Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards
College of Humanities and Fine Arts
Fall 2012 General Faculty Meeting
August 16, 2012
Call to Order
Dr. Dan Ennis called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m.
Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by Pamela Martin to accept the minutes of the January 5, 2012 COHFA Spring Faculty meeting
and seconded by Paul Olsen. Motion passed.
Introductions and Transitions
Congratulations were extended to Monica Bell, Jennifer Boyle, Dennis Earl, Preston McKever-Floyd, Julinna Oxley,
Tonya Propst and Cynthia Port for promotion to Associate Professor with tenure. Arne Flaten and Pamela Martin
achieved advancement in rank to Professor. Steven Bleicher was introduced as the new Associate Dean, a position
vacated by Holley Tankersley. Holly has been appointed the Chair of the Politics/Geography Department vacated by
Ken Rogers. Upon the departure of Don Sloan as Chair of the Music Department, Philip Powell will assume those
responsibilities. Misti Williams and Heather Huffman, academic advisors formerly with the University College, will
now be a part of COHFA.
John Beard
As Associate Provost, Dr. Beard addressed the faculty in his role of coordinating program assessment and student
learning on campus. Accrediting agencies continue to move forward in the assessment of learning outcomes. There
is no indication that this trend is diminishing, and the focus is shifting away from process to actual student learning,
such as what do our students know, what can they do, and how can they master the skills and knowledge they will
need to live productive/meaningful adult lives. As we enter our fifth year, we need to move forward to a more
mature approach based on our past experience.
Dr. Beard informed the faculty that work is being done to develop a process that will select and reward outstanding
assessment reports. They are also looking for ways to make the assessment efforts more visible. Faculty interested
in learning what others have been doing to advance their own research about student learning were invited to
attend Assessment Day on September 7.
Robert Sheehan
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Dr. Sheehan announced there will be no dress code for faculty. There will, however, be a dress code for
professional staff, office staff and student employees. It will be handled by the individual supervisors.
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Dr. Sheehan clarified that there is no effort by the Provost Office to require faculty to connect the dots
between attendance in the 100/200 level classes and grades. He is simply asking for faculty to check
attendance.
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After two failed dean searches, many members of the search committee felt that there should be an
opportunity for internal candidates to apply and be considered. The Provost announced that after
consulting with the department chairs, he has decided that this year we will conduct a search for internal
candidates. Via email the Provost asked for nominations for service on the search committee. The
faculty as a whole will be consulted for their consensus and be given the opportunity to express “yeah or
nay” should a candidate come forward. It is hoped that by September 1 the search committee will have
been identified and by September 15 candidates will have submitted their cover letter/resume. The
target date for the new dean to be in place is January 1.
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The Provost has directed that the new academic building classrooms be put into R25 for the Spring 2013
Semester.
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With the university’s focus on student retention, concern was expressed whether this would lead to
grade inflation. Dr. Sheehan informed the faculty that he is looking at class size in relation to high failure
rates as well as attendance. There is zero support for grade inflation.
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If student tutors were reduced due to budget concerns, the Provost Office will provide the funds, on a
one-time basis this year only, to keep the tutors in place.
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Dr. Sheehan asked faculty to have a conversation with their students who miss class. If students are
absent for a period of time, the faculty should contact the advisor. A process will be put in place where
the RAs and the faculty advisor will be informed when students stop attending class.
Due to over-recruiting efforts three years ago, students not prepared for college were admitted to the
university. Increasing admission standards into programs, including a role for faculty in the process and
changes to the enrollment services area will, hopefully, help so that we do not make the mistake again.
The Provost clarified that faculty must submit mid-term grades for students in 100/200 level courses,
even if they are upper-level students.
Dr. Sheehan expressed his belief that academic program growth should be driven by the faculty. We will
need to make sure we have the structures in place to make the new programs work.
The retention report will be made available to the faculty. The university is also putting into place some
of their own ideas to aid in the retention effort.
Introduction of New Faculty
The following new faculty were introduced by their department chairs:
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Communications - Kim Schumacher, Lecturer; Mark Flynn, Assistant Professor; Brian Roessler, Lecturer
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Updates
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History – Maggi Morehouse, Associate Professor and Director of the Burroughs Center; Marwan Hanania,
Assistant Professor, Matthew McDonough, Lecturer
Philosophy and Religious Studies – Emily Crookston, Visiting Assistant Professor; David Killoren, Visiting
Ethicist with the Jackson Center
Politics and Georgraphy – Mikel Norris, Assistant Professor
English – Daniel Hasty, Assistant Professor
Music – Ann Benson, returning as the Artist-in-Residence; Matthew White, Assistant Professor
Theatre – Michael Gribbin, Music Director/Visiting Associate Professor
Visual Arts – Stephanie Danker, Assistant Professor; Stephanie Miller, Assistant Professor; Amy
Schwartzott, Lecturer
Julinna Oxley, Director of Women’s and Gender Studies, introduced Angie Fitzpatrick as the first full-time
hire dedicated to teaching WGST. Angie will also be the Assistant Director of the program.
