Faculty Governance Structures Review

(1)

In the following report, Hanover Research benchmarks the faculty governance structures of the top 30 liberal arts colleges. Our report also presents in-depth profiles of governance structures in three of the top 30 colleges, as well as information on recent changes in governance at three additional institutions.

Faculty Governance

Structures Review

(2)

T

ABLE OF

C

ONTENTS

Executive Summary and Key Findings ... 4

INTRODUCTION ... 4

REPORT STRUCTURE ... 4

KEY FINDINGS ... 5

Faculty Committees ... 5

Selection of Department Chairs ... 5

Sub-Committees on Promotion/Tenure, Budget, and Curriculum ... 5

Faculty Governance Changes and Faculty Reactions ... 5

Section I: General Trends in College Governance Structures ... 6

FACULTY COMMITTEES AND DEPARTMENT CHAIRS ... 6

Changes in Faculty Governance Structures ... 9

Faculty Executive Committee Structures ... 10

Selection of Department Chairs ... 10

TENURE,PROMOTIONS,BUDGETING, AND CURRICULUM ... 11

Tenure and Promotions Process ... 16

Budget and Curriculum Decisions ... 16

Section II: College Governance Profiles ... 17

AMHERST COLLEGE ... 17

Selection and Responsibilities of Department Chairs... 19

Tenure and Promotion Decisions ... 20

Curriculum Decisions ... 21

Budget Decisions... 21

BOWDOIN COLLEGE ... 22

Curriculum Decisions ... 24

Budget Decisions... 25

OBERLIN COLLEGE ... 25

(3)

Curriculum and Budget Decisions ... 29

Section III: Changes in College Governance and Faculty Reactions ... 31

RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE ... 31

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY ... 32

MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY –ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SHARED GOVERNANCE ... 32

(4)

E

XECUTIVE

S

UMMARY AND

K

EY

F

INDINGS

I

NTRODUCTION

Hanover research investigated faculty governance structures at the top 30 liberal arts colleges identified by U.S. News & World Report.1 Most of the information included in this report was gathered from institutional websites and faculty handbooks. However, we note that very little information was available on the websites of the two military institutions on the list of top 30 colleges (the United States Naval Academy and the United States Military Academy).

R

EPORT

S

TRUCTURE

In Section I, we examine broad trends in governance at liberal arts institutions. We first examine faculty committees, including which committees speak for the faculty and relevant divisional committees, as well as department Chair selection. The second part of this section examines the bodies responsible for tenure/promotion, budget, and curriculum decisions at each institution for which information was available.

In Section II, we provide in-depth profiles of the faculty governance structures at three institutions: Amherst College, Bowdoin College, and Oberlin College. The faculty committees, budgeting decisions, curriculum decisions, department chair selection, and processes for tenure/promotion are reviewed in these profiles.

Finally, in Section III, we briefly discuss recent changes in college governance at three institutions: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), National University, and Missouri State University. However, we note the information regarding faculty reactions to changed governance structures was rarely available, either in news articles or on faculty or institutional websites.

The key findings from our research are presented on the following page.

1_{“National Liberal Arts Colleges.” U.S. News & World Report. 2012.}

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges/data/spp+50

(5)

K

EY

F

INDINGS

F

ACULTY

C

OMMITTEES



Most faculty governance structures at liberal arts institutions include one representative faculty body that is responsible for “speaking for” the faculty. Typically, this body is called a Faculty Executive Committee, and is comprised of between three and eight faculty representatives. These representatives are typically elected by the general faculty, and serve terms of two to four years.



Many of the top liberal arts institutions reviewed either require or strongly encourage faculty participation in faculty committees. Several institutions also have legislation limiting the number of times faculty members can serve on certain committees, or limiting the number of committees on which faculty members can serve concurrently.

S

ELECTION OF

D

EPARTMENT

C

HAIRS



Department chairs are often either elected directly by the faculty, or are appointed by the President of the institution in consultation with faculty members. Department chairs typically serve terms of three to five years, although several institutions note that Chair service does not carry a fixed term. Department chairs can also typically be re-elected several times after their initial term is complete.

S

UB

-C

OMMITTEES ON

P

ROMOTION

/T

ENURE

,

B

UDGET

,

AND

C

URRICULUM



Nearly all institutions have faculty subcommittees responsible for hearing and deciding matters related to promotion and tenure of faculty members, the institution’s budget, and curriculum. Such committees are often comprised of various institutional representatives, including faculty members, administrators and students.

F

ACULTY

G

OVERNANCE

C

HANGES AND

F

ACULTY

R

EACTIONS



Information on changes to faculty governance structure was limited, as not many institutions choose to make such information public. However, Hanover found that faculty participation in college governance is very important to many faculty members. Indeed, a survey of Missouri State University faculty members during the beginning of the 2008 recession found that faculty satisfaction with an institution may be more influenced by the level of shared governance than by the level and allocation of institutional resource.



Our research suggests that faculty members are typically least receptive to changes to faculty governance structures when governance is restructured without faculty input or consent. In other words, the higher the level of cooperation and consultation between faculty members and the administration during the governance review process, the more likely faculty members are to support changes in faculty governance.

(6)

S

ECTION

I:

G

ENERAL

T

RENDS IN

C

OLLEGE

G

OVERNANCE

S

TRUCTURES

In this section, we review faculty governance structures in place at many of the top thirty liberal arts institutions identified by the U.S. News & World Report. This section is comprised of two subsections: one examines faculty committees and department chairs, and one that examines tenure and promotion, budgeting and curriculum committees. For each subsection, we first present information for each institution in a summary table, and then provide a brief discussion of themes that emerged in our review of faculty governance structures at these institutions.

