Minutes AY 2004/2005

The Arts & Sciences Council (ASC) meets regularly every academic year, including eleven times during the 2004 to 2005 academic year. The notes from said meetings are found below:

April 28, 2005

Minutes: Arts & Sciences Faculty Meeting

  • Thu, April 28, 2005
  • 3:30 to 5:00 PM
  • Old Main Chapel

Members present: Ernesto Acevedo-Munoz (FILM/CLHM), Gordon Brown (MATH), Babs Buttenfield (GEO), Bud Coleman (THDN), Robert Craig (COM), Mel Cundiff (EBIO), Jeff Dodge (S&G Record), Todd Gleeson (Dean, A&S), Lew Harvey (PSYC), Frank Hsiao (ECON), Michael Huemer (PHIL), Peter Hunt (CLAS), Jim Johnson (AAH), Faye Kleeman (EALC), Terry Kleeman (RLST), Haiyan Lee (EALC), Dale Mood (IPHY), Rolf Norgaard (PWR), Gail Ramsberger (SLHS), Artemi Romanov (GSLL), John Stocke (APS), Jennifer Wolak (PSCI), Eckart Schutrumpf (CLAS)

Guest Speaker: Michael Grant, AVC for Undergraduate Education, Chair

After a brief reception, the Chair opened the meeting at 3:45 PM.

A motion was made and seconded to approve two sets of minutes. The minutes of the Arts & Sciences Special Faculty meeting of March 17, 2005 were approved by faculty members with 3 abstentions. The minutes of the Arts & Sciences Faculty meeting on December 9, 2005 were also approved with 2 abstentions.

The Chair summarized ASC activities of the last year:

  • A proposal to grant department status to the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (PAOS) was reviewed by the Budget, Curriculum and Planning committees and approved the ASC.
  • The Dean’s proposal to seek endorsement for a new honorific title in the college, titled College Professor of Distinction was reviewed by the Personnel committee and endorsed by the ASC.
  • Course Repetition (formerly called Course Forgiveness) has been a pilot program since 2001. The BFA voted in December 2002 to make Course Forgiveness a permanent policy. However, when the Uniform Grading Policy was approved system-wide in AY 03-04, it required that the Boulder campus faculty vote again on the issue of Course Forgiveness. ASC passed a resolution at our November 2004 meeting calling for the BFA to conduct a vote of the full campus faculty on this issue. In a compromise, the BFA agreed to work with the ASC to conduct a straw poll of faculty sentiment on the issue prior to the BFA vote. Despite straw poll results indicating overwhelming campus-wide faculty support for establishment of a permanent Course Repetition policy, in December 2004, the BFA voted down a proposal to establish a permanent campus policy on course repetition/forgiveness. Subsequent to the BFA vote, Chancellor Bynny announced that he was extending the pilot program until spring 2006 so that further discussion can take place. The Chair pointed out that on this occasion faculty sentiment was heard.
  • The Chair reported that the faculty of the Women’s Studies Program had submitted a proposal to the Dean to change the name of the Women’s Studies Program to Women and Gender Studies. The proposal was discussed at a meeting of the ASC and was unanimously supported by its members.
  • Regarding the Fall Break issue, the Chair reported that representatives from ASC participated in a series of campus-wide meetings organized by BFA to discuss this issue. ASC also passed a resolution at the November 2004 meeting calling upon the Provost to a. move fall break to the week of Thanksgiving such that Thanksgiving break is extended to include the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving; and, b. add a reading day to the fall calendar. The Chair reported that Fall Break for next year has been moved back to the middle of October but it has not as yet been yet been scheduled for subsequent years. This is an issue that ASC should follow closely.
  • In January, subsequent to Chancellor Bynny’s resignation, President Hoffman called for nominations for an interim chancellor to serve no less than two years. The ASC was concerned with the proposed length of term for the interim chancellor and responded by passing a motion urging President Hoffman to initiate a national search for chancellor of the Boulder campus in Spring Semester 2005, with the goal being that the new chancellor would be on campus no later than January 2006.
  • At the February meeting, after considerable discussion regarding the Chancellor and Board of Regents to conduct an investigation of Professor Ward Churchill, the ASC passed a resolution protesting the decision to open an investigation of Professor Churchill’s writings and ideas with the express intent of determining if his conduct provides grounds to dismiss him from his position as a tenured member of the faculty; and demanding that the investigation of Professor Churchill’s scholarly record be stopped immediately because it violated the moral principles and the standards of due process enshrined in the Faculty Handbook, the Laws of the Regents, and the very idea of the University itself.
  • In February of this year, a special ASC meeting was held the purpose of which was to discuss nominations for the search of an interim provost. Since Todd Gleeson had been nominated for Interim Provost, the college could have been without permanent leadership for 18-36 months and this would have been disruptive to the College. Rather then simply nominate someone for the interim provost position, ASC members prepared and voted on a resolution that outlined the ASC concerns regarding College leadership and recommended that the provost position be left unfilled until the Chancellor’s search is complete. This vote was conducted by email and the majority of members were in favor of it.
  • Also in February, a meeting of faculty was organized by a grassroots group of faculty from across the Boulder campus to sign a petition in support of the ASC resolution that the investigation of Prof. Churchill’s scholarly record be stopped immediately. ASC assisted in gathering about 200 faculty signatures.
  • Subsequently, at a Special Arts & Sciences Faculty meeting on March 17, faculty agreed to vote by email on an “Arts & Sciences Faculty Resolution on Issues of Academic Freedom and Due Process Raised in the case of Professor Ward Churchill.” Twenty four percent of eligible faculty in the college voted on the resolution, with votes cast from 91% of the departments/units. 66 percent voted in favor of the resolution.
  • A resolution regarding CCHE Performance Contracts was submitted to President Hoffman. The ASC called upon her to remain resolute in her negotiations with CCHE to assure that 񱦵 faculty rights and responsibilities with regard to academic and scholastic policy be preserved. This goal has been accomplished.

The Chair then commented on unfinished business that could be addressed during the next year:

  • Who is eligible to vote? The ASC bylaws state that voting members of the FAS are the voting members of primary units in the College of Arts & Sciences. But voting rights differ from one department to another and it is recommended that ASC bylaws be amended to establish uniform standards across departments for College level voting.
  • Is individual privacy assured when voting via email? This concern was raised by some faculty when the ASC was conducting a FAS vote on the resolution on issues of academic freedom and due process. Ramsberger checked with legal counsel and learned that it is possible that someone could request through open records laws the email records of an election. If this were to happen, the University would have to decide if it wanted to contest the request and then a judge would listen to the arguments and decide if it would be in the best interest of the public to deny the request. Thus, we cannot assure faculty that their emailed vote will remain private. Voting by email is still the preferred method because of the speed with which it can be accomplished. Ramsberger recommended that an alternative method of conducting electronic voting be developed in the future.
  • During the last voting process it was discovered that the faculty list used by Mailing Services is neither complete nor correct as far as voting members of the College are concerned. It was decided that Lucy Nowak establishes a list of faculty eligible to vote and by updating it regularly.

The next item on the agenda was a presentation given by Michael Grant, AVC for Undergraduate Education, on proposed changes to the FCQ. He commented that a 35-page report of the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on the FCQ has recently been submitted to Interim Chancellor DiStefano. This report contains topics such as recommendations for a revised FCQ testing instrument, a point by point response to the BFA recommendations, recommendations directly to faculty regarding administration of the FCQ, and the recommended FCQ form itself. The URL of this report is: http://www.colorado.edu/pba/fcq/chancellor. A controversial issue that is still being discussed has been the treatment of women and minorities. The narrative section of the FCQ has often been used by students for abusive comments towards women instructors that could also be seen by their chairs. It is recommended that either the narrative is left out or that the instructor can decide to whom to show the comments to. Michael Grant mentioned that the committee is still requesting feedback from faculty which can be emailed to him at Michael Grant@colorado.edu

The Chair then mentioned those ASC members whose term has come to an end and thanked them for their service in faculty governance. These members are:

Scott Chamberlin (AAH) Grievance Com, Robert Craig (COM) Personnel Committee and Chair of Personnel, Ernesto Acevedo-Munoz (FILM) Diversity committee, Christopher Braider (FRIT),Chair of Personnel and Chair of Budget, Rima Salys (GSLL) Curriculum Com, Zygmunt Frajzyngier (LING) Budget Com, Terry Kleeman (RLST) Chair of Planning, and Bruce Bergner (THDN) Diversity.

The Chair introduced Prof. Barbara Buttenfield (GEOG) as the new chair of the ASC for AY 05-06 who was unanimously elected by acclamation. Buttenfield mentioned that she is looking forward serving as chair. She thanked Ramsberger for having served as ASC chair for the last two years and announced that Prof. Robert Tubbs (MATH) was elected by the Executive Committee to serve as the next Parliamentarian.

The next agenda items were reports of the AY 04-05 activities of the standing committees.

