Faculty Meeting Minutes

April 24, 2020

Michael Orr, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, called the meeting to order via Zoom at 3:31 p.m.  He reminded everyone of the protocols to be followed during the Zoom meeting and the process for voting through Blackboard.  He asked for everyone’s patience as we navigate through these new technologies.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

DOF/VPAA Orr asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held April 3, 2020.  Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved as distributed.

INTRODUCTION OF MARC CONNER, PRESIDENT-ELECT

Professor Barbara Black introduced Marc Conner, President-elect, who was able to take some time from an academic retreat he was attending to join the meeting.  She provided brief remarks, praising President-elect Conner’s record of achievement as a teacher, scholar and administrator and highlighting the search process. While the world has changed in these past few weeks, Professor Black reminded everyone that it is a proud moment for Skidmore, and for the members of the Search Committee, to be able to welcome President-elect Connor to campus.  She concluded her remarks by sharing an email she recently received from President-elect Connor conveying his excitement about his new role at Skidmore despite the challenges that lay ahead.

President-elect Conner thanked Professor Black for her introduction and thanked the faculty for providing him with the opportunity to be able address them. He stated that, like so many of the faculty, he had spent the last several weeks converting his course on Irish literature into a virtual learning experience. He noted that the process has been challenging and fascinating but that it was not the kind of teaching that drew him to teach at a liberal arts college. He acknowledged that we are all experiencing grief and are aching on behalf of our students for all the things they have lost—from the learning experiences, to the athletics events, to the arts events, to the internships, and to the social experiences.  It’s a powerful loss for our students, but just a sliver of the profound suffering happening in the nation and across the world. 

President-elect Conner acknowledged that this pandemic is the greatest challenge in higher education since the Great Depression.  Despite this, the current pandemic has had the benefit of getting him involved with Skidmore even earlier.  He has been in constant contact with President Glotzbach, the Cabinet, and the Board, and is being consulted on key matters.  While the current landscape may be a tough time to become a college president, President-elect Conner expressed his eagerness to embark on this new journey and indicated that he remains enormously excited about the wonderful opportunities ahead. While there are tough decisions that will need to be made, he affirmed that Skidmore is well positioned to get through this crisis.

President-elect Conner reminded everyone that this situation is temporary and we will get to the other side of this challenge.  The goal is to return to full residential liberal arts teaching and learning as soon as we can safely do so.  We will not lose sight of the future because of this present crisis; we will navigate our way through the present crisis with an eye towards the future and helping Skidmore continue to be the great college it is.

President-elect Conner concluded his remarks by stating that he is honored to become a part of the Skidmore community and reminding everyone that he plans to start work on July 1. His plan for the summer is to build relationships, meet new colleagues, forge connections, and create familiarity and interest.  He wished everyone luck with the remainder of the semester and thanked everyone in advance for their patience during this presidential transition.

RECOGNITION OF RETIREES

On behalf of the Appointments and Promotions Committee (ATC), Associate Professor Michael Arnush 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 DiSanto-Rose, Associate Professor, Department of Dance
• Catherine Domozych, Senior Instructor, Department of Biology
• Judy Halstead, Professor, Department of Chemistry
• Martha Wiseman, Lecturer, Department of English, and Director of the Writing Center

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 24, 2020, in recognition and celebration of their distinguished service and achievement (attached).

The assembly signaled their acclimation with virtual applause.

Thereafter, Professor Debra Fernandez delivered a tribute to Mary DiSanto-Rose; Associate Professor Sylvia McDevitt delivered a tribute to Catherine Domozych; Associate Professor Kelly Sheppard delivered a tribute to Judy Halstead; and Professor Mason Stokes delivered a tribute to Martha Wiseman.  A congratulatory round of applause was given to each retiree.

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

A Committee of the Whole was held to discuss the idea of temporarily changing the S/U grading option by establishing a third grade option (CR) to cover grades of C-, D+, and D grades, which would otherwise give students no credit towards graduation.  This grading option was developed by the Grading Policy Working Group as a possible response to some of the challenges that students are experiencing completing their coursework in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Associate Professor Steve Ives was appointed as Chair of the Committee of the Whole, and a 20-minute time limit was set.  At the conclusion of the Committee of the Whole, Professor Ives rose and reported that a discussion on the proposed temporary grading policy was held. 

Following the Committee of the Whole discussion, and finding support for a temporary change in the grading policy, a Motion was made and seconded to waive the provision that stipulates that a matter of policy cannot be voted on at the same meeting that it is introduced. Following electronic voting on Blackboard, the motion to waive the layover period was passed by majority vote.

