Faculty Conference Minutes

Faculty Conference Minutes
August 20, 1999

A quorum being present, the meeting was conducted under Faculty Conference rules.

I. Minutes.

The minutes of the April 23, 1999, Faculty Conference meeting were approved as distributed.

II. Opening Remarks–Dr. Thomas Moore.

Dr. Moore reported that at the June meeting of the Board of Trustees, the Board had approved the new Faculty Manual as revised; it has now been distributed to faculty members. The Board also extended Dr. DiGiorgio’s contract for another two years.

III. Report from the President.

Dr. Moore reported that Dr. DiGiorgio was unable to attend because of family business; Dr. DiGiorgio had told Dr. Moore that his remarks would have been basically the same as those in his opening address. Dr. Moore reminded the Conference that two of Dr. DiGiorgio’s promises were to ask the Board to commit $250,000 for each of the next three years (after this one) to salary improvement, and to ask the Board to commit $125,000 for each of the next four years to Faculty/Staff development. Dr. DiGiorgio expects strong support from the Board for these proposals.

IV. Report from the Vice-President for Academic Affairs–Dr. Melford Wilson.

Dr. Wilson welcomed the faculty back and expressed appreciation especially to those faculty members who had volunteered and participated actively in summer orientation programs for new students. He said that this program meant a great deal to students and their parents.

Dr. Wilson introduced the Deans to introduce 27 new faculty members, the largest group in recent memory. He noted that these hires included both new lines in response to our growing student population and the filling of lines that have remained open for some time. Dr. Wilson pointed to the wide geographic range and experience of the new faculty members as evidence of Winthrop’s growing appeal. He formally introduced Dean Mark Herring of Library Sciences.

The new faculty members are:

College of Arts and Sciences–introduced by Dean Brown

R. Carlton Bessinger (NUTR)

Hannah Britton (PLSC)

Timothy Daugherty (PSYC)

Litasha Dennis (ENGL)

Scott Gilbert (ENGL)

Beverly Horvit (MCOM)

Peter Phillips (BIOL)

Ellen Taylor (SPAN)

Not present were

Gong Longsheng–Visiting Professor from Shanghai International Studies University

Dr. Moore announced that the other officers of the Faculty Conference for 1999-2000 would be Dr. Michele Henderson of the College of Business as secretary; she was recovering from recent surgery and unable to attend. Dr. Jo Tarvers (ENGL) will serve as Parliamentarian.

An election was held to fill the unexpired terms on the committee of William Malambri (1-year) and Debra Boyd (2-year); Dr. DuFresne announced that the candidate receiving the most votes would be permitted to pick which of these two terms to fill. Dr. Jennifer Solomon’s name had to be removed from the ballot because she is a candidate for promotion this year; Dr. Kathy Lyon (PSYC) was nominated in her place. Balloting was conducted; faculty not present have until noon on Aug.23 to vote at Dacus Library.

Dr. Sarow reported that the committee will meet for the first time on Aug. 27 and expects to bring some exciting new models and programs before the faculty this year. Five members of the committee attended the Asheville Institute this summer; they discussed our program and the state of general education nationally with representatives of eleven other institutions. The committee was very encouraged by this meeting and by the discussion of general education at the leadership retreat and hopes to build on this momentum this term.

Dr. Jennifer Solomon, speaking as coordinator for the Gerontology minor, reminded us that this is the United Nations’ Year of Older Persons and that the Gerontology program will be sponsoring several events this fall on this theme. She especially encouraged members of the faculty to contact her about speakers and program that might focus on creativity among the aging and on positive aspects of aging in general.

Dr. Dorothy Thompson reminded the faculty of the African American Studies Program’s ongoing series of faculty colloquia. Several events will be held in the fall term; these will be scheduled at noon and faculty members are invited to bring their lunch and join the colloquia.

Dr. Moore and Dr. Brown reminded the faculty that classes will be scheduled in Sims after all this fall and asked faculty to help students find their reassigned classrooms. Dr. Moore pointed out that only Biology and Nutrition faculty had moved to Life Sciences and that Chemistry and Physics faculty can still be found in Sims.

Dr. Franklin announced that a CD featuring the music of the Winthrop Symphonic Band and Jazz Band is now available through the Music Department.

Dr. Silagyi-Rebovich announced that the Office of Assessment will finish the testing of seniors this fall and thanked faculty members for their cooperation. She also announced that the results of the critical thinking assessment can be found on the university web site at http://www.winthrop.edu/acad_aff/Assessment/ctab.htm and encouraged faculty members to contact her with their questions and comments.

Dr. Nick Ross announced that there was no news at this time from the SACS committee.

Dr. Moore reminded the faculty of the Welcome Back Party on August 27 in McBryde; Dr. Wilson reminded the faculty that it would feature a cash bar.