Marx charged the newly-created Committee on Academic Priorities (CAP) with beginning a consultative planning process for the future of the College. Marx added that one possible outcome is the largest increase in full-time employees the College has ever seen, and that the CAP should consider how to justify and distribute the increase in faculty. Other topics to be considered by the CAP include class scheduling, learning through experience, service to the community and improving reappointment and tenure decisions. Marx announced that he would chair the CAP and would be joined by students and professors and deans from various disciplines.
Marx welcomed 21 new faculty members, several fellows, the new director of institutional research (see College hires director of institutional research, page 1), new College Librarian, new interim director of information technology (IT), and professors returning from a semester or year of academic leave.
Treasurer Peter Shea laid out the College's financial situation, with an operating budget for the year of approximately $104 million and an endowment of $993.4 million-up 13.2 percent from last year thanks to investment returns that exceeded the benchmark by more than five percent. Last year, the College had a surplus of $8,000 on the year's budget, which was down from the previous year's surplus of $13,000.
According to Dean of Students Ben Lieber, the 427 first-year students became the first class to sign the College's honor code, finalized at the end of last year. Lieber explained that since the members of the class of 2008 was not informed about the code as prospective students, there would have been no penalty for refusal to sign.
The past academic year saw seven cases of plagiarism and five of cheating that were sent to the Dean of Students' office. "These numbers were a decline from the year before but we can't be complacent," Lieber said. "There is now a Web page on plagiarism which all students have been directed to."
The honor code sparked brief debate among the faculty. "What could an honor code mean if it's not genuinely voluntarily entered into?" asked Professor of English Barry
O'Connell. He added that the students least likely to break the honor code would likely be the most likely to refuse to sign it. "I would never sign that particular statement," said
O'Connell in response to an argument from Professor of Political Science Hadley Arkes, "and I'm not known for my activities as a plagiarist."
Dean of New Students Alan Hart reviewed the events of the first-year orientation week and asked for nominations of books and living authors for required summer reading for future classes. He said he hopes that the author can deliver a lecture to the class, as Oliver Sachs did this year. Hart also announced that the Take Your Professor Out (TYPO) program for first-year students will begin during the third week of classes. In response to a faculty member's question, Dean of the Faculty Greg Call added that TYPO for upperclassmen would also be continued this semester.
Marx suggested that all professors make better use of the six free meals at Valentine that they are entitled to, or the 13 meals provided for professors who teach first-year seminars. "Valentine should not be a ghetto for students," Marx said.
Chief Advancement Officer Michael Kiefer summarized the College's fundraising during the last academic year that ended on June 30, 2004. "Last year was built around introducing President Marx to alumni, parents and friends, and the response was uniformly positive," said Kiefer. Last year was a successful one for fundraising, with $33.4 million in gifts to the College through 22,000 separate gifts, and 67.2 percent of alumni.
Kiefer noted that the Amherst Today program, in which alumni return for a three-day educational experience, will continue this year. The program began last March and there will be two more sessions held this calendar year. Each session has a different topic and is limited to 50 participants.
Marx expressed his support for engaging alumni in intellectual ways rather than simply during fundraising campaigns. He said that the Interterm Committee will discuss possible means of doing this while also finding ways to allow current students and faculty to benefit from alumni experience. "We will all be enriched, literally and figuratively," said Marx.
Interim Director of IT Thomas Warger said that this year's was the smoothest start-up of the campus network in about five years, and that the top priority for the year is to keep the network and services as stable as possible. "I am pleased to see that IT reaches out beyond the 28 people who nominally do that work," said Warger, explaining that about 100 members of the College staff contribute to IT work, including the locksmith. Warger plans to spend a lot of time reviewing and strengthening his department's relationship with the library.
Call announced several fall fellowship deadlines and three tenure-track searches to be conducted during the upcoming year. He met with department chairs on Friday to plan for the year and set department goals in preparation for the work of the CAP.
Marx discussed the fall programming that he has planned. There will be a debate on American foreign policy between Joe Nye and William Kristol, and Marx has invited Jonathan Kozol to speak in November. The John J. McCloy lecture series this year, with one lecture each semester, will be given by John Dower this semester.
American Association of University Professors (AAUP) chapter president Professor of Philosphy Alexander George announced that the Amherst chapter of the AAUP, whose purpose is to advance academic freedom in institutions of higher education, would meet after the faculty meeting and that the AAUP has sponsored two lectures this semester.
At the end of the meeting all non-faculty were asked to leave while the faculty discussed a degree case.