Thereafter, a motion was made and seconded to temporarily change the S/U grading option for the spring 2020 semester by establishing a third grade option (CR) to cover the grades of C-, D+ and D  for students who elect that option.  A request was made for the record to reflect both the efforts of the working group to bring this forward and that of the students.  There being no further discussion, the Motion was voted on using Blackboard and passed by majority vote.

OLD AND NEW BUSINESS

DOF/VPAA Orr then proposed to reorder the agenda to ensure that President Glotzbach would have time for his remarks and to postpone discussion of the Old and New Business planned for this meeting until a later meeting. He reported that he had previously conferred with the chairs of PC and CEPP and that they had agreed to a postponement, if necessary. As there was no objection, DOF/VPAA Orr invited President Glotzbach to make his remarks.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Philip A. Glotzbach began his report by offering his congratulations to this year’s retirees, noting how remarkable it was how many times that the words ‘kind’, ‘kindness’, and ‘passionate’ appeared in the tributes.  He thanked the retirees for their many contributions to the college over the years.

President Glotzbach then praised everyone for the ways in which they transitioned their classes to remote learning on such short notice.  He congratulated everyone for such a remarkable accomplishment and thanked everyone for their efforts.  However, as we look to complete the current semester, President Glotzbach stated that we now must move forward with plans for the fall semester and beyond, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thereupon, he invited Mary Lou Bates, Vice President for Admissions and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, to provide an update on this year’s admission.  VP Bates reported that we have received just over half of the spring deposits required to achieve this year’s class goal, with just over a week to go.  While these deposits track somewhat behind the deposits received at the same time last year, we are tracking similarly to past years in our total deposits.  As over half of the new class was admitted and enrolled through early decision, we are seeking fewer spring deposits than in recent years.

VP Bates stated that Admissions is continuing outreach to the admitted students that they have not heard from yet, and the Financial Aid staff has made over 800 individual phone calls to every student who received a financial aid offer and is tweaking the packages  where we can to support enrollments.  In addition, she stated that Admissions is working very closely with Communications and Marketing to contact accepted students and directing them to virtual programming on our Class of 2024 webpage where they can engage with student ambassadors, faculty, and administrative offices.

VP Bates concluded by thanking everyone for all their assistance and support in helping to enroll the class under these extraordinary circumstances.

Following VP Bates’ report, President Glotzbach referred to his memorandum that was sent out earlier this week addressing the College’s finances. He announced that a community meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 30 to discuss the ways in which the college plans to address its financial challenges and then opened the floor for questions. 

• Discussion was held on a request for the College to give as much notice and to be as transparent as possible regarding the steps the College intends to take to address the financial challenges and plans for the fall semester.
• Discussion was held regarding rumors of conversations that students are having amongst themselves suggesting that many plan to take a semester or year off, if classes will be offered only online and, if this were to occur, the financial impact that would result.
• Discussion was held regarding the steps being taken to plan for the fall semester in the event that the college will be unable to open as planned.  To that end, DOF/VPAA Orr announced that an Academic Planning Working Group is being formed to look at an array of scenarios for the fall semester and consult very broadly with other areas on campus.  It is hoped that this working group will be able to provide recommendations by the end of May.
• Discussion was held concerning potential furloughs, the potential number of staff to be furloughed, the processes being followed to identify staff to be furloughed, and the support to be provided to those staff members who are furloughed. 

In addressing the great responsibility being placed on the Academic Planning Work Group, President Glotzbach stated that the current landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic calls for enormous creativity.  We need to give our new students and our returning students a reason to come back and be a part of Skidmore.

VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS AND DEAN OF THE FACULTY’S REPORT

Due to the length of the meeting, DOF/VPAA did not provide a formal report. Before bringing the meeting to a close, he expressed his heartfelt thanks to everyone for all the remarkable work that has been done under the challenging circumstances of this semester.  Recognizing that the past six weeks have completely transformed  our normal work, DOF/VPAA Orr indicated his appreciation for the support provided to our students as they try to complete their courses under these extraordinary circumstances. As the semester comes to an end, DOF/VPAA Orr asked that faculty continue to show flexibility and empathy to our students.

In closing, he remarked on the excitement surrounding President-elect Connor’s impending arrival and expressed appreciation for the opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of four esteemed colleagues as they retire from the College.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Associate Professor Katie Hauser drew attention to a petition being circulated to support furloughed staff. Brief discussion was held on various aspects of the petition.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:19 p.m.

 Respectfully submitted,