forum_200608
PROVOST'S FORUM
21 August 2006
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This forum began at 3 PM in the 8th floor screening room in the 1104 S. Wabash Building with perhaps 200 people in attendance.
The Provost began by asking all new faculty to the college to stand and be recognized. Applause ensued. The Provost then noted why he had decided to have his first forum on this day; having faculty under contract and not yet teaching was stated.
The Provost began his formal presentation by noting that Leonard Lehrer will be stepping down as F&PA Dean as of/or about 9/1/2007 and that there will be a search for Leonard's replacement as well as for a permanent LAS Dean during this academic year [Dominic Pacyga is the Acting LAS Dean for this year]. There will also be approximately 25 searches in this academic year for faculty. In addition, Lynn Pena has stepped down as Chair of the ASL Department; her husband has a business opportunity in Hawaii. Diana Gorman will take her place as Interim Chair of this department. There will be a search for the Chair of ASL in this academic year.
Amy Hawkins and Lott Hill have done a good job of planning the events that will be a part of the first Critical Encounters Series on HIV/AIDS. Four of these events are: the Body Maps Exhibition - which is a traveling exhibition conducted by South African women and will open in the C33 gallery on 9/5; a faculty reading will be on 9/7 in the Ferguson from 4-5:30 PM; a performance touching on sexuality and ethnicity themes [choreographed by Dance Department faculty member Peter Carpenter] entitled "Bareback into Sunset" will run from 9/13 (for students and the community) to 9/16 at the Dance Center and an AIDS walk on 9/16 which will feature Team Columbia.
In addition, Susan Padveen [from the Theater Department] will "present" a solo performance project. World AIDS day will be on 12/1; watch for other events that will be coming from 11/20 to 12/1 - included in this time frame will be work presented by Dr. Eric Avery. There have also been mini-grants awarded to faculty to help in their development of events for the Critical Encounters Series; faculty recipients of these grants have been Kevin Fuller, Kim McCarthy and Shelia Baldwin. The Provost encouraged all faculty to participate in this Critical Encounters series but stated that you are not required to participate.
The three faculty who are the Distinguished College Teacher (Chap Freeman), Distinguished College Artist (Barbara Kasten) and Distinguished College Scholar (Steve Asma) were noted. More of these fellows will be coming. This is a small step, but a good one.
The Art of Leadership Certificate Program has just "met" and some 22 faculty and staff attended. Thanks to Jeffrey Grauel for his hard work on this program.
Anchor Graphics is now part of the college. This organization is one of the premier fine arts entities of its type in the country.
The Provost further noted that the Teaching Load Adjustment will be fully implemented in the 2007-2008 academic year. Faculty will have a 3:3 teaching load for each semester as a result of this change.
Rank and Promotion will be investigated during this academic year through a Task Force, including faculty and chairs, and will prepare a "white paper" to be delivered by 5/1/07. Interested parties who can give a balanced look at this topic will be considered. The Provost has already received a list of names for consideration from the CCFO President for this body.
The system for providing academic advising for students will be looked at seriously over the next two years.
The 2010 Learning Implementation Team (which is chaired by the Provost) has been meeting on a monthly basis over the last two years. The Strategic Planning Committee of the College Council has asked to be included at these meetings.
The CASTL Institute met from 7/7 to 7/11 under the direction of David Krause. There were approximately 150 faculty from 75 different institutions who presented at this "meeting". This included 8 or 9 of the college's faculty.
In early July, the Summer AP Institute for the Arts met. Teachers from Spain and Brazil were in attendance as well as representatives from perhaps 35 states. Thanks to Jeffrey Grauel and Leonard Lehrer for their help with this program.
This summer also saw an Intensive Language Institute under the direction of Suzanne Blum Malley. This program was designed to improve the language skills of students who want to and might want to come and study at our college.
As an editorial note, I feel that I must mention the efforts of the Science Institute which hosted an extremely successful workshop for thirty Chicago Public middle and high school teachers this last summer. This was the 17th consecutive year that such a workshop was conducted.
Provost Kapelke stated that it is difficult to mention all the accomplishments of faculty. He did though single out Erin McCarthy who was just given a 2006 post-secondary level teaching award by the Oral History Association. Ivan Brunetti, who is a web designer from the Provost's Office, edited an anthology of graphic fiction that will be released by Yale University Press.
