Faculty Council Meeting Minutes - December 6, 2007

Present: Julio de Paula, Dean of the College; Jane Hunter, Associate Dean; Cliff Bekar, Associate Professor of Economics; Mervyn Brockett, Assistant to the President; Ken Clifton, Associate Professor of Biology; Dinah Dodds, Professor of German; Deborah Heath, Associate Professor of Anthropology; and Terri Banasek, Executive Assistant and recorder.

Agenda Items

1. The minutes of November 29, 2007, were approved.


2. Faculty Council continued its discussion of the possible expansion of AES.


3. Dr. Dodds reported that the Faculty Council members had reached consensus on the principles of a course-release policy. Ms. Banasek gathered information on course release for chairs at several other institutions. Dr. Heath expressed some increasing discomfort with agreeing to the list of principles. Her thinking was catalyzed by Rishona Zimring’s memo on course release for chairs. By trying to use a checklist approach, we fail to say what the cumulative effects are for any given faculty member for having multiple obligations. She doesn’t think it is right that we don’t have a policy that takes that into account.

   Dean de Paula responded that, if he understands the issues correctly, what was passed on the faculty floor at the December 5 meeting may be a way to address this issue. Through review of associate professors, we can lay out plans that minimize labor intensification.

   Dean de Paula added that if we can barely afford the replacements for sabbaticals, how can we afford course release for all of these other reasons? And that is just the monetary cost. There is also the quality of adjunct teaching to be considered.

   Faculty Council members will circulate information they discussed and use it as the basis for next week’s discussion.



4. Meeting adjourned at 3:25 p.m.

Next meeting: Thursday, December 13, 1:50 p.m. There will be no meeting on December 20.