Faculty Meeting Minutes
Founders Room
December 9, 2016
I. Call to Order: Mark Sargent called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m.
II. Devotional: Rachel Winslow led the faculty in a devotional reflecting upon John 1:14, what it means to “move into the neighborhood,” and the mystery of the Incarnation.
III. Introduction of New Faculty Member: Dr. Serah Shani, from the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, introduced herself to the faculty.
IV. Report from the President: Gayle Beebe updated the faculty on several items including the success of the Christmas music festival, the success of the women’s volleyball and women’s soccer teams (both of which went to Nationals), the honorees of Homecoming 2016, a request to nominate honorees for Homecoming 2017, the construction progress on the Global Leadership Center (the dedication is scheduled for October 13, 2017), Charles Duhigg’s and Douglas McKenna’s visits, the upcoming President’s Breakfast (March 3, 2017), the upcoming Lead Where You Stand Conference, the need for faculty to indicate (via WebAdvisor) their commitment to uphold Westmont’s policy on Unlawful Discrimination, Unlawful Harassment, and Sexual Assault, and a sample video from one of the College’s new communications projects.
V. Approval of Minutes from November 18, 2016: The minutes from November 18, 2016 were approved.
VI. GE: The Big Picture: Lisa DeBoer helped to frame a presentation to the faculty regarding the College’s General Education (GE) requirements, which were substantially revised in 2004. She posed the following questions: What are the joys and challenges of teaching GE courses? Do we need to refresh and renew our language about how we talk with current and prospective students about our GEs and their purpose at a liberal arts college? She reminded the faculty that the liberal arts are about the breadth of the GE, the depth of the major, and the residential and co-curricular components.
Marianne Robins provided the faculty with a brief history of the GE and the logic behind it. She reviewed the four components: Common Contexts, Common Inquiries, Common Skills, and Compassionate Action. Alister Chapman discussed the World History course and why it is required for all students. Amanda Sparkman provided an overview of the Introduction to Life Sciences course. And David Vander Laan discussed the Reasoning Abstractly requirement and gave the faculty the opportunity to practice creating a well-crafted argument.
Mark Sargent informed the faculty that our participation is needed next semester in selecting the Augustinian Scholars. Emails with more information will be forthcoming.
VII. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 5:30 p.m.
Minutes Submitted by Sarah L. Jirek