Present: S. Barber, V. Brown, L. Gregg-Jolly, M. Montgomery, R. Osgood, M. Schneider, J. Swartz, R. Vetter

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

Because secretary Karen Wiese was unable to attend, Executive Council members drew lots to see who would keep the minutes. The Chair of the Faculty remarked that this selection process was cruel, unjust, and savagely trampled upon the human rights of the person who ultimately ended up taking notes. Council was unmoved.

The minutes and excerpts of 3/10/04 were approved.

President's Remarks

The President reported that the current Capital Plan will carry us through the Campus Center, Library storage and the Science Building Phase II. He asked if Executive Council had suggestions for other long-term capital projects.

Dean's Remarks

The Dean reported the status of job offers outstanding.

Other items reported by the dean included the proposal by the Committee on Academic Standing to alter the WP/WF designation on transcripts to just W: withdraw. The Dean asked for agenda items for the next faculty meeting.

There was a discussion of the memo sent by the Dean to clarify the eligibility of faculty on Senior Faculty Status (SFS) to participate in faculty governance. Mark Schneider commented that this issue should be considered by Executive Council not just the Faculty Organization Committee (FOC). Sig Barber agreed, noting that the FOC traditionally tries to avoid making policy. The President commented that because SFS is not an early retirement program, he is concerned about the legal ramifications of diminishing the rights of SFS faculty to participate in governance. The Dean proposed to add this topic to a future agenda of the Executive Council.

Our lack of a Consortium for a Stronger Minority Presence scholar for next year was discussed.

The Dean reported that the Social Studies Division has approved a concentration in American Studies. The proposal next goes to Humanities and Science Divisions for approval.

Council Members Remarks

Mark Schneider asked the President for an update on the suggestion that the True Value Store be purchased for library storage. The President reported that while the decision has not been made the college is leaning toward constructing a new facility out near the current Facilities Management (FM) building. Because the True Value site was deemed not viable for the college bookstore, building a new facility for library storage would actually be cheaper.

It was decided that in the absence of the Dean and President for next week's meeting, the faculty members on the Executive Council would meet anyway to discuss strategic planning.

Mark Schneider commented on the apparent increased use of campus sidewalks by FM trucks. The President shared this concern and was planning to discuss it with FM.

Victoria Brown noted that a number of her Social Studies constituents were disturbed by news that due to budget cuts, the library had frozen acquisitions until the mid-summer. The Dean noted no one outside the library had been aware that the proposed budget cuts would affect acquisitions. The issue was discussed at some length. Mark Schneider suggested that the College should pump more money into the budget to prevent this.

The President left the meeting at 6:00 PM

The budget discussion continued. It was noted that the opening of the Technology Discovery Center had rankled some faculty when juxtaposed with the book acquisition freeze. There was substantial discussion of how recent budget priorities were set.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m.

Secretary
Mark Montgomery