Meeting Minutes, February 18, 2020

Meeting Minutes, February 18, 2020

The Arts and Sciences Council (ASC), February 18, 2020, 3:30-5:00, Large Ice Rink Overlook at Recreation Center

Representatives present: Stephen Mojzsis, GEOL; Leslie Irvine, SOCY; Mike Zerella, RAPs; Juan Herrero-Senes, SPAN; Sebastian Casalaina, MATH; Daniel Appelo, APPM; Annje Wiese, HUMN; Alison Hatch, HNRS; David Stock, EBIO; Tania Barham, ECON; Rob Kuchta, BCHEM; Lonni Pearce, PWR; Erica Ellingson, APS; Andy Cowell, LING; Matt McQueen, IPHY; Evelyn Shih, ALC; Ding Xue, MCDB; Gerardo Gutierrez, ANTH; Deborah Whitehead, RLST; John Gibert, CLAS; Julie Lundquist, ATOC; Barbara Buttenfield, GEOG; Roger Pielke, ENVS;

Representatives not present: Francoise Duresse-Stimilli, Tanja Cuk, CHEM; Hanna Rose Shell, CINE; Angelica Lawson, ETHN; Tim Weston, HIST; Patricia Rankin, PHYS; Lewis Harvey, PSYC; Tina Meyers-Denman, SLHS; Tim Kuhn, CMCI; Samantha Martin, CUSG; Rebecca Wartell, JWST

Ex-officios present: Roshanne Ebrahimian, SAC; Leaf van Boven, PSYCH

Also in attendance:  Jim White, A&S Michele Moses, Office of Faculty Affairs; Ann Schmiesing, Academic Affairs; Amy Lavens, A&S

The meeting was called to order at 3:35 pm.

Chair’s Remarks

Stephen Mojzsis welcomes everyone to the meeting and encourages the use of CU’s recreation center (where this meeting is being held), which is a great campus resource. He reminds all that the election for a new chair of ASC will be taking place at April’s “all hands” meeting in the Old Main Chapel. Candidates will be announced in March prior to the meeting. All nominations are due by March 10th directly to Mojzsis. Each candidate should provide a mission statement, which gives the candidate an opportunity to consider how they would help move along the ASC’s goals. If anyone would like to learn more about the position, reach out to Mojzsis.

Mojzsis reminds everyone that we still don’t know what is going on with the college restructuring. He believes we should be concerned about the lack of an announcement and as well, about the amount of interim administrator appointments we currently have. ASC plans to approach the Boulder Faculty Assembly about the interim issue.

ASC’s Faculty Affairs Committee will have their first meeting soon. The founding members will meet with Mojzsis to put together the charge and composition of the committee.

Dean’s Remarks

Regarding the lack of an announcement about restructuring, Interim Dean Jim White says he does not have much of an opinion, and explains that restructuring the college is a big deal, so taking their time isn’t a bad thing. White believes the provost will make an announcement in the next week or two.

Regarding the provost’s denial of the 3/3 instructor course load, White would not refer to this as a “rejection” of the course load. It was instead a request to tap the brakes as the provost would prefer that we go through the restructuring process before implementing this.

Regarding the money on course fees, White says this was a good exercise, but the amount of money available was less than they would have liked to see. White does not have the exact amount. White recommends taking advantage of this process again next year. The campus is serious about moving salaries over to continuing budget lines, along with providing benefits for that. This could mean a much more considerable influx of cash.

Someone asks if we should assume that the 3/3 course load will not happen for the Fall 2020 semester. White confirms that this will not happen as the window for Fall 2020 has closed.

Someone asks why the restructuring needs to happen before implementing the 3/3 course load. White explains that he argued this should be implemented now, especially since the Colorado Equal Pay Act will be in effect soon. However, he is not sure why the provost wants to wait for the restructure to take place first.

Regarding the consulting group working on CU’s online education, White clarifies that the group is providing advice, but not taking over the conversation. White strongly encourages all those with concerns to approach Dean McDonald from the library about this, as he knows more.

Someone asks if it would be possible to invite Dean McDonald to an ASC meeting. Mojzsis agrees that he would like to know more about this consulting group and that inviting Dean McDonald to an ASC meeting is a possibility.

Someone asks why the equal pay act would require us to move to a 3/3 course load. White clarifies that it isn’t a requirement. The EPA is important because we have instructors that have the same job, but teach different loads and have different salaries.

Someone asks why other colleges