and suggested how people should be informed of these values prior to joining this institution. D. Bateman added on that substantive edits were also made to reflect feedback given during the January meeting.
                 2. J. Butcher addressed W. Treat’s question about how line 39, the requirement of having to acknowledge the core values statement for all prospective students before enrollment at Cornell, will be enforced and answered that it would be through a Qualtrics form.
                      a. J. Butcher answered V. Bell’s question on the tangibility of using a Qualtrics form to enforce this requirement.
                 3. V. Bell suggested that the resolution should add another “be it therefore resolved” statement to address the question of where the attestations should go for before and after admittance to Cornell.
                      a. I. Gatimi noted that the resolution should address both prospective and admitted students for Cornell’s core values.
            v. Resolution 4: University Assembly Authority to Appoint Members to
  Governance Committees
                 1. D. Bateman summarized the purpose of Resolution 4: to ensure that the UA and other assemblies can designate people to their own committees. Recent edits to this resolution include incorporating feedback from January to broaden the assignment to all appropriate assemblies instead of just the UA and shortening the time from 60 to 30 days on line 53.
                 2. D. Bateman discussed with and noted feedback from the assembly regarding the process and timeline of assembly member designations with respect to the 30-day period, wording of line 45, and an acknowledgement statement of an Employee Assembly resolution.
            vi. Resolution 5: Single-Use Plastic Phaseout
                 1. A. Aftab noted the resolution’s focus on eliminating single-use plastics over the span of 5 years and offered the floor to Professor C. Levine. The speaker brought up implications of and Cornell’s lag in phasing out single-use plastics relative to other universities, as well as current actions being taken to figure out the costs, wastes, and labor that a phase out would entail. Special scenarios were also  considered, such as single-use plastics that are meant for medical purposes.
                 2. A. Haenlin-Mott suggested that it would be helpful to further operationalize the definition and range of single-use plastics.
                 3. C. Levine clarified for W. Treat that the resolution was presented at one of EA’s committees, not the assembly. C. Levine and B. Fortenberry addressed W. Treat’s question on how a campus wide cultural shift to decrease single-use plastic usage would be enforced.
                 4. J. Chobirko motioned to extend the meeting by 10 minutes to 6:25 PM. The motion passed with unanimous consent.
                 5. A. Haenlin-Mott suggested that the resolution should include more information as to what counts as single-use plastics.
                 6. C. Levine answered V. Bell’s question about the vendor list to
  replace single-use plastics and whether the resolution would address Cornell’s recycling process.
                 7. C. Tarala suggested to acknowledge all the organizations that contributed to writing this resolution. Further discussion was needed to determine where to put the acknowledgements.
                 8. J. Chobirko emphasized line 70 and how pipettes should be an exception due to its importance in research, despite being large contributors to single-use plastics.
  
  VI. Assembly Reports
       a. Student Assembly
            i. Z. deRham said that 50 resolutions had been discussed since last report, including internal funding and disbursement, Cornell Tech, and printing caps per class. In addition, the assembly voted on the new Student Activity Fee allocation and went through the first round of interviews for a new director for the Office of Ethics.
                 1. Z. deRham answered J. Chorbiko’s question of whether the newly
  proposed student activity fee is higher or lower than the original.
       b. Graduate and Professional Student Assembly
            i. J. Chobirko noted that the assembly is aiming to fill the vacant Big Red Barn manager position for the next two months. The Special Grants Resolutions had all passed and been approved by the President, so the GPSA had been working on getting the disbursements out.
            ii. D. Bateman motioned to extend the meeting by 5 minutes to 6:28 PM. The motion passed with unanimous consent.
            iii. J. Chobirko noted that the GPSA is voluntarily interviewing candidates for the Big Red Barn manager, but they are not the ones in charge of the barn.
       c. Employee Assembly
            i. W. Treat mentioned that President Kotlikoff and Interim VP and CHRO Sean Moeller came and answered questions from the EA on March 4th.
            ii. The Director of Faculty and Staff Assistance visited the EA on March 18th and presented on the wellbeing and mental health resources available to staff. Marin Clarkberg and Steve Jackson from Institutional Research Planning also came to speak about the accreditation process for the university. Two incidental vacancies, Health and Safety Representative and the Black, Indigenous, and Person of Color Representative, had been filled.
            iii. A mandatory candidate information session was held on March 17th. Results for the newly elected EA members for vacant seats shall be out by mid April. An organizational meeting is planned for April 15th, where the 2026-2027 EA Executive Committee members will be appointed.
            iv. Full program details regarding the limited voluntary retirement incentive
  were sent out on March 23rd, and eligible individuals had been contacted
  directly.
       d. Faculty Senate
            i. E. De Rosa reported that the President and Provost attended the meeting on March 11th, where Kyle Kimball, the VP of University Relations, also  introduced himself. 2 resolutions came to the senate: revising the procedures of policy 6.4 and the mandate to produce an annual report on academic freedom. Professor Levine also presented on phasing out single-use plastics.
  
  VII. Committee Reports
       a. Executive Committee
            i. No report.
       b. Campus Codes Committee
            i. D. Bateman reported a long meeting talking about resolution revisions.
       c. Campus Welfare Committee
            i. J. Chobirko noted a meeting at the end of the March to put together a resolution addressing Todd Bittner’s concerns for the Campus Codes Revision.
       d. Campus Committee on Infrastructure, Technology, and the Environment
            i. A. Haenlin-Mott reported adding comments to a resolution to expand sinks in areas where they are used frequently, especially to encourage using reusable tools.
  
  VIII. 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. V. Bell reported that all committees are meeting next month.
       d. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Education & Engagement Steering Committee
            i. No report.
       e. Sustainable Cornell Council’s Campus Operations Steering Committee
            i. No report.
  
  IX. Open Forum
       a. None.
  
  X. Adjournment
       a. D. Bateman motioned to adjourn the meeting. The meeting had adjourned by
  unanimous consent.

  Mar 17 Updated UA Meeting Minutes .pdf (140.33 KB)