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Skidmore College
Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs

FACULTY MEETING 

September 8, 2000 
GANNETT AUDITORIUM

MINUTES

WELCOME AND PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Studley welcomed the faculty to the 2000-01 academic year. She thanked them for the support, loyalty and wisdom they shared with her during her first year as President. Last year was a listening year and she listened to the voices of students, faculty, and alumni. This coming year will be one of action and planning. She is profoundly moved by the devotion of the faculty to our students and inspired by the hunger of so many of our students for community, the chance to serve and to do an outstanding job, and the respect of the faculty.

Last year IPC and President Studley talked about Skidmore’s planning history and what would best serve the College’s needs at this time. Together they chartered a Summer Planning Group to design a planning process for the campus. Their charge was to recommend to IPC a process that would be inclusive, educational, and stimulating, and that could realistically lead to a synthesis of our community’s thinking on strategic directions by the end of the school year. The next step is for the group is to make recommendations to IPC, which will happen within the next two weeks. President Studley is optimistic that IPC will be very receptive and that the next time the faculty meets, we will be launching a process that will help us chart Skidmore’s course for the future. President Studley thanked the members of the Summer Planning Group: Tom Denny, Chair; Barbara Beck, Dave Domozych, Ken Hardy, Mary Lynn (IPC liaison); Deborah Meyers, Jon Ramsey, and Mark Youndt. Jeanne Waldinger served as the Alumni Association liaison. Anne Henderson, Joe Stankovich and Jim Gette provided valuable assistance.

Tom Denny, Chair of the Summer Planning Group, briefly reported that the group met several times during the summer. The group’s charge is both to develop a process to guide Skidmore’s planning and to educate the community about the complex challenges that lie ahead. It consists of members of faculty, student and staff members, and a liaison to the Alumni Association Board. The group expects to present its recommendations to IPC. A number of members from the Summer Group will be serving on IPC next year.

President Studley introduced the new members of the President’s Staff who arrived over the summer: Michael Casey, Vice President for Advancement; and John Berman, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty. She also announced that Mary Lou Bates joins the President’s Staff as the Interim Dean for Admissions and Student Aid. She will serve on an interim basis during this academic year. 

DEAN OF THE FACULTY’S REPORT

Dean Berman told the faculty that he was happy and honored to be here as Skidmore’s first Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty. Coming in from the outside and from a very different place, he is impressed with the quality of Skidmore College. The faculty consists of outstanding teacher-scholars, supported by an excellent staff and facilities. The faculty has been addressing some tough issues in the past, and he hopes to be actively involved in their continuing efforts to work on them in the future. The amount of interdisciplinary work that goes on at Skidmore, such as the LS1 program, the Honors Forum, the Tang Teaching Museum, and others, is another aspect that stands out to him. He is also impressed by the unique nature of the residential liberal arts college. The strength of a place like Skidmore lies in what happens in addition to excellent individual courses, and we need to think about how the academic side of the College can work with other aspects of the Skidmore community to enrich the total student experience.

He finds that there is a good a fit between the direction Skidmore is going and his sense of what should be addressed in higher education today. The biggest challenge is for an institution is to find a focus, i.e., to get a sense of what one is good at and try to make that even better.

He is glad he decided to come here and looks forward to working with each of the faculty in the future.

Dean Berman introduced Professor Chuck Joseph, who is a new Associate Dean in his office; Barbara Doyle-Wilch, the College Librarian; and Ian Berry, Curator of the Tang Teaching Museum.

Susan Bender, Associate Dean of the Faculty, introduced the new full-time faculty members. She also thanked the appointing departments and chairs for all of their hard work and wise decisions that brought us such a promising group of new faculty to Skidmore. (See Attachment A.

REPORTS

John Brueggemann, Chair of CEPP, reported that CEPP is moving forward with a proposal for a revised core curriculum. CEPP believes that there is substantial interest among the faculty for consideration of such a proposal, and plans to hold a special faculty meeting on September 22, 2000. A working draft of the proposal will be circulated before the meeting. CEPP expects to move on a formal proposal at either the October or November faculty meeting and hopes have a vote at the December faculty meeting. The goals are to have a broad and open discussion and examine all the various issues thoroughly and bring the process to closure in December in order to implement a new curriculum for next year.

