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Faculty Meeting Minutes

March 27, 2015
Gannett Auditorium

MINUTES

President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 3:33 p.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

President Glotzbach asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held March 6, 2015.  Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

President Glotzbach began his report by inviting Mary Lou Bates, Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid, to provide an update on this year's admissions situation.  Dean Bates reported that approximately 8,200 regular decision letters (acceptances, rejections, wait-listings) went in the mail to applicants.  This year's total applicant pool was about 8,500, the second largest in Skidmore's history.  Approximately 300 members of the class applied and were accepted early decision, and the remaining offers have been made.  Our class target this year is 655, including the London cohort.  The admitted applicants come from 45 states and 59 countries.  We accepted 36 percent of the total pool this year, compared with 37 percent last year.  In addition, we are working with a smaller financial aid budget this year.  Last year we came in over target; our yield on students accepting financial aid jumped, and 47 percent of the class came in with grant assistance.  This year, we are targeting less than 40 percent of the class on grant assistance.  The percentage of students admitted who received grants this year was 20 percent, compared with 26 percent last year.  The median SAT of this year's applicant pool was down by 10 points (it has fluctuated in that area in recent years), and correspondingly, the median score of the admitted group was down 10 points (1300 this year compared to 1310 last year).  Nineteen percent of those admitted have self-identified as domestic students of color, compared to 21 percent last year.   Fourteen percent of the admitted group are international, compared to 12 percent last year.

Dean Bates indicated that Admissions is working very hard to increase the yield this year.   They have launched some new initiatives as follows:

• A great "landing page" with a welcome video (www.skidmore.edu\2019). 
• A letter from Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, will be going to all the accepted candidates highlighting the faculty, accomplishments, and academic opportunities at Skidmore. 
• Admissions will be sending a series of emails focusing on academic life, creative thought works, and co-curricular life in Saratoga Springs. 
• Many faculty members have volunteered to pilot a new program to contact some of our top admitted students.
• Admissions will host a live chat with our current students at the end of the month.
• Admissions will host three Accepted Candidates Days – Friday, April 10; Monday, April 13; and Friday, April 17. 
• Our Discovery program will be held April 8-10.  The timing works out well for this program; it falls during the New York City public schools' vacation week, so we expect a larger group than last year.

Dean Bates concluded by thanking everyone for all their help in bringing in the Class of 2019.

Following the Admissions update, President Glotzbach introduced Michael West, Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer, who shared a PowerPoint presentation on the financial health of the College.  This financial report included a Moody's financial comparison of Skidmore's aspirant and peer institutions; a comparison of endowment figures for Skidmore and its peer institutions; historical operating budget figures for fiscal year 2009 through 2015 showing revenues and expenses; information on tuition and fees for fiscal year 2015 for Skidmore and its peer institutions; factors that may cause Skidmore to experience financial pressure; basic guidelines for the annual budget process and construction; and key budget assumptions approved by the Board at the February board meeting.  Vice President West indicated that the factors with greatest impact on the budget are net tuition revenues, compensation, investment performance, plant-related expenses, capital construction, and campaign receipts.  He further indicated that the key for Skidmore in sustaining its financial health is enrolling strong classes, controlling expenses while maintaining the integrity of the College's mission, and maintaining a balanced budget.  The biggest challenges Skidmore faces are in admissions with intense competition for students, increasing financial aid needs, the perceived value of a liberal arts education and career success, the use of merit-aid, and fundraising.  An opportunity for discussion about the financial report was provided.  Upon questioning, Vice President West indicated that the he sees historically black colleges, religious colleges, and small rural colleges being challenged in the next few years; elite schools with vast resources should not have too many issues.  In order for Skidmore to succeed in the higher education landscape, it needs to continue to make the case of our value every day.

