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Faculty Senate Minutes November 1, 2018

November 1, 2018
3:30pm, Faculty Reception Room
(approved 11/6/18)

Attendance:

T. Moretti (chair), Meryl Nadel, Amanda Howerton-Fox, Michelle Veyvoda, Abby Bishop, Chrissy Martins, Mitchell Bard, Orly Shachar, Eleni Mariola, Chia-ling Tsai, Lubomir Ivanov, Hannah Park, Jeffrey Alstete, George Defeis, Tony Kelso

T. Moretti confirmed a quorum and began the meeting.

I. Announcements

    • College Council General Assembly Meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 5th.  This is a new requirement listed in the College Council Constitution; one College Council per semester must be a General Assembly that invites non-voting members to the committee to ask questions of CC members.
    • T. Moretti provided an update on ENT 200 and ENT 201 courses, which will count as liberal arts electives going forward, per T. Moretti’s conversation with Michael Jordan (VP). ENT 201 may have to be converted to a PHL, but that is no issue, because the course is run through Philosophy and taught by that department’s faculty.    
      • Lubo asks if ENT 200 is an Oral Intensive course and recommends that it be considered as such on the updated core list to satisfy some student needs.
    • Meryl announced Week of the Peacemaker events next week (11/5-11/9)

II. Faculty Handbook Revisions

    • T. Moretti reported that the Provost would like to begin a conversation with faculty concerning the percent of clinical faculty currently allocated at 5%. Senators expressed an interest in working with the Provost on this matter. They also expressed concerns for tenure-track faculty lines and would like to have more information about the current allotment of clinical faculty across the college. Such questions include:
      • How many clinical faculty are working at Iona?
      • In which departments and programs do they belong?
      • Are there particular programs and departments that would be well suited for more clinical faculty lines, and if so, what are they?
      • Are there any plans to expand the college’s current program offerings, and if so, what are they?
      • What is the definition of a clinical faculty member? Should it be clarified?
    • Question was posed about the adjunct faculty handbook and whether it needs updating. T. Moretti will ask Dot Brophy for any knowledge of the adjunct faculty handbook and any past attempts to revise it.

III. Scheduling Committee Recommendations

    • Orly suggests that the Senate should commend the committee for a quick, impressive turnaround.  T. Moretti asks the Senate to weigh the pros and cons of the draft proposal and emphasized that any changes would not be implemented until 2020-2021, per the draft proposal. He also suggested that there is still time to work on the proposal and hope to finalize it by the December College Council meeting.
    • Chrissy Martins provided background on the working group’s approach to its charge. She did not attend the last working group meeting.  She notes that the survey provides good information, but it may not have addressed all concerns. 
    • The Senate agrees that Iona faculty and students need a range of course scheduling options (night, two-day, three-day classes, for example).
    • Mitch emphasized the need for a three-day a week option for such courses as copy-editing.
    • The Senate sees a need for additional activity hours for student success and committee work. Jeffrey Alstete commented that changes to the schedule and activity hour can have great impact on student success and retention.
    • Senators could not come to a consensus on the major elements of the draft proposal. Senators expressed concern about the following set-up for additional activity hours in the draft proposal.
      • Some course offerings would be more restricted with an added activity hour on the two-day schedule, especially Math, which offers 4 credit Calculus two days a week.The 12:30-1:48 PM addition would cut into the 4 credit, two-day-per-week courses offered at Iona, including Calculus, which meets for close to two hours per class. 
      • The Senate would not approve opening activity hours to athletics practices. Doing so would create even more restrictions for students who participate in sports. To require to practice during activity hours would be to isolate student-athletes from the rest of the students who might engage in academic or other college-sponsored activities.
      • Michelle V. and others suggested the working group consider adding a block of activity time on a Wednesday afternoon or reserving a day for activities, including advising.
    • Senators concerns about the proposed scheduling changes include the following:
      • T. Moretti shared an email from Bob Jantzen, who could not attend the meeting.  The message emphasized the importance of changing a MW to a Monday/Thursday to reduce the number of days between class from one week to the next. It also asks whether the draft proposal for a M W F envisions courses that meet on M W F at 2, 3, and 4 PM. 
      • Mitch commented on the need for three-day-a-week faculty to have adequate prep time.  A M W F schedule means Sunday prep time for many faculty, which is more problematic than our current 3-day-a-week model. Mitch also disagreed that the MW two-day schedule leaves too many days between W and M for students. He pointed out that the college offers night classes that meet once a week, which have to face an even greater gap between classes.
      • Hannah commented that current block scheduling, and resulting restrictions on scheduling outside the blocks, hinders FPA ensemble 1 credit courses. Senators also suggested the working group consider how block scheduling impacts math, sciences, service learning, and internships.
    • Based on the above concerns, the Senate recommends that the working group consider a broader array of options based on research of scheduling at peer institutions.

IV. (For the sake of time, T. Moretti tabled an update on New Harassment Policies and Procedures and the Proposed Faculty Newsletter.)

V. Old Business

  • T. Moretti emphasized the need to fill two faculty vacancies on the Student Affairs Committee, one A&S, one BUS. He asked for names, and Mitch and Orly agreed to ask members of the MCO department. T. Moretti will also remind Senators via email to help find possible names. T. Kelso is surprised at the vacancies, since he recalls a high demand to sit on the Student Affairs committee in recent years.
  • T. Moretti reported on the need to find two BUS faculty to sit on Strategic Plan Subgroups Academic Excellence and Talent. He is working with Will Lamb (Dean of La Penta Business) and the Provost to locate faculty to fill those positions.
  • T. Moretti updated the Senate on the current membership of the Study Abroad/Service Learning Working Group. Eric Moscato could not join the committee due to a variety of reasons, so Bret Sanner was selected. Per his chair’s recommendation, Bret Sanner decided not to join, but offered to attend a few meetings to share his experiences with service learning. Meryl reported that the group’s work is going well so far, but they are having trouble finding meeting times that work for everyone.
  • T. Moretti emphasized the importance of nominating and selecting three faculty to sit on the Compensation Working Group. He will ask Senators for more names and put out a call if there are not enough Senators to fill the slots.
  • T. Moretti reported on the Hynes Institute Faculty Search. All agreed that the Hynes Institute Director can select Dr. Rasheda Weaver to sit on the search committee without the Senate’s involvement. The Senate wishes the search committee well as it works to expand the faculty number in the Hynes Institute to serve the needs of our students. The Senate does recommend that the search committee include one or two faculty from the Hynes Curriculum Committee.  While some senators see the inclusion of members of the Provost office as unprecedented, the Senate confirms that it is not and should not be involved in a faculty search. Some senators pointed out that faculty searches have followed an established practice that begins at the level of the department or program and that then works its way to the Dean and Provost.

VI. New Business

  • T. Moretti noted the retirement of senator Kevin Molloy, which leaves an opening in the Senate and in the Senate Executive Committee. T. Moretti asked for nominees, and will follow-up via email. He emphasized the importance of the EC to help set the agenda and to participate as voting members at each College Council meeting.
  • T. Moretti alerted the Senate to a new HUM opening in the Core Curriculum Committee Vacancy (HUM). With Amy Stackhouse’s election as chair of the CAA, the committee needs a faculty in HST, PHL, or ENG member (RST and FL are already filled).  T. Moretti emphasized that it is a hard working committee that calls for a shared workload.
  • In new business, Lubo asked if there is any word on an A&S Dean search. T. Moretti confirmed that the Provost is currently thinking about that process and will inform the Senate when he knows more.  The Senate wishes to help the Provost in any future search.