Faculty Senate Minutes November 29, 2018

November 29, 2018
3:30 p.m., Faculty Reception Room
(Approved 12/10/18)

Present: T. Moretti (Chair), D. DeFino (Secretary, J. Alstete, M. Bard, D. Brophy, A. Bishop, G. DeFeis, M. Draeger, L. Ivanov, R. Jantzen, J. Kaalund, E. Mariola, C. Martins, M. Nadel, H. Park, O. Shachar, C. Tsai, M. Veyvoda
Excused: A. Howerton-Fox, M. Hughes, A. Kelso

T. Moretti called the meeting to order at 3:36 p.m.

Announcements

• D. Wheeler, in partnership with T. Moretti (Senate Chair) and A. Stackhouse (CAA Chair), will host a Town Hall on the Workload Policy on 12/4 at noon in the Hegarty Room. The purpose of the meeting is to clarify the existing policy, and respond to faculty questions
• College Council will host its inaugural General Assembly meeting on 12/5 at 3:30 p.m. in the Hegarty Room
• Associated Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB) will host a discussion of academic mergers and acquisitions on 12/11 at 2 p.m. in the Hegarty Room

Outstanding Committee Appointments

• Faculty Senate Executive Committee: E. Mariola was chosen to fill a vacancy left by the retirement of K. Molloy
• Compensation Working Group: T. Mussio and J. Matich-Maroney were chosen to represent A&S; BUS program chairs will be consulted in the selection of a BUS faculty reperesentative

Undergraduate Master Plan Working Group

T. Moretti read the Working Group charge, and the Senate discussed possible faculty representation. Three faculty are sought from A&S and two from BUS. T. Moretti will reach out to prospective candidates.

Compensation Working Group Memo

The Senate discussed the Compensation Process Review memo generated by the Provost’s Office and distributed to the College community by T. Moretti on 11/26. Two particular concerns were raised:

• 3.c. under the heading “Faculty” states, “Faculty receiving performance assessments of ‘Unsatisifactory’ will not be eligible for an increase.”  No criteria or process for judging faculty as “Unsatisfactory” is offered
• Many voiced concerns about the impact of placing heavy performance expectations—especially on junior faculty—will have on faculty efficacy, retention and morale.

Faculty Development

As part of a preliminary review of Faculty Development, the Provost asked the Senate to consider what “faculty development” means, as a general principle, and as specific to Iona. Several responses were offered by senators, including:

• Commiting to providing resources necessary for faculty to meet the demands placed upon them
• Capitalizing upon the strengths of the institution, both in terms of legacy, history and identity, and the expertise and talents of existing faculty
• Helping faculty to develop the skills necessary to teach the students we have
• Looking at ways to reduce teaching load, including merit remissions and grant support
• Looking at ways of offering more team-taught courses, so that faculty are learning from each other
• Offering more support for faculty conference attendance and scholarly projects
• Offering more support for development within disciplines (course releases to work on curricular projects; funding for advanced coursework in ones field; etc.)
• Offering faculty talks that are defined more by faculty interest and expertise than by a set of pre-ordained topics, and that are focused on building a intellectual community, rather than simply delivering information
• Live-streaming/archiving said talks—and other events on campus—to increase participation

College Harrassment Reporting Policy

J. Klein asked the Senate to reflect on three concerns regarding the new policy:

1.  If faculty are mandated reporters, are students less likely to report incidents to them?
2.  Is the college prepared to put in writing a pledge of support in case faculty reporters find themselves liable in a legal case?
3.  Does it make sense to designate only a select group of faculty as mandated reporters?

The Senate will take up these questions at greater length at its next meeting.

 

Employee Benefits: Tolls and Commuting Costs

The Senate has been asked to raise the issue of reimbursement for commuting costs with HR. T. Moretti will do so.

Old Business

• Althletics Membership: At its last meeting, the Senate was asked to take up the matter of adding the Director of Academic Advisment as an ex officio member of the Committee on Athletics.  The Senate agreed to this proposal, and took it to College Council.  J. Nyre asked that T. Moretti check with K. McElroy, to clarify the process for making such a chance. He is awaiting her response.
• Faculty Handbook: T. Moretti is currently in the process of collating changes to the handbook, based on several drafts produced by various bodies.

New Business

None

T. Moretti adjourned the meeting at 5:50 p.m.