FACULTY MEETING (Added to Regular Schedule)

September 19, 2003
Gannett Auditorium

MINUTES

President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 3:34 p.m.

This meeting has been called as an additional faculty meeting to the regular schedule; therefore, the motion to approve the minutes from the September 5 meeting will be made at the October 3 meeting.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

The past week was an eventful week for President Glotzbach as well as for the administration. There were several meetings held in New York City this week: the combined Budget and Finance Committee and Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees meeting and the Tang Advisory Board meeting. President Glotzbach and Pat Oles made visits to residence halls and talked with students. The sobering announcement of plans to cancel Skidmore’s men’s hockey team went out this week in an email to the community. Communication will continue with parents, alumni, and students regarding this matter, and President Glotzbach offered to speak with faculty if they so desire. The decision followed two years of study of the athletic program. The timing of the announcement was driven by the admissions cycle; it would have been disingenuous to bring in next year’s class believing there would be a hockey team.

In conversations with faculty members at Scribner House, President Glotzbach has been hearing that there is not enough recognition of the good work that faculty members are doing. President Glotzbach then congratulated and thanked Beau Breslin and David Karp for their work on the Death Penalty Conference held on September 12, which was a large success. Kate Berheide has received the prestigious Hans O. Mauksch Award from the American Sociological Association, Section on Teaching and Learning, for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education.

DEAN OF THE FACULTY'S REPORT

Dean Joseph addressed the hockey decision and the announcement to eliminate the men’s intercollegiate team beginning with the 2004-05 academic year. Deans Joseph, Oles, and Brueggemann, as well as Athletics Director Segrave met with the team on Wednesday September 17. They also met with coaches that same evening. On Friday, September 19, Deans Joseph, Brueggemann and Professor Segrave met with the Department of Exercise Science, Dance, and Athletics.

The Dean of Faculty’s Office has had conversations with CAPT regarding the process by which endowed chairs are selected. A nomination announcement for several open endowed chairs was circulated recently. CAPT and CFG are also working on a process by which faculty status will be more clearly defined. CEPP is discussing its role in the decision making process (including the elimination of the hockey team, for example) when those decisions involve Academic Affairs.

Dean Joseph recognizes and applauds the need to celebrate faculty accomplishments. The proper use of e-mail lists, the tenor of conversations in faculty meetings, and the agenda of faculty meetings are all items that colleagues have raised. A common theme of a desire to return to teaching as a priority on campus has also emerged.

NEW BUSINESS

Professor Mehmet Odekon, on behalf of the Financial Policy & Planning Committee (FPPC), advised faculty members of the parliamentary steps that were involved in the discussion of the upcoming motion. He reminded everyone that with matters of policy there is no substantive discussion permitted; therefore, the discussion will be postponed until the next meeting. The meeting was moved to a Committee of the Whole to allow President Glotzbach to participate.

PPC brought this motion to the faculty floor as a result of directions in paragraph five of the Preamble of the Faculty Handbook. Professor Odekon read the paragraph into the record:

Part Four describes benefits extended to the Faculty. Substantive changes in Part Four are approved by the Board of Trustees upon the recommendation of the President. Such changes are normally proposed by the College Benefits Committee to the Financial Policy and Planning Committee which consults with the Faculty. The Faculty votes on proposals for substantive changes. Following consultation with the Faculty, the Financial Policy and Planning Committee makes its recommendations to the President.

MOTION:

Professor Mehmet Odekon, Chair of the FPPC, made a motion on behalf of FPPC to vote on proposals for substantive benefits changes that have been proposed by the College Benefits Committee.   Professor Odekon read the motion into the record. (See Attachment A.) The motion came from the committee and required no second.

