FACULTY MEETING
DECEMBER 7, 2012
GANNETT AUDITORIUM
MINUTES
President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 3:32 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 2, 2012. Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
President Glotzbach began his report on a somber note by addressing two recent deaths that have touched the Skidmore community -- one more distant, the other unfortunately all too close to home. Last week, jazz great Dave Brubeck passed away just one day before his 92nd birthday. In addition to his enormous contributions to the world of music, Dave Brubeck had been a senior artist-in-residence at Skidmore. His son, Chris, performs regularly with Joel Brown as a member of their group, Triple Play. In June, 2011, Dave Brubeck gave his final performance, along with Triple Play and Frank Brown, in the Zankel Center's Ladd Concert Hall as part of the Saratoga ArtsFest. And, yesterday, the Skidmore community learned of the untimely death of a recent graduate, Chris Weigl, a member of the Class of 2011, who was the victim of a bicycle accident in Boston. At Skidmore, Chris was an English major and a photographer for SkidNews. Chris graduated with honors and was working on a Master's in Photojournalism at Boston University. Ironically, one of Chris' first assignments in photojournalism was to write a self-obituary, which President Glotzbach read. President Glotzbach remarked that Chris produced some truly amazing photographs and is sure to be remembered fondly by many of our faculty members. Thereafter, a moment of silence was held to commemorate these two individuals.
On a happier note, since the last faculty meeting, President Glotzbach announced the appointment of Professor Beau Breslin to the position of Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs (DOF/VPAA). He expressed his appreciation to the members of the Search Committee consisting of Professor Kim Frederick, Professor Sarah Goodwin, Associate Professor Ruben Graciani, Professor Mary Lynn, Dean of Student Affairs Rochelle Calhoun, students Hale Hal and Kayleigh Kahn and Barb Krause, who were assisted in the search by Steve Leo and Matt Bunting of Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates. President Glotzbach thanked everyone who met with the candidates, attended the open meetings, and provided feedback to the committee. He happily reported that Professor Breslin received overwhelming support from the community and from the search committee. A congratulatory round of applause was given to Professor Breslin.
On another personnel note, as President Glotzbach announced to the community last week, Barbara Krause, who has served for six and one-half years as the Director of the Office of the President and Coordinator of Strategic Initiatives, will be departing to return to the practice of law as the Deputy General Counsel at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. There will be an opportunity to bid farewell to Barbara next week. A round of applause was given to Barbara.
President Glotzbach announced that a special meeting of the Board of Trustees was held last week in New York City to discuss science planning. The Board met with members of the Science Planning Group about programmatic work that our faculty members have done; thereafter, our architects, Payette, presented their latest thoughts regarding massing studies for different building and renovation options that they are exploring. The Board responded enthusiastically to these plans. Next steps involve further conversation with IPPC and then opportunities for members of the campus community to hear about the planning work and to see and comment on the designs that have been developed so far. This will be a very expensive project, and we are beginning plans for our next comprehensive fundraising campaign.
Thereafter, President Glotzbach invited Alice Dean, Chair of the Faculty Development Committee to make an announcement. With great pleasure, Alice Dean announced that Mary Lynn was chosen as this year's recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Service Award. A congratulatory round of applause was given to Mary Lynn.
Subsequently, President Glotzbach opened the floor for questions. Professor Barbara Black questioned what appeared to be a surplus of $2.8 million due to over-enrollment. In response, President Glotzbach noted the over-enrollment funds are used for one-time expenditures and were used for residence hall renovations to address health and life safety issues. He further noted that it is anticipated there will be a smaller amount of over-enrollment funds this year again, and there will be discussions on how those funds will be expended later this year.
In concluding his report, President Glotzbach thanked everyone for a great semester and encouraged everyone to stop by the annual Skidmore Cares-Scribner House Holiday Open House after today's meeting.
