Board Meeting Minutes February 27, 1968
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MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK HELD FEBRUARY 27, 1967 AT THE BOARD HEADQUARTERS BUILDING 535 EAST 80TH STREET-BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN The Chairman called the meeting to order at 5 :30 P.M. There were present : Porter R. Chandler, Chairman Jack I. Poses David I. Ashe Luis Quero Chiesa Lloyd H. Bailer Edward D. Re Frederick H. Burkhardt Arthur Rosencrans John E. Conboy Henry E. Schultz Gladys M. Dorman Ruth S. Shoup Mary S. Ingraham Ella S. Streator Francis H. Keppel Arleigh B. Williamson Louis Nunez N. ryIichael Carfora, Secretary of the Board Arthur H. Kahn, General Counsel Chancellor Albert H. Bowker Dean-in-Charge John Orth Riedl President Milton G. Bassi11 President Leonard E. Reisman President James A. Colstoi~ President Herbert Schueler Dean Edgar Draper President Walter L. Willig President Jacob I. Hartstein Vice-chancellor Harry L. Levy President Buell G. Gallagher Vice-chancellor Seymour C. Hyrnan President Mary L. Gambrel1 Vice-chancellor Bernard Mintz President Dumont F. Kenny Dean Elbert K. Fretwell Jr. Acting President Francis P. Kilcoyne Dean Mina Rees President Joseph P. McMurray The absence of Dr. Azzari, Mr. Brown, Mr. McLaurin and Mr. Sullivan was excused. No. A. Middle States Association: The Chairillan introduced Dr. Albert E. Meeder, Jr., Chairillan and Dr. Glenn J. Christensen, a member, of the Accrediting Team of the Middle States Association working on the City University. No. B. New Board Members: The Chairman welconled Dr. Francis Keppel and Mr. Louis Nunez, the two new members of the Board recently sworn in by the d Mayor. < No. C. City University Construction Fund: The Chairman reported that Mr. I ", William T. Golden has been appointed by the Mayor as Chairman of the City 1 University Construction Fund and that all Board members will be notified when 8 he is to be sworn in by the Mayor. j * No. D. Dr. Ruth E. Salley: Upon motion duly made, seconded and carried, the 1 i following resolution presented by the Chairman was approved: WHEREAS,Dr. Ruth E. Salley has just commenced a terminal leave leading to her 1 retirement from the office of Personnel Coordinator after forty-five years of service to 1 the Board of Higher Education and the institutions under its governance; and ,?1 WHEREAS,Throughout this long period she has devoted herself without stint to the service, first of Hunter College, then of the Teacher Education Division, and finally i: of the City University as a whole, constantly striving through active study, research, 1: 1: and writing in her professional field to enhance and enlarge her usefulness to the institu- tions she was serving; and WHEREAS,She brought to all her tasks personal qualities of integrity and con- scientiousness, tempered throughout with a pleasant sense of humor and of proportion; therefore be it RESOLVED,That the Board of Higher Education express its gratitude and admira- tion for all that Ruth Salley accomplished in its behalf, and wish her every happiness in her retirement; and be it further RESOLVED,That Dr. Ruth E. Salky be designated Professor Emeritus of the City University of New York effective September 1, 1967. No. E. Visit to College Campuses: The Chairman reported that at the invitation of Vice-Chancellor Hynlan Board members and members of the City University Construction Fund are invited to visit the campuses of Brooklyn College, Hunter College-Bronx, and Queens College. Board members will be informed as to dates and times when final arrangements are made. No. 1. Approval of Minutes: Upon motion duly made, seconded and carried, the minutes of the Board meeting held October 24, 1966, were approved. No. 2. Committee to Study the Board's Administrative Procedures and Calendars, the Organization of the Board's Staff an,d Its Administrative ~unctions: Report of the Committee laid over to the March 27, 1967 meeting of the .Board. No. 3. Committee on the Academic Program: (a) Named Chairs: Upon motion duly made, seconded and carried the following resolution which was referred to the Committee on the Academic Program (1/23/67, Cal. No. 3), for study and report, was adopted with the understanding that the supporting material presented be included in the minutes: RESOLVED,That the Board of Higher Education authorize the establishment of named chairs in the various disciplines represented at the City University at both the undergraduate and the graduate level; and be it further , RESOLVED,That the Chairman of the Board and the Chancellor be requested to name a joint committee of Board, Faculty and Alumni to institute a campaign for gifts and grants to make possible the conversion of professorial lines into such named chairs. THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK Office of the Chancellor 535 East Eightieth Street New York, N. Y. 10021 MEMORANDUM