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

The President called the meeting to order at 4:19 p.m. in Nollen House.

The minutes of December 16 were corrected and approved.

Remarks by the President

The President reported on progress with the Master Plan; the architects will give a one-hour presentation to the Board on the needs assessment phase of our planning.

Those who had Fund for Excellence proposals approved by the President should refer to the President's December 21 memo for the person who should be consulted during the implementation process. Capstone proposals should be directed to the Dean's Office.

A search is underway for the Director of the Art Gallery. We have a strong pool of applicants with substantial experience as director or curator.

Remarks by the Dean

The Dean reviewed the status of searches for tenure-track and temporary positions.

CSMP applications were distributed to appropriate departments and concentrations. Responses are due back to the Dean's Office by Friday, February 12.

The Dean, Associate Dean P. Smith, and Social Studies Division chair met with the tenured members of the American Studies department. A proposal will be forthcoming concerning the future of that department.

The Dean distributed a list of lecturers organized by type of relationship with the College (Lab faculty, full-time positions with part-time teaching, part-time regular faculty [longer term contracts], part-time faculty with contracts for one year at a time, other). Attached to the list are issues that the Dean would like Council to discuss at a future meeting.

Council approved a temporary faculty position for the Philosophy department.

The Theatre department has submitted a proposal for a tenure-track position for 1999/00 to serve as sabbatical replacements for 1999/00 and SFS replacement starting 2000/01. Council discussed this request and asked that the Dean return the proposal to the department for a comprehensive rationale for this position. Normally such requests for tenure-track appointments from departments will be entertained each April by Executive Council for the academic year beginning a year from the fall following the request. See Council Minutes of November 18 (http://www.grinnell.edu/dean/Council/November18.html./)

Discussion of Procedures for Changing the Faculty Handbook

D. Smith moved and Pillado-Miller seconded a motion to recommend to the full faculty that the following be included in the Faculty Handbook:

The Faculty Handbook may be amended, such amendment being subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, in either of the following ways:

1. By vote of the faculty: Normally, motions to amend the Faculty Handbook will be proposed to the faculty by the Executive Council or the Faculty Organization Committee.
2. By the Executive Council or the Faculty Organization Committee after giving due notice to the faculty as follows: An amendment to the Faculty Handbook proposed by either of these bodies shall be presented in writing to the members of the faculty for their consideration at least twelve days before a regularly scheduled meeting of the faculty. Any twelve voting members of the faculty may require of the proposers, through the Dean of the College, that the amendment be considered for approval by the faculty at that meeting. Otherwise the Executive Council or the Faculty Organization Committee, as the case may be, may proceed to amend the Handbook as proposed.

The motion was unanimously approved.

D. Smith and P. Smith have been working on revisions to the Faculty Handbook. They will be bringing several other issues which need to be resolved concerning the handbook at a future meeting of Council.

The President left the meeting at 5:00 p.m. to meet with the Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Before leaving he remarked on how pleased he is to be teaching this semester in the Political Science department and how impressed he is with his students. He is teaching a special topics course on "Nature, Functions, and Limits of the Law."

Discussion of Staffing Proposal from the English Department

Pillado-Miller moved and Dobbs seconded a motion to fill the one-half position vacant in English by expanding a 1.0 shared contract position to 1.5. After a discussion of all of the issues, the motion passed unanimously.

Discussion of Staffing Proposal from the Anthropology Department

The Dean asked for Council's advice concerning a proposal from a department to offer a part-time temporary position to a faculty member from another institution to teach two courses at Grinnell college during her sabbatical year. These two courses would provide leave replacement coverage promised to the department by the Dean. Discussion focused on meeting current curricular commitments to concentrations. Council advised the Dean to insist that the department meet its obligation to the concentrations either with current faculty members or with an approved leave replacement.

Continued Discussion of Student Evaluation of Teaching

This discussion was tabled until the next Council meeting when it will be placed earlier on the agenda. Prior to the next meeting, Sinnett will distribute discussion points.

Remarks by Council Faculty Members

D. Smith recommended that Council members and those involved in the review of Student Affairs and the "cultural audit" of student life read an article by Jim Kissane on "The Academic climates of Grinnell," from his Mild Outbursts: Occasional Writings, 1956-1995, which the college published at the sesquicentennial. The Dean's Office will supply copies of the article to Council members.

Several Council members remarked that they would like to hear directly from Gerald Adams, our new Registrar, about how that office is now functioning under new leadership.

Pillado-Miller distributed a request from a faculty member concerning a personnel issue. It will be discussed at a future meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:25 p.m.

Helen Scott
Secretary