Present: Dean Swartz, Associate Deans H. Scott and P. Smith, E. Dobbs, R. Grey, M. Pillado-Miller, L. Sinnett, D. Smith, B. Voyles

Remarks by the Dean

Raquel Greene will continue for a second year as a CSMP fellow in Russian. A candidate for our second CSPM position will interview on campus sometime before the end of this semester.

A number of candidates for temporary positions will be on campus interviewing during the next few weeks.

P. Smith provided Council members with the final version of the NCA evaluation team’s Report of a Visit to Grinnell College. The team concluded that “Grinnell College is an exemplary liberal arts college and shows every promise of continuing as such into the distant future.” Two issues noted during the 1988 visit that emerged again in the report were mentoring of untenured faculty (“recent initiatives in support of junior faculty should be developed and strengthened”) and insufficient representation of women and members of minority groups in high-level administrative positions. Once the formal accreditation process is complete, the team’s report will be made widely available.

The Dean distributed a packet of requests for staffing from departments and concentrations. Council will begin review of these requests at its next meeting.

Faculty Handbook Revisions

D. Smith and P. Smith distributed a list of proposed additions to the Faculty Handbook which would result from language removed from the Trustees’ By-Laws. Council concluded that these proposed changes ought to be discussed in the context of a review of the entire Faculty Handbook in order to bring the Handbook more into line with current practice. The Dean will appoint a small group to work on revisions which will be brought to the faculty sometime next academic year. Council agreed that it would be good to have the revised handbook on line so that revisions could be handled more efficiently in the future.

D. Smith left the meeting at 5:08 p.m.

Library Proposal on Reviews

Christopher McKee, Librarian of the College, has requested that the requirement that library faculty undergo a complete review with each renewal of their five-year contracts be modified. McKee proposes that, following the complete review that leads to the first five-year contract, additional five-year contract renewals normally be based on a letter from the Librarian of the College, which letter would reflect the opinions of senior colleagues, and on simple supporting materials, rather than the large packet required for complete reviews.

Council members concluded that, although they are sensitive to the work load burden created by the current review process, they believe the librarian faculty members should be reviewed periodically (probably every 5 years) with requirements more rigorous than the proposed letter from the Librarian of the College and simple supporting materials. They would be willing to consider, however, a proposal to base these periodic reviews on the guidelines for interim reviews rather than complete reviews. The Dean will recommend to McKee that he come back to Council with a revised proposal.

Remarks by Council Faculty Members

Council members set a date of May 6 (ARH 318 at 4:15 p.m.) for its discussion with interested faculty on the data compiled by Sinnett in her report on the significance of reliability and validity in our end-of-course evaluations. The discussion will be announced in the Campus Memo and in an e-mail message to all faculty members.

Council members discussed a memo to the President and the Dean from FOC recommending that the administration institute a policy of granting an annual two-course release to the Chair of the Faculty. Since over the years the duties of the chair have increased significantly, FOC believes that senior faculty members have been unwilling to be considered for this position and have withdrawn their names from elections. Voyles moved and Grey seconded approval of the FOC recommendation. The motion passed by unanimous vote.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.

Helen Scott
Secretary