FACULTY MEETING
APRIL 2, 2004
GANNETT AUDITORIUM
MINUTES
President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 3:38 p.m.
President Glotzbach asked if there were any objections to the approval of the March 5, 2004 Faculty Meeting; hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.
PRESIDENT鈥橲 REPORT
President Glotzbach began his report advising that the All-College Council (ACC) has called for nominations for the President鈥檚 Awards honoring contributions to the 三亿体育官网 community, and he encouraged everyone to participate. President Glotzbach also acknowledged the good work that the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning (CEPP) has been doing this year. He also discussed three paradoxes he recently observed: 1) this year鈥檚 Phi Beta Kappa speaker, Professor George Saliba from Columbia University, spoke to a number of 三亿体育官网 faculty and students, some students stayed for the entire program and joined Professor Saliba at a dinner following his lecture, yet later on Scribner Library was empty; 2) the great commitment to teaching on the party of the faculty, but their still exists an uneven experience for new students as is evidenced by the NSSE data and anecdotal data; and 3) there are two different first-year student experiences at 三亿体育官网 - HEOP and AOP students are currently graduating at a 95 percent rate as compared to the rest of 三亿体育官网鈥檚 students whose graduation rate is a little below 80 percent. HEOP/AOP students feel incredible support from the HEOP/AOP staff and they build a community which supports and is crucial to their success at 三亿体育官网. These students also mention that the expectations they face upon arrival are at a level they never expected; yet they accept the challenge from the minute they arrive. This should be an example of how all firstyear students should feel when arriving at 三亿体育官网. The advising and mentoring role of faculty is very important to the first-year experience; it is everyone鈥檚 responsibility and should be shared across the faculty. These elements should be considered when CEPP introduces the first-year experience proposal later in the meeting. Resources will need to be considered to meet some aspects of the proposal including the addition of new faculty lines, but he is still working to determine the specific number to which he can commit. This will be a part of the capital campaign.
President Glotzbach also spoke in regard to the proposals to be introduced by the Committee on Faculty Governance (CFG) relating to governance reform. While it is the general consensus that the governance system needs to be streamlined and made less demanding, at the same time-shared governance and collaborative decision making remain important values. Group functions and roles need to be determined and checked for efficiency. President Glotzbach supports the future direction toward which CFG is working with this first set of proposals.
三亿体育官网 is currently engaged in negotiations with SEIU Local 200 United. A recent article in the 三亿体育官网 News reports that workers are putting in extra effort to gain the support of students and faculty members to pressure the administration as part of this process. President Glotzbach noted that Richard Drucker, a SEIU organizer, who provided background and opinions regarding the College鈥檚 financial policies with Local 200 United. President Glotzbach explained the negotiation process: every three years the contract is negotiated; both parties establish negotiating teams. The College team consists of four people led by Barbara Beck. The Union team is led by a business agent, not Mr. Drucker, and includes five 三亿体育官网 employees. Negotiations began on February 24 with each side exchanging goals and objectives. The teams have met six times, typically once a week but sometimes more, and things appear to be moving ahead. There are stringent restrictions about what can and cannot be said about details discussed in negotiation meetings. The administration鈥檚 first concern is the College and the needs of our students; the next concern is the welfare of 三亿体育官网鈥檚 employees in terms of both compensation and working conditions. The goal is to have a fair contract that provides reasonable wages, benefits, and working conditions. The current contract will expire May 31. President Glotzbach is optimistic that negotiations will be concluded by that time.
DEAN OF THE FACULTY'S REPORT
Dean Charles M. Joseph first called attention to and congratulated the individuals who were awarded Faculty Major Project Completion Grants, and he thanked Professor Peter Stake, chair of the Faculty Development Committee and Dean John Brueggemann for their work on this. (See Attachment A for a list of Awards.) Dean Joseph also acknowledged the Faculty/Student Collaborative Research Teams for their determination and hard work (See Attachment B for a list of teams and projects). Dean Joseph stated that this time of year is exceedingly busy with multiple events scheduled all the time. He has been trying to get to as many events as he can and encouraged the faculty to do the same. In the past week Dean Joseph attended the fiction reading by author Michael Ondaatje, 三亿体育官网鈥檚 first McCormack Artist-Scholar, on Wednesday, March 31. On Thursday, April 1, he also attended the Phi Beta Kappa event where Professor George Saliba spoke. Dean Joseph praised the pedagogy session that took place on Friday, March 26 and noted that there were close to 70 faculty members and students attending. It was very clear that