Faculty Meeting Minutes

 

President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 3:34 p.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

President Glotzbach asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held December 4, 2015.  Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

President Glotzbach welcomed everyone and hoped the second semester was off to a great start for everyone.  Turning to a more somber note, President Glotzbach addressed the recent passing of one of Skidmore’s most committed and hard-working member -- Mike Hall:

“During his 20 years at Skidmore, Mike held various titles – Financial Planning and Budgeting, Special Assistant to the Vice President for Finance & Administration, even co-Interim Vice President of Finance & Administration – none of which fully captured the scope and depth of his work for the College.

For many years, Mike did yeoman work on the annual budget.  He was an accomplished budget manager and financial planner.  And in all the years we worked together, I never asked him a financial question that he could not answer – usually immediately, or within just a few minutes. 

But he probably would most want to be remembered for his work on the physical plant and, especially, on issues of environmental sustainability.  As you walk about the campus and look at the various large projects that have been completed over the past few years – the Northwoods Apartments, the Dining Hall Renovation, the Zankel Center, upgrades to athletic facilities, renovations of Sasselin and the Scribner Library, the $1.3M renovation and refreshment of Starbuck Center four years ago, and Sussman Village – you are seeing Mike Hall. 

He was a passionate proponent of our geo-thermal heating and cooling program, and he was probably most proud of our 6-acre solar field and the small-hydro project that combine to give us over 32% of our electricity.

But if your office was renovated, if you teach in a renovated classroom, if you work in an office that has been upgraded, you also are seeing Mike’s work.  It speaks to his character that he cared as much about small projects and the influence they have on people’s work lives as he did about the large ones.

Above all, Mike Hall was a kind and generous soul who respected other people and always worked collaboratively, quietly, and without calling attention to himself or his many contributions.  He made Skidmore a better place, and he will be missed.”

A moment of silence was observed in honor of Mike Hall.

Thereafter, Mary Lou Bates, Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, provided an update on this year’s admissions.  VP Bates reported that we have received a record number of applications for the Class of 2020.  We currently have 9,115 applications on file, compared to 8,453 last year, an increase of 8 percent over last year and 6 percent more than our previous record two years ago in 2014.  About 500 of the additional 650 applications are from international students, 75 percent of whom are seeking financial aid.  In this year’s pool, 27 percent of the applications are from international students, compared to 22 percent last year and 20 percent the year before.

VP Bates also reported that we received a record number of early decision applications, 547 this year, compared to 411 last year, an increase of over 30 percent.  Once again, a significant proportion of the early decision applicants are from international students seeking financial aid, but we do have more full pay early decision applicants than before. Dean Bates indicated that, once again, we do expect to enroll a record proportion of the class early decision.  Last year, 38 percent of the class was enrolled early decision, and we are hoping to enroll 42 percent or higher this year.

Following the admissions update, President Glotzbach asked Crystal Moore, Associate Dean of the Faculty, to provide an update on Starbuck Center.  Dean Moore reported that President’s Cabinet has convened the Starbuck Steering Committee, appointing  Dean Moore as Chair, Bill Tomlinson, Patty Bosen, Dan Rodecker, and four individuals representing each of the divisions in Starbuck: Lisa Hobbs, Elizabeth Kopraski, Lisa Tuttle, and Cindy Hurley.  Loretta Greenholtz, Academic Safety Officer, is an ad hoc member as well.  Dean Moore read the charge of the Starbuck Steering Committee and reported that a blog has been established to provide up-to-date information on the activities of the Starbuck Steering Committee.  Dean Moore stated that the Starbuck Steering Committee is grateful for the responsiveness of President’s Cabinet and the Board of Trustees in providing the support and resources necessary to conduct their investigation.  Dean Moore reported that earlier in the day James Bowers, M.P.H, Senior Research Scientist at the New York State Department of Environmental Health and Occupational Epidemiology, met with the Starbuck Steering Committee and toured Starbuck. Mr. Bowers was provided with all pre- and post-renovation testing reports as well as Dr. Shield’s breast study completed in 2012.  He was also provided with a map identifying the location of where people who have developed breast cancer were located in Starbuck.  Dean Moore indicated that Mr. Bowers concluded that there is nothing to suggest that any chemical exposure is responsible for the incidence of breast cancer and that the number of reported cases is not outside or unusual in the workplace.  Mr. Bowers will return to campus to provide further information and meet with individual colleagues.  The Starbuck Steering Committee will likely request further environmental testing to allay any further questions.   In response to Dean Moore’s report, a question was raised about whether a college-wide assessment of incidents of cancer was reviewed.  Dean Moore indicated that at this time a college-wide assessment has not been performed nor is one planned at this time.

