Present: R. Osgood, J. Swartz, B. Grey, D. Kaiser, K. Kamp, J. Mohan, J. Mutti, B.Voyles.

The meeting came to order at 11:30 a.m. in the Windsor House Conference Room.

The minutes and excerpts of 12/12/01 were corrected and approved.

The following announcements from the Dean were transmitted electronically prior to the meeting.

I have notified Mark Levandoski and Pablo Silva that they have been recommended for Harris Leaves for 2002-03. Please feel free to congratulate them.

He noted that he had distributed a draft replacement proposal for History.

He also noted that Vida Praitis has accepted a new tenure-track position in the Biology Department.

He stated that there are only two Mellon postdoctoral fellow proposals from the Humanities Center and Biology Department.

He has distributed a position description for two temporary replacement positions in the Chemistry Department.

He stated that faculty will get an announcement soon announcing a new ITS service. A www page for each course has been set up which will contain photos and directory information of each student enrolled in the course also with directory information (phone#, email address, etc.). This page has access limited to the instructor and student enrolled in the course.

He also noted that ITS has been working on an experimental program to provide
faculty members with the option of getting notebook computers rather than desktops. An announcement went out a few days ago.

He stated that he expects the Library to have a proposal regarding making an appointment this week.

He thanked all for approving quickly a number of positions descriptions.

Real time minutes begin here.

President's Remarks

Representatives of Cesar Pelli's firm will be in Grinnell today to study the currently identified site for the new Campus Center.

Dean's Remarks

B. Grey moved, J. Mohan seconded, approval of a position description for a one-year leave replacement in the Philosophy Department. The motion was approved.

Consortium for a Strong Minority Presence applications have been sorted and sent to Departments with a deadline for response of January 30. Departments need to make proposals to Council.

D. Kaiser moved, B. Voyles seconded, approval of the appointment to the position of Reference/Instruction Librarian and to the rank of Assistant Professor, contingent upon receiving such a proposal from the Libraries. The motion was approved.

Council approved making an offer of appointment for a tenure-track position in the English Department.

B. Grey moved, J. Mohan seconded, that the Mellon postdoctoral fellow proposals from the Biology Department and the Humanities Center be approved. The motion was approved.

Continuing Discussion of the Academic Planning Process

B. Grey noted that the reason for meeting during exam week is to move forward with the planning process. He prepared an agenda to guide this discussion. On the issue of schedule for the planning period he argued against going beyond ten years out. J. Mutti noted that Mr. Haas suggested using the institutional fact book as the initial baseline and asking the question how long could it be expected to take to change any of those measures. K. Kamp noted that it can be expected that changes will occur differentially over time so it is necessary to track movement and the direction of that movement for each of the target variables. The President noted that both Connecticut College and the University of Iowa do this, but not less than three years out. K. Kamp noted that she prefers concrete targets and indicators. B. Grey noted that the Admissions Office has provided a model for this in their current plan. The President cautioned against over specification of targets. D. Kaiser and B. Voyles agreed that they feel uncomfortable specifying a time frame for measuring progress until they know what the variables are that will be manipulated. J. Mohan agreed that we need to know or seek faculty counsel to decide what needs to be changed and then draw a plan to proceed. K. Kamp then argued that while she likes the identification of fairly proximate goals, she also like inclusion of some visioning. The President agreed again pointing to current practices of the Presidents of Connecticut College and the University of Iowa. It was agreed that the more immediate need is the determination of what substantial goals need to be addressed and what variables in each equation need manipulation than the determination of a timeframe for doing so.

On the matter of the revised academic planning compendium of reading material K. Kamp asked how we intend to use this document, referring to previous discussion indicating that it may be made a prerequisite to faculty participation in future planning discussions. J. Mutti stated that he would not want to set the bar that high. D. Kaiser suggested that the use of the document might be prescribed by the format for discussion of the various issues. For example, if working subgroups of faculty were formed to work out initial proposals for full review and discussion then those subgroups may only need to refer to certain sections of the compendium. J. Mohan suggested that it be made available to the faculty and that it be made known to them that Council is using it as an essential reference. The President noted that there is outdated information in several of the documents. He suggested that Council also make reference to the Fact Book in the preface to the compendium. The Dean asked if any of the content of the draft compendium should be excised. The group opinion was that there was not.

There was a discussion on the amount of data that should be included in the compendium document. D. Kaiser noted that graphical representation of data is important, since misrepresentation of the importance of certain data can be easily accomplished. The Dean summed up the discussion by charging Council to determine which data will be needed. B. Grey noted that this process will be initiated by the implementation of the second faculty survey. He noted that there is some disagreement among Council members on the utility of the information which will be discerned from the second survey. He, for example, is looking forward to using this information to establish priorities. K. Kamp stated that she is anticipating being able to determine direction, and perhaps magnitude, of desired change.

J. Mohan noted that at a recent division meeting he had gently chided the faculty of the Humanities Division for such a low response rate to the first survey (20%). He received several responses indicating that surveys of such important issues is not the "Grinnell way" and that face-to-face discussion is considered preferable. He will hold a Division meeting in January to have such a discussion. J. Mutti asked whether Council needs to revisit or add issues which have not emerged from the first survey-such as the mission of the college. B. Voyles suggested that it might be prudent to divide issues according to time frame and specify action items. It was decided that it is more important to produce a survey instrument which is a good as it can be than to rush to get it out. It was suggested that this might take Council well into Spring semester to identify a series of issues.

K. Kamp suggested that as issues are identified Council follow the original Fund for Excellence model which will result in involving as many as possible/interested. The Dean cautioned that he has observed that the faculty tend toward identifying specific actions even though the goal(s) have not been agreed upon. It was agreed that each issue discussion process be representative of both proponents and opponents. B. Grey stated that while he sees the value in slowing the process down a bit, he worries that this will cause the perception among the faculty that this process is all process with no results.

The President left the meeting at 1:30 p.m.

D. Kaiser asked about the level of specificity that the group envisions for the questions of the second survey. K. Kamp asked about the form of response requested.

The Dean repeated that he had a complaint that we no longer send out email notices that the minutes of the Executive Council have been posted to the web. The Dean's Office suspended such notices this semester after receiving complaints about the email notices. Council discussion provided no clear concensus, but B. Grey indicated he would remind faculty regularly of the minutes in his reports to the faculty.

The meeting adjourned at 1:40 p.m.

Secretary
Karen Wiese