  • Christopher Braider (FRIT) chair of the Budget Committee, who could not attend this meeting, had submitted a written report and the Chair commented on his behalf. Some topics of discussion were the evaluations on how to handle tuition remission, and discussions on increasing lecturer rates. A survey was performed by comparing CU rates with rates at peer institutions. A discussion was held of moving 200K one time transfer from central into department operating budgets.
  • Barbara Buttenfield (GEOG) Chair of the Personnel committee, reported that the committee consists of 14 members and has reviewed a total of 63 cases: 20 reappointment cases, 27 promotion and tenure and 16 cases of promotion to professor. She also noted that some of the dossiers had to be returned to the departments since some cases were not clearly stated and difficult to understand. This presents a serious disadvantage for the candidate.
  • Since Robert Tubbs (MATH) Chair of the Curriculum Committee was out of town, the Chair reported on his behalf. This year Curriculum committee reviewed and approved 16 courses for Core credit; reviewed and approved revisions of the major requirements in Theatre and Dance, Woman’s Studies, History, and Art & Art History; reviewed and approved concurrent undergraduate/graduate degrees BA/MA in Religious Studies and BA/MS in Physics; recommended a revision of the Internship Guidelines for the College (subsequently approved by the ASC); recommended departmental status for the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (subsequently approved by ASC); recommended that the minimum number of credit hours required to obtain a “double degree” be reduced from 150 hours to 145 hours (subsequently approved by ASC); (Re-)instituted a review of all courses offered for core credit. The specific motion the committee passed is: The Committee will review every course in the Core to see that it continues to meet the goals of the Core area to which it is assigned. Each course will be reviewed on a 7-year cycle starting Fall 2005. In 2005-2006 the Curriculum Committee will review courses offered for QRMS and Written Communication core credit.
  • Terry Kleeman (RLST) Chair of the Planning Committee, commented that the committee’s dual charge is technology and space on campus. Past activities include the conversion of social security numbers required by the Federal Government and the introduction of a new learning management system. The time frame for the Faculty Computer Purchase Program set for 3 to 4 years is too long for modern technology and will be set back to 3 years. Construction of the Law School and ATLAS building is funded by student fees and is expected to be completed in Aug 2006. Future plans include the Business School and renovation of Norlin Library.
  • The Chair reported on behalf of Christian Kopff (HONR) Chair of Grievance committee, who had submitted a written report. This committee has dealt with 2 cases this year going back to 1980s and mid 1990s. Considering the length of time involved, the committee made a recommendation to the Dean that either a statue of limitations be instituted or that the grievant be required to generate the necessary documentation. The Grievance committee also recommended that clear criteria be developed by the Dean for annual merit evaluations of directors of programs.
  • The Diversity Committee experienced a change of leadership during last year when Gail Ramsberger took over as Chair. She reported that the committee has focused on exploring possible issues that it might pursue in the next year. Members of the committee conducted brief investigations into issues related to FCQ’s, child care for CU faculty, and graduate students on appointment who must take time off after having a baby. Ramsberger will present these issues to the Dean and the Vice Provost and Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Equity to learn of the feasibility of effecting change in these areas and then the committee will decide on a recommended committee focus for next year at its last meeting on May 2.

The Dean reported that 35 searches have been completed which represents a 50 percent increase in hiring over last year and expects a successful year in recruiting. The goal for the next year will be the reduction of vacant lines. He commented on the Colorado Challenge initiative saying that academic standards vary from department to department and noted that the overall reaction to the Challenge has been very positive. For the first time in a long time, the college has a one-time cash fund available which can be given back to the departments. At this time, the campus is able to project a salary pool of 3 percent and departments should receive between 2.0 and 2.2 percent for faculty merit raises.

The meeting adjourned by 5:00 PM.

April 14, 2005

Minutes: Arts & Sciences Council Meeting

  • Thu, April 14, 2005
  • UMC 382
  • 3:30 until 5:00 PM

Members present: Ernesto Acevedo-Munoz (FILM/CLHM), Christopher Braider (FRIT), Scott Chamberlin (AAH), Mel Cundiff (EBIO), Jeff Dodge (S&G Record), Zygmunt Frajzyngier (LING), Todd Gleeson (Dean, A&S), Luis Gonzalez-del-Valle (SPAN), Elizabeth Guertin (Dir, Academic Advising) Lew Harvey (PSYC), Frank Hsiao (ECON), Kelly Hurley (ENG), Alison Jaggar (WMST), Terry Kleeman (RLST), Eric Love (HIST), Richard Nishikawa (Asst. Dean, A&S), David Norris (IPHY), Gail Ramsberger (SLHS), ASC Chair, AnnJanette Rosga (SOCY), Rima Salys (GSLL), Charles Stern (GEOL), Patricia Sullivan (PWR), Robert Tubbs (MATH), Jeffrey Weiss (PAOS), Jennifer Wolak (PSCI)

Members absent: Douglas Bamforth (ANTH), Bruce Bergner (THDN), Babs Buttenfield (GEOG), Robert Craig (COM), Michael Huemer (PHIL), Peter Hunt (CLAS), Christian Kopff (HONR) sabbatical, Emma Perez (ETHN), Mark Winey (MCDB)

The Chair opened the meeting at 3:30 PM.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of March 10th ASC meeting. This motion was approved unanimously.

The Dean reported on the current budget situation and commented that, in general, the situation is becoming more optimistic. The Legislature is expected to approve the Long Bill, which would increase the revenue for the university by making it possible to increase resident tuition by 28 percent. The Dean also reported that the yield on new students admitted to the campus is actually higher than normal, which compensates for the expected lower freshman enrollment in the fall. As a result, the expected revenue shortfall is considerably lower than expected, enabling Ric Poreca to make up the difference by drawing on the campus cash reserves. This means that no cuts will be made at the college level. It also means that the campus is able to project a salary pool of 3 percent. Taking into account skims for retentions, departments should receive somewhere between 2.0 and 2.2 percent for faculty merit raises.

Regarding the Churchill case, the Dean reported that the Chancellor released the report of his preliminary review during spring break rather than after spring break, as promised, because, having presented it to the Regents at their meeting on March 23rd, the text would in any case have been made public before the date he had promised. The report itself consists of 2 parts. First was the discussion of whether Prof. Churchill had cross the bounds of speech protected by the first amendment. On this score, the Dean pointed out that, surprisingly, the principle of academic freedom places more constraints on faculty than the first amendment, but that, as employees of a public institution, faculty at a state university like ours have greater freedom precisely because state employment makes first amendment rights paramount. The result of this analysis was that Prof. Churchill could not be disciplined for the content of any of his writings or remarks. The second part of the report deals with allegations of academic misconduct-plagiarism, misuse of references, etc. Here, it was found that the charges against Prof. Churchill were not frivolous and must therefore be investigated by the proper body, i.e., the Standing Committee on Research Misconduct. The Dean took this opportunity to express his personal view that the Chancellor’s actions in the matter were correct. In the end, academic integrity is just as important as academic freedom because academic freedom supposes that those who enjoy it will use it properly and well.

The next item on the agenda was a discussion of the minimum number of credit hours required of students seeking double degrees. Currently the double degree policy demands that students pursuing a double degree take 150 hours of credit. The Curriculum Committee recommends that this minimum be reduced to 145 credit hours. One reason for this recommendation is that the new state voucher system has a limit of 145 credit hours. Without the financial support of the voucher system, students in the college who pursue a double degree would have to pay an additional $400 out of pocket to do so. It was also pointed out that, while all agreed that it was important that double-degree status not lead to a dilution of overall standards, there was no clear reason why 150 hours should be required as opposed to the recommended 145. Robert Tubbs, Chair of the Curriculum Committee, presented the members with the following motion:

The Arts & Sciences Council recommends that the minimum number of credit hours required for a “Double Degree” for a student in the College of Arts & Sciences be reduced from 150 to 145.

A vote was taken with the following result: 16 members voted in favor, 2 were opposed, and 1 abstained.

The reports by the Chairs of the Standing Committee could not be given owing to lack of time. It was decided to postpone this agenda item till the final meeting on April 28th.

Those present then proceeded to the election of a new ASC chair for AY 05_06. Barbara Buttenfield (GEOG) was nominated. A motion was made to elect Prof. Buttenfield as the next chair of the ASC by acclamation. All present greeted this motion with enthusiasm. Prof. Buttenfield was accordingly elected by acclamation.

The meeting adjourned by 5:00 PM.

March 17, 2005

Minutes: Arts & Sciences Special Faculty Meeting

  • Thu, March 17, 2005
  • Old Main Chapel
  • 3:30 – 5:30 PM

The meeting was attended by approximately 95 faculty members.

The Chair opened the meeting at 3:35 PM and spoke about the “ASC Resolution on Issues of Academic Freedom and Due Process Raised in the Case of Ward Churchill.” This motion had been adopted at a recent ASC meeting and reads as follows:

ASC Resolution on Issues of Academic Freedom and Due Process

Raised in the Case of Professor Ward Churchill

Whereas the University of Colorado’s fundamental mission is the discovery, critical evaluation, and free dissemination of knowledge both as an intrinsic good in its own right and for the sake of the larger society of which the university is part;

And whereas the discovery, critical evaluation, and free dissemination of knowledge depend on the university’s overriding, unconditional, and fearless commitment to seek out, express, and publish the truth to the best of our ability;

And whereas the pursuit, expression, and publication of the truth demand the freedom of all members of the community to seek the truth wherever they find it and to speak the truth as they see it, without fear or favor;

And whereas the principles of academic freedom and of freedom of speech that sustain the university in the fulfillment of its fundamental mission define the faith that we, as members of the university, have undertaken to keep with ourselves, with our students, and with the wider public we serve;

And whereas the most basic duty of all officers of the university, including the President, the Chancellor, and the Board of Regents, is to create, foster, and defend an environment in which ideas may be openly exchanged even in the face of widespread doubt, incomprehension, and hostility-mindful in this of the charge laid out in the Faculty Handbook, and recently cited by President Hoffman, that faculty members’ “efforts should not be subjected to direct or indirect pressures or interference from within the university,” and that the university itself “will resist to the utmost such pressures and interference when exerted from without”;

And whereas disagreement, and even heated disagreement, is itself integral to the process of free and open debate without which the pursuit of knowledge cannot take place;

And whereas the work of Professor Ward Churchill, like that of all university faculty, has undergone regular internal and external review by scholars in his discipline for the purpose of annual merit evaluation, promotion and tenure, and ongoing post-tenure review, thereby eliminating the need for the extraordinary ad hoc review mandated by the Board of Regents and initiated by the Chancellor;

And whereas the investigation of Professor Churchill’s scholarly record has been initiated in direct response to criticisms of his ideas and in the absence of any evidence of specific professional or academic misconduct on his part;

Be it resolved that, as elected representatives of our colleagues in the College of Arts and Scien ces, we, members of the Arts and Sciences Council, defend Professor Churchill’s right to express what he believes to be the truth, whether we personally or collectively agree with him or not;

And be it further resolved that we protest the Board of Regents’ and the Chancellor’s decision to open an investigation of Professor Churchill’s writings and ideas with the express intent of determining if his conduct provides grounds to dismiss him from his position as a tenured member of the faculty;

And be it finally resolved that we demand that the investigation of Professor Churchill’s scholarly record be stopped immediately as violating the moral principles and the standards of due process enshrined in the Faculty Handbook, the Laws of the Regents, and the very idea of the university itself.

