Faculty Meeting Minutes
March 31, 2023
Michael Orr, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, called the meeting to order at 3:33 p.m. He welcomed everyone and expressed his hope that everyone had had a good spring break. He also noted that, as part of the effort to explore alternate venues for faculty meetings, the meeting was once again being held in Murray Aikins. He expressed thanks to the organizers of the Shabbat dinner being held in the same space later in the evening for their flexibility. He announced that the Faculty Meeting on April 28 will again be held in Murray Aikins but that the May Faculty Meeting on May 17 would be held in Gannett. DOF/VPAA Orr then reminded everyone of the procedures to be followed during the hybrid meeting and that there was an item of business to be voted on, pointing out that those attending remotely should have theSpring open in the background of their computers. After noting the full agenda for the meeting and the necessity to conclude the Faculty Meeting by 5:00 pm at the latest to accommodate preparations for the Shabbat Dinner, DOF/VPAA Orr indicated that he would yield his portion of the agenda to ensure that the business of the faculty could be completed.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
DOF/VPAA Orr announced a change to the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held March 3, 2023. He then acknowledged that the minutes from the last Faculty Meeting had been distributed a few days late and indicated that he would be happy to entertain an objection to approving the minutes and would defer approval until the next meeting. Hearing no objection, he asked if there were any other corrections to be made to the minutes. One additional request for changes was requested and accepted. There being no further requests for corrections to the minutes, he announced the minutes were approved, as revised.
INTRODUCTION OF DOROTHY MOSBY, FUTURE DOF/VPAA
The faculty members of the search committee for the new Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs (Sarah Sweeney, Peter von Allmen, David Howson, and Tammy Owens) welcomed Dr. Dorothy E. Mosby to her first faculty meeting as the future Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs. In her introductory remarks, Associate Professor Sarah Sweeney commented that, from their first meeting, the members of the search committee had developed a strong sense that Dr. Mosby was just the kind of academic leader that Skidmore needed, from her optimistic world view to her tremendous depth of experience in dealing with marginalized populations and issues of bias. The members of the search committee were confident that the College has found just the right person to propel the institution forward. Professor Sweeney then shared Dr. Mosby’s academic biography and then asked everyone to join her in welcoming Dr. Mosby. A welcoming round of applause was given to Dr. Mosby.
OLD BUSINESS
On behalf of the Curriculum Committee, Associate Professor Chris Vecsey read the following Motion (see attached) that was introduced at the last Faculty Meeting:
MOTION: The Curriculum Committee (CC) moves to revise the Faculty Handbook language describing its membership. There are three proposed changes: (1) Reduce faculty membership from five members (including a Chair) to four members (including a Chair), (2) Adjust administrative roles on the committee, and (3) Reduce student membership from two to one.
Professor Vecsey then reminded everyone that a question was raised last month as to whether the motion should also seek to eliminate divisional representation on the committee. Professor Vecsey indicated that CC discussed this suggestion at their recent meeting and noted that there wasn’t much support for it, as the committee felt that having divisional representation was helpful for understanding different proposals. Professor Vecsey further noted that the committee acknowledged that this proposed change might alter the constituency of the committee as early as next semester, based on the remaining requirement for divisional representation. Additionally, he noted that he received an inquiry from a faculty member inquiring as to whether the committee would have sufficient membership to deal with another large increase in changes to the curriculum, such as has been experienced during the past few years. Professor Vecsey indicated that the committee generally felt that the workload would be manageable with the reduced numbers but that if an unusual situation occurred and the committee required additional membership, a subcommittee could be formed with additional members.
There was no discussion or questions raised. The motion was then voted on and passed by majority vote.
NEW BUSINESS
Committee on Educational Policies and Planning
On behalf of the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning, Associate Professor Leigh Wilton introduced the following Motion (see attached):
MOTION: The Committee on Educational Policies and Planning (CEPP) moves adoption of the following changes to the Faculty Handbook in order to specify that faculty members should provide their students the semester’s course syllabus.
Professor Wilton explained the rationale for the motion. In response to questioning, Professor Wilton indicated that the proposal would not apply to independent studies, theses, or research courses, although faculty could choose to provide a syllabus in those cases. There being no further discussion, the Motion will lie over until the next Faculty Meeting.
Curriculum Committee
On behalf of the Curriculum Committee, Associate Professor Chris Vecsey introduced the following Motion (see attached):
MOTION: The Curriculum Committee moves to eliminate the Management and Business-Political Science interdepartmental major.
Professor Vecsey explained the rationale for the motion. There were no comments or informational questions raised. The Motion will lie over until the next Faculty Meeting.
On behalf of the Curriculum Committee, Associate Professor Chris Vecsey introduced the following Motion (see attached):
MOTION: The Curriculum Committee moves to eliminate the French Area Studies major.
Professor Vecsey explained the rationale for the motion. There were no comments or informational questions raised. The Motion will lie over until the next Faculty Meeting.
