Scott Shumway offers his annual leaf to leaf tour of Wheaton’s botanical treasures.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012.
This lunch talk is a lunch walk!
Meet outside the faculty dining room at 12:30 prepared to stroll around campus until 1:30 (In other words, eat first!). The Wheaton Tree Walk is a longstanding tradition initiated by Philosophy Professor Holcombe Austin and continued by Biology Professor Scott Shumway.
Professor Shumway's walking tour is scheduled for Wednesday, October 17, 2012 at 12:30 p.m.
For the full schedule of Fall 2012 Faculty Lunch Talks, click here.
Minutes of the October 5, 2012 Faculty meeting.
The faculty meeting was called to order by President Ronald A. Crutcher at 2:00 pm on Friday, October 5, 2012 in Hindle Auditorium.
Alex Trayford, Associate Dean of Studies and Chair of the Committee on Academic Standing presented the following students who have fulfilled all requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts:
Harry Philip Altman¹
Nolan Gerard Corr
Libba Earp Farrar
Danielle Nicole Hamlett
Nicholas James Aresvik Jacobsen
Kathryn Ann Murphy
Ronny Konstantine Sarianides¹
summa cum laude
Laura Renee Parker
magna cum laude
Maris Laura Jahnke
Candidate for Degree with Honors in the Field of Concentration
Laura Renee Parker Neuroscience, Class of 2011
The faculty voted to accept the recommendation of the committee.
The minutes of the September 7, 2012 faculty meeting were approved.
President Crutcher began by announcing the recent passing of Addison Lewellyn Jennings, husband of Professor of Chemistry Emerita Bojan Jennings. There will be a memorial service for Mr. Jennings on November 20th at 11:00 am in Mary Lyon Hall.
At the upcoming Board of Trustees Meeting the decision that the Board will be making, to endorse the strategic initiatives plan, represents a turning point for Wheaton. In speaking about the current plan, the President reflected on other historical decisions that have been made for Wheaton going back to 1897. The President said that the point is that the problems the College is now facing are not so different from some of those in earlier years in its history. The plan which will be presented to the Board of Trustees later this month will result in diversifying the campus (students) and the academic offerings, so that the College may become more competitive and financially sustainable. The President is confident that the plan being presented to the Board will help to sustain the future of the College. He noted that there are three additional items being presented to the Board. One is the financial scenario described at the last faculty meeting, another will be an update of Phase III of the Focus Plan, and finally, a comprehensive communication plan. The President reminded the faculty that both the Faculty Planning and Priorities Committee and the Staff Planning and Priorities Committee will attend the Friday morning plenary session when these presentations are made to the Board of Trustees. Tom Sternal, marketing consultant, will present updated data on the marketing videos and the marketing plan. President Crutcher stated that while there are financial challenges facing the College, the institution is, in many ways, stronger than ever: there is the new Mars Center for Science and Technology; the second year of the CORE program was successful and has played a part in retaining students who had already committed to the College; fundraising has gone very well, as close to $110,000,000 has been raised toward the Campaign goal of $120,000,000. He noted that even if the $120,000,000 Campaign goal is reached before the end of this year, next year the Campaign will continue to raise the $44,000,000 needed for the Scholarship Fund. In terms of grants and contracts, the President said that we have the highest level of grants and grant applications in the history of the College thanks to those faculty members who have been awarded grants and those who have submitted applications. Finally, President Crutcher commented on the beauty of the College campus thanks to the staff of the Physical Plant.
