Faculty Meeting Minutes
April 29, 2022
Gannett Auditorium/Zoom
Michael Orr, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, called the meeting to order at 3:34 p.m. and welcomed everyone to the first Faculty Meeting with in-person attendees in over two years. He then asked for everyone’s patience in navigating the first hybrid Faculty Meeting and explained the procedures to be followed by Zoom participants for voting through iClicker and requesting to speak.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
DOF/VPAA Orr asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held April 1, 2022. Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved as distributed.
RECOGNITION OF RETIREES
On behalf of the Appointments and Promotions Committee (ATC), Associate Professor Sara Lagalwar read the following resolution into the record (see attached):
BE IT RESOLVED, that the faculty of Skidmore College expresses its profound appreciation and admiration for the following members of the Skidmore Faculty who have this year expressed their determination to retire:
- Mary Harney, Department of Dance
- Kate Greenspan, Department of English
- Kate Leavitt, Department of Art
- Mary-Beth O’Brien, Department of World Languages and Literatures
- Roy Rotheim, Department of Economics
- Jan Vinci, Department of Music
- Susan Walzer, Department of Sociology
The faculty further resolves that the biographical highlights of these members contained in the Retirement Citation booklet distributed at this meeting be included in the Faculty Meeting Minutes of April 29, 2022, in recognition and celebration of their distinguished service and achievement.
The assembly signaled their acclamation with applause.
Thereafter, Associate Professor Sarah DiPasquale delivered a tribute to Mary Harney; Professor Barbara Black delivered a tribute to Kate Greenspan; Associate Professor Sarah Sweeney delivered a tribute to Kate Leavitt; Professor Viviana Rangil delivered a tribute to Mary-Beth O’Brien; Professor Joerg Bibow delivered a tribute to Roy Rotheim; Associate Professor Jeremy Day-O’Connell delivered a tribute to Jan Vinci; and Professor John Brueggemann delivered a tribute to Susan Walzer. A congratulatory round of applause was given to each retiree.
OLD BUSINESS
Promotions Committee
On behalf of the Promotions Committee, Professor Mark Huibregtse read the following motion that was introduced at the last Faculty Meeting (see attached):
MOTION: The Promotions Committee moves that the list of required components of a promotion file in the Faculty Handbook (Part One, Article VIII, F, 2, a, vii, (2)) be amended as follows (deleted text is struckout; new text is in boldface):
Promotion files shall include the following:
- an updated CV…
- all scholarly, creative, or professional materials produced since the last promotionsubmission of the file supporting the last successful promotion candidacy; the candidates may add some earlier materials for purposes of context or to show continued growth. The candidates may wish to seek letters from Skidmore colleagues outside their department/program qualified to speak to their professional accomplishment. The candidate shall also include a Research/Artistic Statement, which articulates the significance, scope, and future directions of scholarly/creative work.
- the ten most recent semesters of teaching evaluations…
Professor Huibregtse explained the rationale for bringing the motion, citing that it will alleviate ambiguity with regard to the items requested for dossier for promotion to professor. Although an opportunity for discussion on the Motion was provided, there were no questions raised. After technical difficulties were experienced with voting through iClicker Cloud, the vote on the Motion was postponed until the next Faculty Meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
There was no new business.
OTHER
On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Associate Professor Flagg Taylor announced that Assistant Professor Rodrigo Schneider has been awarded the Ralph A. Ciancio Award for Excellence in Teaching for 2022-23. Professor Taylor then read a citation honoring Professor Schneider (see attached). A congratulatory round of applause was given to Professor Schneider.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
President Conner welcomed everyone and indicated how happy he was to finally attend an in-person Faculty Meeting after being first introduced to the community in February, 2020. He was especially happy that this faculty meeting was the occasion for recognizing our retiring faculty members. He offered his congratulations to the retirees and to Professor Schneider on his award.
