December 3, 2024 Minutes

Council of Department Chairs

In attendance: Curtis Bennett, Krzysztof Slowinski, Kelly Young, Jesse Dillon, Lijuan Li, Lora Stevens, Will Murray, Prashanth Jaikumar, Jim Kisiel, Babette Benken (via Zoom), Jeanine Pociask, Margaret Karteron, Lindsay Aymar, Tatiana Avila

  1. Approve agenda (10:05am) - Approved
  2. Approve minutes from November 5/November 19
    1. November 5: Approved as amended
    2. November 19: Approved as amended
  3. Announcements
    1. ASM
      1. Finances projected to be OK this year
      2. January 10 memo goes out for next fiscal year, so we will know more then
      3. Departments need to let Jeanine know about any hanging balances
    2. Operations
      1. Teams channel created to upload department constitutions and bylaws for increased transparency 
      2. Holiday party is Friday from 2:00pm-4:00pm
      3. Dean's review committee meeting soon, more information for chairs coming soon
      4. RSCA applications – currently being evaluated
      5. Sabbatical leave applications – approvals will go out Spring semester
      6. Commencement schedule has not been finalized, but the week has been locked in May 21-23, 2025
      7. RTP policy will be coming out for a vote by the college tenure track faculty tomorrow (12/4)
    3. Communications
      1. No updates
    4. Dean
      1. Hiring
        1. Searches are continuing
      2. Dates
        1. Biology external review follow-up is Friday
        2. Chairs Retreat January 14 9:00am-5:00pm
        3. Chairs Dinner Tuesday December 17
      3. RTP 
        1. Our early tenure policy matches the University policy
  4. Associate Deans
    1. Academics
      1. Winter SOAR
        1. Registration date is December 16
        2. Advising center will provide online assistance with registration 
        3. We will need coordinators and in-office personnel to give out permits on the 16th
      2. Spring 2025 enrollments
        1. 6.5% currently on the waitlist
          1. We must provide enough seats in lower division courses
          2. Waitlisting can create enrollment problems for students
          3. Students cannot waitlist more than 5 units - essentially 1 class
    2. Research
      1. Loading and unloading is officially open at the bottom of HSCI - more info will be in the end-of-semester facilities write up
      2. MLSC will have a planned power outage on December 7
      3. Autoclave issue resolved
      4. Second year faculty currently finishing their first semester of Faculty Learning Communities
    3. Graduate Programs
      1. New Master's policy in the senate – we're optimistic about it!
      2. GEF special call for Spring '25 
        1. So far only 1 application from Physics 
        2. Call for next AY has not come out yet, but should soon
      3. Babette Benken will craft a new call for the D Green following retreat discussion on award changes to better align with original agreement
  5. Grant Buyout Discussion
    1. Need to have clearer messaging to faculty regarding buyout and match - new faculty reporting conflicting messaging
  6. Open Discussion
  7. Adjournment - 11:56am
     

Upcoming Dates

  • Continuing: (started Monday 11/18/24) Open Period begins for Periodic Mini Reviews and ETF (through Monday December 9)
  • December 6, 2024: (Friday) CNSM End of Semester Party, 2:00pm-4:00pm
  • December 11, 2024: (Wednesday) Last Day of Classes
  • December 12-18, 2024: (Thursday-Wednesday) Final Exams
  • December 24, 2024: (Tuesday) Last Day of Fall 2024 Semester
  • December 25, 2024 - January 1, 2025: (Wednesday-Wednesday) Winter Break
  • January 2, 2025: (Thursday) Winter Session Begins
  • January 14 or 15, 2025: Chairs retreat
  • January 17, 2025: (Friday) Winter Session Ends
  • January 20, 2025: (Monday) Martin Luther King Holiday - Campus Closed
  • January 21, 2025: (Tuesday) First day of Spring Semester - First day of classes
  • May 20-23, 2025: (Tuesday-Friday) Commencement at Angel Stadium

Meeting minutes were APPROVED Tuesday, December 17, 2024.

Note: The minutes above reflect discussion on the date of the CDC meeting about policies, not actual policy. Faculty and staff should wait for official communication on each subject before acting.