Provost Linda Eisenmann began by announcing publications and exhibitions by faculty members. Associate Professor of Film, Jake Mahaffy’s film “Miracle Boy” premiered at the 69th Venice International Film Festival in September. Professor Mahaffy’s film was the only US film among the fourteen international short films selected . In addition, a collection of his films was showcased at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts last month. Professor of Religion, Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus has two publications. The first appears in the “Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery 2011”. His piece in that publication is entitled “Sukkot: The Paradigmatic Harvest Festival”. In addition, he has a chapter in an edited book called Writing Food History: A Global Perspective. His chapter is called “’Bread from Heaven, Bread From The Earth’: Recent Trends in Jewish Food History.” Professor of Geology, Geoffrey Collins was Vice Chair of National Research Council’s Committee on Planetary Protection Standards for Icy Bodies in the Outer Solar System. The report that was written by that committee has been published as Assessment for Planetary Protection Requirements for Spacecraft Missions to Icy Solar Systems Bodies.
Provost Eisenmann, referring to a memo that came out earlier in the day from Associate Provost Gail Sahar, announced that Claude Steele, the Dean of the School of Education at Stanford University will be speaking on campus at the end of the month. Since his visit will touch on the Infusion aspect of our curriculum, she urged the faculty to encourage their classes to attend his talk. The Provost went on to say there will be two additional opportunities for faculty to meet with the Board of Trustees—two LIS staff and two faculty members will give a set of presentations, organized by Scott Hamlin, on technology-enhanced learning to the Faculty/Staff Committee, and at the Academic Affairs Committee meeting, four faculty members will speak from different perspectives about the role of a permanent faculty on a college campus. Professor Darlene Boroviak will speak as the Chair of the Tenure Committee, Associate Professor John Partridge will speak primarily from his role as a Department Chair, Associate Professor Christopher Kalberg will speak as Chair of the Committee on Committees and Agenda, and Associate Professor Kim Miller will speak from the perspective of a recently tenured faculty member. Lastly, the Provost reminded the faculty that the November faculty meeting is scheduled for the second Friday of the month (November 9th).
Professor MaryBeth Tierney-Tello, Chair of the Committee on Faculty Scholarship and Promotion, spoke about the recent revisions that were made to the Guidelines for Promotion and distributed to the faculty earlier in the week. She announced that there will be an open meeting to discuss the promotion process on October 25th. In addition to Professor Tierney-Tello, members of the committee this year are Professors Mark LeBlanc and Hyun Kim, and Provost Eisenmann.
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Lee Burdette Williams informed the faculty of updates to the Sexual Misconduct Policy. At the request of the Office of Civil Rights, charges of sexual misconduct will be heard in front of a Sexual Misconduct Hearing Board made up of staff and faculty members rather than the College Hearing Board whose membership includes students. She noted that sexual assault and sexual misconduct are really community-wide problems, so a call went out asking for volunteers to be part of a formal process to serve as investigators of the charges being brought against a student, as procedural advisors to both the student who is being accused and the accuser, and as hearing board officers. Dean Williams now speaks to small groups of students at Orientation about the College’s sexual misconduct policy rather than speaking to them in a large group. The faculty viewed the slides that are presented to the students during these group sessions at Orientation and Dean Williams spoke about the information that she shares with the students, including the services that are available to them. She pointed out information available on the Wheaton website and urged the faculty to direct their colleagues, who were not present at this meeting, to the website. She went on to inform the faculty and staff of their obligation as employees of Wheaton College noting that they cannot promise confidentiality; only members of the Counseling Center staff are authorized to keep confidentiality in these cases. In the event that a faculty or staff member is informed of an incident, they can go to the College’s website for a link to the SMART team where they will find a link to an anonymous tracking form to fill out and return to the SMART team coordinator. A brief discussion followed. Gary Ahrendts, Co-Chair of Staff Council, suggested that Dean Williams add Administrative Mentors for freshmen to the list of faculty and staff that students can go to for help. Professor Claire Buck, the faculty member serving on SMART, announced that the Team is conducting a short survey to gather baseline data to help them to move forward with their work which is being supported by a grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation. The survey will be distributed to the faculty early in November. Dean Williams pointed out that the Foundation views Wheaton as a model campus for the work that the group of faculty and staff are doing on sexual assault and misconduct.
