Department of Anthropology
Faculty Meeting Minutes
January 25, 2008
Present:
Baxter, Erlandson, Frost, Karim, Lee, Lukacs, Moreno, Moss, Scher,
Silverman, Snodgrass, Stephen, Sugiyama, White, Wooten, Seikel (Grad Rep), Dutton
(minutes).
Approval of 11/16/07 faculty meeting minutes: 10 Yes, 0 No, 2 Abstain.
Announcements:
1. The Museum of Natural and Cultural History received a $740,000 grant from the Ford
Family Foundation.
2. Jon Erlandson received a $45,000 NSF grant for his work on the Channel Islands.
3. Todd Braje received a $7500 grant from the Western National Parks Association for
historical ecology research on San Miguel Island.
4. We are searching for an Accountant Technician at .5 FTE plus additional hours. The
search committee consists of John Lukacs, Brenda Dutton, Betina Lynn and Carol
Silverman. The transition and orientation period for the new person will require longer turn
around times and much patience from the faculty.
5. The new job for Associate Dean of the Graduate School with an emphasis on
interdisciplinary research in the social sciences and humanities has been posted. Frances
White is on the committee.
6. Silverman reminded faculty of the important luncheon occurring directly after the
faculty meeting. Faculty discussed the three CAS dean candidates and the schedule for
discussion at the luncheon.
7. Silverman provided an update on the Asian Studies Program search which includes 9
applicants who are Anthropologists on the short-list.
Reports/Discussion:
1.
Request from International Studies/African Studies for funds for CAS program grant.
Silverman explained she received a request from Dennis Galvan for $500 to support a CAS
program grant two days prior to the deadline. She explained to Galvan that in order to
contribute, Anthropology would need to be more involved in the design process and would
need more advance notice. Wooten said many faculty may be interested in the program and
the content is superb. Faculty agreed this may be true, but agreed that more advance notice
and increased participation from Anthropology would be necessary in order to contribute
monetarily.
2. Retirements and Biological Anthropology faculty lines.
Silverman reported a meeting is planned for Monday, January 28 with Associate Dean
Priscilla Southwell and Interim Dean Wendy Larson to discuss the biological anthropology
faculty lines and upcoming retirements. Silverman told faculty the department’s stance will
be that the department can not afford the postponement of a new hire in biological
anthropology after Lukacs and Moreno retire in 2008-09. White circulated a document
outlining the future of biological anthropology at the UO. Faculty discussed the
repercussions of losing two biological faculty and not being able to replace them with new
hires. Stephen suggested, as an argument to the higher administration, that we focus on the
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department as a whole, the five areas of excellence and our plans for moving forward.
Stephen reminded faculty that it is important for the department to agree on how to best
formulate the argument and present it as a united front. Erlandson agreed and said it is
imperative for the department to continue to build on the hard work and progress that has
been made over the last few years. Faculty agreed this information needs to be presented to
the higher administration when arguing for retaining the two biological anthropology lines.
Silverman will report back to faculty at the next meeting regarding the outcome of the
1/28/08 meeting with CAS.
A motion was made to support the retention of biological anthropology faculty lines. A
vote is taken: 15 Yes, 0 No, 0 Abstain.
3. Description of Five Areas of Department Focus.
Silverman circulated a revised draft of the description of the Department Areas of Focus
which Scher had assembled for inclusion on the departmental website. Faculty reviewed
the handout and suggested a few additional changes which Silverman will incorporate into
the document.
4. Call for Diversity Proposals.
Silverman reported there has been a call for proposals and there are approximately 10-12
departmental awards with a total award amount of $100,000. Stephen submitted an idea for
a proposal for a GTF and faculty mentorship focusing on how race is related to the
department’s areas of excellence. Faculty discussed Stephen’s idea and thought it would
make a good proposal. Silverman suggested the departmental diversity committee collect
ideas from faculty and reported that the CAS due date for proposals is 2/4/08.
5. UO Dissertation Awards.
Sugiyama reported there were three applicants for the UO Dissertation Award (Ian
Edwards, Josh Fisher and Michael Waller) and that all were doing great research projects.
Faculty discussed the quality of each applicant’s writing and the prospect of each finishing
up in 2008-09.
Sugiyama said the Graduate Committee recommended nominating Josh Fisher for the UO
Dissertation Award and a vote was taken to accept the Graduate Committee’s
recommendation: 14 Yes, 0 No, 1 Abstain.
Sugiyama reminded faculty of the graduate admission process and provided the following
timeline:
1/25/08: Graduate student admission applications due to the department
2/1/08: Application files available to Grad Committee for review
2/8/08: Grad Committee requests feedback from faculty
2/15/08: Grad Committee meeting planned
2/22/08: Grad Committee will provide report to faculty at scheduled faculty meeting
6. Archaeology Search Timetable.
Erlandson reminded faculty of the 2/15/08 due date for applications for the archaeology
assistant professor search. He said the position description had changed since it had been
approved by faculty. The position description was revised fulfilling the suggestions made
by the Provost, which focused on the FTE. Specifically, the Provost wanted to make sure
the position was a 1.0 FTE tenure-related position in Anthropology with the Museum of
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Natural and Cultural History buying out courses, not a “program director” position at the
MNCH. Erlandson said the advertisement for the position is in the January 2008 issue of
the AAA Newsletter and the search committee will report back to the faculty once
applications have been reviewed.
7. Colloquium Committee Update.
White circulated a handout with a schedule for the Anthropology Speaker Series.
Silverman reminded faculty that the department asked for the time change to Noon and
requested no office hours be held from 12-2 on Fridays when speakers were scheduled.
White explained some talks had to be cancelled or rescheduled and asked for faculty help in
getting speakers or collaborating with other departments to get additional speakers.
8. Video/Lab Fees.
White circulated a handout of estimated fees received from each subfield over the last year
and asked faculty to review the current fee schedule. Faculty should let White know if a fee
is missing or if they would like to add a fee for a particular class. The deadline for
requesting a new fee for classes is February 1.
Adjourned at 11:35 a.m.