Faculty Meeting Minutes
September 8, 2017
Gannett Auditorium
MINUTES
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
PRESIDENT'S REPORT
President Glotzbach welcomed back returning faculty and staff, as well as the new
members of our community. He said that today is a celebratory moment: We are celebrating
the arrival of new colleagues, the new Class of 2021, transfer students, and the beginning
of a new academic year. This is always a moment of great promise and optimism.
It is also a moment of uncertainty and concern. We are still dealing with the aftermath
of the events over the summer in Charlottesville, VA, and beyond. Our country is
reeling from two major hurricanes. And we are still confronting challenges around
immigration, DACA, and Title IX issues stemming from actions by the Trump administration.
President Glotzbach stated that our position on the rights of our students 鈥 whether
domestic or foreign, documented or undocumented, remains unchanged. We do not volunteer
personal information about any of our students, unless compelled by a legal subpoena
or warrant. Likewise, our stance regarding sexual and gender-based misconduct remains
unchanged. Our campus should be a place where our students are physically safe and
are not subject to assault. We will continue to act vigorously when we receive reports
of alleged misconduct. We will continue to watch events in Washington as they unfold
and will comment and make any adjustments to our policies or procedures as appropriate.
President Glotzbach next introduced Mary Lou Bates, Vice President and Dean of Admissions
and Financial Aid, who provided an update on the Class of 2021. The Class of 2021
consists of 665 students with 25 in London, compared to 717 last year. They come
from 35 different states and 45 countries and were selected from a record applicant
pool. We had a smaller class and, as a result, our acceptance rate was 25 percent,
which is the lowest in history. Some of the statistics of the class include:
- 58 percent attended public high schools; 42 percent attended private or parochial schools
- 59 percent of the class is female; 41 percent of the class is male
- 49 percent of the class applied and were accepted in one of two early decision rounds
- 25 percent self-identify as domestic students of color
- 10 percent of the class is African American
- 13 percent are international, compared to 11 percent last year, of which 5 percent are dual citizens
- 17 percent are first generation college students
- 42 percent are on grant assistance
- 9 percent come with former family ties to 麻豆破解版
VP Bates shared some highlights of the class, noting that an incredible number have
made a considerable commitment to volunteerism and community service. They have had
internship opportunities at home and abroad. They come from culturally rich and diverse
backgrounds with 23 percent speaking a language other than English at home (33 different
languages). They have lived, traveled, and interned all over the world and have worked
all over the world in all kinds of jobs and professions. They have been founders
and leaders of a variety of clubs in their schools, and their involvement and achievements
in the arts are broad and deep. They have held top leadership positions in their
schools, churches, and synagogues, and many have won top awards as girl scouts and
Eagle scouts. They are politically active at the local, state and national level,
and they have won scores of awards for outstanding achievements and national awards.
Their range of achievement and recognition in athletics is equally impressive. VP
Bates concluded by stating that the Class of 2021 are a wonderfully talented and diverse
group and are ready for 麻豆破解版. A round of applause was given to VP Bates.
Following VP Bates鈥 report, President Glotzbach provided an update on the cabinet
searches. President Glotzbach reported that, as previously announced, Sean Campbell
has been hired as the new Collyer Vice President for Advancement. He thanked all
members of the Search Committee: Jeff Segrave, Vice-Chair; Beau Breslin, representing
President鈥檚 Cabinet; Kim Verstandig, Interim VP for Advancement; Mike Sposili, Executive
Director of Alumni Relations and Campus Events; Kelli Johnson, Director of Opportunity
Programs; and Maya Reyes 鈥17. Thereafter, Professor Jeff Segrave also thanked the
members of the Search Committee and acknowledged the very successful conclusion of
the search with appointment of Sean Campbell. Since Mr. Campbell is unable to be
on campus until mid-October, Professor Segrave shared a welcome video from Mr. Campbell.
President Glotzbach then reported that the search for the VP for Communications &
Marketing is moving along and the Search Committee is in the process of interviewing
the final candidates. He is hopeful to have an announcement soon.
