[Note: For your comments, please find below a slightly revised copy of the CPC Constitution as well as our statement on the nature of the social sciences.]

April 16^th, 2007

Present: Judith Anderson (Chair), Simon Brassell, Tom Busey, Sandra Dolby, Hal Evans, Roger Levesque (Recorder) and Patrick McNaughton

Our meeting was convened at 4:01.

We read, extensively discussed, and approved the minutes of our April 9th meeting. We spent considerable time focusing on our initial response to the FLASH Report on the International Studies in Bloomington. The CPC anticipates further consideration of the proposal after Dean Bertenthal has had an opportunity to fully review the document and hear from affected parties.

We discussed themes that seem to be emerging from departmental and program budget meetings. It was noted, for example, that many departments now have a reduced number of faculty, AI stipends are not as competitive as they should be, and the compensation of professional staff often does not reflect their increasing responsibilities. A chronic lack of functional space and space in ill repair are also evident, especially in the Arts. It was noted that all budget meetings now have been scheduled. As with past meetings, each remaining meeting will be attended by a member of the CPC.

We returned to our constitution and made a few minor revisions to increase clarity. We did, however, make one major change. The current constitution permits the CPC to amend the constitution without faculty input. Our proposed language would require revisions to be submitted to a faculty vote. We welcome comments on our revision and will consider them when we next meet. Once we feel comfortable with a final version, we will submit it to faculty vote similar to the recent CPC elections. We anticipate requesting faculty to vote before the end of this semester.

We would like to announce and congratulate the newly elected CPC members: Debbie Cohn, Dale McFadden, Nick Cullather, and Maxine Watson. We also would like to express our deep appreciation to those who had accepted nominations and had been willing to serve. We again would like to thank everyone who participated in this important process.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:18.

Roger Levesque, Recorder

Questions or comments regarding the minutes and actions of the College Policy Committee may be addressed to its Chair, Judith Anderson (anders@indiana.edu – 855-3845). Past minutes and College Policy Statements can be found at the CPC web page: www.indiana.edu/~college/faculty/policy/policies.shtml.

CONSTITUTION OF THE POLICY COMMITTEE OF THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES AS REVISED THROUGH FEBRUARY, 2007 CONSTITUTION OF THE POLICY COMMITTEE OF THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES AS REVISED THROUGH FEBRUARY, 2007

I. Powers and Duties of the Policy Committee

A. The Policy Committee represents the College faculty in the formulation of College policies and the monitoring of their impact. It may advise the Dean and the faculty on any matters concerning the College.

B. The Committee may make recommendations to the faculty on matters requiring faculty action and to the Dean on matters that are to be handled by administrative action.

C. The Committee may consider questions and proposals that are referred to it by the Dean, by other committees, by members of the faculty, and by students. It may also consider matters it originates.

D. The Committee may have liaison with any other College committee or member of such a committee through means it deems appropriate.

E. The Committee also functions as the Budgetary Affairs Committee of the College, as stipulated by policies adopted by the Budgetary Affairs Committee of the Bloomington Faculty Council. In this role it advises the Dean on budgetary and salary matters. The Committee sets general salary policies for the College, comments on the Dean’s implementation of them, and monitors departmental policies for conformity with College policies, although it is not otherwise involved in departmental salary allocations. In order to be able to provide the Dean with informed advice on budgetary matters, the Committee may send one or two representatives to any regular budget conference between the Dean (or the Dean's representative) and a department chair or program director. The Committee will follow established procedures to assure the confidentiality of the budget process.

F. The committee may also send one or two representatives to other general meetings of Chairs and Directors called by the Dean.

II. Structure of the Policy Committee II. Structure of the Policy Committee

A. The Committee consists of nine elected tenured or tenure-track faculty members, the Dean of the College, and the Executive Associate Dean of the College. With the exception of the Dean and the Executive Associate Dean, faculty members holding administrative appointments in the College at the rank of department chair, program director, and above, or on the Bloomington Campus at the rank of Associate Dean and above, are not eligible to serve on the Policy Committee.

