FACULTY MEETING
FEBRUARY 13, 2004 (POSTPONED FROM 02/06/04)
GANNETT AUDITORIUM
MINUTES
President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 3:44 p.m.
President Glotzbach asked if there were any objections to the approval of the December 5, 2003 Faculty Meeting; hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.
PRESIDENT鈥橲 REPORT
President Glotzbach recognized the following faculty accomplishments: Dan Coleman, Director of the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program gave a paper entitled, 鈥淜nowing the Box You Think In: Disciplinary Study and the Liberal Arts;鈥� Professor Kyle Nichols gave an invited talk entitled, 鈥淪ediment Generation and Water Supply: A Case Study of the Panama Canal, he gave a paper entitled, 鈥淭he Life of Piedmont Sediment: Sediment Tracing Using Cosmogenic nuclides;鈥� and also together with a collaborative research partner, Robin Wiles-Skeels, presented a paper entitled, 鈥淨uantifying the Effects of Land-Use and the Change on the Hydrology of a Water-Supply Watershed, Saratoga Springs, New York; and he is also the author of 鈥淨uantifying Urban Land Use and Runoff Changes Through Service-Learning Hydrology Projects.鈥� Professor Paty Rubio published a paper 鈥淒iamela Eltit y Lotty Rosenfeld: an谩lisis de una colaboraci贸n art铆stica,鈥� she also published, 鈥淐onstructions of the Self: The Personal Letters of Gabriela Mistral鈥� in Gabriela Mistral, the Audacious Traveler. Professor Murray Levith, published an essay, 鈥淩ichard III: the Dragon and St. George,鈥� and a review of his piece on The Merchant of Venice was described by the reviewer as among 鈥渢he best.鈥� Professor David Karp just finished a book, Restorative Justice on the College Campus: Promoting Student Growth and Responsibility, and Reawakening the Spirit of Campus Community. Professor Holley Hodgins received funding for an NSF proposal. The title of the grant is 鈥淭he Relation of Motivation to Self-Aspects, Openness, and Performance.鈥� Professor Steven Millhauser鈥檚 The King in the Tree was rated among the 鈥淣otable Books of 2003鈥� by the New York Times Book Review. Professor Reg Lilly has published a translation of Reiner Sch眉rmann鈥檚 Broken Hegemonies. President Glotzbach also mentioned the recent Salamagundi conference, coordinated by Bob Boyers, Peg Boyers and Carolyn Forch茅, that was held at 三亿体育官网 with students even attending on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
President Glotzbach also mentioned that there is still a need for LS1 participation for next year. He reminded everyone that LS1 remains at the center of the first-year experience and that cooperation and participation by everyone are needed to assure that the first-year experience is successful. President Glotzbach reported on the recent Board of Trustees Budget and Finance meeting held in New York City on Wednesday, January 28. Traditionally, a Budget Workshop is held at this time each year. The Infrastructure Committee and the Investment Committee also met. Positive news from that meeting is that 三亿体育官网鈥檚 endowment is now at $171 million. The Budget and Finance Committee considered initial budget work and is moving toward a preliminary budget to be considered at the February meeting. Five budget parameters were endorsed: 1) stable student body size, 2) a 4.9 percent increase in tuition and fees (to $39,510), 3) a 7.4 percent increase in the financial aid budget, 4) an increased compensation budget which includes a reasonable general salary adjustment (total compensation budget is $59,804,000), and 5) a 16 percent increase in the capital budget. Cost sharing for health care benefits will need to be increased next year. There is also a need to adjust the College鈥檚 contribution to the retirement plan. More details will be available after the February Board meeting.
三亿体育官网 is also moving forward with a $33-million bond issue for the purpose of addressing campus residence issues. The bond will fund the creation of approximately 350 new beds, (proposed site near Scribner Village), to bring more juniors and seniors back to campus and to update the dining halls. 三亿体育官网 will be selling Moore Hall.
Pat Oles, Dean of Student Affairs explained the need for a Residence Life Plan. 三亿体育官网 is currently seen as a fragmented community, there have been numerous complaints, particularly by students, about the use of Moore Hall. Once a student is placed in Moore Hall, oftentimes they do not make the effort to come back to campus for socialization or participation in activities. The dining rooms are a source of segregation of sorts where upper class students eat off campus or in their rooms, relegating lower class students to the dining halls. Low interest rates at this time are favorable for a bond issue. Documents will be presented to the Board of Trustees at their February meeting including past planning documents from architectural firms, RFP鈥檚 (requests for proposals), etc. The current RFP has been answered and a firm is being considered.
President Glotzbach continued with his report addressing two key retirements. Jon Ramsey, Dean of Studies and Associate Dean of Student Affairs will retire at the end of May 2004, and Karl Broekhuizen, Vice President for Financial Affairs and Treasurer will also retire at the end of August 2004.
IPC (Institutional Planning Committee) will be convening to address the Strategic Plan. The committee hopes by the end of the spring 2004 semester to have a more complete document ready. CFG (Committee on Faculty Governance) will be working on the faculty governance system and proposals for simplification. The goal is to work toward reducing the time commitments for faculty in the governance system. President Glotzbach will be working closely with both committees. The capital campaign has been officially relaunched. A search committee for the next Vice President for Financial Affairs and Treasurer will need to be convened quickly so that this search can begin.