DEAN OF THE FACULTY AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS’ REPORT
Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs Beau Breslin began his report by congratulating Professor Lynn on her award. Thereafter, addressing his appointment to the position of Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, he thanked President Glotzbach for his confidence in him as well as the Board of Trustees. He also thanked the search committee and the faculty for their support. As he moves into this position, DOF/VPAA Breslin referenced Ron Seyb's lecture that the pathway to discovery or innovation or creativity is marked by self-doubt but with the collective wisdom of the faculty DOF/VPAA Breslin is confident that we can move Skidmore to amazing heights. He emphasized that the door to his office is open and that the lines of communication are critically important. At the end of the day, it is his job to help the faculty, and he thanked everyone for the opportunity to serve in this position. A round of applause was given to DOF/VPAA Breslin.
In concluding his report, he announced that this year's Moseley Lecture will be held on February 20, 2013. This year's lecturer is Bernie Possidente, whose lecture is titled Circadian Biological Clocks - How Flies Time When They are Having Fun.
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 16 students of the Class of 2013 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by January 31, 2013.
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 2013 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by January 31, 2013.
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 Policy and Advising, read the following resolutions into the record (see attached):
RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College approve College Honors for the following 8 members of the Class of 2013, as presented at the December 7, 2012, Faculty Meeting: 5 students for cum laude distinction and 3 students for summa cum laude distinction.
RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College approve Departmental and Program Honors for 4 students from the Class of 2013, as presented at the December 7, 2012 Faculty Meeting.
There was no discussion, and the motions were voted on and passed with all in favor.
C. Master of Arts in Liberal Studies. On behalf of the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Committee, Associate Professor Maria Lander 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 one student.
There was no discussion, and the motions were voted on and passed with all in favor.
OLD BUSINESS
On behalf of the Faculty Executive Committee, Professor Barbara Black read into record the following Motion that was introduced at the last Faculty Meeting held November 2, 2012 (see attached):
MOTION: The Faculty Executive Committee moves that the following changes to the Faculty Handbook (Part Two, II.F.1.) be adopted:
Current FH language, with addition in bold and deletion tracked…
FACULTY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (FEC) — Elected
Function: To act as the primary conduit of information and ideas into and out of the Faculty concerning all-College issues and policies; to oversee faculty governance and faculty participation in all-College governance; and to act as Faculty Observers of the Board of Trustees.
FEC fosters communication within the Faculty, via both reports to the Faculty Meeting and organization of other faculty discussion meetings and forums, about all-College issues and policies. The Chair of the FEC shall sit on the IPPC in order to strengthen communication between the two committees. FEC, together with IPPC and SGA, is responsible for the proper constitution of all-College committees and subcommittees.
FEC is responsible for coordinating faculty committee work and for furthering democratic representation and committee efficiency. FEC is responsible for ensuring the proper constitution of faculty committees: it solicits nominations for, conducts elections for, and makes appointments to faculty and all-College committees; it provides advice and oversight of procedures regarding faculty appointments to search committees for senior administrative positions; and it maintains a list of all faculty members on all committees. In addition, FEC reviews operating codes of all faculty committees and maintains files of annual committee reports, and FEC is responsible for ensuring that the text of the Faculty Handbook appears and remains precisely as approved by the Faculty.
FEC convenes the Committee of Committees (comprising faculty members of FEC, IPPC, CAPT, CAFR, CEPP, Curriculum Committee, FDC, and any current ad hoc committees whose presence FEC believes would be helpful to the Committee) at least twice a year to assess the interactions among member committees and between them and the Administration, and to discuss ongoing issues and any problems in committee operations. FEC is then required to inform the Faculty at large of the issues raised by the Committee of Committees.
Finally, FEC observes the on-campus meetings of the Board of Trustees, at the invitation of the Board, and reports its observations in writing to the Faculty. (In addition, CAPT, CAFR, and the Chair of CEPP meet annually with the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees.) The Chair of the FEC and the faculty Vice-Chair of the IPPC shall meet regularly throughout the academic year so that each committee can be apprised of the other committee’s work.
Membership: Five members of the Faculty elected to serve three-year terms.
