FACULTY MEETING

MAY 19, 2004
GANNETT AUDITORIUM

MINUTES

President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m.

President Glotzbach asked if there were any objections to the approval the April 30, 2004 Faculty Meeting minutes; hearing no objections, the minutes were approved.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Glotzbach gave an update on the search for Skidmore’s new chief financial officer. A search firm has been hired and approximately 150 applicants under active consideration. This field will be reduced to a short list, with plans to bring selected candidates to campus in June. Public opportunities to meet the candidates will be arranged. President Glotzbach confirmed that Bret Ingerman, Director of the Center for Information Technology Services (CITS) and Chief Technology Officer, will be leaving Skidmore to take a position with Vassar College. Interim leadership arrangements will put in place prior to filling this position through a national search. President Glotzbach encouraged faculty members to forward ideas and suggestions to the Information Resource Council (IRC) of which Associate Dean Sarah Goodwin is chair.

President Glotzbach reported on a meeting that he and Dean Joseph had with the Committee on Appointment, Promotions and Tenure (CAPT). The discussion was forthright and productive in developing a framework for working on issues that were discussed at last month’s faculty meeting. The plan is for the administration and members of the CAPT to review policies and procedures together to identify areas where change may be indicated.

At the recent May Board of Trustees meeting, the Board approved a Comprehensive Fund Raising Campaign to begin June 1. The Board set a fund raising target range of between $150 million to $200 million. Currently the campaign is in the nucleus phase or leadership phase, which will last for the next eighteen months. The Board also endorsed the leadership team for the volunteer committee. The four individuals who will be co-chairing the campaign are: John Howley '80, Sara Schupf '62, Susan Williamson '59, and Billie Tisch '48. On Friday (May 21, 2004) Skidmore will receive a check of more than $900,000 from this year’s Parents Fund – a strong endorsement of the work of the Skidmore faculty by people with a very direct interest in the success of our students.

General objectives of the campaign are support of academic programs, endowed chairs, scholarships, capital projects (including a new music building and some new spaces to support students’ co-curricular lives), increasing the annual fund, and increasing unrestricted endowment. Even though the Strategic Plan is not fully completed, it would not be responsible to hold off the campaign for another year. President Glotzbach is working with the Institutional Planning Committee (IPC) to bring forward a revised Strategic Plan. The President will invite members of the IPC to work with him over the summer on this document. A revised plan will be brought to the larger community in the fall for comment, further revisions, and then for endorsement.

President Glotzbach reviewed the past year. In the fall there were two athletics decisions that resulted in the inception of the Friends of Skidmore Athletics (FOSA) and the continuation of the ice hockey team. Cost sharing of benefits was initiated, which allowed Skidmore to move forward with a balanced budget for next year, including a four-percent general salary adjustment. Skidmore held a presidential inauguration, the student polling place was kept on campus in its former location, and work was done to improve the relationship between the City of Saratoga Springs and the College. A comprehensive compensation plan was developed that will be included in the Strategic Plan, an external review of current compensation levels was completed, and equity adjustments were initiated with approximately onethird of all Skidmore employees receiving some form of equity adjustment. Preliminary surplus funds were identified, and a two-percent discretionary bonus was given to all GSA-eligible employees. Skidmore refinanced its previous revenue bonds at a more favorable rate and secured Board authorization to sell $33 million in new revenue bonds at the rate of 4.746 percent. Skidmore also maintained its Moody’s investor rating of A2. Board approval was secured for construction of new residence halls, plans have begun for refurbishing of all of the dining facilities to paid in part by the revenue bonds, Skidmore is moving ahead with Residence Life Planning for a new student commons building, and several offers are being reviewed for the sale of Moore Hall. An excellent retention study was completed by a broadly representative group, the results of which will be folded into the Strategic Plan. A residence life initiative was developed in cooperation between Student Affairs and the Student Government Association (SGA). A new set of Admissions materials have been introduced, and the number of applicants has continued to increase. Substantial progress was made on the Academic Vision Statement, which includes development of a new First-Year Experience proposal that will be going back to the faculty floor in the fall. New Student Orientation is being rethought to try to increase the academic content. Remarkable progress has been made toward governance reform, and President Glotzbach thanked the Committee on Faculty Governance (CFG) for stepping forward on this matter. He encouraged the faculty to support the motions on the floor. An initiative for faculty participation in a visiting faculty program from Sweden called STINT has resulted in a faculty member in computer science coming to Skidmore in the fall.

