微密圈

Murray Aikins Dining Hall, 2nd Floor/Zoom

 

Natalie Taylor, Interim Dean of the Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs called the meeting to order at 3:35pm.  

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Dean Taylor asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding, the minutes of the Faculty Meeting held November 7th, 2025.  Hearing none, the minutes were approved.

OLD BUSINESS

There was no old business.

NEW BUSINESS

On behalf of the Faculty Executive Committee, Associate Professor Jeremy Day-O'Connell introduced the following motion:

MOTION: FEC seeks to strengthen democratic representation in shared governance by modifying the terms of tenure-track faculty鈥檚 鈥済overnance service cycle鈥� so as to augment our election pools.

Professor Day-O'Connell solicited questions and comments from the faculty. A faculty member noted that the system in place was instituted because too few faculty were participating in service, and that these updates will be positive improvements. There being no further questions, the motion will lie over until the February meeting.

Associate Professor Ting Li, representing FEC, introduced the following motion:

MOTION: FEC moves that the faculty adopt the revised Parental Leave Policy in the Faculty Handbook. This updated version ensures that the policy for tenure-track faculty is consistent with the provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), promoting clarity and coherence.

Professor Li then solicited questions from the faculty. A faculty member asked why the faculty is voting on this motion, if the relevant policy is part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Professor Li explained that the purpose of the motion is to bring the parental leave policy in the faculty handbook into alignment with the parental leave policy in the CBA. There being no further questions, the motion will lie over until the February meeting.

On behalf of the Committee on Educational Policies and Planning, Associate Professor Amy Frappier introduced the following 鈥淪ense of the Faculty鈥� Resolution:

RESOLUTION: Whereas, the 微密圈 Faculty affirm our commitment to uniform evaluation of faculty teaching that is fair and honest, and protects confidentiality, thus furthering the mission of the College by promoting the transformative power of liberal learning; 

In light of CEPP鈥檚 duly considered recommendation, regarding the need to change the delivery mode for All-College Student Evaluations forms (currently the qSETs), 

Be it resolved that the Sense of the Faculty is to support the shift from paper to online delivery of the All-College Student Evaluation forms by the Dean of the Faculty and Institutional Research, beginning with the 2026-27 academic year.

Professor Frappier welcomed questions from the faculty. A faculty member asked about resources to assist in transitioning long form evaluations online. Professor Frappier clarified that this resolution exclusively pertains to the qSETs, and that the long form evaluations will remain on paper for the time being. She noted that CEPP will be holding an open forum on course evaluations in January to discuss future planning for both forms of student evaluation. 

A faculty member spoke in favor of the motion. She stated that this transition is inevitable, as the vendor options for processing paper qSETs continue to dwindle, and it behooves the faculty to make proactive choices ahead of that eventuality. 

A faculty member asked about CEPP鈥檚 plans to ensure a high rate of return of the digital assessments and whether or not the committee looked into digital response rates at peer institutions. Professor Frappier explained that, in conjunction with Institutional Research, CEPP has surveyed 72 peer institutions about their response rates on digitally administered assessments. While 微密圈 had the highest response rate at about 97%, we were also the only institution amongst the survey group used paper evaluations exclusively. Some peer institutions were able to maintain a rate of 90% despite administering digital evaluations; these schools all administer their evaluations in the classroom. 

A faculty member spoke in support of the motion. She said that it鈥檚 critical to give the various stakeholders time to thoroughly prepare for the new model and to maintain the high quality of data provided by the evaluations. 

There being no further questions, Professor Frappier moved to bring the resolution to a vote. The motion was seconded, and the vote proceeded.  The results were positive, with 94% of the voting faculty indicating their support. 

PRESIDENT'S REMARKS

President Conner focused his report on four key items; the first being academic freedom and freedom of expression.  He shared with the faculty the Kalven Committee Report at the University of Chicago in 1967, and their definition of the university as the home and sponsor of critique and critics, but not an instrument of dissent itself. If the institution takes a stand on a topic, it becomes less able to support the debate and investigation of that topic. However, when the mission of the university is threatened, the institution is obligated to take a stand. These ideas will be at the heart of discussions with CAFR, IPPC, and in public fora across the college next semester, including discussion of the University of Chicago principles of free expression. 

