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Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs

Faculty Meeting Minutes

October 6, 2017
Gannett Auditorium

MINUTES

 
President Philip A. Glotzbach called the meeting to order at 3:32 p.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

President Glotzbach asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held September 8, 2017.  Hearing none, he announced the minutes were approved.

PRESIDENT鈥橲 REPORT

President Glotzbach welcomed everyone, noting that we have had a very successful opening of the semester, and by all accounts things are going well.  He expressed the hope that this was true for everyone.  On a wider scale, unfortunately, the past few weeks 鈥 and, indeed, the past few months 鈥 have been marked by a series of natural and human-caused tragic events.  Most recently, we are still dealing with the aftermath of the horrible episode of mass murder in Las Vegas, as well as our ongoing concern for the many victims of recent hurricanes in the southern United States, Puerto Rico, and Caribbean islands.  The 快猫短视频has reached out to alumni, students, and parents from those regions who may have been affected.  A moment of silence was held in remembrance of those affected by these tragedies and for reflection about both the fragility and the resiliency of the human community.  

President Glotzbach went on to say that he welcomes any Faculty Meeting that does not need to begin with a moment of silence.  It would be nice if there were more of them.  And we also know that these larger external events can have local reverberations on our own campus.  He echoed what we have been seeing in some of the most recent news coverage out of Las Vegas, and what we also saw from the reporting about Hurricane Harvey in Texas: so many people reaching out to assist others, sometimes putting their own lives in peril to do so.  This group includes first-responders, public safety personnel, military personnel, and so on.  But their numbers also have included many ordinary citizens who simply stepped up, in different ways, to do what they could.  It has, by now, become a commonplace observation that these many acts of assistance have crossed racial, economic, and other social boundaries that, in a different moment, might well be markers of division.

President Glotzbach stated that the fact that this observation has been repeated many times should not diminish its import.  In these times of adversity, people have stepped up to act according to the better angels of their nature.  So as we grieve and feel concern for the victims of the underlying events, President Glotzbach asked everyone to allow ourselves to be inspired by the many acts of courage and just plain human kindness that we also have witnessed.  It would truly be a wonderful moment if we could use these examples to elevate our own quotidian interactions with one another in the Skidmore community 鈥 to make sure that we have one another鈥檚 back and express our appreciation and support for the good work people are trying so hard to accomplish.  

Thereafter, President Glotzbach provided some updates regarding the Cabinet-level searches and upcoming events:

  • With regard to the Vice President for Advancement, Sean Campbell will be joining us in mid-month.  As has been announced, Kim Verstandig will be leaving us after five years as Associate Vice President for Advancement and Director of the Campaign to take the position of Vice President of Advancement at Connecticut College.  In her time here, Kim has worked with our Trustees 鈥 especially key leaders in the Advancement area 鈥 and has ably led the Creating Our Future Campaign successfully to having achieved today鈥檚 total of approximately $145 million in gifts and pledges.  Since June, when Michael Casey departed for Trinity College, Kim has stepped up to serve as Interim Vice President for Advancement, taking over leadership of the entire division.  President Glotzbach expressed his appreciation for Kim鈥檚 willingness to assume all these roles, for the energy she brought to them, and for the success she has achieved.
  • With regard to the search for the Vice President for Communications & Marketing, we are in the final stages of this search, and President Glotzbach expected to be in a position to make an announcement of an appointment very soon.
  • With regard to the search for the Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, the search committee has been working diligently.  As we have informed the community, we have identified four very strong finalists.  Our first candidate visited this week, and the remaining three will be here next week.  President Glotzbach encouraged everyone to attend the open candidates鈥 forums and provide feedback.  
  • Dr. Beverley Daniel Tatum, former President of Spellman 快猫短视频and acclaimed author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? will visit on Thursday, October 12, as part of this year鈥檚 鈥淚n It 2鈥 series.
  • Singer-song writer Paul Simon will be on campus on Thursday, October 26.  He will do a session with students in the afternoon, and there will be a public event that evening in Zankel 鈥 "An Evening with Paul Simon: a Conversation about a Musical Life."  This will be an interview format not a concert, but Paul has agreed to play a couple of tunes as well.
  • Syndicated columnist and political commentator David Brooks will be on campus on Monday, October 30.  David will meet with a class in the afternoon, and that evening he will give a talk in Zankel.

