Faculty Meeting Minutes
March 27, 2026
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 3:37pm.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Dean Taylor asked if there were any corrections to, or comments regarding the minutes of the February 27th Faculty Meeting. There being none, she moved to approve the minutes. The motion was seconded and the minutes were approved as distributed.
OLD BUSINESS
There was no Old Business.
NEW BUSINESS
Associate Professor Kendrah Murphy introduced the following motion on behalf of Promotions Committee (PC):
MOTION: The Promotions Committee (PC) moves to revise the Faculty Handbook language describing its membership to include at least two tenured faculty at the rank of full Professor.
Professor Murphy presented a slideshow explaining PC鈥檚 process and rationale for the motion before soliciting questions from the faculty.
A faculty member asked why PC decided to mandate 2 full Professors instead of 3 or more. Professor Murphy explained that PC felt that only requiring two full Professor allows for more flexibility when populating the committee. She noted that it remains possible for all 5 members of PC to be full Professors, regardless of the minimum requirement, but that associate Professors on the committee can contribute valuable perspectives. There were no further questions.
Associate Professor Amy Frappier introduced the following resolution on behalf of the Committee for Educational Policies and Planning (CEPP):
RESOLUTION: Whereas, the 微密圈 Faculty supports the change in delivery format of the All-College Course Evaluation forms (currently the 鈥渜SETs鈥�) from paper to online; and anticipating that implementation for the Fall 2026 semester will require concomitant changes to the Faculty Handbook,
Be it resolved that the Faculty approves CEPP鈥檚 recommended changes to the Faculty Handbook in Part Two, Article III, Section G, subsection 1.1
Professor Frappier walked the faculty through the original text and the proposed changes, before soliciting questions.
A faculty member asked if faculty are still mandated to administer the evaluations in the classroom. Professor Frappier explained that there is no language in the Faculty Handbook about how to administer the evaluations, so no amendment was necessary on that topic. She said that CEPP will be working with 微密圈鈥檚 Office of Institutional Research to develop the preamble for evaluations and to disseminate best practices for administration of evaluations.
A faculty member noted that, in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), that the term 鈥渞atings鈥� is used, as opposed to 鈥渆valuations.鈥� She asked about the source of that discrepancy, and recommended that we move towards using 鈥渞atings鈥� as the term for this topic. Associate Teaching Professor Ruth McAdams identified herself as a member of the non-tenure track faculty bargaining unit and explained that they find that 鈥渞atings鈥� more accurately represents the information gathered from the qSETs. The faculty member agreed that it is a more accurate term, and suggested that CEPP consider making the switch to 鈥渞atings鈥� in the future. Professor Frappier agreed that specificity in language is very significant in such matters, and recommended that the faculty member bring this change in language to CEPP in the coming academic year.
Parliamentarian Professor Ryan Overbey noted that any faculty member who is a member of the voting body can propose an amendment to any motion that has been introduced to the faculty. If there were no objections from the assembly, the amendment could be approved via unanimous consent; or, if the assembly felt more discussion was needed, the amendment would need to be decided by a formal vote (). There were no further questions.
OTHER
Dean Taylor invited Professor Kimberley Frederick to the podium to report on the outcomes of the Committee of the Whole (COW) that took place at the February 27th faculty meeting. Please find the report linked here.
PRESIDENT'S REMARKS
President Conner opened his remarks with some reflections from the last month. The fifth Humanistic Inquiry Symposium, organized by Professors Barbara Black and Jason Ohlberg, drew a large crowd of students, faculty, staff, and trustees, with presentations from a number of 微密圈 faculty and administrators. He spoke about his participation on a panel where he discussed Ralph Ellison, Professor April Bernard read poetry, and Professor Mary Crone Odekon talked about the cosmos. The synchronicity and symmetry of these three perspectives was representative of the creative, intellectual, vibrant energy of the symposium as a whole. He noted that we are passionately committed to the health of the humanities at 微密圈, and that the symposium and the humanities as a whole are a key part of the Strategic Plan and an example of how we embody our institutional values. The President thanked Professors Black and Ohlberg for their work on the symposium and was seconded by a round of applause from the assembled faculty.
President Conner announced that Professor Murat Yildiz invited Professor Vali Nasr of Johns Hopkins to speak on Iran-American relations and the larger Middle Eastern context. This lecture is another part of our ongoing efforts to support a well-informed campus when it comes to complex current events. The lecture will be delivered on April 9th at 4:30pm in Gannett Auditorium. He thanked Professor Yildiz for his work bringing Professor Nasr to 微密圈.
