College of Arts and Sciences
Council of Chairs
November 15, 2006
2:30 p.m. AS 122
Meeting Minutes
Present: J. Altarriba, I. Berger, C. Bose, J. Carson, A. DeBlasi, K. Doolen, S. Galime, K. Gersowitz,
T. Harrison, D. Hernandez, M. Hill, V. Idone, M. Jerison, J. Justeson, J. Kimball, J. Mandle, A. Millis,
J. Mower, M. Rodriguez, L. Schell, L. Slade, A. Ticano, T. Turner, J. Welch, J. Wick-Pelletier, E. Wulfert,
A. Zak, N. Davis, recorder.
Introductory Remarks: Dean J. Wick-Pelletier called the meeting to order at 2:35 p.m.
Minutes of the meeting of 11/1/06: A motion to approve the minutes was moved by L. Slade, seconded by
A. Zak. The meeting minutes for the November1, 2006 Council of Chairs were unanimously approved.
Business arising: None
Announcements:
Commencement: The Dean reminded the members that commencement will be held on December 10. If you
plan on participating, please contact Linda Wheeler as soon as possible about ordering regalia as the deadline is
Friday, November 17. The Dean encouraged as many faculty as possible to participate.
Courses: The Dean reminded the Chairs, on behalf of G. Stevens who was not able to attend, that as they begin
to think about preparing course schedules for Fall 2007 they should also be considering Spring 2008. This
approach should lessen the workload for the Chairs in the long run.
Communication: The Dean reminded everyone to keep the Dean’s Office informed about department activities
taking place across campus. The Office may be able to assist in getting other units involved in activities, as
well as assuring proper procedures are followed. All new programs or new courses should go through the CAS
Faculty Council first.
Distinguished lecturer: John Searle, a world famous philosopher whose recent work deals with the philosophy
of the mind, will be coming to the University in March 2007. Anthropology Department Chair J. Justeson
talked about the visit and the opportunities for many CAS departments to participate. J. Searle will be here for
a minimum of two nights, thus allowing for different venues for presentations. This will likely be a joint effort
with the School of Education, CAS, and the College of Computing. It could include several departments such
as Communication, Philosophy, and Psychology from CAS. There will be a general interest meeting on
November 21st. This visit will be a significant event and it should have cross-disciplinary appeal. Interested
departments should send an email to Justeson@gmail.com.
Selective Investment: The Dean reported that she does not yet have all the final versions of the initiatives,
many are still being revised. The list of submitted CAS initiatives handed out at the meeting divided the
proposals into two groups with one group (group A) listing initiatives that it is believed will have a better
chance of being funded under the selective investment guidelines as they are understood. It was noted that
what is put forth through Selective Investment does not represent everything that the College is involved in.
The proposals in group A can be made available electronically to interested parties, and those in group B are
available in hard copy in the Dean’s Office. Please email K. Gersowitz if you would like to see these drafts.
The Dean reported that the draft proposals have been delivered electronically to two of the committees of the
Faculty Council for review.
Ranking the initiatives is a difficult task considering size of the College and the many different types of requests
put forth. It is likely that this year’s initiatives will be grouped into areas such as programs poised to move
forward, research, and infrastructure. We hope that these groupings will help mitigate the linear rankings that
are required.
The Dean asked for comments and suggestions. Discussion continued. The Dean noted that the final CAS
submission must be delivered to S. Herbst by November 30. Those still working on initiatives should submit
revised versions to the Dean’s Office as soon as possible.
Tenure and Promotion issues: The Dean talked about the ICFAD/CCAS joint conference she recently
attended, and noted that the inclusion of the Fine Arts schools was very advantageous, particularly in the
discussion of tenure and promotion guidelines. She asked for discussion about the possibility of generating
departmental specific tenure and promotion guidelines. It was mentioned that in many department reviews,
external reviewers noted the lack of such guidelines.
One idea that was suggested was that department chairs meet annually with junior faculty to assess their
progress toward tenure and promotion. There seemed to be a general consensus that in many cases this could be
a positive addition to the process, but it also has the potential of adding a lot of work for the Chairs, particularly
those in large departments.
How to best encourage associate professors to come up for promotion to full professor was also discussed.
Chair mentoring, discretionary raises, and annual meetings with the faculty were options brought up. There was
general agreement that mentoring tenured faculty is a more difficult task for chairs.
It was felt that better guidelines might be beneficial in the hiring process, and could improve candidates’ interest
in positions and indirectly improve diversity. The Dean recommends that in the near future the College
explore the benefits of developing tenure guidelines that are discipline specific. The Dean continued to discuss
faculty promotion, asking the Chairs to look at the CV’s of their faculty who may be getting close to this stage
in their careers, to ensure they are on the right track, and encourage them to consider promotion to full
professor.
Other Business:
Honors College: M. Jerison commented on the visit by J. Haugaard at the last Council of Chairs meeting. He
voiced the concern that the Honors College does not seem to emphasize a path that is most advantageous for
students. Discussion arose concerning the course requirements and availability of Honors Courses. J. Altarriba
talked about the uncertainty of the process right now but noted that these honors students are not required to
take only honors courses. Only one, maybe two honors courses will be taken at a time. J. Altarriba made it
clear that they don’t want to hinder these students who will need to follow the typical course of their major.
The activities Honors College students participate in outside of the classroom is what will set this experience
apart from departmental honors programs. She stated that members should feel free to contact J. Haugaard with
any questions or concerns.
Equipment Issues: Discussion arose concerning the need for better accommodations for job talks. Some
departments that are currently using HU 354 or HU 290 feel that the rooms are unsatisfactory because they do
not have the necessary technology. It can be very time consuming and cumbersome to transport equipment to
these rooms. The desire to transform these spaces to “smart rooms” was expressed.
Stipends: L. Slade raised the issue of current stipends for Chairs and the possibility of raising them to create a
greater incentive to become a Chair.
Adjourned: L. Slade moved that the meeting be adjourned at 4:01 p.m.