MARIETTA COLLEGE FACULTY MEETING

1. Announcement

a. Dr. Walker announced that Prof. F. MacHaffie and Dr. S. Walker would continue as Secretary and Parliamentarian, respectively. Dr. Delemeester had agreed to take over responsibility for maintaining the Council website marietta.edu/~fcouncil/ index.html . Dr. S. Walker confirmed that the 10th edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised would be employed at faculty meetings.

b. Dr. Walker read a letter addressed to the Faculty from Mr. Timothy O. Cooper, Chair of the Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2004. A copy of the letter is attached as Exhibit A (yellow)

c. Homecoming. Dr. Walker invited Ms. Anita Stilley, Director of Alumni Relations, to address the faculty. Ms. Stilley encouraged faculty participation in next month’s Homecoming and drew attention to the Tau Pi Phi lecture as part of the Alumni College on the Friday, the field trip planned by the Geology faculty, the lecture on the Underground Railroad, and the celebration being organized on the Friday evening by the Theatre Advisory Group to honor Prof. Emeritus Ron Loreman. On the Saturday morning an Alumni Convocation was planned with the induction of several alumni/ae to the Hall of Honor and also a brunch and debate to honor the late Dr. William Hartel. The debate on U.S. Foreign Policy would involve two alumns and three faculty members. Ms. Stilley also described events planned between this meeting and Homecoming.

d. Dr. Janie Rees-Miller distributed a questionnaire as part of data gathering on faculty members’ international experience and interests. A copy is attached as Exhibit B (green)

2. Minutes.

The minutes of the meeting of April 12, 2004 were approved as submitted.

3. President’s Report

Dr. Scott reported on the following

a. Enrollment. As of the meeting date there were 1,276 f.t.e. day undergraduate students, 1,393 overall, and a 1,492 headcount. There were 1,254 full-time undergraduates and 76 full time graduate students. There were 439 new first time students, and transfer students brought the total to 500+ new students. The figures exceeded the budgeted figures. Dr. Scott added that the Office of Admission was reporting undergraduate interest for Fall 2005 running ahead of the previous year.

b. Salaries. Dr. Scott reported that letters detailing salaries, including increases for 2004-05 were almost “in the mail.” Dr. Scott reminded the faculty that 2004-05 was the first of three years in a plan to get faculty salaries to the 40th percentile of the AAUP data for comparable colleges. The standard increase was three percent plus, for many, further increases depending on rank. The salaries were retroactive to the beginning of current contracts. For faculty on contracts covering more than nine months there would be a “catch up” in September and for staff the “catch up” would be in October. In Fall 2005, salary increases for faculty would take effect with the October pay checks.

c. Trustees. At the May meeting, the board approved the extension to the Strategic Plan. The update, “Higher Ground”, would extend the strategic plan to 2010. Trustees also approved the renovation of Fayerweather Hall. Dr. Scott indicated that she intended to increase her use of the board as a “think tank” for major issues under discussion on the campus. The board had reorganized its committees with Academic Activities and Enrollment being combined and a new committee on Marketing and Communications being established.

d. Parking. Dr. Scott reported that the Cabinet was aware of concern over the loss of parking during the renovation of Fayerweather. A special Cabinet meeting had been convened for the day after this meeting to explore options.

In response to a question, the President said that retention of 2003-04 freshman was just over 71%.

4. Provost’s Report

a. New Faculty. Dr. DeWine welcomed new faculty and invited Dr. Gama Perucci, Dean of the McDonough Center to introduce Mr. Henry Jelinek (Class of 1968). Mr. Jelinek was the Center’s first Executive-in-Residence and with his wife planned to be on campus for two months.

b. Florida Relief. Dr. Gama Perucci indicated that students were discussing the possibility of responding to the call from FEMA for volunteers to assist in Florida following the recent storm damage.

c. Reminders. Dr. DeWine issued reminders: class rosters, Early Alert, and Early Warning programs, a request from the Career Center for suggestions as to alumni speakers. She reported that the co-curricular probation list was now available. Dr. DeWine said that the Library website had a link into comments on the library presentation at the Opening Convocation. She announced an ECC Roundtable on International Programs at Muskingum College on October 1. Dr. DeWine urged faculty to keep a log of instances where special accommodation has been provided for students as a result of requests from the Academic Resource Center.

d. Hartel Fellows Program. Dr. DeWine reported that funding under the Hartel Fellows Program was to be made available to faculty to support the entertainment of students in their homes.

e. Exceptional Outlays. Dr. DeWine reported that the Academic Coordinators had funding to cover exceptional items.

f. Academic Journal. Dr. DeWine said she had just received word that a donor had agreed to provide funding for an academic journal which would highlight faculty research and other output.