President Conner then updated the faculty on the search for a Dean of the Faculty/Vice President for Academic Affairs (DOF/VPAA). Dean Taylor agreeing to remain in her position for an additional year has allowed for the search process to be well-timed and intentional. The search plan has been formed in consultation with the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) and the Appointments & Tenure Committee (ATC) regarding the process, the faculty role, and the search timeline. He thanked Professors Ting Li and Larry Jorgensen for their collaboration.
The search committee will consist of 7 members: three faculty, one student, one staff-person, and one member of the President鈥檚 Cabinet, and will be chaired by the President. The willingness-to-serve call will go out in April. When the results have come in to ATC, the President will confer with them to staff the search committee. He shared that he has recommended to both committees that there be a faculty vice chair for the search, and they have agreed that this will be helpful to a successful search. A vice chair will be selected from the three faculty that ATC and FEC recommend. The goal is to hold the first search committee meeting in late April or early May. The work will likely go into early June, with update emails going out to the search committee in July and August, before on-campus work picks up again in late August. We may have the search completed by winter break or by late January or early February, with a newly appointed DOF/VPAA starting on June 1st of 2027. Internal candidates from within our faculty community are warmly encouraged. We have enormous talent and leadership capacity here. We would treat any internal applicants like any other applicant, so that when we arrive at the end of the process, we know that our incoming dean has gone through the full, rigorous search.
President Conner then provided the faculty with an update on 微密圈鈥檚 AI policy. He explained that the baseline draft policy deals with matters such as usage, security, and data governance. They are very IT-focused policies, and do not address pedagogy or student use of AI in the classroom. The draft has been developed by IT and Cabinet with input from many areas of campus. The Institutional Policies and Planning Committee (IPPC) discussed the draft at length at its last meeting. After the suggested revisions have been incorporated, the draft will be shared with the entire campus community in a two-week comment period, after which the policy draft will return to IPPC for their final review before the policy is recommended to the Cabinet. The goal is to have an approved policy by the end of this academic year. The policy will initially be reviewed on an annual basis, to account for continued development of AI technology. 微密圈 is ahead of its peer institutions with regard to developing thoughtful AI policy.
Returning to last month鈥檚 discussion of 微密圈鈥檚 mission statement, President Conner shared that a brief survey will be sent to the entire community with the current mission statement and questions intended to move forward the conversation and collaborative process of creating a new mission statement. A forum on the topic will be held before May 15 to discuss mission statements in general and 微密圈鈥檚 in particular. At the recommendation of IPPC, drafts generated from community input will be shared in the fall, and the process will continue from there. He then solicited questions from the faculty.
A faculty member asked if any thought has been given to pros and cons of a combined DOF/VPAA position as opposed to two separate positions. President Conner said that the process of separating the positions would be a substantial undertaking, and is unlikely to be the first project of an incoming DOF/VPAA. Although President Conner is not opposed to exploring this question, the two positions have become very intertwined, and it鈥檚 not clear what the benefit of separating them would be.
A faculty member asked if the DOF/VPAA search committee will participate directly in the decision-making process, or if they will serve in an advisory capacity. President Conner explained that all VP-level search committees are advisory in nature, with the President as the final decision maker who ultimately appoints and supervises those roles. Having a member of the faculty as vice-chair underscores the fact that the advisory nature of the committee will not preclude its role as a collaborative party. President Conner noted that, in his time at 微密圈, the final appointment decision has never been discordant with the consensus of the committee.
A faculty member asked if the President had any comments for the faculty in advance of next week鈥檚 visit from the Middle States Peer Review Team. President Conner noted that Dean Taylor will speak in more depth about the upcoming review in her remarks. He then thanked Dr. Kelly Sheppard, Faculty Director of Assessment, and Amy Tweedy, Institutional Effectiveness Specialist and Accreditation Liaison, for their work preparing 微密圈 for this visit. He emphasized that we are very well-prepared, and that he is looking forward to learning about the ways that we can improve.
President Conner asked Professor Sheppard and Specialist Tweedy if they had any further comments for the faculty. Professor Sheppard encouraged the assembly to attend the Faculty Open Forum at 10:10am this coming Tuesday in Davis Auditorium. The faculty showed their appreciation for Professor Sheppard and Specialist Tweedy with a round of applause. President Conner thus concluded his remarks.
