ÈýÒÚÌåÓý¹ÙÍø

FACULTY MEETING

March 4, 2005
Gannett Auditorium

MINUTES

President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 3:40 p.m.

President Glotzbach asked if there were any objections to the approval of the February 4, 2005 Faculty Meeting minutes; hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Glotzbach opened his remarks by announcing Associate Professor Richard Linke as the new holder of The Ella Van Dyke Tuthill '32 Chair in Studio Art. He also announced that Pat Hilleren, Lubin Family Professor for Women in Science, recently received a $720,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health. Assistant Professor Dan Nathan and two American Studies students, Erin Klemyk '05 and Peter Berg '06 were awarded the Walter Prescott ebb-Smith Prize for the best essay on history and film portraying the past in cinema which was awarded by the
Department of History of the University of Texas at Arlington. On a different note, ÈýÒÚÌåÓý¹ÙÍø’s Madrid Program has just celebrated its 25th anniversary. The program started in Barcelona and was the first US program to include direct enrollment in a Spanish university and is run collaboratively with Tufts University.

President Glotzbach thanked all of those who hosted a dinner for trustees. The trustees appreciated the opportunity to interact with members of the faculty in a more direct way. The Thursday session of the winter Board of Trustees meetings was used to discuss the third goal of the Strategic Plan, i.e., Responsible Citizenship. The Long-Range Planning Committee also discussed the Strategic Plan. The trustees were asked to postpone their formal approval of the Strategic Plan until the campus community conversations had concluded; however, the trustees did pass a motion of support for the plan. The proposed budget parameters were also approved. The proposed budget does include a three percent General Salary Adjustment (GSA) as well as funds to provide for salary increases resulting from promotions and the implementation of the next increment of the comprehensive compensation plan. The budget also includes a one-year deferral of the next-scheduled increase in cost sharing for health care. The budget will be finalized at the May Board meeting.

President Glotzbach is concerned about faculty salaries. ÈýÒÚÌåÓý¹ÙÍø is losing candidates because its salary offers are significantly below those of other schools. It was hoped that the next step in the comprehensive compensation plan would ensure that ÈýÒÚÌåÓý¹ÙÍø’s faculty salaries would remain competitive; however, the plan will not advance those salaries rapidly enough: Therefore, the situation will need to be addressed separately. Salaries at the assistant ranks appear to be the largest segment of the problem, but addressing the issue for new hires creates issues of equity for
current faculty members that also must be addressed. President Glotzbach explained that offers cannot conscientiously be made to new people at the expense of those who are already hired. Structural changes in ÈýÒÚÌåÓý¹ÙÍø’s faculty salary system may also offer solutions. Mike West and Chuck Joseph are investigating possible solutions, and faculty are welcome to send them ideas and proposals. In order to meet this challenge, budget priorities may have to be reevaluated. Although a commitment has been made for new faculty positions, ÈýÒÚÌåÓý¹ÙÍø must be prepared to pay a
fair salary; consequently, the timing of some searches may be adjusted.

Susan Kress, Vice Chair of the Institutional Planning Committee (IPC), stated that the committee will bring the final version of the Executive Summary of the Strategic Plan to the faculty at the first April Faculty Meeting. It is hoped that the faculty will have the opportunity to discuss and endorse the summary at the April 29 Faculty Meeting. President Glotzbach stated that work is continuing on other pieces of the plan. The financial analysis and prioritization of the initiatives will be completed by the May board meeting.

President Glotzbach acknowledged that there are a number of concurrent administrative changes occurring on campus possibly leading to a sense that things are unsettled. He assured everyone that the changes now being implemented should conclude, for the most part, by the end of this year and that future administrative changes will not continue at the present pace. He is expecting that once these changes are completed, focus and energy will be redirected to other priorities that still need to be addressed.

Mike West, Vice President for Finance and Administration, gave an update on the state of finances at ÈýÒÚÌåÓý¹ÙÍø. He presented a PowerPoint presentation. (See Attachment A – click screen to advance through slides. NOTE: If the previous hyperlink does not work, please manually type or paste the following address in your browser window - /administration/dof/campus-only/faculty/2004-05/03-04-05-ÈýÒÚÌåÓý¹ÙÍøFacultyPresentation.pps.)

Mike West also offered to meet with anyone who wished to discuss the report. A question was raised as to the enrollment imbalance between the fall and spring semesters. Mike West replied that in the fall term there are roughly 70 students over capacity; however, in the spring term there are approximately 140 vacancies which results in lost revenue. For every additional student retained in the second term, the only additional cost there is is for their direct financial aid and raw food cost, but the personnel, space, and heat costs remain the same. The programming and
scheduling of students going abroad is being reviewed and evaluated in order to