Travel Allocations – Chairs are now responsible for the allocation of travel/professional development
money within their departments. It will be under each chair’s jurisdiction to determine the direction
they wish to take with spending the funds. The departments have the option of establishing their own
guidelines (with the Dean’s approval) or following the Dean’s Office criteria that has been in place for the
past several years.
QEP - Aneilya Barnes has been named the QEP Coordinator for the college and will work with Steven
Bleicher to coordinate the QEP for COHFA. The college will be awarded $41,000 each year for the next
five years. There are no constraints on how the money is spent, except there are some student learning
outcomes associated in general with QEP. Rather than fund individual faculty projects with a small
amount of money, it has been decided that there will be one larger project each year that will have
sustainable potential, be interdisciplinary, and be cross-departmental. The pilot for QEP this year with
be a university press. It will have the undergraduate element with experiential learning at the heart of it.
Students will design, edit, and manage the press. It will possess a strong community element with
publications that have regional interest. Trisha O’Connor will direct the project. The press will provide us
with a model for the larger kind of projects that the QEP can support.
Promotion and Tenure Changes – Candidates for full professor must now go up for external review. The
Faculty Manual describes the process regarding external reviewers. It is unlikely that full professor files
will get to the January Board of Trustees meeting unless the external reviewers return their reviews in a
timely manner. Otherwise, the files will be presented at the June meeting. Post-Tenure review files of
Associate Professors submitted for exceptional rating must also be sent to external reviewers. Thought
should be given to identifying peers in their field who can provide constructive feedback for the
committee.
Policy Session – Dr. Ennis has arranged with the Faculty Senate members of COHFA to sit as an ad hoc
committee (policy session) and meet with him to discuss issues that face COHFA. The current practice of
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working with the chairs when dealing with policy issues will remain. This will allow the Dean to meet
informally with a cross-section of non-administrative faculty and listen to their opinions and concerns.
UNIV 110, COHFA Undergraduate Degree, M.A. in Liberal Studies
- Univ 110 Freshmen Seminar – COHFA will take over the structure, content, scheduling, and
implementation for UNIV 110. Carol Osborne will lead the effort to redesign the class for the college.
The course description and the learning outcomes will not be altered. Carol will develop a class that
is appropriate for any humanities/fine arts major in terms of content and pedagogy.
- Humanities and Fine Arts Degree – A faculty committee will be assembled to work on the
development of an undergraduate humanities and fine arts degree that will cross over two/three
departments.
- M.A. in Liberal Studies – A committee two years developed a program planning summary that was
accepted by CHE. Preliminary approval was given from the state to pursue the study of the program
and to propose a full program. A committee will be formed with a representative from each
department to begin the task of writing the comprehensive document with the goal of getting the
program up and running for next fall.
If the college is going to staff courses for all our freshmen, if we have an undergraduate degree that is
interdisciplinary and crosses over departments, and if we have a Master’s Program in Liberal Studies, we
will need a cohort of faculty to staff these efforts. We will need to ensure that no one department is
overburdened. As a college we will have an umbrella, interdisciplinary approach where we all work
together.
Elections – Reallocation of senators is being reviewed. The Academic Integrity Committee always needs
people to serve and the Service Pool needs to be replenished. A committee is being created to discuss
merit ratings. Sara Sanders and Paul Olsen will co-chair. The general questions center on what are we
doing with the 3/2/1 system, is it the best model for us, and how does it relate to promotion and tenure?
What merit means and how it is distributed seems to change each year. COHFA needs a system that is
flexible enough so that whatever the Board decides about merit, we will already know how, as a college,
we will respond.
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Departmental Assignments – The new academic building is scheduled to open by January, and Politics
and Geography, History, Philosophy, and World Languages and Cultures will be moved from the Edwards
Building. The chairs have been charged with assigning office space for their respective faculty. The
offices remaining in Edwards will be reorganized in the hopes of consolidating them as much as possible
within their departments.
Announcements
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The American Association of University Professors welcomes membership again this year. More
members means more voice. Dues can be automatically taken by Payroll once/month or by going to the
website at www. aaup.org.
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Jack Riley will be the speaker for Constitution Day on September 17.
Dean’s Remarks
The Dean asked the college to think bigger this year and to move beyond the status quo in instruction, in course
work, in pedagogy, and in scholarship, and to realize that whatever our past has been, we should not let it define
what we will become. The watchword this year is “nevertheless.” As we enter new territory with new curriculum
and new approaches with our students, there will be objections. Despite all the problems we experience along the
way, Dr. Ennis would like to parry them first with “nevertheless.” “Nevertheless” is the theme for this academic
year; it is a way to avoid the excuses we use to not take responsibility for institutional transformation.
“Nevertheless” we need to continue working towards our goals even if we know there are obstacles in our way.
Submitted by: Judy Davis