DEAN OF THE FACULTY AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS' REPORT
Dean Taylor opened her remarks with congratulations to the faculty who have held successful events over the last month, such as: The Moseley Lecture, the Gender Studies Founders Day reception and Coburn Lecture, the Winter/Miller Lecture, the Harder Lecture, the Humanistic Inquiry Symposium, the Periclean Honors Forum Lecture, the Sterne Virtuoso Series, and the Education Studies Colloquium.
Moving ahead to the upcoming Middle States Review Team visit, Dean Taylor thanked Professor Sheppard and Specialist Tweedy for their work over the last few years. She echoed Professor Sheppard鈥檚 exhortation to the faculty to attend the Faculty Open Forum in Davis Auditorium on Tuesday, March 31st. The final open session will be celebratory, and all are encouraged to attend on Wednesday, April 1st.
Yesterday, the American Association for the Advancement of Science announced the 2025 Fellows. The AAAS is the world鈥檚 largest general scientific society, with roughly 120,000 individual members. This year, it elected 449 individuals from its membership as fellows. Election as a Fellow honors those members whose efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications and service to society have distinguished them among all 120,000 of their peers and colleagues. This year, AAAS has honored one of our 微密圈 colleagues 鈥� Professor of Biochemistry Kelly Sheppard. He is being recognized for his exceptional contributions in the field of protein synthesis, as well as for STEM education research and inclusive excellence. An incredible achievement in its own right, this honor is all the more impressive when we consider Professor Sheppard鈥檚 tireless service to the college. She offered her congratulations to Professor Sheppard, which was echoed by applause from the assembled faculty.
Dean Taylor proceeded to announce this year鈥檚 appointments to endowed chairs.
- Professor Jennifer Delton will be appointed The Harriet Johnson Toadvine 鈥�56 Chair in 20th Century History
- Professor Mao Chen will be appointed The Francis Young Tang 鈥�61 Chair in Chinese Studies
- Professor Bob Turner will be appointed the Joseph C. Palamountain Chair in Government
Dean Taylor then solicited questions from the faculty.
A faculty member asked if the committee to examine course releases had yet been constituted. Dean Taylor said that yes, the committee has been constituted and is comprised of Professors 鈥楤ecca Johnson, Hope Casto, Jennifer Cholnoky, Tillman Nechtman, and Charlotte D鈥橢velyn. Their first meeting is scheduled and upcoming.
A faculty member asked for a clarification on the timeline for the intended reduction in faculty lines. Dean Taylor said that we will lose lines starting in the next fiscal year, which begins on June 1, 2026. The faculty member asked for a sense of how many lines we will lose this year. Dean Taylor said that the exact number is yet to be determined, but we are likely to lose about 5 lines this year鈥攁ll through attrition. There being no further questions, she concluded her remarks.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
On behalf of the Faculty Development Committee, Professor Monica Das announced that this year鈥檚 recipient of the Ralph A. Ciancio Award for Excellence in Teaching is Professor Pushkala Prasad of the Department of Management & Business. Please find the full citation here. The faculty joined Professor Das in enthusiastically congratulating Professor Prasad with a round of applause.
Professor Ben Bogin announced the upcoming 鈥淢ini-Mellon鈥� Faculty Seminar and encouraged faculty to apply. The seminar will travel to Harford, Connecticut on May 21st and 22nd to visit public sites such as the Wadsworth Athenaeum, the Amistad Center, the Mark Twain House, and the Connecticut Science Center. He invited any curious faculty to reach out to him directly to learn more.
Janessa Dunn, Director of Admissions, announced that this year鈥檚 first YES! Day will be held on Saturday April 11th, followed by YES! Days on Friday, April 17th and Monday, April 20th. Additionally, we will have Discovery, Admissions鈥� overnight program for interested students who may be eligible for financial aid and have not been able to visit previously. She thanked the faculty for their part in building 微密圈鈥檚 future classes.
On behalf of FEC, Professor Ting Li reminded the faculty about the upcoming governance service cycle. In the fall 2026 semester, cohorts B, C, and D will be asked to submit a preference sheet. The cohort information can be found on the FEC website, and a reminder about the preference sheet will be sent in early December.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5:07pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Nora E. Graubard
Senior Administrative Coordinator