Minutes for H&S Faculty Senate Meeting, Friday Feb 28th, 2014:
Present: Peyi Soyinka-Airewele, Paula Murray Cole, Brendan Murday, Hugh Egan, Dara
Engler, Claire Gleitman, Jennifer Jolly, Peter Melcher, Sharon Stansfield, Carla Stetson, Kelley
Sullivan, Jennifer Tennant, David Turkon, and Michael Trotti.
Absent: Aaron Weinberg
Guest: Dean Leslie Lewis and Rebecca Plante
Meeting started at 4:05 pm
1) Feb 7th, 2014 minutes approved.
2) Announcements and updates:
A. Update on Intellectual Property Policy Draft:
a. Traevena Byrd clarified student involvement issues and copyright issues.
b. Senate would like to get examples from the college to help demonstrate
what would be a copyright concern? Especially the concerns related to
issues that may not be so clear, such as: why the college “claims” the
student instead of providing guidelines for faculty to work with students
on copyright issues.
c. Senate would like to know if the college is getting feedback from the
student organizations, such as the SGA?
B. Rebecca Plante from the Faculty Handbook Committee (FHC). This committee is
charged with looking at the procedures, policy and file preparation guidelines to
bring clarity as needed to these guidelines. Initial charge came from provost. The
committee has come across two documents dealing with faculty handbook issues
that were prepared from two separate groups in the past. This work was put
forward to faculty council and then it seems to have been forgotten about. Below
is a list of areas that the FHC has been focusing their attention on:
i. The overall organization of the faculty handbook.
ii. Reviewing the word “community” (in reference to “community
service”) and what this means. Which community etc.
iii. Currently evaluating section 4.12 and 4.12.1.
iv. Focused on specificity of procedures.
v. The committee is evaluating teaching excellence and how this is
defined and evaluated.
vi. Investigating the use of the Boyer Model for scholarship.
vii. They conducted a survey to gain faculty feedback.
viii. Items working on: status of publications (what does “in press”
mean?); external review process to be more specific to ensure
equity.
ix. FHC is concerned about defining the term “excellence”, as what
this means varies from department to department. Shouldn’t
excellence be defined and justified by the candidate putting the file
forward, with the idea that the T&P committee should be open to
this concept?
x. FHC is working on the Full Professor section: Sustained record of
significant scholarship has the word “or” between service and
scholarship. What does this mean? Senate’s interpretation is that
sustained scholarship must continue, along with service. So what
is current practice?
xi. Preparation for file guidelines are also to be brought forward into
the main document instead of having this section in an appendix
and the FHC will bring clarity to these guidelines.
b. Senate asked what the approval process is for the revisions made to the
faculty handbook after the FHC has completed their work? All changes
go to Faculty Council first, then to the Board of Trustees. For example,
modifications to the “community” terminology in the handbook were
made by the FHC and these changes have recently passed Faculty Council,
followed by approval by the Board of Trustees.
c. Timeline goal of the FHC – complete modifications to section of 4.12 and
the file preparation guidelines by the end of the academic year (20132014).
d. Senate recommended having All College Faculty Meetings to discuss the
changes before this goes forward to the board of trustees.
3) Reports from Subcommittees:
A. Peer Review of Teaching Committee: Brought forward Art History’s
Department’s peer review statement. Motion to recommend to the Dean was
approved with two minor editorial issues to be addressed (14 in favor and 1
abstention).
B. Scholarship Statement Committee:
a. Gerontology: Motion to approve to recommend to the Dean. (14 in favor 0
abstentions 0 decline).
b. Writing: Department is asking for Senate feedback on the section
“Evidence for Professional Development”. The Senate scholarship
subcommittee will provide suggested feedback to the department from the
Senate’s discussion.
4) Old Business:
A. Update on the discussion on the Student Statement Process guidelines: Discuss
revised draft (see relevant document), hear feedback from chairs.
a. Feedback from the H&S chairs at their last meeting was discussed by the
Senate. Senate will make changes to the document and this will be
circulated before the All College meeting.
b. Percent return – what does the 80% return mean? All-College faculty
meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 20th, in Williams 323.
B. Motion to Move to executive senate meeting. 5:55 pm.
C. Motion to adjourn (all in favor) at 6:15 pm.