Thereafter, Joshua Woodfork, Executive Director and Vice President for Strategic Planning and Institutional Diversity, along with Crystal Moore, Associate Dean of the Faculty, read the Diversity and Inclusion Statement (/diversity/about.php) and asked for the faculty鈥檚 affirmation of this statement.  The faculty signaled their acclimation by applause.  VP Woodfork also announced upcoming events for this year鈥檚 "In It 2" series being held October 11-13, 2017 and invited everyone to participate.  These events include a community coffee hour, an open discussion and key note address by transgender activist Skylar Kergil 鈥13, a Tang curator tour, Birthing Bodies Exhibition, curated by Laila Morgan 鈥18, a discussion and book signing by Beverly Daniel Tatum, a luncheon and discussion with the Three Generations of Villarosa, and a screening of the film Sauti. For further details and information, see /diversity/init2/index.php.  

President Glotzbach opened the floor for questions.  A question was raised concerning the perceived lack of reference to the Humanities in this year鈥檚 Strategic Action Agenda.  President Glotzbach reminded everyone that this is only the second year in a 10-year Strategic Plan.  While there may not be any specific reference to the Humanities in the "Strategic Action Agenda," President Glotzbach assured everyone that the Humanities is very much present and, in fact, is implicated in the new general education curriculum.

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

Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, provided an update on matters his office is involved in this semester:
  • This year, there are ten tenure-line searches, and they are progressing nicely.  So far, we have completed two Just-in-Time Workshops, in which we are again partnering with Union College.
  • With regard to the search for a potential Associate Dean of the Faculty, DOF/VPAA Breslin indicated that we are trying to mirror the timeline for this search with the search for the new Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs.   He has met with the nominees this week and will wait for the search committee to appoint the new Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs before appointing someone to the position.
  • Discussions of possible CAPT reconfiguration given the upcoming workload issues.
  • Given Paul Calhoun鈥檚 announcement of his intent to retire next year, Special Programs will be conducting a self-study and external review this year to give us an opportunity to think about where Special Programs should go from here.
Concluding his report, DOF/VPAA re-introduced Mike Sposili, Executive Director of Alumni Relations and 快猫短视频Events, and Candace Scott, Senior Administrative Assistant, Finance and Administration.

OLD BUSINESS

On behalf of the Faculty Executive Committee, Associate Professor Greg Gerbi read the following Motion that was introduced at the last Faculty Meeting (see attached):


MOTION:  The Faculty Executive Committee moves that the 2017-2018 Faculty Handbook be adopted.  The following link takes you to the 2017-2018 Faculty Handbook (showing tracked changes) as well as handbooks from previous years: /dof-vpaa/faculty-handbooks.php

 
There being no discussion, the Motion was voted on and passed by majority vote.
 

NEW BUSINESS

Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, introduced the following Motion (see attached):

 
MOTION: The Dean of the Faculty鈥檚 Office moves to alter the Faculty Handbook to eliminate Part I, VIII. F.2.a.iii to avoid any confusion about when an individual can stand for promotion.
 
By March 15, the Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs shall provide Department Chairs with a list of faculty in their departments who have been at the rank of Associate Professor for seven years or more. The Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs shall provide CAPT with a list of all faculty who have been at the rank of Associate Professor for seven years or more. All Chairs shall assess eligibility of Associate Professors at least every two years after they have served seven years in rank.

 
DOF/VPAA Breslin explained the rationale for bringing the Motion.  There were no informational questions raised.  The Motion will lie over