Faculty Meeting Minutes

April 28, 2023
Murray Aikins Dining Hall/Zoom

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 to the penultimate faculty meeting of the spring semester, both those attending in person and those attending remotely, noting that President Conner is travelling and is one of those attending the meeting remotely.  DOF/VPAA Orr thanked everyone for all their hard work in bringing the semester to a successful conclusion.  He then reminded everyone of the procedures to be followed during the hybrid meeting and noted that there were several items of business to be voted on, pointing out that those attending remotely should have theSpring open in the background of their computers. Finally, after commenting that the agenda was very full, including the celebration of 11 retiring colleagues, DOF/VPAA Orr noted that, due to time constraints, it may be necessary to postpone a couple of items on the agenda to the next 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 March 31, 2023.  Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved as distributed.

RECOGNITION OF RETIREES

On behalf of the Appointments and Promotions Committee (ATC), Professor Winston Grady-Willis 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:

• Michael F. Arnush, Department of Classics
• Raymond Giguere, Department of Chemistry
• Charlene M. Grant, Department of World Languages and Literatures
• Deborah R. Hall, Department of Art
• Mark C. Hofmann, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
• Mark E. Huibregtse, Department of Mathematics and Statistics
• Christine C. Kopec, Department of Management and Business
• Denise B. McQuade, Department of Biology
• Crystal D. Moore, Department of Social Work
• Lawrence M. Opitz, Department of Theater
• Cynthia K. Sood, Department of Chemistry

The faculty further resolves that the biographical highlights of these members contained in the Retirement Citation booklet (see attached) distributed at this meeting be included in the Faculty Meeting Minutes of April 28, 2023 in recognition and celebration of their distinguished service and achievement.

The assembly signaled their acclamation with applause.

Thereafter, Associate Professor Dan Curley delivered a tribute to Michael Arnush; Assistant Professor and former student Jessada Mahatthananchai delivered a tribute to Ray Giguere; Professor Maria Lander delivered a tribute to Charlene Grant; Associate Professor Sarah Sweeney delivered a tribute to Deb Hall; Professor Rachel Roe-Dale delivered a tribute to Mark Hofmann; Professor Dan Hurwitz delivered a tribute to Mark Huibregtse; Associate Professor David Cohen delivered a tribute to Chris Kopec; Associate Professor Jason Breves delivered a tribute to Denise McQuade; Associate Professor Ron Seyb delivered a tribute to Crystal Moore; Associate Professor Lisa Jackson-Schebetta delivered a tribute to Lary Opitz; and Professor Juan Navea delivered a tribute to Cindy Sood, A congratulatory round of applause was given to each retiree.

OLD BUSINESS

Committee on Educational Policies and Planning

On behalf of the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning, Associate Professor Leigh Wilton read the following Motion that was introduced at the last Faculty Meeting (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. 

A question was raised as to why some items were required to be on the syllabus and other items were just recommended; it was noted that the items that were required relate to policies required at Skidmore and by State laws. A further question was raised whether the proposal was offering a definition of a syllabus; it was noted that anything that is distributed to students that includes information about course policies and regulations can be considered a syllabus.   There being no further discussion, the Motion was voted on and passed by majority vote.

Curriculum Committee

On behalf of the Curriculum Committee, Associate Professor Chris Vecsey read the following Motions that were introduced at the last Faculty Meeting:

MOTION: The Curriculum Committee moves to eliminate the Management and Business-Political Science interdepartmental major (see attached).

MOTION: The Curriculum Committee moves to eliminate the French Area Studies major (see attached).

There was no discussion on either motion.  The motions were then voted on and passed by majority vote.

Thereupon, Professor Vecsey announced that a minor in Entrepreneurship had been approved by the Curriculum Committee.

Promotions Committee

On behalf of the Promotions Committee (PC), Associate Professor Andrew Lindner read the following Motion that was introduced at the last Faculty Meeting (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…

There was no discussion.  The Motion was voted on and passed by majority vote.

NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business.

OTHER

Faculty Development Committee

On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Associate Professor Flagg Taylor announced that Professor Corey Freeman-Gallant had been awarded the Ralph A. Ciancio Award for Excellence in Teaching for 2023-24.  Professor Taylor then read a citation honoring Professor Freeman-Gallant (see attached).   A congratulatory round of applause was given to Professor Freeman-Gallant.

