Since people seemed to like having the president's report sent out in writing prior to faculty assembly I am again doing so:

1) The December 11, 2002 assembly meets from 2-4 in SC136-138. We will begin and end promptly. Click here for the 12/11/02 agenda and here for the 11/13/02 minutes. Faculty Assembly website is http://phobos.ramapo.edu/facassem

2) Congratulations to our newly tenured faculty The Board of Trustees on Dec. 4 granted tenure to the following faculty: Carol Bowman, Asst. Professor of Elementary Education in SSHS; Arthur Felix, Asst. Professor of Chemistry in TAS, Vassiliki Flenga, Asst. Prof of French in AIS; Jason Hecht, Assoc. Prof. of Finance in SAB; Terra Vandergraw, Asst. Professor of Theater in Contemporary Arts and Alexander Vengerov as Asst. Professor of Information Systems in SAB. Congratulations to all and welcome to the tenured faculty. Congratulations are also in order for the following who were reappointed for 4^th year or 5^th year terms: Paramjeet Bagga, Marta Bautis, Rachel Budin, Cherrie Kassem, Susan Kurzman, Valerie "Scotie" Massimo, Angelo Tarallo, Yuan Gao, George Gonpu, Monika Giaccope, Irene Kuchta, Iraida Lopez, Thierry Rakotole-Joel. Cheers!

3) Special Congratulations to Dr. Thomas J. Heed, Assoc. Prof. of History in AIS; Dr. Clifford Peterson, Professor, International Studies, AIS; and Dr. Philip McLewin, Professor, Economics, SSHS. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) named Tom Heed the 2002 New Jersey Professor of the Year while Cliff Peterson was named New Jersey Global Educator of the Year at the New Jersey Global Educatorís Third Annual International Education Conference.  Full stories are available on the Ramapo Intranet at http://guide.ramapo.edu   Phil McLewin has just been named by Ed Cody to be the new Director of Ramapo's Faculty Resource Center starting in January.   Bravo to all of you!

4) Strategic Plan: The November 2002 revision of the college's Strategic Plan is now available. It is on the web at http://guide.ramapo.edu/content/StratPlan/index.html It was presented last week at the Board of Trustees' Dec. 4 meeting for Board feedback. The Plan is the result of a year and a half of hard work on the part of the many task forces who contributed of Donna Crawley and Letizia Boone who were the co-chairs of the plan and of President Smith who in consultation with the Vice Presidents and others prepared the final version of the document. I encourage everyone to read the Plan closely. We will begin a preliminary discussion of the Plan at the Faculty Assembly this week.

5) Other Board of Trustees Actions: The Board approved a number of financial matters (including a drawdown of reserves for new Security cameras) as well as personnel issues, and passed a resolution naming the planned Sports and Recreation building the Bill Bradley Sports and Recreation Center. The former Senator Bradley will be on hand for both groundbreaking and ribbon cutting on the building. The Board also passed a new Code of Professional Responsibility to ensure compliance with state law. The new document merges a revised version of our existing code plus the Conflict of Interest guidelines. This policy and other personnel policies (including the Faculty Handbook) are available on the web at http://www.ramapo.edu/facultystaff/EmployeeServices/emprelations/index.html The Board also passed the recently negotiated Performance Based Promotions for AFT Professional Staff providing "promotional opportunities for AFT professional staff who meet or exceed the criteria establshed by the college)

6)  Proposals: Foreign Language Requirement and Spanish Language Major.  The Foreign Language Task Force has made its recommendations and forwarded them to the Academic Review Committee.  Details on the proposal are available here:
Foreign Language Requirement Proposal and  Spanish Major Proposal

7) Phased Retirement Plan: The deadline for faculty for this year's phased retirement program is 2/3/03. Information on the plan is available at http://www.ramapo.edu/facultystaff/EmployeeServices/emprelations/phaseRetire.htm

8) The new faculty assembly Sustainability Building and Grounds Board has begun work on gathering information on building and repair projects planned and underway and looking at ways to help ensure sustainability at the campus.   Richard Roberts of Facilities has placed the following materials on reserve at the library:  Civil and landscaping drawings of the Sports/Rec Center; Drawings for Phase VIII housing; Environmental assessment for Phase VIII; Facilities Master Plan prepared by James Stewart Polshek & Partners; Master Plan Assessment Jan. 2001 prepared by GBQC architects.  Note the Facilities Master Plan is in 2 volumes.  To access this material go to the Potter Library Voyager Catalog and select Course Reserve.  Search for Roberts under Instructor Name.  The material itself is available through the circulation desk on the main floor of the library.

