June 14, 2004

Present: Judith Anderson, Ellen Dwyer, Katy Fraser, Jeff Hart, Kevin Hunt (chair), Chuck Livingston (recorder), Al Ruesink, Rob Shakespeare, Pam Walters

1. The meeting began at 2:00 PM.

2. In anticipation of a discussion with the Dean related to administrative appointments in the College, the Committee discussed the administrative structure of the College. As a long term goal the CPC will consider this structure, and as a first step it will gather detailed information on its present configuration. Initially it appears that the College is operating very efficiently in comparison with other schools, but that the work load for associate deans, assistant deans and staff is quite heavy. Several Committee members noted that if the Dean chooses to enlarge the administrative staff or budget, he will need to detail the benefits of such an expansion to the faculty and staff.

With regards to the time demands on the administration, one Committee member noted that Indiana University focuses much more on "funding by initiative" than do many other universities. The time demands of this system extend down from such major initiatives as the CTE and earlier SDI, to individual faculty, for whom applying for university funding beyond 10 month salary must be an annual undertaking.

3. Ongoing work on the air-conditioning chillers has led to extremely high temperatures and humidity in some buildings. Committee members hope that the administration is sensitive and responsive to the needs of staff with regard to assuring a safe working environment.

4. The Committee returned to a topic that has been of concern all year: the weak academic backgrounds and lack of intellectual commitment of many undergraduate students. A wide ranging and lively discussion ensued, ranging from concerns about the high rates of alcohol and drug use on campus, to the increasingly large number of students who hold time-consuming jobs, to the possible role of faculty grading policies in exacerbating these problems. While we lack easy solutions for such problems, we feel they make more difficult both undergraduate teaching and learning and merit serious attention from the University at large. Committee members hope to continue this discussion in the Fall with the Dean for Undergraduate Education, Catherine Larson.

5. Dean Subbaswamy arrived at the meeting at 3:00 PM. He informed the Committee that both David Zaret and Ted Widlanski are considering stepping down as associate deans at the end of the 2004-05 academic year. To prepare for this period of transition, the Dean has asked Joe Steinmetz, now chair of the Department of Psychology, to assume an administrative role in the College for the coming year. The exact nature and title of this position are now being formulated. The Dean summarized some of the qualities he looks for in his associates, and described the process he will follow in seeking to fill open positions. In particular, he said that he has not found a process of open nominations to be effective in the selection process.

6. The Dean summarized hiring authorizations for 2005-2006. In addition to open positions that resulted from failed searches last year, there will be roughly 15 new positions funded by CTE money. Few of the new positions requested by departments will be able to be opened in the coming year, and specifically the Dean noted that it is very difficult to open positions for anticipated, as opposed to realized, retirements.

7. Five committees are now preparing proposals for CTE funding; there is an August deadline for completion. These committees and their chairs are: Graduate Support, Claude Clegg; Senior Hires in the Humanities, Stephen Watt; Democracy Studies, Jeff Isaac; Applied Statistics, Scott Long; Synergies in the Performing Arts, Dale McFadden.

8. The implementation of PeopleSoft systems continues to be a large burden for all staff, and it is especially time-consuming for staff in smaller departments. In particular, the training time for such tasks as faculty appointments is equally long, regardless of whether the task is carried out repeatedly each semester in a department, or only once or twice a year. In addition, if the task is carried out infrequently, retraining is often required with each application. To ease this burden, the Dean proposed and the Committee supported hiring one individual to assist small departments in carrying out these operations. This individual will also provide support in the College budget office.

9. Dean Subbaswamy announced that a faculty committee headed by Professor Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig has been reviewing the status of second language acquisition and applied linguistics in the College. In view of impending retirements in the TESoL/Applied Linguistics department, there is an opportunity to explore options for future vision for this department. The committee's recommendations will be discussed with all relevant units in the coming year.

10. The meeting adjourned at 4:15 PM.

Questions or comments regarding the minutes and actions of the Policy Committee may be addressed to Kevin Hunt 5-3857, Dept. of Anthropology, Student Building 248, khunt@indiana.edu. Past minutes and College Policy Statements can be found at the CPC web page: www.indiana.edu/~college/faculty/policy/policies.shtml.