Faculty Meeting Minutes

 

President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 3:33 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 5, 2015.  Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

Faculty Development Committee

On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Professor Greg Pfitzer announced that Professor Mehmet Odekon was the winner of this year’s Distinguished Faculty Service Award. He thanked everyone who submitted nominations for this award and those who stood for consideration of the award. 

President Glotzbach thanked the many people who have been hard at work on this year’s Skidmore Cares initiative. Members of the Executive Committee: Megan Buchanan and Michelle Hubbs; Team Leader Coordinators: Kim Coons, Eric Morser, and Brooke Toma; Logistical support: Colleen Manning, Joanne Dwornik, and Larry Britt; Chef Jim Rose, Bonnie Bertrand, and the many members of Dining Services who work at the Open House to provide the amazing food and drink; Communications: Andy Camp, Jenn Crewell, and Vicky Riley; Joel Brown and Beatlemore Skidmania; Marie Glotzbach for organizing and heading up the team effort; and to everyone who will have contributed to this important community service project.

President Glotzbach reminded everyone that we have much to be thankful for, though the world too often intervenes in our lives and pushes us in a different direction, in light of the recent massacre in Paris and the terror attack in San Bernardino, California.  A moment of silence was observed for all the victims of violence in recent months – not just in these two instances but in so many others as well, including Emanuel AME Church, in Charleston, South Carolina.

President Glotzbach stated that the world is an interconnected place.  As many know, there are 15 students studying in our Paris program.  When the attacks occurred in Paris, they were contacted immediately – along with their parents, who were assured that the students were safe.  The students were given the option of returning to the United States, but all of them chose to remain in Paris to finish the term.  Next semester, 267 Skidmore students are scheduled to study abroad, with a substantial fraction going to European cities – including 20 more heading for Paris.  The vast majority of our students have chosen to go forward with their plans.

Last evening at the Case Walkway Holiday Lighting Ceremony, President Glotzbach said that he asked our students to do what they can to live the values of this special season – peace, joy, and love for one another – in their own lives, as a concrete response to the negativity we see in the world today.  Taking such attitudes is especially important in light of the escalating anti-Muslin and anti-immigrant rhetoric we are hearing from some candidates for President.  We need to create a world in which we can alter the experience of “otherness” that drives so many people to embrace the kind of radical violence so prominent in the world today.  How can we help all of our students learn the skills to be leaders who can help make the world a place where we don’t have to overcome terrorism by killing people, but rather a place where terrorism has fewer places to take root?

Despite some clear areas where we need to work harder to become the inclusive community we desire to be, President Glotzbach said that we are fortunate at Skidmore that we are, by and large, a community of good will and respect.  And that is certainly something to be thankful for.  The student activism over the past weeks was respectful and not overly disruptive or confrontational in ways experienced by other campuses.  We are trying to work with our students who have concerns about the racial climate on campus to find ways to address those issues collaboratively – in a way that brings our community together, not in a way that is polarizing. 

In closing, President Glotzbach thanked the members of the faculty, staff, and administration – and the SGA leaders as well – for everyone’s good work on behalf of the college over the preceding months.  He also announced that Linda Toohey, who is currently in her fourth year as Chair of Skidmore’s Board of Trustees, will be stepping down from that role at the end of this academic year.  Chair Toohey has been a welcome presence at many Faculty Meetings over the past few years.  The Board will name her successor at its February meeting.

DEAN OF THE FACULTY AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS' REPORT

Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, congratulated Professor Odekon on his award.  Echoing President Glotzbach’s comments, DOF/VPAA Breslin thanked everyone for all their hard work this semester. He acknowledged that this has been a hard semester, and he indicated that he appreciates the incredible work the faculty and staff do to help our students reach the aspirations they want to reach. 