F

ACULTY

C

OMMITTEES AND

D

EPARTMENT

C

HAIRS

Hanover first surveyed institutional websites and faculty handbooks at each of the top 30 liberal arts institutions identified by the U.S. News & World Report for information regarding recent changes to college governance, faculty committee structures, requirements for committee service, and the selection of department chairs. However, most of the colleges did not provide information in all of these areas, and some institutions did not provide any information at all. Notably, no information was available for Swathmore College, Colgate University, Claremont McKenna College, Haverford College, Carleton College, the United States Naval Academy, or the United States Military Academy. Therefore, these institutions are excluded from our analysis and from the summary table below.

Figure 1.1: General Faculty Governance Information, by Institution

INSTITUTION (U.S. NEWSRANK)

RECENT CHANGE IN

GOVERNANCE

BODY THAT SPEAKS FOR FACULTY

(NUMBER OF MEMBERS)

COMMITTEE

SERVICE SELECTION OF DEPARTMENT CHAIR

Williams College

(#1) Creation of Williams Staff Committee2 Faculty Steering Committee ₍₆₎3 Unknown

President Consults with department, then President

appoints chair.4

Amherst College (#2)

Creation of the Advisory Budget Committee (2009)5

Committee of Six (8 including the President and Dean of Faculty who do not vote)6

Required, except in first year

Department elects chair to recommend to the President of

the College.7

2_{“The New Williams Staff Committee.” Williams College Office of the President.}

http://president.williams.edu/letters-from-the-president/the-new-williams-staff-committee/

3_{“Committees, Panels, & Advisory Groups: Faculty Steering Committee.” Williams College.}

http://committees.williams.edu/faculty-standing-committees/faculty-steering-committee/

4_{“Academic Department Governance: Williams College Employee Handbook.” Williams College.}

http://wiki.williams.edu/display/handbooks/Academic+Department+Governance

5_{“Advisory Budget Committee.” Amherst College. https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/economy/abc} 6_{“Committees.” Amherst College, Dean of the Faculty.}

https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/dean_faculty/fph/fachandbook/facresponsibilities/committees

7_{“The Faculty.” Dean of the Faculty.}

(7)

GOVERNANCE

COMMITTEE

Middlebury

College (#4) N/A

Faculty Council (6). Three of the members also serve on

Committee on Conference with Trustees, and the other three serve on the Committee

on Finance and Planning8

Required Appointed by the President9

Pomona College

(#4) N/A Executive Committee of the Faculty (6)10 Unknown Appointed by the President.11

Bowdoin College

(#6) Revised Committee Structure12 Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs (6)13

Required, except in

first year Unknown

Wellesley College

(#6) N/A Unknown

Required, except in

first year Unknown

Vassar College

(#10) N/A Faculty Policy and Conference Committee (6)14 Encouraged Unknown

Davidson College (#12)

Formed Strategic Advisory Committee15

Faculty Executive Committee

(10)16 Unknown

Selected by the President and the Vice President for Academic

Affairs and Dean of Faculty, in consultation with departmental

faculty.17

Harvey Mudd

College (#12) N/A Faculty Executive Committee (6)18 Required

Appointed by the President upon the recommendation of

the Dean of Faculty after consultation with the members

of the department.19

8_{“Faculty Rules and Procedures.” Middlebury College.}

http://www.middlebury.edu/about/handbook/governance/Faculty_Rules_and_Procedures

9_{“Administrative Appointments – Terms/Conditions.” Middlebury College Faculty Handbook.}

http://www.middlebury.edu/about/handbook/faculty/administrative_appt

10_{“Pomona College Faculty Handbook.” 2012. Pomona College. P. 18.}

http://www.pomona.edu/administration/academic-dean/guidelines-policies/faculty-handbook.pdf

11_{Ibid., 15.}

12_{“Revised Committee Structure.” Bowdoin College, Office of Academic Affairs.}

http://www.bowdoin.edu/academic-affairs/faculty-flexibility/revised-committee-structure.shtml

13_{“Academic Affairs: Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs.” Bowdoin College.}

http://www.bowdoin.edu/academic-affairs/faculty-governance/gfa.shtml

14_{“Faculty Handbook.” 2010. Vassar College. P. 187.}

http://deanofthefaculty.vassar.edu/docs/VassarFacultyHandbook.pdf

15_{“The Strategic Advisory Committee.” The Davidson College Strategic Plan. P. 1.}

http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/documents/OfficesServices/OfficeofthePresident/InstResearch/Strategic%20Adv isory%20Committee%20Overview.pdf

16_{‘The Davidson College Faculty Handbook.” August, 2005. Davidson College. P. 22.}

http://www2.davidson.edu/administration/SACS/documents/FacultyHandbook2005.pdf

17_{Ibid., 8.}

18_{“The Harvey Mudd College Faculty Notebook.” Harvey Mudd College. P. 6.}

http://www.hmc.edu/files/DoF/faculty-notebook.pdf

(8)

GOVERNANCE

COMMITTEE

Washington and Lee University (#14) Faculty Administrators Evaluation Committee is dormant, considering eliminating this committee20

Faculty Executive Committee21 _Unknown _Unknown

Hamilton College

(#16) N/A Academic Council (6)22 Unknown Appointed by Dean from among members of the department23

Wesleyan

University (#17) N/A Faculty Executive Council (6)24 Unknown Unknown Colby College