Professor Black explained the background which serves as the basis for the Motion. A request for a paper ballot vote was made, and the vote was made using clickers so as to have the vote remain anonymous. The motion passed with 101 ayes, 5 nays and 11 abstentions.
Thereafter, on behalf of the Faculty Executive Committee, Professor Black read into record the following Motion that was introduced at the last Faculty Meeting held November 2, 2012(see attached):
MOTION: On behalf of the Curriculum Committee, the Faculty Executive Committee moves that the following new language be added to the Faculty Handbook in Part One. It will become a new section XX and the sections to follow will be renumbered XXI. and XXII. accordingly. Here is the new language:
XX. ESTABLISHMENT OR ELIMINATION OF A MINOR
Authority to establish or eliminate minors is vested in the Faculty and Dean of Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs. The primary vehicle for faculty approval rests with the Curriculum Committee.
Establishment or elimination of a minor is accomplished according to the following procedures:
A. A proposal to establish or eliminate a minor shall be made first to the Curriculum Committee by members of the Faculty. The proposal shall be accompanied by a complete rationale based on academic concerns.
B. The Curriculum Committee shall consider the proposal and rationale in the context of all the issues that are relevant to the College's long-range educational goals. During its study, the Curriculum Committee shall work closely with the Administration and the department/program (or departments/programs) of the minor in question. It will invite faculty input.
C. Upon approval of a proposal to establish or eliminate a minor, the result will be announced at a Faculty Meeting by the Curriculum Committee.
Professor Black noted one change that was made to the Motion since the last faculty meeting. Thereafter, lengthy discussion was held on the Motion concerning CEPP's role in the establishment or elimination of minors and the reason that faculty are not required to vote on minors.
An amendment to the Motion was proposed to add consultation with CEPP as follows: "During its study, the Curriculum Committee shall work closely with the Administration and the department/program (or departments/programs) of the minor in question and will consult with CEPP. It will invite faculty input." The proposed Amendment was seconded and passed by majority vote.
There being no further discussion on the Motion, the Motion, as amended, was voted on with the use of clickers. The Motion passed with 75 ayes, 27 nays and 10 abstentions.
NEW BUSINESS
Assessment
Professor Sarah Goodwin provided an update on assessment at Skidmore. She noted that the Teagle grant has been closed out and that all but four departments have completed the full assessment cycle. She provided some conclusions gleaned by Lisa Christenson: a lot of departments and programs have found students making a thesis and then developing arguments have problems distinguishing evidence and opinion and that many students have problems with sources and citations. She emphasized that we need to continue to do assessments, that they need to be done with integrity, and that they should be useful. She concluded by announcing that the Assessment Committee is in the process of being constituted; once it has been constituted, this committee will review general education assessments and support CEPP in its review of the overall curriculum. A round of applause was given to Professor Goodwin.
Committee on Educational Policies and Planning
On behalf of the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning, Associate Professor Michael Arnush introduced the following Motion (see attached):
MOTION: The Committee on Educational Policy and Planning (CEPP) proposes replacing the current "Dean's Card" with a new form, to be implemented as soon as technological and logistical issues can be surmounted.
Associate Professor Arnush provided the background for this Motion, noting that there were some minor changes made to the new Dean's Card form based upon the input provided at the Committee of the Whole discussion held in November. Brief discussion was held concerning possible cosmetic changes that may be made to the new form. There being no further discussion, the Motion will lie over until the next meeting.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
A Committee of the Whole was formed to discuss e-Learning. Professor Black was appointed as chair of the Committee of the Whole. A 10-minute time limit was set. At the conclusion of the Committee of the Whole, Professor Black reported that a discussion on e-Learning was held.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- Professor Janet Casey encouraged anyone that had recommendations for this summer's reading for the Class of 2017 to please send them to her. In January, she intends to send an email asking for interested FYE instructors to be part of the committee that selects the summer reading.
- Riley Neugebauer introduced Rachel Willis and Levi Rogers as the new Sustainability Fellows. A round of applause was given to Ms. Willis and Mr. Rogers.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:18 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra L. Peterson
Executive Administrative Assistant