President Glotzbach reported that the search for the new Dean of the Faculty & Vice
President for Academic Affairs is moving along as well. The Search Committee will
be meeting soon to develop a list of candidates for video interviews. We have a very
strong field, and President Glotzbach indicated that he is optimistic that we will
bring this search to a conclusion by the end of this semester. President Glotzbach
thanked ADOF Crystal Moore for agreeing to serve as Interim DOF/VPAA in the spring
semester, assuming that our new DOF/VPAA will not be in a position to start until
July or August, 2018.
President Glotzbach then provided an update on the Center for Integrated Sciences.
He reported that over the summer the President鈥檚 Cabinet, the Board of Trustees, and
many others on campus have continued to work on the funding plan for this crucial
project. He reaffirmed that the completion of the Center for Integrated Sciences
remains the college鈥檚 highest strategic priority and is his highest priority. He
reminded everyone that we have been challenged to identify a lead gift for this project.
However, he happily announced that in just the last several weeks we received a commitment
of $300,000 from a very supportive 麻豆破解版 family, and a gift of stock totaling $2
million from another generous donor. He also announced that he is setting aside $200,000
from his President鈥檚 Discretionary Fund to this purpose. This now brings our total
for the CIS to $43,077,907 鈥 which is more than we ever have raised for a single building
project in the history of the College.
President Glotzbach further reported that in working with the Board, we have developed
a plan to follow up the site preparation work that has been in process for several
months and to begin the new construction next spring. Assuming the Board approves
this plan in an upcoming conference call, we will begin with the North Wing of the
new building, because the funding is now in place for this effort ($67.5 million).
All of us, including the Board, would have preferred to begin the entire new construction
鈥 all at once. But the funding for the complete new section 鈥 the North and the East
Wings 鈥 is just not complete at this point. We are committed, however, to continuing
to develop those funds and to move forward with East Wing as soon as that funding
is in place. Following the upcoming conference call with the Board, we will have
another public discussion of the CIS, and other matters as well.
Thereafter, President Glotzbach introduced Kim Verstandig, Interim VP for Advancement,
to provide an updated on the campaign. Ms. Verstandig reported that we are in the
fifth year of a 7-year campaign. The current campaign began in July 2013 with a goal
of $200 million, and there are six main priorities: (1) CIS, (2) 麻豆破解版 Annual Fund,
(3) Scholarships and Financial Aid, (4) Transitions and Transformations, (5) Endowment
for the Tang, and (6) Athletics. This does not mean we won鈥檛 raise money for other
priorities. To date, we are $144.4 million toward our $200 million goal, and we are
very excited about where we are at this point. If we continue on our current trend,
we will easily meet our goal by 2020. Ms. Verstandig acknowledged President Glotzbach
for bring in the $2 million gift for the CIS which wouldn鈥檛 have happened had it not
been for President Glotzbach鈥檚 relationship with the donor. A round of applause was
given to Ms. Verstandig following her report.
President Glotzbach concluded his report by thanking everyone who participated in
getting our new students and our transfer students settled and integrated into our
campus community. It is enormously important that we do this well: It helps our
parents understand that we know what we are doing, and so lowers their anxiety level.
More importantly, it gives our new students the best chance of starting their 麻豆破解版
career off on the right foot. President Glotzbach shared part of a letter that Dean
Cerri Banks received from a parent pleased with the way in which we welcome our new
students and help our new families feel connected, secure, and excited about the incredible
opportunities ahead.
President Glotzbach opened the floor for questions following his report.
- A question was raised as to how many first year students are English Language Learners (ELL). VP Bates indicated that several years ago we started a summer ELL program for very strong students whose English skills were not commensurate with their academic skills; now that as our applicant pool has become stronger, the program was eliminated because there were no longer any students that needed this program. Associate Professor Michael Marx also provided information on the number of students who have recently enrolled in EN 100. It was also noted that it is hard to track which students are ELL students because these students do not fit one standard definition.
- A brief discussion was held regarding the Department of Education鈥檚 changes to Title IX and how those changes might affect 麻豆破解版. The State of New York has its guidelines as well. However, 麻豆破解版 will continue to vigorously address Title IX issues and will continue to be fair to both the reporting and responding individuals.
- A brief discussion was held regarding the provision that allowed private schools to opt into the recent New York State policy on tuition free schools. 麻豆破解版, and most schools similar to us, have determined that it is not in their best interests to participate in the program.