Thereafter, President Glotzbach addressed the latest developments in the current student sexual misconduct case.   He indicated that we all share the same goal of supporting a campus environment that is marked by respect, one in which all members of our community are free from harassment and violence.   Reasonable people can disagree about how best to accomplish this goal.  President Glotzbach believes, however, that most of us would agree in understanding that prevention is the key to producing the results we all want to see.  Policies and procedures to deal with reported incidents are necessary and important as well. But the overall goal is to get people – and especially our students – to behave as we expect them to.  In fact, at last Tuesday's open forum, students were saying to one another that the change we want to see will not come from the administration or the policy, it will come from students changing how they treat one another.  Students want to continue this dialog, and the Student Government Association (SGA) has created a campaign entitled It's Happening Here.  The SGA will host two more speakers in April who will address this issue.

President Glotzbach reminded everyone that disciplinary records are part of a student's overall educational record and are protected by FERPA.  Therefore, both because of law and institutional practice, we do not disclose such records.  Because we are, in fact, quite limited by Federal law regarding what we can say about individual cases, we generally are not at liberty to provide the details that would be required for a full and robust public discussion of any given case.  Thus, those public discussions necessarily occur in the absence of full and accurate information.  In listening to the better angels of our nature, one realizes that in order to protect every student who is involved – those on each side of a case – we need to be consistent in remaining silent.  By contrast, those individuals who are directly involved in these cases are not bound by the same legal constraints.  So we all have to live with this situation.

Much of the commentary we are hearing is urging us to adopt what would appear to be a simple and straightforward policy – one that appears to be most consistent with our expressed values: viz., anyone found responsible for violating our policies on sexual and gender-based misconduct should be expelled.  Period.  End of story.  We are listening to those voices from the extended Skidmore community who are advocating this position, and we will take this point of view into account as we complete the next round of revisions to our policies and procedures.

But Einstein once commented that things should be keep things as simple as possible, but not more so.   This may be one such case.

First, the full spectrum of sexual and gender-based misconduct encompasses a broad range of actions.  And we have to look carefully before imposing a single, mandatory sentencing requirement for that entire spectrum – or even for one portion of that spectrum.  Second, our present policies do allow us to expel a student who is found responsible of violating our policies.  In fact, we have expelled students in the past for sexual and gender-based misconduct.  Those decisions are made on a case-by-case basis by the hearing boards and reflect the judgment of the members of those boards regarding all the factors present in an individual case.  And the reality is that each case is highly nuanced.  Third, there is evidence from other places – and we have heard from members of our own community – that reporting drops markedly in the presence of mandatory sentences.  So this is a complex conversation.

In concluding, President Glotzbach stated that a number of us are hearing from alumni regarding this topic.  A webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, March 31 aimed at the alumni population, and information about this topic can be found on Scope online.  In addition, the Advisory Council has now held four public meetings on campus on this topic.

OLD BUSINESS

Faculty Executive Committee

On behalf of the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC), Professor Mehmet Odekon read the following Motion that was introduced at the last Faculty Meeting (see attached):

MOTION: The Faculty Executive Committee proposes the following changes to the membership description of the three committees listed below:

[...] out; blue in

a. COMMITTEE ON EDUCATIONAL POLICIES & PLANNING (CEPP) Elected

Function: To recommend to the Faculty and Administration short-and long-range educational plans for the College and thus be instrumental in clarifying, improving and changing major policies and educational procedures; to evaluate Skidmore's present practices and goals. The Chair of CEPP shall sit on the IPPC. The CEPP meets annually, and whenever necessary in the pursuit of its functions, with the appropriate faculty committee and/or the appropriate committee of the Board of Trustees.

Membership: [Six] Five faculty members, two of whom must be tenured, [each from a different department,] and with at least one member from each of the four Divisions of Disciplines, elected to serve three-year terms; the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs or his/her designated representative; the Dean of Student Affairs or [his/her] a designated representative; and two students selected by SGA.  CEPP may appoint such subcommittees from among its members or from the College community at large as it deems helpful to facilitate its work.

b. CURRICULUM COMMITTEE (CC) Elected

Function: To act for the Faculty in reviewing curricular matters including those which implement educational policy concerning all-College requirements; to generate recommendations concerning immediate and long-range curricular matters; to make recommendations to the Faculty concerning other curricular matters brought before it by faculty, students, and the Administration.

