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Academic Council
Meeting Notes
September 12, 2000
Present: Curtis Johnson,
Dean of the College; Dinah Dodds; Dean of Arts and
Humanities; Gary Reiness, Dean of Mathematical and Natural
Sciences; Harold Schleef, Dean of Social Sciences; Terri
Banasek, Administrative Assistant and recorder; and Rosie
Felton, Administrative Assistant for Budgets and Contracts.
Guests: Jane Atkinson, Vice President and Provost; and June
Jones, Associate Provost.
Announcements:
- Update about space planning: The original plan was to
move faculty out of Albany in January. The planning
process for Howard Hall has been pushed back six months,
and faculty will be moved out of Albany in June. Only the
Social Sciences Division is affected.
- Dean Reiness expressed concern about there not being
enough time in regular Academic Council meetings to
address larger issues facing the College as well as cover
all agenda items. It was decided to begin meetings one
hour earlier, at 8 a.m., with the first hour devoted to
long-term matters.
Agenda Items:
- Hiring of Foreign Nationals: Greg Caldwell informed
Dean Johnson of a problem with Hideo Watanabe's visa and
green card. Mr. Caldwell should be included in the
process of hiring foreign nationals as he knows the
process for obtaining visas.
Dean Reiness suggested that the College should have an
immigration lawyer on retainer to assist in the
time-consuming process of attaining permanent resident
status for faculty. Dean Johnson will follow up on the
suggestion.
Documentation for the government must contain proof that
the foreign national is the best candidate for the
position. The College's open search process provides
adequate documentation.
- Computer Situation: The Academic Council is
interested in trying to convey their concern to people
who are in the position to influence this matter and to
learn from June Jones about the policies currently in
place for replacement and upgrades of faculty
computers.
Ms. Jones reported that of the $800,000 authorized this
past year for capital equipment, half was for computers.
There is real pressure on the capital expenditure funds,
and not all expenses surrounding the reorganization have
been gathered.
Before Bret Ingerman left, a decision was made to get the
new administrative computers installed first, with the
older computers (some only two to three years old) used
to meet the most serious needs of the faculty. So much
time was spent getting the plan instituted that IT lost
time for installing the computers. The administrative
replacement cycle won't be completed until November or
December, and the old computers are now sitting in IT
with no one available to install them for the faculty.
Right now there is no plan for designated places for
these computers. Jane Atkinson will need to address the
situation in her role as the acting director of IT.
June Jones found no documentation for the eight laptop
computers that were to have been ordered for the Biology
Department.
The pressure on the capital equipment fund really
concerns June Jones. There is a lot of work in completing
the reorganization, with additional problems surfacing
following the departure of Wayne Pederson. There are a
lot of unanswered questions on who does what on the
budget side. We need to stop and assess where we are
financially.
Dean Johnson expressed the standpoint of the faculty.
There are some highly urgent computer needs in the
faculty, and some replacements are way overdue. We need
to alleviate that pressure right away. The other part of
the problem is that the process is not working right now.
A lot of the requests for new equipment were not coming
through the divisional deans, and Jane Atkinson and IT
cannot assess which are the high priority needs. The
Academic Council will compile a list by this time next
week of the highest urgency cases.
Whatever planning process is designed, the divisional
deans must play a central and important role in the
process; and the process must be conveyed to the faculty.
The Academic Council needs to have Jane Atkinson's and
June Jones' assurances that the replacement process will
move forward.
Dean Schleef commented that the process for requesting
equipment is not clear. Is this a rolling process or is
there a season for these requests? He noted Sharon
Barnes' need for a new computer in the Social Science
division office and wondered if she fell under the
administrative or academic needs. June Jones explained
that anything under Dean Johnson is considered
academic.
Dean Schleef pointed out each department needs to
determine their computer needs and then go through the
divisional deans. He understands that the goal is to
replace all computers when they are four years old, but
some computers must be replaced more often due to
advanced technology. The Council thinks that any plan
must have some flexibility so that any faculty member can
get new equipment outside the four-year cycle.
June Jones proposed that each year the divisional deans
put together a list of priorities and that the Academic
Council then review the list. Once a plan is devised, the
process will be straightforward.
June Jones will determine a budget amount, and the
Academic Council can take priorities and work within that
amount. IT can possibly hire someone on a temporary basis
to get the computers to the faculty or perhaps take a
week off from the administrative upgrade to install the
academic computers.
Dean Reiness believes there is a lack of documentation
about budgetary decisions. June Jones explained that
those decisions are made in consultation with the
divisional deans. After she contacts the deans with
approvals, the deans can then convey the information to
the departments. Capital expenditures, by definition, are
$5,000 or more.
Dean Reiness summarized that the divisional deans are to
go back to their departments to get priorities, Academic
Council will pass this list along to June Jones. Urgent
requests will be met within two weeks. June Jones pointed
out that what would be most helpful is a description of
what faculty need in terms of function and what they need
to accomplish.
- Curriculum Committee: Susan Glosser and Kurt Fosso
both have other committee commitments. Dean Dodds will
approach Lyell Asher and Micha Grudin regarding a
one-semester term on the committee.
Next meeting: September 19, 2000, 9 a.m., in Breakfast
Room.
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