Approval of minutes. The minutes for the meeting of January 25 and February 1, 2006 were approved as amended.

Remarks by the Secretary. Professor Naiman reported that the dinner meeting on February 7 discussed the "close vote issue" and whether Council wanted to institute specific policies about close votes and whether a "straw poll" should be taken before the formal vote. The consensus was that it was still premature to adopt a specific policy.

Professor Naiman also reported that the first luncheon with junior faculty took place on Monday. One issue that arose was the question of how to evaluate very small classes. Dean Falk explained that a mistake had been made by the office that handed out the evaluations last fall and the procedures would be corrected so that every course would be evaluated.

Open discussion. In answer to a question about the future of Villa Spelman, Dean Falk reaffirmed his commitment to academic programming in Florence. He explained that he strongly supported opportunities for undergraduate and graduate study in History of Art and Renaissance Studies in Florence. He said he had initiated a conversation with faculty members about how these programs could best be managed to take full advantage of current intellectual and financial resources.

Discussion of potential provision for classified research space. Dean Jones outlined a proposal for allowing classified research in secure areas of the Stieff Building. He said he would like to bring all Whiting School faculty back to the main campus, though some specialized equipment and facilities would remain at Stieff. In light of the University's current policy, Dean Jones sought Council's guidance on maintaining appropriate distance and distinction between classified and unclassified research. Dean Donohue outlined existing classified research programs at the University and noted that future funding opportunities in some fields of engineering may well depend on being able to accommodate a small percentage of classified work tied to much larger unclassified research contracts.

Dr. Greg Ball, Chair of Appointments and Promotions subcommittee reported that the following appointments have been approved: 1) Dr. John Bartholomew as Lecturer in the Center for Educational Outreach for 1/1/06 - 12/31/06. 2) Dr. Muhammad Kehnemouyi as Lecturer in the Center for Educational Outreach for 1/1/06 - 12/31/06. 3) Dr. Garrett Stewart as Visiting Professor in English for 7/1/06 -12/31/06. 4) Dr. David Laibson as Visiting Professor in Economics for 4/1/06 - 4/30/06. 5) Dr. Luca Biferale as Visiting Professor in Mechanical Engineering for 6/1/06 - 7/30/06. 6) Dr. Carol Armstrong as Adjunct Professor in History of Art for 7/1/06 - 12/31/06. 7) Dr. Fenella Cannell as Visiting Associate Professor in Anthropology for 9/1/06 - 6/30/07.

Remarks by the Deans. Dean Falk announced that the Academic Council election reform committee has been put together. It will be chaired by Jonathan Bagger (Physics and Astronomy). Committee members include Michael Fried (Humanities Center), Bill Connolly (Political Science), Ben Hobbs (DOGEE) and current Council members Frances Ferguson, Dan Naiman, and Greg Ball. Dean Falk commented that it is an extraordinarily strong committee.

Dean Jones reported that two of the Whiting School faculty members were elected to the National Academy of Engineering - Professor Tony Dalrymple of Civil Engineering and Professor Fred Jelinek of CLSP. Three alumni were also elected. Four young faculty will receive NSF career awards and there is a chance of a fifth. Dean Jones reported that the inauguration of the Institute for Computational Medicine will take place on Monday, February 20th at 4 p.m.

The meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m.

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Last updated 23Mar06 by dgips@jhu.edu