Faculty Meeting Minutes
October 6, 2017
Gannett Auditorium
MINUTES
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
President Glotzbach asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held September 8, 2017. Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
President Glotzbach welcomed everyone, noting that we have had a very successful opening
of the semester, and by all accounts things are going well. He expressed the hope
that this was true for everyone. On a wider scale, unfortunately, the past few weeks
– and, indeed, the past few months – have been marked by a series of natural and human-caused
tragic events. Most recently, we are still dealing with the aftermath of the horrible
episode of mass murder in Las Vegas, as well as our ongoing concern for the many victims
of recent hurricanes in the southern United States, Puerto Rico, and Caribbean islands.
The College has reached out to alumni, students, and parents from those regions who
may have been affected. A moment of silence was held in remembrance of those affected
by these tragedies and for reflection about both the fragility and the resiliency
of the human community.
President Glotzbach went on to say that he welcomes any Faculty Meeting that does
not need to begin with a moment of silence. It would be nice if there were more of
them. And we also know that these larger external events can have local reverberations
on our own campus. He echoed what we have been seeing in some of the most recent
news coverage out of Las Vegas, and what we also saw from the reporting about Hurricane
Harvey in Texas: so many people reaching out to assist others, sometimes putting their
own lives in peril to do so. This group includes first-responders, public safety
personnel, military personnel, and so on. But their numbers also have included many
ordinary citizens who simply stepped up, in different ways, to do what they could.
It has, by now, become a commonplace observation that these many acts of assistance
have crossed racial, economic, and other social boundaries that, in a different moment,
might well be markers of division.
President Glotzbach stated that the fact that this observation has been repeated many
times should not diminish its import. In these times of adversity, people have stepped
up to act according to the better angels of their nature. So as we grieve and feel
concern for the victims of the underlying events, President Glotzbach asked everyone
to allow ourselves to be inspired by the many acts of courage and just plain human
kindness that we also have witnessed. It would truly be a wonderful moment if we
could use these examples to elevate our own quotidian interactions with one another
in the Skidmore community – to make sure that we have one another’s back and express
our appreciation and support for the good work people are trying so hard to accomplish.
Thereafter, President Glotzbach provided some updates regarding the Cabinet-level
searches and upcoming events:
- With regard to the Vice President for Advancement, Sean Campbell will be joining us in mid-month. As has been announced, Kim Verstandig will be leaving us after five years as Associate Vice President for Advancement and Director of the Campaign to take the position of Vice President of Advancement at Connecticut College. In her time here, Kim has worked with our Trustees – especially key leaders in the Advancement area – and has ably led the Creating Our Future Campaign successfully to having achieved today’s total of approximately $145 million in gifts and pledges. Since June, when Michael Casey departed for Trinity College, Kim has stepped up to serve as Interim Vice President for Advancement, taking over leadership of the entire division. President Glotzbach expressed his appreciation for Kim’s willingness to assume all these roles, for the energy she brought to them, and for the success she has achieved.
- With regard to the search for the Vice President for Communications & Marketing, we are in the final stages of this search, and President Glotzbach expected to be in a position to make an announcement of an appointment very soon.
- With regard to the search for the Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, the search committee has been working diligently. As we have informed the community, we have identified four very strong finalists. Our first candidate visited this week, and the remaining three will be here next week. President Glotzbach encouraged everyone to attend the open candidates’ forums and provide feedback.
- Dr. Beverley Daniel Tatum, former President of Spellman College and acclaimed author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? will visit on Thursday, October 12, as part of this year’s “In It 2” series.
- Singer-song writer Paul Simon will be on campus on Thursday, October 26. He will do a session with students in the afternoon, and there will be a public event that evening in Zankel – "An Evening with Paul Simon: a Conversation about a Musical Life." This will be an interview format not a concert, but Paul has agreed to play a couple of tunes as well.
- Syndicated columnist and political commentator David Brooks will be on campus on Monday, October 30. David will meet with a class in the afternoon, and that evening he will give a talk in Zankel.
