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College of Arts and Sciences Policy Committee Minutes
May 11, 2006

[Note: Proposed revisions of two CPC Policies are located at the end of these minutes.]

Present: Judith Anderson (chair), Sandra Dolby, Roger Levesque, Rosemary Lloyd, Patrick McNaughton (new member), Al Ruesink (recorder), and Rob Shakespeare.

The meeting convened at 4:20.

The minutes of May 4 were approved as presented. Minutes of May 3 (special meeting with Interim Provost McRobbie) were amended a bit and tentatively approved if Michael McRobbie has nothing substantive to suggest about our account of his visit. [He didn't, and they thus needed no further CPC consideration.]

Plans for further work on our review of old policies were discussed, with our last regular meeting of the school year scheduled for May 25.

Interim Dean David Zaret joined us at 4:33. First we discussed our impressions of the first two dean candidates--Friedlander and Berenthal. In updating us on College activities, David noted that the number of counteroffers made this year was even higher than last. Of additional concern to David was the number of Leaves Without Pay (LWOPs) sought for/by people who want to leave IU to try another position but might want to return. Al was asked to find our minutes of the last time the CPC considered this issue. [It was Feb. 28, 2005.] As we talked about the qualities needed in a new College dean, we focused on the need to help departmental chairs function well. When chairs consult with key faculty and/or executive committees, it usually improves their work. Perhaps the CPC should assemble a "best practices" document for departmental governance next year.

We discussed the need to have College faculty present on the BFC Agenda Committee and on the campus Capital Priorities Committee, and we considered some ways to facilitate those appointments/elections. This summer there will be a group meeting to talk about the process for establishing campus General Education guidelines. In response to a question from the CPC, David Zaret noted that the College this year did not prepare the usual hefty, many-page budget proposal that has served as a sort of annual report. For this year, IUB campus administration requested a much smaller budget document, which was vetted by the CPC and then went to the College's campus budget conference. David suggested that the CPC peruse the "draft Academic Enhancement Plan" that Swamy generated this spring and see if it would be appropriate to drop the "draft" part and consider it the plan with which the new Dean begins to work on his arrival. David noted that the Ph.D. in Gender Studies has not yet been approved by the Indiana Commission on Higher Education, but it should pass muster at their next meeting. The Ph.D. proposal in African-American and African Diaspora Studies is not yet to that stage but seems to be moving along satisfactorily. David left at 5:25.

We returned to our review of old CPC policies. Five were approved with only minor tweaking: 1) Policy for Name Changes for Departments and Programs, 2) Policy for Changing a "Program" to a "Department," 3) Policy on Confidentiality of Budget Process, 4) Policy on Criteria for Promotion to Full Professor, and 5) Policy on College Tenure Criteria. These will be posted on the CPC website with a "reviewed 2006" added to each of them. A revised version of the Policy Concerning Letters Solicited for Promotion and Tenure (2001) will be sent to Interim Dean Zaret for his consideration.

The meeting adjourned at 6:05.

Albert Ruesink, recorder

Questions or comments regarding the minutes and actions of the College Policy Committee may be addressed to co-chairs Judith Anderson (anders@indiana.edu --855-3845) and Bob Becker (becker@indiana.edu --855-3014). Past minutes and College Policy Statements can be found at the CPC web page: www.indiana.edu/~college/faculty/policy/policies.shtml.

Policy Documents

The following documents represent draft revisions of CPC Policy Documents of recent years. The CPC worked on them, submitted them to Interim Dean Zaret for suggestions, and now circulates them for faculty comments. For the original versions, see the CPC Policy Document site: www.indiana.edu/~college/faculty/policy/policies.shtml. Responses about the documents should be sent to Judith Anderson (anders@indiana.edu) , our CPC chair.

Policy for the Establishment of an Advisory Committee for Tenured Faculty Appointments (11 February 1997) Revised May 2006

(to faculty with May 11 minutes)

When hiring faculty members who are to be granted tenure at the time of appointment, the Dean shall create an ad hoc committee drawn from the current Tenure Committee. This committee will examine a mini-dossier which includes a CV, evidence of teaching effectiveness, external letters of support, together with the relevant department chair’s assessment of research, teaching and service. If the dossier raises concerns, the Dean will consult other members of the Tenure Committee to reach a resolution. In the case of candidates who do not already have tenure or who did not receive it at a comparable institution, the full Tenure Committee will review the case on the basis of a similar level of documentation to that expected for internal tenure reviews.

Policy Concerning Letters Solicited for Promotion and Tenure (April 2001) Revised May 2006

(to faculty with May 11 minutes)

(1) For all tenure and promotion cases, two lists of six names each, one from the candidate and one from the department (compiled independently), should be submitted to the Dean's office on a specified date in the spring. The names should be identified further by institutional affiliation and accompanied by a declaration of links between the candidate and each potential referee, as well as a brief account of each referee's achievements, together with an indication of relevance to assessment of the candidate. If possible, referees should be full professors and should not have had a close relationship with the candidate.

(2) The Dean selects four names from each list. If the Dean has questions or concerns about the list, s/he clarifies those concerns before requests for letters are sent to the potential reviewers.

(3) Once the lists have been agreed upon, the department then solicits all letters on behalf of the Dean. All letters are to be placed in the dossier and available to faculty who participate in departmental tenure or promotion decisions.

The following Dean of Faculty’s website may also be consulted:

http://www.indiana.edu/~deanfac/acadguid/e.html

(go to Tenure/Reappointment/Promotion/Salary--Section E)