The Ithaca College Faculty Council met Jan. 21 for its first meeting of Spring 2025 to give feedback on survey questions for next year’s benefits cycle from the Faculty and Staff Benefits Committee.
The council opened the meeting by adopting the Jan. 21 agenda and unanimously accepting the minutes from its Dec. 3 meeting.
David Gondek, chair of the council and associate professor in the Department of Biology, brought up potentially reducing the number of committees faculty are required to serve on, and the required number of participants on each committee.
Gondek said that since 2019, there has been a 30% decrease in full-time equivalent faculty positions. He proposed combining committees that serve similar purposes — like the Dana Professor Selection committee and the Honorary Degree Advisory Committee — to reduce the required service from faculty committees.
“Where possible, we’re going to try and cut service,” Gondek said. “Or where possible, we’re going to consolidate service.”
The council then gave feedback on an upcoming survey from FSBC that will assess faculty and staff priorities and preferences for next year’s benefits cycle. FSBC serves as a liaison to the Office of Human Resources for current and proposed changes to benefits. Possible additions to the benefits include pet insurance and legal coverage.
One question on the survey asks how faculty would propose covering any deficits when the college is facing a large increase in claims.
Some members of the council had concerns about the question, including Rachel Wagner, professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religion, who said any option the college chooses would still reduce employees’ take-home pay.
“When I look at these options, … it’s all passing more costs onto me,” Wagner said. “Every single one of them is passing more costs onto me, and that is a sick tax.”
Cynthia Henderson, professor in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, shared a similar sentiment to Wagner about how additional benefits could increase the amount faculty and staff are paying.
“When does this stop?” Henderson said. “It’s definitely felt like almost every year we’re picking up more of the cost.”
The council made a plan to ask representatives from FSBC to rewrite the survey to be more clear and to include examples in its questions. Gondek said he plans to have a member from FSBC come to the council’s Feb. 4 meeting to help them deliberate the survey before members discuss it with their schools and departments.
The Ithaca College Faculty Council meets on the first Tuesday of every month in the Taughannock Falls room of the Campus Center from 4–6 p.m. The faculty council can be contacted at [email protected]
News Editor Kaeleigh Banda contributed reporting