I must comment again. Though I feel that Ivan's work to be interesting and significant and I would like to know what type of fiction he edited, could the Provost have not mentioned the work of at least one or two more faculty?
The Provost also noted that he had the chance to stop in to the Teaching Academy for the Millennium Studies Program. Faculty are excited about the chance to teach in this program, according to the Provost. Those interested in taking part in this program should contact Rob Lageux.
Provost Kapelke then introduced Deputy Provost Love and invited her to speak. She noted that in her brief time at the college [ a matter of weeks], she has been visiting buildings, seeing what the essence of the school is and been in a variety of meetings with people. She noted the staff in the Provost's office and spoke of their qualifications and professional interests as well as citing some of the new physical features in the Office of the President. Deputy Provost Love invited all to come and see the new Faculty Center and take advantage of the activities that it will host during the year.
I have met with her and I would like to note that I was quite impressed by how quickly she helped CCFO get information it needed for this academic year.
QUESTION/ ANSWER SESSION OF THE PROVOST FORUM
(I HAVE DONE MY BEST HERE TO CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF THE Q/A SESSION).
Question
What is occurring with the "review" of the tenure process?
Asked by Keith Kostecka
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
I have received a charge from the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees to look at the process and the document itself. Editorial changes are expected. This review process is to begin in the Spring of 2007.
CCFO has submitted a list to the Provost of faculty who it feels would be qualified to sit on this review body.
Question
What is the status of the Campus Center?
Asked by Craig Jobson
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
It is part of the campus Master plan and it has been approved by the Board of Trustees. Meetings on it will occur during the upcoming year. It will cost between 80-90 million dollars. The senior administration and Mr. Turner are committed to the Campus Center.
Question
What is the status of the "standardized" schedule? Can we get more information about this "change" to the faculty?
Asked by Joan Erdman
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
The optimized schedule will be piloted in the Spring 2007 term. There will some places for exception to this optimized schedule. Four departments will "break it in". Class times would start at 8:30 AM and a break in the schedule will be from 4-5:30 PM. Alicia Berg's office is taking the lead in this effort. Research says that we are not using our available space as well as we can.
Question
Earlier you mentioned the searches that will be occurring in the next year. Will there be a search for the Chair of the Science/ Math Department this year?
Asked by Keith Kostecka
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
It may occur this year but it is dependent on discussion with Mr. Turner.
Question
What is the evaluation of the J-session?
Asked by Nancy Day
Answer (Neal Pagano)
Generally positive. We had 12 classes in the J2006 session. The deadline for submission of J2007 classes is in mid-October.
Follow-Up
If a faculty member teaches in the J-session, will that teaching count toward their load for the year?
Asked by Amy Hawkins
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
As of now, faculty are paid for their teaching in this session. I am open to discussing this J-session load issue; it should be approached more on a case-by-case basis. J-session aims to give faculty and students experiences they might not normally have the chance to explore. Most of our current classes would not fit well into the J-session. I hope that there might be more chances to travel in the context of international opportunities.
Question
What is our current enrollment?
Asked by Sarah Odishoo
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
11,400 or so and we have about 350 full-time faculty. We have a growth challenge and we must improve on our student/faculty ratio. Several departments, including AEMM, have ratios that are out of line. The college is working to address this. The college will continue to be space challenged. Our ft2 value is not good compared to that of other colleges. The addition of Spertus and other facilities will help but will not completely remediate the situation. Our building ID is changing for the positive; we receive compliments from people outside the college.
Follow-Up
Is there any strategic initiative to bring departments together for space causes?
Asked by Phyllis Johnson
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
Yes, we see the 623 Wabash Building ultimately becoming the Art & Design Building. Spertus can and will help out also as well as Campus Center when it is built (which is where LAS departments may be located).
Question
We already have the three faculty fellows for teaching, scholarship and art. What about adding another category for Distinguished Service?
Asked by Dawn Larsen
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
I see the Critical Encounters Fellow in that role. I am though willing to discuss this with CCFO leadership.
Question
What about changing the budget year?