9)  Proposed bylaws for the SBGB: The group has drafted bylaws which are presented for your review and approval at this faculty assembly. The proposed bylaws are on the faculty assembly webpage at http://phobos.ramapo.edu/facassem/sbgbbylaws.html

10) Iraq forum and Philip Berrigan: The campus-wide forum on a possible conflict with Iraq was a very successuful two day forum Thu.Nov. 14 and Fri. Nov. 15 with speakers from on-campus and from off-campus and roundtables of students and faculty. Congratulations and thanks to the organizers. Among the speakers was Frida Berrigan, Senior Research Associate at the Arms Trade Resource Center, a project of the World Policy Institute. Frida Berrigan is the daughter of two former Ramapo faculty members: Philip Berrigan and Elizabeth McAlister. Ironically, it is my sad duty to report that Philip Berrigan died Dec. 6, 2002 at the age of 79. CNN reported: "In a statement given to his wife, Elizabeth McAlister, during the Thanksgiving weekend, Philip Berrigan said: 'I die with the conviction, held since 1968 and Catonsville, that nuclear weapons are the scourge of the earth; to mine for them, manufacture them, deploy them, use them, is a curse against God, the human family, and the earth itself.'" I will send a note of condolence to Frida Berrigan and to Elizabeth McAlister on behalf of the faculty assembly.

11) New Emergency Number, 6666: Following the September Faculty Assembly meeting where Security Chief Robert O'Brien and Gina Mayer Costa, Environmental and Safety Coordinator addressed the faculty, Elaine Risch suggested creating a more memorable phone number for campus emergencies. Chief O'Brien and Gina Mayer Costa and Seamus Doran were very supportive and the result is the new number 6666 which has been added to the existing numbers. Our thanks to them!

12) Founder's Day was held on Nov. 19. Congratulations again to the faculty who were honored that evening: Amruth Kumar, Fred and Florence Thomases Fellow; Ira Spar, Henry Bischoff Excellence in Teaching Award Recipient; Anthony Padovano, Distinguished Professor. The joint holiday party for the Ramapo Community was held the evening of Dec. 6 in the Pavilion. It was a treat to see many of you at each of these events. Feel free to send me your thoughts on these events. Should we follow the same format next year?

13) Faculty leaders from Montclair, William Paterson, Kean, and Jersey City State visited Ramapo on Nov. 22 for a lively and useful initial discussion of shared goals and concerns. The group will meet again in March (this time at Kean). Rowan and Stockton have indicated their intent to join us at that meeting.

14) Safe Zone Project: Michael Canonico, Gay Peer Services Coordinator has announced the start-up of a Safe Zone Project at Ramapo. "The Safe Zone Project is a a way to reach out to LGBT students and employees, welcoming them in all areas of the college." If you are interested in attending a Spring training session or participating in the Winter planning sessions contact Michael at 1-201-684-7238 or Mary Goldschmidt, Director, Women's Center at 1-201-684-7462.

15) Search Committees and Electronic Submissions: Questions have been raised about the new practice of requiring all applicants to apply on-line. At the close of this year's search process (around April) a small committee will review the experiences search committees have had with this policy and will make recommendations for the next round of searches.

Upcoming events:

16) Get your photo taken in D211 Dec. 9, 10, or 11 between 9:30-5:30 (no appt. necessary) for the new pictorial Ramapo directory being produced thanks to Cathy Davey and the Foundation and Rosa Mulryan and Bonnie Franklin. If you wish your earlier Ramapo photo to be used just advise Bonnie Franklin at bfrankli@ramapo.edu. The pictorial directory was suggested at the Sep. 3 event and I am very pleased that Cathy, Rosa, and Bonnie have made this possible.

17) Holiday Concerts, The Newark Boys Chorus School, December 13 8 p.m., Sharp Theater: The York Room Salon Series Presents The Halcyon Trio Clarinet, Viola and Piano December 15 3 p.m., York Room and Jazz at the Berrie Center Presents A Brazilian Christmas, December 20, 8 p.m., Sharp Theater.

18) Finals Week: Dec. 14-20.

19) Board of Trustees classrooms/offices tour, Jan. 22, 2003. The BOT committee on Capital Projects plans to tour all the classrooms and offices of the campus on Jan. 22. If there is something specific which you would like called to their attention please let me know by email.

20) In-service Day: Jan. 29. So far I have only heard from the psychology convening group and the teacher education task force about plans for meetings during any or all of the time slots for in-service day. Lunch will be in SC136-138 from 12-1:30. Meeting time blocks are 8:30-10; 10-12; 1:30-3:00; 3-5. Please advise me of your meeting needs so I can publish a comprehensive list of the in-service meetings on the FA website. Let me know if you need help arranging rooms.

21) Studs Terkel's American Dreams: Lost and Found. Jan. 29, 2003. At the Sharp Theater in the Berrie Center. (I am announcing this now since it is the very first day of the spring semester.)