Faculty Meeting Minutes

October 4, 2020

Michael Orr, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, called the meeting to order at 3:31 p.m.  He welcomed everybody and expressed his appreciation to everyone for all that they are doing to serve our students during these challenging times.  DOF/VPAA Orr acknowledged that we are now nearing the middle of the semester and commented that our success to date is a testament to everyone’s dedication and hard work.

DOF/VPAA Orr then reminded everyone of the procedures to be followed during the Zoom meeting, including that closed captioning was available and that voting would take place through theSpring.  He also reminded everyone that there are some faculty members that have classes scheduled at the same time as the Faculty Meeting; thus, the ballots for any voting that occurs during the Faculty Meeting will remain open through the weekend, and the results of the vote will then be reported to the faculty via email after the weekend. 

DOF/VPAA Orr also announced that he had been contacted by the President of the Student Government Association (SGA) and asked to clarify which students are eligible to attend Faculty Meetings.  As specified in the Faculty Meeting bylaws, up to six representatives of SGA can attend Faculty Meetings, together with any student  representatives on governance committees that have  business at the Faculty Meeting.  In addition, a  representative from the student newspaper and from the student radio station are also eligible to attend Faculty Meetings.  He then welcomed those students to the Faculty Meeting.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

DOF/VPAA Orr asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held September 4, 2020.  Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.

OLD BUSINESS

Faculty Executive Committee

On behalf of the Faculty Executive Committee, Associate Professor Casey Schofield read the following Motion that was introduced at the last Faculty Meeting (see attached):

MOTION:  The Faculty Executive Committee moves that the 2020-2021 Faculty Handbook be adopted.  The following link takes you to the 2020-2021 Faculty Handbook (showing tracked changes) as well as handbooks from previous years: https://www.skidmore.edu/dof-vpaa/faculty-handbooks.php

Sarah Delaney Vero, Interim Director of  Human Resources, shared a Powerpoint presentation highlighting some of the changes that were made to faculty and staff EEO policies and procedures that necessitated certain changes to Part Six of the Faculty Handbook to bring that section into alignment with the New York human rights law and the College’s diversity, equity, and inclusion goals (see attached).  Director Vero indicated that details for training opportunities will be forthcoming.   There being no discussion, the Motion was voted on and passed by majority vote.

Committee on Educational Policies and Planning

Before the CEPP motion was brought to the floor for discussion, DOF/VPAA Orr acknowledged that there were strong feelings surrounding the issue and competing interests and different perspectives at stake, whether one is a faculty member or a student.  He noted that evaluations provide opportunities for students to provide feedback and report on their class experiences, that teaching and learning are taking place under exceptional circumstances this semester, that there are concerns about the fairness of administering evaluations under the current conditions, and that the issue calls on us to recognize different ways in which bias may manifest itself in the process.

Thereupon, on behalf of the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning, Associate Professor Feryaz Ocakli reintroduced the Motion that had been postponed from the last Faculty Meeting:

MOTION: The Committee on Educational Policies and Planning (CEPP) moves that Student Ratings and Feedback surveys (i.e., all-college quantitative forms and departmental long forms) be administered online in Fall 2020, and, furthermore, that the results of these Student Ratings and Feedback forms be provided not only to instructors but also to department chairs and program directors, and, when appropriate, ATC, PC, and the college administration.

Professor Ocakli briefly presented several friendly amendments that divided the motion into four separate parts (see below and attached). A lengthy discussion of the Motion then ensued, with support being given for administering student ratings and feedback surveys for developmental purposes only.    During the discussion, the CEPP student representatives read a statement asserting that the motion did not adequately represent students concerns, but supporting the administration of ratings and feedback surveys and requesting that a working group be  created  to reimagine the  evaluation system to serve and protect both student and faculty interests and  rights.

Thereafter, a question was raised about whether CEPP is proposing any type of bias training for students  in completing student ratings and surveys.  Professor Ocakli stated that CEPP has made a few additions to the quantitative student ratings related to how the course was listed at the beginning of the semester and how the course was experienced, as well as adding some language alerting students to the possibility that their responses may be affected by bias, and providing a reminder to students that teaching and learning is taking  place under exceptional circumstances this semester.  Professor Ocakli further stated that CEPP has been discussing various ways to provide bias training to students in completing student ratings and feedback surveys. 

Further support for administering ratings and feedback surveys for developmental purposes only was offered, with a comment being made that, while this result may not be what students were hoping to achieve, such an outcome would protect vulnerable groups of faculty, especially those who may be most at risk of receiving biased evaluations.  Additional comments were made that there is value in faculty receiving student feedback on their classes and, furthermore, that student ratings and feedback surveys are useful for visiting faculty members who are on the job market and wish to include them in their application materials. 

