COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
COUNCIL OF CHAIRS
MARCH 3, 2004
2:30-4:00 P.M.
AS-122
PRESENT: S. Alam, I. Berger, J. Carson, S. Chaiken, B. Daniel, K. Doolen, P. Ferlo, S. Fessler, E. Gaffney, T. Gage, S.
Galime, G. Griffiths, T. Harrison, R. Hoyt, V. Idone, J. Mainwaring (for T. Lance), M. Messitt, J. Mower, C. Murray, N.
Murray, M. Pryse, B. Steinbock, G. Stevens, R. Ward, J. Welch, J. Wessman (for E.Acosta-Belen), J. Wick-Pelletier, D.
Wills, E. Wulfert Guests: J. Filippone, C. Ranc, J. Murphy, J. Mancuso Recorder: R. Greenhouse
MINUTES: Dean Wick-Pelletier called for comments or corrections to the minutes of February 18, 2004. A motion to
accept was made by Elga Wulfert, seconded by Reed Hoyt and passed unanimously. Comments on general education:
M. Pryse wanted to note that many courses fulfill more than one category. Also, although faculty are being encouraged to
include general education objectives on syllabi, this can be cumbersome.
BUSINESS ARISING:
Sabbatical Reminders -- Steven Galime checked with Human Resources Management to see if sabbatical reminders could
be sent to those whose reports are due. PeopeSoft is currently unable to perform this function. Steve will notify those
who owe reports and will copy respective chairs.
Media/Marketing Web Pages -- The first meeting is scheduled on Friday, March 5. Steve will attend and report.
Presidential Scholars Lunch --Thank you for attending. The next one is on March 10.
Student Association Academic Fair on Tuesday, March 16 from 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. in the Lecture Center Concourse.
Open Houses for Admitted Students -- Saturday March 27 and Saturday, April 17
New Advisement Arrangement for seniors insisting that they need a certain course to graduate. If a student asks to be
admitted to a course, the home department advisor will check the audit to see if student actually needs the course. If the
course is needed, he/she will receive an approval form from his/her advisor and take the sheet to Undergraduate Studies
for certification. From Undergraduate Studies, the student will take the form to the department offering the course, and
the department will allow the student to register if there is space. If space is not available, the department will send the
student back to Undergraduate Studies.
Summer Planning Conference -- Freshmen will be allowed to register for up to 4 courses prior to his or her SPC.
Gregory Stevens will be asking departments to hold more seats for Freshmen. Seniors will not be allowed to enroll in
100-level courses without special permission.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Special Chairs Meeting --The University’s new Interim President, John Ryan, will attend a special Chairs meeting on
Thursday, April 1st, 2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. in AS 122. (Note: the March 31st meeting is cancelled.)
CAS Authors – Reminder of call for works published from July 2003 through June 2004. There will be a reception in late
April (4/29) for CAS Authors and Fine Artists (significant works of art and performances.) So far, 16 book notices have
been received. Please remind your faculty to let us know of their publications. The Dean’s office will let chairs know the
names of those who have already submitted this information. Later on in the year, the Dean would like to have a
recognition celebration for other forms of work such as grants and editors.
Research Coordinators are still needed for Art, Computer Science, English, GOG/PLN, Judaic Studies, and Physics.
Research Coordinator names should be forwarded to Larry Schell.