(#18) N/A

No central body; rather, individual committees and

Division Chairs represent faculty to the administration.25

Encouraged

President, with advice of department and Dean of Faculty, appoints department

chair26

Smith College

(#18) N/A Faculty Council (5)27 Unknown Elected by qualified voting members.28

Bates College

(#22) N/A Committee on Faculty Governance (9)29 Unknown Unknown

Grinnell College

(#22) N/A Executive Council (8)30 Unknown

Elected or appointed from among the Regular faculty of

their department.31

Macalester

College (#24) N/A

Academic Liaison Committee - made of the three chairs of the

other Faculty Standing Committees (3)32

Unknown Appointed by Provost

20_{“Faculty Handbook Listing of Committees and 2012-2013 Committee Members.” Washington and Lee University.}

http://registrar2.wlu.edu/faculty/faccom.htm#faec

21_{“Faculty Executive Committee.” Washington and Lee University. http://www.wlu.edu/x36404.xml} 22_{“Faculty Handbook.” December, 2009. Hamilton College. P. 13.}

23_{Ibid., 22.}

24_{“Accreditation Report: Standard Three: university Organization and Governance.” 2012. Wesleyan University Board}

of Trustees. http://www.wesleyan.edu/accreditation/draftselfstudyoutline/03_organizationandgovernance.html

25_{“Colby College Faculty Handbook.” 2012. Colby College. P. 68.}

http://www.colby.edu/academics_cs/resources/offices/deanoffaculty/upload/2012-Faculty-Handbook.pdf

26_{Ibid., 59.}

27_{“Smith at a Glance: College Committees & Governance.” Smith College.}

http://www.smith.edu/about_governance.php

28_{“Code of Faculty Legislation and Administrative Practice at Smith College.”2012-2013. Smith College. P. 23.}

http://www.smith.edu/deanoffaculty/code/code12-13.pdf

29_{“The Faculty Handbook of Bates College.” August, 2012. Bates College. P. 1.30.}

http://www.bates.edu/dof/files/2010/09/FINAL-Complete-Faculty-Handbook-12-13.pdf

30_{“Grinnell College Faculty Handbook.” July 20, 2012. Grinnell College. P. 19.}

http://web.grinnell.edu/dean/Handbook/FacultyHandbook.pdf

31_{Ibid., 11.}

(9)

GOVERNANCE

COMMITTEE

Scripps College

(#24) N/A Faculty Executive Committee (8)33 Unknown

Appointed by Dean of Faculty, in consultation with members

of the department.34

Bryn Mawr

College (#26) N/A Representatives to the Board of Trustees (3)35 Required

Elected by department, approved by Provost in consultation with the

President.36

Oberlin College

(#26) N/A General Faculty Council (8)37 Required

Department chairs appointed by College Faculty Council upon recommendation of Dean, after

consultation by Dean with members of the department.38

Barnard College

(#28) N/A Faculty Advisory Council (6)39 Required Unknown

University of

Richmond (#28) N/A University Faculty Council (17)40 Unknown Appointed by the President of the University.41

C

HANGES IN

F

ACULTY

G

OVERNANCE

S

TRUCTURES

Only five of the institutions we reviewed—Williams College, Amherst College, Bowdoin College, Davidson College, and Washington and Lee University—provided explicit information on recent changes in governance structures on their websites. Typically, recent changes to faculty governance structures at these institutions have revolved around the creation of new faculty sub-committees, such as the new Strategic Advisory Committee at Davidson College, which was formed in order to “consider strategic institutional issues and [serve] in an advisory capacity to the President and Principal Executive Staff (PES).”42 Additionally, Bowdoin College recently revised its committee structure to allow faculty more time for teaching and research. Information regarding faculty reactions to these governance structure changes was unavailable for the five top liberal arts colleges reviewed in this section of our report. However, faculty reactions to governance structure changes at other colleges and universities are reviewed in more detail in Section III.

33_{“Scripps College Faculty Handbook.” 2010. Scripps College. P. 1.4.1.}

https://scrippscollege.edu/offices/faculty/files/2010%20Faculty%20Handbook.pdf

34_{Ibid., 3.1.1.}

35_{‘Plan of Governance of Bryn Mawr College.” February 7, 2009. Bryn Mawr College. P. 5.}

http://www.brynmawr.edu/provost/documents/PlanofGovernance4-09.pdf

36_{Ibid., 7.}

37_{“Oberlin College Faculty Guide.” June 11, 2009. Oberlin College. P. 6. http://new.oberlin.edu/dotAsset/1476881.pdf} 38_{P. 9.}

39_{“A Faculty Guide to Barnard College.” July 30, 2012. Barnard College. P. 9.}

http://barnard.edu/sites/default/files/inline/barnard_faculty_guide_2012-2013.pdf

40_{“University Faculty Council.” University of Richmond Office of the Provost.}

http://provost.richmond.edu/faculty-resources/UFC.html

41_{“University of Richmond Guide to Faculty Governance: I. Preface: Mission, History, and Organization of the}

University.” The University of Richmond. http://facultygovernance.richmond.edu/Ch_I/index.html

42_{“Davidson’s Vision for the Future.” Davidson College. P. 1.}

http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/documents/OfficesServices/OfficeofthePresident/InstResearch/Strategic%20Adv isory%20Committee%20Overview.pdf

(10)

F

ACULTY

E

XECUTIVE

C

OMMITTEE

S

TRUCTURES

The majority of top 30 liberal arts institutions reviewed appear to have a specific faculty committee that is charged with “speaking for” the faculty, or representing the collective faculty to the institution’s administration. Further, the majority of faculty committees at these institutions are comprised of six or more members, with only three institutions (Smith College, Macalester College, and Bryn Mawr College) noting that their faculty committees are comprised of less than six members. Typically, faculty executive committees include the president of the institution, the provost and/or academic dean of the institution, and three or more faculty members elected by the collective faculty. The notable exception to this general rule is the University of Richmond, which has a faculty committee comprised of 17 members, all of whom are elected faculty of the university’s five schools. Faculty members are typically elected by the general faculty to serve on these committees, and serve terms of between two and four years.