Thereafter, Joshua Woodfork, Executive Director and Vice President for Strategic Planning
and Institutional Diversity, along with Crystal Moore, Associate Dean of the Faculty,
read the Diversity and Inclusion Statement (https://www.skidmore.edu/diversity/about.php) and asked for the faculty’s affirmation of this statement. The faculty signaled
their acclimation by applause. VP Woodfork also announced upcoming events for this
year’s "In It 2" series being held October 11-13, 2017 and invited everyone to participate.
These events include a community coffee hour, an open discussion and key note address
by transgender activist Skylar Kergil ’13, a Tang curator tour, Birthing Bodies Exhibition,
curated by Laila Morgan ’18, a discussion and book signing by Beverly Daniel Tatum,
a luncheon and discussion with the Three Generations of Villarosa, and a screening
of the film Sauti. For further details and information, see https://www.skidmore.edu/diversity/init2/index.php.
President Glotzbach opened the floor for questions. A question was raised concerning
the perceived lack of reference to the Humanities in this year’s Strategic Action
Agenda. President Glotzbach reminded everyone that this is only the second year in
a 10-year Strategic Plan. While there may not be any specific reference to the Humanities in the "Strategic
Action Agenda," President Glotzbach assured everyone that the Humanities is very much
present and, in fact, is implicated in the new general education curriculum.
DEAN OF THE FACULTY AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS' REPORT
Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, provided an update on matters his office is involved in this semester:- This year, there are ten tenure-line searches, and they are progressing nicely. So far, we have completed two Just-in-Time Workshops, in which we are again partnering with Union College.
- With regard to the search for a potential Associate Dean of the Faculty, DOF/VPAA Breslin indicated that we are trying to mirror the timeline for this search with the search for the new Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs. He has met with the nominees this week and will wait for the search committee to appoint the new Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs before appointing someone to the position.
- Discussions of possible CAPT reconfiguration given the upcoming workload issues.
- Given Paul Calhoun’s announcement of his intent to retire next year, Special Programs will be conducting a self-study and external review this year to give us an opportunity to think about where Special Programs should go from here.
OLD BUSINESS
On behalf of the Faculty Executive Committee, Associate Professor Greg Gerbi read the following Motion that was introduced at the last Faculty Meeting (see attached):NEW BUSINESS
Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, introduced the following Motion (see attached):OTHER
CAPT Reconfiguration
Professor Pushkala Prasad led a discussion on a proposed new institutional structure
for the Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure (“CAPT”) that would allow
CAPT to do its best possible job of evaluating the waves of large tenure cohorts expected
in the next several years. Professor Prasad assured everyone that nether the outgoing
chair of CAPT nor the DOF/VPAA would have any personal gain from this new structure;
this new structure is entirely motivated by desire to solve the problem of CAPT having
insufficient time for careful consideration of a large number of tenure files that
it will be reviewing over the next several years. Professor Prasad further detailed
the current process CAPT follows in reviewing all tenure cases and the challenges
CAPT faces with faculty not willing to serve on the committee due to the large workload.
DOF/VPAA Breslin stated that, after discussing proposed models at the department chairs
and program directors retreat in May, CAPT has developed a possible new CAPT structure
to effectively create two CAPTs – a CAPT committee and a Promotion Committee. The
CAPT committee will consist of 7 elected members (5 randomly selected for each tenure
case) that will review tenure and automatic promotion cases; review DOF/VPAA appointments;
and consult with the President on cabinet appointments and reviews of vice presidents.
Each member of CAPT would receive a course release every year, and there might be
possible disciplinary breadth requirements in the CAPT membership. The separate Promotion
Committee would consist of 5 elected members that would review all promotions not
connected to tenure and consult with the DOF/VPAA on endowed chair appointments.
Each member of the Promotion Committee would receive one course release if there were
more than five promotion cases in a given year. In addition, CAPT proposes the following
calendar changes: tenure review would begin in early September and end in February
and promotion review would begin in November and end in April.
DOF/VPAA Breslin then discussed the next steps with regard to the new CAPT model.