President Crutcher spoke about the Committee of the Whole discussion of the strategic initiatives at the September faculty Meeting. Several questions regarding the endowment performance and the proposed business program were raised at that time. He called on Vice President for Finance and Administration Brian Douglas who, through a PowerPoint presentation, showed the faculty the endowment performance in various years. He explained what each line in the graph represented, pointing out that in most years, Wheaton’s endowment performance was similar to that of other colleges of our size. In 2010 and in 2011, the endowment differed from the other schools (no data is available for 2012 at this time). Mr. Douglas explained that the endowment is made up of a number of various types of investments and those investments are distributed into different categories, giving examples. At some point in the early to mid 2000s, the College made substantial investments in private investments. The NACUBO average for the share of a college portfolio in private investments is eight to ten percent. Wheaton’s portfolio averaged fifteen to twenty percent due to decisions made by the Investment Committee who, at that time, saw these investments as a way to increase the College’s endowment. Mr. Douglas explained that it is not easy to “exit out” of such private investments, so when the downturn in the market took place, it affected the endowment. He noted that the Investment Committee is very much aware of this. At the suggestion of Mr. David Wagner, a member of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Investment Committee, the College hired an investment advisor (LVW Advisors) in 2009 to advise the Investment Committee. He emphasized that the Investment Committee is very committed to making the best choices for the College. In 2012, the private investment portion of the portfolio increased the endowment slightly. However, the Investment Committee is not satisfied having such a substantial portion of the endowment tied up in private investments so the investment advisor has been asked to review options for how to transition a portion of those assets into a different set of assets that would perform more predictably. Mr. Douglas said that by January or February, he will know whether or not the College’s endowment performance for 2012 resembles that of other endowments.
Discussion followed. Professor Stephanie Daniels asked why it takes so long to get out of the investments that are problematic. Mr. Douglas explained that the College would have to take a loss on these investments if they are moved to another investment category too soon. Professor Betsey Dyer questioned whether or not the investment advisors are paying enough attention to the College’s other investments. Mr. Douglas assured her that he is confident that they are doing all they can to improve the circumstance for this endowment. He noted that the current situation is due to some investment choices made over ten years ago. The President reminded the faculty that 85% of the College’s budget depends on net tuition and fees and the balance is derived from other sources, including approximately seven percent from the endowment. He explained that the Board of Trustees is urging the College to move quickly on implementing the new strategic initiatives to become more competitive, thus increasing enrollments to bring in more revenue. Professor John Kricher asked how we compare to other colleges in terms of the percentage figure from the endowment to support the budget and how the Campaign affects the endowment. Mr. Douglas explained that the Northeast Nine average amounts to 12% of endowment support of budgets. That figure represents the larger endowments within that peer group. The College applies a certain ceiling to how much of the endowment can be put toward the budget, based on a rolling average of the endowment times 5%. He noted that other colleges that have larger endowments apply an even smaller percentage towards their operating budgets. In terms of whether there might by any significant growth when our Campaign is completed, he explained that most colleges go immediately into beginning another campaign, so he doesn’t expect that there will be any differential improved growth for Wheaton right after the Campaign. Also, some Campaign gifts are designated for certain portions of the College’s budget such as capital projects (e.g., the new Mars Center for Science and Technology and the turf field) and gifts to the operating budget.
Provost Linda Eisenmann spoke about the proposed Business Major. Nationally, approximately 20% of all undergraduate degrees are awarded in business, finance, accounting, or marketing, etc. Undergraduate business programs tend to enroll more men than women so that could help Wheaton in maintaining a balanced undergraduate population. She went on to say that of the top thirty-five schools that Wheaton competes against, nineteen offer a major in business or a related field. Thus, it might be a disadvantage not to offer a business major. In the Northeast Nine, Muhlenberg is the only school that offers a major in business, although Colby offers a minor. The Provost said that, in talking with Admissions, business represents the single largest field that applicants ask about. The best guess of how many additional students a business major would attract is approximately twenty-five. The Provost suggested that we keep in mind the admissions recruiting cycle when we consider how and when to talk about a proposed major.