The Chair commented that in order to vote on this motion, a quorum of 50 percent representation of academic departments/programs and 10 percent of A&S faculty is required, which meant that members of 22 departments/programs and 73 individual members of the A&S faculty had to be present at the meeting.

During a long and animated discussion, those attending the meeting expressed a wide variety of viewpoints on the many issues posed by the Churchill case and the university’s handling of it. While a number of those present defended the Chancellor’s decision to open an investigation prompted initially only by the content of Prof. Churchill’s now notorious essay on 9/11, many others expressed concerns not only about what seemed to them to be an infringement of academic freedom, also about what looked like a violation of due process. However, concern was also expressed that the text of the resolution itself needed to be accurate at every point. Attention was drawn in particular to the 7th paragraph (underlined above). A motion was made and seconded to amend the resolution by eliminating this paragraph on the grounds that the circumstances surrounding Prof. Churchill’s tenure remained unclear. When Interim Chancellor DiStefano arrived further discussion was “put on the table” to be resumed at the conclusion of DiStefano’s presentation.

The Chair then thanked Chancellor DiStefano for agreeing to meet with faculty to discuss their concerns and turned the floor over to the Chancellor. Chancellor DiStefano began by saying that the report to determine whether Prof. Churchill may have overstepped the bounds of responsibility as a faculty member, showing possible cause for dismissal, would be published on March 28th, following the return from spring break. (Note that the report was actually published on March 25th, during spring break.) He began by reporting on the “good new,” saying that the Governor and the Senate had agreed on a budget proposal. The General Assembly would ask voters in November to retain TABOR surplus revenues over the next 5 to 7 years to fund (among other things) health care and public education. This would free up state general funds for colleges and universities. He also reported that substantial tuition increases had been included in the long bill and had been protected from gubernatorial veto.

He then went on to discuss the review of Prof. Churchill’s work. He noted that the University had initiated similar reviews in the past with regard to potential grounds for dismissal, adding that the Churchill case had been blown out of proportion by the media and by the intense public interest in it. He argued therefore that precedents existed for the preliminary investigation he had undertaken in this case and reminded those present that the Boulder campus Standing Committee on Research Misconduct is already in place and that the case could be referred to it in the formal way should need arise. He also assured the faculty that the investigation of Prof. Churchill’s work was being confined to writings, speeches, etc., listed on his CV. The Chancellor then responded to questions from the assembled faculty. The general tenor of his responses was that, though he understood faculty concerns, he stood by his decision to proceed as he had done in the matter.

After the Chancellor left, the faculty resumed the discussion regarding the 7th paragraph of the ASC resolution and agreed by a vote of 41 in favor and 33 opposed to eliminate this paragraph altogether. A quorum was now called and the requirements for a quorum could no longer be since a number of faculty had left following the Chancellor’s remarks. The Chair recommended that the full faculty of Arts & Sciences vote on this resolution by email. A motion was accordingly made and seconded to this effect, and following an unsuccessful attempt to table it, a majority of those present agreed to conduct an email vote during the next week of the full A&S faculty on the following resolution:

Arts & Sciences Faculty Resolution on Issues of Academic Freedom and Due Process Raised in the Case of Professor Ward Churchill

Whereas the University of Colorado’s fundamental mission is the discovery, critical evaluation, and free dissemination of knowledge both as an intrinsic good in its own right and for the sake of the larger society of which the university is part;

And whereas the discovery, critical evaluation, and free dissemination of knowledge depend on the university’s overriding, unconditional, and fearless commitment to seek out, express, and publish the truth to the best of our ability;

And whereas the pursuit, expression, and publication of the truth demand the freedom of all members of the community to seek the truth wherever they find it and to speak the truth as they see it, without fear or favor;

And whereas the principles of academic freedom and of freedom of speech that sustain the university in the fulfillment of its fundamental mission define the faith that we, as members of the university, have undertaken to keep with ourselves, with our students, and with the wider public we serve;

And whereas the most basic duty of all officers of the university, including the President, the Chancellor, and the Board of Regents, is to create, foster, and defend an environment in which ideas may be openly exchanged even in the face of widespread doubt, incomprehension, and hostility-mindful in this of the charge laid out in the Faculty Handbook, and recently cited by Pre sident Hoffman, that faculty members’ “efforts should not be subjected to direct or indirect pressures or interference from within the university,” and that the university itself “will resist to the utmost such pressures and interference when exerted from without”;

And whereas disagreement, and even heated disagreement, is itself integral to the process of free and open debate without which the pursuit of knowledge cannot take place;

And whereas the investigation of Professor Churchill’s scholarly record has been initiated in direct response to criticisms of his ideas and in the absence of any evidence of specific professional or academic misconduct on his part;

Be it resolved that, as elected representatives of our colleagues in the College of Arts and Scien ces, we, members of the Arts and Sciences Council, defend Professor Churchill’s right to express what he believes to be the truth, whether we personally or collectively agree with him or not;

And be it further resolved that we protest the Board of Regents’ and the Chancellor’s decision to open an investigation of Professor Churchill’s writings and ideas with the express intent of de termining if his conduct provides grounds to dismiss him from his position as a tenured member of the faculty;

And be it finally resolved that we demand that the investigation of Professor Churchill’s scholarly record be stopped immediately as violating the moral principles and the standards of due process enshrined in the Faculty Handbook, the Laws of the Regents, and the very idea of the university itself.

he meeting adjourned by 5:20 PM.

Note:

Email voting by Arts & Sciences Faculty took place from Saturday, March 19 to Wednesday, March 23, 2005. The result is as follows:

  • 178 votes cast
  • 118 (66 percent) in favor of the resolution
  • 54 (30 percent) against the resolution
  • 6 (3 percent) abstain

Twenty-four percent of the eligible faculty in the College voted on the resolution, with votes cast from 91 percent of the departments/units in the College, thus, faculty participation in this vote meets the requirements for a quorum.

This result was shared with CU administrators, members of the Board of Regents, and the Silver and Gold Record.

March 10, 2005

Minutes: Arts & Sciences Council Meeting

  • Thu, March 10, 2005
  • UMC 382 / 384
  • 3:30 until 5:00 PM

Members present: Christopher Braider (FRIT), Babs Buttenfield (GEOG), Scott Chamberlin (AAH), Robert Craig (COM), Mel Cundiff (EBIO), Jeff Dodge (S&G Record), Todd Gleeson, Dean A&S, Luis Gonzalez-del-Valle (SPAN), Lew Harvey (PSYC), Frank Hsiao (ECON), Michael Huemer (PHIL), Peter Hunt (CLAS), Kelley Hurley (ENG), Alison Jaggar (WMST), Terry Kleeman (RLST), Eric Love (HIST), David Norris (IPHY), Emma Perez (ETHN), Gail Ramsberger (SLHS) Chair of ASC, AnnJanette Rosga (SOCY), Rima Salys (GSLL), Chuck Stern (GEOL), Patricia Sullivan (PRW), Robert Tubbs (MATH), Jennifer Wolak (PSCI)

Members absent: Douglas Bamforth (ANTH), Ernesto Acevedo-Munoz (FILM/CLHM), Christian Kopff (HONR) sabbatical, Zygmunt Frajzyngier (LING), Mark Winey (MCDB), Jeffrey Weiss (PAOS), Bruce Bergner (THDN)

The Chair opened the meeting at 3:30 PM.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of February 10th ASC meeting. This motion was approved unanimously.

The Chair reported on the activities that have taken place recently related to the Ward Churchill Case and made reference to the following Letter to the Editor:

Halt Inquiry of Churchill Now

By Gail Ramsberger and Christopher Braider

February 19, 2005

The University of Colorado’s fundamental mission is the discovery and free dissemination of knowledge both as an intrinsic good and for the sake of society at large. These core activities depend on the university’s unconditional and fearless commitment to seek and publish the truth to the best of our ability. This in turn demands the freedom of all members of the community to seek and express the truth as they see it, without fear or favor.

Further, the principles of academic freedom and freedom of speech that sustain the university in fulfilling its fundamental mission define the faith the faculty undertake to keep with colleagues, students and the wider public. The most basic duty of all officers of the university, including the president, the chancellor and the Board of Regents, is accordingly to foster and defend an environment in which ideas may be openly exchanged even in the face of widespread incomprehension and hostility—mindful in this of the charge laid out in the faculty handbook, and recently cited by President Elizabeth Hoffman, that faculty members’ “efforts should not be subjected to direct or indirect pressures or interference from within the university,” and that the university itself “will resist to the utmost such pressures and interference when exerted from without.”

This duty is all the more crucial in that disagreement, and even heated disagreement, is itself integral to the free and open debate, without which the pursuit of knowledge cannot take place.

In the case of Professor Ward Churchill, we point out that, like all university faculty, he has undergone regular internal and external review by scholars in his discipline for the purpose of annual merit evaluation, promotion and tenure, and ongoing post-tenure review. This fact eliminates the need for the review initiated by the chancellor with the consent of the Board of Regents. We further note that the investigation of Professor Churchill’s scholarly record has been initiated in direct response to criticisms of his ideas and in the absence of any evidence of specific professional or academic misconduct on his part.

In view therefore of the issues of academic freedom and due process raised by the investigation of Professor Churchill’s work, and in our capacity as elected representatives of our colleagues in the College of Arts and Sciences, the members of the Arts and Sciences Council have resolved: 1) to defend Professor Churchill’s right to express what he believes to be the truth, whether we personally or collectively agree with him or not; 2) to protest the Board of Regents’ and the chancellor’s decision to investigate Professor Churchill’s writings and ideas with the express intent of determining if his conduct provides grounds to dismiss him from his position as a tenured member of the faculty; and 3) to demand that the investigation of Professor Churchill’s scholarly record be stopped immediately as violating the moral principles and the standards of due process enshrined in the faculty handbook, the Laws of the Regents, and the very idea of the university itself.

