Minutes of meeting of April 25, 2005

Present: Rob Shakespeare (chair), Judith Anderson, Katy Fraser, Jeff Hart, Al Ruesink (recorder), Pam Walters, and Yasuko Watt, plus newly elected members for next year Bob Becker, Rosemary Lloyd, and Rick Van Kooten

The meeting convened at 2:30.

Minutes of the meeting of April 18 were tweaked and then approved unanimously. It was suggested that I include in them a special note before my signature (I did.) indicating that the full text of our Gender Bias report had been included with the April 11 minutes. Because it was at the very end of the document, some folks didn't scroll down far enough to find it. The website for the minutes and my offer to send a document file of the report to anyone who requested it were also included.

Three of the four open seats on the CPC were contested successfully, and new members Bob Becker, Rosemary Lloyd, and Rick Van Kooten were warmly welcomed and joined us as observers for this meeting. Because of a recording error, the election for the fourth seat had to be run again. The results of the Busey/Dolby contest will be known next week.

The CPC tried to reach closure on a consideration of the new Senior Faculty Recognition Committee that we have been shaping for several weeks. (See minutes of March 7th for a preliminary version.) Unhappy with the name that we had been using, we henceforth wish to call it the "Faculty Leadership Recruitment Committee." We believe that the first year it should be chaired by a member of the CPC, but thereafter it should select its own chair from its membership.

After some discussion, we affirmed that the dean should appoint its six members, selecting two from each of the three major areas in the College. Members should serve staggered terms, with 1/3 being replaced each year. At least half of the members should be drawn from a list of nominees provided by the CPC. Regarding the committee procedures, we believe each file should be read by at least two committee members. The top 10% or so of the files should then be perused by all six committee members and a list or lists of the topmost faculty should be generated. For each person on this short list, a short paragraph highlighting the individual's strengths and accomplishments should be written.

The choice of which 1/3 of the senior faculty to evaluate each year should be made by utilizing the last few digits of the faculty ID number. That would give a random selection. Regarding the Gender Bias report, Pam was asked to recast it slightly into two sections for posting and utilization. One section will be titled "Rationale" and the other will be titled "Policies."

Regarding CPC leadership for next year, we first asked Rob to step out for a drink of water while we talked about him. When he returned, it was moved and seconded and approved unanimously that Rob continue as chair and Al as recorder. CPC members were delighted that Rob would agree to do that.

It was noted that July 1st is the official date for the transition from the present CPC to the new membership.

The meeting adjourned at 4:00.

Albert Ruesink, recorder

Questions or comments regarding the minutes and actions of the Policy Committee may be addressed to Rob Shakespeare, Dept. of Theater and Drama, Theater and Drama Ctr. A300H, 5-4367, shakespe@indiana.edu. Past minutes and College Policy Statements can be found at the CPC web page: www.indiana.edu/~college/faculty/policy/policies.shtml.