Faculty Council
Minutes of the meeting of March 8, 1993
0. Chairperson Steinberg called the meeting to order at 4:01 p.m.
1. Motion (F. Krohn/A. Sarkar): to adopt the published agenda, with the change of order announced by the chair. Motion passed.
2. Motion (F. Krohn/A.Sarkar): to approve the minutes of the Feb. 8, 1993 Faculty Council meeting as published. Motion passed.
3. President MacPhee reported that he had been garnering fiscal support for the college from both public and private sources, with some success in the latter area. He said SUNY is moving for restoration of the $11.8 million budget cut the governor has proposed, plus some further restora- tion. He said the Foundation's efforts were gaining momentum with alumni and with corporations and had produced over $500,000 (for the first time) this year. He said this would lead to improved competitiveness in certain targeted scholarship areas, e.g., for valedictorians. The President said SUNY enrollment is falling short of expectations, due to demographic and economic influences. He said Fredonia's applica- tions are 8-9% behind last year's, but he still plans to enroll the budgeted 4,500 students next year. F. Krohn asked what new recruiting efforts were afoot. MacPhee answered that recruiting publications were being reviewed and revised; chairs were being encouraged to maintain closer contact with prospective and accepted students; and entrance requirements for third-year trans- fers were being modified in some programs. K. Lucey asked what was Administration's response to JCC North's plan to expand to 200 FTE students and 20 FTE faculty within the next two years. MacPhee answered that the plan is for JCC to combine efforts with Chautauqua Opportunities, and that he was concerned that JCC not usurp Fredonia's traditional area of service.
4. Search Committee for Dean of Arts & Sciences report was given by Jefferson Westwood, chair. He said the committee had completed its work and given its final report to the VPAA; Dr. Sharon Zablotney, Associate VP for Research and Dean of the College of Graduate Studies at Mancato State University will assume the post beginning the third week of June. Westwood thanked FC for appointing him chair of the committee, then thanked and praised his committee members Nancy Boynton, Nicole Crino, William Foeller, Karen Mills-Courts, Patrick Mason, Janice Peterson, Alberto Rey, and Terry Weaver. V. Conover asked what the structure of the new Dean's office would be. Westwood said VP Hess would have to answer that. R. Ambrosetti asked whether associate dean positions would be open to candidates. MacPhee responded that those would be for decision between Dean Zablotney and VP Hess.
Motion (F.Krohn/M.Nelson): to commend Jefferson Westwood and the members of the Search Committee for services exceptionally well rendered. Motion was adopted unanimously.
5. Chairperson Steinberg welcomed the return of FC member John Hansen who had been absent for health reasons.
6. Faculty Senator H. Joseph Straight reported that he had information on a conference on Instructional Technologies, June 9-11 at Oneonta, $60 registration fee, scholarships available for some faculty and instruc- tional support staff. He also reported that he had available a helpful document "Zen & Art of the Internet".
7. Governance Committee had no report.
8. Motion (Academic Affairs Committee): that the Faculty Council adopt the committee's proposal that:
"The drop period be confined to the first seven calendar days of classes each semester, with the proviso that students in courses whose first meeting is on the seventh day have until the eighth day to drop, and that first semester freshmen have until the end of the eighth full week of classes."
N. Bowser, Registrar, said that the dates had been slowly moving forward over the years, but she did not know why the "first full week" policy had come to be, unless it seemed that a Friday deadline would be easier to enforce. J.Hansen called for extremely broad publication of the change in policy for the students' benefit. He cautioned that chairs should be prepared to be lenient with exceptions the first semester of implementa- tion. M.R.Amiran noted that students would still be able to "withdraw" as before. Hansen responded that the difference is that "dropping" shows not on the record, and entails no $15 fee. N. Crino urged that an exception might be in order for first semester freshmen. [The amended language is included above.] N. Bowser commented that for whatever reasons, students request many schedule changes. She said Registrar's Office processes 20,000 drops/adds/withdrawals and other changes per year.
Motion passed. The policy change was adopted.
9. Planning & Budget Committee's one-page written report was received from C. Willeford. She said the committee had supported the VPAA's recommendations for filling seven teaching positions (of fifteen re- quested). She said given the anticipated budget of approximately $265,000 to fill faculty positions for 1993-94, the recommendations of the VPAA seemed the best. M.R.Amiran asked whether searches were underway for additional positions in Psychology and in School of Music. MacPhee responded that decisions on those positions were made earlier, and not included in the fifteen requests mentioned in the committee's report. J.Kraus asked what had been the committee's criteria for supporting the seven. Willeford answered that committee members studied each of the requests, the College Fact Book, and the VPAA's rationales for each. H.J.Straight asked which departments would have staffing increases, which would have decreases, which would remain the same. MacPhee said VPAA Hess would have to answer that, and that faculty leaving and enrollment considerations are factors; he added that the P&B Committee's report did not speak directly to increases or decreases. T.Steinberg asked how long the meeting had taken. Willeford replied at least 2+ hours. In reply to a question from J.McVicker, MacPhee said there was never an assumption that there would be fifteen lines available. He said administration had hoped for perhaps nine or ten positions, but at present funds are available for only seven.
