Faculty Meeting Minutes
February 2, 2023
Dorothy E. Mosby, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, called the meeting to order at 3:32 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
DOF/VPAA Mosby asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held December 1, 2023. Hearing none, she announced the minutes were approved.
OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business.
NEW BUSINESS
There was no new business.
OTHER
Associate Professor Dominique Vuvan, Chair of the Faculty Executive Committee notified faculty of FEC’s report on the bi-annual Committee of Committees meeting. Due to some amendments, a secondary version of that report would be distributed following the faculty meeting (see attached for v1and v2). Faculty were invited to submit further amendments, but none were forthcoming.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT
President Marc C. Conner reported on his activities since the start of the semester. He informed the faculty that he had attended four conferences, engaging with the presidents of about 75 other institutions. President Conner that the challenges facing higher education are remarkably consistent, and that Skidmore is situated quite well among its peer and aspirant institutions. He then highlighted some upcoming college events; many focusing on the Middle East and the current Israel-Palestine conflict. He noted that there will be a number of pop courses and other faculty work on educating the campus community on these issues, also stating that students are raving about those experiences. President Conner acknowledged that there continues to be vociferous discussion and disagreement on the topic, and that the paramount concerns of his office remain open exchange of ideas, freedom of expression, and campus safety.
President Conner then introduced Vice President for Enrollment Jess Ricker to update the faculty on admissions, to be followed by Vice President for Finance and Administration Dan Konstalid. VP Ricker began (see attached) by explaining her philosophy on admissions, and her commitment and investment in the work of Skidmore. She stated that her work is to craft a class of curious and creative scholars, and to reflect the values and vision of the college. Because DEI is a core value of Skidmore’s, it is also a core driver of the work of admissions and financial aid. VP Ricker explained that the Western Interstate Commission of Higher Education has been tracking and analyzing demographic shifts in enrollment, and projecting graduation rates. They had projected out a fall in enrollment starting in 2025, which was accelerated by the pandemic. She noted that demographics don’t tell the full story, and that financial pressures and shifting social values affect enrollment and graduation as well. VP Ricker then shared with the faculty that there is a geographic shift in high school graduates as well, in that the decreases are happening predominately in the northeastern states that make up the brunt of Skidmore’s enrollment. She stated that the opportunity this presents is to recruit more students from geographic areas that have previously been sparsely represented at Skidmore. Another opportunity for increasing diversity is in the fact that the pool of high school graduates nationwide is also becoming more diverse.
VP Ricker said that her team is also watching trends in international student applications; explaining that changes in political climate, both domestically and abroad, can have substantial impact on the number of international students seeking to study in the United States. Financial aid needs are changing as well. Because Skidmore is tuition-reliant, said VP Ricker, overenrolling was a better outcome than underenrolling the last few years, but the pandemic has changed student enrollment patterns and made it more difficult to predict which students will accept our offer of admission. However, it can affect the overall student experience due to high densities in residential life and classes. Additionally, about 50% of Skidmore students are not relying on financial aid, but as economic realities shift that number may decrease, and Skidmore is committed to meeting all demonstrated need for its students. VP Ricker reiterated her enjoyment in working with the faculty, students and staff of Skidmore, and her overall optimism about the challenges and opportunities to come. She then turned the podium over to VP Konstalid.
VP Konstalid thanked VP Ricker for her presentation and for providing context for his presentation on the financial implications of the admissions landscape. He began by defining net tuition revenue, the tuition discount rate, and net tuition per student, before showing the faculty the changes in each over the last ten years (see attached). VP Konstalid explained that our realized revenue growth has began to slow in recent years, and so the college introduced a plan in 2020 to reduce operating expenses. Through that plan and the rise in vacancies due to the pandemic, he said that 31 vacant positions were collapsed or eliminated. The resultant $3.1 million in compensation savings has cushioned the slowdown in revenue growth. He acknowledged that the unexpected speed with which the attrition plan was implemented has created significant challenges in many divisions in terms of service provision. VP Konstalid said that a pause being placed on FY 24-25’s budget is due to the financial landscape that Skidmore is contending with. VP Konstalid closed by reasserting his intention to keep the faculty updated as developments occur, and invited Dean Mosby to share comments.
Dean Mosby thanked VPs Ricker and Konstalid for their presentations. She told the faculty that she has been noting their concerns about the effects of the enrollment landscape on their departments, particularly with regard to staffing levels. She said that she is actively attending to these concerns and discussing the Academic Affairs Division’s resource and curriculum needs with the President and Cabinet. Dean Mosby remarked that she looks forward to continuing these conversations, as well as those started by VPs Ricker and Konstalid, at the divisional round tables in the coming month.