Faculty service on committees is typically either required or encouraged, though most institutions allow only tenure-track faculty to serve on committees, and to vote on matters such as department chair appointments and tenure and promotion decisions. We note, however, that the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) found that in 2009, 75 percent of faculty appointments in the U.S. were non-tenure-track, and that these faculty members are “only sometimes included in governance structures.” The AAUP is currently calling for more participation by these members, including “eligibility for voting and holding office.”43 Therefore, it may be wise for institutions to consider including non-tenure-track faculty in faculty governance structures moving forward.

Although several institutions have additional sub-committees and sub-councils comprised of faculty members, we note that only one institution—Oberlin College—appears to have divisional executive committees responsible for “approving legislation particular to their branches such as curricular policy.”44 Most other institutions appear to have separate curriculum committees or advisory boards who are responsible for setting legislation related to curricular policy, or designate decisions regarding these issues to departmental chairs or program coordinators.

S

ELECTION OF

D

EPARTMENT

C

HAIRS

Only fifteen institutions provided information on the selection of department chairs. Of these institutions, the majority note that all department chairs are appointed by the president of the institution, the provost, or the Dean of Faculty. Typically, however, all chair appointments are made in consultation with faculty and staff from the appropriate department. In general, only tenured or tenure-track faculty members are eligible to serve as departmental chairs.

43_{“New Report on Contingent Faculty and Governance.” American Association of University Professors. 2012.}

http://www.aaup.org/AAUP/newsroom/2012webhighlight/congovreport.htm

(11)

T

ENURE

,

P

ROMOTIONS

,

B

UDGETING

,

AND

C

URRICULUM

Hanover next examined information found on institutional websites in order to determine the bodies responsible for tenure/promotions, budgeting, and curriculum decisions at the top 30 liberal arts colleges. Most institutions provided this information in faculty handbooks or faculty governance webpages. However, we note that no information was available for the United States Naval Academy or the United States Military Academy. A summary of information collected for this section is found in the table below.

Figure 1.2: Bodies Responsible for Tenure/Promotions, Budgeting, and Curriculum Decisions, by Institution

INSTITUTION (U.S.

NEWSRANK) TENURE/PROMOTIONS BUDGETING CURRICULUM

Williams College (#1)

 Committee on Appointments and Promotions

 Faculty Interviewing Panel

 Faculty Review Panel

 President

 Trustees45

 Dean of the Faculty46

 VP for Finance and Administration47

 Committee on Educational Policy48

 Individual committees for each program49

Amherst College (#2)50

 Department

 Dean of the Faculty

 Committee of Six

 President

 Board of Trustees51

 Director of the Budget

 President

 Treasurer

 Board of Trustees

 Committee on Priorities and Resources

 Advisory Budget Committee52

 Committee of Six

 Committee on Educational Policy

Swarthmore College (#3)53

 Board of Managers

 Committee on Promotion and Tenure

 Individual departments

 Finance Committee54

 College Budget Committee

 Curriculum Committee

 Council on Educational Policy

 Committee on Academic Requirements

45_{“Committees, Panels, & Advisory Groups – Appointments & Promotions.” Williams College.}

http://committees.williams.edu/faculty-standing-committees/appointments-promotions/

46_{“Office of the Dean of the Faculty.” Williams College. http://dean-faculty.williams.edu/}

47_{“Vice President for Finance & Administration and Treasurer.” Williams College. http://vp-finance.williams.edu/} 48_{“Educational Policy Committee.” Williams College. http://sites.williams.edu/educational-policy/}

49_{“Committees, Panels, & Advisory Groups – Membership.” Williams College.}

http://committees.williams.edu/program-committees/membership/

50_{“Committees.” Amherst College.}

51_{“Promotion.” Amherst College.}

https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/dean_faculty/fph/fachandbook/facstatus/promotion

52_{“Advisory Budget Committee.” Amherst College. https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/economy/abc} 53_{“Committees of the Faculty.” Swarthmore College.}

http://www.swarthmore.edu/academics/provosts-office/committees.xml

54_{“Finance Committee.” Swarthmore College.}

(12)

Middlebury College (#4)55

 Promotions Committee of the Council on Reviews

 Vice President for Academic Affairs

 Department Chair (or Dean of the Faculty)

 President

 Budget Oversight Committee

 Budget and Finance Committee

 Curriculum Committee (subcommittee of the Educational Affairs Committee)

Pomona College (#4)57

 Department chairs

 Faculty Personnel Committee

 Associate Dean for Academic Affairs58

 Dean

 President

 Cabinet

 Faculty Grievance Committee

 Budget Planning Advisory Committee

 Executive Committee  Curriculum Committee

Bowdoin College (#6)59

 Individual departments

 Dean for Academic Affairs

 Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure

 President of the College

 Academic Affairs Committee of the Trustees

 Financial Planning Committee

 Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs

 Curriculum and Educational Policy

 Curriculum Implementation

 Recording Committee

Wellesley College (#6)60

 Committee on Faculty Appointments

 Department Chair

 Departmental Reappointments and Promotions Committee

 President

 Advisory Committee on

Budgetary Affairs  Committee on Curriculum and Academic Policy

Carleton College (#8)

