Council on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities
2024-2027
Charge: "There shall be established a Council on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities, under
the direction of a Chair. The Council will be charged with advising the President,
the Provost, and the Executive Committee of the University Senate on conflicts between
members of the academic community in matters relating to academic rights and responsibilities,
on possible abuses of such rights, on breaches of ethics, and on questions of conflict
of interest.
The Council will consider issues within its purview brought to it through the Chair
of the Council by individual students, faculty and staff members, departmental and
program chairs, deans or higher administrative officers.
The Council shall have the right to accept jurisdiction in, or redirect consideration
of, any matter presented to it. The Council expects that most concerns will be properly
adjudicated at the course, departmental, college, or school level, and it shall be
the responsibility of the Chair of the Council to encourage such adjudication at the
academic and administrative level closest to the department or program, where possible
and appropriate. Adjudication may involve referring problems to other campus committees,
such as the EEO (Equal Employment Opportunity) or Academic Judiciary Committees, when
the problem is properly the concern of such an existing committee.
A senior member of the faculty shall be jointly appointed by the Provost and the Executive
Committee of the University Senate to the position of Chair of the Council. This individual
will be a respected senior scholar whose reputation and prestige will inspire confidence
and provide assurance of balanced judgment. The sole function of the Chair of the
Council will be to head the Council and to supervise its activities. This position
will carry no other administrative or academic responsibility.
Membership of the Council will be jointly determined by the faculty and administration
to ensure the confidence of both in its deliberations. The Council will consist of
the Chair and seven additional tenured faculty, at least four of whom shall be full
professors. Three members of the Council shall be selected by the Provost from among
candidates chosen by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences; two members shall be selected
by the Provost from among candidates chosen by the Faculty of the Health Science schools;
one member shall be selected by the Provost from among candidates chosen by the Faculty
of Engineering; one member shall be selected by the Provost from among candidates
chosen by the other Faculties. The respective Faculties will be represented in this
process by their governance structures, and each Faculty will determine its method
of selection. Where there is no existing governance structure, the Provost will work
with departmental Senators to determine a method of selection. The Chair and the members
of the Council shall serve for a period of three years, with staggered terms for the
members. It is expected that members of the Council will be eminent scholars and teachers
with particular sensitivity to the issue of the rights and responsibilities of the
academic community and to its individual members.
The Council shall determine and publish the detailed procedures which govern its operations.
Attention is called to the pertinent publications of the American Civil Liberties
Union and the American Association of University Professors which may serve to guide
the development of a process which assures fair and equitable consideration of issues
in dispute. The procedures of the Council shall be submitted to the University Senate
for the Senate's approval.
In the course of consideration of cases brought before it, the Council will undertake
to establish facts, hear concerned parties, and report its findings and advice to
the President, the Provost, and the Executive Committee of the University Senate."
Chair: TBA
College of Arts and Sciences:
| Name | Department | Email Address | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
College of Engineering:
| Name | Department | Email Address | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
Health Sciences Center:
| Name | Department | Email Address | Term |
|---|---|---|---|
SoMAS:
| Name | Department | Email Address | Term |
|---|---|---|---|