CHARGES TO THE FRPR COMMITTEE FOR FY-04

 

Approved by University Council 9/04/03

 

Standing Charges

 

1.         Review University policies related to the rights and responsibilities of the faculty, including the following general areas:

 

            a.  Appointments, promotions, granting of tenure, and non-reappointment,

            b.  Merit evaluations, rewards, and sabbatical leaves,

            c. Protection of the faculty's right to privacy.

 

            Insure that all current policy statements regarding these matters are adequate, appropriate, and readily available to all faculty.

 

2.         Consider any individual inquiry involving faculty rights, privileges, and/or responsibilities.

 

3.         Initiate contact with representatives of the AAUP regarding any concerns they might have relating to faculty rights, privileges, and responsibilities.

 

4.         Through consultation with the Office of the Provost, monitor compliance with Sections 7.3.1, 7.3.2, and 7.3.3 of the Faculty Senate Rules and Regulations concerning maintenance of confidential faculty files.

 

5.         Submit to FacEx: a) approved minutes of each meeting (minutes must be kept), b) recommendations for action as they are approved by the committee, and c) a final report by April 1, 2004. The final report should make clear what was done about each of the charges to the committee and make recommendations to FacEx for action. The report should also provide the names of the committee's members and include suggestions for charges to next year's committee.

 

Additional Charges

 

6.         Review University policies and practices in regard to the appointment and evaluation, merit and otherwise, of non-tenure track faculty.  Continue to work with the Office of the Provost to clearly and uniformly define the term "other instructors".   Continue to explore the trend of hiring more non-tenure track faculty, with particular focus on its effects on traditional University staffing traditions and its teaching, research, and service functions. 

 

7.         Continue the discussion of Program Restructuring that was begun last year.  Review the recommendation made by the O&A committee.  Forward your recommendations to FacEx.

 

8.         Continue review of the 1/4/02 memo from Associate Dean Carl Strikwerda regarding proposed changes to the Faculty Senate Rules on review of chairpersons.   Meet with Dean Strikwerda and FacEx to discuss the proposed changes once more.  Review governance regulations concerning appointment and reappointment of chairs.   Are there conditions under which it appropriate for a university administrator to violate such regulations?

 

9.         Determine the extent and impact of recent and anticipated faculty retirements, including phased retirements, upon academic units. (See attached rationale)                    

                             

Rationale for Charge #9 from Lloyd Sponholtz:

            As an example, in the history department, as many as one-third of the faculty will have retired in the decade ending in 2009. Some sub-units of the department (medieval history) have been devastated; and others (Russian and Eastern European history) have faculty all of whom are of retirement age. Permanent replacements are delayed even further by phased retirements. Is the situation in history a unique case, or is the problem more pervasive?