Minutes of the Meeting of the Executive Council
February 5, 2003
Excerpts
Present: S. Barber, D. Kaiser, J. Mohan, M. Montgomery, J. Mutti, R. Osgood, M. Schneider, J. Swartz.
The meeting came to order at 4:20 in the Nollen House Conference Room.
The minutes and excerpts of 1/29/02 were approved.
The President made no remarks.
Dean's Remarks
The Dean presented a computer rendering of what the Science Center will look like after completion.
He reviewed the status of faculty recruiting and appointments in the History Department, the Library, and the Economics Department.
He noted that the Convocation Task Force has been meeting over the past semester and will be sending information to Council about its plans for bringing alternative models for structuring convocations to the faculty. M. Schneider asked for and received a quick recap of the issues surrounding convocation and the history of Council discussions. The Task Force wishes to discuss possible approaches to the faculty before making a recommendation and decisions need to be made for next year so they will be looking to Council for guidance.
He distributed two position descriptions for approval. J. Mutti moved, M. Montgomery seconded, approval of a position description for a one-year leave replacement in comparative politics in the Department of Political Science. The motion was approved. J. Mutti moved, D. Kaiser seconded, a tentative position description for a one-year leave replacement in East Asian religions in the Department of Religious Studies. The motion was approved.
Council Member's Remarks
M. Montgomery noted that several Council members will be meeting with interested untenured faculty to talk about the situation with faculty salaries.
Consortium for a Strong Minority Presence Proposals
The Dean noted that we are currently carrying funds in the budget for one CSMP appointment next year. Council will rank order departmental proposals and conduct interviews with the top candidate and move down the ordering should that candidate not be acceptable or not accept the offer. The criteria which guide consideration of the proposed candidates are 1) whether the candidate will do well in this environment as a teacher and scholar, 2) whether the department is able and ready to closely mentor this person, and 3) whether the proposal fits within the current institutional priorities.
S. Barber suggested that he recuse himself from the discussion since there is a German Department proposal in the mix. He left the meeting at 4:45 p.m. prior to any discussion of the proposals.
J. Mutti brought a concern expressed by a faculty member about whether or not we should favor our alumni who apply for CSMP appointments. There was discussion. D. Kaiser also mentioned the concern for spousal employment in the process of consideration of candidates.
Council spent considerable time discussing the merits of each proposal. They ranked the top two and decided to return to the list if needed.
The meeting adjourned at 5:55 p.m.
Secretary
Karen Wiese