Prior to voting, a question arose whether student ratings and feedback surveys could be used by department chairs and program directors for developmental work.  DOF/VPAA Orr clarified that, even if the motion requiring that student ratings and feedback surveys be shared with department chairs or program directors failed, there would no restriction on any faculty member who wished to share their evaluations with their department chair or program director.

Following further discussion, the Motion was voted on in four separate parts as follows (with voting results being tallied over the weekend):

• that Student Ratings surveys (i.e., all-college quantitative forms) be administered online in Fall 2020 and the results made available to instructors. Motion passed by majority vote.
• that the results of Student Ratings surveys be made available to department chairs and program directors, and, when appropriate, ATC, PC, and the college administration. Motion failed.
• That Student Feedback surveys (i.e., departmental long forms) be administered online in Fall 2020 and the results made available to instructors. Motion passed by majority vote.
• that the results of Student Feedback surveys be made available to department chairs and program directors and, when appropriate, ATC, PC, and the college administration. Motion failed.

NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business.

REPORTS

Faculty Executive Committee

On behalf of the Faculty Executive Committee, Professor Schofield provided an opportunity for faculty to comment on the Committee of Committee’s Report from the spring 2020 semester (see attached).  There were no questions raised concerning the report.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Marc Conner welcomed everyone, stating that it is a tremendous accomplishment to make it to the middle of the semester.  He then reflected on his first 12 weeks on the job, noting that he has experienced a steep learning curve.  The best part for him has been getting to know the campus community and interacting with the students.  President Conner stated that he has begun meeting with all academic departments and programs and hopes to have met with all the departments and programs by the end of the academic year.   He has also instituted monthly staff meetings, similar to faculty meetings, to provide an opportunity to communicate with staff, and those meetings have been well received.

President Conner also indicated that he has been working with Advancement and holding several Zoom meetings each week with alumni, parents, and members of the community.  The parent meetings have been especially rewarding with parents expressing their deep appreciation for what we are achieving right now; they talk about the experience their children are having, that they are learning and engaged, and are happy to be here.

President Conner further reported that he has enjoyed participating in intellectual life on campus.  He has attended a number of events over the past few weeks, including the Calvin Baker reading and the panel for the recent Presidential debate. President Conner expressed appreciation for the work of many colleagues, especially from the Political Science department and the Tang Teaching Museum, in planning a robust program of activities for this election period (https://www.skidmore.edu/election/).  

President Conner then provided an update on the Racial Justice Initiative, reporting that searches are ongoing for the two diversity leadership positions.  In addition, the new Board of Trustees Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, has been created, chaired by Linda Jackson-Chalmers ’73, a long-time board member.  President Conner stated that there will be upcoming events with speakers, workshops, readings, and forums related to the Racial Justice Initiative. He also reported that he had already received several wonderful proposals for activities to be included within the Racial Justice Initiative.  In addition, President Conner noted that the work done to update the EEO and Title IX regulations and practices aligns with both the racial justice initiative and the college’s broader DEI goals.

President Conner then called on Joshua Woodfork. Vice President for Strategic Planning and Institutional Diversity to offer some remarks.  VP Woodfork began by reflecting on the discussion of the CEPP motion, noting that departmental autonomy at Skidmore is often described through use of the term “state’s rights” but that that term has not been historically good for people of color, specifically African Americans.  He expressed the hope that the community can find ways to think more inclusively.  He further commented that, while the chat feature in Zoom can be empowering, it is also distracting, and encouraged everyone to maintain a sense of respect within the chat feature.  VP Woodfork then commended Skidmore students for their participation in recent national issues related to Black Lives Matter and anti-racism.  He then encouraged everyone to look at this year’s In It 5 programming and find ways to become involved and engaged.  He concluded by thanking students, staff, and faculty members for helping in this year’s In It 5 planning, and for working to improve our campus climate and culture.

President Conner then provided an update on COVID-19 testing on campus and planning for the spring.  Of the 18,000 tests conducted so far, we have only had 5 positive cases.  He noted that it is remarkable how well the campus is doing and praised the students for their efforts.  While acknowledging that we are doing remarkably well, President Conner cautioned that we cannot let up our efforts to keep the virus from spreading.  Turning to planning for the spring semester, President Conner stated that we must assume the same health conditions and constraints will apply, until science tells us that the public health situation has changed.  Now that the dates of the spring calendar have been set, planning is proceeding regarding topics such as academic spaces, athletics, quarantining, testing protocols and technologies.  At this point, however, we are uncertain whether more students will want to return to campus for the spring or whether some students will  decide not to return. It is also currently unclear whether more faculty will want to teach in person next semester or if we will see a similar mix of online, hybrid, hyflex and in-person modes of instruction President Conner assured everyone that we will continue with our communication efforts and will provide complete transparency as we go forward.