B. The Dean and the Executive Associate Dean are non-voting members. All other members are voting members. The Dean and/or the Executive Associate Dean are normally invited to participate in all or part of each meeting.

C. The faculty members are chosen from the following distribution units of the Bloomington Faculty Council, as defined and updated:

D. Each faculty member serves three years, beginning July 1; terms of elected members are staggered on a three-year basis. Sabbaticals and other leaves do not count toward an elected member's three-year term if the member does not attend Committee meetings regularly during the leave.

III. Election and Appointment Procedures of the Policy Committee

A. Continuing, appointed, and newly elected members of the Policy Committee will convene once at the end of the spring semester preceding its tenure in office. The purpose of this meeting is to elect the Chair and Recorder for the coming year; these appointments take effect as of July 1. Chairs and Recorders may be reappointed for successive terms, but they are elected for only one year at a time.

B. If the Committee chooses to hold summer meetings, the continuing members may, at their discretion, invite the newly elected members to attend prior to July 1. The newly elected members, however, are considered non-voting members until July 1. After July 1, retiring members of the Committee may also be invited to attend meetings during the summer, but they will be present in an advisory, non-voting capacity.  Should an urgent matter arise during the part of the summer when the sitting Chair (retiring or incoming) is unavailable, the other Chair should be considered in charge.  If neither Chair is available, the sitting Recorder should be consulted.

C. At the beginning of the spring semester the Committee appoints a Nominating Committee from its membership. In January the Nominating Committee invites nominations and volunteers from the College Faculty to stand for election to the Policy Committee. The Nominating Committee may also provide additional nominations of its own. Upon recommendation of the Nominating Committee, the Policy Committee designates candidates (normally two) for each anticipated vacancy. Candidates are designated from such units as necessary to maintain the distribution of Committee membership described in Article II.C. That is, if there is a single vacancy in a distribution unit, the Committee will typically propose a slate of two candidates from departments and programs within that group. If there are two vacancies, the Committee will typically propose a slate of four candidates, and so on.  Ideally, depending upon nominees' willingness to stand for election, candidates are also designated in such a way as to maintain a broad representation of departments and programs in the College and to avoid over-representation of any single department or program.

D. In March, ballots containing the names of all nominees, along with a statement from each nominee, are distributed to all members of the College faculty, with a date set for the completion of the voting. The College tabulates the names of those elected and reports them to the Chair and Recorder, who share them with the Committee. The election process should be completed by mid-April at the latest.

E. Each tenured and tenure-track faculty member in the College is entitled to vote for one candidate for each vacant seat. Within each distribution unit, the appropriate number of candidates is elected according to the number of votes each candidate receives. That is, if there is a single vacancy, the candidate with the highest number of votes is elected. If there are two vacancies, the candidates with the highest and second-highest number of votes are elected, and so on. The ballot should be constructed in such a way as to optimize broad representation of departments.  In the event of a tie in the votes cast, the Policy Committee will determine the winner.  The College faculty is promptly informed of election results.

F. When an elected member resigns more than one year before the end of the term or is to be absent for more than one year, the vacancy shall be filled through a special election following, except as to dates, the same procedures as for a regular election. Shorter vacancies may, at the discretion of the Policy Committee, be left vacant, or they may be filled by the Committee through appointment from the appropriate distribution unit.

G. Persons who have completed three-year terms of service are ineligible for re-election for a period of three years following their terms of service. For members who have recently completed a regular term of service, reappointment under Article III.F. to fill a short-term vacancy is allowed but is considered in determining the three-year waiting period.

IV. Administrative Matters

A. The Policy Committee is an advisory and legislative body that frequently considers personnel matters and other confidential information. The Committee's deliberations require concentration and an in-confidence atmosphere that is not possible in open meetings. Accordingly, attendance at the Committee's meetings is limited to the voting and non-voting members and to invited guests. All invitations are extended in the context of specific agenda items where the Committee wants the input of specific individuals. Invitations are not extended to persons who would serve only as observers. The Committee's minutes are publicly disseminated and serve as our link to our constituency and other interested parties. The committee will answer questions about its minutes submitted to its chair.  Each set of minutes will invite such comments.