President Glotzbach read a letter from an alumnus to a cousin supporting 三亿体育官网 as a viable college option. The alumna expressed his appreciation for the type of education (interdisciplinary, diverse, tolerance for trying different things, critical thinking, etc.) he received from 三亿体育官网.
DEAN OF THE FACULTY'S REPORT
Dean Charles M. Joseph began his report by mentioning the people who have returned recently to campus: from London: Professor Joanna Zangrando and Professor Linda Simon; from fall 2003 sabbaticals: Professor David Domozych, Professor Deborah Hall, Professor Holley s. Hodgins, Professor Steve A. Hoffman, Professor Sheldon Solomon, and Professor David D. Weis; and from a leave of absence: Professor Victor Cahn and Professor Catherine Domozych. The following changes in chairs and directors will take place for spring 2004. Chairs: Biology, David Domozych; History, Jennifer Delton; and Physics, Mary Crone Odekon. Directors: Latin American Studies, Viviana Rangil and Debra Fernandez for the Dance Program.
Dean Joseph stated that Jon Ramsey鈥檚 position is important and will need to be filled quickly. Professor Katie Hauser, chair of CFG (Committee on Faculty Governance) and the members of CFG will be working to give this position careful consideration. There may be some restructuring of the responsibilities of the present position. An interim director will be appointed next year in order to allow for careful consideration of possibilities and the implementation of a search.
Dean Joseph also extended thanks to Ian Berry and Gayle King, co-directors of the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, for their admirable work and the commendable job they have been doing in the absence of a director. He also encouraged all faculty members to not only attend the wonderful exhibits at the Tang, but to also incorporate the museum into their curricula.
Sarah Goodwin, Associate Dean of Faculty, gave an update of the search for the next Dayton Director of the Tang. The Search Committee will be bringing the first of four candidates, Renny Pritikin, to campus on Wednesday, February 18. He will be giving a presentation at 2:45 p.m. in the Tang and there will be time for questions and answers. Fred Wilson, the Luce Distinguished Visiting Fellow in Object, Exhibition and Knowledge has a faculty seminar underway. Student events and project are also underway and will be announced later. The next pedagogy workshop will be led by Fred Wilson on Friday, February 27 at 3:30 in the Somers Room at the Tang.
Dean Joseph reminded everyone that the Edwin M. Moseley Faculty Research Lecture will be held on Wednesday, February 25 at 8:00 p.m. in Gannett Auditorium. Professor Roy Rotheim will be giving the lecture entitled: 鈥淛.M. Keynes and the Struggle for Genius.鈥�
Dean Joseph provided information on the Academic Vision Statement (ViSta). CEPP, (Committee on Educational Policies & Planning) is trying to move ahead inline with many of the national trends and they are still enfolding new ideas. Dean Joseph extended his grateful thanks to the members of the subcommittees. He also thanked Professor Gordon Thompson, chair of CEPP, for his leadership. Professor Thompson is very pleased with the efforts from the subcommittees.
Ray Rodrigues, Director of Assessment, gave a report on the National Meeting of AAC&U (Association of American Colleges and Universities) held January 21-24, 2004 in Washington, D.C. He attended the conference together with President Glotzbach, Dean Joseph, Dean Goodwin, John Brueggemann, Associate Dean of Faculty Development, Professor Thompson, Professor Ruth Andrea Levinson and Professor Michael Arnush. The conference included information on how to build a creative curriculum that meets the needs of today鈥檚 students. A session presented a case study of a college facing fiscally challenging times. Dean Joseph and others led the discussion that followed where it became evident that most schools are facing the same situation, some more drastically than others where lay offs of personnel have resulted. The main thrust of the session was not to let money influence important changes and not to let a lack of data on students delay plans, etc. There is an effort underway to try to create a Coalition on Liberal Arts Educators. Part of the purpose of this coalition will be to help determine and explain what happens when students receive a liberal arts education. The issue of the national push for standardized testing was addressed. Standardized testing could affect the ability of 三亿体育官网 students to receive financial aid. Other topics and discussions included: globalization, diversity, service learning, scholarship for teaching and learning. It is clear that assessment is no longer considered a separate entity and it is now being enfolded into all aspects of education.
Dean Joseph advised that the Middle States Commission on Higher Education evaluation is now moving into Phase I. 三亿体育官网鈥檚 liaison with the Middle States Review Board is Elizabeth Sibolski. Ms. Sibolski has engaged in preliminary conversations with faculty members. She provided an overview of the process and assures that 三亿体育官网鈥檚 accreditation has been strong in the past, and she foresees no future problems. Because of 三亿体育官网鈥檚 strong standing, the Middle States Commission will allow the College to focus on a special topic this time rather than a comprehensive study.
Dean Joseph provided information regarding faculty development. The Dean鈥檚 Office continues to move ahead with resources to fund faculty development, which is an iss