Don McCormack, Dean of Special Programs, reported that his department had a very busy and productive summer and thanked the community and his staff for their hard work. He thought it was the best summer they had ever had. There were larger turnouts for his department’s public events than any summer he can remember. He will make available to the faculty a document that his office prepares for the Board of Trustees that will summarize the activities of his programs during the summer. 

INTRODUCTIONS

Michael Casey, Vice President for Advancement, introduced Barry Pritzker, Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations.

Dean Pat Oles introduced Andrew Demaree, Counselor, Counseling Center; and the two new community coordinators, Sherry Matulock and Melissa Kennedy. Lewis Rosengarten will be an academic counselor in HEOP, although he is not new to the College.

Karl Broekhuizen introduced Jeff Clark, Director of Management Information Systems, and Bret Ingermann, Director and Chief Tech Services Officer for CITS.

Ken Hardy ’01, President of SGA introduced the executive committee for the 2000-01 academic year: John Eick ‘02, President for Clubs and Organizations; Margaretta Walton ‘01, Vice President for Financial Affairs; Kate Nedelman ‘02, Vice President for Residential Affairs; Adam Abramowitz ‘01, Vice President for Academic Affairs; and Keith Kirshner ‘02, Vice President for Communications. He spoke to the importance of responsibility and cooperation and stated that if the faculty has any concerns or needs to please contact the Student Government Association. 

OLD BUSINESS

The May 17, 2000 minutes were approved as written. 

NEW BUSINESS

Mehmet Okekon for CFG moved the adoption of the 2000-01 Faculty Handbook and presented three motions. (See Attachment B.) He asked members of the faculty to review the revisions. A vote will be taken at the next faculty meeting. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

  • David Domozych, Chair of the Faculty Development Committee, informed the faculty that there is a booklet available that contains information about opportunities for scholarly work at the College. These opportunities can also be accessed through the web page from the DOF web site as well. He reminded the faculty that the deadline for the Keck Scholars application is September 25.
  • Terry Diggory, Coordinator of LS1, encouraged members of the faculty who have received the LS1 reader to read it. There is an LS1 web site that is accessible from the Skidmore home page, and it includes the LS1 syllabus. LS1 lectures are open to any faculty member who wants to attend. They are held Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:25 - 2:20 and on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1:05 - 2:00 in the theater.
  • Susan Kress, Chair of CAPT, informed the faculty that they would be receiving electronically, the CAPT calendar and two operating codes. There will also be hard copies in the DOF office. One of the codes is the new operating code for CAPT’s review procedure, which was passed on the floor of the faculty about three years ago. In the Faculty Handbook there is a description of membership and function for the tenure review board and the tenure appeals committee, but this is the first time the faculty has seen an operating code. CAPT is mandated to meet with new faculty this month to explain the reappointment and tenure system to them.
  • President Studley invited the faculty to attend the opening events of the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery and to use this new resource in teaching and scholarship. She also invited them to Scribner House immediately following this meeting in honor of new faculty and staff.

Respectfully submitted,

 

Claire Demarest
Executive Secretary
Office of the Dean of the Faculty


Attachment A

NEW APPOINTMENTS 2000-01

 

Full-Time

Deborah R. Hall - Assistant Professor - Department of Art and Art History
B.F.A. - Rochester Institute of Technology
M.F.A.- Vermont College

Cay Anderson-Hanley  Visiting Assistant Professor - Department of Psychology
B.S. - Gordon College
M.S. - State University of New York at Albany
Ph.D. - State University of New York at Albany
Dissertation - Identity Development: The Comparative Effects of Two Outward Bound-Type Programs and a Control Condition on College Students

Susan Belden - Associate Professor - Department of Management and Business
B.S. - University of Utah
Ph.D. - University of Utah
Dissertation - A Historical Review of the Independence of the Federal Reserve System and An Analysis of Recent Policy Decisions

Amy D'Aprix - Lecturer - Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
B.S. - State University of New York - Albany
M.S.W. - State University of New York - Albany

Barbara Doyle-Wilch - College Librarian - Scribner Library
B.A. - Jordan College of Music, Butler University
M.A. - Jordan College of Music, Butler University
M.A. - Graduate School of Librarianship and Information Science, University of Denver

