Recently, the Faculty Senate Elections Committee held a constitutional referendum. The proposed constitution, which was passed by both the tenured and untenured categories of faculty, has been passed on to the administration for review and approval.
The process for establishing a permanent faculty governance structure requires that the Faculty Senate Constitution and Faculty Handbook be confirmed and approved by the president and that the president send to the Board of Trustees the Faculty Senate Constitution, the Faculty Handbook, the results of the Faculty Governance Review Committee exploration, and a recommendation for faculty governance.
According to resolutions passed by the Board of Trustees, the interim faculty governance structures still function in the meantime, including the Faculty Handbook, the Faculty Committee on Promotion and Tenure, and the curriculum committees.
According to Provost Robert Palazzo, although he has seen a lot of progress made with regard to the changes made to the constitution, more work needs to be done in order to conform the Faculty Senate Constitution to the guidelines given by the Board of Trustees. In an e-mail to the tenure and tenure-track faculty, Palazzo stated that, “While I was heartened to see a strong turnout for the February vote on a revised Faculty Senate Constitution, I am disappointed to report that … the modified constitution does not comply with the resolutions set forth by the Board of Trustees.”
In order to address the issues he saw in the constitution passed by the faculty, Palazzo will be convening the tenure and tenure-track faculty within the next two weeks. Palazzo states that he has considered the results of the FGRC exploration when contemplating what form faculty governance should have.
In considering the type of collaboration he felt would be necessary, Palazzo stated, “My sense of faculty governance is where there is true sharing and communication between administration representatives and members of the faculty at multiple levels in the deliberative process, and not just at the end point where one community has reached a decision.”
Palazzo hopes to resolve the faculty governance process by the end of the spring term. Additionally, Palazzo expects to review the Faculty Handbook, specifically to review the whole curriculum as well as the promotion and tenure process. He stated that these are “long-term projects that I view as important to review.”