Membership: [Six] Five faculty members, [each from a different department,] at least two of whom are tenured, each from a different department or program, and with at least one member from each of the four Divisions of Disciplines, elected to serve three-year terms; the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs or [his/her] a designated representative; and two students selected by SGA. Non-voting members of the committee are the Registrar, and the Associate Dean of the Faculty for Academic Policy and Advising.

c. MASTERS OF ARTS IN LIBERAL STUDIES COMMITTEE (MALS) Elected

Function: To participate in all aspects of the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) Program by determining academic policies and procedures, admitting and dismissing students, approving core seminars, approving degree plans and final project proposals, making recommendations for degrees, and recommending faculty selection; to advise on all matters of administrative policy and to assist in the further direction of the program.

Membership: [Four] Two faculty members [, each representing one of the four Divisions of Disciplines, elected to serve three-year terms; and one library faculty member, appointed in consultation with the Director of the MALS Program and the College Librarian to serve a three-year term]; the Dean of Special Programs, the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs or [his/her] a designee, and the Director and Academic Advisor of the MALS Program.

Discussion was held regarding the necessity for broad representation on committees.  A friendly amendment was requested to include retain the language in the CEPP membership regarding members being from a different department, which friendly amendment was rejected by FEC.  Thereafter, a formal amendment was made to the Motion as follows:  The language about membership for CEPP should mirror language for the proposed membership of the Curriculum Committee in that each member should be from a different department or program.   Following discussion on the amendment, the amendment was voted on and passed by majority vote.   There being no further discussion, the Motion, as Amended, was voted on and passed by majority vote.

NEW BUSINESS

Faculty Executive Committee

On behalf of the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC), Professor Mehmet Odekon introduced the following Motion (see attached):

MOTION: The Faculty Executive Committee proposes the following changes (off in red, on in blue) to the "Function" and "Membership" of CAFR, Periclean Honors Forum Council, and Athletic Council.

a. COMMITTEE ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM and RIGHTS (CAFR) Elected Function: To serve as guardian of the academic freedom and rights of all members of the academic community; to receive inquiries and complaints concerning academic freedom and rights and to consider formal charges of violations of academic freedom and rights from any faculty member, student, administrator, trustee or from the CAPT; to advise and make appropriate recommendations to the President. The Operating Procedures of the CAFR are available from any member of the Committee. The CAFR meets annually, and whenever necessary in the pursuit of its functions, with the appropriate committee of the Board of Trustees.  Revisions to Part One of the Faculty Handbook Articles I - XI, XIV-XVI, and XVIII are reviewed by the CAFR for its recommendations prior to a faculty vote.

Membership: [Five] Four members of the Faculty, none of whom is on the CAPT, the Tenure Review Board, the CAS, or the FAB, at least [two] one of whom [are] is untenured at the time of [their] election and at least two of whom are tenured, each to serve a three-year term and each from a different department; and no more than [six] five students, selected by SGA.

A member who has served a full three-year term is eligible for re-election after being out of office for two years; members who complete an unexpired term or serve an interim term in place of a regularly elected member on leave are immediately eligible for re-election provided their service did not exceed one calendar year.

b. PERICLEAN HONORS FORUM COUNCIL Elected Function: The ongoing responsibilities of the Periclean Honors Forum Council include reviewing applications for membership and inducting new members, monitoring the eligibility standards for current members, planning and sponsoring academic and co-curricular events, developing a sufficient number of courses and co-curricular events for inclusion among the "honors" resources, communicating with the wider community of students and faculty regarding Forum opportunities and the achievements of honors (and other) students, and assessing the effectiveness of the Honors Forum in achieving its goals.  Annually the Periclean Honors Forum Council will constitute the Periclean Scholar Award Sub-Committee as follows:  two students [,] and [one] three faculty members [chosen from among]  of the Periclean Honors Forum Council not including the chair [members and three faculty members chosen in consultation between the Periclean Honors Forum Council and the Faculty Executive Committee].  The [four] three faculty members of the Periclean Scholar Award Sub-Committee shall elect a Chair from their membership.

