Faculty Meeting Minutes
May 17, 2017
Gannett Auditorium
MINUTES
President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
President Glotzbach asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held April 28, 2017. Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
President Glotzbach welcomed everyone to the final faculty meeting of the semester. He said it is always a satisfying moment to reach this time in the academic year, and he hopes that it has been a good year for everyone. We have had some challenges but are stronger and better because of the some of the work we have done this year. We have some terrific students--Honors Convocation was once again inspiring and he trusts that the Academic Festival went as well also. President Glotzbach thanked everyone who worked so hard to make this year a success and it shows. He hopes everyone has a great summer and comes back refreshed and reenergized in the fall.Faculty Development Committee
On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Associate Professor Rachel Roe-Dale announced that the Faculty Distinguished Service Award has been renamed the Phyllis A. Roth Faculty Distinguished Service Award. A round of applause was given.
Admissions
Mary Lou Bates, Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, provide an update on the incoming Class of 2021. The class target this year is 660 with 25 in London and 635 on campus. Last year our target was slightly higher, and we came in about 30 over. We are now projecting we will have 23 in London and 637 on campus. If we open with 660, that compares with a 717 total enrolment last year, which will help us get back in balance. We have enrolled half our class Early Decision, and we were conservative in our spring offers to prevent coming in high again – our acceptance rate is 24 percent, which is a record for the college. Subsequently, our spring yield dropped between 1–2 percent, and we are filling our last 25 enrollments from the waiting list. This will building a summer melt of 60 students.
Statistics of the class include:
- 41 percent male; 59 percent female (consistent with last year).
- 24 percent domestic students of color (compared to last year at 23 percent).
- We had some focused efforts to increase and experienced an increase in enrollment of African American students. Last year, about 30 percent total domestic students of color were African American students; this year, about 40 percent of our total domestic students of color are African Americans.
- 58 percent of spring admits who attended the Discovery program enrolled this year, compared to 48 percent last year and 46 percent the year before.
- We also enrolled more Pell eligible students. We are projecting in the fall that 17-18 percent of the class will be Pell eligible (we have been running about 13 percent in recent classes).
- Given the current political climate, we were concerned about enrollment of international students; however, our enrollments of international students are, in fact, up slightly. Currently, 13 percent of the class are international students (88 students from 47 countries). Last year, our international students comprised 12 percent of the class.
- We exceeded our Opportunity Program goal of 40 by 3 students, all of whom are HEOP students.
- We have 4 Filene scholars, 3 Porter scholars, and 12 S3M Scholars.
- In this first year having a test optional policy, 74 percent of the applicants said they wanted their scores considered; of those we admitted, 77 percent of those students wanted their test scores considered, and 65 percent of the enrolled students wanted their test scores considered. The median scores of the enrolled class for the SAT is 1240 and 29 for the composite ACT, which is consistent with last year.
President Glotzbach concluded by reminding everyone that this is Debra Townsend’s last faculty meeting. He thanked Ms. Townsend for all her great work in helping to build the new Division of Communications and Marketing. A round of applause was given to Ms. Townsend.
Thereupon, President Glotzbach opened the floor for questions. A question was raised about whether the new Excelsior Scholarship program had any effect on the admissions process. Dean Bates stated that the new scholarship was introduced toward the end of the admissions cycle. However, Dean Bates indicated that she heard that many of the SUNY schools are overenrolled and some of the smaller colleges who compete more directly with SUNY schools did not meet their classes. Dean Bates said there are a lot of unanswered questions for families along the way and perhaps the program may have been rolled out before it was ready. President Glotzbach stated that he doesn’t believe the Excelsior Scholarship will affect Skidmore’s enrollment very much.
Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, thanked
everyone for their work this year in teaching our students and representing the College
on various committees. A special round of applause was given to all the temporary
faculty leaving the college this year and have committed and dedicated themselves
to Skidmore this year -- without them, we can’t do our work properly.
Thereafter, VP Breslin presented faculty salary data for FY ’17 taken from the annual
AAUP Survey. Included in this salary information was Skidmore’s ranking with its peers
for faculty salaries and overall faculty compensation for the ranks of full professor,
associate professor, and assistant professor. Skidmore is doing well in comparison
with its peers and we have made great progress in the past few years. VP Breslin
also shared Skidmore’s rank compared to its peers with regard to its endowment and
endowment per student. VP Breslin concluded by stating that we have eliminated
the gender equity variance in salaries and we will continue to work to ensure faculty
salaries are competitive with its peers.
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 376 students of the Class of 2017 to be awarded on May 20, 2017.
RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Science degree to 186 students of the Class of 2017 to be awarded on May 20, 2017.
RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Arts degree to 36 students of the Class of 2017 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by August 31, 2017.
RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Science degree to 15 students of the Class of 2017 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by August 31, 2017.
The total number of graduates of the Class of 2017 is 622 as follows: 19 for January completion, 552 for May completion and 51 for August completion.
B. All-College and Departmental Honors. Ron Seyb, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Academic Policy and Advising, read the following resolutions into the record (see attached):
RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College approve College Honors for members of the Class of 2017, as presented at the May 17, 2017, Faculty Meeting: 23 students for summa cum laude distinction; 88 students for magna cum laude distinction; and 76 students for cum laude distinction. (Note: including January 2017 graduates, 190 of 622 students [30.5%] in the class of 2017 will receive College Honors).
RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College approve Departmental and Program Honors for 235 students from the Class of 2017, as presented at the May 17, 2017, Faculty Meeting. (Note: including January 2017 graduates, 239 of 622 students [38.4%] in the class of 2017 will receive Departmental or Program Honors; 16 students will receive honors in two majors).
There was no discussion, and the motions were voted on and passed with all in favor.
C. Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Degrees. Associate Professor Sylvia Franke-McDevitt read the following resolution into the record (see attached):
RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Master of Arts degree to four students.
There was no discussion, and the motion was voted on and passed with all in favor.
OLD BUSINESS
Associate Professor Pat Oles presented a revised version of the Resolution he introduced at the last Faculty Meeting (see attached). Associate Professor Oles explained the revisions made to the original resolution and reminded everyone of the reasons for bringing the Resolution:Lengthy discussion of the Resolution followed concerning the process and questioned whether the Board of Trustees carefully considered the report and recommendations of the Divestment Task Force; the broad morale character of the Resolution and its practical side; the complexity of balancing return on investments verses investing in investments based upon institutional values; the personal decisions verses institutional decisions with regard to investment strategy; whether the Board of Trustees is open to developing an investment policy that reflects the moral, fiscal, and political challenges of informed, responsible institutional citizenship; the work that the Board of Trustees has already begun to do in identifying investments that align with institutional values.
Following discussion, two friendly amendments to the Resolution were made and accepted by Associate Professor Oles. The Resolution, as amended, reads as follows:
BE IT RESOLVED, that the faculty of Skidmore College takes seriously the need to link the college's institutional values and its investment philosophy and strategy. We urge the President to form a study group in the fall of 2017 charged with exploring ways to align our investment strategies with our institutional values. This study group would make recommendations to the Board of Trustees, the faculty, and the Skidmore community by the conclusion of the AY 2017-2018.
Thereafter, the Resolution, as amended, was voted on and passed by majority vote.
There was no new business.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- On behalf of the Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning, Associate Professor Erica Bastress-Dukehart announced that Associate Professor Heather Hurst has been selected to serve as the first CLTL/ODSP Sponsored Faculty Resident.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:03 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,