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

The meeting came to order at 4:20 p.m. in the Nollen House Conference Room.

The minutes and excerpts from the 11/29/00 meeting were held over for approval next week.

President's Remarks

The President spent time talking about the Fund For Excellence accounting process and his thinking about phasing out the Fund, in relation to the base budgeting process over the next several years. He noted that there is a mix of types of activities which have been funded through the Fund-some had been fully funded and are now complete, some had been approved as experiments and may be ending or continuing. He explained the process of forward planning and budgeting for these items in relation to decisions about the base budget. He mentioned that the unspent amount of the Fund will be placed in a protected capital reserve account which will help us move forward with and pay for certain capital projects while we are in the process of fundraising. His discussion encompassed planning challenges, revenue sources, and expenditures. A discussion ensued. K. Kamp asked how we know whether those things which are considered experimental have succeeded or failed. The President noted that some of the activities do not need evaluation because they may terminate. He suggested that the faculty would need to be invited to provide input to the process of making decisions about academic experiments.

Dean's Remarks

The Dean noted that according to a note from C. Lindgren, the Biology Department has identified a diversity candidate and would like to, pending a phone interview, bring him to campus next week for further interviews.

B. Voyles raised the issue of faculty perceptions of the role of Council in interviewing and assessing qualifications of candidates. T. Moore asked if there was a policy regarding this issue. B. Grey asked to defer this discussion to the next meeting.

President Osgood and J. Brand left the meeting at 5:30 p.m.

B. Voyles moved, M. Pillado-Miller seconded, that Council approve the Math and Computer Science proposal to make an offer. The motion was approved.

The Dean noted that a position description has been brought to Council by the Sociology Department for approval. This temporary position will allow K. McClelland to conduct the new Grinnell-in-London Spring Semester program and C. Hunter to conduct the new Grinnell-in-Washington Policy Fall Semester program. B. Ferguson moved, K. Kamp seconded, approval of a position description for a one-year temporary position in Sociology. The motion was approved.

B. Ferguson moved, T. Moore seconded, approval of a position description for a one-year temporary position in Education. The motion was approved.

The Dean passed out some graphical representations of the total number of courses taught by contract type and by academic year over the past decade. The data were assembled and graphically prepared by the Office of Institutional Research. He noted that these data will inform a number of Council's agenda issues.

B. Voyles moved, K.Kamp seconded, approval of H. Walker's request for leave without pay. The motion was approved.

H. Scott stated that K. McClelland has asked for leave without pay during spring 2002 in order to join K. McClelland in London. She has submitted a proposal for her replacement in the Math Lab during her absence. The Math and Computer Science Department has approved the concept of her leave and the proposed replacement. B. Grey moved, M. Pillado Miller seconded, approval of this requested leave without pay and proposal for replacement. The motion was approved.

The Dean noted that he had met with G. Barlow about naming a committee to develop a curricular proposal for the American Studies Concentration which can be ready for faculty consideration of approval in February.

The Dean noted that he and B. Ferguson had met with D. Fairchild about the Physical Education Department proposal requesting that a Head Women's Soccer and Assistant Women's Track Coach be converted to a full-time regular, non-tenure track Assistant Professor position. The Department will be bringing a proposal to Council for discussion at the next meeting.

The Dean thanked the members of the Executive Council for their hard work and thoughtful deliberation in preparing the Personnel Appeals Procedure and End-of-Course Evaluations matters for discussion and approval by the faculty. He also thanked, with great gratitude, G. Barlow for doing all the hard work necessary to present the proposal for the change in status of the American Studies Department to the faculty for approval.
The Dean informed the Council of those faculty who have come forward for consideration of promotion. The Dean noted the vote of the faculty in recent years which reaffirms the importance of scholarly productivity in the process of consideration for promotion.

Discussion of the Process for Further Steps on Diversity

B. Grey asked to defer this discussion to a future meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:12 p.m.

Secretary
Karen Wiese