Faculty Meeting Minutes

 

Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Orr called the meeting to order at 3:36 p.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

DOF/VPAA Michael Orr asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held November 1, 2019.  Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.

RECOGNITION OF RETIREES

On behalf of the Appointments and Tenure Committee, Associate Professor Michael Arnush read the following resolution into the record (see attached):

BE IT RESOLVED, that the faculty of Skidmore College expresses its profound appreciation and admiration for the following member of the Skidmore Faculty who has this year expressed his determination to retire:

•  Gautam Dasgupta, Professor, Department of Theater

The faculty further resolves that the biographical highlights of this member contained in the Retirement Citation booklet distributed at this meeting be included in the Faculty Meeting Minutes of December 6, 2019 in recognition and celebration of his distinguished service and achievement (see Attachment).

DOF/VPAA Orr asked the assembly to signal their acclimation by applause.

Thereafter, Associate Professor Grace Burton delivered a tribute to Professor Dasgupta. President Glotzbach then presented Professor Dasgupta with a gift, and a warm round of applause and standing ovation was given to Professor Dasgupta.

CONFERRAL OF DEGREES AND HONORS

A.  Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science Degrees. 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 Arts degree to 20 students of the Class of 2020 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by January 31, 2020.

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Science degree to 5 students of the Class of 2020 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by January 31, 2020.

There was no discussion, and the motions were voted on and passed with all in favor.

B.  All-College and Departmental Honors. Ron Seyb, Associate Dean of the Faculty, read the following resolutions into the record (see attached):

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College approve College Honors for the following 5 members of the Class of 2020, as presented at the December 6, 2019, Faculty Meeting: 1 student for cum laude distinction, 2 students for magna cum laude distinction, and 2 students for summa cum laude distinction.

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College approve Departmental and Program Honors for 11 students from the Class of 2020, as presented at the December 6, 2019 Faculty Meeting.

There was no discussion, and the motions were voted on and passed with all in favor.

C.  Master of Arts in Liberal Studies. Professor Mary-Elizabeth O’Brien read a statement on the presentation of the last student to receive a Master’s of Liberal Studies degree from Skidmore (see attached for full statement) and then presented the following resolution:

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of Skidmore College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Arts degree to one student.

There was no discussion, and the motion was voted on and passed with all in favor. 

OLD BUSINESS

Appointments and Tenure Committee and Promotion Committee

On behalf of the Appointments and Tenure Committee and the Promotion Committee, Associate Professors Michael Arnush and Beck Krefting reintroduced the following Motion that was brought to the faculty at the October 2019 Faculty Meeting (see attached):

MOTION: to couple promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor with tenure and to allow a faculty member to count up to two years of previous full-time teaching employment towards eligibility for tenure. Faculty may stand for tenure and promotion to Associate Professor as early as the fall of their fourth year of service at the College but no later than the fall of their sixth year. Faculty members denied tenure and promotion will be given a terminal year of employment.

Professor Arnush then introduced some friendly amendments to the Motion (see attached).  Hearing no objection, the friendly amendments were accepted.

After opening the floor for discussion, Associate Professor Greg Gerbi introduced a motion to amend the ATC/PC Motion to allow faculty to count up to four years of prior service (see attached).  After some discussion regarding sabbaticals, the language seeking to strike the language “in their sixth year and are” was withdrawn.  Thereupon, the amendment presented by Professor Gerbi was open for discussion.

Several faculty members spoke in favor of the amendment, stating the overall goal of the ATC/PC Motion is to have the ability to recruit and retain great faculty.  Further, the amendment simply allows a pre-tenure faculty member the option of counting up to four years of service toward tenure.  During discussion, Professor Arnush reiterated the reasons why ATC and PC chose to allow pre-tenure faculty to only count up to two years of previous full-time teach employment towards eligibility for tenure--that being it allows a new faculty member a smooth transition to their new position at Skidmore and provides sufficient data for an assessment in the third year.  Other faculty members spoke in opposition to the Amendment, stating that more information would be needed in order to make an informed decision about the Amendment and voicing support for the importance of a third year review.  One faculty member urged Professor Gerbi to withdraw the Amendment and perhaps bring it back for consideration after the ATC/PC Motion is voted on.  