Working Group on Accessible and Inclusive Teaching and Learning

In the interest of time, DOF/VPAA Orr proposed that the report from the Working Group on Accessible and Inclusive Teaching and Learning be postponed to the next Faculty Meeting.  There being no objection, the report was postponed. DOF/VPAA Orr then drew the attention of those attending the meeting in person to a survey (yellow slip on each table with a QR code) that the Working Group was administering and encouraged everyone in attendance to complete the survey.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Conner expressed his regrets for not being able to attend the Faculty Meeting in person. He then announced that a reception will be held to honor DOF/VPAA Orr in the Palamountain Lobby following the Faculty Meeting on May 17.    President Conner then thanked all the faculty who had presented the retiree citations, noting it was a great history lesson for him about the college and how impressed he had been by the remarkable accomplishments of our retiring colleagues.  He then congratulated Professor Freeman-Gallant on being named the Ciancio recipient.

Although he wished he had more time to elaborate, President Conner provided the following brief updates:

• The Symposium on Speech and Expression held two weeks ago had gone very well.
• The Board of Trustees will soon be on campus for their May meeting.
• A town hall meeting on the state of the college finances will be held on May 23, which is the same date as the retirement and recognition ceremony for staff.
• The search for Vice President for Human Resources and General Counsel is now in the semi-finalist stage. Details on all the VP searches are continually updated on the VP search website.
• May 1 is the deadline for next year’s entering class to confirm their acceptances.

In concluding his report, President Conner reminded everyone that a decision on the pending Supreme Court case against Harvard and UNC on race and admissions in higher education is likely to be made in the coming weeks. He noted that this decision could dramatically impact how institutions can include race as one of many factors in admissions.  President Conner affirmed the College’s commitment to its mission regardless of the decision and stated that, although our admissions tactics and strategy might have to adapt, our commitment to continuing to enhance the diversity and inclusivity of our student body, and indeed of our entire campus, remains as strong as ever.  He then noted that a message to the whole community will be sent in the next few weeks to explain the context of the impending decision. As soon as the Supreme Court decision is released, an additional message will be sent to the community. 

An opportunity for questions was then offered.  Although there were no questions raised, President Conner encouraged anyone with any questions to reach out to him.

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

DOF/VPAA Orr announced that he would curtail his remarks in the interest of time.  He then invited ADOF Michael Arnush to provide some end-of-semester reminders.  Dean Arnush reminded everyone that the last day of classes is next Tuesday and reminded everyone that they should not give final exams during class time.  Next, he reminded everyone that Academic Festival will be held next Wednesday (May 3) and encouraged everyone to attend as many sessions as possible to support our students.  He then noted that later that day, Honors Convocation would be held at 7:00 pm and would feature music from faculty and students from the Music Department.  Given the importance and significance of the event for our students and their families, Dean Arnush encouraged everyone to attend the event and the reception afterwards. 

DOF/VPAA Orr then referenced the email that he had sent earlier in the week on behalf of Professor Winston Grady-Willis about the Freedom To Learn National Day of Action scheduled for next Wednesday.  He stressed that this action is an effort to respond to the nationwide assault on DEI commitments and initiatives in higher education, as well as to address direct attacks on the subject matter of Black Studies,  the validity of intersectionality, and support for the LGBTQ+ community.  The interference of State legislatures and increasingly politicized boards of trustees at public colleges is, in his opinion, an outright attack on academic freedom, as well as an attempt to roll back efforts to support diversity, equity, inclusion at multiple institutions.  DOF/VPAA Orr further noted that, as we prepare for the end of the semester and the summer break., he believes it is more important than ever that we reaffirm Skidmore’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, to redouble our efforts and express solidarity with colleagues and other institutions who are facing existential challenges to their academic work and their employment security.  He then thanked Professors Grady-Willis, Gwen D’Arcangelis, Lisa Grady-Willis, Jennie Mueller, and Oscar Perez-Hernandez for highlighting these issues and drawing our attention to next week's day of action.

DOF/VPAA Orr then thanked everyone for their work this semester and expressed his good wishes for the conclusion of the semester.  He then invited everyone to the reception in the lobby of the Tang to continue the celebration of our retiring faculty members.  There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:14 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,