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Faculty Meeting Minutes

March 6, 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 February 6, 2015.  Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

President Glotzbach began his report by providing a brief update on admissions.  To date, we have completed both Round 1 and Round 2 of Early Decision, and we have met our target of enrolling approximately 40 percent of our class.  The financial aid figures for this group of new students look good – we were able to enroll our ED classes in line with our financial aid target for that group.  This year, 24 percent of Early Decision applicants were offered financial aid, compared to 34 percent last year.

The Admissions staff is heavily engaged in reading this year's applications and preparing for our spring mailing deadline of March 24.  At that point, we will go into our annual full-court press to enroll the remaining 60 percent of our next entering class.  As always, President Glotzbach indicated that we will be calling upon everyone to participate in this effort.  And, in fact, we will be trying some new ideas this year, including asking some faculty members to contact admitted candidates in whom we are particularly interested.  President Glotzbach asked for everyone's participation in this very important exercise.

In speaking of full-court press, President Glotzbach announced that both our women's and men's basketball teams will be playing in the Liberty League championship this evening. The women's team will be playing St. John Fisher at Tufts at 5:00 p.m., and the men's team will be playing Wesleyan at John Hopkins at 5:30 p.m.

As President Glotzbach previously reported, last year, we targeted 42 percent of the class for financial aid, and that number came in at 47 percent.  The class that entered this past fall was large – 728, including London – and quite possibly the strongest and most diverse in our history.  This year, we are aiming for a smaller class – 655, including London – and have set a target of 38 percent for financial aid.  This means that we will be able to fund fewer students at the top end of our AQR scale (Academic Quality Rating) and possibly fewer students of color.  Even so, with everyone's assistance, we expect to enroll another strong and diverse class.  As President Glotzbach has said in the past, the key to our success in this Admissions cycle will be yield: the percentage of admitted students who choose to matriculate.

Acknowledging BOT Chair Linda Toohey's attendance at today's Faculty Meeting, President Glotzbach provided a brief update on the recent meeting with the Board of Trustees.  He reported that the Board approved the Capital Budget for FY '16 as recommended by the Cabinet and the Institutional Policy and Planning Committee (IPPC).  The approved Capital Budget will provide funds in the upcoming year to:

President Glotzbach also reported that the Board approved the key Operating Budget assumptions for FY '16 as recommend by the Cabinet and IPPC, with budgeted enrollment steady at 2,330 Net Fiscal Enrollment, a Comprehensive Fee increase of 3.5 percent, an increase in the Internal Financial Aid Discount Rate from 38.5 percent to 39.5 percent, and a General Salary Adjustment of 2.5 percent, with $300K for market and equity pool adjustments.  In addition, in response to the need to augment wellness initiatives to help improve the overall health of the members of our campus community and to keep rising health care costs in check, and in response to the Total Compensation Survey and last year's open meetings discussing the Staff Survey, President Glotzbach announced that a new College contribution for dental programs will be implemented.  This new program will provide each eligible employee $400 per year as a non-taxable benefit toward the cost of their coverage, which currently ranges from approximately $500 for individual coverage to $1,500 per year for family coverage.

Further, President Glotzbach reported that our transfers for the Capital Budget will remain at $8.2 million (the same as last year). Those funds, however, will be augmented by excess revenue funds and additional funding approximating $14 million.  President Glotzbach indicated that Michael West, Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer, will provide a more comprehensive update on the College's finances at the next Faculty Meeting scheduled for March 27.

Additionally, President Glotzbach stated that our plans for the CIS project, which remains our number one priority in fundraising, was reviewed with the Board.  To date, we have raised approximately $37 million (including $5 million in projected transfers from surplus College funds).  This puts us around $60 million short of our projected goal, and we may take on some modest debt to get there.  At the same time, we are continuing to add new prospects and explore potential interest in helping us with this important project.  The Trustees were also updated on our progress for the new Strategic Plan with our revised goal to complete this project in September.  This is a moment when we need to get behind some bold ideas to define the College for the next decade, and we will need some time to talk about them as a community.  President Glotzbach has been working with ideas that came out of the white papers from last year, the Academic Summit, and the strategic planning community day that was held.  At the moment, we are working in the Cabinet, the IPPC, and the Board.  But before too long we will come back to the larger community for additional discussion.