B. The Policy Committee may create such committees, subcommittees, task forces, and similar bodies as are required to fulfill its duties and responsibilities. These bodies may include persons who are not members of the Policy Committee.

C. Archived copies of the minutes of the Committee shall be kept in the College office. Minutes are distributed electronically by the College office to the Dean, to Associate and Assistant Deans, and to all members of the College faculty (except those who explicitly request not to receive the minutes). A copy of all policies, statements, and resolutions enacted by the Committee shall be kept in the College office.

D. The website of the Policy Committee contains a general description of the Committee and its activities, a copy of the Constitution, a list of current members, and any other background information the Committee deems appropriate. The minutes of the Committee, along with copies of policies and resolutions enacted by the Committee, are posted and archived on the Committee's website.

E. The Dean's office shall provide Support Staff services to the Committee, including maintaining the website.

V. Constitutional Amendment

This Constitution can be amended by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the Policy Committee, subsequently submitted for ratification, by a simple yes/no vote, to those persons who are eligible to vote in the election of members to the College Policy Committee.  A majority of votes will determine the outcome.  Should a tie occur, the amendment will fail, and the present constitution will continue.  If amendment is approved, the Constitution will be posted promptly on the Committee's website.

THE NATURE OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

The social sciences are devoted to the scientific study of society, to the better understanding of social life and societal development. Social scientists use the "laboratory" of human and animal societies to study social and cultural aspects of human behavior.  Social science findings often inform policies and strategies for improving social conditions or solving social problems by identifying the underlying causes of those conditions or problems.

The social sciences start from three premises. First, social life is patterned. The social patterns that constitute human society occur on many levels, and include ideas people have, intimate relationships, forms of family life, cultural traditions, societal patterns of inequality, power relations in societies, systems of producing and distributing goods and services, and the characteristics of the institutions that regulate societies. Second, these patterns are produced by a set of complex individual, social, cultural, political and economic processes that can be studied. Third, the social contexts in which individuals live their lives both constrain and enable the choices that are available to them; that is, people routinely make selections from "menus" of choices that are socially created.

One of the key contributions of the social sciences is the understanding that technological and scientific advances are not the sole, or even the primary, determinants of social change. For example, the social sciences have shed light on the social conditions under which science is produced and have identified a series of social, economic, political, and cultural conditions under which technological and scientific advances are adopted.

How do social scientists conduct research?

The social sciences are a methodologically diverse field, with methods chosen based on the question to be addressed or the social phenomenon to be studied. Most of the best social science research, however, is based on rigorous analysis of empirical evidence about existing social patterns, whether the analysis is qualitative or quantitative. Empirical evidence takes a variety of forms, including historical documents and official records; notes from observations, interviews, or prolonged ethnographic studies; surveys; official statistical data; and simulations. Better to understand similarities and differences across groups and societies, social science research often makes use of the comparative method: sometimes among societies; sometimes among social groups in a given society; sometimes over time in a single society.

Because social scientists study phenomena that are contingent, socially situated, and subject to many discrete causes, social science research produces statements about probable or likely outcomes, not deterministic rules. Thus social scientists speak about the "likely consequences" of, say, a drop in fertility or an increase in economic productivity on inequalities in wealth. Knowing the likely results of a set of social changes can be enormously important for understanding the process of social change and developing effective social policies.

How is social science research used?

Social scientific research has implications far beyond the academy. It produces socially necessary knowledge that can be applied to a wide range of societal problems. Social science research has influenced policymaking in a diverse set of areas, ranging from the creation of the welfare state to our understanding of the nature of and appropriate social remedies for poverty and racial inequality to monetary and wage policies to systems of crime and punishment. Social science research also helps the public better understand the social challenges that confront them as individuals and as members of the larger society.