DEAN OF THE FACULTY AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS' REPORT
Beau Breslin, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, welcomed
the returning and new faculty members to the new academic year. He thanked all those
involved in new student orientation and new faculty orientation 鈥 both were wildly
successful and went well. He also thanked the department chairs, program directors,
committee chairs, and the academic leadership group for a great meeting last week,
having discussed, among other things, model personnel procedures and CAPT reconfiguration.
He also thanked all the faculty, including the new faculty, for the hard work they
are doing and will do with our students to enhance the experience of our undergraduates.
This semester, the DOF/VPAA office will focus on, among other things, partnering with
CEPP and eventually Curriculum Committee, having broad conversations about a black
studies program; CEPP is working hard on populating the working groups for the general
education curriculum; a possible reconfiguration of CAPT given the upcoming workload
in the next few years; continuing our Middle States work surrounding institutional
effectiveness; conducting nearly a dozen tenure line searches this year; and recruiting
for an interim Associate Dean of the Faculty to replace ADOF Moore as she assumes
the role of Interim DOF/VPAA. To that end, DOF/VPAA Breslin will be sending an email
seeking nominations and self-nominations for the position. Lastly, he reminded everyone
that the Center for Leadership, Teaching, and Learning has a new mission and encouraged
everyone to two upcoming events 鈥 a workshop on teaching in the time of turmoil to
be held on September 18 and a workshop led by Michigan CRLT Players, an internationally
famous organization that uses theater to enhance teaching and learning, focusing on
conflict in the classroom and responding to student climate concerns, to be held September
29.
Thereafter, DOF/VPAA Breslin announced the promotions that were approved by the Board
of Trustees at their meeting in May, 2017:
- Kristie Ford, promoted to Professor, Department of Sociology
- Andrew Lindner, promoted to Associate Professor, Department of Sociology
- Erika Schielke, promoted to Senior Instructor, Department of Biology
- Beatrice Kendall, promoted to Senior Instructor, Department of Chemistry
- Peter McCarthy, promoted to Senior Teaching Professor and Field Coordinator, Department of Social Work
A congratulatory round of applause was given to each faculty member.
In concluding his report, he reminded everyone of a practice he started a while back
to reintroduce non-faculty colleagues central to what we do in terms of student educational
experience to the faculty. In that regard, he reintroduced Leya Moore from the Counseling
Center, and Dale Nemer and from Admissions.
Dean of Special Programs Report. Paul Calhoun, Dean of Special Programs, welcomed the new and returning faculty.
As is tradition at the first faculty meeting of the academic year, Dean Calhoun provided
an update on this past summer鈥檚 programs. He reported that Summer 2017 was another
jam-backed successful summer, despite a few issues with some bats, a couple of broken
bones and a fire that knocked out part of the art building. Of course, the faculty
played a large part in this year鈥檚 success, teaching summer session courses that enrolled
372 students, sponsored 90 more in internships, and 84 in collaborative research projects;
and many of their kids attended various sports camps or Camp Northwoods.
Dean Calhoun reminded everyone that last year, we were given a generous gift from
Stewart鈥檚 and the Dake family to strengthen our summer arts programs and to attract
more local audience to our events. To that end, we were able to create Stewart鈥檚
Signature Series, a series of 5 world class performances with artists and productions
that we otherwise could not have afforded; these events included two celebrity artists
that filled Zankel Hall鈥 Manhattan Transfer and John Baptiste--and a modern dance
performance and inviting NPR to stage Selected Shorts with actor Tony-award winner
James Naughton. We welcomed a large number of first-time visitors with this series,
and the Dakes were very pleased with the outcome.