Thereafter, President Glotzbach provided comments on the topic of sexual misconduct, especially in light of recent student activism surrounding a particular campus case.  He stated that sexual and gender-based misconduct is a form of personal violence that affects all of us directly and indirectly.  It has no place in our community.  This is not a new concern for Skidmore, and we have been working, as a community, to foster a climate of mutual respect with the safety of our students as our top priority.  As an integral part of those efforts, we want all our students to feel that their concerns are being heard and addressed and that our policies and procedures are fundamentally fair to all.   Skidmore takes this problem seriously, and we have devoted substantial resources to the prevention of misconduct and to providing remedies when misconduct is reported.

Furthermore, all of us have a stake in upholding the integrity of our processes and procedures. That means that we follow our processes and implement our procedures.  We are not at liberty to pick and choose among them.  And we follow our processes to protect the rights of everyone who is involved.  It is important to understand that someone who brings a complaint today may well be the object of a complaint – or a counter-complaint – tomorrow, and so will need the protection of those policies   As we continue to evaluate those policies, processes, and procedures – attempting to use what we learn through our experience, what members of the community say to us, and reflecting changes in the legal and regulatory environment.   As we do this work, it is a great moment for all of us to exercise some intellectual humility.  These are maddeningly difficult issues; there are many perspectives within our community.  And, it is probably logically impossible to create a consistent policy that satisfies everyone.  So we need to listen to one another and engage in these conversation in good faith, and with the presumption that even people who might disagree with us have the best interests of our students and the College in mind.

President Glotzbach concluded his report by addressing the recent announcement of the closing of Sweet Briar, a small, liberal arts college in rural Virginia.  He indicated that his thoughts, too, have turned to a school with a national reputation that has fallen on difficult economic times, with a limited endowment, challenges to enrollment, challenges to its business plan as a single-sex institution, and debts that threaten to overwhelm its resources.  That school's president received from its auditors what it known in the business as "a letter of going concern" – advising it that it was no longer viable as an institution and that it should close its doors and liquidate its assets.  The year was 1969-70 and that school was Skidmore College; the President, Joe Palamountain.  Since receiving that letter, the College completed its move to the new campus, made a difficult and controversial decision to admit men, and made an even more difficult and controversial decision to close its venerable nursing program.  The bottom line is that Skidmore made some hard choices, created itself as a new and increasingly distinctive institution, and found a way to direct its own destiny.

Today, Skidmore is far different from that former institution in 1969-70, and we are a far different institution than Sweet Briar.  We are in a very different market.  Sweet Briar is a single-sex institution in rural Virginia with an enrollment of 523 (target of 800), compared to Skidmore's enrollment of 2,400.  Sweet Briar's endowment is $84 million, compared to Skidmore's at $330 million.  It has a discount rate of 62 percent, compared to Skidmore's 32 percent, and has an acceptance rate of 84 percent, compared to Skidmore's 35 percent.  Sweet Briar has a U.S. News Ranking of 116, compared to Skidmore's ranking at 37.  President Glotzbach stated that the message is that Skidmore is not going out of business; the question is – what kind of business will we be able to do.  As we develop our new Strategic Plan, we have the opportunity to decide how we want to do residential liberal education, to double down on some things that have been very successful and solidify our place among national liberal arts colleges – to compete effectively for the students and resources we need to fulfill our mission, as WE want to fulfill it.

Following his report, President Glotzbach opened the floor for questions, at which time discussion was held on Sweet Briar's closing, including the potential of making special outreach to its students and any lessons that could be learned from their closing, and the upcoming hearing on the possible re-admittance of a student found responsible for a sexual misconduct offense.

Faculty Development Committee

On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Professor Shirley Smith announced that the 2015-16 Edwin M. Moseley Lectureship has been awarded to Professor Jennifer Delton, Department of History.  A congratulatory round of applause was given to Professor Delton.

DEAN OF THE FACULTY AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS' REPORT

Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, began his report by re-introducing Bill Tomlinson, Director of Sponsored Research, and Paul Lundberg, Project Manager, Facilities Services.   Thereafter, he announced that, at their February, 2015 meeting, the Board of Trustees granted tenure, effective immediately, to Associate Professor Larry Jorgensen, Department of Philosophy and Religion, and granted tenure, effective immediately, and promotion to Associate Professor, effective June 1, 2015, to Amy Frappier, Department of Geosciences; Heather Hurst, Department of Anthropology; Eric Morser, Department of History; and Aiwu Zhao, Department of Management and Business.  DOF/VPAA Breslin briefly commented on their scholarship and offered his congratulations.  A congratulatory round of applause was given to these faculty members. 

