Minutes of the Meeting of the Executive Council
November 13, 2002
Excerpts
The meeting came to order at 4:20 in the Nollen House Conference Room.
The minutes and excerpts from the meetings of November 6th were approved.
The President made no remarks.
Dean's Remarks
The Dean noted that he had just come from an open forum on the Campus Center where there were only two faculty and only a handful of others present. He noted that the process of planning second phase of the science building was coming along. The President noted that we have met the financial trigger to move ahead with the architectural design established by the Trustees. The Dean noted that construction could begin during the summer of 2004, with both the science building and campus center being undertaken simultaneously. Occupation of the science building could be in 2006 with renovation of the older space to follow.
He distributed a list of faculty in the associate professor position and explained the process for consideration of promotion to full professor.
Council Remarks
M. Schneider asked about the structure of the open campus strategic planning meetings. M. Montgomery responded that he will ask the faculty for their priorities from among those identified by the Planning Steering Committee.
D. Kaiser reported that the Diversity Committee had met on Friday and are beginning discussions of how to utilize the Self Study and the NCA reaccreditation process to provide a framework for further consideration of diversity issues at Grinnell.
S. Barber asked about the mandated use of stationary with the new logo beginning in July noting that many departments have a great deal of the "old" stationary left. The President stated that the changeover date is given to provide guidance for future purchases, but that all existing stock should be used up.
S. Barber also
noted that a member of the community had expressed dismay with the discontinuance
of the monthly newsletter. The President responded that the newsletters were
never very complete because they were assembled too far in advance of event
scheduling, so the College has substituted weekly advertising in the Grinnell
Herald Register and on our website.
Approval of Position Description
M. Schneider moved, D. Kaiser seconded, approval of a position description for a one-year replacement position in the Physics Department. The motion was approved.
Wilson Program
The Dean remarked that the Wilson Committee has been struggling with redefining the program. M. Montgomery asked for the history of the program. The Dean noted that Mr. Donald Wilson left a substantial amount of money in an endowed fund to be used for the purposes of promoting education in business and entrepreneurship. The amount of money available each year for spending on program activities has outpaced the ability to spend it and the result is that the endowed fund is growing quite large. The President explained the nuances of endowment growth, pay-out from the endowment, and restricted and unrestricted accounts. M. Montgomery noted that the restricted endowment is growing faster than the unrestricted which puts pressure on the institution to spend money in the restricted accounts.
M. Schneider argued against accepting endowed gifts which are not within the mission of the college. The President remarked that the proposal from the Wilson Committee is a thoughtful and interesting one. The Dean shared his opinion of the various aspects of the proposal. D. Kaiser asked whether if some aspects of the proposal were adopted we would be able to fully spend the annual allocation from the fund. The Dean responded positively. There was discussion of the intention of the donor being incongruous with the curriculum and mission of the College. D. Kaiser urged that there be an open critical conversation about the intersection of profit and people before the institution commits itself to endowed funds.
Attempting to summarize the discussion, D. Kaiser noted, first, that it was clear that the entire Executive Council appreciated the very thoughtful and stimulating set of proposals that Doug Caulkins and the Wilson Committee prepared, and suggested that the Dean convey that appreciation to Doug and the Committee. However, he continued, it seems that Council members felt that the timing was not right for moving forward with all the proposals now. Discussion revealed, Kaiser said, that Council recognized the contribution of the Wilson Summer Internships, and recommended the continuation of this valuable program. In addition, Council members saw merit in applying Wilson funds to help underwrite the Grinnell-in-Washington Program, but decided that, until Grinnell-in-Washington is folded into the base budget, it seemed premature to assign Wilson endowment dollars to this purpose. Little enthusiasm emerged to support another aspect of the proposal, the Wilson Awards in Corporate Leadership, but Council devoted considerable discussion to the proposed Wilson Chairs. Here the difference between using Wilson funds to underwrite some part of faculty salaries (a financial issue) seemed separable from committing faculty to teach in a "Wilson Program" curriculum (an instructional issue). Council members recognized that the Dean and President can at any time and at their discretion name any faculty member to an endowed chair. In addition, several Council members observed that increasing numbers of students seem to be demanding more courses of the type described in the proposal. At the same time, some Council members worried that in establishing multiple chairs in "Enterprise and Leadership" the College would send a message about curriculum that deserved a more careful faculty-wide debate. Therefore, Kaiser, concluded, Council seems unwilling to recommend to the President and Dean the establishment of the proposed new Wilson Chairs in Enterprise and Leadership.
It was decided that there is no actionable decision to be made by Council. S. Barber suggested that these issues should be part of the academic planning discussions.
The meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m.
Secretary
Karen Wiese