10. Alan Wheeler reported for the Graduate Council: Bruce Tomlinson (Biology), Philip Kumler (Chemistry), John Connely (Education), Stephen Warner (English), Frederick Byham (Math/Computer Science), Donald Bohlen (Music), Jonathan Brown (Speech Pathology/Audiology), and members-at-large Bryan Murphy, John Onufrak, and Terry Weaver, plus ex officio Deans Hurtgen, Schagrin and Berkley. Replacements will be sought for retiring Connely and Murphy. He said the council had approved guidelines for admitting students to graduate study in English; these will be published in forthcoming Catalog. The committee is also studying the need for Library to provide introductions to the electronic systems available. He said a detailed report of enrollment statistics would be submitted to FC Chairperson Steinberg later. He said VPAA Hess is supportive of greater numbers of TA's and GA's of which there are presently about 21, with about 3 in Biology.
11. Sue Besemer, Director of Reed Library submitted a one-page report. She said the Library Addition will be completed during Fall Semester, a few months behind schedule. She said 16 PALS terminals are now available to the public. She said that $10,000 had been allocated for additional personnel support in Interlibrary Loans. She noted that allocations for books had steadily declined from 6,000+ monographs in 1982-83, 5,000+ in 1989-90 to about 1,200 this year. She also noted a resurgence of the problem of new courses being added without adequate library resources being available. Deans have taken action to assure more thorough consideration of this issue in the future. J. Kraus said he would ask his colleagues to contribute surplus books to the library. He asked whether resource allocations were made to departments by number of requests to support, or dollar amount. Besemer responded that it was a formula-driven allocation of dollar amounts, so departments can get more titles by getting the paper-back versions. She said with resources so tight, very little discretion is exercised by library staff, rather the decisions are mostly by the departments. She said library would like to emphasize materials to support lower-division courses. She said Coordinated Collection Development Program provides state money to build on strengths, enhance resource sharing among libraries; this amounts to $7,700 per year. Besemer said that library's IFR operations (photocopying) provided 392 books last year. She encouraged faculty to include library resources as a budget line in grant proposals. She said Friends of Reed Library and Develop- ment Office are both working to build and increase endowments. G.Baird commented that journal publishers are in danger of collapse because of the pressures being brought to bear on periodical budgets. Besemer said that journal contributions are welcomed by the library, as well as books, noting that all donations are reviewed to ascertain that they meet policy criteria. K,Mantai asked how the ratio of serials to monographs compared with that of ten year ago. Besemer said that about 75% of budget goes toward periodicals, 25% toward monographs, even after the recent $60,000 reduction in periodicals. She said 60/40 had been the traditional balance. In 1983, she said, academic books cost $29, now $47.48, and periodicals have outpaced books. D.MacPhee asked how many periodicals would be restored if funds were available. Besemer noted that many periodicals are now available on microfilm, so might not be restored; also, new periodical resources may be seen as more desirable than restoring the old.
12. Jan McVicker, speaking for the Media Advisory Council, requested a FC member to serve on the council. She said MAC was not a policy-making body, but is advisory to President on some sensitive and 1st Amendment issues. Rose Klassen nominated herself. The nomination was accepted by the FC by consensus.
13. Motion (M.Nelson/F.Krohn): to adjourn. Motion passed at 5:07 p.m.
Attendance:
Professional Staff, Management:
[x] K. Bonds (95)
[x] S. Clarke (93)
[x] V. Conover (93)
[x] D. Danielson (95)
[x] K. Harrington(94)
[x] T. Kflu (93)
[x] T. Malinoski (93)
[x] G. McNeil (95)
[x] C. Niles (94)
[x] M. Pabst (94)
[1] B. Servatius (93)
[x] A. Wiedenbeck (95)
Arts, Education, Humanities:
[x] J. Burke (94)
[x] M. Charbonnet (93)
[x] N. Deal (94)
[x] J. Gillette (93)
[E] H. Jacobson (93)
[x] D. Kerzner (95)
[x] R. Klassen (95)
[E] T. Loughlin (93)
[x] K. Lucey (93)
[x] L. Maheady (94)
[x] J. McVicker (95)
[x] M. Nelson (93)
[x] J. Parla (95)
Natural and Social Sciences:
[x] G. Baird (94)
[x] J. Hansen (94)
[E] T. Janik (93)
[x] F. Krohn (93)
[x] K. Mantai (93)
[x] A. Parai (95)
[E] J. Romal (93)
[x] T. Rywick (94)
[x] A. Sarker (95)
[x] P. Sinden (93)
[x] B.J. Stephens (95)
[x] M. Vassallo (95)
Student Representatives:
[1] A. Altobellis
[x] N. Crino [1]
[2] G. Schneider
[ ] (vacant)
[ ] (vacant)
[ ] (vacant)
Ex Officio:
[2] J. Berkley
[x] D. Burdette
[1] J. Crowley
[x] M. Dimitri
[1] D. Hess
[x] J. Hurtgen
[x] D. MacPhee
[x] T. McNeil
[x] M. Schagrin
[x] T. Steinberg
[x] J. Straight
[2] S. Warner
[x] A. Wheeler [1]
Guests:
Minda Rae Amiran
Ronald Ambrosetti
Susan Besemer
Nancy Bowser
Jefferson Westwood
Constance Willeford
Thomas McNeil, College Senate Secretary