Meeting of the Council of the Princeton University Community 
008 Friend Center 
December 10, 2001

 Minutes of a meeting of the Council of the Princeton University Community
held on Monday, December 10, 2001.  Present were the following: Mr.
Anderson, Ms. Arensman, Professor Bazarko, Mr. Butler, Mr. Dawson, Ms.
Dickerson, Mr. Dressner, Mr. Fouse,Professor Groth, Provost Gutmann, Ms.
Hale, Mr. Hindman, Ms. Huber, Ms. Jones, Professor Lee, Dean Malkiel, Mr.
Mirabal, Ms. Paster, Mr. Pastor, Professor Schutt, Professor Shafir, Mr.
Simmons, Mr. Spies, Professor Srolovitz, Mr. Steiner, Ms. Sword, Ms.
Washington, President Tilghman (chair), Mr. Vere.  Ms. Halliday served as
secretary. 

Approval of Minutes 

 The President called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m., asking if there
were corrections to or comments about the minutes of the November meeting
which had been distributed in advance of the meeting.  The minutes were
approved as distributed. 

Question and Answer Period 

 During the question and answer period that followed, students asked about
a survey on precepting mentioned recently in news reports and who was
being included in the survey.  Members of the Undergraduate Student
Government said that they were organizing the survey with assistance from
various University administrative offices, and assured graduate students
that preceptors would be included in the survey.  The Council would
receive a report on the survey later in the spring. 

The McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning 

 The President invited Dean Georgia Nugent, head of the McGraw Center for
Teaching and Learning, to describe the center’s mission and its programs.
Dean Nugent summarized the work of the center to assure that teaching and
learning are effective and satisfying, and understood as life-long
activities.  She provided information on training for assistants in
instruction as well as resources for experienced faculty and assistance
for students.  The center was expanding programs to include workshops for
graduate students entering the job market on what to expect after
Princeton.  The center was now also responsible for English as a
second-language classes.  More information about the center’s activities
can be found at its website:  http://web.princeton.edu/sites/mcgraw/. 

 Discussion focused on programs to help graduate students enhance teaching
skills, and the dean emphasized that the center worked in conjunction with
departments to enrich existing programs. 

The Office of Computing and Information Technology 

 Vice President for Computing and Information Technology Betty Leydon then
described initiatives undertaken since she had assumed office in June.
She and her staff had reviewed goals during the summer, and the revised
mission statement for the department included a strong focus on service to
the University community.  Ms. Leydon referred to the recent inclusion of
the education technology center and partnership 2000 effort into OIT as
enhancing the academic and administrative emphases of the office.  The
office’s website and new newsletter provide detailed information about the
office’s mission and recent projects
(http://web.princeton.edu/sites/oit/index.htm), but among the programs
noted in the vice president’s report were the following: 

· Band-width management to help assure that members of the University
community can make best use of film, music and other media resources; 
· Ongoing improvements in computer security; 
· The ‘BlackBoard’ program in support of course websites – 3,000 courses
to date make use of the resource and OIT was exploring questions related
to archiving lectures; 
· Management of the University’s homepage and departmental homepages. 

Discussion followed during which members of the council asked about
wireless capabilities, an evolving technology that OIT staff members were
pursuing.  The president thanked Ms. Leydon for her report. 

Update on Social Climate 

 Vice President for Campus Life Janet Dickerson continued a discussion
begun this fall with the council about Princeton’s social climate.  She
described the goals as being less definitive than in other areas of
university life, acknowledging the shared nature of the responsibility to
improve campus climate and the importance of communication.  Following the
USG’s report on minority and women’s issues, presented at the first
council meeting of the year, the vice president and her staff had taken
the lead with help from the USG in organizing conversations about alcohol
on campus and the sexual challenges that women students encounter.  A
panel discussion on social climate would take place that evening.  Health
Services was also analyzing data and defining areas of concern to improve
where possible the assistance the center provides students. 

 Members of the council raised questions concerning the popularity of
fraternities and sororities on campus, a topic that was being reviewed by
the vice president and her staff and to which the council would return in
the spring.  Discussion also focused on the complicated relationship
between the eating clubs and the university.  Clearly Princeton students
are held accountable by the University for disciplinary behavior at the
clubs – students have a right to bring forward complaints regarding sexual
harassment, for instance, and the University provides the clubs with some
services, such as computer connections.  Yet the clubs are independent
entities with their own boards of directors.  The vice president also
talked briefly about enforcement of university regulations regarding
alcohol abuse especially on Prospect Street and in dormitories, placing an
emphasis on supporting the health and safety of students.  Discussions
among university representatives, the eating clubs and the Borough
continue with respect to enforcement of laws related to alcohol. 

Post-September 11 Responses 

 The president responded to several questions concerning possible stricter
government regulations regarding international students or privacy issues.
Under current regulations, when approached for information about any
member of its community by government agencies, the university seeks
permission of the individual before complying to the request.  However,
exceptions can be made with proper court order.  The university would be
most concerned by any inquiry that targeted a group of individuals with
similar backgrounds, the likelihood of a university challenge to such
requests being high.  Legislation was still evolving that could have an
impact on issuance of visas, and the president reported that the
university was monitoring these events closely. 

Status Report from the Priorities Committee 

 Chair of the Priorities Committee, Provost Gutmann, briefly reviewed the
work of the committee in formulating recommendations for the FY03
operating budget and considering the budget for future years.  The
committee faced difficult scenarios, with requests from the units invited
to report to the committee far exceeding the available resources.  In
addition, the uncertainty of the economic climate added to the complexity
of the decisions to be reached and could influence the timetable for
funding as well as which programs would be funded.  For example, some
one-year funding requests were likely to go forward and others might be
partially funded.  The committee continued commitment to competitive
salary levels. 

 Graduate students expressed gratitude for the funding that allowed for
University services to be open longer hours and during breaks and summer
vacation, noting especially the improvement that the Frist Campus Center
offered to graduate student life.  The Provost remarked that the committee
hoped that the center would be able to offset costs by finding new
activities.  In response to another question, the provost reminded the
council that the Board of Trustees had just recently changed the spending
rate resulting in an increase in the funds available to departments each
year, and that the likelihood of the board’s taking a similar action in
the near future was small, especially given the current economic climate. 

 The Provost and the President thanked members of the Priorities Committee
and those departments making reports to the committee for their time and
effort. 

 There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:10 p.m. 

       Respectfully submitted, 
  
  

       Ann Halliday 
       Secretary