Mr. Douglas talked about the anticipated costs for this program:
He estimated that the anticipated revenue for the College in the first full year, even after all of the expenses, could amount to $500,000; after four full years of offering the major, the net to the bottom line could amount to $2,600,000. He cautioned that these numbers are not “set in stone, ”as many issues could change. Provost Eisenmann noted that in some instances, students who come to Wheaton thinking that they might major in business could change their minds and major in another discipline; the opposite could occur, as well. She went on to say that she has had questions about whether the level of salary offered to the business faculty might be higher than that of traditional liberal arts faculty. She explained that it is true that most business faculty who teach at graduate schools of business and at AACSB accredited schools likely command higher salaries. However, the faculty that we will be recruiting would recognize that a liberal arts college setting will be different. Professor Bob Morris asked about housing for the additional students and whether it is linked to the plan to increase our global diversity. Mr. Douglas said that, in the five-year projections, there are plans to expand housing. In terms of attracting international students, the Provost said that the expectation is that the business major will probably attract domestic students but it isn’t out of the question that international students will be interested as well. She went on to say that the Admissions staff is currently focusing on recruiting international students overall, especially those from China. Professor John Miller asked if there are any projections for the level of compensation for hiring the business faculty members. Provost Eisenmann responded that it would depend on the level of experience. She noted that the PPC suggested that a more experienced professor be hired soon to help get the program up and running. Mr. Douglas said that, in his cost estimations, he projected the salary (not including benefits) for the more senior person would be in the range of $100,000 and $80,000 for the other two. Professor Tommasina Gabriele expressed her concern about hiring these new faculty members at salaries that are a lot higher than those of some current faculty members and the creation of a “two-tier faculty”, which would change the relationship of faculty to one another. Professor John Partridge also expressed his concern for a “tiered” faculty and that the adjuncts hired for the business program could be hired at a salary higher than those of our current adjuncts. He asked about the terminal degrees for business faculty and whether or not they will have academic credentials. Provost Eisenmann said that the Committee on Committees and Agenda is about to announce a faculty committee to address the very concerns being expressed by the faculty. She said that, in searching for business faculty, she will be looking for candidates who have liberal arts teaching experience and interest, as well as business experience.
Professor Kathy Morgan asked about increasing the student body, especially with regard to international students. She spoke about the issues that occur around language barriers and cultural differences. The Provost said that the administration has taken those issues into consideration and will be looking at applicants who have a command of the English language. There is the possibility of creating a “summer bridge program,” an eight-week summer program which will be offered for those international students who will be attending Wheaton to help them with the language, writing and acquainting them with the culture. She noted that there will be a need for more support for faculty to help them with both academic and personal advising. Professor Morgan said that she would hope that there would be support for faculty and staff so as to make these transitions smoother, but she also emphasized the opportunities for increased globalization of the campus that appear with the addition of more students from around the world.
President Crutcher reminded the faculty that the Board of Trustees will be meeting on October 19th and that both the faculty and the staff Planning and Priorities Committees will be attending that meeting. Following the Board of Trustee meetings, the President will communicate the results of those meetings with the faculty and staff.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynda S. Marcoccia
Senior Executive Assistant to the Provost
Secretary to the Faculty
Does allowing zoo visitors to directly interact with animals affect their attitudes and behaviors with regard to those animals, and if so, how? Associate Professor of Psychology Kathy Morgan will present the results of a study she conducted with her students at the Southwick Zoo last summer. Thursday, October 4, 2012.
Is it the case that "to know me is to love me," or is it true that "familiarity breeds contempt?" Does allowing zoo visitors to directly interact with animals affect their attitudes and behaviors with regard to those animals, and if so, how? In this talk, I'll present the results of a study my students and I conducted at the Southwick's Zoo last summer to try to answer these questions.
