Faculty Meeting Minutes

 

Michael Orr, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, called the meeting to order at 3:34 p.m.  He welcomed everyone to the last faculty meeting of the semester and explained that today’s meeting was being held in the Payne Room at the Tang in response to feedback received by the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC).  He then thanked Ian Berry and his staff for hosting the meeting as well as Beth DuPont and her staff for the set up.  After some technical issues with regard to the sound system were resolved, DOF/VPAA Orr then noted that there would be two voting systems used for voting items during the meeting (hand held clickers for those attending in person and theSpring for those attending remotely) and reminded those attending remotely that they should have theSpring open for voting.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

DOF/VPAA Orr announced an amendment to the Faculty Meeting minutes of November 4, 2022 that were recently distributed.  He then asked if there were any other corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held November 4, 2022.  Hearing none, he announced that the minutes, as amended, were approved.

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 32 students of the Class of 2023 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by January 31, 2023.

            RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Science degree to 7 students of the Class of 2023 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by January 31, 2023.

There was no discussion, and the motions were voted on and passed with all in favor. 

B. All-College and Departmental Honors. Michael Arnush, Associate Dean of the Faculty, read the following resolutions into the record (see attached):

            RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College approve College Honors for the following 10 members of the Class of 2023: 5 students for cum laude distinction, 4 students for magna cum laude distinction, and 1 student for summa cum laude distinction.

            RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College approve Departmental and Program Honors for 13 students from the Class of 2023.

There was no discussion, and the motions were voted on and passed with all in favor. 

OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business.

OTHER

Faculty Executive Committee

On behalf of the Faculty Executive Committee, Associate Professor Xiaoshuo Hou reminded everyone that FEC will host a faculty-only meeting on December 9 on the second floor of Murray Aikins dining hall for a discussion on post-pandemic teaching.   A reminder email will be sent shortly.

In addition, Professor Hou announced that the topic for discussion at the February faculty meeting will be the current faculty governance system, which is due for a review next year.  In order to lay the foundation for the formal work to be undertaken next year, FEC plans to make a presentation on the current governance system.

Faculty Development Committee

On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Associate Professor Flagg Taylor announced that Associate Professor Denise Evert had been awarded the Phyllis A. Roth Faculty Distinguished Service Award for 2022.  He then presented a Resolution honoring Professor Evert (see attached).

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

After warmly congratulating Professor Evert on her award and thanking her for her exemplary service to Skidmore, President Conner welcomed everyone to the last faculty meeting of the semester and reported the following:

• This year was another great year for Skidmore Cares, the 17^th in a row. Over 3,400 food items and 1,300 school and personal care supplies were donated this year by students, faculty, and staff. Special thanks were given to Michelle Hubbs, Meghan Buchanan, Colleen Cronin, and Jeanne Sisson for their assistance.  In addition to the donations, Skidmania raised an additional $13,000, which will be matched by trustee Jimmy Zankel ’92. Special thanks were given to Jeremy Day-O’Connell, Joel Brown, and Zhenelle Lebel for their work on behalf of the Skidmania event. President Conner thanked everyone for their part in Skidmore Cares this year and noted that it is a great way to give back to the Saratoga Springs community.
• The annual Winter Celebration will be returning this year for all employees, after a 3-year hiatus due to COVID. The Winter Celebration will be held on February 10, 2023 at the Saratoga Springs City Center.
• A farewell ceremony for the old Greenberg Child Care Center will be held on December 15. The old child care center will be demolished at the end of December in preparation for the new Health and Wellness, Fitness and Athletics facility.  The new child care center located on North Broadway will open when we return from the winter break. 
• President Conner reported that he was pleased with the attendance at his recent open office hours and expressed his appreciation for the discussions he had with those attending.
• The President-Faculty dinner series has begun with the first group of 10 faculty members being hosted at Scribner House. The dinners are being organized in alphabetical order by last name starting with the “As.” It was a great evening and a wonderful opportunity for community building.  President Conner indicated that his plan is to invite every full-time faculty member to the dinner series, working through the alphabet over the next couple of years.
• The search for the new VPAA/DOF has successfully concluded with the hiring of Dr. Dorothy Mosby. He thanked everyone who contributed to the search for all of their work. President Conner noted that starting the search process at the end of the last academic year had been pivotal to the success of the search.  Special thanks were given to Jeanne Sisson for all her administrative support during the search process as well as to the members of the search committee for all their work.  Our attention now turns to introducing and welcoming Dr. Mosby to the Skidmore community.
• The two remaining VP searches, for the Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer, and the Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, are proceeding. Crucial meetings for both searches will be held just prior to and after the holiday break to narrow down the applicants to semi-finalists.  It is anticipated that initial interviews will be held in February and that finalists will be brought to campus in late February and early March with the hope of making appointments in late March or early April. He reminded everyone that the website (https://www.skidmore.edu/hr/vice-presidential-searches/index.php) is updated regularly and has all the up-to-date information on the status of these searches, and that he regularly sends written updates to both ATC and FEC for their information.