Our most remarkable presentation in this Series was The Trojan Women, a theater production of the Suzuki Company of Toga, Japan. Tadashi Suzuki, who
founded this company is also the co-founder with Anne Bogart of SITI Company; SITI
Company has come to 麻豆破解版 for four weeks every June since 1992 to deliver their
primary theater workshop. The Suzuki method of actor training is ubiquitous in training
programs in theater departments all over, and SITI is its most devoted proponent and
practitioner. Tadashi Suzuki, now 78 years old, brought his company of 19 actors
here for the first time in the United States since 2001. The Trojan Women was the centerpiece of transformation through training, a 4-day symposium created
by SITI that attracted 75 theater professionals from across the country and four other
countries, with a series screenings, lectures, master classes, panel discussions,
and a public conversation between Tadashi Suzuki and Anne Bogart. An extensive review
written for American Theater makes it clear that 麻豆破解版 College was the place to
be in the Theater world for a few days this past June. Conveniently scheduled between
two of our Stewart鈥檚 Signatures Series events was Mozart in Havana, a concert by the
Havana Lyceum Orchestra in the first-ever co-production between 麻豆破解版 and SPAC.
The Dake-Stewart gift also allowed us to increase scholarship funding, which impacted
our enrollments favorably and allowed us to enhance further the always-impressive
lineup of writers for the New York State Summer Writers Institute. One of those highlights
was panel discussion on the controversial topic of writers speaking in voices not
their own, which included novelists Allan Gurganus, Martha Southgate, Lionel Shriver,
and Helen Klein Ross.
Further, the 麻豆破解版 Jazz Institute celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2017 with
not only with Jon Baptiste, who was a student in the Jazz Institute in 2004, but also
with the Terrell Stafford Quintet and performances by our own all-star faculty. This
year is also the 80th birthday of the founder of the Jazz Institute, Don McCormack,
and we were able to commemorate that with a fundraising effort led by his daughter,
Terri, which resulted in raising $200,000 more for the McCormack Jazz Scholarship
Fund. In addition, Ian Berry in the Tang created an 鈥渋mprovisational museum exhibition
in book form鈥 as a tribute to Don.
Our McCormack Artist-Scholar Residents from the spring, choreographer Stephen Petronio
and artist Janine Antoni, created an extraordinary suite of interdisciplinary experiences
called Entangle, and their residency continued well into summer incorporating the Stephen Petronio
Dance Company as the faculty in our regular summer dance workshop. Dean Calhoun thanked
Ian Berry and his staff for the imagination and hard work that went into the longest-ever
McCormack residency.
In addition, Saratoga Shakespeare had a strong run in Congress Park with the Midsummer
Night鈥檚 Dream and the Winter鈥檚 Tale; these productions involved five 麻豆破解版 students
as either actors or producers in which they earned academic credit. Students also
performed in their own production of Twelfth Night in the Thomas Amphitheater.
This summer, Special Programs hired 138 麻豆破解版 students, up from 121 last year,
in jobs like sports camp counselors, RAs, Case Center registration desks assistants,
office assistants, library staff, and teaching and lab assistants. Five students
also worked for the John Hopkins CTY program and two psychology students were interns
in a new program this summer, a camp for autistic children. One of Special Programs鈥
big objectives is to create as many interesting job opportunities for 麻豆破解版 students
as it can in the summer.
Our pre-college program had another strong summer with 67 enrollments (up from 54
last year), and 11 students from past pre-college programs matriculated at 麻豆破解版
this fall. 麻豆破解版 half our pre-college students come from underserved backgrounds,
and we provide full scholarships to them, partially funded by Teagle and Hayden Foundations,
which rate our program as one of the most successful in the country.
Dean Calhoun stated that Special Programs loves to host professional and educational
conferences and were happy to be able to do that this past summer with conferences
for colleagues from Advancement, Alumni Relations, Admissions, and Facilities. Dean
Calhoun encouraged everyone to keep Special Programs in mind for organizations that
faculty are members of and which might need a summer home for a conference. As is
evident, 麻豆破解版 is the campus that never sleeps in the summer. We hosted over 3,000
resident guests and another 1,000 commuters, and our total audience for events was
13,170 (not including the many thousands that came to the Tang over the summer and
the MDOCS Storyteller鈥檚 Institute in June).
Concluding his report, Dean Calhoun reported that, as for the fall, the 麻豆破解版 Encore
program is filled to capacity, thanks to the many faculty members who have agreed
to deliver lectures. Our Greenberg Scholar-in-Resident, Aref Abu-Rabia, will deliver
a public lecture on September 19. Special Programs is also planning five lectures
and two artist-scholar residencies for the 2017-18 Jacob Perlow Series, Ensemble Connect
will be here October 20, and our McCormack Resident Scholar for this year will be
Caryl Phillips, a regular at the Summer Writer鈥檚 Institute, who will be here the week
of October 23. A round of applause was given to Dean Calhoun.
