Faculty Meeting Minutes
February 7, 2014
Gannett Auditorium
MINUTES
President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 3:31 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
President Glotzbach asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held December 6, 2013. Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
President Glotzbach welcomed everyone back to the start of the spring semester. He thanked Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor Joerg Bibow, and Professor Peter von Allmen, for all their work in planning the Academic Summit that was held in January. Thanking all those who were able to attend the summit, he noted that it was a good day of discussions and that those discussions will help us move forward.
Concluding his report, President Glotzbach expressed his thanks to Paul Calhoun, Dean of Special Programs, Mary Cogan, Michelle Paquette, and the others in Special Programs for all their work on the successful Ann Bogart residency. Ms. Bogart gave a wonderful presentation during her residency.
Thereafter, President Glotzbach opened the floor for questions. A question arose concerning whether discussions were held at the Higher Education Summit that President Glotzbach attended at the White House with regard to Franklin & Marshall’s practices of collecting income data, as discussed in a recent article in the New York Times. Brief discussion ensued regarding the practice of tracking income data. In response to these discussions, President Glotzbach indicated that he would read the article to see if there are things that Skidmore can do.
Lastly, a comment was made concerning the College’s decision to keep the campus open during the last snowstorm.
DEAN OF THE FACULTY AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS’ REPORT
Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, welcomed everyone back from the break as well as those faculty members who were on sabbatical leave and are now returning to the classroom. DOF/VPAA Breslin announced that Professor Greg Pfitzer will give the annual Edwin M. Moseley Faculty Research Lecture on Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at 8:00 in Gannett Auditorium. The title of Professor Pfitzer’s lecture is “The Unpopularity of Popular History: A Scholar’s Pursuit of Non-Scholarly Things.” DOF/VPAA Breslin will send an email announcement shortly.
DOF/VPAA Breslin provided an update on matters that his office has been working on. The Faculty Workload Working Group will continue to meet for another semester; a subgroup of the Faculty Workload Working Group will be collaborating with the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) on shared governance issues. DOF/VPAA Breslin and several members of his staff and some faculty members attended the recent AAC&U annual conference. A lot of interesting issues were discussed, such as technology in the classroom, innovative pedagogies, assessment, and accreditation. Additionally, Skidmore hosted a panel session at the conference which was organized by DOF/VPAA Breslin; Paty Rubio, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Personnel, Development, and Diversity; Associate Professor Mason Stokes; and Linda Marchesani, Romney and Associates, on the matter of Just in Time Workshops.
Thereafter, DOF/VPAA Breslin provided an update on this year’s tenure track searches. The searches have been going very well and so far 4 of the 14 searches have been completed.
Lastly, DOF/VPAA Breslin advised that the Chairs Advisory Group will be meeting soon to discuss the allocation of tenure lines for next year’s searches. DOF/VPAA Breslin hopes to be able to provide decisions on which departments will be able to conduct tenure searches next year by the end of February.
CONFERRAL OF DEGREES AND HONORS
January 2014 Graduation and Honors Resolution. Dave DeConno, Registrar, read the following resolutions into the record (see attached):
RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Science degree, Cum Laude Honor, and Honor in Theater to 1 student of the Class of 2014 who satisfactory completed the degree requirements by January 31, 2014.
There was no discussion, and the motion was voted on and passed with all in favor.
OLD BUSINESS
Committee on Educational Policies and Planning
Professor Peter von Allmen provided a brief update on curricular reform, noting there were highly energized roundtable conversations during the recent Academic Summit with lots of faculty input but, unfortunately, no faculty agreement. Following the Academic Summit, CEPP met in a retreat and discussed the suggestions made at the Academic Summit. CEPP is in the process of proposing some models and hopes to be able to present those models for discussion in the near future.
NEW BUSINESS
There was no new business.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- On behalf of the Curriculum Committee, Associate Professor Shirley Smith announced that a new minor in media and film studies has been approved.
- On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Professor Jim Kennelly invited nominations for the Ciancio Award for Excellence in Teaching. The deadline for nominations is Monday, February 24, 2014.
- Associate Professor Mimi Hellman announced a “MiniMellon” Faculty Seminar that will be held sometime in May. This is an opportunity for those faculty members who are unable to make a large commitment of time to participate in this opportunity. Details concerning dates and venues will be forthcoming.
- Rochelle Calhoun, Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs, addressed the comment made concerning the College’s decision to stay open during the recent snow storm. Thereafter, at Dean Calhoun’s request, Sue Layden introduced Ashley Mason, as the new academic counselor. Thereupon, Dean Calhoun introduced Kim Crabbe, the new Director of the Career Development Center. A welcoming round of applause was held for these new colleagues.
- Mike West, Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer, introduced Kyle Bernard as the new Controller, Director of Financial Services, and Associate Treasurer. A welcoming round of applause was held.
- On behalf of Information Technology and the Scribner Library, Ruth Copans, College Librarian, invited everyone for a reception immediately following the faculty meeting to be held in the Library.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:58 p.m.