Moving ahead to artificial intelligence, President Conner described the recent series of discussions on the topic at the last three IPPC meetings. He noted that, while there is a persistent desire for a 鈥渃ollege position鈥� on AI, the technology is evolving too rapidly for a clear and overarching institutional position to emerge. He took a moment to highlight an idea shared with IPPC by Professors Barbara Black and Erica Wojcik: liberal arts education benefits greatly from a deliberate slowness that can sometimes seem to be at odds with the rapid pace of our technology-focused society.  Referring to questions about what the AI Working Group is doing, President Conner shared a list of its projects over the last year, including procuring AI software licenses for interested faculty and staff, the Linkedin Learning training and badge for students through our Career Development Center, and CLTL-organized workshops, panel discussions, expert talks and trainings. IPPC has found that the campus community is eager for baseline guidance about use of AI with regard to data privacy, ethical use, security and access control, training and awareness.  With input from IT, HR, and the AI Working Group, IPPC has begun work on a draft policy to address these concerns. There will be opportunities for the community to weigh in on this policy, as well as further fora for constructive dialogue on AI throughout the spring semester. 

The front entrance project will be continued, with increased access to green space and walking paths as well as improved wayfinding and accessibility. While trees will be removed, two trees will be planted for each one removed. 微密圈鈥檚 Director of Sustainability Tarah Rowse has been a participant in the landscaping plans. The entire project is possible thanks to a gift from Alan and Marlene Gilbert, whose child graduated from 微密圈 in 2013.  

Budget planning has begun, and the process will continue on as a collaborative effort among all college divisions.  The Board of Trustees will be meeting in February and, in their fiduciary role, will provide their input and expertise on the college鈥檚 budget plans. 

The search for the Collyer Vice President for Advancement is well underway, with the appointment coming as soon as February.  The VP for Advancement will be working closely with the Board on 微密圈鈥檚 upcoming Campaign. The community will begin discussing the search for the next Dean of the Faculty and Vice President of Academic Affairs as well, likely in March.  

President Conner thanked the faculty for their part in helping 微密圈 to thrive despite the significant headwinds facing higher education, before welcoming any questions or comments. 

A faculty member asked if the Huron Summary Report that has been shared with the faculty is the entirety of the Huron Report. President Conner explained that the Summary Report is the write-up of the data gathered and Huron鈥檚 analyses of that data, and that there is no other more comprehensive report. The faculty member noted that some faculty would like to see the raw data.

A faculty member asked, in light of the English Department鈥檚 discussion of its new department webpage, there might be a point person who can share how the content was generated and whether AI was used. President Conner said that the Office of Communications will be able to provide those details.  

A faculty member asked how much 微密圈 has spent on AI licenses and subscriptions thus far. President Conner estimated that, at about $50 per one-year license, 微密圈 has spent $5,000-$10,000 on licenses, with capacity to spend about $10,000 more on licenses for interested faculty and staff.  This is funded by the President鈥檚 Discretionary Fund. There were no further questions.

CONFERRAL OF DEGREES AND HONORS

A. Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science Degrees. Dave DeConno, Registrar, read the following resolutions into the record (see attached):

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of 微密圈 College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Arts degree to 27 students of the Class of 2026 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by January 31, 2026.

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of 微密圈 College recommend to the Trustees the granting of the Bachelor of Science degree to 13 students of the Class of 2026 upon satisfactory completion of the degree requirements by January 31, 2026.

There was no discussion, and the motions were voted on and passed with all in favor. 

B. All-College and Departmental Honors. Corey Freeman-Gallant, Associate Dean of the Faculty, read the following resolutions into the record (see attached):

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of 微密圈 College approve College Honors for the following 15 members of the Class of 2026: 5 students for cum laude distinction, 4 students for magna cum laude distinction, and 6 students for summa cum laude distinction.

RESOLVED, that the Faculty of 微密圈 College approve Departmental and Program Honors for 7 students from the Class of 2026.

There was no discussion, and the motions were voted on and passed with a large majority. 