OLD BUSINESS
There was no old business.
NEW BUSINESS
OTHER
- Cerri Banks, Dean of Students and Vice President for Student Affairs, announced that her office will be reaching out to all department chairs and program directors to schedule appointments to meet.
- On behalf of the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning (CEPP), Associate Professor Erica Bastress-Dukehart announced that CEPP is still in the planning phase of putting working groups together to work on the various components of the new general education curriculum. In addition, she reported that CEPP has endorsed the name change of Latin American Studies to Latin American and Latina Studies as well as the name change of the department of Health and Exercise Sciences to the Health and Human Physiological Sciences. To that end, a faculty forum will be held on September 12, 2017 from 3:00-4:00 p.m. in Davis Auditorium to discuss the proposed name change.
- On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Professor Flip Phillips announced the upcoming deadline for the Phyllis A. Roth Faculty Distinguished Service Award and encouraged faculty to submit nominations of their deserving colleagues.
- Ian Berry, Dayton Director of the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery, introduced new members: Isolde Breilmaier, Tang鈥檚 first Curator-at-Large; Molly Channon, Curatorial Assistant; Rebecca McNamara, Mellon Collections Curator; and Tom Yoshikami, Museum Educator for College and Public Programs. A welcoming round of applause was given.
- Associate Professor Mimi Hellman reminded everyone that the Tang is a resource for faculty development and student learning in all disciplines, from the natural and social sciences to the humanities and arts. There are over 10,000 objects in the collection with new exhibitions every semester, and object-based study can support exploration of a theme, creative practices in writing, music, dance or theater; and cultivate basic skills such as visual observation, language proficiency, teamwork, oral presentation, or discussion facilitation. Associate Professor Hellman also reminded everyone that we are in the second year of a 3-year Teagle inter-institutional grant and there are opportunities for teaching stipends, roundtables, conference and public opportunities for faculty engaged in exhibition-based pedagogy. More information will be coming throughout the academic year. Finally, Associate Professor Hellman reminded everyone of the two Mellon seminars each year 鈥 the Spring Seminar in January and the MiniMellon seminar in May. This year, the January Mellon Seminar will begin with four-day group trip to Los Angeles, California from January 3-7, followed by six campus sessions over the course of the spring semester. Associate Professor Hellman will send an email with further details.
- Paul Benzon, Visiting Assistant Professor, announced that the Project VIS grant to support visual literacy will be continuing for one final year with a focus of faculty development under the umbrella of the Center for Learning, Teaching, and Leadership. Visiting Assistant Professor Benzon indicted that details will be forthcoming regarding workshops, course development opportunities, and other programming over the fall semester, and he encouraged anyone who had any questions or ideas as to how Project VIS can support their work on campus to reach out to him.
- Professor Pushi Prasad announced the fall鈥檚 麻豆破解版 Research Colloquium scheduled for October 9, 2017. This fall鈥檚 speaker will be Professor Sarah Goodwin, who will present 鈥淗aunted by Sugar: The Sweet Subject of Empire.鈥 Professor Prasad will send an email shortly with detailed information.
- Cori Filson, Director of the Off-Campus Study and Exchanges Program, announced the launch of the 麻豆破解版 in New Zealand program, which will offer new opportunities for students in the sciences and will allow current students to continue to enroll in the University of Auckland and the University of Canterbury. We are partnering with Frontiers Abroad to deliver this program and two of the staff members, Darren Gravley and Max Borella, are currently on campus. Dr. Gravley will also give the Strock lecture on September 11 which will be followed by a reception. Finally, Ms. Filson announced an information meeting off the 麻豆破解版 in New Zealand program on September 12 at 5:00 pm in Tisch 308 and encouraged everyone to make sure their interested students attended this information session.
- On behalf of he and Marie, President Glotzbach invited everyone to the President鈥檚 Reception being held today at Scribner House immediately following the faculty meeting.
Executive Administrative Assistant