Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts
Deans & Chairs Meeting
February 25, 2015
PRESENT:
Dan Albergotti, Amanda Brian, Dan Ennis, James Everett, Arne Flaten,
Preston McKever-Floyd, Carol Osborne, Holley Tankersley
GUESTS:
Jacquelyn Andrews, Samantha Sullivan, Amberly Thompson
Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by Jim Everett to approve the February 11, 2015 minutes and seconded by
Dan Albergotti. The motion passed unanimously.
Registrar’s Office
Dan welcomed the members of the Registrar’s Office and thanked them for working with us in
the scheduling building process. Jackie Andrews, Samantha Sullivan, and Amberly Thompson
were invited to address questions surrounding the assignment of classrooms through R25. It
was explained that the R25 scheduler places classes in the best utilized space per the built-in
requirements for the course. It was noted that with the initial run of the schedule, some of the
rooms are assigned to classes and other are not. It was explained that if a class has a particular
need for a classroom, the request for a pre-assignment should arrive with the schedule. Preassignments are only allowed for classrooms that are required in order to teach the class, i.e.
computer labs. The English Department has the need for their creative writing classes to be
held in rooms with moveable seats versus a tiered classroom. The Registrar will check on
whether this can be accommodated if a formal request is made and report back to the Dean.
The Visual Arts Department also offered the use of the EHFA 110, which is reserved for Lusca. If
it is not in use, it was suggested that it be opened up for scheduling. Dan approved. The
Registrar’s Office explained that a random algorithm is used in determining what classrooms
are assigned to courses. Once all requests for rooms are submitted, the program is run. The
order in which schedules are submitted does not enter into the equation. The only exception
is if the request is listed as a required room on the spreadsheet. These are processed on a first
come, first served basis. Dan reminded the Chairs that designated rooms are only equipment
based, not pedagogy based. A new program is being used entitled Instructor Binding. If the
same instructor teaches back-to-back classes, the program will attempt to put them in the
same room. The downside of this application is that if it cannot find a block of space, it will
move on. The advantage is that instructors are not roaming all over campus and rushing to get
to their class. The Registrar’s Office indicated they are always open to suggestions and will
work with us in any way they can to improve the system.
Dean’s Updates

Dan reported on the ongoing progress of Edwards projects. EHFA 255 is being
converted to a digital studio. A search will take place for a supervisor/lecturer with
the hope of having someone in place by June. Work on converting EHFA 106 to the


“Digital Humanities Collaboratory” is underway as well as renovations for EHFA 105,
which will be designated for the Theatre Department as a light and design studio.
The Dean informed the Chairs that the QEP Committee’s initiative is centered next
year on global learning. He reviewed the second draft of the committee’s proposal
for an Institute for Global Learning. A slate of guest speakers is being proposed,
along with a list of classes that will support the culture of global learning. They are
working on increasing study abroad and potential Fulbright Scholars by encouraging
students to apply for Fulbright programs. The QEP Committee is also exploring ways
to bring Fulbright scholars to Coastal Carolina and support our scholars going
elsewhere. Dan urged the Chairs to ask their QEP representative to report on the
work of the committee at their department meetings. Steven reminded the Chairs
that the Board of Visitors will only fund study abroad trips that are exclusive to
COHFA and our majors.
Dan informed the chairs that he will be traveling in March to a conference, the New
York Showcase for theatre students, and participating in recruitment trips with the
Admissions staff.
Associate Deans’ Updates
Carol Osborne

The Chairs meeting went into executive session. Carol presented six (6) petitions for
a student. After review and discussion, the chairs voted unanimously to deny the
fall 2012 petitions and to approve the spring 2013 petitions.
Steven Bleicher

Steven announced that the Fall 2015 Schedule is now available on WebAdvisor. He
asked that the Chairs check for accuracy and let him know if there are any problems.

The members of the COHFA By-Laws Committee will be meeting in the near future
to elect a chair.
Annoucements

A request was made for Dan to convey to the Provost the difficulty the Chairs have
in preparing a schedule when the scholarly reassignments are announced so late. It
was suggested that the announcement be made a few weeks earlier to allow for
changes to be implemented before the schedule is posted on WebAdvisor.

Clarification was requested on the role of the COHFA Graduate Committee. The
question was raised whether they serve a collaborator function or as a filter when
reviewing graduate proposals. Dan indicated he will be more engaged in the work of
the committee and will formalize their charge. He will bring the revised charge to
the Chairs for review.

Holley is Chair of the COHFA Planning Committee and has scheduled meetings every
other week until the end of the semester. The representatives are expected to talk
with the faculty in their respective departments to discuss the quadrant map
regarding strategic plans and initiatives.
Submitted by: Judy Davis