Keith Sanders, the new Executive Director of the IBHE Staff, met with the FAC and discussed higher education issues and the role faculty might play in these issues. In response to questions from FAC members, Dr. Sanders indicated he favored a faculty development model of post-tenure review, rather than a punitive model. This request has been made each year for the past four years. Provost Jackson reported six dean candidates will be on campus between now and the end of the semester three from Business and three from Engineering. He also reported the trends for Admissions and Records are continuing in the right direction.
Retention continues to be a problem and one that is being addressed on a number of fronts.
J. Haller reported the IBHE will meet next week. Agenda items include a report on the articulation plan, which will go into effect in May, and the state master plan, which is continuing to go forward. J. Adams stated it is her understanding that SIU has been turned down by Phi Beta Kappa for an on- campus review. Provost Jackson stated the letter received by Joel Best did not cite any specific reasons. If it is possible to get the specific reasons, they would need to be assessed to see if anything could be done.