Minutes of the November 7, 2002 Faculty Meeting

President Thomforde called the meeting to order at 11:30 and Pastor Bruce Benson provided the opening blessing.

Approval of the Minutes of the October 2002 Faculty Meeting

Moved and approved.

President's Remarks

President Thomforde briefly reported on his knee surgery. He extended congratulations and requested a round of applause for the Department of Education and all others involved during the recent national and state accreditation visits.

As for the ongoing saga of Community Time, a more formal email will follow, but the continued plan and proposal is as follows:

1st Thursday of the month - faculty meeting;
2nd and 4th Thursday of the month - community events and celebrations;
3rd Thursday of the month - committee meetings (faculty, student, administrative, etc.);
5th Thursday - unscheduled

The College Council has put together a timeline for the strategic plan. A formal email on this will follow. Briefly, the first draft will be ready the first week in December, and December through May the draft will be reviewed by various committees and communities. A second draft will then be prepared and will be followed by serious debate and voting next fall.

CEPC

David Booth, on behalf of the Curriculum & Educational Policies Committee, moved for approval of CEPC 02/03-2, Nursing 110: Nutrition and Wellness; Music 163: Alexander Technique; Political Science 321: Seminar in International Relations; and German 250: Speaking German, as set forth in said green sheet. Discussion followed, including concern over the relationship of Nursing 110 and Chemistry 111 and the sequence of classes. Further discussion of Nursing 110 will take place between the Nursing and Chemistry departments. All approved. Motion carries.

David Booth, on behalf of the Curriculum & Educational Policies Committee, moved for approval of CEPC 02/03-3, the Computer Science Major Proposal, as set in said green sheet. Dick Brown discussed the rationale for the proposal. Discussion followed, including concern for the continuation of the computer science concentration, staffing issues, enrollment, GE requirements, collaboration with the Math Department, and an overall discussion on new majors in general. Matt Richey acknowledged support and approval from the Math Department. David Booth emphasized that CEPC is focusing on one proposal at a time. Concern was expressed over new staffing, new proposals on the horizon, disciplinary vs. interdisciplinary, and minors v. majors. Motion passed with serious considerations.

President Thomforde then asked Jim May and the Deans Council to work with CEPC to consider the following questions coming out of the discussion:

1) What are the requirements for a major (and should there be a normative size of classes required)? 2) What other majors might be "lurking" out there and how do we plan for new majors? 3) How do we distinguish between majors and disciplines; and 4) what is the future of concentrations/minors?

David Booth, on behalf of the Curriculum & Educational Policies Committee, postponed the discussion of the Honorary Degree Nominations due to the time constraints. Honorary Degree Nominations will appear on the December agenda.

GEC

Steve Reece, on behalf of the General Education Committee, moved for approval of GEC 02/03-1, Changes proposed to "The St. Olaf College General Education Curriculum: Requirement Descriptions, Guidelines, and Comments" (i.e., lilac sheets) under "Oral Communication (ORC)", as set forth in said green sheet. Motion passed.

Nominating Committee

Deborah Anderson, on behalf of the Nominating Committee, requested waiver of the seven-day rule to present the ballot for Tenure & Promotion Committee - NSM. Seven-day rule is waived. No other nominations, but discussion of the absence of more than one possible candidate on the ballot, and further discussion of the many restrictions of serving on the T&P committee and committees in general. Completed ballots collected.

RPC

Bryn Geffert, on behalf of the Review and Planning Committee, moved for approval of RPC 02/03-1, Proposal to rectify inconsistent wording in the Faculty Manual regarding Special Appointments (4.X.3), as set forth in said green sheet. Clarification followed. Motion passed.

Bryn Geffert, on behalf of the Review and Planning Committee, moved for approval of RPC 02/03-2, Proposal to modify description in the Faculty Manual regarding the Academic Computing Policy Board (ACPB) (3.VILC.1), as set forth in said green sheet. Motion passed.

Bryn Geffert also briefly discussed RPC's Report on Splitting the Faculty Manual. RPC is looking seriously at the Faculty Manual. There is presently no language as to how it can be amended, and RPC is also considering splitting the manual into parts: contractual v. non-contractual. Forums will be held to discuss these issues.

Dean's Remarks

Jim May, Provost and Dean of the College, began his remarks by gracing the meeting with a reading of Pliny, the Younger. He extended his congratulations to the Education Department and thanked those who worked on the Ditmanson Program in Religion and the Humanities. The first draft of the GRECO report will be on the web shortly, as will Jim's first chapter in the NCA self-study on program mix and quality. Finally, the Dean's office is working on efficiency and it appears to be working.

Meeting adjourned at 12:35 p.m.

Mary Sue Lovett
Faculty Secretary