ITHACA COLLEGE
FACULTY COUNCIL MINUTES
May 2, 2000
Present: Jim Aguiar, Mara Alper, Jules Benjamin, Diana Birr, Randie Blooding,
Byron Caplan, Joseph Cheng, Harold Emery, Michael Galván, Don Lifton, Marian
MacCurdy, Linda McBride, Paul McBride, Steve Mosher, Fred Pritt, Mark Radice,
Mary Ann Rishel, Diane Schwartz, Stan Seltzer, Leon Smigiel, Tom Swensen, Liz
Wavle
Absent: Ari Kissiloff, Kinsuk Maitra, Rick Rainville, Roger Riley
Guests: Garry Brodhead, Carol Dennis, Jim Malek, Frank Musgrave, Luanne Martin,
Winnie Mauser
1. Welcome
L. McBride opened the meeting at 7:30 p.m.
2. Announcements
On behalf of Faculty Council, Stan Seltzer presented an engraved gavel to Linda
McBride as a parting gift, commemorating her four years of service from 1996 to
2000 as Chair of Faculty Council.
L. McBride reminded the group of upcoming receptions, one for those retiring in
H&S, one for Bill Scoones, and one for Jack Oblak.
3. Approval of Minutes
A. October 5, 1999 Minutes.
S. Seltzer noted that at the bottom of page 3, B Caplan acknowledged the willingness
of A.S.S. to work with faculty, not A.S.C. On page 4, at the bottom of the first
paragraph under Registrar's Report, the phrase "when letters of reference are
requested in the future" should be struck it was merely an example. P. McBride, not
making a correction, inquired as to whether Michael Powell had prepared the
statements and assurances regarding accommodating students with disabilities
referred to in the paragraph at the top of page 4. L. McBride said she was not aware of
any such document and would suggest that the issue be placed on a fall agenda of
Council. F. Pritt moved to accept the minutes as corrected. J. Benjamin seconded. The
minutes of October 5, 1999, were approved as corrected.
B. November 9, 1999 Minutes.
D. Lifton noted that while he shared the concern referred to on page 2, second
paragraph, under "Approval of Minutes" (October minutes), Stan Seltzer, not he,
"expressed concern that the issues raised..." S. Seltzer stated that the second sentence
of the second paragraph under Announcements (page 1) should read, "A pilot project
is currently being implemented, limited to courses in H&S." On page 3, the first
motion made by D. Lifton was defeated, not passed. L. Wavle noted that rather than
being absent, she was excused. F. Pritt was omitted from the list of those present. P.
McBride moved to accept the minutes as corrected. R. Blooding seconded the motion.
The minutes of November 9, 1999 were approved as corrected.
C. January 18, 2000, Minutes.
S. Seltzer stated that at the top of page 2, speakers, not committee members. were
being sought for the Longview Speakers Program. It should read "L. McBride sought
endorsement of the group for issuing a new call for additionalvolunteers for the
Longview Speakers Program." In the third paragraph, the word "funeral" should be
replaced with "memorial service." In the heading 3.A., "Tuesday" should be replaced
with "Thursday." F. Pritt moved to accept the minutes as corrected. R. Blooding
seconded. The minutes of January 18, 2000, were approved as corrected.
D. February 1, 2000, Minutes.
S. Seltzer questioned J. Malek regarding the wording of the fourth paragraph on page
2. The word "hoped" should be substituted for "stated." P. McBride moved to accept
the minutes as amended; B. Caplan seconded. The minutes of February 1, 2000, were
approved as amended.
E. February 29, 2000, Minutes
There being no corrections, R. Blooding moved to accept the minutes; H. Emery
seconded. The minutes of February 29, 2000, were accepted as presented.
F. April 4, 2000, Minutes.
S. Seltzer asked to have wording inserted in the third paragraph so that the second
sentence reads "S. Seltzer announced that he and L. McBride, among others, would be
at tables..." A question was raised regarding John Stanton not being included on the
May agenda as anticipated. L. McBride indicated that he indicated a desire not to
present in May, but to hold a demonstration in the fall. H. Emery moved to accept the
minutes as amended; P. McBride seconded. The minutes of April 4, 2000, were
approved as amended.