Next, President Conner provided an update on the planning for the new Health and Wellness, Fitness and Athletics Facility.  Since the last faculty meeting, several more forums had been held.  VP Adrian Bautista held an open forum with the Student Government Association to give students another opportunity to share their perspectives on the project.  In addition, a campus wide forum was held in Gannett earlier this week in which the architects and builders presented updated renderings of the project.  President Conner then shared a Powerpoint presentation of the updated renderings of the project, showing an aerial view, a view from the new tennis courts, a view of the walkway into the entrance, a view from the parking area, a view of the lobby, a view of the weight room, a view of the exercise room, and a view of a common room overlooking the indoor tennis courts. 

President Conner reminded everyone that the principal challenge for this project has been its funding.  While we already have $10 million allocated toward this project, and another $5-6 million allocated through the capital budget, we also have a $20 million aspirational fundraising goal. President Conner then happily announced that the College has secured the lead naming gift for this project from the Wachenheim family.  The Wachenheims were extremely excited about the project, the scope, the vision, and the focus on the mental health needs of students today that Skidmore is bringing to this project.  While this gift commitment came about very quickly, it is the result of many years of donor engagement, relationship building, and stewardship.  President Conner then invited VP Zucca to say a few words about this gift.  VP Zucca indicated that the Board gave Advancement until February to develop a fundraising plan so that we could move forward with this project and come up with some lead donors.  She then thanked the entire advancement team for their efforts in securing this donation, with special thanks to John Chaplin, who spearheaded the effort. A hearty round of applause was given to Mr. Chaplin.

Referencing the gift from the Wachenheim family, President Conner stated that these types of gift are transformational but happen only rarely; they enable an institution to move forward and help build momentum and set the bar for future projects.  He noted that in our last campaign completed in December 2020 ($229 million), Skidmore received only one gift of $5 million or more in the entire campaign.  That is an arduous way to complete a campaign.  In the last 14 months, we have had 3 gifts of $5 million or more; he noted that this is the concept we are trying to build in partnership with VP Zucca and her team.

Next, President Conner provided updates on several items from the Strategic Action Agenda for the year.  The Speech and Expression project continues to move forward with many different events happening on campus.  He referenced the art exhibit in the Case Center art gallery by senior Melanie Nolan on the Constitution and a speech and expression collage on the walls as well as a mini colloquium that Professor Pushi Prasad’s Bridge Experience class would be hosting on contentious speech issues.  There are lots of other things happening through the year, culminating with a major symposium on speech and expression on college campuses to be held April 14-15.  President Conner announced that planning for the symposium has begun and encouraged anyone with suggestions for keynote speakers, panels, and forums to reach out to him.

With regard to the Values and Visions project, President Conner reminded everyone of discussions that have already taken place with the Board of Trustees and with the Institutional Planning and Policy Committee considering what makes Skidmore unique and special.  President Conner indicated that he is planning to have similar discussions with the staff at the February staff meeting and would like to hold a similar conversation with faculty, perhaps a discussion over lunch in the dining hall.  More details regarding these events will be forthcoming.

President Conner concluded his report by again congratulating Professor Evert on her award and opening the floor to questions.  Although an opportunity was provided, there were no questions or comments.

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

DOF/VPAA Orr thanked everyone for bringing the semester to a successful close. Although there has not been much discussion about COVID recently, he noted that COVID has not gone away.  During the semester, it continued to impact us in many ways, including through student absences, personal illness, the need to care for others, and its continued negative impact on mental health and stress levels.  Despite the challenges that were faced, DOF/VPAA Orr indicated that he remains deeply impressed and humbled by everyone’s extraordinary efforts to realize our mission and deliver on our educational commitments to our students.

Next, DOF/VPAA Orr acknowledged the successful outcome of the search for the new Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs and indicated how pleased he was that Dr. Dorothy Mosby from Mount Holyoke would be joining the College.  He reminded everyone that Dr. Mosby comes to us from Mount Holyoke where she had served for two years as Interim Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, including serving during the pandemic.  DOF/VPAA Orr then noted that the Northeast Deans, a group of deans from the top 30-40 liberal arts colleges in the northeast (including Skidmore and Mount Holyoke), had held weekly Zoom meetings during the height of the pandemic to confer on COVID measures and to share ideas.  DOF/VPAA Orr indicated that he was able get to know Dr. Mosby during these meetings and to see her work in action.  From what he saw during these meetings, DOF/VPAA Orr expressed great confidence that she will be an outstanding Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Skidmore, and commented that he looks forward to working with and for her.

DOF/VPAA Orr then provided an update on this year’s tenure-track searches, stating that good progress has been made. Nine searches are now at the finalist stage with 15 finalist candidates having already been on campus for interviews and another 10 or so expected to visit campus for interviews during the next two weeks.  We have successfully completed one search so far, have offers outstanding in two searches, and anticipate making additional offers in the next few weeks.    The remainder of the searches will continue through the spring semester.  DOF/VPAA Orr indicated that he has been very impressed with the candidates that he has met and is very optimistic that we will be able to recruit an outstanding class of new colleagues.  He further indicated that he knows how much work goes into conducting tenure-track searches and thanked everyone who has been contributing to the search processes.

DOF/VPAA Orr concluded by expressing the hope that everyone’s final weeks of the semester go well and is then able to spend time with family and friends over holiday season.  He then opened the floor for questions; however, there were no questions raised.

There being no further business, DOF/VPAA Orr adjourned the meeting at 4:33 p.m. and invited everyone to the reception in the Tang Lobby immediately following the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Debra L. Peterson
Academic Affairs Coordinator