Attending: Susan Whitney, Chairperson; Tom Metzger; Susan Neuman; Thomas Schott; Tony Silvestre


1. Minutes

The minutes of the March 18,1999 minutes were reviewed and revised. The corrected version will be distributed. The minutes of the April 20, 1999 meeting were approved.


2. New Members

Tom Metzger was re-elected and Thomas Schott and Evelyn Talbot were elected. The names of the student members were not yet available. Dr. Talbot called Dr. Whitney to say that she was unable to attend this meeting. Dr. Schott did attend and was welcomed by the members. Dr. Schott is in the Department of Sociology. His office is FQ 2E24. His other contacting information is telephone (87110), fax (82799), and email <tschott+@pitt.edu>.

3. Committee Correspondence

Dr. Whitney distributed memos sent to Dianne Davis about the CIDDE annual report and to Alan Lesgold about CIDDE hiring of new employees. These memos described the Committees positions as discussed at the April 20, 1999 meeting. Copies of the memos are attached. Dr. Whitney also sent copies of the sections of the faculty handbook to Committee members who requested them at the last meeting.

4. Discussion of Part Time Faculty at the University

Materials that had been distributed to Committee members were reviewed. The following are the major issues identified during the discussion:

Potential and real problems related to part time faculty include lack of office space, office hours, quality control, opportunities for mentoring and monitoring;
The number of courses offered is beyond the full time faculty's ability to teach them all. This is especially true for introductory courses although Master's level courses are also taught by part time faculty;

Some departments have a faculty member who convenes meetings with the part time faculty and provides a mechanism for communication and evaluation. The Math Department, for example, has a standard curriculum, a common final exam, and common text book.
Policies among departments seem to vary. The large number of early retirements may increase the number of part time faculty members. This is a concern for the Committee.
It is unclear how or if the recommendations of the Senate Tenure and Academic Freedom regarding part time faculty have been implemented. The recommendations did not deal with the quality of teaching offered by part time faculty

The Committee decided to prepare a letter to Deans and heads of academic units with large part time faculty. These include Business, CAS, Engineering and FAS. They will be asked to meet with two representatives of the Committee to discuss questions about part time faculty. A report on the findings will be issued. The questions will be sent ahead of time.

The following are the issues so far identified as question areas:

What proportion of part time faculty have office space and computers?
What proportion of part time faculty offer office hours?
How are texts chosen?
Is there is a full time faculty member or other mechanism to oversee part time faculty?
How are part time faculty oriented about faculty resources?
How are part time faculty monitored and evaluated?
Is there a common text and exams?
How is access to faculty development opportunities provided?
What is the turnover rate for part time faculty?
What are the number of classes and the number of students taught by part time faculty?
What is the expected impact of early retirements on the use of part time faculty?
How are teaching problems with part time faculty handled?
What is the school's plan for future use of part time faculty?

These questions will be reviewed and finalized at the June meeting. The Committee will be meeting on June 16, 1999 from noon till 1:30 p.m.

5. Elections

Dr. Whitney discussed stepping down as Chair of the Committee and the need to elect a new Chair. Any members who are willing to serve as Chairs should notify Dr. Whitney. The election will take place at our next meeting.

Respectfully submitted by Tony Silvestre.