Provost’ s Forum Notes, Friday, 9/28/07 @ Ferguson Hall, noon — 1 pm.
Compiled by Elizabeth Davis-Berg CCFO Secretary and Howard Schlossberg CCFO Treasurer

• Lots of faculty searches this year — 12 new full time lines with a total of 26 searches this year.
• Working with deans, etc. on improving the process for faculty searches specifically the smoothness in starting the searches with announcements, applications.
• Updates on committees:
• Task Force on Rank and Promotion is working on recommendation to send up to the Provost, There will be at least two Town Hall meetings — October 4th and 10th to listen to recommendations and discuss.
• Tenure Process: this committee has met twice and is working on recommendation to put before the board of trustees at its May 8, 2008 meeting.
• Self-Study Steering Committee: they are leading the accreditation process and are working in teams assigned to the 5 initiatives — contact Anne Foley with any questions.
• Keep eye out for “Critical Encounters” events monthly. October’ s will be “ Eradicating Poverty.” Lott Hill, CTE, administering.
• All-College Retreat, Tuesday Aug. 19-Thursday Aug. 21 at Lakelawn Lodge, Delevan, Wis. All faculty and staff are expected to attend.
• All full-time faculty must update their CVs annually (starting fall ’08) with the provost’ s office.
• CV update workshops being slated through provost’ s office. See CTE web page for schedule. If you can’ t attend upcoming ones, please advise CTE so it can plan for more accordingly.
• All employees are entitled to review their personnel files twice per year upon written request submitted to Patricia Olalde in the Human Resources Office.
• Suzanne Robertson (formerly at University of E. London) will be here week of Oct. 8 to study and consult on e-learning, distance learning and how we can improve and leverage it, plus improve our technology usage in general.
• Robertson’ s work will “ link” to Columbia’ s technology task force study, already in progress.
• No precise estimates have been made for the costs of instituting e-learning and distance learning.
• Journalism major Brent White, interning at the Chicago Tribune, participated in the newspaper’ s recent Editorial Board session with the provost and President Carter. His impressive questioning there has earned him and another Columbia journalism student intern there an invitation to attend a provost’ s cabinet meeting upcoming.
• The faculty will be surveyed for input to the Rank & Promotion and the Tenure task force findings, respectively.
• Summer session in the Florence, Italy, Lorenzo Di Medici Institute will include some 40-50 students and some faculty. The institute also operates in Rome.
• Columbia’ s associate membership in ELIA (European League of Institutes of Arts) will enable us to host the organization’ s 2009 international conference.
• The president’ s advisory council (outside membership) was scheduled to tour selected departments of the college on Monday, Oct. 1. Noted Chicagoans Ramsey Lewis and Virginia Madsen are among the group’ s elite members.

Question and Answers:

Question: Why are we pursuing e-learning when, as you said, it is outmoded and outdated? Columbia is on the cutting edge of learning/teaching and it’ s concerning that e-learning is being pursued when it hasn’ t fulfilled its purpose.

Provost: Chairman of the Board says we need to.  We want to make sure that it is an informed decision since it could be financially profitable.  Cost and infrastructure are a concern since many institutions did not get a return on their investment.  However, as past of the 2010 plan, Dr. Carter mandated a 6th category on Technology and e-learning was asked not to be ignored.

Question: On the task forces on Rank and Promotion and the tenure process — what’ s the decision-making process? Feedback?  How does this work?

Provost: There will be a survey on rank with feedback. With the Tenure document: not sure on voting — there will be informational sessions in the spring on the objectives of the changes in the tenure process.
Question: Tenure document changes — do we have dates for the town hall meetings?

Provost: Not yet — late this semester, early next semester.

Question: Personnel files — Provost and HR?  Two files or one file?

Provost: There is only one file —anything that related to conditions of employment is your personal file.  Once you request it — it will be compiled into a single files (from all sources) to be reviewed.

Question: You touched on the financial implications of e-learning, what about for the faculty in regard to training, re-training or getting new faculty?

Provost: These will all need to be looked at and considered if we go in this direction. May need curriculum designers as used elsewhere.

Question: A point of clarification — work team, task force, etc.  Since people are appointed to these task forces — are the recommendations voted on?  Who has ultimate editorial control?

Provost: The recommendations will be brought forth to the faculty for review.  Within the task forces the members will vote on the recommendations.

Question: Educational Technology in the classroom — problems with the one size fits all for revamping of classrooms and the choice of classrooms that are revamped.

Provost: Talk to the Deans and make sure the Chair knows the problems and your solution, since what’ s needed and provided can be different and we want to avoid it.

Question: Last Spring there was an announcement about a Beat Poetry event and now it’ s canceled?  What’ s going on?

Louise Love: There will still be a conference and an exhibit on Beat Poetry, but we needed to cut the budget, which included the artistic director.  There is no longer a budget within the Provost’ s office for the events - some departments are continuing with events on their own.  The provost’ s office will still help coordinate.

Provost: These budget cuts are not departmental — they were all administrative.

Various Faculty: Which budget cuts, specifically?

Provost: We budgeted for a 5% increase and came in at 4.5% - our credit hours went up though.  Also — at some point we will need to get a full-time conference planner on staff.