Minutes of the 7 October 2004 Faculty Meeting

                                            Printer Friendly Version

President Thomforde called the meeting to order at 11:30 a.m.  Rich Durocher was asked to serve as the temporary Parliamentarian.  Pastor Koenig gave the blessing and asked that we keep students in mind as they appear to be stressed exceptionally at this time.

Approval of the Minutes of the September 2004 Faculty Meeting

Motion moved.  A correction under the section "Enrollment and Financial" was noted; there is no password required to access the information posted on the IRP website.  Motion approved with correction.

President's Remarks

President Thomforde noted the presence of the Board of Regents on campus for meetings regarding the searches for the new Vce President of Admissions and the process of searching for the Vice President of Advancement.  He clarified that the names of candidates for the Vice President of Admissions were being withheld in order to preserve the confidentiality of their candidacy and that this is a normal procedure for Administrative candidates.  He noted that the Board's meeting should produce recommendations for the Vice President for Advancement.

President Thomforde noted that the newly devised marketing strategy for the College would be presented for approval to the Board during the present meeting.  He also noted that the final report from the Nursing Task Force has been received and that he will review it promptly and consult with the Faculty and CEPC regarding the report's content.  The President noted that he has received the General Education Report and thanked the members of the committees for their attention to the issue.  He also noted that the Board will be considering how to best use the resources resulting from the sale of WCAL for various academic programs, music organizations, and technical production facilities.

The President also noted that he and the Office of the President will be undergoing their second two-year review this year.  He then requested questions from the floor.  Dan Dressen inquired about the timeline regarding the Vice President positions.  The President replied that the timeline depends on the nature of the search; that is, it will vary depending upon whether or not a national search is conducted versus an internal promotion.  He concluded that he would release that information as soon as it is made available.

Election of Replacement for Tenure and Promotion Committee

Ballots were distributed and collected for an election of a one-year position on the Tenure and Promotion Committee.  Beth Christensen and Margaret O'Leary were the candidates; no nominations were accepted from the floor.

CEPC 04/05-1

On behalf of the CEPC, David Booth moved for a waiver of the seven-day rule for CEPC 04/05-1.  The motion passed.  David apologized for not having the green sheet available earlier, but promised that the quality of the proposals contained in the green sheet was high.  He noted his pleasure in working with CEPC because he witnesses first-hand the creativity and hard work that goes into course proposals.  He then moved that the eleven courses on CEPC 04/05-1 be accepted.  The motion was seconded.  No questions or comments were offered.  The motion passed.

Draft Motion RPC 04/05-1

On behalf of the RPC, Bob Hanson moved the Draft Motion of RPC 04/05-1 (a faculty recommendation to the President) be moved.  The motion was seconded.  A lengthy discussion regarding the issue of ending faculty appointments for librarians ensued.  The motion was passed.

Student Information System

Mary Cisar presented an update on the Student Information System.  The new system will be tested and the data migration will take place in January 2005.  From January through May, the new system will undergo a Windows-based system test followed by a complete switchover in June 2005.  In the Summer 2005, other offices will be brought on-line with the main system.  She also noted that following Interim 2005, the Registrar's Office will pilot a web-based grade submission program which is expected to work alongside the traditional paper-based grade submission of grades.  Also, Mary noted that the Registrar's Office is considering on-line registration processes in the future, but hopes to maintain the prominence of the personal touch that characterizes the present process.  The SIS Taskforce that has been looking at new models of registration since 2002 has provided feedback and outlined principles for sketching out a new registration process for the Spring 2006 semester.

Matt Richey noted that the scope of this project is substantial and that most of the transition has worked well.  His role ha been to facilitate system/faculty interaction and requested significant faculty input on the front-end of the process.

Mary noted Margaret O'Leary's contribution to starting this process and thanked her for the work she did prior to Mary assuming the reins of the office.

Dean's Remarks

Dean May thanked the faculty for a great start to the new year, gave his appreciation to everyone who helped participate in registration (especially for the 780+ first-years), and noted the efforts made to accommodate students during that period.  He then noted that the GE Task Force Report has been taken up by CEPC which is presently assigning workgroups on the issues raised; that process in on schedule.  Regarding the search for a new International Studies Director, the Dean noted that the finalists would be announced soon.  1 November was cited as the targeted date for completion.  Dean May then shared with the faculty the story of Lucretius, a first century BC poet who wrote "On the Nature of Things" which attempts to explain the universe in terms of Epicurean philosophy, a care-free body of thought.  With Democritus, we came to know that things are comprised of atoms.  And recently, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for a theory regarding what holds the nucleus of atoms together.  The Dean noted how the connections between these things demonstrates a liberal arts education in action.

Announcements

Judy Kutulas announced that St. Olaf Action is up and running with a new Board and that the first set of scholarships will be announced in Interim.  Contributions to the fund are encouraged and welcome.

De Ane Lagerquist reiterated her invitation for the upcoming Lily Fellows Conference for the next weekend.  Charter members - church-related schools - are ecumenical institutions that send annually two representatives, so it is a rare opportunity for St. Olaf faculty to attend.  She noted that the program draws upon many of St. Olaf's strengths, especially the arts.

Bruce Dalgaard noted the Lily supported summer program International Service Learning has resources to reallocate to help faculty to take students on international service programs.  Faculty are encouraged to express their interest to Bruce.  He also announced that the Business and the Liberal Arts Forum will take place the next week at 3:45 p.m. in the Black and Gold Ballroom regarding ethics as a foundation for business.  President Thomforde and representatives from Thrivent Financial will be in attendance.

Solveig Zempel gave her thanks to faculty for their help with the recent batch of Fulbirght applications.

Eida Berrio announced a Years of Service event scheduled for 11 November 2004.  She also noted that the years of service recognition has been recently expanded to include a five-year marker (prior to this it had been ten years).

Open Agenda

Adjournment

The meting was adjourned at 12:31 p.m.

Submitted respectfully,

D. Christopher Brooks
Political Science