MEETING OF THE
Jim Swartz, Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College, called the meeting to order at 4:18 p.m. in ARH 302.
Minutes – Jim Swartz, Dean of the College
Prior to voting on the minutes, Dean Swartz explained that President Osgood and Mickey Munley were attending an alumni event and unable to attend the faculty meeting. For this reason, the discussion of the “No Limits” presentation has been moved to the agenda of the March 5 faculty meeting. The minutes from the January 29, 2007 meeting were approved as submitted.
Nominations for Executive Council and Personnel Committee Members At-Large – Sarah Purcell for Faculty Organization Committee
Kathy Jacobson and Emily Moore were nominated by a series of two secret ballots to appear on the upcoming election ballot for a two-year term as At-Large Representative to Executive Council.
Clark Lindgren and Leslie Lyons were nominated by a series of two secret ballots to appear on the upcoming election ballot for a two-year term as At-Large Representative to the Personnel Committee.
Approval of Honorary Degree Recipients – Eliza Willis, Chair of the Faculty
Susan Ashbrook Harvey ’75 was nominated by Gerald Lalonde, Professor of Classics. She is Professor of Religious Studies at Brown University specializing in late antique and Byzantine Christianity. She recently published Scenting Salvation: Ancient Christianity and the Olfactory Imagination, University of California Press. Professor Harvey has received numerous awards for her teaching and scholarship.
Margaret Tolbert ’79 was nominated by Luther Erickson, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry. Tolbert is Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Colorado-Boulder and Fellow with the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES). She has authored over 100 scientific papers and won numerous awards for her research on heterogeneous atmospheric chemistry.
Harvey and Tolbert were approved for honorary degrees to be awarded at Commencement on May 21, 2007. Members of the Honorary Degree Committee are Elaine Marzluff, Johanna Meehan, and Willis. The committee is expecting to nominate a third person yet this year. Willis encouraged all faculty members to submit nominees for honorary degrees in the future.
Willis reported that the students have extended an invitation to U.S. Senator Barack Obama to give the 2007 Commencement Address. Angela Y. Davis is their second choice.
Discussion of Faculty Appointments under the EKI: “How to Make it Work” – Elaine Marzluff for the Executive Council
Marzluff presented excerpts from a draft proposal by the Advisory Board of the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies to the Executive Council, December 15, 2006, and led a discussion regarding guidelines for preparing position proposals under the EKI and some of the practicalities involved in the process. The goal of the proposal is to provide an opportunity for all existing faculty to participate in the EKI. The Advisory Board proposes to enhance the College’s offerings of interdisciplinary, integrative, and collaborative courses by the following:
1. Establish the goal of providing opportunities for all faculty members to participate in the EKI, should they wish to do so, by making it possible for those individuals to teach a collaborative/interdisciplinary course on a regular and timely basis.
2. Enable and encourage departments to participate in the EKI by establishing for each department a level of overall contribution to EKI-related and other interdisciplinary and general education courses. Closely link new faculty positions with departments’ explicit commitment to offer or enable another department to offer EKI-related courses (including collaboratively-taught courses and courses with travel components).
The proposal is designed to complement the following goals of the Strategic Plan:
• to enhance the diversity of the faculty,
• to reduce reliance on term faculty,
• and to increase student-faculty research opportunities.
Proposals for EKI positions can be strengthened by addressing one or more of the above strategic goals. Much of the above was reiterated in the discussion and is summarized here: 1) An appointee under the EKI can contribute with offerings in interdisciplinary areas and/or by freeing up existing faculty to teach in interdisciplinary areas. 2) Should a department offer a commitment to take on more tutorials or other general education courses, departments receiving EKI appointments can then enable colleagues in other departments to participate in the EKI. 3) Interdisciplinary and integrative effort can also be supported by collaborative approaches such as team-teaching or modules, and may include helping train existing faculty members in a new area of scholarship. Concern was expressed that the EKI will not succeed in reducing reliance on term faculty.
Marzluff explained that the Advisory Board of the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies intends to serve as a “clearinghouse” to coordinate proposals that intersect with other departments and across divisions. However, it was pointed out that Executive Council ultimately makes the recommendations. EKI position proposals follow the same procedures and time-line as other faculty position proposals. All faculty position proposals are due April 1.
Remarks – Jim Swartz, Dean of the College
Dean Swartz reported on the recent meeting of the Board of Trustees. The Board approved the faculty handbook amendment that changes the process for consideration of candidates for promotion to full professor. The College’s FY 2008 operating budget was approved. The budget included roughly $2 million in new Strategic Plan initiatives and four new faculty positions including the two new EKI appointments. The budget also includes a 4.5 % salary increase plus an additional 1% increase for tenure track faculty to meet market rates.
There are 16 tenure track searches this year and nine of them have been filled.
Remarks – Eliza Willis, Chair of the Faculty
Willis apologized for the rescheduling of the “No Limits” discussion. It will be discussed at the March 5 meeting. Willis has also asked President Osgood to discuss the status of the capital campaign and the relationship between “No Limits” and the capital campaign.
The Board of Trustees is interested in knowing how the College is performing and a committee has been formed to talk about institutional indicators and how to develop metrics for them. Willis urged faculty to contact her if they are interested in participating in this process. Marci Sorter, Vice-President for Institutional Planning, is chairing this committee. Sortor reported that the Board is interested in the following three areas of assessment including 1) attractiveness of the College to prospective students and faculty; 2) the College experience, in particular the teaching experience; and 3) life outcomes. One of the assessment tools will be the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Other indicators have yet to be determined but it is expected that those utilized will be ones that are already available. Sortor stated that the Board has represented that the information will be used to identify areas of need and may affect future resource allocations. Willis added that she believes the board’s interest lies in assessing the College’s visibility and is related to Strategy 6.
The Committee on Faculty Voting will be addressing the faculty at the March 5 meeting with their recommendations and expect to conduct a poll that day.
Finally, Willis recognized Dean Swartz for his part in identifying the need for an additional faculty salary increase and for pursuing an update in the apportionment.
Announcements and New Business
Todd Armstrong, on behalf of the Ad Hoc Committee on Disability Issues at Grinnell College, reviewed the events of Disability Awareness Week, February 16-25, and encouraged everyone to attend. Distinguished guests include Stephen Kuusisto, Ohio State University, author of Eavesdropping: A Memoir of Blindness and Listening (Norton, 2006), and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Emory University, who will give the Scholars’ Convocation entitled “Reframing Disability: New Ways of Seeing and Representing Disability,” on Thursday, February 22.
Ed Phillips announced the performance of internationally known mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato on Saturday, February 24, at 8 p.m. in Herrick Chapel. World-renowned pianist Julius Drake will accompany DiDonato. Tickets are required and available beginning February 19.
There was no new business.
The meeting was adjourned by Dean Swartz at 5:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Angela Winburn
Secretary to the Faculty