Dean's Council: November 7, 2007

Dean's Council Meeting

College of Arts and Sciences

November 7, 2007

Present: E. Boquet, M. Coleman, R. DeWitt, J. Escobar, M. Gogol, F. Hannafey, D.Keenan, M. Kubasik, J. McCarthy, D. McFadden, S. Peterson, S. Rakowitz, R. Rodrigues, G. Sauer, J. Shanahan, M. Sourieau, and D. Winn, E. Umansky

Not Present: P. Lane, J. Leatherman, J. Orman, J. Simon

The meeting convened at 3:30 p.m.

Dean's Introductory Remarks

Absentee Notification—The Dean shared the College's absentee policy with the department chairs asking them to reiterate this information to all faculty within their department, including adjunct faculty. This will alleviate any confusion as to how the College handles absentee requests. The policy is as follows:

If a student directly contacts our office with a request to notify their professor, due to a short term illness, we should inform the student to communicate directly with their professor.

If a student visits the Health Center they should obtain a note verifying their illness to share with their professors. A memo from the Dean's Office is not necessary. If faculty express concern and request additional information, they should contact the Health Center directly at extension 2241.

If a student is diagnosed with a long-term illness, and the Health Center contacts our office and/or the Dean of Student's Office, the Dean's Office will forward a memo to the student's professors notifying them of their circumstances. If a student calls directly to inform our office of a long-term illness, the student is required to supply appropriate documentation verifying their situation.

If a student is leaving campus, due to an illness or difficult circumstance, after verification from the Health Center, the Dean of Student's Office or their family physician, the Dean's Office will forward a memo to the student's professors informing them of the situation.

If we receive notification that a student will miss classes due to a death in the family, the Dean's office will supply notification to the student's professors.

In all situations, students are encouraged to consult with their faculty member for arrangements to make up course work and/or exams. Dr. Matthew Kubasik mentioned that having the Dean's Office send a message to the faculty is very useful, especially if a student missed class for several days. The Dean explained that if a faculty member is concerned about a student, because they have missed numerous days of class, they could forward the Dean's office a message and an investigation will take place to track down the student. Dr. Elizabeth Boquet mentioned that notification from the Dean's Office is only verification that a student has been in contact with the Health Center; but beyond notification, the issue of missed class time should be between the faculty member and the student. Boquet informed the chairs that if a student visits the Health Center, they do have the opportunity to obtain written notification from the Health Center.

Ms. Peterson informed the Council that the Case Management Group, which is represented by various administrators on-campus, meets every other week to discuss diverse on-campus issues, one of which is related to faculty concerns for students' well-being. A new on-line system was implemented to assist with any concerns pertaining to a student's well-being. On-line submissions filter to the Counseling Center for pursuit with the goal to assure the safety of our students.

Travel Update—The Dean informed the chairs that approval for additional travel across the College totaled $40,000. Although the Dean's budget could not accommodate the total amount requested by each department, he attempted to sufficiently share the funding across the departments. He cannot approve any more additional travel requests for the remainder of the academic year. If they feel the necessity for funding beyond what he approved, he encouraged them to contact the Academic Vice President to ask for assistance. Disbursement of the approved funding will remain in the Dean's budget. Once a department's budget is depleted, they should then submit the appropriate finance forms leaving the organization and account numbers for Ms. Jean Daniele to input. Ms. Daniele will keep tracked of expenditures.

Dean's Pass-around— The Dean shared a few position announcements pertaining to the Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities and the American Council on Education schedule of workshops for Department and Division Chairs and Deans for 2007-08. He mentioned that if any of the chairs were interested in attending these workshops, he would ask the Academic Vice President for assistance with funding.

Chair's Role in Fostering Department Collegiality—Boquet shared with the chairs an opportunity to participate in a video conference that would take place on December 6. The video conference "will focus on the department chair's role in fostering a desired collegial environment in their department. Proven strategies that can be used to hire and tenure competent—and collegial—faculty will be explored." A topic discussed this year was relative to an increase in the expectations of the administrative role as a chair. We can move forward this discussion through conversations as a group about the leadership role of the chair not just the administrative function of the chair. Boquet encouraged the chairs to participate in this type of collegial conversations to begin to make a case towards the terms for leadership and administration for the College chairs. If anyone is interested they should let the Dean's Office know. Dr. Miriam Gogol thought this was a great idea; her recommendation was to sponsor this through the CAE or perhaps the Chairs retreat where department chairs are together and the information is freshly at hand.