Jordana Dym - Visiting Instructor - Department of History
B.A. - Stanford University
M.A. - Stanford University
M.Phil - New York University

Karen Eaton-McMahon - Teacher - Early Childhood Center
B.A. - Skidmore College

Alexander Gelfand - Visiting Assistant Professor - Department of Music
B.A. - Williams College
M.A. - York University, Toronto, Canada
Ph.D. - University of Illinois - Urbana
Dissertation - Rhythms of Power: Royal Drumming in Aburi-Akuapem, Ghana

Natasha Goldman - Lecturer- Department of Art and Art History
B.A. - Syracuse University
M.A. - University of Rochester
Ph.D. - University of Rochester (expected May 2000)
Dissertation - Trauma and Collective Memory: National Memorials to the Holocaust

Jennifer Hampston- Visiting Assistant Professor - Department of Psychology
B.A. - State University of New York at Binghamton
M.S. - State University of New York at Albany
Ph.D. - State University of New York at Albany
Dissertation - Parents' Beliefs and Practices Regarding Literacy Development in First Grade

Takahiko Hayashi - Lecturer - Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures
B.A. - Rikkyo University
M.A. - University of Tsukuba

*Deborah Hutton - Lecturer - Department of Art and Art History
B.A. - Pennsylvania State University
M.A. - University of Minnesota

Melinda K. Kane - Lecturer - Department of Economics
B.S. - University of New Hampshire
M.S. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Carl Landa- Department Assistant - Department of Exercise Science, Dance and Athletics
B.A. - Bennington College

Ronald W. McEachen - Teaching Associate and Men's Soccer Coach- Department of Exercise Science, Dance and Athletics
B.S. - West Virginia University
M.E.D. - West Chester State University

Denise Brooks McQuade - Visiting Teaching Associate - Department of Biology
B.A. - Wellesley College
M.S. - University of Connecticut

Margo Mensing - Assistant Professor - Department of Art and Art History
B.A. -University of Michigan
M.A. - University of Michigan
M.F.A. - The School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Shannon Murphy - Lecturer- Department of Exercise Science, Dance and Athletics
B.S. - State University of New York - Albany
M.S. - University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Christine Peppiatt - Teaching Associate and Aquatics Director/Head Swim Coach - Department of Exercise Science, Dance and Athletics
B.S. - University of Maine

Pushkala Prasad- Zankel Chair in Management for Liberal Arts Students and Professor - Department of Management and Business
B.A. - Stella Maris College, University of Madras, India
M.B.A. - Xavier Institute, India
Ph.D. - University of Massachusetts - Amherst
Dissertation - Work Computerization as Symbol and Experience

Amy Jo Stavnezer - Visiting Assistant Professor - Department of Psychology
B.S. - Allegheny College
M.S. - University of Connecticut
Ph.D. - University of Connecticut
Dissertation - Sex Differences and the Influence of the Y Chromosome on Learning in the C57BL/6 Mouse Strain

John C. Stoner - Lecturer - Department of History
B.A. - Duke University
M.A. - Columbia University

Rebecca Tucker - Lecturer - Department of Art and Art History
A.B. - Bryn Mawr College
M.A. - Institute of Fine Arts, New York University

Robert C. Turner- Assistant Profess- Department of Government
B.A. - Middlebury College
Ph.D. - The University of Wisconsin at Madison
Dissertation - Public Policies for Manufacturing Revitalization: Competing Models in Three American States

David Weis - Assistant Professor - Department of Chemistry and Physics
B.A. - Earlham College
Ph.D. - Indiana University
Dissertation - Infrared Spectroscopy of Aerosols: Theory, Techniques, and Applications

 

Part-Time

Michael Albin - Lecturer - Department of English
B.A. - Brandeis University
M.F.A. - Columbia University

Scott R. Backer - Field Hockey and Women's Lacrosse Intern - Department of Exercise Science, Dance and Athletics
B.A. - Skidmore College

Stephanie Bennett - Lecturer - Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
B.A. - University at Albany, State University of New York
M.A - University at Albany, State University of New York