5. Amendments to the Faculty Constitution

The required two-weeks’ notice having been given, Dr. Matthew Young proposed the motion

That the faculty of Marietta College amend section VIII, Revision Process, of the Constitution as shown below.

VIII.A. Amendments to the Constitution. Action to amend The Faculty Constitution may be initiated by ~~the Board of Trustees or by~~ any member of the voting faculty, in accordance with the following procedures:

[three bullet points remain unchanged]

VIII.B. Trustee Approval. It shall be the responsibility of the president to present all Constitution amendments to the Board of Trustees for their consideration at the Board meeting following faculty approval of the amendment. An amendment to the Constitution cannot take effect without approval of two-thirds of the Board of Trustees.

VIII.B. Constitution Amendments which Affect the Handbook. Proposed changes in the Constitution which also involve changes in the Handbook should be offered as amendments to the Handbook. Such amendments, if adopted, will then dictate changes in the Constitution without specific faculty action. The faculty member offering the amendment to the Handbook should also offer a proposed revision for the Constitution.

With the accompanying changes in the Handbook:

IX.B. Handbook Amendments which Affect the Constitution. Proposed changes in the Handbook which also involve changes in the Constitution should be offered as amendments to the Constitution. Such amendments, if adopted, will then dictate changes in the Handbook without specific faculty action. The faculty member offering the amendment to the Constitution should also offer a proposed revision for the Handbook.

IX~~.C.~~ .B. Trustee Approval [language unchanged]

IX~~.D.~~ .C. Changes in Appendices [language unchanged]

The motion was seconded and Dr. Young explained the background to the amendment as contained in the August 25 2004 memorandum distributed to faculty. A copy is attached as Exhibit C (pink). The proposed changes had already been approved by the Board of Trustees.

The question was called and on no objections being raised, the motion was put to a vote and passed unanimously on a show of hands.

6. Academic Calendar

Copies of a possible academic calendar for 2005-06 were distributed. A copy is attached as Exhibit D (blue). Dr. DeWine explained the background to the changes: avoid Commencement on Mothers’ Day, provide opportunity for a “J-term” for off-campus programs in which faculty participation would be voluntary and not part of the regular teaching expectation, two weeks of classes after Thanksgiving, mid-semester breaks in the middle of the semester, an additional week in 2005 for the completion of the Fayerweather renovation. The Registrar confirmed that the work of the Records Office would not be jeopardized by the changes. Other comments raised were: brings classes back to 42 for Monday, Wednesday, Friday; it was not necessary for mid-semester break to be right in the middle of the semester; perhaps it’s better for first year students to have the Fall break earlier rather than later; there were advantages in keeping the Fall break linked to Columbus Day Weekend; alumni need to be consulted about the change of Commencement; could Commencment be on the Monday after Mothers’ Day. Dr. Huck, Faculty Representative to Student Senate, reported that Senate was not enthusiastic about the Spring changes because of concern over competitive advantage when seeking summer employment and was not convinced that the J-term would be profitably used. Dr. DeWine asked for an indication of faculty interested in using the J-term and some hands were raised. The decision about the 2005-06 academic calendar had to be made soon and Dr. DeWine asked for faculty input directed to her through department chairs.

7. Adjournment

A motion to adjourn was made and accepted.

Fraser G. MacHaffie

Secretary to the Faculty

Exhibit A (yellow): Letter, 5/27/04, from Mr. Timothy O. Cooper

Exhibit B (green): International Questionnaire

Exhibit C (pink): Memorandum, 8/25/04, to Faculty

Exhibit D (blue): Memorandum, 9/7/04, to Faculty

Distribution:

Dr. Jean A. Scott

Dr. Sue DeWine (2)

Dr. Robert G. Walker

Dawes Memorial Library