Present: C. Hunter, D. Lopatto, E. Marzluff, W. Moyer, R. Osgood, T. Roberts, J. Swartz, E. Willis

The meeting came to order at 4:15 p.m. in the Nollen Conference Room.

The minutes and excerpts of August 31 were approved.

President’s Remarks

The President invited Council members to his home for dinner with the Trustees on September 30.

He noted that significant interior design changes have been taken to improve the aesthetic appearance of Grinnell House.

Dean’s Remarks

The Dean distributed a position description from the Economics Department for a two-year replacement in monetary and macroeconomics for Brad Bateman. C. Hunter moved, E. Marzluff seconded, approval of the position description providing the Department include a closing date and respond appropriately to Council concerns about the wide range of subject areas included in the advertisement. W. Moyer asked if the Diversity Officer had approved the position description. The Dean responded that Brad Bateman, in his role as faculty diversity advisor, will approve next. The final step is approval by Frank Thomas who is the College Diversity Officer. The motion was approved.

The Dean noted that there is a deadline for requests for term positions later in the month. These are considered by the Academic Subcommittee of the Budget Steering Committee.

The Dean noted that the College has been in contact with Dillard University to see if it is possible to temporarily employ one or more faculty members for the short-term.

Council Remarks

E. Marzluff asked the President if, when the situation in the Gulf States calms down, he plans to write to the alumni regarding the College’s response to the Hurricane situation. He said that he would.

Federal Research Compliance Requirements and Policies

D. Lopatto reviewed the expanding arena of issues regarding the institutional need to bring Grinnell College into compliance with complex and growing federal research requirements. The College has had an Institutional Review Board (IRB) in place for many years which has been tasked with oversight and approval of all research done at the College involving human beings. Two years ago the College instituted an Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) to bring the College into compliance with regard to all research done at the College involving animals. Last year the College began the process of instituting an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) to bring the College into compliance with regard to all research done with rDNA and other biohazards. The Federal Government requires that each of these research areas be overseen by separate committees which include in several instances members of the community and relevant professions external to the College.

Now that we have nearly completed our work to put into place the required committee and administrative structures, we need to bring out internal policies and documents in line with the new reality. Currently, the Faculty Handbook treats the IRB guidance as an Appendix and does not address the IACUC and IBC. D. Lopatto is suggesting specific language be substituted for all other guidance included in the current handbook which will act as a referral to websites that can be easily maintained as the situation requires. The President noted that whenever the College develops new policy which has legal implications such policy is reviewed prior to adoption by our attorney and only after their approval will the President accept the new policy.

E. Willis expressed concern regarding Grinnell students who travel abroad and conduct research in view of the issues surrounding compliance. It was decided that if the institution is granting credit for work done by our students it does not matter what program they are on or what country they are in they need to be in compliance with Grinnell’s policies. The Dean stated that he would talk with Richard Bright, Director of Off-Campus Study, to make sure the College’s research compliance policies are clearly stated in the Student Off-Campus Study Handbook. D. Lopatto noted that nearly all of the compliance support infrastructure is now electronic and if one has access to the Internet it is relatively easy to assure compliance.

There was discussion of the membership on these various committees. It was noted that the President appoints the members of the IRB. It was decided that the informal process of the President asking the Faculty Organization Committee (FOC) for recommendations for membership leads to a dysfunctional system. It was decided that the task of making membership recommendations to the President be formalized within the FOC.

C. Hunter suggested that the Dean make known to all faculty, staff, and students that all research undertaken at the College needs to be subject to review and must be in compliance with federal regulation and the policies of the College. He implied that all staff do not now know their obligations.