President Glotzbach provided updates on the two administrative searches his office is handling. A search firm has been retained for the Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs and a committee has been formed.  The search will launch immediately with a planned completion by the end of the semester.  President Glotzbach thanked Gail Cummings-Danson for continuing to do great work in her interim position.  The search for the Vice President for Communications and Marketing is expected to launch later this semester.  President Glotzbach thanked Debra Townsend, who is filling this position on an interim basis, for doing a terrific job in this position.

Thereafter, President Glotzbach provided an update on two legal matters. Robert Gardner, a former employee of Skidmore Campus Safety, pled guilty to unlawful surveillance of a female acquaintance and has been sentenced to 5 years’ probation.  As many may recall, Mr. Gardner left the employ of the College immediately upon his arrest on this issue.  Thomas H. Gorman, the driver of the car in the tragic incident last fall that resulted in the death of Michael Hedges, the injury of two additional students, and the near-injury of a third one, has pled guilty to Vehicular Manslaughter in the First Degree (a class “C” felony) and Vehicular Assault in the First Degree (a class “D” felony) before Saratoga County Court Judge James A. Murphy, III.  He will be sentenced on March 21, 2016 to no less than an indeterminate term of incarceration in state prison of no less than 4-12 years and no more than 5-15 years on the first charge, with a concurrent sentence of 2-6 years on the second charge.  President Glotzbach expressed special appreciation to our students – and especially to William Blauvelt, the fourth student most directly involved – for their willingness to testify, should the case have gone to court.

On a happier note, President Glotzbach provided an update on this year’s Skidmore Cares.  The final tally of donations is 3,235, consisting of 2,218 food items and 1,017 school supplies.  This is an increase of 583 over last year. In addition, 7 vendors contributed $2,950 and the campus collection was $8,141, primarily from Beatlemore Skidmania, for a total cash distribution of $11,091.  On behalf of he and Marie, President Glotzbach thanked everyone who was involved in any way in this annual effort.

In the interest of transparency and communication, President Glotzbach reported a governance meeting was held earlier in the day.  This is a meeting that occurs at the beginning of each semester and includes the chairs of governance committees and administrators from Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and the President’s Office.  The purpose is to review the principal agenda items of the committees and the administration – to see where collaboration needs to occur and to ensure that there are no surprises as the semester goes forward.

In concluding, President Glotzbach thanked Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and the leadership group that planed January’s Academic Summit meeting, which dealt with the CEPP general education proposal and diversity and inclusion.  These topics represent important ongoing work, and President Glotzbach is hopeful that we can continue to make progress on both fronts this semester.    As many know, the end of the first semester was marked by some student activism around the topics of campus climate and inclusion.  President Glotzbach indicated that he appreciated the students’ willingness to work collaboratively and not oppositionally with the Administration.  They have been in conversation with CIGU, with Joshua Woodfork, and with others.  We are working on actions to address some of the issues they have raised – most of which are not new but are important.  We are in a time of transition with regard to a number of leadership roles relating to diversity and inclusion at the College, and President Glotzbach expects the College to make progress in filling those positions and continuing to move forward as we go through this semester.

Following his report, President Glotzbach opened the floor for questions.  A comment was made concerning the non-smoking policy, specifically that people seem to be ignoring the policy and smoking everywhere.  President Glotzbach indicated that he heard similar comments and that IPPC will be looking into the matter.

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

Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, welcomed everyone back to the second semester.  He invited everyone to attend the upcoming 2016 Edwin M. Moseley Faculty Research Lecture to be delivered by Jennifer Delton, Professor of History and Douglas Family Chair in American Culture, History, and Literary and Interdisciplinary Studies, scheduled for Wednesday, February 17, at 8:00 in Gannett Auditorium. Professor Delton’s is entitled "When We Were Liberal: Explaining the Twentieth Century." 