In-Class Administration of the National College Health Assessment Dr. Estela Rivera, Director of the University Counseling
Center, has approached Dean Wick-Pelletier about administering an in-house health assessment survey. The Dean told Dr. Rivera that
she would bring it to the Chairs for discussion. The survey is important, but the Dean stated she would like to see it administered
elsewhere in order to avoid using class time–perhaps through the dorms. E. Wulfert spoke regarding the importance of this survey by
giving a brief history. The results of the survey provide a way to judge the value of the programs in place on campus. She also
pointed out that the health section of the SOS (presented by B. Szelest) indicated a low grade in health issues. Participating in this
NCHA survey would respond to that weakness. A vote was taken: Yes (giving authority to ask people to participate) 15; No: 2
BOOKSTORE ISSUES:
Julia Filippone, Assistant Vice President Finance, and Business Executive Director, University Auxiliary Services at
Albany, Inc. and Chris Ranc, Manager of the Campus Barnes and Noble Bookstore introduced themselves and the Chairs
introduced themselves to the guests. Julie and Chris attended the meeting to discuss what the bookstore can do to better
serve the needs of the CAS faculty. The prime issue with students is pricing. Placing book orders on time is important,
because it helps reduce the cost of books to students. If the bookstore knows a textbook will be used the following
semester, the book can be bought back from students for fifty percent of the cost. If the order is placed on time, Barnes
and Noble can look to other sources to buy used books at lower costs, and the savings is passed on to students. If the
order is too late, Barnes and Noble must buy new books because used books are not readily available to buy. If you place
an order with Mary Jane and/or other stores please submit to Barnes and Noble as well. Better buying decisions are being
made in order to have a book on the shelf for every student. The bookstore bases their purchase on the number ordered
from prior year. One Chair asked whether information on when a text will be used could be noted on the book order form
(some courses do not use a particular text until later during the semester and students hold off buying until needed). This
would prevent books from being returned, because it seems as though they are not going to be sold, whereas they are
being used a few weeks after course has begun. Julia Filippone asked if anyone would be willing to have bookstore staff
attend department meetings to talk to faculty to address particular department situations. Chris Ranc would like to meet
more faculty, so if at all possible he’d like to attend a department meeting. Another suggestion was made that the
bookstore would be more of a bookstore if there were more books and not so much merchandise. Space is the main
problem, but it could be reorganized to accommodate more books. Publishers may talk to you about customized materials
and textbook bundles. There is no return for students on a “bundle” buyback. Bundles are expensive for students. Please
buy textbooks separately. In closing, Julia welcomed participation on the Bookstore Committee.
JOINT APPOINTMENTS:
Dean Wick-Pelletier provided a copy of the (Draft) Guidelines for Joint Departmental Appointments, CAS, and asked for
comments. Regarding how enrollments are counted, the institutional policy is that joint appointments count 50/50 FTE.
If there is a discrepancy between “normal” teaching loads in two departments, the teaching load should go with that of the
primary department. This will prevent uneven or unexpected teaching responsibilities. Scholarship is not covered in this
policy. There should be some protection of the candidate so that their research will be counted. Concern was stated about
that role of the secondary department in promotion and tenure is advisory. This keeps the faculty member focused on the
primary department. (This does not seem to be an equal division of appointment). The terminology should perhaps be
“dual” appointment. The Dean wants to see more of an interdisciplinary attitude toward the joint appointments. A
suggestion was made to change policy wording so that if this policy does not work, a revised plan could be developed for
cases as needed. Many of these issues would be worked out with the individual before a joint hire is made.
ADVANCEMENT:
Mike Messitt thanked Chairs for their support during his first five months on campus.
The “school and college” donor option is a challenging model. This gives donors a choice of where to put their money.
Last fall a call was made for a “fund for Albany”—an unrestricted appeal. As a result schools and colleges have suffered.
This spring we are back on schedule getting calls for schools and colleges. Foundation fees are under discussion. If you
are in touch with your alumni, tell them of the priorities within your department and college. We need to find ways of
working strategically in annual giving. The University launched its campaign last spring: $278 million has been raised
toward the goal. CAS has a major stake in the campaign goal ($41 million). The University contracts with a firm that
gives information about alumni – identifying capability and willingness to give. Because our alumni base is so large,
communication work must be done. One of the things that would be helpful is to work with the graduate alumni
population (fellowships are a priority to many departments.) One of the College’s major initiatives will be to
communicate with departments regarding reconnecting with graduate students. If you have stories about alumni, please
keep the CAS Newsletter in mind as a way to publicize this kind of information.
Adjourned: 4:15 p.m.