Present: R. Osgood, J. Brand, J. Swartz, P. Smith, D. Caulkins, W. Ferguson, B. Grey, K. Kamp, T. Moore, M. Pillado Miller, B. Voyles.

The meeting came to order at 4:25 p.m. in the Nollen House Conference Room.

The minutes and excerpts of the May 2nd meeting were approved. The excerpts of the April 25th meeting were amended by including Japanese in the list of departmental proposals being considered by Council.

President's Remarks

The President noted that the Board of Trustees had met in Grinnell on May 3rd and 4th and the decisions that were taken have been reported in a memorandum to the campus community which has been circulated this week.

Dean's Remarks

The Dean updated Council on the status of faculty searches.

He noted that the second round of diversity proposals will be on the agenda for Council discussion next week.

The Dean distributed a packet of materials in order to prepare Council members for the joint Executive Council-Personnel Committee meeting on 5/14.

The Dean distributed a set of graphs and charts with presentation of data over the previous ten years which allow examination of trends in numbers of faculty and students, total courses offered and total enrollment in those courses. He has worked with the Office of Institutional Research to put in place a system to capture these data systematically in future years.

Continued Discussion of Departmental Proposals for Faculty Positions

The Dean noted that if the college continues to add tenure-track faculty that these will need to serve as leave replacements and to support Mentored Advanced Projects and leave replacements.

There was extensive and highly spirited debate of the proposals for faculty positions. A majority of Council voted to recommend positions in biology, English, history, and psychology. A majority of Council voted not to recommend positions in Japanese, economics, or physical geography. Council votes on the music proposal were mixed. As a result, the proposal could not obtain a majority either for or against. A majority of those expressing an opinion on the statistics proposal voted in favor of it. There was one abstention. The President stated that he would respond to Council's recommendations soon.

B. Grey suggested that diversity proposals could be discussed next week. He announced that he will be making a number of announcements and proposals at the May 14th faculty meeting and would like to announce that the subcommittee's report on the Mission Statement would be synthesized by a Council-appointed group over the summer, together with developing a set of strategies and tactics. Council should discuss the mission next week. He stated that there are two Committee on Academic Standing proposals for 1) capping outside credits that count toward Grinnell graduation and 2) recording a "W" (withdrawn) on student transcripts which will be brought before the faculty on Monday.

The meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m.

Paula V. Smith
Secretary