President Conner thanked all three for their remarks, and reiterated that Skidmore’s financial position remains positive. He then opened the floor for questions. A faculty member asserted that cutting new initiatives out entirely prevents resource needs from being shared with the administration, while cautioning faculty and senior staff that few will be funded may have accomplished the same goal without impeding communication. He stated that a positive financial outlook and no new initiatives seem discordant. He also noted that the faculty experienced whiplash between the close of the Spring ’23 semester and the close of the Fall ’23 semester in terms of resources. He asked to hear more about how the administration will find out what faculty’s needs are.
President Conner explained that the announcement came before the December break to prevent faculty from spending time on new initiatives that would not be looked at, and that they had wanted to clearly commit to certain standing policies, such as the GSA. President Conner invited VP Konstalid and Dean Mosby to comment as well. VP Konstalid noted that his team had spent the fall reviewing the assumptions underlying last Spring’s financial report out, and bringing their reviews to IPPC, and meeting with divisional heads to understand their individual situations. This process took longer than anticipated; if it had been completed earlier, VP Konstalid said that his team would have shared their findings earlier. He asserted that resource needs definitely need to be communicated upwards, and that those conversations will likely be had most productively intra-divisionally due to the flat budget. He apologized for the impression of shutting down communication, and reiterated his and his team’s intent to be frank and clear as early as possible. President Conner also noted that a process for faculty line distribution will be forthcoming.
A faculty member asked VP Ricker about the impact of the recent Supreme Court decision about affirmative action on Skidmore’s policies on legacy admissions, and if Skidmore will keep putting a thumb on the scale for legacy applicants. He noted that legacy applicants are disproportionately wealthy and white. VP Ricker stated that she pulled the data on Skidmore’s legacy applications early on in her time here and found that, unlike most schools where legacy students make up 10-15% of a class, Skidmore has a rate of about 3-5% legacy students. She said that their ratings and application profiles were similar to those of students without connections to Skidmore, and they likely would have been admitted regardless. VP Ricker emphasized that they are looking for students who will be a good fit for the institution and are enthusiastic about attending, and a legacy connection may or may not influence that. The faculty member stated that it sounds like admissions will continue to privilege legacy applicants. VP Ricker answered that she has instructed her staff to not put additional weight on the legacy aspect of a student’s application.
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
Dean Mosby then invited Professor Bernie Possidente, Chair of Promotions Committee, to introduce the Committee of the Whole. Professor Possidente thanked FEC and Associate Professor Erica Wojcik of Promotions Committee for their work on the exercise. Professor Possidente explained that faculty will be asked to discuss, either at their tables or in Zoom breakout rooms, their opinions of the current promotion policies (see attached). He explained that the policies on tenure were revised about 10 years ago, and that it has been longer than that for promotions. Additionally, he noted that much of the content of the promotions letters is directed towards not the candidate, but the criteria: signaling the need for them to be reassessed. The question of the day, he said, is “what do we want promotion to full professor to mean? And how do we make it do that?” The faculty then began their discussion groups.
DEAN OF THE FACULTY AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS’ REPORT
Dean Mosby began her report with an update on the non-tenure track collective bargaining negotiations. She stated that they progressing, with negotiations on non-economic matters reaching a close. The discussions are currently about term lengths and tiers for non-tenure track faculty, paths to promotion, and service. Dean Mosby said that the process continues to be educational as the collective bargaining unit and the administration present proposals and counter-proposals. She then provided an update on the Middle States reaffirmation of accreditation process; Dean Mosby and Kelly Sheppard will be meeting with FEC to discuss faculty engagement with the process. The Steering Committee, she said, is still deep in the process of self-study design. The hope is to tap into the work that existing committees are already doing, in order to keep the burden of participation light and efficient.
Dean Mosby thanked the participants in the panel on ameliorating the costs of course materials. The conversation was sponsored by SGA and the Scribner Library, and moderated by Tess Malloy, SGA Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Professor Beck Krefting, Director of the Center for Leadership, Teaching and Learning. Dean Mosby also thanked the panelists, Becky Madison from the SkidShop, Associate Professor Lia Ball from the Chemistry department, Beth Post from Financial Aid, Marta Brunner, Director of the Scribner Library, and Associate Professor Sarah Sweeney from Art. She thanked Tess Malloy and Marta Brunner for presenting their findings on course materials costs to the Chairs and Program Directors Meeting at the start of the semester. Associate Professor Sarah DiPasquale was then recognized for her participation in the Project Pericles Panel at AAC&U’s annual conference. She closed by reminding the faculty about the Wykoff Center’s Love Fest.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:59 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nora E. Graubard
Senior Administrative Coordinator