Minutes of the 4/27/06 Meeting of the College of Arts & Sciences
Proxies were held by:
Joe Dennin for Laura McSweeney
Matthew Kubasik for Matt Coleman
Ray Poincelot for Betsy Gardner
Susan Rakowitz for Irene Mulvey and Nancy Dallavalle
Call to order: Prof. Crabtree called the meeting to order at 4:19. She led a round of applause celebrating the last meeting of the year and her last meeting as Chair of the College. She also thanked Dean Snyder and Jean Daniele for the reception that preceded and followed the meeting.
Approval of the minutes of 3/29/06: Prof. Davidson moved to approve, seconded by Prof. Bowen. The minutes were approved unanimously with 8 abstentions.
Changes to the College Governance Document
Snyder introduced the proposed changes to the College Governance Document section on the Health Sciences Committee (HSC). He indicated that the HSC has seen that section as out of date and inconsistent with their practice for years. Specifically, the committee's work has extended beyond the written charge of dealing only with students applying to medical and dental schools; the Health Sciences advisor's role needed to be spelled out; and the Dean's role needed to be clarified.
Prof. McFadden, seconded by Davidson, moved that the document be changed as proposed.
Prof. DeWitt asked whether the position of Health Sciences advisor is defined elsewhere. Snyder replied that it was not, to his knowledge. He said that the proposal attempted to define it sufficiently amorphously so that it could be part of a faculty member's job.
Prof. Weiss suggested an editing change to move the last bullet point above the bullet point beginning with "acts". There were no objections, so the change was incorporated into the motion without formal vote.
Prof. Sauer spoke in favor of the proposal, complaining that the original text was too heavily focused on pre-medical students, rather than considering all of the health professions. Snyder explained that the committee shared this concern. They intentionally proposed the broad term "health professions," rather than trying to enumerate all relevant careers and thereby creating a list with built-in obsolescence.
Seeing no further discussion, Crabtree brought the motion to a vote, reminding the body that amendments to the Governance Document require a "two-thirds vote of those present and voting" (i.e., proxies are not allowed). The motion passed, 46 to 0 with 2 abstentions. The proposal now needs the approval of the Board of Trustees.
Brief report from the Arts & Sciences Curriculum Committee
Prof. Simon reported that the A&SCC met 6 times over the year, with another meeting scheduled in May. He chaired the committee in the Spring, and Prof. Escobar was its chair in the Fall.
He noted that the committee was impressed by the quality of new courses they reviewed. Of 22 new course proposals they received, 20 were approved, one was tabled because of a lack of departmental discussion, and one was rejected because it had no syllabus.
Besides assessing new course proposals, committee members dealt with a variety of other issues.
Finally, Simon announced that all A&SCC policies, forms and minutes would soon be available on the CAS website (http://faculty.fairfield.edu/cas/). He then thanked all of the members of the committee and opened the floor to questions. Prof. Goldfield asked whether the subcommittee on independent studies would be using the recommendations of Prof. Lane's teaching equity committee. Simon said that was not clear. There were no further questions.
Snyder began by thanking the members of the HSC and A&SCC for their hard work on the previously discussed issues. He went on to thank all of the College faculty for their dedication to all aspects of the job. Finally he thanked Crabtree for her several years of service chairing the College. He said that, many times, she forced him to do things that ultimately were for the good of the College, at which point Crabtree audibly interjected, "not merit". He described her as excelling at building bridges, and the faculty concurred with a warm round of applause.
Snyder moved on to an update on the College Board of Advisors. He explained that previously the College had had no official relationship with the Development office. The creation of the Board is a move to new models of development at Fairfield. The Board's two goals are to assist the Dean in strategic planning and development. Currently, they are working on two-year, $50,000 projects for each of three departments. The Biology department is focusing on student transitions upon arrival to Fairfield, through their time here, and following graduation. The Religious Studies department hopes to improve RS 10 and give majors and minors more access to scholarly activities, including some that may be off campus. Finally, the Department of Visual and Performing Arts is proposing a visiting artist/scholar program. In addition, the Board will fund a new museum in the lower level of Bellarmine, to house the University's Kress collection of Renaissance paintings, its cast collection, some medieval art, along with some Irish/Celtic, Asian, and other works.
The Board's members are friends of the institution with interests in the three targeted areas. They were recruited with an eye toward intellect and interest in the College. Their giving up to now and their potential for giving were also considered. They include a range of ages, and many are working professionals who are also active in non-profit activities. With the help of Noël Appel, whom Snyder thanked, the Board maintained a rigorous schedule of meetings. They met three times and participated in a number of conference calls. They provided valuable insights, especially regarding marketing. The resulting proposals are strong, and the interface with Development, though new, seems to be going well. He explained that one goal of this process is to sensitize donors as well as alumni and internal members of the University community, to thinking of the College as a viable entity, especially as we approach the next capital campaign.
Kim Bridgford- Instead of Maps
Javier Campos- Ideologías y literatura Homenaje a Hernán Vidal (editor)
Ronald Davidson- Tibetan Renaissance: Tantric Buddhism in the Rebirth of Tibetan Culture
Robert Fedorchek- Juanita La Larga (translator)
Dennis Keenan- The Question of Sacrifice
David McFadden- American Studies Through Russian and American Eyes
Nicholas Rinaldi- Between Two Rivers
Gavriel Rosenfeld- The World Hitler Never Made
2006 College of Arts & Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award
Snyder presented the Distinguished Teaching Award to Prof. Maggie Wills. He cited her creative course design and her participatory pedagogy. He lauded the success of her students in research and the way in which she introduces her students to the ethics of and passion for shared inquiry that are the hallmarks of a scholarly community. The faculty joined in the appreciation and congratulations.
Display of faculty scholarly and creative activities for the year
Crabtree wrapped the meeting up by encouraging people to peruse the display of faculty output. She thanked those who contributed materials (including Pres. Von Arx), and noted the impressive range and quantity of artifacts.
In a testament to the motivating power of a good reception, the meeting was adjourned a mere 38 minutes after it began, at 4:57.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Rakowitz