DOF/VPAA Orr then commented that, due to the somewhat cumbersome voting procedure adopted for hybrid Faculty Meetings, he had conferred with the chair of the Curriculum Committee and was planning to propose at the next Faculty Meeting that these two motions be voted on together. Should anyone object at that meeting, he would provide an opportunity to vote on the motions separately.
Promotions Committee
On behalf of the Promotions Committee (PC), Associate Professor Andrew Lindner introduced the following Motion (see attached):
MOTION: The Promotions Committee moves that the procedure in the Faculty Handbook (Part One, Article VIII, F, 2) involving letters in a promotion file be amended as follow (new text is in boldface):
viii. Candidates for promotion may solicit letters on their behalf from reviewers familiar with their credentials from outside the college. Such letters go to the Department Chair or Program Director and then to PC as part of the candidate's dossier. Letters mandated by the department/program must also be transmitted to PC.
ix. Unsolicited letters received by PC must be signed and must address themselves
to one or more of the evaluative criteria for promotion as delineated in the Faculty
Handbook. Such letters will be stored in a confidential file in the candidate’s dossier
labeled "Unsolicited Letters.” Within seven days of the date stipulated by the annual
PC calendar for receipt of all letters, the Chair of PC will give the candidate a
list of names of those who have written unsolicited letters about the candidate.
x. After conducting its deliberations…
Professor Lindner clarified the definition of unsolicited letters and then explained the rationale for the Motion. Brief discussion was held on what was considered an unsolicited letter, such as letters from students, letters solicited by the candidate themselves, or other internal letters (e.g., from chairs of committees) that were not solicited by a candidate’s chair. In response to a question whether the committee would consider unsolicited letters that were not signed or did not address the evaluative criteria, Professor Lindner indicated that the PC would consider all unsolicited letters but that they were trying to avoid “anonymous, rogue” letters and, thus, having that language about addressing the criteria keeps us within the bounds of letters that the PC finds helpful as they review promotion cases. There being no further discussion, the Motion will lie over until the next Faculty Meeting.
REPORT
Curriculum Committee
On behalf of the Curriculum Committee, Associate Professor Chris Vecsey announced that a new minor in Entrepreneurship is being proposed by the Management and Business Department and the Arts Administration program. He further announced that an online forum has been created to collect feedback about the proposal to create a minor in Entrepreneurship and that the forum would remain open for comments until April 11. The Curriculum Committee will meet to make a final decision on the proposal on April 12. The link to the forum is: https://skidmore.forumbee.com/t/83hcxga/curriculum-committee-entrepreneurship-minor.
Faculty Development Committee
On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Associate Professor Flagg Taylor announced that the Edwin M. Moseley Faculty Lectureship for 2023-2024 has been awarded to Giuseppe Faustini, Professor of Italian. Professor Taylor then read a citation honoring Professor Faustini (see attached). A congratulatory round of applause was given to Professor Faustini.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
President Conner welcomed everyone and acknowledged that we are approaching the final stage of the semester. He thanked everyone for all their hard work. He then acknowledged the generous welcome that the faculty members of the search committee had given to Dr. Mosby earlier in the meeting and invited her to say a few words. Dr. Mosby thanked everyone for their warm welcome and thanked all the members of the search committee. She acknowledged all the work that goes into these types of searches in getting to know the candidates, and expressed her sincere thanks to the search committee for recommending her for this wonderful appointment. She commented on how much she had enjoyed engaging with so many faculty members during the past two days and hearing the respect and appreciation that everyone has for the sense of community. She concluded her remarks by thanking DOF/VPAA Orr for the integrity and generosity he had expressed to her and thanked the members of the Dean of the Faculty’s Office and the community for giving her such an exuberant welcome.
President Conner then provided an update on the remaining Vice Presidential searches. Since the last Faculty Meeting, Jess Ricker has been appointed as the Vice President of Enrollment and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid and Daniel Konstalid has been appointed as the new Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer. The search for a new Vice President for Communications and Marketing is in the finalist stage. President Conner then noted the exceptional work done by the members of the Appointments and Tenure Committee in support of these searches and expressed his deep appreciation.
Referring to an announcement made earlier in the week, President Conner confirmed his intention to move forward with the creation of the new Vice Presidential position to support and oversee Human Resources and to serve as General Counsel. He thanked all of the groups that had contributed to the discussion of this position over the last three months, including ATC, IPPC, HR staff, Finance and Administration staff, the All-Staff Meeting and last week’s Faculty Forum. All these discussions have certainly convinced him that moving forward with this position is an excellent idea that will support and strengthen our community. A search committee will be constituted shortly, with a willingness-to-serve being issued next week. President Conner anticipates a 2-3-month search process and hopes to have a candidate identified by the end of May or early June. At that time, the entire cabinet will be in place and it will be a moment of welcoming and integrating a lot of exciting new leaders to our community.