Asker Unknown
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
Yes, discussion on this is occurring. I (and CFO Mike DeSalle) are aware that highly technical areas/departments are concerned about this. Contingency money has been given to the Deans to help deal with this concern. The Board of Trustees is not willing to change the fiscal year.
Follow-Up
Why does the Board of Trustees feel that way?
Asked by Benj Kanters
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
I will talk to the CFO, Tom Kallen and President Carter about this further.
Question
What is up with NCA and what are some of the academic challenges that the college faces?
Asked by Randy Albers
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
We are scheduled for a visit during the 2008-2009 academic year though we hope for a Spring 2009 visit. Anne Foley and Yun Kim are already working on an outline for our self-study. We will likely have a comprehensive 10-year review where a 6 member consultant/peer evaluator team will spend perhaps three days at the college. They will then write a report to the commission. We can't get everything right; we must be candid and note where we must improve. I have worked with NCA and I am confident that we will come through the review in good shape. It is good that we have program review and research institutes within the college.
One academic challenge we face is our student to faculty ratio is too high; we should have perhaps 100 more full-time faculty. A second challenge is that we have too much curriculum and too many concentrations. A third challenge is space.
Follow-Up
In past NCA visits, there has been a great deal of institutional anxiety over the visit. Can we lessen this? Do you see value in using the Evaluation Committee more for the NCA visit?
Asked by George Bailey
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
There is nothing to really be anxious about. We need to be certain that the self-study is honest. We will have a steering committee that might have 25 members on it; the best way to lessen anxiety is to be involved in the process. I do not know if the Evaluation Committee could be helpful with regard to the NCA visit.
Follow-Up (Deputy Provost Love)
Our self-study needs to be trimmer.
Follow-Up Statement (Sheldon Patinkin)
Program reviews have helped with this.
Question
What about the recent report about standardized tests for higher education?
Asked by Joan Erdman
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
This testing is a bad idea. The federal government does not want the responsibility of looking at accountability in higher education. We must pay more attention to improving academic rigor.
Notes submitted by
Keith Kostecka
CCFO President
back to forum index
21 August 2006
back to forum index
This forum began at 3 PM in the 8th floor screening room in the 1104 S. Wabash Building with perhaps 200 people in attendance.
The Provost began by asking all new faculty to the college to stand and be recognized. Applause ensued. The Provost then noted why he had decided to have his first forum on this day; having faculty under contract and not yet teaching was stated.
The Provost began his formal presentation by noting that Leonard Lehrer will be stepping down as F&PA Dean as of/or about 9/1/2007 and that there will be a search for Leonard's replacement as well as for a permanent LAS Dean during this academic year [Dominic Pacyga is the Acting LAS Dean for this year]. There will also be approximately 25 searches in this academic year for faculty. In addition, Lynn Pena has stepped down as Chair of the ASL Department; her husband has a business opportunity in Hawaii. Diana Gorman will take her place as Interim Chair of this department. There will be a search for the Chair of ASL in this academic year.
Amy Hawkins and Lott Hill have done a good job of planning the events that will be a part of the first Critical Encounters Series on HIV/AIDS. Four of these events are: the Body Maps Exhibition - which is a traveling exhibition conducted by South African women and will open in the C33 gallery on 9/5; a faculty reading will be on 9/7 in the Ferguson from 4-5:30 PM; a performance touching on sexuality and ethnicity themes [choreographed by Dance Department faculty member Peter Carpenter] entitled "Bareback into Sunset" will run from 9/13 (for students and the community) to 9/16 at the Dance Center and an AIDS walk on 9/16 which will feature Team Columbia.
In addition, Susan Padveen [from the Theater Department] will "present" a solo performance project. World AIDS day will be on 12/1; watch for other events that will be coming from 11/20 to 12/1 - included in this time frame will be work presented by Dr. Eric Avery. There have also been mini-grants awarded to faculty to help in their development of events for the Critical Encounters Series; faculty recipients of these grants have been Kevin Fuller, Kim McCarthy and Shelia Baldwin. The Provost encouraged all faculty to participate in this Critical Encounters series but stated that you are not required to participate.
