The Steering Committee of the General Faculty made up of the five Councils of the General Faculty met on Oct. 18 to discuss the councils' current and previous projects, including the execution of budget cuts and technological changes. Various councils reported on decisions ranging from the proposed phase-out of the employee "death benefit" to the establishment of a lecture recording system for students who must miss class due to illness.
The meeting was held in preparation for the meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, scheduled for this afternoon.
Steering Committee rules prohibit news organizations from directly quoting statements made by individuals at the meeting.
The 2009-2010 academic year was particularly difficult for the Council on Benefits, given the College's budget constraints, according to the council's annual report. The Council on Benefits was asked to make cost savings of $9 million, according to the report.
The Council on Benefits, which includes representatives from both staff and faculty, said it had focused on ways to spread cuts equitably. The council was reluctant to increase employee insurance copays and deductibles more than was necessary, but recommended that the College begin a catastrophic care fund and phase out the death benefit for employees and retirees.
Council members met with senior administrators last week to discuss implementation of these changes, which were approved unanimously several months ago by council members. The ultimate goal of these changes is to cut costs while improving care, as well as remaining above the median in benefits among peer institutions.
The Council on Libraries focused on expanding electronic access to library materials over the course of the year, the council reported. The HathiTrust Digital Library, a digital repository of books similar to the Google Books project based at University of Michigan, is expected to partner with the College as a trusted, not-for-profit third party to provide electronic materials.
Budget cuts have forced College libraries to shift resources to digital materials and take reductions in print collections, in an attempt to maintain content access while reducing expenses, the council reported.
The council has also considered ways to redesign space in the libraries, according to the report. There are plans to consolidate information desks and redesign the Main Hall of Berry Library to make it a gathering space, potentially converting the newsroom into a coffee bar to have a collaborative community space.
In its presentation, the Council on Computing discussed efforts to manage the reduction in funds for information technology imposed by budget cuts, as well as plans to change the council's structure, which is currently obsolete. The council reported that 2009's H1N1 outbreak led to the recognition that a lecture recording system was needed for students who could not attend class, due to illness.
The Computing Council report also outlined an increase in local research storage this year on "Rstor" servers and disk vaults.
The Council on Graduate Studies reported that it plans to accommodate an increase of 50 students a 7 to 8 percent increase in graduate programs. This increase will occur mostly in the engineering and computer science programs.
Grants to support professional training programs have recently been at a high with approximately a 9 percent increase, according to the council's report.
The Council on Sponsored Activities reported that it had moved its proposal submission process into an electronic system. The council has also worked to create a central office to manage the College's technology transfers and entrepreneurial activities.
Awards received at Dartmouth reached just over $200 million for the past year, although much of the increase is due to increased funding for factors other than actual research, according to the council.