DOF/VPAA Breslin provided the following updates from Academic Affairs:

• DOF/VPAA Breslin and the Faculty Executive Committee recently met to discuss faculty exemptions from service.  Those who have asked for exemptions should have received decisions by now.  
• We are spending a good deal of time thinking about the ways we can support mid-career faculty, particularly pathways to promotion.  The Department Chairs and Program Directors recently discussed these issues and we will continue these conversations. • Crystal Moore, Associate Dean of the Faculty, is working with the Committee on Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure on a number of different matters, including creating a template letter that CAPT can send to external letter writers at the time of tenure; letter writing; and how we might construct tenure and promotion files. 
• The Board will be meeting at the end of the month and the allocation of tenure lines will be discussed.  DOF/VPAA Breslin indicated that his philosophy on allocation of tenure lines may be different from other schools where enrollments drive resource allocations; his philosophy is that the centrality of liberal education should drive resources, not necessarily enrollments.
• We are about three-fourths the way through the hiring season.  We are in the process of 10 tenure line searches, with about 7 of them having been completed or in the final stages of completion.  We also expect to hire another 30-40 full time faculty members this year. 
• The Department Chairs and Program Directors have been thinking about ways in which we can allocate or distribute responsibilities across departments.  There seems to be an interest in the idea of distribution of responsibilities but approximately 60 percent of the departments and programs either don’t necessarily want to distribute responsibilities, cannot distribute responsibilities for structural reasons, or are already doing so.  When we spoke at the department chairs and program directors meeting, we determined we would allow departments and programs to have associate chairs starting in the next academic year. 
• Helios will start in the fall semester.  Helios is a program in which faculty can be compensated for independent studies and senior theses that have been typically uncompensated in the past. More details will follow.
• Ian Berry, Dayton Director of the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, and Marta Brunner, College Librarian, were invited to attend a conference in Miami to in which very few liberal arts colleges were involved to discuss college museum and library collaborations.  For Skidmore to be invited is phenomenal and says something about the Library and the Tang.
• Admissions is doing wonderful job of exploring idea of test optional possibilities for admissions and they have asked Joe Stankovich, Director of Institutional Research, and Corey Freeman-Gallant, Associate Dean of the Faculty, to help them with some of the data.  In particular, the value of SATs and ACTs in predicting how well as student will do. 
• Special Programs will open its enrollment for summer 2016 next week. 

 

OLD BUSINESS

On behalf of the Institutional Policy and Planning Committee, Associate Professor Tim Harper read the following Motion that was introduced at the last Faculty Meeting (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

Joshua Woodfork, Vice President for Strategic Planning and Institutional Diversity, provided a history of the process to date as well as the various constituents that have been involved in the creation of the Strategic Plan. He thanked the three vice chairs of the Institutional Policies and Planning Committee (IPPC) – Natalie Taylor, Joerg Bibow, and Tim Harper – for all their work in the creation of the Strategic Plan.  He noted that it is unique to ask a campus to focus on Middle States accreditation, strategic planning and general education reform at the same time.   Vice President Woodfork concluded by noting that this is a big moment for Skidmore as it charts our course for the next 10 years and he is grateful for everyone’s involvement in this process.

Associate Professor Harper announced two friendly amendments to the Motion, and to the Strategic Plan itself, as endorsed by IPPC, as follows:

(1) On Page 27 of the Strategic Plan, under Priority Initiatives in support of Goal IV: Sustainability, the first bullet has been amended to read: Through effective portfolio management and fundraising, increase College endowment to at least $500M by 2025.

(2) On Page 27 of the Strategic Plan, under Priority Initiatives in support of Goal IV: Sustainability, the seventh bullet has been amended to read: Complete the current comprehensive fundraising campaign, Creating our Future – the Campaign for Skidmore.

Michael Casey, Vice President for Advancement, reviewed the reasons for removing the dollar amount and dates from the Strategic Plan and provided an update on the Campaign.  

Brief discussion was held concerning language relating to migration and typographical errors in the Strategic Plan, endowment growth, and aspirations/priorities.  Unanimous consent was given to consider the Strategic Plan for endorsement, with the caveat that the plan will be copy-edited as necessary. A motion was made and seconded to endorse the 2015-2025 Strategic Plan.  The motion was voted on and passed by majority vote.

NEW BUSINESS

On behalf of the Office of the Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Crystal Moore, Associate Dean of the Faculty, introduced the following Motion (see attached):

           MOTION: The Office of the Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs proposes the following change to the Faculty Handbook Part One, Section VI, Article E3.j and introduces a new section l (Appointments to the Faculty, Non-Tenure-Track Appointments).