Professor Morgan's talk is scheduled for Thursday, October 4, 2012 at 12:30 p.m. in President's Dining Room.
For the full schedule of Fall 2012 Faculty Lunch Talks, click here.
Professor of Psychology Bianca Cody Murphy will talk about her experiences at the Royal Thimpu College in Bhutan: culture, collaboration, and pedagogy.
The Wheaton/Royal Thimphu College Partnership Program (Wheaton/RTC), is a partnership designed not only to provide U.S students and faculty intimate experience with Bhutanese culture, but to provide Bhutanese students and faculty experience with pedagogical methods and modes of interaction that prevail in liberal arts settings.
This presentation describes:
The talk is scheduled for Wednesday, September 26, 2012 at 12:30 p.m. in President's Dining Room. For the full schedule of Fall 2012 Faculty Lunch Talks, click here.
Provost Linda Eisenmann’s report on the work of the Academic Affairs Division for the previous year is now available on the Meet the Provost page.
Provost Linda Eisenmann’s report on the work of the Academic Affairs Division for the previous year is now available.
Click here: Annual Report of The Provost 2011-2012
The Provost’s Office is sponsoring this year’s Moot Court.
Image from poster for Constitution Day.
We are pleased to announce this year's program in recognition of Constitution Day: "Contested Rights on College Campuses: A Moot Court on Affirmative Action and Right of Association," with discussion and Q&A following. The program is Weds., September 19, 7:00 p.m. in the Holman Room.
The program has been organized by Professors Jenna Lukasik and Stephen Mathis, and Provost Linda Eisenmann. It will feature a "moot court," which is a mock session in which four students practice giving oral arguments in front of a panel of judges. Professors Mathis and Kim Miller will be joined by Dean Lee Burdette Williams and the Hon. Stephen Ostrach as this year's judges. After the presentations, a discussion of the issues will follow.
This year's case features a suit against a university's use of affirmative action in admissions, along with a case in which a student was expelled from that university for creating a women-only campus organization to protest the university's admission practice.
For more information, please contact Alison Ricco or Linda Eisenmann at ext. 8212.
Minutes of the September 7, 2012 Faculty Meeting.
The first faculty meeting of the 2012-2013 academic year was called to order by President Ronald Crutcher at 2:00 pm on Friday, September 7, 2012 in Hindle Auditorium in the Science Center.
The minutes of the May 17, 2012 faculty meeting were approved as circulated.
President Crutcher welcomed everyone back to Wheaton’s 178th year as a college and began his remarks by reminding the faculty that the College had exceeded expectations for LEED certification for the Mars Center for Science and Technology. Wheaton earned LEED Gold Certification for the new building whereas only Silver certification had been anticipated. He also announced that, thanks to alumnae/i, parents and Wheaton friends, the College has raised the $3,000,000 needed for the turf field, and that the goal for the Wheaton Fund was exceeded by $130,000. The Campaign is going well, $109,000,000 has been raised toward the goal of $120,000,000, and the President is confident that the College will exceed the Campaign goal. He went on to say that the second year of the CORE (Campus Orientation and Registration Experience) program was very successful. He thanked Provost Linda Eisenmann and Dean of Students Lee Burdette Williams, as well as the faculty and staff and everyone who worked on the program to make it a success. President Crutcher said that, looking at the fall enrollment, the sophomore class is larger than expected, perhaps a sign that our retention efforts are moving in the right direction. Finally, thanks to new initiatives by Vice President Gail Berson and her staff, applications for attendance at Wheaton increased by 15%, and we admitted one of the largest first-year classes in the history of the College this fall.
Vice President Berson shared information about the entering class. She noted that, out of 4000 applications, 481 new students are entering Wheaton this fall; 470 students are coming in as new students, 11 are transfers. Of these new students, 52 have Wheaton relatives; they represent 32 states and 28 nations around the world. She continued to give other statistics about the entering class, including the fact that 158 entered Wheaton this fall as Balfour, Trustee, Community and regional scholars; 20 are Posse scholars; and 3 are United World College Davis scholars. Her staff is already working on recruiting the classes of 2017 and 2018. She thanked the faculty for their help in recruiting students, noting that there are 30 more students entering Wheaton this fall than there were in 2011, and announced that there will be two visiting days, one on October 13th and another on November 12th.