Membership: Four faculty, three elected for three-year terms and one who chairs the Council and serves as Director of the Periclean Honors Forum for a four-year term; the Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Director of Campus Life; the Director of the First-Year Experience; and three students appointed from members of the Forum.

c. ATHLETIC COUNCIL Elected Function: To provide oversight and support for the athletic, fitness, physical activity, and recreation programs on campus; to advise the Dean of Student Affairs in articulating and espousing the vision for athletics, fitness and recreation at Skidmore, and to recommend policies regarding these programs; to work in conjunction with the President, the Dean of Student Affairs, the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Athletic Director, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), and the Advancement to assure productive links between athletic and academic programs; to evaluate the teaching of physical activity instructors and to review the physical activity program; and to assist in other matters relating to athletics, fitness, physical activity, and recreation, as may be brought to the Council's attention by the Athletic Director or by any other member or group of the College community. 

Membership: [Three faculty members, each from a different department,] One faculty member elected to serve a three-year term[s]; two students; one selected by SGA and one representative from SAAC; the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs or [his/her] a designee, the Dean of Student Affairs or [his/her] a designee, the National Collegiate Athletic Association Faculty Athletics Representative ex-Officio (voting); the Senior Woman Administrator (non-voting); and the Athletic Director (non-voting).

There were no information questions raised.  The Motion will lie over until the next Faculty meeting.

Committee on Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure

On behalf of the Committee on Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure, Associate Professor Kyle Nichols introduced the following Motion (see attached):

MOTION: The Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure (CAPT) proposes the following changes (remove in red and insert in blue) to the "Procedures for Granting Tenure" (Part I, Article VIII, Section E, Number 5, i.) and "Procedures for Granting Promotion" (Part I, Article VIII, Section F, Number 2, a, xiii.)

Current language: "Procedures for Granting Tenure" (Part I, Article VIII, Section E, Number 5, i.)

i. Candidates for tenure (successful or unsuccessful) shall have access to all written materials in the tenure file immediately after the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs has made his/her recommendation known to the candidate. These materials may not be photocopied.

Proposed language:

i. Candidates not recommended for tenure shall have access to all written materials in the tenure file immediately after the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs has made the recommendation known to the candidate. These materials may not be reproduced digitally or otherwise.

ii. Candidates recommended for tenure shall have access to written materials in the tenure file immediately after the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs has made the recommendation known to the candidate, with the exception of letters of evaluation written by individual department colleagues, colleagues internal to the college, or colleagues external to the college, which shall remain confidential.  These materials may not be reproduced digitally or otherwise.

AND

Current language: "Procedures for Granting Promotion" (Part I, Article VIII, Section F, Number 2, a, xiii.)

xiii. Candidates for promotion (successful or unsuccessful) shall have access to all written materials in the promotion file immediately after the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs has made his/her recommendation known to the candidate, with the exception of external letters of evaluation, which shall remain confidential. These materials may not be photocopied.

Proposed language:

xiii. Candidates (recommended or not recommended) for promotion shall have access to written materials in the promotion file immediately after the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs has made the recommendation known to the candidate, with the exception of letters of evaluation written by individual department colleagues, colleagues internal to the college, and colleagues external to the college, which shall remain confidential. These materials may not be reproduced digitally or otherwise.

Associate Professor Nichols clarified that any letter signed by one individual shall remain confidential and that candidates may review unsolicited letters.  Associate Professor Nichols showed a PowerPoint slide which indicated how our peer institutions handled internal letters for tenure and promotion.  Discussion was held on clarifying the language to only allow handwritten notes and procedures for determining bias.  The motion will lie over until the next meeting.