Gail Ramsberger is an Associate Professor at the University of Colorado and Chair of the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Council. Christopher Braider is Acting Director of the Center for Humanities & the Arts and Professor of French and Comparative Literature. They write on behalf of the College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Council.

Following the ASC meeting on Feb 10, the members voted by email in support of the following resolution:

ASC Resolution on Issues of Academic Freedom and Due Process

Raised in the Case of Professor Ward Churchill

Whereas the University of Colorado’s fundamental mission is the discovery, critical evaluation, and free dissemination of knowledge both as an intrinsic good in its own right and for the sake of the larger society of which the university is part;

And whereas the discovery, critical evaluation, and free dissemination of knowledge depend on the university’s overriding, unconditional, and fearless commitment to seek out, express, and publish the truth to the best of our ability;

And whereas the pursuit, expression, and publication of the truth demand the freedom of all members of the community to seek the truth wherever they find it and to speak the truth as they see it, without fear or favor;

And whereas the principles of academic freedom and of freedom of speech that sustain the university in the fulfillment of its fundamental mission define the faith that we, as members of the university, have undertaken to keep with ourselves, with our students, and with the wider public we serve;

And whereas the most basic duty of all officers of the university, including the President, the Chancellor, and the Board of Regents, is to create, foster, and defend an environment in which ideas may be openly exchanged even in the face of widespread doubt, incomprehension, and hostility-mindful in this of the charge laid out in the Faculty Handbook, and recently cited by Pre sident Hoffman, that faculty members’ “efforts should not be subjected to direct or indirect pressures or interference from within the university,” and that the university itself “will resist to the utmost such pressures and interference when exerted from without”;

And whereas disagreement, and even heated disagreement, is itself integral to the process of free and open debate without which the pursuit of knowledge cannot take place;

And whereas the work of Professor Ward Churchill, like that of all university faculty, has undergone regular internal and external review by scholars in his discipline for the purpose of annual merit evaluation, promotion and tenure, and ongoing post-tenure review, thereby eliminating the need for the extraordinary ad hoc review mandated by the Board of Regents and initiated by the Chancellor;

And whereas the investigation of Professor Churchill’s scholarly record has been initiated in direct response to criticisms of his ideas and in the absence of any evidence of specific professional or academic misconduct on his part;

Be it resolved that, as elected representatives of our colleagues in the College of Arts and Scien ces, we, members of the Arts and Sciences Council, defend Professor Churchill’s right to express what he believes to be the truth, whether we personally or collectively agree with him or not;

And be it further resolved that we protest the Board of Regents’ and the Chancellor’s decision to open an investigation of Professor Churchill’s writings and ideas with the express intent of de termining if his conduct provides grounds to dismiss him from his position as a tenured member of the faculty;

And be it finally resolved that we demand that the investigation of Professor Churchill’s scholarly record be stopped immediately as violating the moral principles and the standards of due process enshrined in the Faculty Handbook, the Laws of the Regents, and the very idea of the university itself.

The result of the vote was: 22 in favor, and 2 against the motion.

On Feb 16th, a meeting of faculty was organized by a grassroots group of faculty from across the Boulder campus and 񱦵 faculty were invited to attend in order to sign a petition in support of the ASC resolution. Faculty could also submit their signatures by mail or email. About 200 faculty ultimately signed the petition and with funding from signatures, the petition appeared as a full-page ad in the Boulder Daily Camera.

On March 3rd, the ASC Executive Committee decided to call a special meeting of the A&S faculty regarding issues surrounding the Ward Churchill case. Ramsberger composed and sent the following letter to the Chancellor, the President, and the Chair of Board of Regents:

Dear Chancellor DiStefano, President Hoffman and Mr. Rutledge,

In response to recent overwhelming faculty concern regarding academic freedom and interpretation of the related portions of the Rules of the Regents, the executive committee of the Arts and Science Council is calling a special meeting of the College of Arts and Science Faculty on March 17th.

I am writing to you to invite you to speak to faculty at the March 17th meeting (3:30 – 5:00, Old Main Chapel). Should you not be able to attend, please consider sending a representative. The issues faculty would like to better understand are:

  • Does the initiation of dismissal for cause require that a formal written complaint against a faculty member be filed with the University? What steps are taken prior to initiating an investigation of a faculty member to assure that the complaint is legitimate and that, if proven to be true, the basis of the complaint falls within the grounds for dismissal outlined in the Rules of the Regents? What is the role of the Faculty Senate Committee on Privilege and Tenure role in dismissal for cause proceedings?
  • What proactive steps are University officials taking to fulfill their obligation to assure that the University is a place in which there is “freedom to inquire, discover, publish and teach truth as the faculty member sees it, subject to no control or authority save the control and authority of the rational methods by which truth is established” (Laws of the Regents Article 5, Part D: Principles of Academic Freedom)?
  • How do performance contract negotiations with CCHE regarding CORE curriculum take into account that the faculty have the “principal role for originating academic policy and standards, including initial authorization and direction of all courses, curricula, and degrees offered, admissions criteria, regulation of student academic conduct and activities, and determination of candidates for degrees” (Laws of the Regents Article 5, Part E: Faculty Government)?
  • What role do the Governor and legislature have in reviewing/establishing criteria for awarding tenure given that the rules of the Regents state that “In the selection and evaluation of faculty, the faculty shall have the principal role, subject to the concurrence of the administration and the ultimate authority of the Board of Regents or its designee(s),” and, “In establishing policies and procedures for faculty appointment, reappointment, promotion, tenure and post-tenure review, and establishing policies and procedures for the appeal of decisions in these areas, the faculty shall collaborate with the campus and system administrations in the development of recommendations to the president for submission to the Board of Regents” (Laws of the Regents Article 5, Part E: Faculty Government)?

I cannot remember another time in my 14 years with the University when the faculty have felt so vulnerable to attacks from persons outside the University, and confused by the reaction of University officials to those threats. The negative impact that the events of the last few weeks have had on faculty morale cannot be overstated. It is our sincere hope that your presence at the March 17th meeting will be a step in rebuilding faculty confidence in our University.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Gail Ramsberger, Sc.D., Associate Professor and ASC Chair

Cc: Todd Gleeson, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences

Chancellor DiStefano responded that he would attend the meeting. Mr. Jerry Rutledge replied that he would not attend. No response was received from President Hoffman.

The Dean then provided the Council with an update on University finances and reported that the budget of the College is in remarkably good shape. He will discuss it in more detail at the next ASC Budget Committee meeting. For a short period of time there is some one-time extra money available that could be used for non-continuing needs. The Dean reported further that freshman applications are down and this is believed to be due to a combination of factors, such as higher tuition costs, and the athletic and alcohol issues. Current controversy related to the Ward Churchill case played no role in this year’s applications since the deadline for applications was well before the Churchill case hit the press. For the fall, the enrollment will be down considerably and, consequently, the budget will be out of balance next year.

The Dean reported that he met with the Curriculum committee when they discussed the possible review of CORE curriculum. At this point, the committee is considering establishing a process by which each CORE course is reviewed on a regular (possibly every 7 years) bases. The focus of the review would be to assure that CORE courses in their current form continue to meet the criteria for the CORE area in which they are listed.

As far as new business is concerned, the Chair reported that Terry Kleeman (RLST), Chair of the Planning committee, will leave the ASC in May. In conjunction with being a chair on the ASC standing committee, Terry also served on the Information Technology Council and the Boulder Campus Planning Commission. The Chair asked the members to let her know if anybody is interested in pursuing these committees outside the ASC. Terry then elaborated that the Planning committee is involved in the physical space on campus. The BCPC is engaged in capital projects and votes on priorities. Membership on this committee is nominated by the Chancellor. The IT Council deals with computers and networks.

At the next meeting on April 14th, a new chair for the ASC will be elected. The Chair asked its members to let her know who would be interested in serving as chair.

The end of the spring semester is a time when some members’ term on the ASC comes to an end. The Chair asked that those members that are leaving ask their department to elect a replacement before the end of the semester.

For the next meeting on April 14th, the Chair asked the chairs of the standing committees to prepare a report of their committee activities that have taken place during the course of the academic year.

The meeting adjourned at 4:35 PM.

February 10, 2005

Minutes: Art & Sciences Council Meeting

  • Thu, February 10, 2005
  • UMC 382 – 384
  • 3:30 until 5:00 PM

Members present: Ernesto Acevedo-Munoz (FILM/CLHM), Doug Bamforth (ANTH), Christopher Braider (FRIT), Babs Buttenfield (GEOG), Scott Chamberlin (A&AH), Robert Craig (COM), Mel Cundiff (EBIO), Jeff Dodge (S&G Record), Todd Gleeson, Dean A&S, Luis Gonzalez-del-Valle (SPAN), Lew Harvey (PSYC) Frank Hsiao (ECON), Michael Huemer (PHIL), Peter Hunt (CLAS), Kelly Hurley (ENG), Alison Jaggar (WMST), Terry Kleeman (RLST), David Norris (IPHY), Emma Perez (ETHN), Michael Radelet (SOCY) for A. Rosga, Gail Ramsberger (SLHS) ASC Chair, Rima Salys (GSLL), Chuck Stern (GEOL), Robert Tubbs (MATH), Jeffrey Weiss (PAOS), Jennifer Wolak (PSCI)

Members absent: Bruce Bergner (THDN), Zygmunt Frajzyngier (LING), Christian Kopff (HONR) sabbatical, Haiyan Lee (EALC), Eric Love (HIST), Patricia Sullivan (PWR), Mark Winey (MCDB)

Guest speaker: Prof. Michael Wertheimer (PSYC)

The Chair opened the meeting at 3:30.