Two open forums will be held to discuss this proposal, one for untenured faculty and
one open to all faculty, to solicit feedback. A proposed motion with proposed changes
to the Faculty Handbook will then be introduced to the faculty at the November faculty
meeting with a possible vote on the proposal at the December faculty meeting.
Thereafter, DOF/VPAA Breslin opened the floor for comments.
- A clarification of the rationale for the odd number of members on both committees was requested.
- A question was raised concerning the effect on faculty governance given the increase in the number of committee members required to support the proposed structure.
- A question was raised concerning the issue of consistency of CAPT members reviewing the same number of cases.
- A question was raised about the possibility of foregoing the requirement that CAPT members read all of the tenure candidate’s scholarship.
- A question was raised concerning any proposed changes to the Tenure Review Board’s schedule.
Update on IdeaLab Planning Grant
Associate Professor Sarah Sweeney, co-PI of the AVD IdeaLab Planning Grant, introduced
the other members of the steering committee: Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and
Vice President for Academic Affairs, co-PI; Bill Duffy, Chief Technology Officer;
Marta Brunner, College Librarian; Ian Berry, Dayton Director of the Tang Teaching
Museum and Art Gallery; Associate Professor Beck Krefting, American Studies; Associate
Professor Erica Bastress-Dukehart, History; Artist-in-Residence Garett Wilson, Theater;
Associate Professor Masako Inamoto, World Languages and Literatures; Assistant Professor
Lucy Spardy, Mathematics; and Visiting Assistant Professor Cathy Hill, Management
& Business. Associate Professor Sweeney thanked Professor Kim Frederick and Assistant
Professor David Cohen for their service on the steering committee last year. As both
Associate Professor Sweeney and DOF/VPAA Breslin will be on sabbatical in the spring
semester, Associate Professors Krefting and Bastress-Dukehart will serve as co-PIs
during the spring 2018 semester. Each committee member spoke about what the grant
has been able to do so far: sponsored five new innovative pedagogical courses being
offered during the fall 2017 semester; supported faculty in two pop-up courses in
response to the recent Presidential election; sponsored a pop-up course to create
a makerspace where a trailer on campus was transformed into a collaborative workspace
known as the Hub; provided an opportunity for steering committee members to travel
to Smith College to visit and learn about their makerspace; and sponsoring four new
innovative courses which are being proposed for the spring 2018 semester. A new proposal
for another AVD IdeaLab grant is in the works.
Process for AQR/FQR Designation
Associate Professor Rachel Roe-Dale, Director of Quantitative Reasoning, discussed
new procedures for requesting course approval as a FQR or AQR course in light of the
approval of the new general education curriculum in the spring. Effective this semester,
the QR Director will no longer be reviewing courses for the current QR2 designation;
any course that receives the new FQR or AQR designation will fulfill the current QR2
requirement. For new courses requiring Curriculum Committee approval, faculty must
upload their course proposals into Curriculog and should then add the AQR or FQR proposal
form as appropriate. If a course is already approved and a FQR or AQR approval is
requested, faculty must submit the FQR or AQR proposal form and their syllabus to
the director of Quantitative Reasoning. A summary of the new Quantitative Reasoning
requirement can be found on CEPP’s dashboard site (http://libguides.skidmore.edu/curriculum)
under “Applied Quantitative Reasoning.” As with all new degree requirements, the
new QR requirement will be effective with the entering class of 2024. During the summer
of 2020, entering students who do not automatically place into an AQR course by SAT
or ACT test scores will take the QR-placement exam prior to registration for their
fall 2020 term. The results of that exam will place students either into MA 100 Quantitative
Reasoning, a FQR course, or directly into a AQR course. Associate Professor Roe-Dale
will send an email with the new procedures and the new AQR/FQR proposal forms.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Associate Professor Erica Bastress-Dukehart reminded everyone that applications for full year sabbaticals are due on October 15; she also reminded everyone that nominations for the Edwin M. Moseley Faculty Lectureship are due on October 20, 2017 and encouraged everyone to nominate their colleagues for this award.
- Ian Berry, Dayton Director of the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, invited everyone to a reception at the Tang immediately following the faculty meeting.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:02 p.m.
Executive Administrative Assistant