On behalf of CAPT, Associate Professor Kyle Nichols introduced the following Motion (see attached):

MOTION: The Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure (CAPT) proposes the following changes (in red) to the "Appeal of Negative Tenure Decisions" Part I, Article VIII, Section E, Number 7, b and f.

7. Appeal of Negative Tenure Decisions

b. The Tenure Appeal Committee will hear testimony from an advocate designated by the candidate. The advocate may be a person in the candidate's department, the candidate's Chair, a Skidmore faculty member outside the candidate's department, or someone outside the College. The advocate may not be an attorney.  By request, the advocate may be informed why tenure was not initially recommended by CAPT and/or the President at a joint meeting of the President, the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Associate Dean of the Faculty for Personnel, Development, and Diversity, the Chair of CAPT, the candidate, and the advocate. The advocate, in the presence of the candidate, has the right of access but may not photocopy the materials which CAPT had in its original deliberations. Whenever testimony is given by the candidate or the advocate, both shall be present.

f. The Tenure Appeal Committee shall convey its written recommendation based on a simple majority vote of the nine members to the President upon completing its deliberations.

Brief discussion was held regarding the definition of attorney and reasons surrounding the choice of a simple majority vote.    The Motion will lie over until the next meeting.

Tenure Review Board

On behalf of the Tenure Review Board, Professor Mary Odekon introduced the following Motion (see attached):

MOTION:  The Tenure Review Board proposes the following modifications to Faculty Handbook section VIII.E.6, "Review of Negative Tenure Decisions."

6. Review of Negative Tenure Decisions a.  A faculty member who is denied tenure but believes that his or her case received inadequate consideration may petition the Tenure Review Board ("TRB") for a review. Such a review must be requested by January 15th of the year following the semester in which CAPT considered the case, or within 15 days of notification of denial of tenure, whichever is later. The candidate must submit to the TRB a letter stating in a clear and preciseconcise manner exactly how the consideration of the case is perceived as having been inadequate.

c.  The Tenure Review Board will have at its disposal all of the materials contained in the original tenure file which was available to CAPT, together with the letter referred to in section a above. No other materials may be added, and the TRB will restrict its inquiry to the area or areas of consideration claimed in the candidate's letter to have been inadequate. The TRB may consult with CAPT; members of the candidate's department; and/or the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs;the Associate Dean of the Faculty for Personnel, Development, and Diversity; and others deemed necessary by the TRB to assess the petition if necessary. The Board shall be bound by confidentiality.

There were no information questions raised.  The Motion will lie over until the next Faculty meeting.

Natural Science Chairs and Program Directors

On behalf of the Natural Science Chairs and Program Directors, Professor Mary Odekon introduced the following Motion (see attached):

MOTION:  The Natural Science Chairs and Program Directors move that the title of Teaching Associate be changed to Instructor.   This change will apply to every instance of "Teaching Associate" in the Faculty Handbook, including the change from "Senior Teaching Associate" to "Senior Instructor" and from "Visiting Teaching Associate" to "Visiting Instructor."   The Natural Science Chairs and Program Directors also move that the existing title "Visiting Instructor" be changed to "Visiting Lecturer."

Brief discussion was held concerning the relationship of the proposed titles with regard to the motion approved by the faculty at the last faculty meeting regarding non-tenure-track faculty. The motion will lie over until the next faculty meeting

Committee on Educational Policies and Planning and Institutional Policy and Planning Committee

On behalf of the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning (CEPP), Associate Professor Bill Lewis introduced the following joint Motion between CEPP and the Institutional Policy and Planning Committee (IPPC) (see attached):

MOTION: CEPP and IPPC move that the faculty recommend to the administration that Skidmore terminate its Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Program (MALS) program; and that the process of termination extend for a reasonable period of transition to allow currently enrolled students to complete their degree requirements.

There were no information questions raised.  The Motion will lie over until the next Faculty meeting.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Paul Calhoun, Dean of Special Programs, invited everyone to attend a reception immediately following the faculty meeting to be held in the lobby of the Zankel Music Center.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:53 p.m.