To : The Administrative Council Date: November 3, 1966 From: Albert H. Bowker Subject: The Staffing of Our Faculties: Ability and Distinction The staffing of the faculties of the City University, both at the undergraduate and at the graduate level, has two major aspects. First comes the retention of the extremely able scholars and teachers now on our staff, and the acquisition of others at the same high level of ability. Second is the attraction to our faculties of a relatively small but very important number of extraordinarily distinguished professors in the sciences, the social sciences, and the humanities. The two aspects are interconnected: the latter will not come, however enticing the offer, unless their colleagues in large part fall into the category which we have called "extremely able." The University will be in a better position to retain and attract the very able by the fact that they are to serve on faculties that have been deemed worthy of association by those of extraordinary distinction. HOWhas the City University been doing on these two fronts? In the first sector, that of the retention and attraction of very able faculty, we once were the beneficiaries of a salary scale considerably above the nation-wide level. This compensated in great measure for our earlier fifteen-hour teaching schedule and for the cramped conditions under which the faculties worked. As the dollar superiority of the City University salary scale has waned through the general rise in professorial compensation, we have been able partially to offset this by reducing teaching loads to approach the national average. The introduction of graduate work on a broad scale has stimulated the interest of present faculty and helped to recruit excellent new profes- sors. Though office space and secretarial help are still far short of desirable standards, the first defect bids fair to be alleviated by our City University construction program; the second is slowly but surely being overcome by the infusion of more funds for faculty secretarial support: some $300,000 have just been allotted for this purpose. A stepped-up program of fringe benefits adds to the material attractiveness of our recruiting offers; once the alternative of a TIAA pension plan along side of the Teachers Retirement System is confirmed, we shall do even better here. In sum, though there is no reason for a complacent relaxation of our efforts, the University is making good progress, and will continue in the same pattern with every hope of success. In the second sector, that of attracting a number of extraordinarily eminent and brilliant scholars and teachers, we have really just begun to fight. The appointment of Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. to the Albert Schweitzer Professorship in the Humanities under the auspices of the Regents of the State, with an appropriation granted by the State Legislature, furnishes both a brilliant start and a sign-post for the future. The institution of the named chair is a time-honored one in the great universities of this country. It adds lustre not only to the university and to the professorial occupant of the chair, but to the donor or the person whom the donor wishes the chair to commemorate. Such named chairs need not be limited to the recognition of scientific or other scholarly eminence. The chair can be used, particularly at the undergraduate level, to furnish striking recognition for those professors, either found within our University or attracted from without, who have distinguished themselves as truly great classroom teachers. The State-endowed chairs in the humanities and the sciences are, of course, limited in number. The City University could hope at most to get one more. How, then, can we proceed? A named chair here at thy City University does not have to be capitalized to cover the cost of the entire salary of the occupant. It may take the form of a professorship in which the basic salary comes from tax-levy sources, the supplement from endowment. City College is already doing this with two chairs, one made possible by a supplement of $10,000 from the Wollman Fund beyond the budget line salary for a distinguished .visiting professor, the second by an annual supplement of $2,000 beyond the budget line salary from a fund contributed by the publishers of an outstanding text written by a faculty member, Professor Mark Zemansky. Before proceeding further, let us look at the practices in other institutions with regard to over- scale salaries. Many use the designation of "distinguished professors" rather than the establishment of named chairs. We prefer the named chair as less invidious and more in accord with longstanding academic tradition here and in England. A survey by the National Education Association of 1965-66 salaries indicated that' there were 42 colleges and universities paying salaries of $24,000 and more to 221 full-time instructional staff members.