A motion was made and seconded to approve two sets of minutes. The ASC minutes of January 13, 2005 meeting were approved unanimously. The minutes of the Special ASC Meeting of February 1, 2005, which included a motion regarding the CU-Boulder provost search, were approved by a vote of 16 members in favor, with 6 abstentions.

The Dean gave his report at the beginning of the meeting since he had to leave early to attend a meeting with the Chancellor. He reported that enrollment will be substantially lower in the fall. Out-of-state students have not applied at the rate of previous years. The enrollment of 5,200 freshmen of the past will drop down to approximately 4,300 to 4,700 next fall. This decline will have budgetary implications affecting the entire campus.

The Dean briefly commented on the core curriculum, which changes over time and, consequently, needs to be reviewed. He is currently planning how to initiate such a review process. Faculty should engage in discussions of this topic next year.

The Dean reported that the Grievance Committee has dealt with two cases this year. One case involved a grievance that was based on alleged errors in merit evaluations in the mid 1990s. The committee concluded that the evidence available did not support the salary grievance. The other grievance was based on alleged low salary increases relative to department peers that occurred in the 1980s. Considering the length of time involved, the committee found it impossible to reconstruct the case in order to reach a determination. In response to this second case, the Chair of the Grievance Committee submitted a letter to the Dean recommending either that a statute of limitations be instituted for grievances or that grievants be required to generate the necessary documentation in cases originating from events in the distant past. The Dean, who pronounced himself in favor of a statute of limitations, will ask the Grievance committee to make a formal recommendation to the ASC.

Before leaving for his meeting with the Chancellor, the Dean indicated that he could not comment on the controversy surrounding Prof. Ward Churchill of Ethnic Studies since the Provost had named him to the panel assisting in the review process the Chancellor announced on February 3rd.

The Chair reported that the faculty of the Women’s Studies Program had submitted a proposal to the Dean to change the name of the Women’s Studies Program to Women and Gender Studies. This request is being made to recognize the shift in the program’s focus from women’s studies alone to a broader exploration of problems of both women and gender. The Dean seeks the advice of the ASC regarding this proposal. A brief discussion ensued in which the representative from sociology said that since faculty in his department also study issues related to gender, the proposed name change may create some confusion. Sociology had not been consulted prior to today’s meeting and he suggested that future proposals for departmental name changes should reflect consultation and support from other departments with possible overlap in research interests. The proposal then received unanimous support from those in attendance.

Prof. Michael Wertheimer (PSYC), former president of the 񱦵 chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, a national honorary society of scholars that recognizes student excellence in the arts and sciences, is now in a crisis because the current president and treasurer will step down at the end of the year and no members of the faculty (who must themselves be members of Phi Beta Kappa) have so far stepped forward to replace them. Prof. Wertheimer invited eligible faculty to contact Lew Harvey (PSYC) or Jerry Peterson (PHYS) if they are interested in supporting the chapter.

The next item on the agenda was a resolution concerning Prof. Ward Churchill which was presented to the ASC. As presented to the Council, the Resolution read as follows:

ASC Resolution concerning Ward Churchill

Whereas the University of Colorado’s fundamental mission is the discovery, critical evaluation, and free dissemination of knowledge conceived both as an intrinsic good and as a good for the larger society of which the University is part;

And whereas the discovery, critical evaluation, and free dissemination of knowledge depend upon the University’s overriding, unconditional, and fearless commitment to seek out, express, and publish the truth without which knowledge cannot exist;

And whereas the pursuit, expression, and publication of the truth demand the freedom of all members of the community to seek the truth wherever they find it and to speak the truth as they see it, without fear or favor;

And whereas the principles of academic freedom and of freedom of speech that sustain the University in the fulfillment of its fundamental mission define the faith that we, as members of the University, have undertaken to keep with ourselves, with our students, and with the wider public we serve;

And whereas the most basic duty of all officers of the University, including the President, the Chancellor, and the Board of Regents, is to create, foster, and defend an environment in which truth may be freely sought wherever it is found and in which truth may be freely spoken even in the face of widespread doubt, incomprehension, and hostility;

And whereas disagreement, and even heated disagreement, is itself integral to the process of free and open debate without which the pursuit of knowledge and truth cannot take place;

And whereas, as statements by President Elizabeth Hoffman wisely remind us, the University of Colorado, and especially the Board of Regents, already has a sorry history of infringing on freedom of speech and freedom of belief to the detriment of the University’s true character and mission as an institution devoted to the free pursuit of knowledge and truth;

And whereas Professor Churchill’s work, like that of all University faculty, has regularly undergone rigorous internal and external review by scholars in his discipline for the purpose of annual merit evaluation, promotion and tenure, and ongoing post-tenure review, thereby eliminating the need for the extraordinary ad hoc review mandated by the Board of Regents and initiated by the Chancellor;

And whereas no evidence has been presented of any specific act of professional or academic misconduct on Professor Churchill’s part;

Be it resolved that the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences defend the right of our colleague, Professor Ward Churchill, to express what he believes to be the truth, whether we personally or collectively agree with him or not;

And be it further resolved that the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences deplore the ill-considered and inflammatory statements about Professor Churchill’s opinions circulated by members of the Board of Regents, undermining the principles on which the University stands;

And be it finally resolved that the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences protest the Board of Regents’ and the Chancellor’s decision to open an investigation of Professor Churchill’s writings and ideas with the express intent of determining if Professor Churchill’s conduct provides grounds to dismiss him from his position as a tenured member of the faculty.

The resolution was discussed at considerable length. Members present agreed on some changes to the motion and Christopher Braider (FRIT), ASC Parliamentarian, volunteered to prepare an amended version for the following day. The Chair proposed to send the amended version by email to the ASC for a vote, also to take place on the following day. All members present were in favor of this procedure.

The meeting adjourned by 5:05 PM.

February 1, 2005 – Special

Minutes: Special ASC Meeting

  • Feb 1, 2005
  • 4:00 to 5:00
  • UMC 415

Members present: Mel Cundiff (EBIO), Zygmunt Frajzyngier (LING), Lew Harvey (PSYC), Christian Kopff (HONR), David Norris (IPHY), Gail Ramsberger (SLHS), Chair of ASC, AnnJanette Rosga (SOCY) Charles Stern (GEOL), Mark Winey (MCBD), Jennifer Wolak (PSCI)

Guests present: Susan Barney Jones (Editor, S&G Record), Jeff Dodge (S&G Record)

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss nominations for the search of an interim provost position. Interim Chancellor DiStefano had requested that nominations to be sent to his office no later than Thursday, Feb 3.

The Chair reported that several members of the executive committee recently met with the Dean to discuss the interim provost search. ASC executive committee members shared our concern that should the Dean be selected (he’s already been nominated) to serve as interim provost, the College would have interim leadership for 18-36 months and we do not see this as being in the best interest of the College. Todd remarked that he was not seeking the interim provost position, but if his serving would be in the best interest of the College, he would be willing to serve.

Subsequent to that meeting and with the input of the executive committee, the Chair prepared the following draft motion:

  • Arts and Science Council
  • Motion: 񱦵 Provost Search
  • January 31, 2005

Whereas, Provost Phil DiStefano has agreed to serve as Interim Chancellor of the Boulder Campus subsequent to the resignation of Chancellor Richard Byyny,

And whereas, Interim Chancellor DiStefano has requested nominations for Interim Provost, who will be expected to serve until the Chancellor’s search is completed,

And whereas, it is crucial that the person selected for Interim Provost be well versed with campus administrative issues, policies and procedures, a respected and experienced leader, and capable of working together with Interim Chancellor DiStefano to continue to move the campus forward,

And whereas, Todd Gleeson has demonstrated all of these characteristics in both his current capacity as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and while serving as Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs from 1997-2001,

And whereas, if Dean Gleeson were to be selected to serve as Interim Provost the College of Arts and Sciences could be without permanent leadership for 18-36 months; the length of service required of the Interim Provost hinging on the completion of Chancellor’s search, as well as the Provost search, should Interim Chancellor DiStefano be a candidate (and selected) for Chancellor,

Be it resolved, that the Arts and Science Council nominates Todd Gleeson for Interim Provost, but only with the stipulation that the time-line for the Chancellor’s search be moved forward to begin immediately.

Discussion then followed. Members expressed their concern that if Todd were to be selected to serve as Interim Provost the College of Arts and Sciences could be without permanent leadership for 18-36 months which would be disruptive to the college.

Considering that the campus has been run without a provost prior to Richard Byyny’s chancellorship, the members felt that Interim Chancellor Phil DiStefano is capable of leading the campus for 12 to 18 months without an Interim Provost. And consequently, if there is no need to fill the interim provost position, the Dean could continue with his present responsibilities. The members felt strongly that Todd’s leadership is highly valued by the faculty and that he should continue leading of the College, which is the largest college on campus.

The members agreed that the Chair prepare a new motion that includes these concerns and recommendations. Since there was no quorum at the time of the meeting, it was decided to conduct a vote by email asking ASC members to reply by voting either in favor, against, or abstain.

The meeting adjourned by 5:00 PM.

January 13, 2005

Minutes: Arts & Sciences Council Meeting

  • Thu, Jan 13, 2005
  • UMC 382 – 384
  • 3:30 – 5:00 PM

Members present: Ernesto Acevedo-Munoz (FILM, CLHM), Robert Craig (COM), Mel Cundiff (EBIO), Jeff Dodge (S&G Record), Zygmunt Frajzyngier (LING), Luis Gonzalez-del-Valle (SPAN), Lew Harvey (PSYC), Frank Hsiao (ECON), Peter Hunt (CLAS), Kelly Hurley (ENG), Alison Jaggar (WMST), Christian Kopff (HONR), Haiyan Lee (EALC), Eric Love (HIST), David Norris (IPHY), Gail Ramsberger (SLHS) Chair ASC, AnnJanette Rosga (SOCY), Rima Salys (GSLL), Charles Stern (GEOL), Robert Tubbs (MATH), Jeffrey Weiss (PAOS), Babs Buttenfield (GEOG)

Members absent: Scott Chamberlin (AAH), Douglas Bamforth (ANTH), Todd Gleeson (Dean A&S), Ward Churchill (ETHN), Christopher Braider (FRIT), Mark Winey (MCDB), Michael Huemer (PHIL), David Mapel (PSCI), Patricia Sullivan (PWR), Terry Kleeman (RLST), Bruce Bergner (THDN)

The Chair opened the meeting at 3:30 PM.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the November 18, 2004 ASC meeting. The motion was approved unanimously.