The three faculty who are the Distinguished College Teacher (Chap Freeman), Distinguished College Artist (Barbara Kasten) and Distinguished College Scholar (Steve Asma) were noted. More of these fellows will be coming. This is a small step, but a good one.
The Art of Leadership Certificate Program has just "met" and some 22 faculty and staff attended. Thanks to Jeffrey Grauel for his hard work on this program.
Anchor Graphics is now part of the college. This organization is one of the premier fine arts entities of its type in the country.
The Provost further noted that the Teaching Load Adjustment will be fully implemented in the 2007-2008 academic year. Faculty will have a 3:3 teaching load for each semester as a result of this change.
Rank and Promotion will be investigated during this academic year through a Task Force, including faculty and chairs, and will prepare a "white paper" to be delivered by 5/1/07. Interested parties who can give a balanced look at this topic will be considered. The Provost has already received a list of names for consideration from the CCFO President for this body.
The system for providing academic advising for students will be looked at seriously over the next two years.
The 2010 Learning Implementation Team (which is chaired by the Provost) has been meeting on a monthly basis over the last two years. The Strategic Planning Committee of the College Council has asked to be included at these meetings.
The CASTL Institute met from 7/7 to 7/11 under the direction of David Krause. There were approximately 150 faculty from 75 different institutions who presented at this "meeting". This included 8 or 9 of the college's faculty.
In early July, the Summer AP Institute for the Arts met. Teachers from Spain and Brazil were in attendance as well as representatives from perhaps 35 states. Thanks to Jeffrey Grauel and Leonard Lehrer for their help with this program.
This summer also saw an Intensive Language Institute under the direction of Suzanne Blum Malley. This program was designed to improve the language skills of students who want to and might want to come and study at our college.
As an editorial note, I feel that I must mention the efforts of the Science Institute which hosted an extremely successful workshop for thirty Chicago Public middle and high school teachers this last summer. This was the 17th consecutive year that such a workshop was conducted.
Provost Kapelke stated that it is difficult to mention all the accomplishments of faculty. He did though single out Erin McCarthy who was just given a 2006 post-secondary level teaching award by the Oral History Association. Ivan Brunetti, who is a web designer from the Provost's Office, edited an anthology of graphic fiction that will be released by Yale University Press.
I must comment again. Though I feel that Ivan's work to be interesting and significant and I would like to know what type of fiction he edited, could the Provost have not mentioned the work of at least one or two more faculty?
The Provost also noted that he had the chance to stop in to the Teaching Academy for the Millennium Studies Program. Faculty are excited about the chance to teach in this program, according to the Provost. Those interested in taking part in this program should contact Rob Lageux.
Provost Kapelke then introduced Deputy Provost Love and invited her to speak. She noted that in her brief time at the college [ a matter of weeks], she has been visiting buildings, seeing what the essence of the school is and been in a variety of meetings with people. She noted the staff in the Provost's office and spoke of their qualifications and professional interests as well as citing some of the new physical features in the Office of the President. Deputy Provost Love invited all to come and see the new Faculty Center and take advantage of the activities that it will host during the year.
I have met with her and I would like to note that I was quite impressed by how quickly she helped CCFO get information it needed for this academic year.
QUESTION/ ANSWER SESSION OF THE PROVOST FORUM
(I HAVE DONE MY BEST HERE TO CAPTURE THE ESSENCE OF THE Q/A SESSION).
Question
What is occurring with the "review" of the tenure process?
Asked by Keith Kostecka
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
I have received a charge from the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees to look at the process and the document itself. Editorial changes are expected. This review process is to begin in the Spring of 2007.
CCFO has submitted a list to the Provost of faculty who it feels would be qualified to sit on this review body.
Question
What is the status of the Campus Center?
Asked by Craig Jobson
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
It is part of the campus Master plan and it has been approved by the Board of Trustees. Meetings on it will occur during the upcoming year. It will cost between 80-90 million dollars. The senior administration and Mr. Turner are committed to the Campus Center.
Question
What is the status of the "standardized" schedule? Can we get more information about this "change" to the faculty?