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 held February 6, 2015 (see attached):

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

FACULTY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (FEC) Elected Function: To act as the primary conduit of information and ideas into and out of the Faculty concerning all-College issues and policies; to oversee faculty governance and faculty participation in all-College governance. ; and to act as Faculty Observers of the Board of Trustees.

FEC fosters communication within the Faculty, via both reports to the Faculty Meeting and organization of other faculty discussion meetings and forums, about all-College issues and policies.  The chair of the FEC shall sit on the IPPC in order to strengthen communication between the two committees.  FEC, together with IPPC and SGA, is responsible for the proper constitution of all-College committees and subcommittees.

FEC is responsible for coordinating the faculty governance cycle faculty committee work and for furthering democratic representation and committee its efficiency.  FEC is responsible for ensuring the proper constitution of faculty committees:  it solicits nominations for, conducts elections for, and makes appointments to faculty and all-College committees; it provides advice and oversight of procedures regarding faculty appointments to search committees for senior administrative positions; and it maintains a list of all faculty members on all committees.  In addition, FEC reviews operating codes of all faculty committees and maintains files of annual committee reports, and FEC is responsible for ensuring that the text of the Faculty Handbook appears and remains precisely as approved by the Faculty.

FEC convenes the Committee of Committees (comprising faculty members of FEC, IPPC, CAPT, CAFR, CEPP, Curriculum Committee, FDC, and any current ad hoc committees whose presence FEC believes would be helpful to the Committee) at least twice a year to assess the interactions among member committees and between them and the administration, and to discuss ongoing issues and any problems in committee operations. FEC is then required to inform the Faculty at large of the issues raised by the Committee of Committees.

Finally, FEC posts Board of Trustee Meeting minutes on its web page. observes the on-campus meetings of the Board of Trustees, at the invitation of the Board, and reports its observations in writing to the Faculty. (In addition, CAPT, CAFR, and the Chair of CEPP meet annually with the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees.)

Membership: Five Four members of the Faculty elected to serve three year terms.

Brief discussion was held on the Motion concerning the continual reduction in faculty membership on committees and faculty attendance at Board of Trustee meetings.  Following discussion, the Motion was voted on and passed by majority vote.

Office of the Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs

On behalf of the Office of the Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Paty Rubio, Associate Dean of the Faculty for Personnel, Development, and Diversity, read the following Motion that was introduced at the last Faculty Meeting held February 6, 2015 (see attached):

MOTION:  The Office of the Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs moves to approve the following recommendations with regard to non-tenure-track faculty, and accordingly, changes to the Faculty Handbook (see attached):

1) Reserve the designation of Visiting Assistant/Associate Professor (VAP) to a maximum three-year, non-renewable contract.  VAPs may petition the Associate Dean of the Faculty with responsibility for personnel and diversity to retain their Visiting Assistant Professor title.

2) Establish and define the rank of Teaching Professor to designate Visiting Professors whose contract is renewed for a minimum of an additional two-years.

3) Formalize the reappointment criteria and length of service of VAPs resulting in the change of rank to that of Teaching Professor.

4) Reserve the term of Lecturer for individuals who are not in possession of a terminal degree regardless of length of appointment or teaching load.

5) Create the rank of Senior Teaching Professor for eligible Teaching Professors who possess a terminal degree, the requisite credentials, and have taught at the institution in continued service for a minimum of six years.

6) Create the rank of Senior Lecturer for eligible Lecturers who possess the requisite credentials and have taught full-time at the institution in continued service for a minimum of six years.

7) Formalize the reappointment process and criteria of Teaching Professors and full-time Lecturers to include high quality teaching and department/program/ institutional need; and, where appropriate, effective service to the department, the College, and the profession; and, where appropriate, evidence of professional growth that maintains currency and enhances effectiveness in the classroom, studio, or laboratory.

