FACULTY MEETING
December 2, 2011
Gannett Auditorium
MINUTES
President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 3:36 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
President Glotzbach asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held November 4, 2011. Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Associate Professor Joel Smith announced that Associate Professor Michael Arnush is the recipient of the 2012 Distinguished Faculty Service Award. Associate Professor Arnush received a congratulatory round of applause.
President Glotzbach reported that a significant number of financial aid students come to us from the Davis United Scholars; this year, we received a check from that foundation in the sum of $490,000.
President Glotzbach provided an update on his review of the current structure of Academic Affairs. He reminded everyone that, in collaboration with the Committee on Appointments, Promotions and Tenure (CAPT) and the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC), he convened a small group consisting of Professor Mary Lynn, Professor Pat Fehling, and Professor Dan Hurwitz to obtain various opinions regarding the current structure of academic affairs. (Mary Lynn chaired the group.) He thanked those members of the group for all their work and indicated that he anticipates announcing his decision shortly.
President Glotzbach also reported that IPPC has been having a discussion about optimization. He discussed the process that began in 2005-06 to review the size of the student body. Last year, IPPC reviewed the prior recommendation to stay at 2,280. However, we are considerably above 2,280, due to a number of circumstances. This year, President Glotzbach indicated that IPPC is continuing to look at the optimal size of the student body to determine whether we should continue to move back to our target of 2,280 or whether we should increase our optimal budgeted size to 2,380. President Glotzbach stated that these conversations will be continuing in IPPC and that he will report any further recommendations made by IPPC.
President Glotzbach concluded his report by acknowledging the work that Professor Roy Rotheim does with the Economic Opportunity Council and praised the support given by the Skidmore community to this endeavor; this year, the support from the Skidmore community benefitted over 150 families.
VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS’ REPORT
Susan Kress, Vice President for Academic Affairs, offered her congratulations to Professor Arnush and thanked everyone for all their work this semester. She announced that the members of the NY6 consortium (six colleges including Skidmore) received a planning grant to think about faculty work in the 21st century; this grant is an opportunity to think about the changing nature of faculty work and can move us in some very important directions. The conversation about this grant will begin at the Academic Staff retreat next week.
Dean of the Faculty Report. Beau Breslin, Interim Dean of the Faculty, offered his congratulations to Professor Arnush. He provided a brief report on the status of science planning, noting that a science working group has been formed and has been working since the beginning of the semester to develop a programmatic report. The report will then be handed off to a facilities task force, who will think about renovations and construction of facilities as the science plan moves forward; a willingness to serve for those that wish to participate in the facilities task force will be sent out shortly.
Dean Breslin noted that in addition to these groups, there is a subcommittee of CEPP that is working on science literacy. Thereafter, Associate Professor Josh Ness provided an update on this subcommittee, noting that the subcommittee is in the process of being formed; the work of this subcommittee will be done during the spring semester and will define science literacy and explore possible ways to foster scientific literacy.
Dean of Special Programs Report. Paul Calhoun, Interim Dean of Special Programs, offered his congratulations to Professor Arnush and thanked the faculty for their warm response to Auden Thomas in her recruitment for teaching summer courses. Dean Calhoun noted his concern about last year’s cancellation of courses due to low enrollment and this year is asking everyone to help find ways to recruit more students for these programs. The summer session represents the largest revenue opportunity for the summer, and these revenues help defray the cost of keeping the college open in the summer.
Dean Calhoun also announced two residencies that will begin in February: the ACJW will be in residency with their winter concert scheduled for February 10, and the Isle of Klezbos, a Jacob Perlow series event, will perform on February 23. He concluded by reporting that Special Programs is immersed in the planning for the summer institutes, and they have just signed a contract to bring Terence Blanchard back in July.
CONFERRAL OF DEGREES AND HONORS
A. Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science Degrees. Dave DeConno, Interim Registrar, read the following resolutions into the record (see attached):
RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Arts degree to 29 students of the Class of 2012 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by January 31, 2012.
RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Science degree to 4 students of the Class of 2012 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by January 31, 2012.
There was no discussion, and the motions were voted on and passed with all in favor.
B. All-College and Departmental Honors. Corey Freeman-Gallant, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Academic Advising, read the following resolutions into the record (see attached):
RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College approve College Honors for the following 15 members of the Class of 2012, as presented at the December 2, 2011, Faculty Meeting: 7 students for cum laude distinction; 4 students for magna cum laude distinction; and 4 students for summa cum laude distinction.
RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College approve Departmental and Program Honors for 7 students from the Class of 2012, as presented at the December 2, 2011 Faculty Meeting.
There was no discussion, and the motions were voted on and passed with all in favor.
OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business.
NEW BUSINESS
On behalf of FEC, Associate Professor Barbara Black, introduced the following Motion (see attached):
MOTION: The Faculty Executive Committee moves that the following change to the Faculty Handbook (Part Two, II.F.11) be adopted:
Membership: Four faculty members, each representing one of the four Divisions of Disciplines [see Part Two, preamble], elected to serve three-year terms, and one library faculty member, appointed in consultation with the Director of the MALS Program and the College Librarian, to serve a three-year term; the Dean of Special Programs, the Dean of the Faculty or his/her designee,and the Director and Academic Advisor of the MALS Program.
There was no discussion, and the Motion will lie over until the next meeting.
OTHER
A Committee of the Whole was formed to discuss the proposed Intellectual Property Policy (see attached). Associate Professor Barbara Black was appointed as chair of the Committee of the Whole; a 20-minute time limit was set with the opportunity for an additional 20 minutes for discussion. At the conclusion of the meeting of the Committee of the Whole, Associate Professor Barbara Black reported that a discussion of the proposed Intellectual Property Policy was held.
Following the Committee of the Whole discussion, VP Kress noted that Bill Tomlinson, Director of Sponsored Research, has invested a great deal of time in researching and drafting this policy at the request of the Dean of the Faculty. She noted that the policy has been sent to legal counsel for review and has also been reviewed by a number of institutional groups, including CEPP, FEC, IPPC, President’s Cabinet, etc.; further, she noted that we need such a policy to be compliant with Federal regulations. FEC will be consulted to form a committee to review the policy, and it will be brought back to the faculty for a vote at a later date. She offered her appreciation to Professor Muriel Poston, Bill Tomlinson and the many others who worked on the policy.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Professor Sarah Goodwin announced that she and Lisa Christensen, Assessment Facilitator, will be sending an email containing a survey to assess interest in a senior week symposium on visual communication. She encouraged everyone to indicate their interest with no commitment necessary by completing the short survey.
- Professor Catherine Golden announced changes in the way that Honors Forum admits students and that the Honors Forum will now be known as the Periclean Honors Forum; these changes have been approved by CEPP. Professor Golden will be sending an email with further details.
- On behalf of himself and Marie, President Glotzbach invited everyone to attend the Scribner House Holiday Open House on Sunday, December 11, 2011. President Glotzbach also encouraged everyone to support Skidmore Cares and presented information on the agencies that will benefit this year.
- Mary Lou Bates, Dean of Admissions and Director of Financial Aid, invited everyone to a reception in Murray Aikins immediately following the meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra L. Peterson
Executive Administrative Assistant