President Crutcher remarked about the success of our recruiting efforts this year with 30 more students entering this fall, and he described the context from which to view these successes. He noted that the national context presents serious threats to all colleges and universities, but to Liberal Arts Colleges in particular. The President observed that tuition and fees have grown faster than family incomes, and that the recession of 2008 has had a negative impact both on families’ abilities to pay for a private college or university education, along with an impact on the institutions themselves. Parents and students are looking more and more at the value of education; they are much more consumer oriented, looking for bargains. The President described the national conversation about higher education. He referred to President Obama’s remarks that he is going to “hold down” tuition and fees at colleges and universities. He said that the College’s financial model is predicated on the ability to increase tuition and fees each year by a certain percentage to cover inflationary and other increased costs. The President said that all of this is cause for us to be aware of the challenges that we face as a liberal arts institution. Over the next two years, he will invite national leaders in higher education to campus for conversations and discussions about the challenges facing higher education in general, but liberal arts colleges in particular, as the College plans for the future. He hopes that everyone will be involved in those discussions—faculty, staff and students as well.
The President announced that Professors Kim Miller and Mark LeBlanc have agreed to serve as the new Faculty Athletic Representatives. He thanked Professors Betsey Dyer and Michael Kahn for their services in this role. He ended by announcing that, due to the rain earlier in the day, the welcome back party for faculty and their families will be held in the Faculty Dining Room following this meeting. The President also announced that at the end of the meeting, the faculty will adjourn to the Committee of the Whole at which time, only teaching faculty and those staff members with faculty designation will remain for the ensuing discussion.
Provost Linda Eisenmann thanked the faculty and staff members who made the second iteration of CORE so successful; she has heard from many faculty and staff that they have found students much better prepared at the beginning of the school year. The Provost highlighted faculty scholarly and creative work over the summer. Professor Andrew Howard’s work is currently being exhibited in the Weil Gallery; Professor Stephanie Daniels will give a solo performance of Ken Prestininzi’s BIRTH BREATH BRIDE ELIZABETH on September 21st and 22nd at the Factory Theater in Boston. The costumes for this performance have been designed by Professor Clinton O’Dell and it is being presented by Professor Charlotte Meehan’s theater company, Sleeping Weazel. Three new faculty grants were awarded over the summer—Professor Matt Evans has won a large National Science Foundation grant for Collaborative Research: Glacier Behavior in W. Greenland; Professor Thandi Buthelezi has also won a substantial grant from NSF for undergraduate research: “RUI: Host/Guest Interactions of Thermochromic Molecules in Binary Aqueous Media”; and Professors Gabriela Torres and Kersti Yllo have won a grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation to conduct a workshop at Wheaton on “Global Perspectives on Sexual Violence in Marriage”. Professor Michael Drout has two publications—the ninth volume of Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review and his article entitled “A Note on Homiletic Fragment II and The Dynamics of Translation from Latin to Old English” has appeared in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen.
Provost Eisenmann announced that Wheaton’s study abroad program in Bhutan is going to expand into two one- semester programs (the College will run this program each semester). Professor Jeffrey Timm is the program director this semester; Professor Bruce Owens will serve as the program director for the spring 2013 semester and Professor John Miller will serve in the fall of 2013. The faculty will be hearing more as the Bhutan Working Group works to expand interest among Wheaton students as well as from other institutions. An announcement seeking a director for the spring of 2014 will appear soon.
