Faculty Meeting Minutes
September 6, 2024
Gannett Auditorium, Palamountain Hall/Zoom
Dorothy E. Mosby, Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs, called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Dean Mosby asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held May 15, 2024. Hearing none, she called for a vote to approve the minutes and they were approved unanimously.
WELCOME
Dean Mosby welcomed the faculty to the first faculty meeting of the 2024-25 academic year, and invited President Marc C. Conner to present his report.
PRESIDENT鈥橲 REPORT
President Conner welcomed the faculty back to campus, thanking them for their work on convocation, orientation, and the start of the semester. He invited the faculty to the annual reception at Scribner House to open the year following the meeting. President Conner outlined that his report would be touching on admissions, strategic planning, and campus climate. He reminded the faculty that he is available at office hours and via email, and that concerns, comments and questions are always welcome.
- Admissions: President Conner updated the faculty on admissions and the incoming class. The incoming class is about 30 students short, which hasn鈥檛 happened in a number of years. There was also a decline in full pay students, which hits our net tuition revenue, and is part of a trend affecting all but the most well-resourced schools. One way that Skidmore is approaching this and other headwinds in admissions is through a basic ethos of high engagement and personal outreach. VP Jess Ricker and her team are putting into place new collaborations, more and new ways of engaging faculty in admissions, connecting students with alumni, and other strategies. President Conner said that the incoming class is one of Skidmore鈥檚 most selective and most diverse with a full Opportunity Program, 30% domestic students of color, and 15% first generation college students. He expressed his confidence in the admissions, enrollment and financial aid team and the work they are doing.
- Strategic Planning: President Conner thanked VP of Strategic Planning Joshua Woodfork and Professor Smriti Tiwari for their work on the Strategic Planning Committee. He explained that the strategic planning process is when the college comes together to agree on top priorities to guide us over the next 5 years and more. A major theme of this strategic plan is creativity and academic excellence. The faculty鈥檚 input is vital, particularly in thinking about where Skidmore鈥檚 signature academic priorities are going to be in the next 5 years and more. He asked the faculty to expect outreach from VP Woodfork and others, personally inviting them to participate robustly through the fall semester. He said that a draft of the plan will be presented at the February Board of Trustees meeting, with the final version being submitted for Board approval in May of 2025. President Conner urged the faculty to think about what it means to plan strategically; noting that we will need to balance our top priorities against our resource position, evaluate any gaps and our options to bridge them. There is a new advancement campaign beginning in the next few years, all about articulating what makes Skidmore special, and strategic planning helps us determine what that is. The campaign will help us to overcome that gap between what we want to do and what we can afford to do. President Conner said that he looks forward to working with everyone on this vital project.
- Campus Climate: President Conner referred to student discourse and political expression on college campuses this past May, saying that he is proud of Skidmore鈥檚 students for continuing to engage with one another respectfully around differing viewpoints as this is a key part of what an educational community should foster. As we continue into this year with the upcoming election, which is also the first election that many students will vote in, the need for providing educational opportunities to our community around the election and the crisis in the Middle East is as profound as ever. President Conner expressed his appreciation to the faculty who have been working on programming around the presidential election; there will be a wide variety of events, and they will be listed on their own calendar on the college website.
OLD BUSINESS
Dean Mosby invited Associate Professor Ryan Overbey to the podium, to present the Faculty Advisory Board motion to amend the Faculty Handbook. Before voting, Professor Overbey solicited questions and concerns from the faculty. A faculty member asked to clarify what department is considered if someone were to, for example, hold an endowed chair in Asian Studies while being a member of the Economics Department. Professor Overbey explained that the conflict-of-interest rule would preclude a faculty member from serving when the issue at hand is either department of which they are a member. Due to the rarity of dual appointments, Professor Overbey asserted that this will not have a significant effect on the ability of the FAB to fill committee slots.
