SOS Steering Committee Minutes
January 14, 2005
Present:
Voting Members: Carl Cowen
(Dean), Steve Randall (BIOL),
PF called the meeting to order at 10:07 a.m.
I. PF presented the agenda, which was approved by the Committee.
II. PF presented the minutes from 12/03/04 for approval. They were approved without revision and with no dissenting votes.
III. Committee Changes
A.
B.
IV. Succession of the President
PF explained the process of succession as prescribed by the Bylaws. The Secretary is first in succession but PF did not feel that he could discharge the duties of the President due to a recent appointment to the Executive Board of the Indiana Psychological Association. The Bylaws allow for the SC to elect one of the Department Representatives if the Secretary is unable to step into the role. PF nominated AB, who graciously and generously accepted the nomination. There was no discussion, and AB was elected by the SC without any dissenting votes. The succession procedure stipulates that the successor will complete the term of the outgoing President (1˝ years remaining on the present term), but AB might be able to take over only for Spring and might ask for a new election in Spring.
V. Administrative Reviews
Administrative reviews are scheduled to be conducted in Spring, 2005 and to be completed by July 1, 2005. PC reported that all chairs are scheduled to be reviewed except the Chair of Geology (exempt due to being recently hired). In the Dean’s Office, only Assistant Dean Kim Nguyen is due for review (the Dean and Associate Deans are exempt due to being recently hired). The Bylaws prescribe that the Subcommittee for Administrative Review (comprised of the SC President, Secretary and Department Representatives) generate an instrument that includes both quantitative and qualitative components, with an effort to maintain as much continuity from previous reviews as possible for comparison across years.
CC encouraged (1) that the results be disseminated to the faculty and (2) that the SAR include qualitative/open-ended items in addition to any quantitative items. PF read the relevant portions of the Bylaws. SR added that we should invite a response to the review from the reviewed individual. AB said that it would be critical for the Department Representatives to talk with faculty and encourage their colleagues to reply to the surveys, emphasizing that CC and administrators are eager to get feedback.
VI. Other Announcements (Cowen)
CC reported that this is the Centennial Celebration of Einstein’s major papers on relativity and the relationship between matter and energy, and April is Mathematics Awareness Month. In addition, there will be a forensic gathering that will attract many politicians. There is also a new show on TV called Numbers, which will focus on forensic mathematics. There will be many opportunities to increase the visibility of the SOS and our undergraduate and graduate programs.
The Women in Science housing initiative is moving forward. We will publicize this and try to use it for fundraising and for scholarships. The processes for awarding scholarships are still unclear. We need to identify the committee(s) and processes for advertising and awarding scholarships, and the timeline needs to be moved up from Spring to Fall so that scholarships can be used to entice the strongest students to choose IUPUI rather than awarding scholarships to students who have already made a commitment to enroll here. AG said that these changes are substantial and will require coordination with the current SOS Scholarship Committee members, especially with regard to timing of reviews. JW added that the current committee members no longer meet (they just review and rate applications); CC indicated that the committee should hold formal meetings.
CC provided updates on efforts to expand SOS space. It appears that SOS is no longer under consideration for space in Med Sci III. As another option, a developer/builder is planning to build two buildings to order on a site at the north end of the Canal. The space would be designed and tailored to our needs and we could move in as soon as 2006, but there are potential drawbacks: It requires a 20-years lease, is expensive, and raises issues with regard to parking between there and LD. Also, the Canal buildings will not house animals, so they are not options for animal research lab space. There was also a suggestion that splitting the physical location of the SOS could possibly adversely affect the sense of the School’s cohesion and culture.
CC asked the new Assoc. Deans to introduce themselves. JW is Associate Dean for Undergraduate Students and Outreach. He will be responsible for student organizations/clubs and undergraduate matters; internships; and outreach/recruitment. AG is Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Undergraduate Education. He will take over Joe Kuczkowski’s responsibilities on University committees and will oversee undergraduate research, scholarships, and academic misconduct, as well as other roles that are still emerging. PC is Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Programs. She will help identify sources of external funding, coordinate space utilization, oversee grant activities, and address graduate student funding. All three Assoc. Deans plan to meet with departments and/or chairs this semester.
CC indicated that we need to add graduate students to grants as long as it is not prohibited by the grant agency. He will start looking for that on all grants. AG said that he is looking out for interdisciplinary undergraduate training grants. SR stated that faculty could also get supplements for undergraduate students on NSF grants; these supplements are frequently funded.
JW announced his plan to use the A-student convocation to make connections with parents as a step toward increasing recruitment. He will be encouraging the faculty in attendance to mix and mingle with students and with their families.
The visit from President Herbert was discussed in Faculty Council on Thursday. Bart Ng said that he has been pushing for this; it is still on his agenda, but no date or plan has been established yet. Herbert has only made a very quick visit to IUPUI-Columbus but he has not visited any other campuses yet (not even IUB).
VII. Subcommittee for Administrative Review (SAR)
[Dean and Assoc./Asst. Deans (CC, KN, JW, AG, PC) left at 11:10 a.m. for the remainder of the meeting.]
The SAR met to review the Bylaws regarding the process for administrative reviews. The format was discussed. AB offered to pull past review instruments from the Dean’s Office as a starting point.
VII. The next meeting is scheduled for 02/11/05 (SAR meeting at 10:00 a.m. followed at 11:00 by full SC). Because this was a change in the original schedule (rescheduled to 02/11/05 due to Pres. & Sec. being out of town on 2/4/05), PF agreed to notify the entire SC of the date, time and venue for the meeting.
Meeting was adjourned at 12:00 p.m. so that the Subcommittee on Administrative Reviews (SAR) could begin meeting to plan the upcoming reviews of department chairs and Assistant Dean Nguyen.
Respectfully Submitted,
P. Fastenau, 02/11/05.
Minutes were approved by the SOS SC on 02/11/05 with revisions.