College of Arts and Sciences
Council of Chairs Meeting
September 17, 2003
Standish Room
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm
Present: S. Alam, I. Berger, S. Chaiken, B.Daniel, K. Doolen, P. Ferlo, S. Fessler, E. Gaffney, T. Gage, S. Galime, G.
Griffiths, T. Harrison, R. Hoyt, V. Idone, T. Lance, M. Messitt, A. Millis, N. Murray, C. Nepaulsingh, D. Parker, M. Pryse,
M. Raider, L. Schell, L. Slade, B. Steinbock, G. Stevens, R. Stump, M. Valilla, R. Ward, J. Welch, J. Wick-Pelletier, D.
Wills, E. Wulfert
Guest: L. Neveu Recorder: R. Greenhouse
Staff Introductions:
Michael Messitt, Assistant Dean Advancement. Michael will officially start his position in the College on Monday,
September 22, 2003. He will help us to raise the money we need to reach our goals. Michael comes to us from the College
of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University where he worked as the Senior Director of Development and Alumni Relations.
He holds a BA in English and Journalism from SUNY Potsdam and an MPA from Syracuse University. The Dean is
delighted to welcome Michael to the College and is thrilled to have him join our staff.
Others introduced:
Seth Chaiken, Chair of Faculty Council
Patrick Ferlo, Director, PAC - Professional Staff Representative
(Cathy Murray, Assistant to the Chair, Psychology will also be a Professional Staff Representative--not present)
New Chair Introductions:
Edna-Acosta-Belen (beginning January 2004) - Latin American & Caribbean Studies
Colbert Nepaulsingh Interim Chair (through December 2003) - Latin American & Caribbean Studies
Saj Alam, Physics
Kevin Doolen, Theatre
Russell Ward, Sociology
Individual introductions were then made so that new people could identify Chairs and staff.
Lana Neveu – Albany Foundation
Lana introduced herself and gave a brief history of the University at Albany Foundation. The UA Foundation was founded to
accept donations to the University. In addition to donations, they also have many other responsibilities such as, managing the
East Campus, including the new cancer research facility. Among many other charges, The Foundation owns the President’s
home. Lana handed out packets of information to all present and mentioned that if anyone has questions about anything
involving the Foundation, please arrange to meet with her or her staff. She stressed that when a donor gives money, the
proper payee has to be indicated – the check must be payable to the Foundation not the University. Also, the donor intent
must be clear at the time of the donation—some form of documentation must be received in writing from the donor, not just
from the recipient. The Foundation is able to provide reimbursements in a timely manner as long as good documentation is
provided (for example: attach agenda and list of attendees to request for reimbursement). They have an “arms length” policy;
that is, to not directly reimburse yourself. It is important to stipulate a signatory for your Foundation account. Other items
handed out were samples of forms, their weekly check schedule and a list of staff.
Minutes of the Meeting of April 23, 2003:
The Dean asked for any comments or questions regarding the April 23 rd minutes. Iris Berger made a motion to accept,
Timothy Lance seconded the motion, and the minutes were unanimously accepted.
General Information Relating to Strategic Planning:
(See attachment handed out on benchmarking.) These measures indicate how a university would be ranked in the top 30
research institutions. There are nine categories listed and should be used for reference during planning and as quality
measures--these are the relevant benchmarks.
Announcements:
The Master of Arts program in Africana Studies has been named among the top 10 in the country. This is a great recognition.
Al Millis has been named inventor of the year.
The work of the College does not cease over the summer, and the Dean thanks all Chairs for your summer work.
CAS Website
College has updated its website. There is now a link to the Life Science Research Initiative. This is useful for recruitment
and publicity. The Dean is always interested in improving the site – suggestions are welcome.
CAS Event
We are planning to hold a College dinner on November 4, 2003 in Empire Commons. The College will subsidize the dinner,
but there will be nominal fee. The program will include a short academic talk of general interest -- Stuart Swiny will speak
about his archaeological work in Cyprus. The Dean is inviting Mrs. Nicholaou, a valued donor who has planned a legacy for
an Excelsior Professorship to someone in Classical Studies. She’s being invited as a guest in order to meet people in College
and those who share her interests in classics.
Email Distribution Lists
Dean Wick-Pelletier would like to have an email list in the College office that contains all full-time faculty members. Please
send this up-to-date distribution email address list of full time faculty members to Ruth.
Course Evaluations
Chairs should tell all new faculty in department about course evaluation and procedures so that they know what they need to
do and so they understand that course evaluations are mandatory.
Faculty Council
Seth Chaiken announced that the Nominating Committee is still working on establishing a few committees. He asked that
Chairs encourage members of their departments to serve on committees, in particular the tenure and promotion committee. If
you think of members in your department who would serve well in this capacity let Seth know.
CAS Newsletter
Target date is the first week of November. Last Spring’s issue focused on faculty books. The Fall 2003 issue will focus on
new faculty. If your department has awards and honors to announce, please send any items to Dona.
Research
Larry Schell announced various research funding opportunities and handed out information.
CAS Research Development Program - deadline October 15. Application forms are on the CAS website.
CAS Release Time Award Program – deadline November 15, 2003. A schedule of awards was distributed, including Frap A.
Council on Research volunteers are needed to serve on the subcommittees to review FRAP applications. Dr. Schell
encourages faculty to participate, particularly those in the humanities and arts, because committee members influence
decisions. In order to apply to the Conference and Journal Support program, faculty must have material support from their
Chair and the Dean. The application must be received in the College office by November 3rd in order to meet the Council on
Research deadline.
Paula Kaloyeros can now accurately provide research grant balances.
Community of Science Instructions—each department will need a liaison identified in order to make sure this information is
distributed.
Program Reviews/Self Study
This process has been useful. Now that reports are in for those reviewed in 2002-2003, we need a process to make use of the
reports that are in. The Dean is proposing that each unit that has been reviewed write a brief response to the report following
departmental discussion of the report and forward it to the Dean’s office. The Dean will then meet with the Chair, the
Graduate Director, and/or other department officers to discuss the report and the department’s response to the review. Out of
this discussion a program of planned action will be agreed upon. Mathematics, French, Italian, and Economics will be
reviewed this year. Programs that have been evaluated may be able to share and make suggestions to those programs that are
going to be evaluated.
Financial Update & Hiring
The 2002-03 cut was 4.2%. The current year cut will probably be at least $1 million. The College is not receiving a larger
sum of money to fund graduate students, but it is costing us more to fund graduate students. No hiring is one option, but the
Dean is not interested in this option – the College needs to hire. Part-time trimming and cutting TA support is a cost-saving
option. We should “ration” TA funds more carefully. Some hires have been authorized already. The Dean is still
considering a few more, but there won’t be too many. Fourteen hires were made in 2002-03 and the same or fewer are
expected for 2003-04. This is separate from what may happen with Life Science Initiative, an area with potential for hires
through President.
Strategic Plan
The agenda of our next meeting will be a discussion of the plan. Some members of the Strategic Planning Committee will be
invited.
The meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m.