College of Arts and Sciences
Council of Chairs
April 18, 2007
2:30 p.m., AS 122
Meeting Minutes
Present: J. Altarriba, I. Berger, J. Berkowitz, C. Bose, E. Brière, J. Carson, J. Collins, K. Doolen, S. Fessler
(for DeBlasi), E. Gaffney, S. Galime, K. Gersowitz (recorder), G. Griffith, T. Harrison, D. Hernandez, M. Hill,
V. Idone, M. Jerison, J. Kimball, J. Mandle, M. Messitt, J. Mower, S. Plotnick (for Turner), L. Schell, L. Slade,
G. Stevens, J. Welch, J. Wick-Pelletier, E. Wulfert, A. Zak
Introductory Remarks: Dean J. Wick-Pelletier called the meeting to order at 2:30 p.m.
Minutes of the meeting of 3/28/2007: A motion to approve the minutes was moved by L. Slade, seconded by
K. Doolen. The meeting minutes for the March 28, 2007 Council of Chairs were unanimously approved.
Business arising: None
Announcements:
Open Houses: Thanks to all who attended the very successful Open Houses held April 14 and 15.
Fountain Day will be held Sunday, April 22.
CAS Retirement Benefits: An updated CAS Retirement Benefits policy that includes information on the new
Emeritus Center was distributed. The Emeritus Center gives retiring faculty a venue for continuing their
association with the University and their colleagues.
Professor of the Year: Professor of the Year nominations are due on April 20.
Faculty Activity Report: Faculty activity reports are now available online. The Dean encouraged everyone to
complete their forms online and noted that many fields are pre-populated (e.g., enrollments), which should
make completing the form easier. You can access these reports through MyUAlbany. Completing the online
version is optional this year, but will likely be required next year. As a pilot, the departments of Art, Earth and
Atmospheric Sciences, Philosophy, and Sociology will require 100% participation by all full-time faculty. The
time period for online reporting is May 1 – April 30. All reports, whether online or hard copy, should be
completed by June 1.
Doctoral Dissertation Awards – Nominations will be accepted through the end of the week (April 20).
Graduation Stories – Please send any student stories that could be shared at graduation to Mary Fiess.
Commencement – The graduate ceremony will be held Saturday, May 19 at 9:00 a.m. in SEFCU arena. The
undergraduate ceremony will take place on Sunday, May 20 at 10:00 a.m. on the lawn of the Science Library.
A handout highlighting Commencement activities was distributed.
ITLAL – The Institute for Teaching, Learning and Academic Leadership will hold its last workshop of the
semester on Friday, April 20. The title of the program is “A Simple Plan.”
Hiring Plan Issues:
The budget process and selective investment deliberations will be coming to a conclusion soon . The Provost
expects to send the Deans a letter in mid or late May informing them of their resources for the coming year
(both SI and CFP). The Dean would like to have the CAS hiring plan ready for submission to the Provost by
early June.
The Dean discussed the University’s desire to further its efforts to diversify the faculty. We must be more
proactive. The recommendations of the CAS Diversity committee were distributed and discussed.
A pre-authorization worksheet was then distributed. The Dean explained that the purpose of this worksheet was
to collect information on the activities of the Departments to diversify. Before final authorizations to hire are
made, this information will be taken into consideration. Chairs may want to consider revising their hiring plans.
The worksheets, together with any changes to hiring plans, are due to the Dean, electronically, on June 4. All
Departments, regardless of whether or not they will be requesting a faculty line this year, need to complete these
forms so that we have a better understanding of the activities underway to develop a pipeline of diverse scholars
into our programs. Information on past efforts (e.g., experiences using the Minority and Women Doctoral
Directory) are important to share.
As ads are placed this fall, our efforts should intensify. Before the short list is established, we will ask for an
update on these activities. The Dean acknowledged the pressures in certain areas of study, however, we must
be proactive. It was noted that if a Department knows of an individual at higher levels we could consider a rank
open or senior hire. There is also the possibility of requesting a waiver for real “stars.”
Term Renewals and Tenure Process:
A handout (Guidelines for Conducting Pre-Tenure Faculty Contract renewals) was distributed. The Dean noted
that the 3-2-2 policy is meant to provide junior faculty with review of their progress towards tenure at timely
intervals, when there is still time to address any deficiencies. It is important that these reviews provide clear
guidance to junior faculty.
The Tenure and Promotion Guidelines developed by the Sociology Department have been distributed and have
been helpful to others as they develop their own specific guidelines. It is up to each Department to decide what
they want to include in their guidelines. It was noted that tenure and promotion files should be careful to
explain anything unusual and not “sweep anything under the rug.” For example, leaves should be clearly
explained.
International Issues:
On April 24 and 25, the Dean will be traveling with Ray Bromley and Cynthia Fox to the Université Laval in
Québec City to explore potential collaborations.
It was noted that there are a number of international summer schools, field studies, etc. planned for this summer.
It is important to inform the Dean and Ray Bromley early in the planning process for these activities.
Other Business: None
Adjourned: The meeting was adjourned at 4:00.
Handouts:
Agenda
Minutes of 3/28/07 Council of Chairs meeting
CAS Diversity Committee Recruitment and
Retention Recommendations
Retirement Benefits for Faculty – CAS
Commencement Announcements
CAS Pre-authorization Hiring Worksheet
CAS Guidelines for Conducting Pre-Tenure Faculty
Contract renewals.