§ 353 — State university trustees

New York § 353

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law EDN: Education
• Title 1: General Provisions Article 1 Short Title and Definitions (§§
• Art. 8: State University and State Financial Assistance For Higher Education

Text

§ 353. State university trustees. 1. The state university shall be\ngoverned, and all of its corporate powers exercised, by a board of\ntrustees. Such board shall consist of eighteen members, fifteen of whom\nshall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the\nsenate, one of whom shall be the president of the student assembly of\nthe state university, ex-officio and voting, one of whom shall be the\npresident of the university faculty senate, ex-officio and non-voting,\nand one of whom shall be the president of the faculty council of\ncommunity colleges, ex-officio and non-voting. Such ex-officio members\nshall be subject to every provision of any general, special, or local\nlaw, ordinance, charter, code, rule, or regulation applying to the\nvoting members of such board with respect to the discharge of their\nduties, including, but not limited to, those provisions setting forth\ncodes of ethics, disclosure requirements, and prohibiting business and\nprofessional activities. One member of the board shall be designated by\nthe governor as chairperson and one as vice-chairperson. Of the members\nfirst appointed, two shall be appointed for a term which shall expire on\nJune thirtieth, nineteen hundred fifty-two; one for a term which shall\nexpire on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred fifty-three; two for a term\nwhich shall expire on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred fifty-four; one\nfor a term which shall expire on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred\nfifty-five; two for a term which shall expire on June thirtieth,\nnineteen hundred fifty-six; one for a term which shall expire on June\nthirtieth, nineteen hundred fifty-seven; two for a term which shall\nexpire on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred fifty-eight; one for a term\nwhich shall expire on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred fifty-nine; two\nfor a term which shall expire on June thirtieth, nineteen hundred sixty;\nand one for a term which shall expire on June thirtieth, nineteen\nhundred sixty-one. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term in\nthe same manner as original appointments. The term of office of each\ntrustee appointed on or after April first, nineteen hundred eighty-six\nshall be seven years, except those of the student member and the faculty\nmembers. Trustees shall receive no compensation for their services but\nshall be reimbursed for their expenses actually and necessarily incurred\nby them in the performance of their duties under this article.\n 2. a. The board may provide for regular meetings, and the chairman, or\nthe vice-chairman, or any eight members by petition, may at any time\ncall a special meeting of the board of trustees and fix the time and\nplace therefor; and at least seven days notice of every meeting shall be\nmailed to the usual address of each trustee, unless such notice be\nwaived by a majority of the board. Resolutions for the consideration of\nthe board of trustees must be mailed to the usual address of each\ntrustee no less than seven days prior to a meeting, unless the chair\nshall make available in writing on the day of the meeting the facts\nwhich necessitate an immediate vote. Eight trustees attending shall be a\nquorum for the transaction of business and, unless a greater number is\nrequired by the by-laws, the act of a majority of the members present at\nany meeting shall be the act of the board. The board shall hold at least\ntwo public hearings each year. One public hearing shall be held during\nthe spring semester and one public hearing shall be held in the fall\nsemester. The purpose of such hearings shall be to receive testimony and\nstatements from concerned individuals about university issues. The board\nshall fix the time, place, duration and format of each hearing. At least\nthree members of the board shall attend each hearing. At least thirty\ndays notice of the hearing shall be given by the chairman of the board\nto all members of the board, to all presidents of state operated\ncampuses, to the chair of faculty-senate bodies of state operated\ncampuses, to all student government presidents of state operated\ncampuses, to the certified or recognized employee organizations\nrepresenting employees of the state university and to the media. Such\nnotice shall contain the time and place of the public hearing.\n b. The agenda for any such meeting of the board of trustees shall be\nelectronically available on the state university of New York website\nthree days prior to the meetings unless an executive committee meeting\nhas been called in which an agenda must be available twenty-four hours\nin advance, and shall be considered a public record. A summary of\nresolutions and board actions for any such meeting of the board of\ntrustees shall be electronically available on the state university of\nNew York website no later than seven days after the meeting and shall be\nconsidered a public record. The approved minutes, attendance, voting\nrecord and either transcripts or video record for any such meeting must\nbe posted no later than seven days following their approval by the board\nor executive committee. Information posted on the state university of\nNew York website regarding board of trustee meetings shall remain on the\nsite as archived data for a minimum of ten years.\n c. Any such meeting of the board of trustees shall be conducted in\naccordance with article seven of the public officers law.\n 3. The board shall appoint its own officers and staff, prescribe the\nduties of such employees, and fix their compensation within the\nappropriations prescribed therefor. Other than those positions included\nin section one hundred sixty-nine of the executive law, the board shall\nfix the compensation and benefits of employees in positions in the\nprofessional service in the state university which are designated,\nstipulated or excluded from negotiating units as managerial or\nconfidential as defined pursuant to article fourteen of the civil\nservice law.\n 4. a. The board may elect an executive committee of not less than five\nmembers, who, in intervals between meetings of the board may transact\nsuch business of the state university as the board may from time to time\nauthorize, except to grant degrees or to make removals from office. The\nstudent member of the board shall be a member of such committee. A\nmajority of the whole of the executive committee, but in any event not\nless than four members, attending shall be a quorum for the transaction\nof business and the act of a majority of the members of the executive\ncommittee present at any meeting thereof shall be the act of such\ncommittee.\n b. The agenda for any meeting of any committee and subcommittee of the\nboard of trustees shall be available electronically on the state\nuniversity of New York website three days prior to the meeting unless an\nexecutive committee meeting has been called, in which case an agenda\nmust be available twenty-four hours in advance, and shall be considered\na public record. A summary of resolutions and actions by the committee\nor subcommittee for any such meeting shall be electronically available\non the state university of New York website no later than seven days\nafter the meeting and shall be considered a public record. The approved\nminutes, attendance, voting record, and either transcripts or video\nrecord, for any such meeting must be posted no later than seven days\nfollowing the approval by the board, committee or subcommittee.\nInformation posted on the state university of New York website regarding\nsuch meetings shall remain on the site as archived data for a minimum of\nten years.\n c. Any such meeting of a committee or subcommittee of the board of\ntrustees shall be conducted in accordance with article seven of the\npublic officers law.\n