Current Language:

k.      Department Assistant: Full- or part-time appointments to assist members of the teaching or library faculty.

New Language:

k.      Research Fellow: A Research Fellow is either a part- or full-time appointment in which the appointee is seeking or has received external funding that promotes the College’s mission and contributes to the overall scholarship of the assigned department or program. Research Fellows may teach, and if they do so, they must choose to either retain their teaching title (e.g. Lecturer, Teaching Professor, etc.) or use the title of Research Fellow for the duration of grant preparation and implementation. The title of Research Fellow is reserved only for those who are directly involved in external funding activities. The College will provide office and/or laboratory space if possible and use of library, computing, and recreational facilities.

l.       Department Assistant: Full- or part-time appointments to assist members of the teaching or library faculty. [Change made only to outline numbering designation.]

A motion was made and seconded to waive the layover period.  The Motion to waive the layover period was passed by majority vote. 

Brief discussion was held concerning the rationale for the Motion.  Following discussion, the Motion was voted on and passed by majority vote.

OTHER

On behalf of the Faculty Executive Committee, Professor Denise Smith shared a PowerPoint presentation on faculty governance reform updates.  The Presentation outlined:

• the faculty governance reform timeline; 
• clarified the distinction between service and mandated faculty governance service;
• detailed the anticipated committee spots to be filled this year and the anticipated numbers of faculty needed to fill those spots; 
• an overview on how the service cycle determines who is available to serve in a particular year; 
• the guiding principles for implementing the faculty governance reform; 
• the major steps taken by FEC to date in implementing the service cycle, including confirming where faculty are in their service cycle and obtaining preference sheets from those who will be serving in service cycle; 
• reviewing which cohort is required to serve next year and those cohorts that may begin service next year or wish to volunteer for service; 
• challenges in implementing the governance reform, including creating a ballot so that a faculty member can be on multiple ballots without being elected to multiple committees; 
• the major steps still needed for elections – the possibility of voting at faculty meetings or online;
• the timeline for elections and voting; and 
• exemptions and enforcements.

Following the presentation, brief discussion was held concerning elections that are held in the fall, specifically with regard to conflicts with teaching schedules and standing meeting times for some committees.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Associate Professor Tim Harper announced that the IPPC endorsed a policy to ban hoverboards on campus.
• DOF/VPAA Breslin reminded everyone that the Middle States team will arrive on campus next month.   
• On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Professor Greg Pfitzer announced the deadline for submitting nominations for the Ciancio Award for Excellence in Teaching is February 19, 2016. 
• Associate Professor Erica Bastress-Dukehart announced that the Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning, is co-sponsoring a workshop on Sustainability designed to assist faculty from a variety of disciplines in developing creative approaches to incorporating concepts, analyses, and application of sustainability into new or existing courses.  She encouraged anyone interested to contact Levi Rogers, Sustainability Coordinator.
• Associate Professor Erica Bastress-Dukehart provided an update on the Open Classroom to be held the week of February 21-26, noting that 86 classes will be available.  She thanked everyone who has been so generous in opening their classrooms for this event.
• On behalf of Periclean Honors Forum, Professor Catherine Golden announced that April 15 is the deadline for submissions for Periclean Scholar Awards and that the deadline for submissions for Academic Festival is March 28.
• Professor Jeff Segrave provided an update on Project VIS, a 3-year Mellon-funded program to enhance visual literacy on campus.  One of the focuses of Project VIS this upcoming semester is assessment.  Faculty will soon receive a questionnaire asking about their engagement with visual materials.  Professor Segrave encouraged everyone to respond to the survey as the responses will enable them to think strategically about the programs, workshops, and presentations we can offer next year.
• Ian Berry, Dayton Director of the Tang Museum and Art Gallery, announced the exhibits on display at the Tang this semester.
• Professor Pushi Prasad invited everyone to this spring’s Research Colloquium to be held on March 1, 2016, to be given by Professor Bob Boyers.  She encouraged everyone to RSVP as soon as possible as space is limited.
• Marta Brunner, College Librarian, invited everyone to a reception at the Scribner Library immediately following the faculty meeting.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 5:17 p.m.

 

Debra L. Peterson
Executive Administrative Assistant