Michelle Frey - Lecturer - Department of Chemistry and Physics
B.A. - Ithaca College
Ph.D. - The Pennsylvania State University
Dissertation - Kinetic and Structural Characterization of an Exonuclease Deficient Mutant of Bacteriophage T4 DNA Polymerase

Robert Knapp - Lecturer - Department of Management and Business
A.B. - University of Detroit
M.B.A. - University of Michigan
Ph.D. - University of Michigan
Dissertation: United States Direct Investment in Canada, 1950-1960

Scott McGilvray - Men's Lacross Intern - Department of Exercise Science, Dance and Athletics
B.A. - Washington College

Mary S. Meagher - Athletics Administrative Intern - Department of Exercise Science, Dance and Athletics
B.A. - Skidmore College

Thomas Mullaney - Lecturer - Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
B.S.W. - State University of New York - Brockport
M.S.W. - Adelphi University

*Virginia Murphy-Berman - Visiting Professor- Department of Psychology or Liberal Studies Program
B.A. - Pennsylvania State University
M.A. - Northwestern University
Ph.D. - Northwestern University
Dissertation - The Motive to Avoid Success: A Test of Basic Assumptions

Alondra R. Nelson - Lecturer - Department of American Studies
B.A. - University of California, San Diego
M.Phil. - New York University

Christopher Noël - Visiting Writer-in-Residence - Department of English
B.A. - Yale University
M.A. - Yale University
M.F.A. - Vermont College

Lawrence O'Toole - Lecturer - Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work
B.A. - University of Arizona
M.A. - Columbia Universitiy
Ph.D. - New York University
Dissertation: Professionals' Knowledge of the Relapse Indicators in Schizophrenia

*David H. Porter - Returning as Visiting Professor - Department of Classics


 

 

Attachment B

MOTION 1: CFG PROPOSES THE FOLLOWING FACULTY HANDBOOK CHANGES FOR 2000-2001:

 

1. Change the title of Dean of the Faculty to the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Dean of the Faculty throughout the Faculty Handbook.

 

2. PREAMBLE

Page 2 Delete reference to Part Six, General Information and Services, which has been taken out of the FHB.

 

3. PART ONE

Page 110 C.2. Addition of a sentence regarding faculty illness.

Page 114 C. Reappointment of Artists-in-Residence - section edited

D. Reappointment of Writers-in-Residence - section edited

E. Reappointment of Teaching Associates - section edited

Page 117 C.1. Delete references to librarians

Page 120 F. Delete CAPT Review Procedure

Page 128 2. Eligibility

Change in the first sentence:" Untenured tenure-track faculty who are either in their THIRD or FOURTH years of service to the College and who have been reappointed are eligible to apply FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR."

 

4. PART TWO

Page 206 6. Delete CAPT REVIEW COMMITTEE

Page 209 16. TENURE APPEAL COMMITTEE - Delete "effective"

Page 210 17. TENURE REVIEW BOARD- Delete "effective"

 

5. PART FOUR

Page 402 Addition of III. Parental Leave for Faculty

Page 403 Addition of IV. Domestic Partners Benefits

 

6. PART FIVE

Page 502 Change the title of The Vice President for Development and

Alumni Affairs to "The Vice President For Advancement"

Page 502 Minor revisions in the Dean of the Faculty section

Page 503 Change the title of Assistant to the Dean of the Faculty to

"Assistant to the Dean of the Faculty for Faculty

Development and Sponsored Research"

Page 504 Second paragraph: delete "and supervising the HEOP and Four

Winds Program Directors"

Page 507 Delete IX, X, XI in Section 5

 

7. PART SIX

Delete this section completely.

 

8. PART SEVEN

Page 705 Delete "b"

 

Motion 2: Replace "decision" with "recommendation" in the descriptions of the functions of the Tenure Appeal Committee and the Tenure Review Board on page 209.

Rationale: Both of these committees are reviewing CAPT's initial recommendation on tenure, not CAPT's decision (since CAPT doesn't make tenure decisions).

 

Motion 3: Delete the following in the 'membership' description of the Tenure Appeal Committee on page 209: "All members must have been tenured for at least two years."

Rationale: CAPT membership has no such stipulation and the members of CAPT are part of the Tenure Appeal Committee. The motion eliminates this inconsistency.