Next, President Conner reported that the extended Cabinet met last week for the first time in four years. The extended Cabinet is largely comprised of the directors and associate deans who report directly to the vice presidents. The group discussed vice presidential transitions (how we integrate new leadership into the community and how we can welcome these new leaders into our community), as well as employee morale and what we can do to better support our employees. President Conner indicated that he was encouraged by the meeting and hopes that the group will continue to meet each semester in the future.
Next, after referencing Dr. Seuss’s book The Lorax, President Conner announced that 52 new trees are in the process of being planted on North Broadway. In addition, as a result of the McCaffery-Wagman tennis and wellness center construction project, a further 142 new trees and almost 1,000 shrubs and perennials will be planted. Together with another 50 trees being planted across campus, there will be a net gain of 70 mature trees. Most of what is being removed are short-growth scrub trees, pines, and spruces; we will be planting about one and a half times of what we take out, and the replacements will consist of select native trees and diverse species.
Next, President Conner reminded everyone of the Speech and Expression symposium coming up in two weeks time. He noted that the topic of the symposium had been very much on his mind, given numerous recent press reports about incursions against academic free speech and attacks on DEI. President Conner emphasized Skidmore’s rock solid commitment to diversity, as well as the College’s commitment to freedom of speech and academic freedom. Turning to the specifics of the upcoming symposium, he drew attention to the symposium’s website, noting the inclusion of three outstanding keynote speakers: Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor and Director of the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University; Michael Roth, President of Wesleyan University and author of a recent book on freedom of speech on college campuses; and David Brooks, the noted New York Times columnist and commentator. The program also includes a faculty panel consisting of Pushi Prasad, Jennifer Day, Scott Mulligan and Flagg Taylor, moderated by Calvin Baker; and a student panel consisting of Joshua Cherry ’23, Amr Fatafta ’23, Kirat Hance ’23, Melanie Nolan ’23, and Morgan Sickels ’23, moderated by Adrian Bautista, Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs. President Conner encouraged everyone to attend and urged faculty members to encourage their students to attend as well. More details about the symposium can be found at the following website: https://www.skidmore.edu/speech-expression .
President Conner then announced that, as part of the College’s Centennial celebration, a panel discussion celebrating the legacy of David H. Porter, Skidmore’s fifth president, will be held on April 18. Organized by Michael Arnush, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Student Academic Affairs, and Mike Sposili, Assistant VP for Alumni and College Events, the panel will feature Mary Lou Bates, Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid; Dan Curley, Associate Professor and Chair, Classics Department; Christine Hoek, Former Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs; Susan Kress, Professor Emerita, English Department and former VPAA; and Jeff Segrave, Professor of Health and Physiological Sciences and former Dean of Special Programs.
Next, President Conner announced upcoming faculty events: the faculty-only forum on Skidmore’s Values and Visions to be held on Friday, April 7; the next President-Faculty dinner to be held in April; a dinner honoring Rodrigo Schneider as the holder of the 2022-23 Ralph A. Ciancio Award for Excellence in Teaching in April; and a dinner honoring Denise Evert as the Phyllis A. Roth Faculty Distinguished Professor in May. He then congratulated Professor Giuseppe Faustini on being the recipient of next year’s Moseley award.
In conclusion, President Conner announced that a reception will be held following the Faculty Meeting on May 17 to honor DOF/VPAA Orr for all that he has done for Skidmore and for the Skidmore faculty.
The floor was then opened for questions or comments for the president. A request was made to provide more context concerning the petition received by the College from the Service Employees International Union seeking to establish a union for our undergraduate students who serve as Resident Assistants. At President Conner’s request, Adrian Bautista, Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs, provided some background and context for understanding the petition and its motivations. He also noted that Skidmore had not yet had any direct communication from the Resident Assistants about their unionizing efforts. However, he indicated that his office would be working closely with Human Resources to ensure that the students are making the best possible decisions when it comes to the union election. In response to a question about whether Skidmore would voluntarily recognize the union, Dean Bautista indicated that unionization is a decision that should rest with the workers themselves and that the College would honor and respect their decision. Finally, a faculty member noted that our area is about to face another infestation of spongy moths and that we should remove spongy moth egg masses now, so that the spongy moths don’t devastate the trees like they did last summer. President Conner indicated he would follow up on that suggestion.
DEAN OF THE FACULTY AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS’ REPORT
After noting that he had not expected to have time to offer any remarks, DOF/VPAA Orr invited Professor Rachel Roe-Dale, Director of the First Year Experience, to announce this summer’s summer reading selection. Professor Roe-Dale announced that the FYE Summer Reading Selection Committee had selected Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun as this year’s summer reading. She indicated that further information about related programming would be forthcoming.
DOF/VPAA Orr then provided an update on this year’s tenure-track faculty hires. He noted that we successfully concluded two more searches this week and that nearly all the tenure-track searches have now been completed, with only the Harder chair and one tenure-track search remaining. The majority of this year’s searches have resulted in the hiring of faculty of color.
There being no further business, DOF/VPAA Orr adjourned the meeting at 4:43 p.m. and invited everyone to the reception in the Murray Aikins balcony immediately following the meeting.
Respectfully submitted,