 Dean

 President

 Budget Committee

(subcommittee of the College Council)62

 Education and Curriculum Committee63

55_{“Faculty Councils and Committees.” Middlebury College.}

http://www.middlebury.edu/about/handbook/governance/Faculty_Councils_and_Committees#PC

56_{“Self-Study Report.” 2011. Middlebury College.}

http://www.middlebury.edu/media/view/284006/original/self_study_for_usb.pdf

57_{“Faculty Committees 2012-13.” Pomona College.}

http://www.pomona.edu/administration/academic-dean/files/faculty-committees.pdf

58_{“Dean’s Office Staff.” Pomona College. http://www.pomona.edu/administration/academic-dean/office-staff.aspx} 59_{“Faculty Handbook 2011-12.” Bowdoin College.}

http://www.bowdoin.edu/academic-affairs/forms-policies/policies/pdf/11-12FacultyHandbook.pdf

60_{“Standing Committees of Academic Council.” Wellesley College. http://new.wellesley.edu/provost/committees} 61_{“Tenure Reviews.” Carleton College.}

(13)

Haverford

College (#9)64  Academic Council  Administrative Advisory _Committee  Educational Policy Committee

Claremont McKenna College (#10)65

 Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee

 Executive Committee

 President

 Department

 Administration Committee  Curriculum Committee

Vassar College (#10)66

 Department faculty

 Faculty Policy and Conference Committee

 Faculty Appointments and Salary Committee

 President

 Budget and Finance Committee

 Committee on Curricular Policies

Davidson College (#12)

 Vice President

 Faculty Tenure Committee67

 Trustee Audit and Budget Committee

 Business Services Department68

 Faculty Committee on Educational Policy69

Harvey Mudd College (#12)70

 Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee

 Department

 President

 Budget Committee  Curriculum Committee

Washington and Lee University

(#14)

 Advisory Committee

 Tenure Committee (for each department)

 President

 Promotion Evaluation Committee

 Dean of the College71

 Budget Advisory Committee72  Courses and Degrees _Committee73

62_{“Budget Committee.” Carleton College. http://apps.carleton.edu/governance/budget/}

63_{“Education and Curriculum Committee.” Carleton College. http://apps.carleton.edu/governance/ecc/} 64_{“Periodic Review Report.” 2004. Haverford College.}

http://www.haverford.edu/ir/pdf/Periodic_Review_Report_2004.pdf

65_{“Faculty Handbook.” 2010. Claremont McKenna College.}

http://www.cmc.edu/dof/policies/Faculty_Handbook_July_2010.pdf

66_{“The Governance of Vassar College 2010/11.” Vassar College.}

http://deanofthefaculty.vassar.edu/docs/VassarGovernance.pdf

67_{“Compliance Certification Report – Comprehensive Standard 3.7.2 – Evaluation of Faculty.” Davidson College.}

http://www2.davidson.edu/administration/SACS/ccr_core3-7-2.asp

68_{“Finance and Administration.” Davidson College. http://www3.davidson.edu/cms/x1047.xml}

69_{“Compliance Certification Report – Comprehensive Standard 3.5.1 – Competencies within the general education}

core.” Davidson College. http://www2.davidson.edu/administration/SACS/ccr_core3-5-1.asp

70_{“The Harvey Mudd College Faculty Notebook.” Harvey Mudd College.}

http://www.hmc.edu/files/DoF/faculty-notebook.pdf

71_{“Faculty Handbook.” 2012. Washington and Lee University.}

(14)

Hamilton College (#16)74

 Department voting members

 Dean

 Committee on Appointments

 President

 Faculty Committee on Budget and Finance

 President

 Vice Presidents

 Committee on Academic Policy

Wesleyan University (#17)

 Academic Affairs

 Review and Appeals Board75

 Executive Budget Committee

 Cabinet

 Budget Priorities Committee76

 Educational Policy Committee77

Colby College (#18)78

 Committee on Promotion and Tenure

 Dean of Faculty

 President

 Financial Priorities Committee  Academic Affairs Committee

Colgate University

(#18)79

 Faculty Committee on Promotion and Tenure

 Dean’s Advisory Council

 Committee on Faculty Affairs

 President

 Department

 Committee on Budget and Financial Planning (a Liaison Committee)

 Director of Budget and Decision Support

 Associate Provost

 Vice President for Administration

 Dean of the College

 Vice President for Institutional Advancement

 Academic Affairs Board

 Curriculum Committee

Smith College (#18)80

 Committee on Tenure and Promotion

 Unit

 Budget Director

 Faculty Council

 Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation

 Committee on Academic Priorities

Bates College (#22)81

 Committee on Personnel

 President

 Trustees

 Budget and Finance Advisory

Committee  Committee on Curriculum and Calendar

72_{“University Budget.” Washington and Lee University. http://www.wlu.edu/x30915.xml}

73_{“Courses and Degrees Committee.” Washington and Lee University. http://www.wlu.edu/x36405.xml} 74_{“Faculty Handbook.” 2012. Hamilton College.}

http://www.hamilton.edu/documents/Faculty%20Handbook%202012.pdf

75_{“Academic Affairs.” Wesleyan University. http://www.wesleyan.edu/acaf/governance/rosters.html} 76_{“Accreditation Report – Standard Two : Planning and Evaluation.” Wesleyan University.}

http://www.wesleyan.edu/accreditation/draftselfstudyoutline/02_planningandevalutation.html

