Members Absent: Drs. William Brody, John Breitner, Ellen MacKenzie, Jonathan Samet, Alfred Sommer, Donald Steinwachs, and James Yager.

Guests: Drs. Sharon Krag and Noel Rose; and Ms Diane Glover.

Meeting Convened: Provost Steven Knapp convened the meeting at 3:00 p.m.

Approval of the Minutes: Minutes of the 817th meeting on October 13, 1998 were approved.

Remarks by the Provost: The University is considering having an increased presence in Germany as there are existing relationships with a number of programs and groups in Germany, including in the new capital of Berlin. A presence in Germany, initially on a time-limited trial basis, might focus on increasing ties with alumni and on fund-raising.

The Academic Issues Subcommittee of the Provost's Committee on the Status of Women has completed a survey and made a number recommendations regarding the recruitment and retention of women faculty. The recommendations will be followed up by the deans and by the appropriate committees charged with oversight of these issues in each of the divisions.

Dr. Knapp noted that the School sets a number of high standards for a supportive environment for women faculty, and that University as a whole is focusing on aspects of its culture that will encourage an environment for women to succeed. The University is developing a more coordinated approach to technology transfer activities, drawing on the strengths of offices in the School of Medicine, in the Applied Physics Laboratory, and in the University Central Administration, which have proceeded independently in the past. This approach will unify and not duplicate technology transfer efforts among the three offices.

Remarks by the Acting Dean: The self study in preparation for the School's reaccreditation was sent to all full-time faculty within the past few weeks. Comments and corrections are requested by the end of December and should be forwarded to Drs. MacKenzie or Lawrence. Dr. Lawrence noted that members of the reaccreditation steering committee have been asked to meet with students and faculty to review educational program objectives and competencies. The final self study is due to the Council on Education for Public Health in February, 1999.

The Health Program Alliance is moving from the Department of Health Policy and Management to the Office of Professional Education and Programs and will continue to link closely with the general public health practice community. An advisory board of faculty and external agencies will be established for the Health Program Alliance. Dr. Zeger commented briefly on the settlements between the tobacco industry and the states over health expenditures from cigarette smoking. He expressed hope that significant portions of the settlements will be directed by the states to practical smoking prevention and intervention programs, directed in particular to young people.

Dr. Krag reminded the Advisory Board members about Dr. Breitner's December 3 Dean's lecture on Alzheimer's Disease, about the December 8 School-wide Research Day on the topic of HIV/AIDS, and that the deadline for submission to the Faculty Innovation Fund is December 15, 1998.

Dr. Lawrence reminded the group that December 10, 1998 is the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which will be observed in a number of events throughout the School organized by students.

Remarks by the Faculty Senate: Dr. Anthony reported that the November Faculty Senate meeting included reports about the School reaccreditation, fund-raising activities, the fiscal health of the School and more extended discussion about faculty titles. He expressed concern that national searches should be undertaken for positions according to their functions as well as their titles. The Senate is interested in learning about progress made by the Advisory Board in developing new titles and roles for non-tenure-track faculty.

Other items Recommendations for titles of non-tenure-track faculty

A revised proposal for new faculty tracks, including two new non-tenure faculty tracks, was circulated by Dr. Anthony. He reviewed the rationale and draft flowchart as well as features and responsibilities of the proposed new faculty tracks. Members of the Advisory Board suggested revisions to the flowchart and requested clarification of some features of the proposed tracks. The group discussed some advantages and disadvantages of the proposal, and came to a broad consensus that national searches should be conducted for all faculty positions with professorial titles.

Dr. Zeger suggested that more research associates be recruited to support the work of the senior faculty. Dr. Guyer suggested developing formal contracts for new non-tenure-track faculty that would specify their job responsibilities and would be open to renegotiation at the end of a contract period. Several members of the Advisory Board suggested having a silent non-tenure track, but after discussion, the consensus opinion did not support this suggestion. Several members of the Advisory Board expressed the need to have truly open national searches, and Dr. Knapp commented that a dearth of national searches would eventually lead to a less qualified faculty.

After further discourse, Dr. Anthony proposed tabling discussion of this topic until Dr. Krag's committee reviewing the functions and responsibilities of the scientist track faculty has completed its work. He will report the substance of the current discussion to the Faculty Senate and modifications as proposed to the current flowchart will be forwarded to the Faculty Senate. Dr. Rose expressed concern that the current proposal may not solve the problem of faculty members being asked to take on responsibilities they did not initially agree to take on. In addition, non-tenure track professorial faculty may not wish to teach or advise students, or may not be recruited to do so. Some Advisory Board members held the view that the professorial title carries with it the obligation to be involved in educational activities while others felt that some non-tenure-track faculty may prefer to conduct research and/or practice activities without being involved in teaching or advising activities. Dr. Knapp added that a strategic issue for the School is how far to expand in response to increased NIH opportunities and suggested that the School develop an explicit plan for this possibility.

Recommendations from the Faculty Senate regarding titles for non-tenure-track faculty

Due to the late hour, this item will be rescheduled to a later date.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Robin Fox

© 1998 The Johns Hopkins University. Baltimore, Maryland. All rights reserved.
Last updated by dgips@jhu.edu