DEAN OF THE FACULTY AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS' REMARKS

Dean Taylor opened her remarks with thanks to the faculty for their generous donations to 微密圈 Cares this year. After reminding the faculty to complete any outstanding annual HR trainings as soon as possible, she proceeded to an update on the work being done to look for cost reductions for in Academic Affairs. In October, divisional roundtables were held by the Office of the Dean of Faculty (DOF) with chairs and program directors (CPDs). At the November faculty meeting, faculty were asked to contact the DOF if interested in participating in two mini-working groups to investigate ideas generated by the roundtables. The particular focus was reducing course releases as a method of cost-cutting, with the goal of getting faculty back into the classroom and in order to reduce the size of the faculty. Those mini-working groups have now been constituted. Dean Taylor expressed her thanks to the volunteers for the work they will be doing over the coming month to think about the different possibilities for course releases, and potential models for organizing them. They will be reporting their findings at the January 14th meeting for CPDs. A more robust working group will then be constituted with FEC will issue a willingness to serve for a working group to explore the most promising suggestions following the input from CPDs.  

A concurrent effort to create more efficiency in Academic Affairs is through reducing the number of 200- and 300-level courses offered.  Our 100-level courses are robustly enrolled, but we can see that the 200- and 300- levels are less so. Departments are asked to think about this misalignment and look for ways to reduce the number of 200- and 300-level courses.

Dean Taylor announced that CPDs who would like to request a tenure line to email the DOF by December 15th stating their intent to submit a proposal. That proposal will be due on February 2nd . The DOF will form an advisory group comprised of CPDs who are not submitting a proposal to review the requests and make recommendations about which lines should be filled. Dean Taylor clarified that any department or program can submit a request, you do not need to be losing a faculty member to retirement or otherwise leaving the college. However, new lines will not be added to the budget; the number of faculty will decrease over the next five years. Dean Taylor then solicited questions from the faculty. 

A faculty member asked if there might be an opportunity for an open call to faculty to identify cost reduction measures alternative to reducing course releases and the number of 200- and 300-level courses offered. Dean Taylor said that all faculty members are welcome to contact her office to discuss possible alternatives with her or the Associate Deans of the Faculty, but that an open call was not currently being considered. 

There being no further questions, Dean Taylor concluded her remarks.

OTHER

Student Affairs Update

Dean Bautista updated the faculty on student-related deadlines and supports for the end of the semester and Winter Break. 

1. Card access to residence halls and apartments will end on Saturday, December 20th at 10am. If students have a reason they feel they cannot return home, or if they may need meal support, please have them contact the Dean of Student Affairs鈥檚 Office.
2. Please refer any students with travel concerns to Subhan Ali or Chloe Jaleel at the Learning Commons. 
3. The Counseling Center will be closed over break, but Better Minds, our online therapy platform, will be available and they can access up to 8 sessions. 
4. On call staff will continue to be on call throughout the break.
5. Athletic events are ongoing and details can be found on their calendar.
6. Case Center will be open in January, and faculty are welcome to reach out with any questions. 
7. If any concerns arise, the will trigger a quick response from cross-divisional student support services. 

CEPP Statement on Artificial Intelligence

On behalf of CEPP, Professor Amy Frappier shared the following notice on Faculty uses of AI for teaching and Learning:

Since the widespread introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) just a few years ago, faculty have explored the possibilities and the perils of these new technologies for their courses and disciplines.  微密圈鈥檚 faculty now offer courses which include a range of pedagogies and policies on the use of AI.   

CEPP affirms that individual faculty鈥� and by extension departments and programs鈥� may embrace or reject AI technologies as each considers it appropriate to their course materials and their pedagogical goals. CEPP believes this position is consistent with 微密圈鈥檚 long-standing commitment to faculty autonomy and academic freedom. 

CEPP strongly encourages the faculty to communicate their AI policies to students so that they may better understand the reasons that AI is prohibited and may use AI responsibly when it is permitted.  Statements about AI on syllabi and reminders on specific assignments will allow students to complete their work with integrity.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Student Academic Integrity Officer Caitlin Jorgensen announced an upcoming notice about Grammarly鈥檚 widened scope and its potential impacts on students, to be distributed this evening via email. 

Associate Dean of the Faculty David Cohen notified the faculty of a message he will be sending regarding AI usage and protecting confidential college and student information from potential risks. 

On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Associate Professor Monica Das announced this year鈥檚 recipient of the Phyllis A. Roth Faculty Distinguished Service Award: Professor Patricia Fehling. The announcement was greeted by applause from the assembled faculty. Please find the full citation here. 

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:06pm. 

Respectfully submitted,

Nora E. Graubard

Senior Administrative Coordinator