Approval of Minutes

Dr. Matthew Coleman moved to approve the October 3, 2007 Dean's Council minutes, and Dr. Glenn Sauer seconded the motion. All were in favor of approving the minutes.

Chairs Selection

Dr. Richard DeWitt reiterated that, during the first Dean's Council meeting of the year, the Academic Vice President addressed the chairs and requested that an alternative chairs selection process be constructed prior to the appointment of a newly hired Dean. During the academic year of 2006-07, the Council proposed a change to the Governance Document relative to the chairs' selection. The Academic Vice President did not support their recommendation, so their motion was withdrawn.

Dean Poincelot and DeWitt recently had a meeting with the Academic Vice President to once again discuss an alternate Chairs' Selection plan. They proposed that if there is disagreement during the Chairs Selection process, the chairs (eliminating the chair from the department being selected) would meet with the Dean and the department to mediate an agreement informally. It would be ultimately the chairs' body that would make the final decision. If two-thirds of the chairs' body agreed with either the department's choice or the Dean's choice, the respective choice would be deemed elected. The key change would be that the Dean, along with the Dean's Council (represented by department chairs), would be the essential body to elect a chair if the department election was unsuccessful.

DeWitt mentioned that to move forward with a second attempt to make Governance changes, he would construct the appropriate proposed language for distribution to the Dean and the Academic Vice President, who in turn would share it with President von Arx, for approval. If the proposal is approved by the President, it will then move forward to the College Faculty body. DeWitt thought the President was in favor of a policy where the Dean appointed the department chairs. He pointed out that the present College Governance Document is an unusual standard in which the Dean has absolutely no role whatsoever in the chairs selection.

Dr. James Shanahan stated that when Dr. Grossman met with the Council in September, he mentioned a linkage between an agreement on a chairs selection policy and compensation/course release. Would these two issues still be in the mix? DeWitt thought that it would be beneficial to keep these two issues decoupled, and he recommended that the College should try to have the Academic Vice President agree upon the appropriate changes for chair compensation prior to the vote on chair selection. Boquet commented that an increase in monetary compensation should not be an issue; an increase in chairs' stipends would raise them to a level where they should be at already. Boquet clarified what the AVP stated when he met with the Council in September. He was agreeable to an increase in chairs' compensation and a course release, as long as the College agreed on the Dean's appointment of department chairs' in the case where there was a conflict. Boquet mentioned that it seemed that the Academic Vice President was stating something different at this point.

Gogol asked if there were other models that followed our current paradigm for chair selection. DeWitt reported that Wesleyan has a plan exactly like our current plan; he did mention that our procedure is rare. The key question is should the decision be opened to the administrative side or representation only on the faculty side if a conflict arises? DeWitt stated that at larger institutions, where the chair's role is greater, the model should reflect the role of the Dean/administration in the chair's selection process, but in a small school like Fairfield University, it made more sense to have the faculty ultimately select the department chair.

Part-Time Faculty Survey Results

Kathryn Nantz and Ruth Anne Baumgartner addressed the Dean's Council to talk about phase two of their Humanities Institute supported research project, which investigates the establishment of a support service for part-time faculty. For the first phase of their project, they conducted a survey of all part-time faculty who taught at Fairfield in the spring 2007 semester. Their objective was to establish what adjunct faculty identified as their institutional, pedagogical, developmental needs and their awareness and involvement in institutional initiatives and mission. They received a 50% return.

The second phase will address the need for a support staff person to assist the department chairs, program directors, and the deans with adjunct faculty. While addressing these needs, Baumgartner assured the Council that the proposed support system would not initiate or be involved in the following initiatives.

Hiring or termination decisions, salary negotiations, or any other personnel functions;
Work towards fostering organized responses to personnel issues;
Participate in curricular, pedagogical, or other academic functions;
Work towards reconstruction of the Governance process; and
Train faculty to standardize pedagogical processes.

Baumgartner explained that they envision a position that would have a service function, not a leadership function. The officer would serve as a resource of campus and policy information; a liaison between part-time faculty and the offices of Development and Public Relations; an interface with support services such as the Library, the Media Center and Public Safety and a voice for part-time faculty concerns relative to institutional decision-making. This position would centralize information and contacts that are presently scattered or confusing to part-time faculty and give them more time to devote to their teaching. The survey in phase one clearly showed a favorable relationship between the proposed support staff and the Center for Academic Excellence.