A faculty member pointed out that the departments are not direct employers, rather, all faculty are employed by 番茄直播. A friendly amendment was proposed to change the language of the conflict-of-interest policy to 鈥渁ppointed to鈥� from 鈥渆mployed by鈥� [a department]. Another faculty member pointed out that this change would also include Tenure-Track faculty members more accurately, as they are not legally classified as employees. The friendly amendment was accepted by Professor Overbey in advance of the vote. Quorum was confirmed, and the faculty voted to accept the changes to the Faculty Handbook.
NEW BUSINESS
Reaffirmation of 番茄直播 Diversity and Inclusion Statement
Vice President for Strategic Planning and Institutional Diversity Joshua Woodfork was joined by Associate Dean of the Faculty Janet Casey and Mariel Martin, director of the Wyckoff Center at the podium. VP Woodfork spoke about the process of developing 番茄直播鈥檚 Diversity and Inclusion Statement, before reading it out with ADOF Casey and Director Martin. The faculty affirmed the statement verbally.
VP Woodfork and Director Martin then announced the return of the In It 9 series and invited the faculty to attend and publicize these events. VP Woodfork also notified the faculty of a new form to make changing one鈥檚 name a simpler process.
Adoption of the Faculty Handbook
Professor Dominique Vuvan, representing the Faculty Executive Committee, introduced a motion to adopt the 2024-2025 Faculty Handbook.
The motion will lie over until the next faculty meeting.
OTHER
Committee of Committees鈥� Report
Professor Vuvan returned to present the Committee of Committees report from May on behalf of FEC. She solicited questions from the faculty, but received none.
Introduction of New Faculty
Dean Mosby introduced the new faculty members joining the Skidmore Community. Please find the full list at this link.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Professor Barbara Black and Associate Professor Jason Ohlberg announced the return of the Center for Humanistic Inquiry Symposium, and solicited ideas for themes from the faculty.
Associate Professor Chris Vecsey announced the annual Distinguished Speaker in STEM will be Dr. Carl Hart.
DEAN OF FACULTY/VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS鈥� REPORT
Dean Mosby opened her remarks by expressing her appreciation for the campus鈥檚 energy at the start of the year. She spoke about attending the Annapolis Group Meeting in June with President Conner, and the themes that emerged of new technologies, shared governance, and college finances. Dean Mosby then looked ahead to the work of the coming semester, noting that she had recently met with Department Chairs and Program Directors to discuss Strategic Planning and budget planning. The negotiations on the Collective Bargaining Agreement with Non-Tenure Track faculty continue, as does the work on Skidmore鈥檚 reaffirmation of accreditation with Middle States. If last year was a year of renewal, she said, this will be a year of planning.
Dean Mosby expressed her gratitude to the faculty for their dedication and partnership in shaping the future of Skidmore. She noted that we are approaching the anniversary of October 7th and a contentious election, and reminded the faculty that we are a diverse community and that bringing respect and care to difficult conversations will be key as we progress through the fall semester.
She then recognized Professor Evan Mack, who is the American Prize winner for Composition for Dragon鈥檚 Breath, and Professor Kate Berheide for her recent publication of 鈥淪ustained Strain: Faculty Work Strain Under COVID-19鈥� in Research in Higher Education. Dean Mosby then recognized the faculty who received tenure or promotion in the 24-25 academic year. The Board of Trustees approved the granting of tenure and promotion to the rank of associate professor to the following:
- Emmanuel Balogun in Political Science
- Mike Dunn in Management and Business
- Ryan Overbey in Religious Studies
- Rodrigo Schneider in Economics
The Board of Trustees approved the granting of promotion to the rank of full professor to the following:
- Jason Breves in Biology
- Caroline D鈥橝bate in Management and Business
- Lisa Jackson-Schebetta in Theater
- Sarita Lagalwar in Neuroscience
- Oscar Perez-Hernandez in World Languages and Literatures
- Casey Schofield in Psychology
- Kelly Shepard in Chemistry
- Marketa Wolfe in Economics
Dean Mosby closed the faculty meeting with an invitation to the faculty to attend the reception at Scribner House immediately following the meeting.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:47 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Nora E. Graubard
Senior Administrative Coordinator