President Conner concluded his report by providing an update on health insurance premiums.  As many are aware, medical and pharmacy claims have increased dramatically over the  past few years.  This year, our insurers and actuaries recommended an increase in premiums of 24 percent.  President Conner indicated that such an increase to the employee share would be unacceptable, especially given the financial constraints of this year.   For that reason, he announced that the college will continue to cap the increase in the employee share of health insurance premiums at 10 percent and will absorb the additional costs this year.  He reminded everyone that the Health Care Working Group had been charged by IPPC to review health care costs and to make recommendations to contain  those costs, after engaging the community in  discussions.  The working group had presented preliminary results of their work to the faculty and staff in February and March 2020 but that the onset of COVID had interrupted the Working Group’s efforts to gather community input.  President Conner reported that IPPC has now asked the group to continue its work this year, particularly with regard to seeking community input, with a view towards delivering their recommendations to IPPC in April.

The floor was then opened for questions and comments.  Discussion focused on the COVID dashboard and the mechanisms in place for ensuring that staff, faculty and students are complying with weekly testing, including the Co-Verified app for students and the daily health certifications for staff; increasing transparency and communication with students; and whether anti-racist training will be implemented for the entire campus.

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

DOF/VPAA Orr announced the following tenure and promotions that were approved by the Board of Trustees at their May, 2020 meeting as follows:

• Faculty members awarded tenure:
  • Lisa Jackson-Schebetta, Department of Theater
  • Andrew Lindner, Department of Sociology

• Faculty members awarded tenure and promoted to Associate Professor:
  • Yelena Biberman-Ocakli, Department of Political Science
  • Andrew Bozio, Department of English
  • Jason Breves, Department of Biology
  • David Cohen, Department of Management and Business
  • Eunice Ferreira, Department of Theater
  • Jina Mao, Department of Management and Business
  • Jennifer Mueller, Department of Sociology
  • Jessica Sullivan, Department of Psychology

• Faculty members promoted to Professor:
  • Mimi Hellman, Department of Art History
  • Maria Lander, Department of World Languages and Literatures
  • Sang Wook Lee, Department of Art
    

• Faculty members promoted to Senior Teaching Professor:
  • Scott Mulligan, International Affairs Program, Arts Administration Program, and Media and Film Studies Program
  • Maryuri Roca, Department of Chemistry

• Faculty members promoted to Senior Artist-in-Residence:
  • Sylvia Stoner-Hawkins, Department of Music

• Faculty members promoted to Senior Lecturer:
  • Anne Gallagher Ernst, Environmental Studies and Sciences Program
  • Jennifer Cholnoky, Department of Geosciences

A virtual round of applause was given to recognize and acknowledge the accomplishments of  these colleagues.

DOF/VPAA Orr encouraged everyone to attend the In It 5 sessions occurring next week, specifically the sessions focusing on how to write an anti-racism action plan and preparing for a diversity audit.   Depending upon the success of these sessions, the moderators may be brought back to help individual departments and academic programs engage in this work as part of the Racial Justice Initiative.

DOF/VPAA Orr then provided an update on planning for the spring semester.  He stated that departments and programs are in the process of finalizing their teaching schedules and teaching preferences, and that those schedules should be submitted to the Registrar’s office within the week.  Once the course schedules have been submitted, the Registrar’s office will work closely with the DOF office to assign classrooms for all courses that will be taught in-person or with an in-person component.  As tents will not be available for use as classrooms during the spring semester, DOF/VPAA Orr noted that his office has worked with the Director of the Scribner Library to identify five additional spaces to serve as classrooms. Together with six other spaces that were not used widely this semester, a total of 275 additional seats have been identified for classroom use next semester.  It is too early at this point to know whether demand for classrooms will be the same, greater or less than in the fall.  However, it is anticipated that there will be pressure for classrooms, especially at the most popular times and for particular classrooms

DOF/VPAA Orr concluded his report by announcing impending changes in Oracle, our current financial and human resource system.  In the new year, the College will be transitioning to Oracle Cloud; this change will address a number of limitations within our current system which heavily relies on paper copies when paying invoices and submitting expenses.  Under the current system, we need to use separate platforms for recruiting, accounts payable processes and time keeping hours for staff members.  The new system will allow for invoices, expense reports, etc. to be submitted entirely online with the ability to track the progress of payments in real time and will provide a new platform for submitting authorizations for new hires. More information and details on training sessions will be forthcoming shortly.  

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:23 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,