Presidential roundtables were held in six different locations; twelve alumni club events were held; seven other major events were held in Boston, New York, etc.; six foundation visits and approximately 120 contacts with individuals were made. Following the All-College Opening Reception a number of gatherings were held at Scribner House including fourteen faculty gatherings, seven AP Staff gatherings, an All-College Holiday Open House, various dinners, ten to twelve student events, and a number of trustee functions and receptions. President Glotzbach recognized the Academic Festival as a wonderful tribute to the work of faculty as well as students. This year’s event was a spectacular success, and Skidmore can be proud of this as a showcase event.

President Glotzbach concluded that although there have been some bumps in the road, he thinks it has been a good year and Skidmore has made substantial progress on a number of fronts including, and perhaps most important of all, working together as a community in dealing constructively with difficult issues. President Glotzbach said that he was pleased to be Skidmore’s president and he thanked everyone for a great year.

DEAN OF THE FACULTY'S REPORT

Dean Charles M. Joseph introduced Courtnei Evans '05. Ms. Evans gave a brief introduction of a new award sponsored by the SGA: the Award for Pursuing Excellence in Diversity. Students are allowed to nominate members of faculty, staff or administration for pursuing excellence in diversity in and out of the classroom. This year’s award was given to Assistant Professor Mason Stokes from the Department of English.

Dean Joseph introduced Professor Mary Lynn, who addressed the Saratoga Reads program. An informational handout and Book Nomination Form were provided. More information can be found at http://www.saratogareads.org/ 

Dean Joseph then announced the recommendations for promotion which were approved by the Board of Trustees on May 7, 2004. Promoted to the rank of Assistant Professor, Natalie A. Taylor, Department of Government; promoted to the rank of Associate Professor: Susannah Mintz, Department of English; promoted to the rank of full Professor: Judith Halstead, Department of Chemistry; Mark Hofmann, Department of Math and Computer Science; Reginald Lilly, Department of Philosophy and Religion; Gordon Thompson, Department of Music; and Pierre von Kaenel, Department of Math and Computer Science.

Sarah Goodwin, Associate Dean of Faculty provided an update on the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery. The director search is ongoing; the Hair Show will be taken down on June 6 while the Senior Artists Show is still up. There are some major openings scheduled and announcements about each can be found on the Tang website. http://tang.skidmore.edu/tang/main.html

Dean Joseph advised that he will again be meeting over the summer with all department chairs and program directors for the annual chair and director chats. This is an opportunity to keep the lines of communication open. Also, there are several retreats and workshops coming up.

Dean Joseph also read information from the Faculty Handbook, specifically from Part I dealing with Faculty Rights and Responsibilities: “College Functions: Faculty members are expected to attend Commencement, Opening Convocation for fall and spring terms, and Honors Convocation. Any faculty member unable to be present at these functions should notify the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty. Faculty members are encouraged to wear academic regalia at Commencement and on other occasions to be announced.” Dean Joseph to date has not been advised that any faculty member was unable to attend; therefore, he expected to see everyone at Commencement on Saturday, May 22. He also asked all faculty members to mark their calendars for Opening Convocation. (See Faculty Handbook, p 110.)

President Glotzbach explained the purpose for the slight reordering of the agenda to permit Ann Henderson, Registrar and Director of Institutional Research, to present the names of the candidates for the conferral of degrees in order to expedite printing that information.

NEW BUSINESS

CONFERRAL OF DEGREES

President Glotzbach thanked Ann Henderson and her staff for all of their hard work throughout the year. Ann thanked everyone for their assistance and cooperation. She stated the processing went very smoothly this year. She expressed her thanks to Judy Stephens who tracked and monitored the 549 students. Although handouts were prepared for the meeting, there were a couple of unavoidable changes which Ann explained.

Ann read the following four resolutions into the record:

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Arts degree to 353 students of the Class of 2004 to be awarded on May 22, 2004.

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Science degree to 146 students of the Class of 2004 to be awarded on May 22, 2004.

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Arts degree to 37 students of the Class of 2004 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by August 31, 2004.

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Science degree to 13 students of the Class of 2004 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by August 31, 2004.

The total number of student graduates for May is 499 students and for August 50 students. There was no discussion. The motion was voted on and passed with all in favor. (See Attachment A.)

President Glotzbach introduced Associate Professor Pierre von Kaenel on behalf of the University Without Walls Committee who presented the following resolution:

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Arts degree to twenty-one students and the Bachelor of Science degree to twenty-five students. (See Attachment B.) A motion to accept the resolution was made; a second was not required. There was no discussion. The motion was voted on and passed with all in favor.