Phase two would seek to ascertain the potential value of having a Coordinator of Part-Time Faculty Concerns. Baumgartner would seek ways in which a support position could benefit not only adjuncts but the deans, chairs, and administration. Questions of notation would address the following: extent of part-time staffing; what courses and how many sessions are adjuncts teaching, the extent and types of current part-time supervision (orientation, classroom visits, mentors, evaluation, syllabi and grading guidance), extent of part-time involvement outside of the classroom instruction, and perceived usefulness of a coordinator.

Dr. Nantz shared the outcome of the survey from their phase 1 research project. She wanted to go over the categories they targeted. They were able to better understand where the part-time faculty are with respect to their position on campus. During phase one, the survey questioned some of the following issues:

The value of having a Coordinator of part-Time Faculty Concerns. The data collected was from all part-time faculty University wide, of which, approximately 2/3 were from the College. There was 39.7 percent who felt that this would be a very useful position.
What resources should be accessible to benefit part-time faculty? A part-time faculty handbook, resources such as reference library, job listings, meeting room and/or resource room; professional support such as representative of part-time faculty concerns, new faculty orientation, advocate for improving evaluation process, advocate for institutional support Handbook, and guidebooks.

The next step is to look at the College of Arts and Sciences part-time faculty as a separate unit.

Dr. Nantz mentioned that the phase two initiative was part of a larger project in an attempt to create a closer knit community with part-time faculty, so the proposed position could facilitate connectiveness. As we look at the Core Integration Initiative, there are many faculty who are not aware of what the Core Integration Initiative is and that we have a Strategic Plan—there is a real disconnect in terms of this initiative that NEASC picked up on immediately. Dr. Nantz mentioned that steps in an attempt to form a partnership with department chairs and program directors to construct a position that could help the University out as an institution.

Baumgartner mentioned that part-time faculty fall into two categories—some have professions outside of their commitment with the University, while others have a greater commitment to the University. These adjuncts look for more opportunities to develop as teachers and scholars; therefore, they need more resources to strengthen their careers.

Dr. Gogol asked if the proposed position for Coordinator of Part-Time Faculty would be University-wide. Baumgartner mentioned that, even though the survey captured faculty campus wide, they would start out focusing on the College of Arts and Sciences and let the facility grow rationally. The survey addressed demographical information so that the proposal would accommodate a service for all part-time faculty throughout the University.

Boquet commented that an office of this type could address some of the structural challenges that part-time faculty are faced with—basic issues such as StagWeb, extracting e-mails, when contracts can be distributed, and other external issues. There is no centralized advocacy for part-time faculty.

Dr. Escobar asked what space they were considering would work for the pilot program. Baumgartner mentioned they were seeking a facility comparable to the Writing Center and the Women's Studies office—a small office with an assembly room. Their projection is to hire one person and possibly one clerical support staff. They are not sure how busy this person will be, so to protect the integrity of the effort, there would be a requirement to teach one course per semester. The first year most likely would be spent developing on-line information and networks for certain functions. The pilot program would determine the kind of staff needed.

Marketing and Communication

Dr. Rama Sudhakar joined the Dean's Council to discuss the mission of the new Marketing and Communications Division. The mission will enhance the reputation of the University by supporting the University's mission and Strategic Plan effectively and coherently, and by assuring that Fairfield University's brand receives greater recognition. Dr. Sudhakar explained that the most effective means to influence audience perceptions and achieve branding success is to use integrative marketing communications. The distinction and benefits of a Fairfield education should be communicated in a unified voice, so that audiences will receive our messages and start to recognize our brand. Branding is in the choices that our students make when deciding on which College or University to attend, and parents look for a school that is recognized within the market and by peers; therefore, the following suggestions were made:

Externally, we need to align ourselves internally;
The entire Community should work together to obtain the Marketing and Communication mission;
Verbal communication campus-wide would be much more impactful then advertising; therefore, it is important for everyone to systematically communicate what is distinctive about the University;
The Marketing Division will provide a dedicated liaison for each school and/or division, so they could become familiar with the assigned area to better serve their marketing needs. The idea is to provide consistency and continuity.
The account manager will work with a team of experts such as web designers and a media person to brain storm and collaborate across these departments internally to obtain creative signatures and integrations.
Communication to the point person, in terms of what the departments and/or College are working on, such as an award program, guest speaker etc... would be collaborated with a team for creative suggestions that would best suit the targeted event.
An organization chart was shared with the Council explaining the management of the Marketing and Communication Division. The Director of Marketing and Admission, Cathy O'Donnell and Director of Communications (TBA) handle the supervision of projects, account management, University publications, and publications support. The integration of external relations is the responsibility of the Assistant Vice President, Martha Milcarek—media relations, photojournalism, community relations, sports information, sports marketing, film industry liaison, brand management (from a visual standpoint).
Chairs were encouraged to work directly with the College's account manager for printing and graphic needs.
There is a newly created position for Web communication directed by Scott Barnett.

The next step is to formulate an integrated marketing plan by utilizing many resource documents at hand—Lipmann and Hearne Brand Marketing Plan, annual goals, communications audit, feedback on recent retreat, and the University Strategic Plan.

An update on marketing activities was shared with the department chairs—printing of flyers, brochures, posters, web pages, flash e-mails etcÉ Communication processes and guidelines are being reviewed to assure they are working efficiently for the University, in terms of the University's branding. Revisions on the University's Graphics Manual will include visual branding guidelines, standardized color pallets, fonts, logo standards, expansion on official logos. The manual will include text only logos for usage in a wider variety of materials. Dr. Sudhakar requested that for University sponsored events, an official University logo be included. Updating of the University's Style Manual is also in progress. A new committee in the Arts, Culture and Community Engagement was launched and Co-Chaired by Drs. Orin Grossman and Rama Sudhakar. The purpose of this committee is to look at the University's arts and cultural events holistically and to achieve a higher level of collaboration and coordination.

Dr. Sudhakar informed the Council that they worked with an outside consultant to assist with undergraduate admission materials. These materials consist of a set of five brochures focusing on a theme of Inspired Life, which will replace the theme of Jesuit, Personal, Powerful.

For academic materials, Marketing is working closely with the three Strategic Plan goal committees, along with Billy Weitzer, Sr. Vice President, to develop a design that will visually brand the strategic initiatives.

A media consultant was hired in the area of Media Relations to assist with strategies from national media outlets that will become part of the overall marketing plan. The following initiatives were shared with the Council.

Web Communications—developing web strategies to support the Strategic Plan goals
Implementation of interactive virtual tours to reflect the living and learning environment.
Academic Area—an initiative to create faculty profiles in a more standard format.
Course catalogs—an on-line system for updating and producing the catalogs. This initiative is a priority to streamline.
Student voices and profiles on our website.

Umansky mentioned that she worked with the Marketing Division to utilize these new initiatives for the past two months. While she understands their ideas, she felt that the communication initiatives made it more difficult. She mentioned it really comes down to what the Marketing Division considers University sponsored events. If she decided to have an informal celebration and wanted to solicit the event by means of a flyer, is it really necessary to include the University logo? These flyers would target students and/or other University departments. Is there no longer a difference between public events and informal meetings and/or events that faculty spontaneously decide to host? Dr. Sudhaker does see a distinction. The marketing team does not need to be involved with the publicity of student clubs and student organized events. These types should provide the opportunity for the student to become creative. The Account Manager for Student Affairs will oversee student publicity to assure it is appropriately displayed, in a global sense, but not specifically as the division would for a public event.

The Marketing Division should be involved of initiatives that offer a public component to their publicity. Dr. Sudhaker explained that whatever message a department conveys to their students reflects on the academic excellence at Fairfield University. If the community looks at publicizing events globally, all of the little pieces will fit. Too many exceptions will begin to form a disconnect in what is said publically and what is reality. She recommended that displays should look classy, elegant, and beautiful.

Dr. Rose Rodrigues commented that, in terms of publicity; there is a reasonability factor. She did not see the necessity for all publicity to have a "slick" presence. Dr. Sudhaker responded that the Marketing Division's intention is to lend support to the community, not to be a marketing "police." The idea is to work together "putting the best foot forward". Rodrigues felt that putting the best foot forward did not lend the necessity to have such uniformity. Dr. Sudhaker is not looking for everything to be uniform. The point she is trying to make is to communicate to prospective students and donors in a consistent fashion. Without consistency and uniformity, in this sense, Fairfield will not obtain the recognition they are attempting to achieve.

The meeting adjourned at 5:00 p.m.