The Provost also announced a grant opportunity that has come to Wheaton. The College has been invited by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) LEAP project, the national organization for liberal education , to participate, along with eight other schools (four from Massachusetts and four from New York) on a faculty-oriented grant from the Teagle Foundation, entitled “Integrative Liberal Learning”. The project is a two and a half year project to strengthen faculty leadership on issues of integrative liberal learning. In early August, Provost Eisenmann sent a memo to the faculty explaining the project and inviting faculty interested in serving on Wheaton’s campus team to email her. She went on to read a portion of the project rationale and said that she would resend the memo to the faculty for their information. The Provost said that Professors Kathleen Morgan and Jonathan Brumberg-Kraus have agreed to be the faculty members on Wheaton’s team and she has agreed to serve as the academic administrator.
Provost Eisenmann gave an update on the Wheaton Preserve. She reported that she and Vice President Brian Douglas met with a group of science faculty to discuss what criteria could be used in developing a preserve; issues that the Trustees will raise; and how to begin to identify a section of Wheaton’s land holdings for consideration. In the next steps, the faculty group will examine maps and the land and will begin to identify possible sites for consideration. The students have also expressed interest in working with the faculty group. She suggested that faculty who might like to be involved should contact Professor Janina Benoit.
The Provost reminded everyone that each educational institution in the United States is required to recognize Constitution Day. On Wednesday, September 19th, Wheaton will hold a moot court session and follow-up discussion on two issues related to “Contested Rights on College Campuses,” including affirmative action in admissions and students’ right of association. She said that an email will be distributed to talk about ways that faculty might engage their classes. The faculty participants in this event are Professors Jenna Lukasik, Stephen Mathis and Kim Miller, Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Lee Williams and Provost Eisenmann. The Provost ended her remarks by announcing that the Provost’s Office, together with Phi Beta Kappa, will be presenting Jill Lepore, historian of early America and Chair of Harvard’s program in History and Literature, on November 13th and 14th. She will deliver the Ruby Lecture, and as a Phi Beta Kappa Fellow, Dr. Lepore can visit classes and meet with majors or other student groups. For more information, faculty can contact Professor John Partridge.
New members of the faculty and administration were introduced.
Professors Touba Ghadessi and Yuen-Gen Liang announced the establishment of the Wheaton Institute for the Interdisciplinary Humanities (WIIH). They explained that the mission of the Institute is to strengthen the intellectual community at Wheaton for both faculty and students. The Institute enables students to take learning achieved in the classroom and apply it to real world situations. Each year two professors will serve as co-directors. The co-directors will “develop a cutting-edge theme and design activities that explore it.” Professors Ghadessi and Liang will serve as co-directors for the first two years.
They explained further the activities of the Institute through a PowerPoint presentation and distributed a handout with a fuller description. Professor Liang noted that only 11 liberal arts colleges in the United States have humanities centers. Professor Ghadessi said that they had been gathering ideas from various faculty and staff members throughout the summer and hope to continue meeting with faculty on an individual basis, as well as with departments. Professor Liang stated that “the Institute is being established for the entire college and as such, its foundation will benefit from collaboration and team work among everyone.” They thanked the faculty for their continuing support and welcome feedback.
Professor Christopher Kalberg, Chair of the Committee on Committees and Agenda, reminded the faculty that the members of the Committee this year are Professors Nancy Evans and Yuen-Gen Liang. He requested that agenda items for faculty meetings be sent to the Committee. He also announced that there will be two special elections that will be happening very soon—one is to fill a tenured social scientist position on the Advisory Committee, open from a resignation that occurred during the summer and the second is for an untenured social scientist or humanitarian on the Provost’s Advisory Committee, because there is no untenured member of the faculty currently serving on that Committee. He said that the Committee will meet on Tuesday, September 11th and hopes to have ballots out soon after that meeting. Professor Kalberg noted that there will be updated materials on the Provost’s website including full lists of committee members for both current and past years.
The meeting was adjourned at 3:05 pm.