President Glotzbach introduced Associate Professor Adrienne Zuerner on behalf of the External Master of Arts Committee who presented the following resolution:

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Master of Arts degree to ten students. Of these, two students receiving the Master of Arts degree will do so contingent upon completion of all degree requirements by August 31, 2004. A motion to accept the resolution was made; a second was not required. There was no discussion. The motion was voted on and passed with all in favor. (See Attachment C.)

Jon Ramsey asked if there were any questions or changes that needed to be made regarding the list of departmental honors candidates.

Jon Ramsey read the following two resolutions (See Attachment D):

RESOLVED, that the faculty of Skidmore College approve Departmental Honors for two students from the Class of 2003 and 158 students from the Class of 2004 as presented at the May 19, 2004 Faculty Meeting. A motion to accept the resolution was made and seconded. There was discussion regarding two students who did not qualify. The list was revised and the motion amended to read that there were “156 students from the Class of 2004 . . .”. The motion was voted on and passed with all in favor. (See Attachment E.)

RESOLVED, that the faculty of Skidmore college approve seven students from the Class of 2003 and 142 students from the Class of 2004 for cum laude distinction; for magna cum laude distinction, one student from the Class of 2003 and 57 students from the Class of 2004; and for summa cum laude distinction 32 students from the Class of 2004 as presented at the May 19, 2004 Faculty Meeting. A motion to accept the resolution was made and seconded. There was no discussion. The motion was voted on and passed with all in favor. (See Attachment F.)

MOTION:

Associate Professor Mary Correa, on behalf of the Curriculum Committee, introduced a motion to delete the Biology-Chemistry Interdepartmental Major. (See Attachment G.) Coming from the Committee, the motion required no second and will lie over until the next meeting.

OLD BUSINESS

MOTION:

Associate Professor Katie Hauser, on behalf of the Committee on Faculty Governance, presented the following two motions originally introduced at the April 30 Faculty Meeting. (See Attachment H for the full text and rationale of the motions.)

MOTION 1: CFG moves that the Financial Policy and Planning Committee (FPPC) be eliminated as of the end of the 2003-04 academic year. Professor Hauser opened the floor for discussion; having heard none the motion was voted on and passed with all in favor.
MOTION 2: CFG moves that the membership of the Institutional Planning Committee (IPC) for the 2004-5 academic year be modified. Professor Hauser opened the floor for discussion. Professor Gove Effinger provided additional information to address concerns that by voting affirmatively on the motion it might be construed as a tacit endorsement of the wider revisions that CFG plans to bring to the faculty body in the fall of 2004. CFG does not believe that that is the case and that these changes in IPC make sense no matter what happens in the future. Further discussion ensued. The motion was voted on and passed with all in favor.

MOTION:

Associate Professor Katie Hauser, on behalf of the CFG, presented the following motion originally introduced at the April 30 Faculty Meeting: CFG moves the following change in Part One of the Faculty Handbook, Section XX (Procedures for Handbook Amendments), Paragraph D, last sentence (strike-through language is removed, bold language is added): “Revisions to Part Three will be adopted once the All-College Council Institutional Planning Committee (IPC), the Student Government Association (SGA), and the Committee on Faculty Governance (CFG) have agreed upon the revisions.” (See Attachment I.) The motion was voted on and passed with all in favor.

REPORTS

DON McCORMACK – Dean of Special Programs:

Don reported that the Summer Programs academic programming begins on May 19 and ends on August 21. They are sending approximately twelve students to Florence, Italy to study at the art center there. The Boys Choir of Harlem will be performing with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC). The Summer Programs Arts Calendar will be released in the near future. The schedule usually starts in June with dance and theater residencies with choreographer Doug Varone being amongst the first. Events are scheduled throughout the summer
which involves the Saratoga Springs community as well as the campus community. Don provided information regarding the Boys’ Choir residency. After additional review of the situation regarding tabloid reports of sexual abuse within the Boy’s Choir of Harlem, Skidmore was able to confirmed its confidence in the choir and is still committed to sustaining its relationship with the choir. Don encouraged everyone to promote and attend this summer’s concert.