Thereafter, he provided updates as follows:

• There are 11 tenure-track searches this year.  One search has been completed and the rest are at various stages.  The departments are doing a tremendous job of bringing in terrific candidates.  More information will be provided in the next few weeks.
• Associate Professor Mimi Hellman will run a Teagle grant that the Tang received with the help of Rachel Seligman and Ian Berry.  The purpose of the grant is to conduct an experiment in museum and object-based pedagogy wherein Skidmore will partner with Colgate, the University at Albany and Hamilton to share an exhibition and have faculty come together to talk in their classes and together beyond the border of a single museum.  More details will follow as the program develops. 
• Professor Susan Walzer and Associate Professor Erica Bastress-Dukehart are working hard on ways in which we can support our mid-career faculty.  More details will follow in the next few weeks. 
• Thanks to the department chairs and program directors for providing plans for mentorship and job sharing models for leadership in the departments as we think about going to a 3-2-2-2 or 18/15 teaching load.  This information will be analyzed and discussed with the department chairs and program directors.

In concluding his report, DOF/VPAA Breslin announced that Associate Professor Kate Graney has been appointed as the new Joseph Palamountain Chair in Government, effective September 1, 2016.  He thanked the current holder of the chair, Associate Professor Ron Seyb, for all his work as chair.   A round of applause was given to Associate Professor Graney.

Middle States Discussion

DOF/VPAA Breslin provided an update on the status of the Middle States reaccreditation process.   We received the generalists report from their visit in November to see whether we satisfied the 14 standards for reaccreditation.  That report is critical to the reaccreditation process, and we received a completely clean report.  The second stage is verification of compliance, and the third stage is self-study.  Janet Riggs and her team will return to campus in March to discuss the self-study.  

Discussion ensued regarding recommendations from students and the Committee on Intercultural and Global Understanding in Chapter 4 with regard to the curriculum and the correlation of these recommendations to the Strategic Plan, as well as the inclusion of the topic of integrative learning.

Following discussion, DOF/VPAA Breslin thanked everyone who participated in the review of the draft self-study with special thanks to Professor Sarah Goodwin for her extraordinary job in managing the entire Middle States self-study process.

 

CONFERRAL OF DEGREES AND HONORS

A. Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science Degrees. Dave DeConno, 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 19 students of the Class of 2016 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by January 31, 2016. 

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Science degree to 5 students of the Class of 2016 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by January 31, 2016.

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, read the following resolutions into the record (see attached):

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College approve College Honors for the following 9 members of the Class of 2016, as presented at the December 4, 2015, Faculty Meeting: 6 students for magna cum laude distinction, and 3 students for summa cum laude distinction.

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College approve Departmental and Program Honors for 10 students from the Class of 2016, as presented at the December 4, 2015 Faculty Meeting.

There was no discussion, and the motions were voted on and passed with all in favor.

OLD BUSINESS

On behalf of the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning, Professor April Bernard read the following Motion that was introduced at the last Faculty Meeting held November 6, 2015 (see attached):

MOTION:  CEPP moves to approve the proposal, originating from the faculty of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, to establish two distinct departments: The Department of Computer Science and The Department of Mathematics.   

There was no discussion, and the Motion was voted on and passed.

 

NEW BUSINESS

On behalf of the Institutional Policy and Planning Committee, Associate Professor Tim Harper introduced the following Motion (see attached):

MOTION: The Institutional Policy and Planning Committee (IPPC) presents to the faculty “Creating Pathways to Excellence: The Plan for Skidmore College 2015-2025” and requests the faculty’s endorsement of the 2015-2025 Strategic Plan.   https://www.skidmore.edu/planning/next-strategic-plan.php

Brief discussion was held concerning the timeline for the Strategic Plan and the next steps in the approval process.  There being no further discussion, the Motion will lie over until the next meeting.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Associate Professor Erica Bastress-Dukehart announced the Open Classroom will once again be held February 22-26, 2016.  More information will follow.
• On behalf of he and Marie, President Glotzbach invited everyone to the Skidmore Cares Open House at Scribner House immediately following the meeting. Special thanks to Eric Morser, Brooke Toma and Kim Coons for their help this year in organizing Skidmore Cares.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:32 p.m.

 

Debra L. Peterson
Executive Administrative Assistant