77_{“Academic Affairs – EPC Policies.” Wesleyan University.}

http://www.wesleyan.edu/acaf/teach_advise/epcpolicies.html

78_{“Colby College Faculty Handbook.” 2012. Colby College.}

http://www.colby.edu/academics_cs/resources/offices/deanoffaculty/upload/2012-Faculty-Handbook.pdf

79_{“Organization of the University.” Colgate University.}

http://www.colgate.edu/portaldata/imagegallerywww/87419dab-508f-4bc1-b6d1-c4580a90e02a/ImageGallery/Faculty%20Handbook%20Revisions%20for%20web%20030211.pdf

80_{“Code of Faculty Legislation and Administrative Practice.” Smith College.}

http://www.smith.edu/deanoffaculty/code/code12-13.pdf

81_{“The Faculty Handbook of Bates College.” 2012. Bates College.}

(15)

Grinnell College (#22)82

 Divisional Personnel Committee

 Dean of the College

 Executive Council

 President

 Trustees

 Budget Committee of the Trustees

 Budget Steering Committee83

 Curriculum Committees within each division

Macalester College (#24)84

 Provost

 President

 Resource and Planning

Committee  Educational Policy and Governance Committee

Scripps College (#24)85

 Appointments, Promotions, and Tenure Committee

 President

 Finance Committee

 Faculty Executive Committee  Faculty Executive Committee

Bryn Mawr College (#26)

 Committee on Appointments

 President

 Board86

 Committee on Academic Priorities

 College Budget Committee (a subcommittee of Council on Institutional Priorities)87

 Committee on the

Undergraduate Curriculum88

Oberlin College (#26) 89

 Dean

 Divisional Faculty Council

 General Faculty Council

 President

 Trustees

 Chairs, division directors, and program directors prepare budgets, which are then approved by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences or the Dean of the Conservatory

 Curricular committees within each division

Barnard College (#28)90

 President’s Advisory

Committee on Appointments, Tenure, and Promotion

 Department faculty

 President

 Faculty Budget Planning Committee

 Faculty Finance and Resource Committee

 Committee on Instruction

82_{“Faculty Handbook.” 2012. Grinnell College. http://web.grinnell.edu/dean/Handbook/FacultyHandbook.pdf} 83_{“Grinnell College Budget Steering Committee.” Grinnell College.}

http://www.grinnell.edu/files/downloads/Budget%20Planning%20Schedule%202010-11_0.pdf

84_{“By-Laws of the Faculty.” Macalester College. http://www.macalester.edu/provost/documents/bylaws.pdf} 85_{“Faculty Handbook.” Scripps College.}

https://scrippscollege.edu/offices/faculty/files/2010%20Faculty%20Handbook.pdf

86_{“Committee on Appointments.” Bryn Mawr College.}

http://www.brynmawr.edu/provost/governance/appointments.html

87_{“Budget Approval Policy.” Bryn Mawr College.}

http://search.brynmawr.edu/search?q=cache:3VvwyhaQQeIJ:www.brynmawr.edu/humanresources/documents/

BudgetApprovalPolicy.doc+budget+committee&access=p&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&client=new_frontend&site=default_collection&proxystylesheet=new_frontend&oe=ISO-8859-1

88_{“Committee on the Undergraduate Curriculum.” Bryn Mawr. http://www.brynmawr.edu/cc/} 89_{“Oberlin College Faculty Guide.” Oberlin College. http://new.oberlin.edu/dotAsset/1476881.pdf} 90_{“Elected Committees fo Fall 2012 Faculty Elections.” Barnard College.}

(16)

University of Richmond

(#28)91

 Department and/or a faculty committee

 Dean

 Provost

 President

 Tenure and Promotion Committee

 Planning and Priorities Committee

 General Education Committee

 Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee

T

ENURE AND

P

ROMOTIONS

P

ROCESS

Of the institutions for which information was available, 18 specifically mention the Board of Trustees as a body responsible for providing input into tenure and promotion of faculty members. Further, all institutions reviewed note that there is a specific faculty council or committee that is responsible for overseeing the promotions/tenure processes. Much of the process of promoting or granting tenure to faculty members appears to happen at the divisional or departmental level, with divisional/departmental chairs, program directors, and departmental faculty making recommendations to upper-level administrators (e.g. the president, the dean, and the Board of Trustees) for review.

B

UDGET AND

C

URRICULUM

D

ECISIONS

The majority of institutions have a specified budgeting committee—such as a planning committee, a finance committee, or an advisory committee—that is responsible for developing and reviewing the institution’s budget. Institutions without such a committee typically employ a Budget Director or other Institutional Planning official to oversee matters related to the budget. Similarly, most institutions have “curriculum” or “curricular” committees that are responsible for overseeing the institution’s curriculum. However, we note that several institutions—such as Oberlin College, Grinnell College, and Williams College—have departmental or divisional curricular committees that make decisions about curricula for these smaller units rather than utilizing committees that make decisions about curricula for the entire institution.

