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

The Dean called the meeting to order at 4:20 p.m. in Nollen House.

Minutes of the Executive Council meeting of April 28 were corrected and approved.

Remarks by the President

The President was asked about the status of the incoming class. He responded that deposits are just about where they are expected to be at this time but that it is too early yet to make any more definitive statements about the class. We have so far made no admits from the wait list.

Remarks by the Dean

Candidates for temporary positions in Chinese and Economics have accepted our offers. Offers are out to English and Gender and Women’s Studies candidates for temporary positions. Theatre, Spanish, and Economics are interviewing.

A letter will be going out to all faculty members about the special faculty meeting scheduled for Thursday, May 13, to talk with the campus planners.

The Board of Trustees will be on campus Thursday and Friday of this week. The Deans will meet with the Academic Affairs Committee; the only agenda item is discussion of recontracting, promotion, and tenure of faculty members. The Deans will also meet with the full Board Friday morning to give a presentation summarizing the strengths, traditions, and future directions of the academic program of the College.

Dobbs as Chair of the Faculty will also present a report to the full Board on what we look for in hiring and promoting faculty and on the complexity of this highly selective process.

Faculty salary letters will be sent out early next week.

Fund for Excellence Proposals

The President discussed with Council his assessement of the second round of Fund for Excellence proposals. He plans to send a draft of his assessments out to the campus towards the end of next week; the draft will solicit reactions, and he will release his final position paper once he has had a chance to consider these. Next year there will be only one round for Fund for Excellence proposals which will be due sometime in the spring.

Council members suggested that at an early faculty meeting next fall it would be helpful if the President could explain to the faculty as a whole the relationship between the endowment, the base budget, and the Fund for Excellence. The President responded that he has already planned on doing that.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:02 p.m.

Helen Scott
Secretary