Meeting Notes
College of Arts and Humanities Faculty and Staff Gathering
November 18, 2015
Kathy Cashen Recital Hall
I.
Call to Order
• Interim Dean Pauline Gagnon called the gathering to order at 4:30PM.
II.
Moment of Silence (Rob Kilpatrick)
• FLL Chair Robert Kilpatrick invited COAH faculty and staff to take a minute of silence to
remember the victims of recent events in France, Lebanon, and Egypt. Dr. Kilpatrick noted that
in all three cases, COAH values were attacked. He called for all to reflect on the lives lost, and
to express solidarity and defiance in the face of those atrocities.
III.
Comments by Provost Michael Crafton
• Interim Dean Gagnon introduced Provost Crafton and invited him to comment on the transition.
• Provost Crafton thanked Dr. Kilpatrick for the moment of silence. He also thanked Interim
Dean Gagnon and the COAH for its support.
• Provost Crafton stated he wanted to talk about the search for a permanent dean at a later point.
He wanted to talk at the Gathering about more immediate issues.
• Provost Crafton stated that the liberal arts were in a difficult position as higher education in
general in the United States has been moving in a more vocational direction and that the COAH
needed to counter this general movement.
• Provost Crafton underlined his aim to increase UWG’s commitment to the liberal arts and
specifically pointed to the LEAP initiative.
IV.
Comments by Interim Dean Gagnon
• Interim Dean Gagnon then spoke. She thanked Dr. Shelly Elman for taking the chairship of
Theatre while simultaneously directing.
• Interim Dean Gagnon laid out the timeframe for her tenure as interim dean, stating that she
would serve until Summer 2017, at which point the permanent dean would start.
• Interim Dean Gagnon stated that she had begun conversations with Department Chairs about
what people wanted from the dean’s office. She stated that, based on these conversations, she
would concentrate on four things:
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• 1.
Stability
• Interim Dean Gagnon assured the faculty and staff that she would be present in
the life of the COAH
• 2.
Branding
• Interim Dean Gagnon stressed the need of the COAH to brand itself and stated
that she wanted to develop a slogan for the College around which an
identity could be built.
• 3.
Identity
• 4.
Positivity
• Interim Dean Gagnon stressed that she wanted to create a sense of moving
forward and wanted to hear any concerns from faculty and staff.
• Interim Dean Gagnon then spoke of what she terms COAH Kudos and listed recent
achievements of every department. She spoke of her desire to learn from each other’s work and
her excitement of being able to attend every COAH event since being named Interim Dean.
• Afterwards, Interim Dean Gagnon went through the committee structure of the COAH and
opened the floor to questions, comments, and concerns.
IV.
Q and A with Provost Crafton and Interim Dean Gagnon
• Provost Crafton saluted the work of Mr. Rod McRae and Dr. Nadya Williams in running the
QEP. Mr. McRae invited faculty to contact him with any questions, particularly as regards the
reporting template.
• Interim Dean Gagnon invited more comments and concerns. Dr. Cale Self (Music) asked for
updates regarding the progress of work on the third floor of the TLC and on the capital
campaign.
• Interim Dean Gagnon reported that work was continuing on schedule and when the new office
space opens, English faculty will be moved in. She also stated that despite this new construction,
COAH will still not have excess office space. Finally, Interim Dean Gagnon asserted that she
would like to keep departments together as much as possible.
• In regards to the capital campaign, Interim Dean Gagnon spoke of the COAH Dean’s Council.
She saluted former dean Randy Hendricks for his role in building the Council and for forging
close ties between the COAH and the community. She related that she had met with Andrea and
Michael Stone. She also stated that the Council has grown to 18 members, including most
recently, Megan Bell and Josh Neese from Underground Books.
• Provost Crafton added that at the moment, pitches for the capital campaign were being readied.
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• Director of the School of the Arts, Chad Davidson commented that the Council has added
Robert Hancock from Newnan who was kindly donating $5000 to support two artists in
residence.
• Associate Dean Elizabeth Kramer mentioned that the Capital Campaign was on the agenda to
be discussed in January.
• Finally, Interim Dean Gagnon said that COAH would be meeting with donors shortly.
V.
Adjournment
• The meeting adjourned at 4:55PM.
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