The Ithaca College Faculty Council met Nov. 4 to discuss the relationship between athletics and academics, as well as proposed Faculty Handbook changes.
Handbook changes
Kelley Sullivan, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, spoke to the council about proposed changes to the Faculty Handbook. The first proposed change was regarding language around employment contracts, with the word “contract” being replaced by “letters of appointment.” Sullivan said this new language is more accurate, as faculty are not contracted and have not been under contract by the college.
The second proposed change was regarding meetings at the beginning of the year. Sullivan said faculty meetings at the start of an academic year can be difficult to fit in, especially between convocation and the first week of classes. The proposed change would allow academic meetings to be scheduled eight days before the first day of classes and five days after commencement.
A major concern for the council was that the proposed change removed specific dates regarding the beginning or end of the academic year, leaving the year start dates open to changing and leading to faculty needing to be available for larger parts of their summer. Devan Rosen — professor in the Department of Media Arts, Sciences and Studies — said this revision followed a pattern of changes he has noticed of language and policy becoming more vague and less direct.
“It’s getting into that, ‘This is the way it’s done around here,’ kind of language,” Rosen said. “Which is pretty slippery organizational language. … What if a future provost is like, ‘We’re here all summer anyway?’ … Over the last ten years or so, it’s just been this slip towards more ambiguity and more expectation.”
Michael Trotti, professor in the Department of History and legal studies coordinator, shared Rosen’s worries about the lack of clearly communicated dates.
“I find great solace in having a date that I know I need to turn my attention away from the scholarly work that I’m doing and toward my teaching,” Trotti said. “I don’t find solace in hearing that it’s eight days before. … When I’m a year and a half away from something, I want to know it’s the 16th of August. I don’t want to know it’s eight days before the start of class.”
Council chair Dennis Charsky, professor in the Department of Strategic Communication and the director of the communication strategy and design program, said it was clear the council still had to discuss the proposals and no vote was taken.
Athletics and academics
Aaron Bouyea, director of Intercollegiate Athletics and Campus Recreation, spoke to the council at the beginning of the meeting about his role and the relationship between athletics and academics. Bouyea was hired as the new athletic director over the summer. Bouyea, who was a first-generation college and graduate school student, said he relied heavily on his professors and athletic coaches to navigate college.
“I didn’t have a lot of people in my corner,” Bouyea said. “I can tell you right now, if it wasn’t for those relationships that I had, I would not be up here speaking with you.”
Bouyea said he and other athletics staff have a student-first philosophy, meaning an athlete’s highest priority is their education. He said the experience of being on an athletic team can provide skills and education that go beyond sports.
“I am a firm believer that the lessons learned in a competitive environment and winning translate to far more than just competing,” Bouyea said. “When you bring a group of people together who don’t know each other [and] give them a common goal, they’ll fail and succeed together at the highest level. Those values learned there, you cannot replicate.”
Bouyea explained to the council the roles of faculty athletic representative, a faculty member who serves as a liaison between faculty and athletics, and faculty athletic mentors, faculty members who act as a guide and mentor to a particular team. He said the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics is still looking for a faculty athletic mentor for the new women’s wrestling team.
He said one thing the athletics department could improve on is academic support resources for students. Bouyea said the cumulative GPA of the approximately 800 student-athletes is 3.37, however, there are still a number of athletes who struggle in their classes.
“I think we take for granted that they do really well in the classroom, but we have a group of student-athletes who do not and I’m sure all of you, in some way, shape or form, experience some of those students,” Bouyea said.
Dave Gondek, associate professor in the Department of Biology, said he wanted Bouyea and his staff to emphasize making appropriate time to study for athletes. He said an issue he runs into with athletes is them claiming they have practice when they do not.
Bouyea said professors can remind athletes that missing class for practice is an NCAA violation. He said he and his staff are trying to be more mindful of advising athletes when they are registering for classes.
The council ended its meeting by passing a motion to enter an executive session, which restricted the meeting to only include members of the council.
The Ithaca College Faculty Council meets from 4-6 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month in the Taughannock Falls Room of the Campus Center. The faculty council can be contacted at [email protected].