President Conner then announced that a presentation on the State of the College’s Finances would be held on May 24 and would provide details on the outcome of this year’s budget, next year’s budget as approved by the Board of Trustees at their May 19-20 meetings, as well as budget projections for the next five years. The presentation will also include the results of the staff and faculty compensation studies that have been ongoing this year as well as details on this year’s general salary adjustment, which is anticipated to be larger than last year’s. President Conner also reported that a budget surplus is anticipated this year, largely due to over-enrollments and not needing to fully spend our COVID contingency funds. He expects to be able to use a portion of the budget surplus to provide one-time discretionary payments to all employees hired by March 1 of this year, in recognition of the challenges of inflation and other financial stresses that are affecting many members of the community. The remainder of the surplus will be used to support the completion of key capital projects and possibly to provide enhanced endowment support for students on financial aid. President Conner reminded everyone that this year’s budget surplus can only be used for one-time expenditures and not for ongoing operating commitments.
In addition, the May 24 presentation will include details on the enrollment study that was conducted this spring. This study compared our enrollment and admissions data with market demographics in the northeast and nationwide to give us a more sophisticated sense of what we can anticipate for admissions in the future. This study will help determine how many students we need to admit in order to meet our financial targets, how many students we can support, and how many students can we attract and ultimately enroll at Skidmore. President Conner stated that the results of this study will help guide our ongoing position reduction project. In that regard, a revised workforce reduction goal will be presented at the May 24 meeting as well. President Conner stressed that, as he explained at the October college finances meeting, the reduction in our workforce will come through natural attrition and, when a position becomes vacant, that position will be critically examined to determine whether the position should be renewed or whether the position can be transformed or absorbed. President Conner stated that we are fortunate to be in a position that we can reduce our workforce over time and not have to eliminate positions that people already hold. He stated that, in fact, every healthy institution should strategically review all open positions to see if a position is meeting the mission of the college.
Next, President Conner announced the receipt of a $10 million challenge gift to create the Sands Family Foundation Initiative for Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship at Skidmore. This gift will be primarily focused on student and faculty needs, student research and internships, and to grow existing programs such as the Entrepreneurial Artist Initiative. It is anticipated that a substantial portion of this gift will fund the IdeaLab director position and the IdeaLab operating budget. This gift is a challenge gift of $5 million contingent upon our raising another $5 million, and we have already raised more than $1 million in matching funds.
In concluding his report, President Conner addressed the recent announcement that DOF/VPAA Orr would be stepping down from his role as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at the end of the next academic year. President Conner stated that there will be many opportunities in the coming months to express our gratitude and appreciation for all that DOF/VPAA Orr has done. A round of applause was given to DOF/VPAA Orr.
President Conner then reported that the college has engaged Storbeck Search, a firm that the college has used in other recent searches, to assist in the DOF/VPAA search. This search will be President Conner’s fourth vice-presidential search in two years, and he indicated that he tries to keep the overall search process similar while also recognizing important differences between searches. As with previous VP searches, President Conner will chair the search committee, with the rest of the search committee being comprised of two cabinet members, two staff members, two students, and four faculty members. President Conner noted that the structure of the committee is very similar to the search committee for the last DOF/VPAA search five years ago, with the only differences being the addition of a second cabinet member and not appointing a faculty member as vice chair. He indicated that he was concerned about the signal that would be sent to other constituents in the search if a faculty member were to be appointed as vice chair. President Conner reported that the search committee should be constituted by the end of the first week in May and expressed his gratitude to the faculty and staff members who were willing to serve on the committee. He then briefly described the timeline for the search over the summer and fall, culminating in an appointment being made shortly before or after the winter holiday. President Conner emphasized that there would be multiple opportunities to provide feedback as the search progresses.
At the conclusion of President Conner’s report, an opportunity for questions was provided.
