Present: President Osgood, J. Brand, Dean J. Swartz, Associate Dean P. Smith, E. Dobbs, B. Ferguson, T. Moore, M. Pillado-Miller, D. Smith, B. Voyles

The meeting was called to order by the Dean at 4:22 p.m. in Nollen House.

The President welcomed B. Grey as newly elected Chair of the Faculty as of August, 2000.

The minutes and excerpts of the meeting of March 8, 2000 were corrected and approved.

Remarks of the President

The President noted that he and J. Brand would leave the meeting at 5:40 on Trustee business.

The President noted that he had asked for volunteers to hear an appeal to the Committee on Academic Standing.

Remarks of the Dean

The Dean updated Council on the status of faculty searches. He noted that this year we have successfully made two appointments under the Consortium for a Strong Minority Presence Program.

M. Pillado-Miller moved, D. Smith seconded, that Council accept the recommendation of the Art Department to make an offer for a full-time, tenure-track position. The motion was approved.

M. Pillado-Miller moved, D. Smith seconded, that Council accept the recommendation of the English Department to make an offer for a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow appointment. The motion was approved.

The Dean noted that he is in the midst of interviewing to fill the position of Technical Assistant in his Office.

E. Dobbs asked if the Associate Deans' Office would handle the notification of candidates for the Mellon Postdoctoral Fellows positions. P. Smith assured her that this would be handled by her Office.

Position Descriptions for Assistants in the Writing Lab

The Dean noted that the position description for the Assistants in the Writing Lab had inadvertently been advertised prior to Council approval. B. Ferguson moved, E. Dobbs seconded, retroactive approval of the position descriptions.

Mellon Postdoctoral Fellows Proposals

The Dean noted that while two proposals had been approved at the last Council meeting there were still three remaining proposals from Music, Political Science, and Economics to be discussed in order to approve two of them. A lengthy discussion ensued.

B. Ferguson moved, M. Pillado-Miller seconded, approval of a Mellon Postdoctoral appointment in the Political Science Department. The motion was approved.

M. Pillado-Miller moved, B. Voyles seconded, approval of a Mellon Postdoctoral appointment in the Music Department. The motion was approved.

The Dean noted that in light of this year's experience with the process of arriving at the appointment of Mellon Fellows, he recommends that next year Council reconsider the calendar of events. Proposals would be requested from departments earlier in the fall semester, and Council will make decisions at the point of proposals which proposals will be approved to proceed to advertise the positions. We will not advertise to fill more positions than will be available.

Organization of Discussion of the Draft Faculty Handbook

The Dean noted that a copy of the draft faculty handbook and a list of suggested changes prepared by the Faculty Organization Committee had been distributed to Council. He noted that while most of the changes are intended to clarify and bring current practice into the handbook, there are some substantive changes which Council should be explicitly aware of. He asked Council members to send comments to D. Smith, P. Smith, and J. Brand by the end of spring break.

The President and J. Brand left the meeting at 5:45 p.m.

Organization of Discussion of Staffing Proposals

The Dean asked Council to discuss how staffing proposals will be handled. He asked that Division Chairs come to Council fully informed about the departmental proposals in order to be able to more fully present the case and answer Council questions. E. Dobbs suggested that the first meeting on this subject in April be focused on the "principles" that Council decided on early in the fall semester. M. Pillado-Miller stated that Council should discuss whether there are other issues that should be considered by Council in addition to those principles at that first meeting. A lengthy discussion ensued.

Course Closings and Enrollments

The Dean suggested that there are issues with the process by which decisions on class-size and course closings. He asked if Council wishes to create some principles that can be taken to the departments. E. Dobbs noted that pursuing such an institutional mechanism will provide a great benefit to our faculty and students. A discussion ensued.

Council Remarks

B. Voyles asked the Dean when the Registrar's Office will report on their audit of grades. The Dean reported that the Registrar has completed the audit and has notified all involved of corrections to mistaken entries and has identified and corrected a methodological error by which grades were uniformly entered last semester.

M. Pillado-Miller noted that last week a faculty member and spouse had been the victims of verbal harassment involving racism and homophobia by individuals in the town. She expressed deep dismay and concern about these personally violent acts.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 p.m.

Secretary
Karen Wiese