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

The meeting was called to order by the President at 4:18 p.m. in Nollen House.

The minutes and excerpts of the meeting of February 2,1999 were corrected and approved.

Remarks by the President

The President noted that the Campus Plan architects have submitted a draft feasibility study of moving Darby gym, as requested by the Board of Trustees. They have also submitted a report on the new energy center which is fairly inconclusive. He has also received a final draft of the Comprehensive Campus Master Plan.

President Osgood announced that the Board would be meeting in Grinnell for the rest of the week.

Remarks by the Dean

The Dean passed out a memorandum to the Executive Council dated 2/9/00 on the technology goals and the planning process underway at the College. He noted that Bill Francis prepared this document and that it has been shared with the President's staff. Some of the ideas in it, were also shared with an alumni group which visited in the fall to provide advice on technology. He has asked Bill Francis and John Kalkbrenner to come to Council next week to hear Council members' comments. Similar discussions will occur with the Instructional Support Committee, SGA Cabinet, Support Staff Relations Committee, and various other administrative groups. The President remarked that this planning is taking place as part of the Campus Master Plan process.

The Dean passed out a spreadsheet which lists all on-going searches. B. Ferguson moved, M. Pillado Miller seconded, approval of the recommendation to make an offer of appointment to the History Department candidate. The motion carried.

M. Pillado-Miller moved, D. Smith seconded, approval of the recommendation to make an offer to the Spanish Department candidate for a three-year appointment. The motion carried.

T. Moore raised an issue regarding scheduling interviews of candidates by Council members and the role that Council plays in the interview process. The President asked Council if something might be done to structurally improve the recruitment process. The Dean suggested that the role of Executive Council in searches should be added to Council's agenda. E. Dobbs concurred.

The Dean noted that P. Smith had distributed revised language of the catalog section "Education in the Liberal Arts" for proposed inclusion in the new catalog. The Chair thanked the Associate Dean for writing such a clear draft.

The President noted that he plans to bring a very early draft of a revised mission statement to Council next week, but that he did not expect it to be ready for inclusion in the catalog this year.

Approval of the Cover Letter to Faculty on New Grievance Procedure

E. Dobbs asked for approval of the memo that will accompany the "Faculty Grievance
Procedure" document when it is distributed to faculty. The memo was approved.

President Osgood and J. Brand left the meeting at 4:47 p.m.

Discussion of CSMP Proposals

The Dean noted that he has received and distributed to Council members CSMP proposals from academic departments. There are three proposals for two positions. A lengthy discussion ensued. It was recommended that proposals from two departments be brought to campus and that the candidate proposed by the third department be held as an alternate.

Discussion of Department Chair Duties

B. Ferguson stated that since this was last discussed he has revisited the essential documents presented to Council by the Dean (e.g. Dean Duke's 1997 study, Williams College Study, a summary account of searches, and a three year study of teaching schedules of department chairs). A lengthy discussion ensued. Council will continue this discussion prior to bringing it's recommendation to the full faculty.

The Dean left the meeting at 5:30 p.m.

Council Remarks

E. Dobbs opened a conversation about a proposal prepared by B. Ferguson, M. Pillado-Miller, and B. Voyles regarding the scheduling of faculty fora for discussion of long-range academic planning. The proposal suggested a series of meetings, consisting of division meetings followed by informal faculty forums focusing on various issues of relevance to the academic program. Council agreed to schedule the first set of such meetings around the already planned divisional meetings concerning capstones. Those will be followed, in early March, with two faculty forums devoted to this topic. Council further agreed with E. Dobb's proposal that Council will consider issues and proposals which emerge from these forums and forward any necessary legislation to the full faculty meetings. E. Dobbs suggested that further scheduling and topics for such meetings be placed on Council agenda before break.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:10 p.m.

Secretary
Karen Wiese