MARY LOU BATES – Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid:

Mary Lou reported that it has been another very good year in Admission with the incoming class being fully enrolled. The target for September was 610 with another 60 students built in that Admissions expects to melt by September and they have exceeded that number by about 35 students without going to the waiting list. The London target was 36, but they did have to go to the waiting to meet that target. Two factors that negatively impacted enrollment in the London cohort was, first, the students are becoming increasingly strong every year. Two years ago, the median SAT of the London students was 35 points below the class as a whole, last year it was 20 points below, and this year it’s exactly the same, which is 1260. A second obstacle to enrollment in the London program is Moore Hall. This is where the students are housed when they return in January. Happily that obstacle will be removed in a couple of years. More students have been enrolled at the high end of Skidmore’s academic ratings for their high school performance. Admissions has a 10-point scale. Last year four percent of the class was in the very top band, and this year six percent are. Last year fifteen percent were in the second band and this year it has jumped to seventeen percent. This means Skidmore has invited and enrolled more students in the Honors Forum than ever before. All of this reflects a very gratifying increase in our yield of about three percentage points. This positive increase can in part be attributed to the new Admissions publications, the view book, and postcards based on the theme Creative Thought Matters. This time last year Admissions was working the waiting list needing 50 students. Last year’s onservative financial aid packaging model included 25 percent of Skidmore’s spring admitted students receiving financial aid packages having further need for an additional $4,000 parent loan. Clearly that model was a factor in depressing the spring yield last year. This year’s model has only 11 percent of those receiving packages needing an extra loan and two-thirds of those receiving an extra loan the amount was only $2,000. While Admissions is currently over budget in financial aid, the over enrollment tuition revenue will cover that.

Good news on a number of other fronts: Admissions has, for a second year in a row, enrolled seven Porter Scholarship winners from the original winners offered it. Two years ago, Skidmore got none of the original winners. The target is five and Skidmore has hit seven two years in a row. In addition, Admissions has enrolled six of the alternates who didn’t receive the scholarship. The median SAT of the Porter winners is 1420, up ten points from 1410 last year.

There is equally good news for the Filene Scholars. Skidmore has enrolled four scholars, two from the original winners, two from the runners up, and an additional four Filene finalists who didn’t receive the award have also enrolled.

Skidmore has 95 students of color in the class of 2008; this compares with 82 at this time last year. Skidmore once again co-hosted with the HEOP/AOP Office and Multicultural Students Affairs, the Discovery Weekend for students of color. This year’s weekend was the most successful of the last five years. Skidmore hosted 40 students for Discovery Weekend versus 35 last year and enrolled 70 percent of the students who came for the weekend. The yield specifically on the HEOP/AOP Discovery students was 86 percent. The target on HEOP/AOP was 26, and Admissions enrolled 37. A guest correspondent from Bill Moyer’s documentary NOW: Here for Discovery, followed two of Skidmore’s accepted HEOP students who attend Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day High School. It’s a recently founded high school in NYC that serves a non-traditional population of mostly recent immigrants. The hour-long documentary is focusing on this high school and will air in July; an email will be sent out with details.

Admissions is now well on its way to enrolling the class of 2009. One of the things observed is that the juniors start visiting earlier and earlier. Admissions hosted two junior information days in April to serve those students. Mary Lou thanked everyone who assists and supports Admission’s recruitment efforts.

PROFESSOR KATIE HAUSER – Committee of Committees

Professor Hauser read a report from the Committee of Committees (CoC) into the record. The committee meets two times a year in order to assess the interactions among the member committees, interactions between them and the administration, and to discuss ongoing issues and any problems in committee operations. Faculty Observers also attend and report at those meetings. This year the CoC mainly focused on interactions with the administration because of its newness. Committees that reported all was well and that interactions with the administration were going smoothly were CASA, CAFR, CEPP, Benefits, Curriculum, FPPC and FDC. Though ACC raised no complaints, it could be attributed to rarely meeting during the semester. There were, however, committees that reported difficulties during the past year: IPC and CAPT. The CoC acknowledged the heavy workload of the Dean of Faculty’s Office with the consequence that some things were not being attended to quickly or efficiently though no specific examples were offered. CFG also recognized the tensions and expectations that accompany having a new president and found that orking with President Glotzbach was helpful and productive.

OTHER BUSINESS

There was no other business.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

MICHAEL CASEY – Vice President for Advancement:

• Michael advised that regarding Reunion Weekend, June 3-6, 2004, approximately 650 alums and approximately 200 guests will be attending. He invited faculty to attend to see former students. Reunions occur on a five-year cycle so this year Skidmore will host years XXX4 and XXX9.

PROFESSOR PHYLLIS ROTH

• Phyllis gave background regarding the Skidmore Breast Cancer Awareness brochure which was provided at the start of the meeting. She thanked everyone involved in its production. Brochures will also be available through Health Services. Survey results are on the web: https://www.skidmore.edu/administration/health/education/bc-2002-results.htm

The meeting was adjourned at 11:20 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Colleen M. Kelly
Executive Secretary
Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty