Faculty Meeting Minutes

September 8, 2017
Gannett Auditorium

MINUTES

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

President Glotzbach welcomed back returning faculty and staff, as well as the new members of our community. He said that today is a celebratory moment: We are celebrating the arrival of new colleagues, the new Class of 2021, transfer students, and the beginning of a new academic year.  This is always a moment of great promise and optimism.

It is also a moment of uncertainty and concern.  We are still dealing with the aftermath of the events over the summer in Charlottesville, VA, and beyond.  Our country is reeling from two major hurricanes.  And we are still confronting challenges around immigration, DACA, and Title IX issues stemming from actions by the Trump administration.  President Glotzbach stated that our position on the rights of our students – whether domestic or foreign, documented or undocumented, remains unchanged.  We do not volunteer personal information about any of our students, unless compelled by a legal subpoena or warrant.  Likewise, our stance regarding sexual and gender-based misconduct remains unchanged.  Our campus should be a place where our students are physically safe and are not subject to assault.  We will continue to act vigorously when we receive reports of alleged misconduct.  We will continue to watch events in Washington as they unfold and will comment and make any adjustments to our policies or procedures as appropriate.

President Glotzbach next introduced Mary Lou Bates, Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, who provided an update on the Class of 2021.  The Class of 2021 consists of 665 students with 25 in London, compared to 717 last year.  They come from 35 different states and 45 countries and were selected from a record applicant pool.  We had a smaller class and, as a result, our acceptance rate was 25 percent, which is the lowest in history. Some of the statistics of the class include:

• 58 percent attended public high schools; 42 percent attended private or parochial schools
• 59 percent of the class is female; 41 percent of the class is male
• 49 percent of the class applied and were accepted in one of two early decision rounds
• 25 percent self-identify as domestic students of color
• 10 percent of the class is African American
• 13 percent are international, compared to 11 percent last year, of which 5 percent are dual citizens
• 17 percent are first generation college students
• 42 percent are on grant assistance
• 9 percent come with former family ties to Skidmore

VP Bates shared some highlights of the class, noting that an incredible number have made a considerable commitment to volunteerism and community service.  They have had internship opportunities at home and abroad.  They come from culturally rich and diverse backgrounds with 23 percent speaking a language other than English at home (33 different languages).  They have lived, traveled, and interned all over the world and have worked all over the world in all kinds of jobs and professions.  They have been founders and leaders of a variety of clubs in their schools, and their involvement and achievements in the arts are broad and deep.  They have held top leadership positions in their schools, churches, and synagogues, and many have won top awards as girl scouts and Eagle scouts.  They are politically active at the local, state and national level, and they have won scores of awards for outstanding achievements and national awards.  Their range of achievement and recognition in athletics is equally impressive.  VP Bates concluded by stating that the Class of 2021 are a wonderfully talented and diverse group and are ready for Skidmore.  A round of applause was given to VP Bates.

Following VP Bates’ report, President Glotzbach provided an update on the cabinet searches.  President Glotzbach reported that, as previously announced, Sean Campbell has been hired as the new Collyer Vice President for Advancement.  He thanked all members of the Search Committee: Jeff Segrave, Vice-Chair; Beau Breslin, representing President’s Cabinet; Kim Verstandig, Interim VP for Advancement; Mike Sposili, Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Campus Events; Kelli Johnson, Director of Opportunity Programs; and Maya Reyes ’17.  Thereafter, Professor Jeff Segrave also thanked the members of the Search Committee and acknowledged the very successful conclusion of the search with appointment of Sean Campbell.  Since Mr. Campbell is unable to be on campus until mid-October, Professor Segrave shared a welcome video from Mr. Campbell.  

President Glotzbach then reported that the search for the VP for Communications & Marketing is moving along and the Search Committee is in the process of interviewing the final candidates.  He is hopeful to have an announcement soon.

President Glotzbach reported that the search for the new Dean of the Faculty & Vice President for Academic Affairs is moving along as well.  The Search Committee will be meeting soon to develop a list of candidates for video interviews.  We have a very strong field, and President Glotzbach indicated that he is optimistic that we will bring this search to a conclusion by the end of this semester.  President Glotzbach thanked ADOF Crystal Moore for agreeing to serve as Interim DOF/VPAA in the spring semester, assuming that our new DOF/VPAA will not be in a position to start until July or August, 2018.

President Glotzbach then provided an update on the Center for Integrated Sciences.  He reported that over the summer the President’s Cabinet, the Board of Trustees, and many others on campus have continued to work on the funding plan for this crucial project.  He reaffirmed that the completion of the Center for Integrated Sciences remains the college’s highest strategic priority and is his highest priority.   He reminded everyone that we have been challenged to identify a lead gift for this project.  However, he happily announced that in just the last several weeks we received a commitment of $300,000 from a very supportive Skidmore family, and a gift of stock totaling $2 million from another generous donor.  He also announced that he is setting aside $200,000 from his President’s Discretionary Fund to this purpose.  This now brings our total for the CIS to $43,077,907 – which is more than we ever have raised for a single building project in the history of the College.

President Glotzbach further reported that in working with the Board, we have developed a plan to follow up the site preparation work that has been in process for several months and to begin the new construction next spring.  Assuming the Board approves this plan in an upcoming conference call, we will begin with the North Wing of the new building, because the funding is now in place for this effort ($67.5 million).  All of us, including the Board, would have preferred to begin the entire new construction – all at once.  But the funding for the complete new section – the North and the East Wings – is just not complete at this point.  We are committed, however, to continuing to develop those funds and to move forward with East Wing as soon as that funding is in place.  Following the upcoming conference call with the Board, we will have another public discussion of the CIS, and other matters as well.  

Thereafter, President Glotzbach introduced Kim Verstandig, Interim VP for Advancement, to provide an updated on the campaign. Ms. Verstandig reported that we are in the fifth year of a 7-year campaign.  The current campaign began in July 2013 with a goal of $200 million, and there are six main priorities: (1) CIS, (2) Skidmore Annual Fund, (3) Scholarships and Financial Aid, (4) Transitions and Transformations, (5) Endowment for the Tang, and (6) Athletics.  This does not mean we won’t raise money for other priorities.  To date, we are $144.4 million toward our $200 million goal, and we are very excited about where we are at this point.  If we continue on our current trend, we will easily meet our goal by 2020.  Ms. Verstandig acknowledged President Glotzbach for bring in the $2 million gift for the CIS which wouldn’t have happened had it not been for President Glotzbach’s relationship with the donor.  A round of applause was given to Ms. Verstandig following her report.

President Glotzbach concluded his report by thanking everyone who participated in getting our new students and our transfer students settled and integrated into our campus community.  It is enormously important that we do this well:  It helps our parents understand that we know what we are doing, and so lowers their anxiety level.  More importantly, it gives our new students the best chance of starting their Skidmore career off on the right foot.  President Glotzbach shared part of a letter that Dean Cerri Banks received from a parent pleased with the way in which we welcome our new students and help our new families feel connected, secure, and excited about the incredible opportunities ahead.

President Glotzbach opened the floor for questions following his report.

• A question was raised as to how many first year students are English Language Learners (ELL).  VP Bates indicated that several years ago we started a summer ELL program for very strong students whose English skills were not commensurate with their academic skills; now that as our applicant pool has become stronger, the program was eliminated because there were no longer any students that needed this program.  Associate Professor Michael Marx also provided information on the number of students who have recently enrolled in EN 100.  It was also noted that it is hard to track which students are ELL students because these students do not fit one standard definition.
• A brief discussion was held regarding the Department of Education’s changes to Title IX and how those changes might affect Skidmore. The State of New York has its guidelines as well. However, Skidmore will continue to vigorously address Title IX issues and will continue to be fair to both the reporting and responding individuals.
• A brief discussion was held regarding the provision that allowed private schools to opt into the recent New York State policy on tuition free schools.  Skidmore, and most schools similar to us, have determined that it is not in their best interests to participate in the program.