The major topic of discussion was the search and nomination for an interim UCB chancellor. Since Chancellor Richard Byyny announced his resignation last month, President Hoffman is soliciting nominations for an interim chancellor to serve for no less than 2 years. The Chair reported that the associate deans in the college of Arts & Sciences invited the ASC executive committee to attend a special Chairs and Directors meeting held over the winter break to discuss nominees. Ramsberger reported that at that meeting Provost Phil DiStefano was mentioned as a strong candidate to serve as interim chancellor. Members at the ASC meeting considered the possibility of Phil DiStefano serving as interim chancellor for at least two years in which case an interim provost would have to be elected, and since Todd Gleeson, Dean of Arts & Sciences has been mentioned as a leading candidate for that job, the college would be left with an interim dean until the chancellor and provost positions have been filled permanently. The Chair expressed her concern that it would not be wise to have key leadership positions filled on a temporary basis at a time when the university is experiencing a series of problems. In addition, the President intends to delay the search for a UCB chancellor, until the search for a UCDHSC chancellor is completed. After some discussion, members strongly agreed that the university would best be served by initiating a national search in the spring of this year. The Chair presented the members with the following motion:

  • Arts and Science Council
  • Motion: CU-Boulder Chancellor Search
  • January 13, 2005

Whereas, 񱦵 Chancellor Richard Byyny announced his resignation and President Elizabeth Hoffman has asked the campus for nominations for an interim chancellor to serve no less than two years,

And whereas, recent events related to athletics, finances, and alcohol abuse and violence against women on campus, have disrupted the campus and caused serious damage to the reputation of the University of Colorado at Boulder,

And whereas these issues remain unresolved,

And whereas the health and well-being of the 񱦵, as the flagship campus in the University of Colorado system, has far reaching implication for all components of the University of Colorado system,

And whereas, selecting a chancellor after conducting a national search provides the University with the opportunity to recruit an outstanding new leader who can then address serious unresolved intellectual as well as fiscal and ethical issues and guide the Campus forward as it works to restore its reputation,

And whereas, the campus has an immediate need for strong and committed leadership and this need cannot be met through appointment of a “long-term” interim chancellor,

Be it resolved that the Arts and Science Council urges President Hoffman to initiate a national search for chancellor of the Boulder campus in Spring Semester 2005, with the goal being that the new chancellor will be on campus no later than January 2006.

The members voted on this motion and it was approved unanimously.

The Chair mentioned that she would send this motion to the President and Regents chair by email without delay.

Robert Tubbs (MATH), Chair of the Curriculum Committee, presented the council members with “A&S Guidelines on Internship” asking them to vote on a change relating to maximum internship hours to be used toward graduation, which reads, “Students can count a maximum of 9 internship credit hours toward their degree in A&S, with no more than 6 hours acquired in one department.” The change to be made is from 6 to 9 internship credit hours. A vote was taken and all members agreed on the change. The Dean will communicate these changes to the departments within the college.

The meeting adjourned by 4:30 PM.

December 9, 2004

Minutes: Arts & Sciences Faculty Meeting

  • Thu, December 9, 2004
  • 3:30 – 5:00 PM Chapel of Old Main Old
  • 5:00 – 6:00 PM Reception – Hall outside Chapel

Arts & Sciences Faculty present: Ernesto Acevedo-Munoz (FILM/CLHM), Christopher Braider (FRIT), Gordon Brown (MATH), Babs Buttenfield (GEOG), Scott Chamberlin (A&AH), Robert Craig (COM), Mel Cundiff (EBIO), Richard Devin (THDN), Kimberly Dickey (A&AH), Phil DiStefano (Provost), Jeff Dodge (S&G Record), Darna Dufour (ANTH), Bengt Fornberg (APPM), Todd Gleeson (Dean, A&S), James Green (APS), Lew Harvey (PSYC), Thomas Hollweck (GSLL), Frank Hsiao (ECON), Michael Huemer (PHIL), Peter Hunt (CLAS), Kelly Hurley (ENG), Christian Kopff ((HON), Dennis McGilvray (ANTH), John McIver (PSCI), Richard Nishikawa (Asst. Dean, A&S), David Norris (IPHY), Fred Pampel (SOCY), Gail Ramsberger (SLHS) Chair of ASC, Michael Shull (APS), Charles Stern (GEOL), Paul Strom (HON), Patricia Sullivan (PWR), Robert Tubbs (MATH), Jeffrey Weiss (PAOS), RL Widmann (ENG), Mark Winey (MCDB)

ASC Members absent: Douglas Bamforth (ANTH), Bruce Bergner (THDN), Ward Churchill (ETHN), Zygmunt Frajzyngier (LING), Luis Gonzalez-del-Valle (SPAN), Terry Kleeman (RLST), Haiyan Lee (EALC), Eric Love (HIST), David Mapel (PSCI), AnnJanette Rosga (SOCY), Rima Salys (GSLL)

The Chair opened the meeting at 3:30 PM.

After a minor revision to the minutes of the A&S Faculty meeting on April 29, 2004 a motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes. This motion was approved unanimously.

The Chair commented on the general functions of the A&S Council, saying that all units of the college, with the exception of two, are represented and participate in the monthly meetings, where faculty have an opportunity to express their opinions and concerns. However, the real work of the ASC is accomplished by its six standing committees: the Budget, Curriculum, Diversity and Community, Grievance, Personnel and Planning committees. These standing committees also include non-ASC members who actively participate in their activities.

Christopher Braider (FRIT), Chair of the Budget Committee, reported that the committee meets with the Dean to discuss both the current state of the budget and plans for the future. He commented that this year has been a peculiar year since, while no budget cuts have had to be made, the College has no word on what next year’s budget will look like, making planning difficult. The committee has nonetheless focused on a couple of issues, such as the honoraria paid to lecturers, which have remained stagnant for a decade. The committee compared rates at CU with those paid at other institutions in the state and found that, bad as they may be here, they are generally worse elsewhere. However, these comparisons have not dissuaded the Dean and the committee from looking for ways to increase lecturer honoraria, which they expect to have done by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the committee has also investigated ways of increasing departmental operating budgets. To this end, they are revisiting the algorithm currently used to determine operating budgets in order to see if adjustments are required.

Robert Tubbs (MATH), Chair of the Curriculum Committee, reported that the committee approves and rejects courses proposed for the core. The main topic of discussion for the spring will be to elaborate clearer criteria to determine what courses should be admitted to the core and what courses should be excluded. Bob noted that next year’s agenda could be influenced by University’s negotiations with the state regarding the recently mandated performance contract. Richard Nishikawa, Asst. Dean for Curricular Affairs, commented that both the College and the system administration are defending faculty control of the core curriculum.

Gail Ramsberger (SLHS), Chair of the ASC and Diversity Committee, reported that the Diversity Committee is at present in a state of limbo. For one thing, the campus as a whole already has a wide range of committees and offices dealing with diversity issues relating to everything from ethnic and cultural differences to disabilities. This has made it hard for the ASC Diversity Committee to find a distinctive focus of its own. To advance this process, a meeting with various diversity groups at the campus level has been planned for the spring. The meeting will be attended by Christie Yoshinaga-Itano, Assistant Vice Provost & Associate VC for Diversity. It is hoped that these discussions will provide a better idea of how the ASC Diversity Committee can be more effective in future. The Chair noted that anyone interested in joining the Diversity Committee as a non-ASC member would be very welcome.

Christian Kopff (HONR), Chair of the Grievance Committee, reported that the Committee will continue working on the criteria for annual merit evaluations. The Committee plans to provide examples of useful department criteria that can be shared with A&S units to improve their salary evaluation process. Christian further reported that a consultant by the name of Judi Komaki has been hired to assist with the review of department criteria and the development of examples of good quantitative and qualitative methods of evaluation.

Babs Buttenfield (GEOG), Chair of the Personnel Committee, reported that the Committee serves as the Dean’s advisory committee for tenure-track reappointment, tenure, and promotion cases in the College. By the end of the year, the Committee will have handled 27 cases for tenure and promotion to associate professor, 13 cases for promotion to full professor, and 21 cases are continuing. Of these cases, 27 are in the Natural Sciences, 21 in Humanities and 13 in Social Sciences.

Terry Kleeman (RLST), Chair of the Planning Committee, was not available at the time of the meeting.

The Dean reported that the College is in the midst of 35 faculty searches, which represents a 50 percent increase in hiring over last year. He thus expects a successful year in recruiting. He commented on the Colorado Challenge initiative, saying that he has greatly enjoyed addressing academic standards rather than budgetary matters for a change. He noted that academic standards vary from department to department, as have responses to the Colorado Challenge, but that the overall reaction to the Challenge has been very positive. He believes that, as a result, the undergraduate experience will be very different next fall than it has been in recent years. He also commented on the course repetition policy that was recently voted down by the BFA and he discussed some alternatives to that policy. For example, some faculty have suggested moving the drop/add deadline from the sixth week of the semester to the 10th week, to give students more time to evaluate their performance in a given class. Another suggestion has been to allow students to drop up to two courses at any time up to the commencement of final exams.

At the request of the ASC, Provost Phil DiStefano gave a presentation and reported that there are no budget cuts expected for higher education in the immediate future. In addition, the recent election has brought about a significant change in the state legislature, shifting the political center of gravity from Colorado Springs to Boulder. This suggests that, in addition to having a strong concern for accessibility for low-income students, the new legislature, with its Democratic majority, will be more sympathetic to the needs of higher education. The Provost also discussed efforts to negotiate tuition increases of anywhere from 15 to 25 percent increases made politically possible by the fact that a good portion of the income raised in this way would be directed to financial aid for low-income students, thereby enhancing accessibility. He further noted that, though CU achieved enterprise status last year, no one knows quite what it means or what it will entail for our campus. It is hoped that greater clarity can be reached on this issue by the end of the year. Finally, the Provost reported on administration plans to re-organize the Athletic department. The Athletics Director, who in the past has reported to the chancellor, will henceforth report to the Provost. Moreover, Ron Stump, VC for Student Affairs, will devote 50 percent of his time to integrating student athletes more completely into the broader academic community.

The meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM and was followed by a reception.

November 18, 2004

Minutes: Arts & Sciences Council Meeting

  • Thu, November 18, 2004
  • UMC 245
  • 3:30 – 5:00 PM

Members present: Ernesto Acevedo-Munoz (FILM/CLHM), Douglas Bamforth (ANTH), Christopher Braider (FRIT), Robert Craig (COM), Mel Cundiff (EEB), Jefferson Dodge (S&G Record), Zygmunt Frajzyngier (LING), Todd Gleeson, Dean A&S, Lew Harvey (PSYC), Frank Hsiao (ECON), Michael Huemer (PHIL), Peter Hunt (CLAS), Terry Kleeman (RLST), Christian Kopff (HON), Haiyan Lee (EALC), Eric Love (HIST), David Mapel (PSCI), Robert Tubbs (MATH), Jeffrey Weiss (PAOS)

Members absent: Barbara Buttenfield (GEOG), Scott Chamberlin (AAH), Ward Churchill (ETHN), Luis Gonzalez-del-Valle (SPAN), Kelly Hurley (ENG), David Norris (IPHY), Gail Ramsberger (SLHS) ASC Chair, AnnJanette Rosga (SOCY), Rima Salys (GSLL), Chuck Stern (GEOL), Patricia Sullivan (PWR), Mark Winey (MCDB), Bruce Bergner (THDN)

As Parliamentarian of the ASC, Christopher Braider (FRIT) acted on behalf of the ASC Chair, who was out of town at the time of the meeting. He opened the meeting at 3:30 PM.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the October 21st ASC meeting.

The first item on the agenda was a discussion of the Course Repetition (formerly called Course Forgiveness) policy which has been a pilot program since 2001. The BFA has the authority to make Course Repetition a permanent policy by a vote of its own. However, in a compromise with members of the BFA Academic Affairs Committee, who had originally supported the idea that the policy be decided by a vote of campus faculty as a whole, the BFA agreed to hold a campus straw poll intended to gauge faculty sentiment on the issue before proceeding to a final vote. Chris reported on Gail Ramsberger’s behalf that the BFA Academic Affairs Committee had also issued a proposal involving changes they would like to have seen in a permanent policy. Those changes included making the policy available only to students in their first year on campus and to limiting the program to students’ first 29 credit hours. However, both of these concepts were amended after discussion with the full BFA and the policy that will be voted on in December would allow all undergraduates to take advantage of course repetition. Discussions on the policy held at the ASC meeting indicated that it remains highly controversial, with some faculty strongly opposed to it while others favor it.

Following these discussions, a motion was made:

Whereas,

The College of Arts & Sciences provides the majority of courses on the campus,

Whereas

The faculty of the College is not proportionately represented by the BFA

Resolved

That the Arts & Sciences Council urges the BFA to submit the matter of the Course Repetition policy to a vote of the campus-wide faculty.

Before taking a final vote on this motion, the majority of members then decided to wait until the straw poll is completed before taking any further steps. Thus, the motion was tabled. The view was that, if a strong majority of faculty polled come out against the policy, the call for a campus-wide vote would be moot.

Since the Chair is a member of the BFA Academic Affairs Committee, Chris Braider will ask Gail Ramsberger, as a general principle, to have discussions between the ASC and BFA regarding faculty representation.

A discussion on the subject of Retired Faculty followed. The Dean brought it to the attention of the ASC that some departments exclude retired faculty from faculty meetings, except for special occasions. A letter written by the president-elect of the Retired Faculty Association addressed to Dean Gleeson reads: “Most departments invite retirees to research seminars or colloquia, but not to faculty meetings. This makes it difficult to remain in touch with one’s department, to get to know the newer faculty and to understand directions the department is taking.” After some debate, the members concluded that, as a general matter of principle, departments should be encouraged to include retired faculty, but that the autonomy and culture of each department should be respected.

The Dean reported on the “Colorado Challenge” initiative, reporting that he has visited about half of the departments in the College and has found his visits enjoyable since, for a change, he is addressing academic standards rather than budgetary matters. Academic standards, such as grading standards, vary from department to department, as do responses to the Colorado Challenge. However, though the nature of such changes is impossible to predict, the Dean believes that the undergraduate experience will be very different next fall than it has been in the recent past.

Concerning the university Performance Contract recently mandated by SB 189, the Dean commented that neither faculty nor the deans have been consulted and that all decisions are being negotiated by system administration with the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE). The Dean indicated that he himself was pleased by some of the provisions proposed by the administration, as reported in the media; in particular, he approved of the administration’s attempt to approached the Contract in a system-wide perspective designed to give individual campuses greater flexibility in, e.g., how they handle the ratio of in-state to out-of-state students and enrollment requirements.

University of Colorado Student Union Tri-executive Joseph Neguse, who had originally planned to come to the meeting to discuss the fall break issue with the ASC members, was not present at the meeting after all.

The Parliamentarian reported on the Diversity Committee issue saying Patricia Sullivan (PWR) can no longer act as chair of the committee. Due to the fact that no committee member was prepared to take over the chair position, Gail Ramsberger agreed to act as the new chair of the committee. The Dean suggested that Gail delegate duties to committee members on a temporary basis. A non-ASC member on the committee, Dana Anderson (PHYS), would be willing to act as chair, but due to ASC bylaw restrictions, he cannot be elected to this position. At a recent committee meeting, the question was raised as to whether the diversity committee can play an active role within the ASC and, if not, whether the committee be dissolved. The Parliamentarian noted that a future meeting with the ASC chair, Dana Anderson, and Christie Yoshinaga-Itano, Assistant Vice Provost & Associate VC for Diversity, is planned to discuss various diversity issues at the campus level. One result of these discussions may be a clearer sense of whether the ASC committee can be more effective than it has been in the recent past. At the conclusion of the discussion, the Parliamentarian suggested that no decision be taken to disband the committee until such time as all concerned had had a chance to clear up the confusion currently surrounding its personnel and its functions-and in particular, the relationship between its work on diversity and its work on the broader goal of enhancing faculty community. In the interim, the committee is encouraged to re-visit its charter and submit a proposal to the ASC regarding its mission in the College.

The meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM.

October 21, 2004

Minutes: Arts & Sciences Council Meeting

  • Thu, October 21, 2004
  • UMC 245
  • 3:30 to 5:00 PM

Members present: Ernesto Acevedo-Munoz (FILM/CLHM), Douglas Bamforth (ANTH), Scott Chamberlin (AAH), Steve Chan (PSCI) for David Mapel, Robert Craig (COM), Michel Dahlin, Assoc. VP Academic Affairs, Jeff Dodge (S&G Record), Zygmunt Frajzyngier (LING), Todd Gleeson (Dean, A&S), Weiqing Han (PAOS) for Jeffrey Weiss, Lew Harvey (PSYC), Frank Hsiao (ECON), Michael Huemer (PHIL), Terry Kleeman (RLST), Christian Kopff (HONR), Haiyan Lee (EALC), Eric Love (HIST), Nina Molinaro (SPAN) for Luis Gonzalez-del-Valle, Richard Nishikawa, Asst Dean A&S, David Norris (IPHY), Gail Ramsberger (SLHS), Chair ASC, Rima Salys (GSLL), Chuck Stern (GEOL), Robert Tubbs (MATH)

Members absent: Christopher Braider (FRIT), Barbara Buttenfield (GEOG), Mel Cundiff (EEB), Peter Hunt (CLAS), Kelly Hurley (ENG), AnnJanette Rosga (SOCY), Patricia Sullivan (PWR), Mark Winey (MCDB), Bruce Bergner (THDN)

The Chair opened the meeting at 3:30 PM.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes of the Aug 26th ASC meeting.

The first item for discussion were the reports from the standing committees. Since Chris Braider (FRIT), Chair of the Budget Committee, was not able to attend this meeting, Gail Ramsberger, Chair of the ASC, reported on his behalf. The Committee had not met since the last ASC meeting and has nothing new to report. The issues remain finding some means of increasing honoraria for lecturers and planning for what the Dean hopes will be a normal recruitment year. No budget cuts are expected this year.

Robert Tubbs (MATH), Chair of the Curriculum Committee, reported that the committee approved that, among other things, a science and a writing course for the Core; the Science Core course was somewhat controversial, which forced them to carefully discuss what is meant by “Core” courses. The agenda of the committee for the coming year could very well be influenced by the University’s negotiations with the state regarding its Performance Contract.

The Chair reported on behalf of Patricia Sullivan (PWR), Chair of the Diversity Committee, commenting that the members have been discussing the committee’s future. Patricia will address the Council on this issue at the next ASC meeting in November.

Christian Kopff (HONR), Chair of the Grievance Committee, reported that its committee will continue working on the criteria for annual merit evaluations. The Committee plans to have examples of good/poor annual review policy/procedures that can be shared with A&S units by the end of the academic year. The hope is that this information will be helpful as units review and amend their own policy/procedures.

The Chair reported on behalf of Barbara Buttenfield, Chair of the Personnel Committee, regarding the Dean’s proposal to seek endorsement for a new honorific title in the College of Arts & Sciences, titled College Professor of Distinction. The purpose of the proposal is to create an honored rank for professors within the College. The Personnel Committee asked ASC members to endorse the proposal. A motion was made and seconded and 16 members were in support with 1 abstansion.