After responding to the comments made during discussion of the Amendment, Professor Gerbi requested that his Amendment be withdrawn.  There being no objection, the Amendment was withdrawn.

Thereafter, Professor Gerbi moved that the ATC/PC Motion be postponed to the February Faculty Meeting.  The motion was seconded.  Discussion on the Motion to postpone the ATC/PC Motion until the February Faculty Meeting ensued, with several faculty members voicing their opposition to postponement, given the current recruiting season.  Following discussion, the Motion to postpone consideration of the ATC/PC Motion to the February Faculty Meeting was voted on and defeated by majority vote.

Thereupon, the floor was opened to allow for further discussion of the ATC/PC Motion, with the friendly amendments.  There being no further discussion, the ATC/PC Motion, as amended, was voted on and passed by majority vote.

NEW BUSINESS

There was no new business.

REPORTS

On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Professor Jennifer Delton announced that Associate Professor Pat Oles was awarded the Phyllis A. Roth Faculty Distinguished Service Award.  A round of applause was given to professor Oles.

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

President Glotzbach introduced the faculty members of the Presidential Search Committee—Professor Barbara Black, Associate Professor Corinne Moss-Racusin, Assistant Professor Bernardo Rios, and Senior Teaching Professor and Arthur Zankel Executive Director of Arts Administration David Howson, who provided an update on the status of the confidential presidential search.  They indicated that the search process continues; certain college stakeholders recently met with finalists in confidence and provided the search committee with their feedback.  The search committee anticipates being in a position to provide a recommendation to the Board of Trustees very soon.  They indicated that, ultimately, the decision to appoint the new president rests with the Board of Trustees.   Discussion about the search process ensued with one faculty member seeking assurance that the faculty’s opinions and perspectives were valued and taken into consideration; another faculty member acknowledged that the appointment of the president is the Board’s decision but expressed his concern as to whether the faculty representatives on the search committee sufficiently represented the faculty’s interests.  After assuring that the faculty’s interests were taking into consideration and sufficiently represented, Professor Barbara Black thanked everyone for their feedback during the search process.

Due to time constraints, President Glotzbach stated that he would postpone his report until the next Faculty Meeting.  After a question was raised concerning the status of the health care benefits discussion, President Glotzbach stated that the health care committee is still working with the Institutional Policy and Planning Committee and discussions will resume next semester.

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

DOF/VPAA Orr provided an update on the implementation of the new general education curriculum, noting some good progress has been made with regard to the bridge experience courses.  He reminded everyone that department chairs and program directors have been requested to identify by December 20 which current courses will fulfill the new general education requirements without modification or with modification.  This information will be very important for planning purposes.

DOF/VPAA Orr announced that Professor Mark Youndt has been appointed as Director of Sustainability for Faculty Affairs.  Professor Youndt will partner with Levi Rogers to help provide leadership of the college’s sustainability efforts.  In an effort to create a more transparent process to ensure the college’s sustainability goals are incorporated into the planning of campus projects, DOF/VPAA Orr has asked Professor Youndt, Levi Rogers, and the Sustainability Subcommittee to help develop a policy for sustainable building. DOF/VPAA Orr expressed appreciation for the work of Professor Jim Kennelly as the previous Director of Sustainability for Faculty Affairs. 

In concluding his report, DOF/VPAA Orr reminded everyone that the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning (CEPP) has spent some time over the last year looking at the academic calendar in an effort to make our consideration of religious holidays more inclusive.  He reported that Registrar Dave DeConno has notified CEPP that an existing New York State law that addresses class absences due to religious observances has already been incorporated into the College Catalog.  CEPP is developing a policy and procedure for students to use to notify faculty and supervisors of absences due to religious observances that will be considered by IPPC. More information will be forthcoming in the next semester.

INVITATION TO SKIDMORE CARES

On behalf of himself and Marie, President Glotzbach invited everyone to the Skidmore Cares Open House at Scribner House immediately following the meeting.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m.

Debra L. Peterson
Academic Affairs Coordinator