Minutes for the Meeting of September 30, 2005

Attending: Peter Hlebowitsh (Chair), Devery Mock, Ellen Herman, John Northup, Chris Ogren, and Saba Ali

Introductions of Committee members: Since this was the first meeting of the 2005-06 year the meeting began with introductions. Discussion ensued about who was the representative from the Counseling, Rehabilitation, and Student Development Department. Peter will check with the program.

Secretary and meeting schedule: Peter indicated that Chris Ogren had served as secretary last year but we needed to identify a replacement for this year. Ellie Herman volunteered to serve as secretary. Next, Peter asked if this meeting time was suitable to all the members. After some discussion, it was agreed that the meetings for the fall semester will be from 10:00-11:00 in N262 on the following Fridays; October 28th, December 2 nd, and if there is business to discuss also on December 16th.

Committee Charge: Since we have a number of new committee members Peter provided the following list of what the committee does:

• facilitate liaison and communication between the administration and faculty on all matters of general interest.
• consider and make recommendations for the consideration of the Dean and/or the faculty on major changes in curricula, student personnel policy, and administrative procedure.
• consider and make recommendations to the Dean on matters of policy regarding the professional welfare of the faculty.
• suggest matters to be included in the agenda for faculty meetings.
• appraise the effectiveness of the College of Education in achieving its objectives and to make recommendations for improvement of the program and activities of the College.
• consider and make recommendations which will enhance the standing and reputation of the College and which will provide for the development of relations with the faculties of other colleges in The University of Iowa and with colleges, graduate schools and professional societies generally.

The reallocation process. Peter indicated that the College conducted study sessions relative to the reallocation process last year. Although the reallocation process has been implemented, no follow-up or further information has been forthcoming. Peter indicated that he will follow-up with the dean to ask where the college is in the process and to see what role the FAC can play. As discussed by the Provost, the process needs to have transparency and at this point we are unclear as to what has occurred. Saba indicated that she thought that the summer “self-study” committee that was appointed was related to the reallocation process. She thought that their discussion centered on teaching loads and productivity. Peter will follow-up with the self-study group to determine what was decided.

The Curriculum Committee: Peter reported that this was a topic of discussion last year and that it appears that this committee which had been disbanded years ago should be re-established. Peter will follow-up with the Dean on the creation of this committee to make decisions about new courses and related matters.

Redesigning the FAC website: Peter indicated that last year, the committee decided that we would like to make the FAC website more interactive and not merely a repository for minutes and other information. A mechanism could be added to seek faculty ideas and feedback. It was suggested that perhaps the website could be used for the various votes taken during the year. Directing faculty to the website to vote they might encourage their participation in FAC matters. Peter asked us to “brainstorm” what we might envision including on the website.

New business: Peter indicated that Steve McGuire contacted him to support the “Skorton Resolution.” There was some discussion about everyone in the college receiving an email from Steve about the resolution and that it related to Skorton salary increase which was lower than his other Regent institution counterparts. We need more information so Peter will ask Steve to attend our next meeting to help clarify what is behind the resolution. Additionally Peter suggested that we seek feedback from faculty relative to their willingness to support the resolution.

Future Topics: As the meeting was coming to a close, Peter asked the group to think about and bring to the next meeting College-wide issues/problems that we believe might benefit from attention. This statement led to a number of items that committee members thought could be examined. These included: the travel policy for faculty allocation to attend a conference, the inability to identify sources of funding for curricular materials for classroom use, the establishment of a College “clearinghouse” for information (e.g., funding sources within the College), and information about the A.C.T. donation and how the college will use the funds.

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

Respectfully submitted,
Ellie Herman, FAC Secretary, 2005-2006