Terry Kleeman (RLST), Chair of the Planning Committee, reported that the Pay for Printing issue has been in place since last year but since that time, there has been a drastic decrease of 72 percent in printing resulting in a loss of $200,000. The Campus has a contract with Xerox for another 2 years that is based on maintaining a certain volume of copies. Thus, even the pay for printing program has succeeded in reducing the number of paper copies being made by students, its resulting in a loss of revenue. Discussions are held what steps to take afterwards. IT will conduct a survey.

Since the beginning of the semester, no activities have taken place within the ASC subcommittees of Academic Ethics, ACAPR and Honors Council.

Christian Kopff (HONR), Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Fall Break, reported that Provost Phil DiStefano had announced plans to discontinue Fall Break and to add a second reading day when appropriate beginning Fall 2005. He also announced plans to extend Thanksgiving break to the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving beginning Fall Semester 2005. However, the Provost later announced that he is postponing a decision regarding Fall Break in order to allow further discussion with student government groups before making a final decision. A motion was made and seconded by the ASC urging the Provost to stick with his initial decision regarding Fall Break . Lew Harvey (PSYC), member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Fall Break, introduced the motion which reads:

  • Arts and Science Council Resolution re: Fall Break and the Academic Calendar
  • October 21, 2004

Whereas:

The academic calendar has significant and direct impacts on teaching and student life, and

Whereas:

The Professional Rights and Duties of Faculty Members and Rules of the Regents clearly empower the faculty in matters of academic policy, and

Whereas:

Chancellor Byyny, representing the 񱦵 administration and faculty, committed to UCSU Tri-Executives in a memorandum of understanding dated April 29, 2004, to “engage in good faith negotiations with UCSU to set or alter campus policies to be more accommodating to the student interest; including the pay-to-print policy, the absence of reading days, preservation of fall break, the athletics fee and establishing a tuition and fee advisory board to the chancellor,” and

Whereas:

Representatives from across the campus, including UCSU representatives, faculty and administrators, met on several occasions to discuss the fall break and the academic calendar during the spring of 2004, and

Whereas:

The outcome of the aforementioned meetings was that fall break, as it currently is scheduled, has significant negative impacts on teaching and the academic experience of students, and there was no evidence that fall break is an effective means of improving the health of students,

Be it Resolved:

That the College of Arts and Sciences Council calls upon Provost DiStefano to enact the following academic calendar changes:

  1. move fall break to the week of Thanksgiving such that Thanksgiving break is extended to include the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving, and
  2. add a reading day to the fall calendar

Sixteen members voted in favor of the motion, one abstained.

Michel Dahlin, Assoc Vice President of Academic Affairs, attended the meeting to discuss the CCHE Performance Contract with the ASC members. She pointed out that it is the University’s goal that performance contracts between higher education and CCHE will provide greater flexibility in return for accountability. Senate Bill 189 identifies 4 areas of accountability: access for students, quality and success of students, efficiency of operation and addressing state needs. She stated that President Hoffman is committed to keeping negotiations focused on these four issues only. It is the CU negotiating team’s stance that CORE curriculum issues are not on the table.

A motion was introduced which reads:

  • Arts and Science Council Resolution re: CCHE Performance Contract
  • October 21, 2004

Whereas:

President Hoffman and a team of CU administrators are currently engaged in performance contract negotiations with the Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE), and

Whereas:

The draft contract released by the Colorado Department of Higher Education on October 6, 2004 includes several proposed agreements that could significantly impact curriculum and teaching within the College of Arts and Sciences on the Boulder campus, and

Whereas:

Curriculum and teaching are essential to the mission of the University of Colorado-Boulder as the flagship public research university in the state, and

Whereas:

The Rules of the Regents charge the faculty with principal responsibility for academic and scholastic policy,

Be it Resolved:

That College of Arts and Sciences Council calls upon President Hoffman and her negotiating team to remain resolute in their negotiations with CCHE to assure that CU- Boulder faculty rights and responsibilities with regard to academic and scholastic policy are preserved.

All 17 members were in favor of the resolution, 0 against, 0 abstain

The next item of discussion was a proposal endorsed by the Dean to grant department status to the Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (PAOS). This application was reviewed by the Budget, Curriculum and Planning Committees. The Chair summarized the Committee reviews stating that there are no budgetary, space or curricular implications involved in changing the program into a department. A straw vote was taken and all ASC members endorsed the proposal.

The Dean reported that he is presently discussing budget and hiring issues with all departments of the college. He has also visited departments to discuss the memorandum “Colorado Challenge.” This memo charges A&S faculty with re-evaluating their expectations of students.

The meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM.

August 26, 2004

Minutes: Arts & Sciences Council Meeting

  • Thu, Aug 26, 2004
  • UMC 245
  • 3:30 to 5:00 PM

Members present: Ernesto Acevedo-Munoz (FILM/CLHM), Christopher Braider (FRIT), Babs Buttenfield (GEOG), Robert Craig (COM), Mel Cundiff (EEB), Jeff Dodge (S&G Record), Todd Gleeson (Dean, A&S), Lewis Harvey (PSYC), Frank Hsiao (ECON), Peter Hunt (CLAS), Kelly Hurley (ENG), David Norris (IPHY), Gail Ramsberger (SLHS) Chair, ASC, AnnJanette Rosga (SOCY), Rima Salys (GSLL), Brian Tannenbaum A&S Student Government (ASSG), Robert Tubbs (MATH), Jeffrey Weiss (PAOS)

Members absent: David Bamforth (ANTH), Bruce Bergner (THDN), Scott Chamberlin (A&AH), Luis Gonzalez-del-Valle (SPAN), Alison Jaggar (PHIL), Keith Julien (APPM), Terry Kleeman (RLST), Christian Kopff (HON), David Mapel (PSCI), Laura Michaelis (LING), Anne Sheehan (GEOL), Patricia Sullivan (PWR), Mark Winey (MCDB)

The Chair opened the meeting at 3:30 PM and the new members to the ASC were introduced.

A motion was made and seconded to approve the Minutes of April 15, 04 ASC meeting. The motion was approved unanimously.

The Chair reported on unfinished activities of the past semester such as the Fall Break.

Lew Harvey (PSYC), member of the Ad Hoc Committee on Fall Break, commented that he had attended a campus-wide meeting on this topic. Most representatives at this meeting agreed with a survey taken by the ASC. This survey indicated that the majority of faculty were in favor of eliminating fall break and increasing the length of Thanksgiving break. The results of the survey were submitted to the Provost. The Chair asked Lew to follow up on this topic with Barbara Bintliff, Chair of the BFA.

The Chair also reported that the Uniform Grading Policy and its proposed changes were approved system-wide by faculty last spring. ASC will ask that the vote be brought to the full faculty rather than only to BFA representatives. Since BFA is in charge of the vote, the Chair will stay in touch with Barbara Bintliff and report on developments.

The Chair commented that the Grievance Committee had examined annual merit evaluations and had made recommendations concerning departmental criteria for merit. The Chair will ask the Grievance Committee to provide examples of useful criteria that can be shared with other departments to improve their process.

The Dean reported that the budget for the College seems to be more or less balanced. Though the Fall 2004 freshman class is expected to be smaller than last year’s, overall enrollment is projected to be slightly higher. The Chancellor had announced that the campus would try to reduce the freshman class by 5 percent in 2004 and again in 2005.

Upper division classes now experience the effect of having fewer tenure track faculty. The Dean is accordingly seeking administration approval for a return to normal recruitment levels. Meanwhile, of the 27 searches conducted for the current year, the college has successfully completed 19 searches. 42 percent of the new hires are women and faculty of color represents 21 percent; the campus statistic is 16 percent, for comparison (2003 data). In A&S, 17 percent, 22 percent and 22 percent of our full, associate and assistant professors, respectively, are of color (2002 data).

The Dean reported that the Buffalo Classic Bike ride collected $50,000 in new scholarships last year. So far, there has been an increase of over 50 percent in the number of participating bike riders for this year’s event.

Regarding salaries, the Dean reported that, thanks to a last-minute infusion of extra funds from central administration, the College’s base merit increase for this fall was slightly higher than the 1.75 percent originally planned, amounting to around 2.25 to 2.5 percent.

The Dean reported that the Dean’s Fund for Excellence, which consists of annual gifts of approximately $50,000 to $90,000, has experienced a drop this year owing to the CU Foundation’s decision to hand it over to a private firm, whose fees consume a larger share of gross receipts. This means that the DFE will not be able to contribute as much as in the past, though there is hope that the situation will have improved by next year.

The Student Building fees which will be imposed on students for the next 20 to 25 years will be used for capital construction: a new Law School building, the ATLAS (Alliance for Technology, Learning and Society) building, information technology upgrades, the renovation and expansion of the Leeds School of Business Building and a new visual arts center.

The Chair reported that PAOS (Program in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences) has submitted a proposal to the Dean to change their status from that of a Program to that of a Department. It was decided to have this proposal reviewed by the Budget, Curriculum, and Planning Committees. All three will discuss the proposal and present the pros and cons to the full Council before it votes on the issue.

The Dean has proposed the creation a new honorific title, “College Professor of Distinction,” in order to recognize faculty excellence. This proposal will be discussed by the Personnel Committee before being brought to the full Council.

The Diversity Committee will discuss a concern that retired faculty are not invited to faculty meetings. The Committee will also discuss a number of issues relating to the Center for Multicultural Affairs and its advisory program.

At the urging of the Chair, the ASC elected three new members to serve on the Committee on Committees. The Committee’s membership for the year is as follows:

  • Gail Ramsberger (SLHS), Chair of ASC
  • Robert Craig (COM)
  • Christopher Braider (FRIT)
  • Rima Salys (GSLL)
  • Robert Tubbs (MATH)
  • Lewis Harvey (PSYC)

At a recent Executive Committee Meeting, the members discussed several issues to address this year and decided on the topic of a renewed emphasis on academics in A&S. An example of the kind of problem this might lead the ASC to examine is the long-time stagnation in lecturer stipends and the impact this has had on academic programs, including especially the Program in Writing and Rhetoric, which has had increasing difficulty in recruiting instructors for its courses.

The meeting adjourned at 5:00 PM.