- A question was raised as to whether there had been any discussions about changing the current structure of the DOF/VPAA position. President Conner indicated that he has had conversations about the current structure of the position and read the 2011 faculty report which unanimously concluded it was best to maintain the two positions of Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty into a single position. President Conner explained that he was reluctant to conduct a wider review of the structure of the position because it would result in a delay in launching the search process, which would likely lead to the loss of potential candidates. However, this might be an issue that the new vice president may want to engage in after their arrival.
- After a faculty member expressed concern that not appointing a faculty member as vice chair for the DOF/VPAA search might indicate a lack of commitment to collaboration, President Conner reiterated his commitment to a collaborative and inclusive process and explained that he considered the appointment of a faculty vice chair to be largely symbolic. President Conner also noted that the Faculty Handbook is clear on the ultimate decision-making process for the appointment of a new DOF/VPAA.
- A statement was made by a faculty member that full-time and part-time non-tenure-track faculty were planning to form a union through the Service Employees International Union and the President was asked whether the College would voluntarily recognize the union and begin good faith negotiations. After stating that he does not respond to prepared statements on complicated matters in which demands are made on him at faculty meetings, President Conner noted he had not yet personally received the open letter written by non-tenure-track faculty. He further noted that unionization is a complex issue and that DOF/VPAA Orr was planning to comment further on the issue during his remarks. In response to his comments, the faculty member reminded President Conner of the College’s legal obligation to uphold the right to organize without the risk of intimidation or retaliation as well as its legal obligation not to interfere with an election held under the oversight of the National Labor Relations Board. President Conner stated that the point was duly noted.
- Referencing a discussion at the last faculty meeting concerning plans for future DEI initiatives, a question was raised requesting more details for the process and timeline for that work. President Conner reported that the racial justice initiative website has been in the process of being updated over the last several months and that the website should be finalized in the next few weeks, reflecting and communicating the substantial work that has been undertaken this year. He further indicated that there will be ample opportunity for different kinds of projects and programs to be proposed and that more details will be announced shortly.
VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND DEAN OF THE FACULTY’S REPORT
DOF/VPAA Orr began his report by referencing the announcement that he will be stepping down from his role as DOF/VPAA at the end of the next academic year and returning as a faculty member at Skidmore. He stated that next year will be his fifth year of service in this role at Skidmore but his 12th as a chief academic officer. He believes that this is the right moment to make this transition. He noted that it has been an honor and a privilege to have had the opportunity to serve as the DOF/VPAA and that he has been inspired time and again by the dedication and commitment demonstrated by everyone in serving the College and our students. DOF/VPAA Orr indicated that he remains fully committed to furthering the academic mission of the College and supporting the work of academic affairs, and thanked everyone for their partnership and support, especially as we have navigated the challenges of the pandemic.
Thereupon, DOF/VPAA Orr acknowledged the open letter from the group of non-tenure-track faculty colleagues about organizing a union that was circulated among the faculty earlier this week and published in the Skidmore News. He emphasized that the College respects the views and concerns raised by the non-tenure-track faculty and indicated the College is committed to listening and working with the non-tenure-track faculty to address and resolve these issues in a collaborative and collegial manner. He further indicated that the College will respond to the requests made in that letter in more detail in the coming days. He emphasized that non-tenure-track faculty colleagues are highly valued members of our community and that the College is committed to engaging in a transparent and fair dialogue and interchange as we move forward together to ensure that our next steps are fully informed, conscientious, and in the best interests of our colleagues in the College. He indicated that, furthermore, the College will be very attentive to the legal rights and responsibilities that apply to this issue, particularly with respect to the requirements of the NLRB, and is absolutely committed to respecting the process and following all applicable labor laws. He noted that, ultimately, the decision whether or not to unionize will be made by those most affected and it will be up to them to determine what kind of workplace they want.
In concluding his report, DOF/VPAA Orr announced that Associate Professor Kelly Sheppard, Department of Chemistry, has been appointed as Faculty Director of Assessment. A congratulatory round of applause was given to Professor Sheppard.
DOF/VPAA Orr then invited everyone to the reception in the lobby of the Tang to celebrate our retiring faculty members. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:28 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,