Professor Kalberg then moved that the faculty adjourn to the Committee of the Whole for a discussion of the College’s finances. A second was offered for his motion and a vote was taken. The motion was approved.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynda S. Marcoccia
Senior Executive Assistant to the Provost
Secretary to the Faculty
The academic year got its official start on August 28 with Convocation. The Provost addressed the seniors on the practice and the profession of the Liberal Arts.
Provost Linda Eisenmann spoke of the "practice" of the Liberal Arts, practice meaning less the development of skills than their professional use and deployment. The different habits of thought, the habits of mind and analysis, that are characteristic of individual disciplines need to be drawn on to address the complexities of modern life, the adaptive challenges, that require us to see things and people from many points of view. A Wheaton education, with a major bolstered by Foundations, Connections, and electives provides this most humane of perspectives. You can read the full text of the Provost's address to the seniors on the Meet the Provost page.
A total of nineteen workshops and retreats, some full-day, some half-day, will be held between Monday, May 21 and Friday, May 25, 2012. Read more here.
A total of nineteen workshops and retreats, some full-day, some half-day, will be held between Monday, May 21, and Friday, May 25. The schedule of titles, organizers, descriptions, locations, and times is available here. The list is current as of May 16 and will be updated as details are added or revised.
NOTE: The college closes at 1:00 PM on Friday, May 25, 2012—there are no Friday afternoon workshops.
Minutes of the May 17, 2012 Faculty meeting.
The faculty meeting was called to order by President Ronald A. Crutcher at 2:00 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012 in Hindle Auditorium in the Science Center.
Patricia Santilli, Registrar, on behalf of the Committee on Academic Standing, presented 357 candidates for the degree of Bachelor of Arts; 115 earned Latin honors, and 24 have earned departmental honors. Ms. Santilli noted that 31% of the class is graduating with honors. This number is exactly the same that for the class of 2011. The faculty voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of the Committee on Academic Standing to confer the degree of Bachelor of Arts upon the following students:
Robert Harrison Abrams
Nicholas John Addeo
Kathleen Elyse Adler
Zachary Michael Agush
Olivia Spencer Ahmadi
Hannah Stevens Allen
Grace Jayne Alloy-Relihan
Abeer Marwan Al-Mutawa
Alyssa Aloyo
Candida DePina Alves
Rim Amar
Raza Ahmed Amin
Eryn Charland Andrade
Emily Erickson Arena
Karina Arias
Catherine King Army
Augustus Theodore
Artschwager Emily
Clare AsackSean
Patrick Astle
Andrew George Bernard
Devon Wilson Best
Justin Michael Birenbaum
Hannah Elizabeth Blomquist
Aimee Elizabeth Boucher
Michael Henry Bouley
Bailey Elizabeth Bowling
Phoebe Ann Boyd
Tenley Rugh Breen
Ross Daniel Brennan
Victoria Floirendo Brias
Alana Catherine Broderick
Taryn Brosnan
Shannon Leroy Brown
Jason Jebediha Orlando Browne
Paul Thomas Bruemmer
Tilney W. Brune
Kenya Domonique Bryant
Maria Maxiel Fernandez Cabral
Dylan James Caldwell
Lauren Lane Cardarelli
Matthew Hoyt Carvell
James William Casaletto
Jeffrey James Cash
Erin Elizabeth Cawley
Matthew Christopher Cesario
Julia Anne Chapman
Rosalyn Curran Chesky
Laura Ashley Chung
Robin L. Churchill-Vogt
Lindsey Piersol Cobb
William McDonald Colasante
Justin Geragthy Cronin
Nicole Marie Cullinane
Shawn L. Daily
Austin Jessie Davidson
Bonnie Carle Davies
Spencer Robertson Deans
Trevor Hinman Deans
Brendan Peter Degnan
Ashley Rose Dell'Aira
Daniel J. Demeo
Jenifer Rae DeNormandie
Rubens Sergio de Oliveira
Gabrielle Ginelle DePalo
Sally Ann Dexter
Katherine Elise DiLeo
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