Present: V. Brown, L. Gregg-Jolly, D. Lopatto, W. Moyer, R. Osgood, J. Swartz, R. Vetter, E. Willis

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

The minutes and excerpts of the 11/17/04 meeting were approved.

President's Remarks

The President stated that the College is moving toward the Board of Trustees decision on the Science Phase II construction project and we would like to start this spring but we have not yet met the fundraising target. Having said that, he noted we have made good progress on the design and have a good cost estimate so he will recommend making a decision to go forward in February so long as additional funds are raised. The Dean noted that over 90% of the science division faculty have made a gift to the project.

He noted that W. Moyer had asked him to talk about what the Board of Trustees special Committee on Diversity wants to come of having dinner with the Council next week. Moyer led a discussion about the lines of communication between the Board and the faculty. E. Willis distributed a draft statement on enhancing faculty diversity created by the faculty diversity subcommittee for comment by Council prior to the meeting with the Board special Committee on Diversity. She also distributed a conference announcement by the National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in American Higher Education.

Dean's Remarks

The Dean updated Council on a number of faculty searches.

The Dean noted that the Gender and Women's Studies search is underway with Dan Reynolds (Chair) reporting a very large pool of applicants.

He noted that the only item for action at the next Faculty Meeting is the approval of the spring sports schedules. He and Wayne discussed this and do not believe this warrants a meeting. He noted that the policy requires that a duly constituted faculty body must approve the schedules and suggested that Council do this. L. Gregg-Jolly suggested that an email notification of this intention to vote next week be sent to the faculty with the notice that any comments be sent to their respective Division Chairs so that these comments can be shared with Council prior to its vote to approve.

Finally, the Dean noted that the diversity searches will come to a head during finals week and suggested that Council may need to meet several times that week to dispose of the matter.

Council Remarks

R. Vetter noted that there is movement in the city to allow the development of a new Super Wal-Mart within city limits. He observed that such development often spells the demise of local business and is generally detrimental to the quality of life in small communities and urged activism against such development from his colleagues and the college. The President noted that the law does not permit political activism on the part of a 501 c (3) non-profit organization.

E. Willis shared the position of the faculty diversity subcommittee that the diversity appointment proposals from all departments and concentrations be considered together and that first-come, first-served rules not apply in Council's deliberations and decisions. She urged that in making its recommendations on hiring, the council needs to weigh carefully how well each proposed candidate meets the established criteria. L. Gregg-Jolly noted that the applicant pools are deeper in some fields than in others and suggested that perhaps more specific parameters be placed on fields like Sociology and less specific parameters placed on the sciences. This idea was not developed further.

The President left the meeting at 5:35 p.m.

Proposals for Diversity Search Interviews

Council voted to approve requests from the Departments of Biology, Sociology, and Chemistry to bring specific candidates to campus for interviews.

There was discussion about whether or not to share the salary letters with the person being reviewed noting the potential for conflict that the situation creates and the overall goal of making the process of the review an opportunity for faculty development.

The meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m.

Secretary
Karen Wiese