Asked by Joan Erdman
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
The optimized schedule will be piloted in the Spring 2007 term. There will some places for exception to this optimized schedule. Four departments will "break it in". Class times would start at 8:30 AM and a break in the schedule will be from 4-5:30 PM. Alicia Berg's office is taking the lead in this effort. Research says that we are not using our available space as well as we can.
Question
Earlier you mentioned the searches that will be occurring in the next year. Will there be a search for the Chair of the Science/ Math Department this year?
Asked by Keith Kostecka
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
It may occur this year but it is dependent on discussion with Mr. Turner.
Question
What is the evaluation of the J-session?
Asked by Nancy Day
Answer (Neal Pagano)
Generally positive. We had 12 classes in the J2006 session. The deadline for submission of J2007 classes is in mid-October.
Follow-Up
If a faculty member teaches in the J-session, will that teaching count toward their load for the year?
Asked by Amy Hawkins
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
As of now, faculty are paid for their teaching in this session. I am open to discussing this J-session load issue; it should be approached more on a case-by-case basis. J-session aims to give faculty and students experiences they might not normally have the chance to explore. Most of our current classes would not fit well into the J-session. I hope that there might be more chances to travel in the context of international opportunities.
Question
What is our current enrollment?
Asked by Sarah Odishoo
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
11,400 or so and we have about 350 full-time faculty. We have a growth challenge and we must improve on our student/faculty ratio. Several departments, including AEMM, have ratios that are out of line. The college is working to address this. The college will continue to be space challenged. Our ft2 value is not good compared to that of other colleges. The addition of Spertus and other facilities will help but will not completely remediate the situation. Our building ID is changing for the positive; we receive compliments from people outside the college.
Follow-Up
Is there any strategic initiative to bring departments together for space causes?
Asked by Phyllis Johnson
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
Yes, we see the 623 Wabash Building ultimately becoming the Art & Design Building. Spertus can and will help out also as well as Campus Center when it is built (which is where LAS departments may be located).
Question
We already have the three faculty fellows for teaching, scholarship and art. What about adding another category for Distinguished Service?
Asked by Dawn Larsen
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
I see the Critical Encounters Fellow in that role. I am though willing to discuss this with CCFO leadership.
Question
What about changing the budget year?
Asker Unknown
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
Yes, discussion on this is occurring. I (and CFO Mike DeSalle) are aware that highly technical areas/departments are concerned about this. Contingency money has been given to the Deans to help deal with this concern. The Board of Trustees is not willing to change the fiscal year.
Follow-Up
Why does the Board of Trustees feel that way?
Asked by Benj Kanters
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
I will talk to the CFO, Tom Kallen and President Carter about this further.
Question
What is up with NCA and what are some of the academic challenges that the college faces?
Asked by Randy Albers
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
We are scheduled for a visit during the 2008-2009 academic year though we hope for a Spring 2009 visit. Anne Foley and Yun Kim are already working on an outline for our self-study. We will likely have a comprehensive 10-year review where a 6 member consultant/peer evaluator team will spend perhaps three days at the college. They will then write a report to the commission. We can't get everything right; we must be candid and note where we must improve. I have worked with NCA and I am confident that we will come through the review in good shape. It is good that we have program review and research institutes within the college.
One academic challenge we face is our student to faculty ratio is too high; we should have perhaps 100 more full-time faculty. A second challenge is that we have too much curriculum and too many concentrations. A third challenge is space.
Follow-Up
In past NCA visits, there has been a great deal of institutional anxiety over the visit. Can we lessen this? Do you see value in using the Evaluation Committee more for the NCA visit?
Asked by George Bailey
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
There is nothing to really be anxious about. We need to be certain that the self-study is honest. We will have a steering committee that might have 25 members on it; the best way to lessen anxiety is to be involved in the process. I do not know if the Evaluation Committee could be helpful with regard to the NCA visit.
Follow-Up (Deputy Provost Love)
Our self-study needs to be trimmer.
Follow-Up Statement (Sheldon Patinkin)
Program reviews have helped with this.
Question
What about the recent report about standardized tests for higher education?
Asked by Joan Erdman
Answer (Provost Kapelke)
This testing is a bad idea. The federal government does not want the responsibility of looking at accountability in higher education. We must pay more attention to improving academic rigor.
Notes submitted by
Keith Kostecka
CCFO President
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