Convening and Agenda: The meeting was called to order at 3:35 pm on Wednesday 22 October 2008 in the McCormick/Tribune Campus Center and, via television feed, from a room on the downtown campus. This meeting was called by President Anderson as a regularly scheduled activity. There were no Faculty-Council-based agenda items.
President Anderson noted that the Downtown Campus was participating in the meeting via a two-way video link. He noted that the stock market is in trouble again, and that affects IIT's investment portfolio.
The President introduced Alan W. Cramb, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. Alan was Dean of Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from 2005 to 2008, and was on the faculty at Carnegie-Mellon University before that. He also introduced Russell Betts, Dean of the College of Science and Letters. He has been Vice Provost for Planning and Programs at UIC, and was on the scientific staff of Argonne National Laboratory before that.
The President noted that Harvard Professor David Edwards, a former student of Prof. Darsh Wasan, gave the inaugural Darsh Wasan lecture on 19 September 2008. He spoke on particle-development techniques for drug delivery. IIT is participating in an Institute for Technology and Art. The President noted two recent alumni events: the Golden Alumni Society Reunion, and Homecoming. He noted the development of the Perspectives / IIT Math & Science Academy at 36th Place and Michigan. IIT's Math & Science Education Department is a partner in the development of this charter school. Other partnering activities are underway.
He noted that University life hinges on this idea: the greatest progress comes from the balanced tension between tradition and change. The Steering Committee oversees two elements, one dedicated to strengthening the "core", and the other developing the "Innovation Sandbox." The intention is not to eliminate things we're not good at, but we can capitalize on our strengths. He said IIT intends to invest in core areas, and described the investment triangle for the core strengths: visibility, synergy, and sustainability. The Sandbox is geared toward transient activities that lead to changes; the actual changes are unknown at this stage. Good structures developed in this context might become part of the core even if they start small. He discussd the relationships among the vision, the strategic plan, and the financial plan.
The President noted several key dates:
The President announced a Leadership development initiative, through which the University will assess the success of the President, the Provost, and the Vice Presidents. There will be 360° feedback on the skills appropriate for each position, and an outside agent will conduct an anonymous survey, using 40-50 respondents per survey. The results of these assessments will be used to improve leadership in the University. Many faculty will be asked to participate.
Financial challenges: The President noted that yesterday's email was supposed to be reassuring. The five-year plan drafted in early 2008 was reasonable, but it has become necessary to adjust it because of the global financial crisis. IIT has been far from operating with a balanced budget for many years. This needs to change, but the President remains optimistic, noting that "most gains on the competition are made when you're running uphill."
Chris White (BCPS), UniFC chair, began with an announcement on behalf of Doug Geiger, Dean of Students: the pumpkin launch is planned for Friday 24 October. This is the fourth annual launch, and it is scheduled for to be held on the Keating baseball field at noon. 4th annual; Keating baseball field, noon. Chris then noted that the University Faculty Counci's officers, besides himself, are Javad Abbasian (CBE), Vice-chair; and Andy Howard (BCPS), secretary. Chris encouraged faculty members to fill out the faculty survey and to participate actively in governance. He noted that University Faculty Council meetings are held at lunchtime and are open to the public. He encouraged attendance by non-members; he requested that faculty members let their representatives or the secretary know they are coming so that the council can provide enough food. He also encouraged faculty members to contact their own academic-unit UniFC representatives to find out what is happening. He noted that the purposes of the UniFC are governance and other interactions between the faculty and the administration. An example of UniFC activity is the recently-completed discussion of changes in the academic calendar in AY09-10. He listed the UniFC's subcommittees, as set forth in Appendix B of the Faculty Handbook, including Academic Affairs, Academic Freedom & Tenure, Financial Affairs, Undergraduate Studies, Sabbatical Leaves, Academic Computing, and Student Affairs.
Chris noted that IIT has a policy regarding academic discipline: it is spelled out in the student handbook, and the Designated Dean for Academic Discipline (DDAD) for undergraduates is Mike Gosz (MMAE), Associate Provost of Undergraduate Affairs; and the DDAD for graduate students is Sud Nair (MMAE), Associate Dean of the Graduate College. The Assistant Dean of Chicago-Kent School of Law and the Dean of the Stuart School are DDADs for their units. The UniFC is looking at ways to improve the process associated with academic discipline. Chris also noted that an ad hoc committee is developing guidelines for the Committees on Promotion and Tenure, particularly the University CoPT.
A faculty member asked whether the Graduate Studies Commitee reports to the UniFC: Chris said yes. Chris was asked about the role of the faculty senate: Chris noted that exists on paper and Jack Snapper is the President of it, but that it has not actually been called into being for at least ten years.
Alan noted that we have several new faculty this year, and that a reception was held recently to introduce them to the rest of the faculty. He summarized enrollment figures for the undergraduate and graduate programs; the total enrollment is now around 7400. He noted that the IIT student body is 34% female, 4% African-American, and 4% Hispanic. He asked why IIT doesn't attract the pool of underrepresented minorities. He noted that IIT has 1135 international students. The faculty consists of 284 category I faculty, 83 category II, and 46 category III, for a total of 413. Alan noted that we have an issue with diversity in both the faculty and the student populations.
Alan discussed the University's budget. It has been reanalyzed based on actual income; expenses have been reduced to account for lowered income levels. Income and expenses are being monitored continuously. He has frozen faculty hiring for the year; IIT will recruit but delay the hirings themselves. He has frozen hiring into vacant and unfilled staff positions, and as result the University has avoided layoffs. Accordingly, vacated staff positions will not be in the budget for next year. The Board of Trustees must have confidence in the University's ability to manage itself. He noted that the University's goal is to develop a financial plan containing a "balanced operational budget" within five years (FY14) that nonetheless allows for continued institutional progress. Alan summarized the planned steps toward financial strength, in terms of increases in revenue and controlling expenses.
Alan noted that IIT ranked 102 in the US News and World Report listings of American universities. This is similar to the 96th ranking that IIT received the previous year. Alan has analyzed the US News criteria one by one. He is particularly troubled by poor freshman retention rate (~82% now) and the shortfall of actual graduation rate as compared with the expected graduation rate. The six-year graduation rate is below 70% and is decreasing. He noted that IIT is about 12% below performance expectations in this regard. He is not proposing that IIT should pass everyone, but we should supply enough support that students can succeed. Our students are unhappy with IIT: they have many issues on many levels, many of which are not related to teaching. He noted that our own students rank us below any of our peer schools.
Alan noted progress in the search for a Dean of Armour College. A search committee chaired by Russell Betts (CSL) and Jamshid Mohammadi (CAE) has been appointed, and an outside search firm is involved. Nominations have been sought, and a website for the search is under construction.
Peter Lykos (BCPS) noted that the graduate program is substantial as well as the undergraduate program. The retention issues were articulated primarily for undergraduate enrollment, and suggested that we need a similar analysis for graduate enrollment. President Anderson agreed that PhDs need to get through the University quickly, and suggested that improving retention is a worthy goal for its own sake. Alan affirmed that the University will look at graduate enrollment, particularly in doctoral programs, in addition to its focus on undergraduate retention.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned about 2:15pm.