Present: Julia Bondanella, Geoff Conrad (Chair), James Craig, Daniel Dinnsen, Steven Girvin, Noretta Koertge, Elizabeth Raff

Also present: Dean Russell Hanson

1. The minutes of 14 January 2000 were amended and approved.

2. Jim Craig updated the Policy Committee on the status of the search for the new dean. The Search Committee meets on Sunday to finalize its recommendations, after the campus visits of the candidates.

3. The Policy Committee agreed to formulate an expression of appreciation to the Board of Trustees for their decision concerning the use of the land in the Sycamore Valley and Griffy Lake Area. The text of this message follows:

To the Members of the Board of Trustees and President Brand:

As the elected members of the College of Arts and Sciences Policy Committee, we want to thank you for your decision not to pursue the development of the proposed new golf course. We realize that this must have been a difficult decision for you, and that it will be unpopular in some quarters.

We believe that any opportunity for cooperative efforts between Indiana University and commercial interests, now or in the future, must be evaluated primarily in the light of the university's academic mission. The foremost concerns should always be the proposed venture's impact on the university's teaching and research and its effect on the university's ability to provide intellectual leadership for broader constituencies in the State of Indiana.

Your action has adhered to these principles and has upheld the primacy of Indiana University's academic mission. Furthermore, your decision is helping to foster an increased sense of trust and cooperation among faculty, students, the central administration, and the Board of Trustees. These results are highly desirable and commendable, and we are grateful to you all. We hope that this event presages future constructive dialogues on academic issues of importance to the university and the state.

4. It has been some time since the Policy Committee's constitution was reviewed, and the committee agreed to review and update the document to reflect actual practices and procedures.

5. After soliciting nominees from the faculty, the Policy Committee began the process of constructing a slate of candidates for the upcoming election of five new members, two in Arts and Humanities, two in Biological, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and one at-large member.

6. Dean Hanson joined the meeting at 2:15 p.m.

(a) Dean Hanson announced that the change of name for the new Department of Folklore and Ethnomusicology is official. He will be working in the coming months to ensure that the newly named department as well as other appropriate departments will develop good working relationships with the Archives of Traditional Music, which will remain an independent unit, for which he is currently negotiating to appoint an acting director.

(b) Dean Hanson provided an update on the work of the Capital Priorities discussions concerning the new science building and the Main Library, both of which are of concern to COAS faculty.

(c) Dean Hanson informed the Committee that all tenure decisions by the College have been completed. Promotion decisions are essentially complete, except for appeals. The Dean anticipates he will complete this phase of the promotion decisions by the end of January.

(d) Dean Hanson reported that the budget situation will remain tight throughout the next year. Freshmen enrollment remains a critical issue. He noted that enrollments in the College have risen this spring semester.

(e) Dean Hanson advised the Committee that CUE (Committee on Undergraduate Education) will conduct a review of the TOPICS curriculum. Chairs will be asked to discuss the impact of the TOPICS courses on their departments and on the curriculum. CUE will also explore student evaluations of the impact of TOPICS courses on their undergraduate preparation.