Minutes for the Meeting of May 4, 2005

Attending:  Peter Hlebowitsh (Chair), Micheline Chalhoub-Deville, Ellen Herman, Joyce Moore, John Northup, and Chris Ogren

Minutes of the last meeting were read and approved.

Report to the Administrative Council and to faculty: Peter will write a report summarizing our activities for the year. He will present it to the Administrative Council on May 13, but will be absent for the College faculty meeting on May 9. Therefore, Peter will send the report to Chris, and she will read it to the faculty on the 9 th.

What is happening with the reallocation? Peter reported that the reallocation has already begun; the Dean has already “given back” 2% of this year’s budget (by cutting the Early Childhood program in C & I), and this funding will not return to the affected area for five years. Peter explained that the C & I faculty had argued in favor of keeping the Early Childhood program, but it was a relatively painless decision for the Dean because the program consisted only of unfilled lines. The idea behind reallocation is that the College is to receive 4% of the budget in exchange for returning 2%. Reallocation was a Board of Regents decision, but money comes from the Legislature; this year, the Legislature is providing only about 1.5% in exchange for the 2% returned, so reallocation appears in fact to be retrenchment. FAC members expressed concern about the loss of funds, as well as the Dean’s approach to this year’s decision. While Provost Hogan spoke last fall of “transparency” in the reallocation process, it appears to the FAC that the Dean made this year’s decision without faculty involvement. This reallocation process must go on for four more years, and the decisions will only get more complex and have more consequences for current members of the college. As we understand it, the self-study that begins this summer will be a step toward transparency in the strategic plan, of which reallocation will be a major component. The FAC would like to help shape the discourse on the strategic plan and play an advisory role in reallocation.

We want a Curriculum Committee: Peter reported that he told the Dean we would like to see the re-birth of the Curriculum Committee. The Dean agreed and suggested a hearing with the faculty in the fall, then a college-wide vote. The Dean would like to see the committee have “a little muscle,” such as the power to make decisions about new courses and such matters.

Endorsing the report on program coordinators: We want to officially endorse the recommendations in Rahima Wade’s report on program coordinators; Peter will reflect this in the end-of-the-year report.

Why are people leaving the College, and replenishing faculty lines: Peter asked the Dean about these issues, and she explained that plans for replenishing lines will be part of the strategic plan. The FAC is concerned about all who have left without being replaced in the last two years (especially in C & I). The Dean did not have an answer as to why people are leaving. We would like to encourage her to investigate whether people are pulled or pushed out. We agreed that it would also make sense to look into whether similar things are happening at other institutions.

Do we want to update the design of the FAC website? We will add a mechanism for faculty members to offer suggestions. Let Peter know any other ideas for updating or changing the website.

New business: We discussed FAC membership. Micheline’s term is over, and Joyce’s may be (she will check into it). Everyone else has one or two years to go. Thus, C & I has one slot open for next year, P & Q may have one, and EPLS has none. We are uncertain whether Liz Whitt was beginning a three-year term this spring or finishing out Dave Jepsen’s term as the CRSD representative. Peter will contact DEOs to make sure they appoint new FAC members (if necessary) for the fall.

The meeting’s minutes: Chris will send minutes to FAC members via email and, once approved, have them posted on the website.

Respectfully submitted,
Chris Ogren
FAC Secretary, 2004-2005