91_{“University and School Committees.” University of Richmond.}

(17)

S

ECTION

II

:

C

OLLEGE

G

OVERNANCE

P

ROFILES

In this section, we provide in-depth profiles of governance structures at three institutions examined in the first section of our report: Amherst College, Bowdoin College, and Oberlin College. These institutions were chosen to be profiled here due to the comparatively high level of information regarding faculty governance structures available of their websites, and to the unique structures in place at each institution. First, we examine faculty committees at each institution, paying specific attention to how these committees are elected. Next, we examine the tenure and promotion process, including which bodies are involved and which individuals or committees have the final decision about such decisions. We then review the bodies involved in curriculum and budget decisions. Finally, for Amherst and Oberlin, we discuss selection of department chairs, and provide organizational charts from these institutions’ websites.

A

MHERST

C

OLLEGE

Amherst College is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It has an enrollment just under 1,791, a 13.3 percent acceptance rate, and ranks second on the U.S. News & World Report list of top national liberal arts colleges.92 Figure 2.1, on the following page, provides Amherst’s organizational chart for the 2011-2012 academic year.

92_{“National Liberal Arts College Rankings.”}_{U.S. News & World Report.}

(18)

Figure 2.1: Amherst Organizational Chart93

(19)

F

ACULTY

C

OMMITTEES

Amherst’s faculty committee membership is limited to tenured and tenure-track faculty only. The Committee of Six, which serves as the executive committee of the faculty, is the premier faculty committee of the college. The six faculty members of the Committee of Six are elected by direct faculty vote, and are elected “without restrictions of rank, tenure status, age or department affiliation.”94_{The following persons are not eligible for}

appointment to the Committee of Six:95



The President and the Dean of the Faculty



Those newly appointed during their first year at Amherst



Those who will not be at Amherst for one or both semesters of the year following the election



Members of the Committee on Educational Policy



Members of the College Council



Retiring members of the Committee on Educational Policy and the College Council



Retiring members of the Committee of Six and those who retired from it in the previous

three years



Those who have served three or more terms on the Committee of Six and then exercise the option of taking their names off the ballot each year by contacting the Dean of Faculty’s Office before the election begins



Under extraordinary personal circumstances, those individuals for whom service on the Committee would be a particular hardship.

The President of the College and Dean of the Faculty serve on the committee as chair and secretary, respectively, and as non-voting members. The Committee of Six is responsible for advising the President and the Faculty regarding College policy. This committee is also involved in promotion and tenure decisions, and is responsible for nominating faculty members to serve on other faculty committees.96

There are nineteen additional standing faculty committees at Amherst. Appendix A at the conclusion of this report includes a table listing all additional faculty committees, their roles and responsibilities, and the number of faculty members serving on each.

S

ELECTION AND

R

ESPONSIBILITIES OF

D

EPARTMENT

C

HAIRS

At Amherst, each department elects a chair by faculty vote. This person is then recommended to the President of the College for approval. Chairs can be untenured faculty members (although they are generally tenured), and often serve for three year terms. The

94_{“Committees: Committees of the Faculty.” Amherst College.}

95_Ibid. 96_Ibid.

(20)

President of the college does have the power to appoint or remove a department Chair, though only under “special circumstances.” Responsibilities of the department Chair’s include course proposals, budget projections, and decisions on “hiring, reappointment, tenure and promotion of faculty.”97

T

ENURE AND

P

ROMOTION

D

ECISIONS

Several bodies and individuals are involved in the decisions regarding tenure and promotion at Amherst. Tenure decisions begin with a recommendation for a candidate’s tenure by the tenured members of the department. The candidate’s tenure materials are submitted to the Dean of the Faculty, who then submits them to the Committee of Six. The department Chair discusses the letter of recommendation and the breakdown of faculty votes with the candidate. After this discussion, the candidate is allowed to send “commentary” to the Committee of Six.98

The Committee of Six then reviews each candidate for tenure, consulting with the candidate’s department for clarification if necessary. The President sits with the Committee of Six to review the tenure candidates. After the President receives the committee’s recommendation, he or she consults with the Dean of Faculty, and then forms an opinion regarding each candidate. If the Committee of Six and the department make negative recommendations regarding a tenure candidate, the President will usually “recommend a negative decision to the Board of Trustees.” Similarly, the President will usually recommend a positive decision to the Board of Trustees if the Committee of Six and the department make positive recommendations. However, the President is not bound by the decisions of others, and may give his or her own recommendation and reasoning to the Board of Trustees, the Committee of Six, the department Chair, and the tenure candidate in writing. If the candidate receives a negative recommendation, and wishes to challenge it, he or she may file a petition with the Chair of the Committee on Adjudication.99

The promotion process is similar to the tenure process. The recommendation can originate with the candidate, or with the department in the case of promotion to the rank of Professor. The department promotion committee is comprised of all of the tenured full Professors in the department, though two other full Professors from the College Faculty may be included if the candidate chooses, in consultation with the Dean of the Faculty, to bring them in. The Dean selects the Chair of the promotion committee, and the Chair is responsible for writing a letter detailing the candidate’s accomplishments. This letter is signed by the rest of the committee, and follows the promotion materials at all relevant stages. All of the candidates for promotion are reviewed by the Committee of Six. The President also reviews all candidates, formulates his or her own opinion, and presents all of the recommendations to the Board of Trustees. The final decision is made by the Board of Trustees.100

97_Ibid.

98_{“Tenure for Regular Full-time Members of the Faculty.” Amherst College.}

https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/dean_faculty/fph/fachandbook/facstatus/fulltimetenure

99_Ibid.

