Friday, October 18, 2002, 10:15 a.m.
Kirkwood 007

Present: Tom Gieryn (chair), Alex Dzierba, Katy Fraser, Roy Gardner, Susan Gubar, Kevin Hunt, Charles Livingston, Deidre Lynch (BFC liaison), Ellen Dwyer (recorder)

1. The meeting began at 10:15 AM with a discussion of the minutes of the October 11 meeting. As a result, Ellen Dwyer agreed to revise and resubmit them. Because a number of committee members, as well as the Dean, could not attend the October 25 College Policy Committee meeting, it was cancelled. The next meeting will be on November 1.

2. The Policy Committee discussed the expansion of the Gender Studies faculty, in anticipation of the Gender Studies Program becoming a department. Members expressed concerns about the delay in the formation of the search committee responsible for choosing a new chairperson of Gender Studies, about how members of that search committee would be selected and about how faculty members were being chosen for joint appointments.

3. Committee members reported on several of the Dean's planning meetings with departments. Their remarks prompted a discussion of issues related to the increasingly important multidisciplinary initiatives in the College of Arts and Sciences. It is clear that the relatively new Policy on Joint Appointments needs greater publicity among department chairs and program directors.

4. Tom Gieryn reported on the Dean's meeting with the heads of departments and programs. Of particular concern to the Policy Committee was the growth in the size of the freshman class. Tom also noted a presentation made by John Walda, the Executive Director of Federal Relations and Corporate Partnerships, who is interested in soliciting large proposals (for example, for new centers) that might attract external funding via non-peer reviewed mechanisms.

5. We reviewed and finalized the questions we will submit to the Bloomington Faculty Council for the Dean's review. It was decided that both non-tenure track and tenure track faculty would be surveyed.

6. The discussion turned finally to issues related to undergraduate education, including the weak academic backgrounds of many freshmen, the recent decision of Student Disability Services to stop proctoring examinations, and the difficulties produced by student cheating. Many of these problems are best addressed by the Committee on Undergraduate Education. However, the Policy Committee will continue to address those aspects of undergraduate education that have significant negative impact on the working conditions of faculty.