4. Open Session.
M. Galván said that the School of Music has received training with Degree Navigator
and that judging from the reaction of his colleagues he feels Council would be well
served to take a careful look at the program. There are serious concerns about its
usefulness and the ways it will affect the faculty.
D. Lifton expressed appreciation for the thirty years of service and courageous
advocacy on faculty matters contributed by departing member Paul McBride. A warm
round of applause reinforced the sentiment.
5. Provost's Report.
J. Malek updated the group on the status of the planning process. The parties
responsible for implementing the priorities are beginning to do so, the work should be
completed in August, and a final strategic document will be ready for the Board of
Trustees in the fall.
The ANAC Dissemination Conference on the Pew Charitable Trust workload study,
Phase One, will be held at Ithaca College on Wednesday-Saturday, June 14-June 17,
2000. There are sessions that may be of interest to some people. In addition to ANAC
members, nationally-prominent members of professional organizations will be
present, so it has the potential of being a very good conference. Ithaca College will
gain important visibility through hosting the conference.
The Dominican Republic has been selected as the location for the Caribbean Studies
Center. A final decision between the cities of Santiago or Santo Domingo will be
made this summer. There is strong student and faculty interest in the program.
Ithaca College is approaching the time when a midpoint review must be made. The
last accreditation report had no section on assessment. The Middle States Association
was slow in adopting this requirement, and IC just missed it. It will have to be
included in the midpoint review. A serious assessment process will have to be in
place. J. Rosenthal inquired about utilization of the Planning and Priorities Committee
for strategic planning. The committee will continue to meet on a regular basis,
revisiting the strategic plan periodically. Part of its function is its relationship to the
Budget Committee. J. Malek stated that it will not be shelved and ignored. He assured
the group that he sees it as a process, not a product. It is never finished, but should be
responsive to change and should drive strategic decision-making at the College in the
foreseeable future. He sees it as the single most important standing committee at the
College.
6. Associate Provost's Report.
G. Brodhead reported on a recent day-long session sponsored by Middle States,
geared primarily to institutions that will be preparing the midpoint review, which they
call the PRR (Periodic Review Report.) The process is substantially different from
that of the past. The evaluation process is not to be accomplished and filed away; the
underlying philosophy is that evaluation is ongoing. In the upcoming review in 2002,
Ithaca College will have to report on the areas that were of concern at the time of
accreditation, but the body of the report has to be about outcomes assessment. This is
a substantial effort for any institution, but especially so for Ithaca College, which has
never done anything like this as an institution. The issue is that, where assessment
occurs, there is a partial circle. The purpose of outcomes assessment is to close the
circle -- how do you use the information that you gathered from assessment to
improve the institution? As examples, he mentioned how do you use the results of
examinations to improve the teaching the following year, how do you use a class
survey to improve various aspects of the institution in the future?
In response to a query, the provost reported that there were no incidents in the dorms
and only two complaints about noise. The change was remarkable. P. McBride
thanked the administration for taking such a courageous stand on this issue.
G. Brodhead thanked those faculty members who participated in the Saturday
workshop on the Boyer Scholarship model. It was an excellent session.
7. Faculty Development Summary.
M.A. Rishel, Chair of the Faculty Development Standing Committee of Council,
reported that 34 events were offered this year, up six from the previous year.
Attendance was also up, indicating a very strong interest in faculty development. The
strongest events featured technology-related programs. The next strongest focus was
spirituality. The third most highly-attended programs were the brown bag sessions
developed by the Library. Events are rich and varied and have attracted national
attention. The variety of events listed on our site on the web prompted Dr. Steve
Schaneveldt from Whitman College in the state of Washington to visit Ithaca College
to discuss how we structure faculty development and how we achieve such high
interest.
