Minutes of the Faculty Council Meeting, October 21, 2005

Present: Dave Baggett, Charles Brooks, Joan Coffin, James Dolhon, Howard Fedrick, Claire Gilmore, Jayne Klenner-Moore, Jennifer McClinton-Temple, Fred Sauls (Chair), Trent Snider

Chairman’s Report

            Dr. Sauls reported that the Board of Directors passed a proposal setting the tenure quota at 70% for the campus as a whole, replacing the department-by-department quota.  The extended contract proposal for professional specialists did not pass.  According to Dr. Sauls, there were objections to the five-year contract commitment.  Dr. Sauls stated that he would press the viewpoint that professional specialists need to be treated as regular faculty at the next Board meeting.  He proposed to draft major discussion points, circulate them the Faculty Council, and then bring them before the Board at its next meeting.  Dr. Sauls also stated that he would talk to Dr. Holodick and Father Grimes about shortening the five-year period. 

Agenda for Faculty Meeting

            Reports from A&P and C&T are to be presented at the October 28 faculty meeting.  Dr. Barry Williams is to also give a presentation on faculty benefits.  Mr. Fedrick suggested the topic of policy on approvals concerning the use of technical resources.

Reports

            A&P:  The committee has finished work on a description of department chairs,  program directors, and their responsibilities.  There is to be an update on the evaluation form for chairs at the next Faculty Council meeting.  Also, a brief presentation is being prepared for the October 28 faculty meeting. 

            C&T:  The committee has examined core curricula of 49 schools and has documented their differences.  

            Ad hoc scholarship:  Some responses have been received from faculty about serving on a steering committee.  There will be a meeting of the group with the Development Office.

            Division representatives:  Dr. Coffin reported that the Science Division had met on October 10, 2005.  It received information from Dr. Jean O’Brian concerning CELT, discussed a science poster day for the spring term, and received a report on C&T from Dr. Snider.  Dr. Holodick reported on several topics, including differential workloads.  Core 270 issues were discussed, including expectations and goals, as well as the lack of sufficient faculty to teach it adequately.   The discussion broadened out to the use of parttime faculty for core courses across the college.  The sense of the discussion was that there was too heavy a reliance on the use of parttime faculty.  Dr. McClinton-Temple suggested that creating a category of non-tenure-track instructorships would be a possible solution.

Insufficient time remained to discuss the final agenda items: reports from the other division representatives and Senior Faculty Development.

The meeting adjourned at 3:15.

Respectfully submitted, Claire G. Gilmore