Present: R. Osgood, J. Brand, J. Swartz, H. Scott, P. Smith, B. Grey, D. Kaiser, K. Kamp, J. Mohan, J. Mutti, B. Voyles.

The meeting came to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Nollen House Conference Room. The minutes and excerpts of 10/17/01 were approved.

President's Remarks

The President distributed a document referred to in the minutes of 10/17/01 by a Council member as the Delaware Cost Study. He shared his thoughts about adding faculty. When considering this issue he thinks about four things: class sizes and number of majors; the relationship of the slot to the rest of the academic program; the quality of the program; and the relationship between the position request and the question of where are we and where are we going with the academic program.

The Dean noted that while we participated in the Delaware study several times beginning in 1997 and plan to do so again. The data are collected in such a way that short-term variations (leaves, etc.) make data not very comparable from department to department. He urged Council to look at the study in terms of the methodology and see if it might be useful with a view toward adopting it to keep track of certain indicators of resource allocation over time. There was some discussion.

Dean's Remarks

The Dean distributed comments from M. Voyles summarizing some issues with respect to the Education Department. He asked Council how to proceed toward making some decisions. Does Council want to invite M. Voyles to a meeting with Council. If so, Council needs to decide when and what questions should be forwarded to her prior to the meeting. A fairly lengthy discussion ensued

The Dean stated that the application deadline for some diversity searches has passed and we have heard from sociology, and political science that they are reviewing applications and have identified several candidates to bring to campus for interviews. K. Kamp asked the President about the number of slots might be available for diversity hires. He responded that he will work hard to bring the successful positions into the base budget.

B. Grey distributed information on the nominee for commencement speaker, Robert Reich. He moved, K. Kamp seconded, recommending to the full faculty that he receive an honorary degree and be named 2002 commencement speaker. The motion was approved.

B. Grey spoke about what had been an extremely frustrating process of trying to move ahead with a new mission statement. He has approached D. Smith to serve as chair of a faculty committee, yet to be selected, to craft the language of a mission statement. He has agreed under certain conditions relating to committee mandate and its operation. The President stated that if Council endorses this approach B. Grey should announce this at the next faculty meeting. Council endorsed the move to appoint D. Smith as chair of the new mission statement committee.

Discussion of Fund for Excellence Programs

The President worked on a chart which shows the major program activities funded by the Fund for Excellence and which might be considered for funding in the base budget. He distributed a chart. He asked Council for their opinions about the proposed methods for evaluating the activities. There was discussion about the nature of the evaluation process. He also noted that another aspect of his consideration will be whether the activity is a likely candidate for endowment. D. Kaiser asked how the President sees this Fund For Excellence project analysis relating to the larger academic planning process currently underway. The President replied that he sees this as a component of the larger process.

Discussion of Economics Department Request

The Dean noted that Council had received a position description from the Economics Department that replaces five course absences in the Department next year. He directed Council's attention to a Council discussion and vote on May 16, 2001 which recommended that departments provide a tenure-track or tenured faculty member to teach statistics. D. Kaiser moved, B. Voyles seconded, approval of the Department's request.

The meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.

Secretary
Karen Wiese