The Faculty Senate heard presentations on two issues important to the university's future, distance learning and computing and information sciences, at its regular monthly meeting Feb. 9.
On computing and information sciences, Cornell Vice Provost Cutberto Garza provided an update on discussions he and Vice Provost Mary Sansalone have been having with committees, college deans, the dean of the faculty and the dean of students regarding the earlier task force recommendations on the subject.
Garza said he and Sansalone are working on a draft report to the president and provost and are interested in continuing feedback from faculty members. He said he expects the new report to recommend a dean of computing and information sciences, and the creation of this position supports the idea that computing and information sciences will enable teaching, research and outreach efforts throughout the university. In addition, Garza said, resource constraints require structural adjustments "that allow greater nimbleness in responding to change and more intense collaboration across the university."
Garza said that, based on those assumptions, the various task force recommendations and subsequent discussions, they are considering recommending the creation of several additional units. They are: the faculty of computing and information sciences (FCIS), a defined universitywide faculty body that would be "expected to take a key role in enhancing the quality and breadth of the faculty and assisting in avoiding the inappropriate duplication of faculty positions"; an executive board that would advise and assist the dean; and, finally, the Office of Computing and Information Science, which would be the administrative unit for the FCIS and the dean. The office would report directly to the dean and through the dean to the Office of the Provost.
In addition, tenure-track faculty appointments would occur only within the existing departments and colleges; membership in the FCIS would be as secondary or adjunct appointments. Likewise all degree-granting would be through existing colleges. The FCIS, working through the dean of CIS, would provide advisory input on FCIS faculty appointments in departments throughout the university.
Sansalone briefed the Faculty Senate on a proposal for distance learning that she presented to the board of trustees in January and which will be discussed again at the board's March meeting. The proposal calls for the university to launch a legally separate, but Cornell controlled, for-profit company to create and market distance learning programs.
Sansalone said e-Cornell would be the commercial entity that will be able to use the Cornell name for the production of distance learning programs. The two vice provosts would work with the deans, program directors and heads of other units to refer promising ideas and activities to e-Cornell.
Cornell Information Technologies (CIT) would continue to provide support for technology-based instructional activities that enhance learning of Cornell students and would bring promising ideas to e-Cornell. A formal agreement between the university and e-Cornell would address key issues, including use of the university's name and marks and other licensing issues and parameters of university oversight and approval. Faculty developing the programs will have complete oversight of academic content and admissions standards for their programs, just as they do now.
Sansalone said the initial e-Cornell strategy would be to:
· offer continuing education programs from Cornell's top professional schools;
· couple the Cornell University Library and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art digitization efforts with its distance learning programs and activities;
· capitalize on Cornell's unique strengths represented by its Laboratory of Ornithology, Plantations and Shoals Marine Laboratory; and
· seek partnerships when name recognition in the marketplace and/or capital are needed to launch new programs.
Just before the close of the meeting, Joseph M. Ballantyne, professor of electrical engineering, read a statement critical of the process President Hunter Rawlings used in selecting a new provost.
"While it is evident that the president has the right to use whatever process he wishes in selecting senior members of his administration, in previous administrations the process of selecting those for high-level appointments involved the appointment of an advisory committee, representative of the diversity of constituencies affected by the appointment, to give advice to the president on potential candidates for the office," Ballantyne said. "This practice was an assurance to the various constituencies that their input was received and considered in the final decision.
"I believe it may be timely for this faculty to consider implementing procedures for providing faculty input on future appointments and reappointments of senior academic administrators, such as deans, the provost and the president," Ballantyne said.
In December Rawlings e-mailed each faculty member, inviting them to offer comments on the role of the provost and to suggest individuals for the post to be vacated by Don M. Randel. Rawlings nominated Carolyn A. "Biddy" Martin, the senior associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, as provost earlier this month.
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