Independent Study and Maps

D. Lopatto noted that Executive Council discussed the issue of faculty compensation for teaching Independent Studies (Course Number 397) and Mentored Advanced Projects (Course Number 499) last spring. Lopatto had offered his time to conduct a comparative study of these two offerings by reading a sample of student applications for each. This past summer Lopatto read a sample of fifty 397 applications and seventy-one 499 applications made in the period 2002-2005. He also investigated descriptions of independent study as published in Grinnell College catalogs. Lopatto observed that the introduction of the MAP signaled a change in the institutional ethos. College catalogs since World War II have carried entries on independent study. The most extended rationales for independent study, appearing in the 1960s, view the use of independent study as a means for students to take responsibility for their own education by asserting their individual differences. The rationale for the MAP shifts the focus to students seeking to make new discoveries or demonstrating a cumulative experience. Currently, Independent Study (397) includes projects that could be arguably reclassified as MAPs and projects that are employed by faculty and students as a "patch" for gaps in the organized curriculum. In the latter sense, Independent Study may be necessary for a student to graduate and for departments to realize their implicit promise to provide an organized curriculum. MAPs are not necessary for graduation. Lopatto suggested that Independent Study need not be compensated insofar as it used to provide students with an organized curriculum.

Lopatto presented Council with a proposal to have the Institutional Research Office interview a sample of faculty for their views or the differences between Independent Study (397) and Mentored Advanced Projects (499). He reported that he was working with the Institutional Research Office (OIR) to improve the faculty form for evaluating MAPs and to create an assessment form that will be used to recruit information from students who complete either an Independent Study or a MAP. This latter form will be used for OIR evaluation purposes and not for faculty performance evaluation. W. Moyer moved, C. Hunter seconded, endorsing the proposal from OIR to conduct this study, subject to Council further consideration in the next 24 hours. The motion was approved.

Division Personnel Committees

The Dean noted that the current Faculty Handbook includes language (Part I, II.F below) which requires each department within a division to elect a representative to the Division Personnel Committee for purposes of personnel review.

F. Divisional Personnel Committee

In each of the three divisions, the Divisional Personnel Committee will consist of a representative elected from among its full-time, tenured faculty by each of the departments constituting the division. Members are elected annually. If no member of the department is eligible, the department may be represented by one of its full-time non-tenured members. The Divisional representative to the Faculty Personnel Committee shall serve as Chair of the Divisional Personnel Committee. The department of which the chair is a member will be represented on the Divisional Personnel Committee by the chair and will elect no other representative to the committee. Eligibility to vote in this departmental election shall be the same as the eligibility to vote in the election of the Department Chair. (See below, III.C.1.)

This section also elaborates the thinking of the faculty on this governance issue. The Dean noted that occasionally there is no full-time tenured faculty member available to serve. In these instances, untenured members of a department have been asked to serve. This puts them in an uncomfortable position. C. Hunter noted that this situation occurred quite a bit in the 1970s and 80s. E. Willis urged the need to weigh individual discomfort against no departmental representation on these important committees. D. Lopatto suggested that the candidate undergoing review may wish to be assured of departmental representation. Willis asked if in the case where there is no departmental capability to conduct the tenure case and write the departmental letter would it be possible for the department under question to elect someone outside of the department, but in the Division, to guide the discussion without voting privilege. W. Moyer noted that if Executive Council wishes to change this part of the handbook it will require approval of the faculty and the Trustees.

Agenda Items for Council Discussion in 2005-06

The Dean noted that he and W. Moyer meet every week to determine the agenda for the next meeting. Sometimes calendar issues determine priority.

In looking at a list (previously distributed) of potential items for Council discussion this year, E. Willis urged that discussion of the Concentrations be taken up sooner than later. W. Moyer noted that one of the first tasks of the Interim Advisory Board of the Expanding Knowledge Initiative was to make a recommendation to Executive Council regarding Concentration reviews. E. Willis noted that some of the proposals that will be prepared for the EKI will be coming from Concentrations.

Willis also urged Council to take up issues surrounding the registration process. The Dean reported that the Curriculum Committee is taking this on.

Willis also wanted Council to talk about the not having introductory section seats available for first-year students coming in fall semester. She wonders if this issue should be left to the discretion of the departments or there should be an institutional policy.

D. Lopatto asked when Council would take up Center reviews. The Dean responded that the due date for responses to the external reviews is September 15th.

T. Roberts urged Council to take up the long-argued issue of whether Library and Physical Education faculty can attain tenure at the rank of full professor.

The meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m.

Secretary
Karen Wiese