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

Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, welcomed the returning and new faculty members to the new academic year.   He thanked all those involved in new student orientation and new faculty orientation – both were wildly successful and went well.  He also thanked the department chairs, program directors, committee chairs, and the academic leadership group for a great meeting last week, having discussed, among other things, model personnel procedures and CAPT reconfiguration.   He also thanked all the faculty, including the new faculty, for the hard work they are doing and will do with our students to enhance the experience of our undergraduates.

This semester, the DOF/VPAA office will focus on, among other things, partnering with CEPP and eventually Curriculum Committee, having broad conversations about a black studies program; CEPP is working hard on populating the working groups for the general education curriculum; a possible reconfiguration of CAPT given the upcoming workload in the next few years; continuing our Middle States work surrounding institutional effectiveness; conducting nearly a dozen tenure line searches this year; and recruiting for an interim Associate Dean of the Faculty to replace ADOF Moore as she assumes the role of Interim DOF/VPAA.  To that end, DOF/VPAA Breslin will be sending an email seeking nominations and self-nominations for the position.  Lastly, he reminded everyone that the Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning has a new mission and encouraged everyone to two upcoming events – a workshop on teaching in the time of turmoil to be held on September 18 and a workshop led by Michigan CRLT Players, an internationally famous organization that uses theater to enhance teaching and learning, focusing on conflict in the classroom and responding to student climate concerns, to be held September 29.

Thereafter, DOF/VPAA Breslin announced the promotions that were approved by the Board of Trustees at their meeting in May, 2017:

• Kristie Ford, promoted to Professor, Department of Sociology
• Andrew Lindner, promoted to Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
• Erika Schielke, promoted to Senior Instructor, Department of Biology
• Beatrice Kendall, promoted to Senior Instructor, Department of Chemistry
• Peter McCarthy, promoted to Senior Teaching Professor and Field Coordinator, Department of Social Work

A congratulatory round of applause was given to each faculty member.

In concluding his report, he reminded everyone of a practice he started a while back to reintroduce non-faculty colleagues central to what we do in terms of student educational experience to the faculty.  In that regard, he reintroduced Leya Moore from the Counseling Center, and Dale Nemer and from Admissions.

Dean of Special Programs Report.  Paul Calhoun, Dean of Special Programs, welcomed the new and returning faculty.  As is tradition at the first faculty meeting of the academic year, Dean Calhoun provided an update on this past summer’s programs.  He reported that Summer 2017 was another jam-backed successful summer, despite a few issues with some bats, a couple of broken bones and a fire that knocked out part of the art building.  Of course, the faculty played a large part in this year’s success, teaching summer session courses that enrolled 372 students, sponsored 90 more in internships, and 84 in collaborative research projects; and many of their kids attended various sports camps or Camp Northwoods.  

Dean Calhoun reminded everyone that last year, we were given a generous gift from Stewart’s and the Dake family to strengthen our summer arts programs and to attract more local audience to our events.  To that end, we were able to create Stewart’s Signature Series, a series of 5 world class performances with artists and productions that we otherwise could not have afforded; these events included two celebrity artists that filled Zankel Hall– Manhattan Transfer and John Baptiste--and a modern dance performance and inviting NPR to stage Selected Shorts with actor Tony-award winner James Naughton.  We welcomed a large number of first-time visitors with this series, and the Dakes were very pleased with the outcome.  

Our most remarkable presentation in this Series was The Trojan Women, a theater production of the Suzuki Company of Toga, Japan.  Tadashi Suzuki, who founded this company is also the co-founder with Anne Bogart of SITI Company; SITI Company has come to Skidmore for four weeks every June since 1992 to deliver their primary theater workshop.  The Suzuki method of actor training is ubiquitous in training programs in theater departments all over, and SITI is its most devoted proponent and practitioner.   Tadashi Suzuki, now 78 years old, brought his company of 19 actors here for the first time in the United States since 2001. The Trojan Women was the centerpiece of transformation through training, a 4-day symposium created by SITI that attracted 75 theater professionals from across the country and four other countries, with a series screenings, lectures, master classes, panel discussions, and a public conversation between Tadashi Suzuki and Anne Bogart.  An extensive review written for American Theater makes it clear that Skidmore College was the place to be in the Theater world for a few days this past June.  Conveniently scheduled between two of our Stewart’s Signatures Series events was Mozart in Havana, a concert by the Havana Lyceum Orchestra in the first-ever co-production between Skidmore and SPAC.