8) Establish the process and criteria for promotion of Teaching Professors and full-time Lecturers to include to include high quality teaching and department/program/ institutional need; and, where appropriate, effective service to the department, the College, and the profession; and, where appropriate, evidence of professional growth that maintains currency and enhances effectiveness in the classroom, studio, or laboratory.

9) Regulate the employment termination of individuals in Teaching Professor and full-time Lecturer ranks.

10) Grandfather long-term serving VAPs and full-time Lecturers into the new policy.

11) Eliminate the rank of Trustee Visiting Scholar.

Dean Rubio described some minor changes to the Motion and consequential changes to the Faculty Handbook since the Motion was brought to the faculty at the last meeting.  These minor changes were accepted as friendly amendments.  Discussion on the Motion was held with several faculty members indicating their support of the Motion, especially with regard to the language allowing departments to make the determination about service and professional growth with regard to promotion.  However, some concern was raised regarding the possibility of this motion creating additional tiers of non-tenure-track faculty and that the title of "Teaching Professor" may contradict the teacher-scholar model adopted by Skidmore.  Additional discussion was held concerning the process if a non-tenure-track faculty member wished to retain the title of "Visiting Assistant Professor" instead of transitioning to the title of "Teaching Professor."  Thereafter, a Motion for a friendly amendment was made and accepted to more accurately define the Lecturer rank in the Faculty Handbook as follows (shown as tracked changes below):

Replace "f. Lecturer" with the following and renumber remaining items accordingly: g. Lecturer: a Lecturer is a full- or part-time member of the faculty in a department or program. Lecturers may be practicing professionals qualified by the possession of special skills or experience though they domight not have the academic credentials required for appointment at the professorial rank. Promotion to Senior Lecturer is recommended to the Associate Dean of the Faculty for Personnel, Development, and Diversity by the department or program in accordance with internal departmental or program procedures and the criteria set forth in Part I, VI, C, 5. Although full-time Lecturers may stand for promotion, they are not eligible to the Teaching Professor rank or to tenure.

At the conclusion of discussion, the Motion, with the friendly amendments, 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 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 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, 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; 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 designee, and the Director and Academic Advisor of the MALS Program.

Brief informational discussion was held concerning the membership composition of the committees, whether the motion could be broken into several motions for each committee, and the ratio of faculty-administrators on the committees.  The Motion will lie over until the next faculty meeting. 

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

A Committee of the Whole was held to discuss curriculum models proposed by the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning (CEPP).  Professor Mehmet Odekon was appointed as chair of the Committee of the Whole.  A 20-minute time limit was set; upon request, an additional 5-minute time limit was set.  At the conclusion of the A Committee of the Whole was held to discuss curriculum models proposed by the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning (CEPP).  Professor Mehmet Odekon was appointed as chair of the Committee of the Whole.  A 20-minute time limit was set; upon request, an additional 5-minute time limit was set.  At the conclusion of the Committee of the Whole, Professor Odekon rose and reported that a discussion on CEPP's curriculum models was held.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Associate Professor Erica Bastress-Dukehart announced that the science literacy program for the next academic year will be Project Extinction. In addition, the Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning will be partnering Special Programs to bring Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction, to campus in November as the Carr Resident. 

• Associate Professor Michael Arnush reported that last week's Open Classroom project was a great success.  There were 54 classes offered with over 100 classroom visits from 72 staff, faculty, administrators, and retirees. He thanked the Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Human Resources for their support of this program.   Due to its great success, the Open Classroom project will again be offered next year. 

• As Interim Director of Honors Forum, Associate Professor Kate Greenspan announced that this year's Academic Festival will take place on April 29, 2015.  Further information will be sent concerning the process for proposing a session together with a template.  She also announced that this year's Periclean Scholars Award ceremony will take place on Friday, May 15, 2015.  

• Addison Bennett, SGA President, announced a new Hazing Policy (see attached).  Both he and Rochelle Calhoun, Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs, are available to speak with anyone who has any questions or comments concerning the new policy.

• Cathy Hill, the F. William Harder Chair in Business Administration, invited everyone to attend this year's annual Harder Lecture on Tuesday, March 10, 2015, to be given by Majora Carter, an urban revitalization strategy consultant, real estate developer, and Peabody Award winning broadcaster.

• Michael West, Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasurer, invited everyone to attend a reception immediately following the faculty meeting to be held in Murray Aikins.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:03 p.m.