She stated that critical thinking is still a major issue for the committee, as is grade
inflation. A subcommittee, chaired by Lee Bailey, is presently looking at how we
grade and how grades are language what are they saying to our students?
8. Update on Admissions.
J. Rosenthal noted that the May 2 memorandum from Larry Metzger, distributed to
Council members at this meeting, reports highly successful admissions results which
should have some positive impact on revenue. He felt that the high quality of the
incoming class would improve the retention rate and that, therefore, revenue from
retention might be understated in the planning/budget process. He would favor
revisiting the fiscal year projections now, rather than dealing with a post hoc surplus.
J. Malek stated that high test scores have not proven to correlate with retention. He
indicated, however, that the conversation has already begun to bring the budget closer
to the reality.
9. Executive Committee Election.
A. Chair.
F. Pritt nominated Stan Seltzer for Chair of Faculty Council 2000-2001. The
nomination was seconded by H. Emery. There being no further nominations, J.
Rosenthal moved to close the nominations. D.Lifton seconded the motion, which was
approved. J. Rosenthal moved to elect Stan Seltzer Chair by acclamation. The motion
was seconded and approved.
B. Secretary.
H. Emery nominated Byron Caplan to continue to serve as Secretary. F. Pritt seconded
the nomination. There being no further nominations, J. Rosenthal moved to close the
nominations. D. Lifton seconded the motion, which was approved. J. Rosenthal then
moved to elect Byron Caplan Secretary by acclamation. The motion was seconded
by S. Mosher and approved.
C. Members-at-Large.
D. Lifton nominated Winnie Mauser. R. Blooding seconded the nomination.
D. Lifton nominated Marian MacCurdy. F. Pritt seconded the nomination.
M. MacCurdy nominated John Rosenthal. H. Emery seconded the nomination.
R. Blooding nominated Jim Aguiar. D. Birr seconded the nomination.
When nominations were closed, each candidate made a statement. The vote resulted in
the following three candidates being elected to serve as Members-at-Large: Jim
Aguiar, Marian MacCurdy and Winnie Mauser.
D. Faculty Council Representative to A.P.C.
No nominations were forthcoming for this position. L. McBride indicated that she
thought one of the absent representatives might have some interest. She suggested that
election for this position be held at the first meeting in the fall.
10. Old Business.
A. Faculty Handbook Revision.
F. Musgrave conducted a dialogue with Council members regarding his concerns
about the diversion of the proposed Faculty Handbook revision from conformance
with A.A.U.P. standards. He feels that faculty rights are not what they should be. R.
Blooding described how the committee operated and stated that the fact that the
committee did not agree with the issues raised in Musgrave's memorandum to the
faculty does not mean the committee did not deal with them. D. Lifton defended the
right of the faculty to propose the kind of document they wish to have, with the hope
that the faculty, not the institution, would be held responsible for the document. L.
McBride indicated that decisions about how to proceed with review of the proposed
document will be deferred to the new Council sitting in the fall. P. McBride expressed
disappointment at seeing the discussion become a challenge to the Faculty Advisory
Handbook Committee. L. McBride, summing up, stated that A.A.U.P.'s goal has
always been the protection of faculty rights and interests, and we all respect and
appreciate that, but she thinks the last thing A.A.U.P. would want to do is to dictate to
an institution's faculty what they think is best for us. She stated that the academy is
about potential differences of opinion and there is the potential for this institution's
faculty to differ on some issues with what A.A.U.P considers appropriate. F.
Musgrave responded that he feels that the Kresiser Report has not been given due
attention, and that Ithaca College should want to be in conformance with the A.A.U.P.
standards.
11. Final Remarks.
Before closing the meeting, L. McBride extended several thank yous to Council in
general, for all their hard work and overtime, to the Executive Committee et.al. For
support, to Marilyn Norton, Governance Secretary, and to the departing members of
Council, Ari Kissiloff, Steve Mosher, Roger Riley, Tom Swenson, Mary Ann Rishel,
Diane Schwartz, Leon Smigiel and Mark Radice.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:35 p.m.