MOTION:

Professor Odekon, on behalf of FPPC, moved that the meeting move to a Committee of the Whole, time limit 30 minutes. No second necessary, President Glotzbach requested to proceed by acclimation, and hearing no opposition the motion was passed with all in favor. Professor Tad Kuroda chaired the Committee of the Whole, which convened at 3:25 p.m. and concluded at 3:55 p.m. Professor Kuroda accepted a motion to rise and report and reported that the Committee of the Whole discussed the implication of benefits changes at the College.

MOTION:

Professor Odekon made a motion to have this matter lay over until the October 3 meeting because it is a matter of policy. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously. The motion will lie over until the October 3 Faculty Meeting.

Dean Joseph addressed the formulation of an Academic Vision for the College. CEPP joins the Dean in its dedication to moving this process along expeditiously but with the much-needed input of the faculty. The current document should be viewed as a work in progress and CEPP and the Dean encourage an animated discussion in the months ahead. With the help of Mike Hall, Michael Casey, and CEPP member Hugh Foley, the Dean will be considering the actual cost of implementing the various components of the Vision Statement. At the most recent meeting of Academic Staff, small group discussion tables were organized to consider the particular issues of various constituencies within Academic Affairs.

Professor Gordon Thompson stated he is honored to work on CEPP and the Academic Vision. The many documents created by the community in the past have consistent themes indicating that faculty appear to agree on many things. Professor Thompson explained the Academic Vision timetable displayed on screen to the faculty. ( Academic Vision Statement¹ or ViSta Timetable² .) CEPP is looking to put together subcommittees very soon. Professor Thompson spoke with Professor Katie Hauser, chair of the Committee on Faculty Governance (CFG), requesting the formation of subcommittees and requesting self-nominations for participation. CEPP desires a pool of candidates to create the subcommittees. Subcommittees would address areas such as the first-year experience, advising and mentoring, and assessment. Faculty members need to become actively involved in the assessment project and to work with the administration to prevent assessment policies from being imposed upon faculty. Skidmore needs to be more global and recognize its role in the world and eventually tie that into academic programs.

CEPP feels that the current core requirements generally fit well into the Academic Vision, although there may be better ways to deliver them. The Committee is in its listening mode and eager to receive opinions. CEPP plans on bringing a final version of the Vision to the faculty floor this spring. CEPP would then organize summer workshops to consider the implications of any changes. An early target for implementing the Academic Vision Statement is fall, 2005.

¹  Academic Vision: https://www.skidmore.edu/%7Egthompso/grtdata/CEPP/campus-only/Vision04/Index.htm
²  Timetable: https://www.skidmore.edu/%7Egthompso/grtdata/CEPP/campus-only/Vision04/Timetable.htm

MOTION:

Professor Thompson, on behalf of CEPP, moved that the meeting now move to a Committee of the Whole, time limit 20 minutes. No second was necessary. There was no opposition and the motion passed. Professor Paty Rubio chaired the Committee of the Whole which convened at 4:40 p.m. and concluded at 5:00 p.m. Professor Rubio accepted a motion to rise and report and reported that the Committee of the Whole discussed the proposed Academic Vision Statement.

President Glotzbach thanked the faculty for their participation. He acknowledged that it is difficult to focus on an academic vision when there are financial issues at Skidmore; however, he reminded everyone how important it is to move forward and eventually put those issues behind them. President Glotzbach believes it is important to talk about these issues simultaneously. Issues concerning governance also need to be addressed. The governance system consists of two parts: formal and informal. The formal system involves numbers of committees and when and how often they meet. He believes this system can be modified without losing an effective faculty voice in college governance. The informal system involves trust. One of President’s Glotzbach’s responsibilities is to help create the conditions under which the faculty can trust and feel comfortable with spending less time in committees in order to devote more time to teaching and learning.

OTHER BUSINESS

There was no other business

ANNOUNCEMENTS

COMMUNITY BENEFITS MEETING: Monday, September 22, 12:15 p.m. in Filene Auditorium.

President Glotzbach announced that a reception hosted by the President’s Office would be held in the Faculty/Staff Club immediately following the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

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