Present: J. Cummins, B. Ferguson, K. Jacobson, J. Meehan, S. Rebelsky, J. Swartz, E. Willis

The meeting came to order at 4:15 p.m. in room 226 of the Rosenfield Student Center.

The minutes and excerpts from December 20, 2007 and January 15, 2008 were approved.

President’s Remarks

The President was traveling.

Dean’s Remarks

The Dean updated Council on the status of faculty searches and distributed a status chart.

He noted that there is a delegation from Nanjing University on campus this week and there will be a Portuguese group related to the new Gallery exhibit as well. He mentioned the heavy catering demand these and the many candidate interviews have placed on Dining Services. J. Meehan offered congratulations and thanks to the catering staff for a job well done.

He distributed a draft faculty meeting agenda for the meeting scheduled for February 4th.

He noted the due date for departmental CFD proposals is this Friday and these will appear on the next Council agenda for discussion.

Finally, he noted that Leslie Gregg-Jolly has been appointed to a three-year term as Associate Dean. He also noted that Val McKee will be retiring at the end of the year and there is an internal search underway at this time.

The Executive Council offered their appreciation for the many years of service that Janet Alexander has given the College and urged all to attend her retirement party on Friday.

Council Remarks

E. Willis noted that Henry Reitz has asked to update Council members on the status of the Self Study in preparation for the NCA reaccreditation. This will appear on Council agenda in mid-February.

She also noted that the Curriculum Committee has recently discussed the policy that all internship proposals go to the Committee for approval. The Committee has drafted a proposal to change the policy to allow all standing programs (GIW, GIL) and courses which are consistently offered and for which the faculty member offering the course provides the mentoring and oversight for internships connected to the course be exempt from Committee approval.

The Academic Subcommittee of the Budget Steering Committee has concluded its business. E. Willis and K. Jacobson (who are Council’s liaisons to the Committee) express their dissatisfaction with the fact that some good term position proposals needed to be turned down at the end of the process because of insufficient funds.

Willis also noted that, once again today, there are no handicap parking spaces available outside of the Rosenfield Center. This is an issue which needs resolution.

S. Rebelsky passed around several student publications which he had picked up on his way through the mailroom area of the Rosenfield Center and commended the students for the high quality of those publications.

J. Meehan asked for clarification of the faculty MAP compensation policy with regard to cash payment options. The Dean stated that it was the will of the faculty that compensation be primarily limited to course releases, but that in the rare instances where a faculty member cannot reasonably take the release(s) cash compensation has been allowed.

Discussion of Searches in Progress

J. Cummins offered an observation about this and other interdisciplinary appointments. When interdisciplinary positions are originally designed the outcome is less predictable than with typical departmental hiring. Candidates for the same interdisciplinary position can be very different from one another in training, in general academic orientation, and in affinities with one or another department. As a result there are greater challenges involved in interviewing and comparing the candidates, and the consequences for the curriculum in choosing one candidate over another may by considerable.

The Dean noted that progress toward achieving the original objective of the EKI—making new appointments to free up existing faculty for interdisciplinary and/or collaborative teaching, is limited. The result to date is that we are making interdisciplinary appointments which do not result in substantial expansions of teaching opportunities for existing faculty. S. Rebelsky countered that the original thinking behind the development of the EKI allowed for both results and that there is a clear tension in trying to achieve both. J. Cummins asked with a recommendation for appointment who will decide what will be taught and how will course designations will be determined…who will be responsible for doing the administrative work? Who will have the authority to resolve potential disputes between the search committee and the home department regarding courses to be taught. The Dean responded that it falls to the home department, with the approval of the Dean.

Proposed Language Changes to the Faculty Handbook Regarding Interdisciplinary Review Procedures

Council performed a line by line review of comments provided by the Faculty Organization Committee regarding proposed language changes. The Dean suggested that the process of seeking faculty approval should involve a straight up or down vote or tabling for further editing, with no editing on the floor of the meeting. Council members agreed.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:00 p.m.

Secretary
Karen Wiese