The Dake-Stewart gift also allowed us to increase scholarship funding, which impacted our enrollments favorably and allowed us to enhance further the always-impressive lineup of writers for the New York State Summer Writers Institute. One of those highlights was panel discussion on the controversial topic of writers speaking in voices not their own, which included novelists Allan Gurganus, Martha Southgate, Lionel Shriver, and Helen Klein Ross.

Further, the Skidmore Jazz Institute celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2017 with not only with Jon Baptiste, who was a student in the Jazz Institute in 2004, but also with the Terrell Stafford Quintet and performances by our own all-star faculty.  This year is also the 80th birthday of the founder of the Jazz Institute, Don McCormack, and we were able to commemorate that with a fundraising effort led by his daughter, Terri, which resulted in raising $200,000 more for the McCormack Jazz Scholarship Fund.  In addition, Ian Berry in the Tang created an “improvisational museum exhibition in book form” as a tribute to Don.

Our McCormack Artist-Scholar Residents from the spring, choreographer Stephen Petronio and artist Janine Antoni, created an extraordinary suite of interdisciplinary experiences called Entangle, and their residency continued well into summer incorporating the Stephen Petronio Dance Company as the faculty in our regular summer dance workshop. Dean Calhoun thanked Ian Berry and his staff for the imagination and hard work that went into the longest-ever McCormack residency.

In addition, Saratoga Shakespeare had a strong run in Congress Park with the Midsummer Night’s Dream and the Winter’s Tale; these productions involved five Skidmore students as either actors or producers in which they earned academic credit.  Students also performed in their own production of Twelfth Night in the Thomas Amphitheater.

This summer, Special Programs hired 138 Skidmore students, up from 121 last year, in jobs like sports camp counselors, RAs, Case Center registration desks assistants, office assistants, library staff, and teaching and lab assistants.  Five students also worked for the John Hopkins CTY program and two psychology students were interns in a new program this summer, a camp for autistic children. One of Special Programs’ big objectives is to create as many interesting job opportunities for Skidmore students as it can in the summer.

Our pre-college program had another strong summer with 67 enrollments (up from 54 last year), and 11 students from past pre-college programs matriculated at Skidmore this fall.  About half our pre-college students come from underserved backgrounds, and we provide full scholarships to them, partially funded by Teagle and Hayden Foundations, which rate our program as one of the most successful in the country.

Dean Calhoun stated that Special Programs loves to host professional and educational conferences and were happy to be able to do that this past summer with conferences for colleagues from Advancement, Alumni Relations, Admissions, and Facilities. Dean Calhoun encouraged everyone to keep Special Programs in mind for organizations that faculty are members of and which might need a summer home for a conference.  As is evident, Skidmore is the campus that never sleeps in the summer.  We hosted over 3,000 resident guests and another 1,000 commuters, and our total audience for events was 13,170 (not including the many thousands that came to the Tang over the summer and the MDOCS Storyteller’s Institute in June).   

Concluding his report, Dean Calhoun reported that, as for the fall, the Skidmore Encore program is filled to capacity, thanks to the many faculty members who have agreed to deliver lectures.   Our Greenberg Scholar-in-Resident, Aref Abu-Rabia, will deliver a public lecture on September 19.  Special Programs is also planning five lectures and two artist-scholar residencies for the 2017-18 Jacob Perlow Series, Ensemble Connect will be here October 20, and our McCormack Resident Scholar for this year will be Caryl Phillips, a regular at the Summer Writer’s Institute, who will be here the week of October 23.    A round of applause was given to Dean Calhoun.

OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business. 

NEW BUSINESS

OTHER