100_{“Promotion.” Amherst College.}

(21)

C

URRICULUM

D

ECISIONS

The Committee on Educational Policy and the Committee of Six are jointly responsible for overseeing curriculum decisions at the College. The Committee on Educational Policy is comprised of three student members and five faculty members. The five faculty members are nominated by the Committee of Six and then elected by the general Faculty. The Dean of the Faculty also serves as a non-voting member of the committee. All three College divisions (Humanities, Social Sciences, and Physical Sciences) must be represented on the committee, and the committee may select its own Chair and secretary. The Committee on Educational Policy is responsible for reviewing and evaluating the college’s general education policy, receiving suggestions and suggesting changes in educational policy, and making recommendations to the Committee of Six. It is also responsible for advising the President and Dean of the Faculty about how faculty positions should be allocated to the departments, and for assessing department curricular needs.101 Amherst also belongs to the

Five College Consortium, and occasionally the President or Dean of the Faculty, in collaboration with the Committee of Six, will appoint a set of faculty members “to serve as representatives on Five College Faculty Committees to consider questions of academic policy of joint interest to two or more of the Colleges.”102

B

UDGET

D

ECISIONS

In 2009, Amherst College created the Advisory Budget Committee “in response to the global economic downturn” to “develop plans for how to keep Amherst’s projected budgets in line with what its reduced endowment can contribute.” 103 The college charged the committee with finding a way to reduce the spend rate of the endowment to five percent, as well as “more specific financial targets to be set by the Trustees,” within a decade.104 This committee consists of six faculty representatives, the President, the Dean of the Faculty, three students, three Trustees, one alumnus of the College, and three staff members, with one being appointed by the Trustees. The Treasurer serves as a consultant to the committee.

Amherst has also created a Committee on Priorities and Resources, which is charged with overseeing “1) The process of annually budgeting the resources of the college, and 2) The long-term allocation of resources.”105_{This committee is comprised of four faculty members}

(at least one each from each of the three divisions), two staff members elected by the staff, and three student members—two of whom are elected by the student body, and one who is elected by the student executive senate. The President of the college, the Dean of the Faculty, the Treasurer, the Director of the Budget, and the Director of Human Resources all serve on the committee ex officio. The faculty members on the committee are expected to “represent

101_{“Committees: Committees of the Faculty.” Op. cit.}

102_Ibid.

103_{“Advisory Budget Committee.” Amherst College. https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/economy/abc} 104_{“Charge to the Advisory Budget Committee (ABC).” Amherst College.}

https://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/economy/abc_charge

(22)

to the administration the views of the faculty concerning the budget and to report to the Faculty each year concerning the status of faculty salaries and compensation.”106

Regarding departmental budgets, each department Chair is responsible for overseeing their department’s budget. All budgets must be approved by the Dean of the Faculty, the Treasurer, and the Board of Trustees.107

BOWDOIN COLLEGE

Bowdoin College is a private, suburban liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It has an enrollment just under 1,800, an acceptance rate of 16.1 percent, and ranks sixth on the U.S. News & World Report list of top national liberal arts colleges.108_{No organizational chart was}

available on the Bowdoin website.

F

ACULTY

C

OMMITTEES

Bowdoin College requires all faculty members to engage in “active participation in the governance of the College.” 109 _{Bowdoin’s faculty handbook further notes that}

“appointment, nomination, and election to committees should be accepted by faculty members as part of [the obligations of membership in the Bowdoin faculty], and that such acceptance should be taken for granted unless a faculty member provides compelling reasons to the contrary in writing to the Committee on Governance.”110 Normally, faculty members are appointed to committees, though three committees (the Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs, the Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure, and the Committee on Faculty Appeals and Grievances) are comprised of faculty members who have been elected by the general faculty.

Bowdoin uses approval voting in order to elect faculty members to the three elected committees concurrently using overlapping lists of candidates. Through the approval voting process, the Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs sends a ballot to voting-eligible faculty. This ballot includes the name of all faculty members who have been nominated—by the general faculty—to serve on the elected committees. Voting faculty are able to vote for as many candidates for each committee as they would like. Once all ballots are received, the Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs counts the ballots and announces the results. First, votes are counted for the Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure, and then for the Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs. If a candidate is elected to the

106_Ibid.

107_{“The Faculty.” Amherst College.}

https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/dean_faculty/fph/fachandbook/collegeorganization/faculty

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges

109_{“Faculty Governance.” Bowdoin College.}

http://www.bowdoin.edu/academic-affairs/faculty-governance/index.shtml

(23)

Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure, that candidate will be removed from the election of the Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs.111

The Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs is the elected committee that is responsible for speaking for the faculty. This committee is comprised of six faculty members, four of whom must be tenured (including at least two full professors and one associate professor, one from each division). Two of the members must be untenured and from two separate divisions. The tenured members serve for three years, and the untenured members serve for two years.112

In general, the Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs directs the faculty governance of the College. It is responsible for creating faculty meeting agendas in conjunction with the President and the Dean for Academic Affairs, communicating policy issues, advising the President and Dean on the faculty’s issues including compensation, intellectual freedom, family leave, budget and financial priorities, and other issues. It oversees faculty committee elections and appointments, creates necessary working groups, and hears issues raised by the faculty. Finally, it represents the faculty at administrative meetings, including meetings of the Board of Trustees, and attends meetings of the Trustee Executive Committee and the Trustee Committee on Admissions. The committee then reports back to the general faculty, when necessary.113

In 2007, Bowdoin revised its faculty committee structure by combining some committees, and reducing the number of members on others. This restructuring reduced the total number of seats available on committees from 140 to 90. The goal of these changes was to improve committee efficiency and allow more time for faculty to conduct their own research.114 While these changes did not include the creation of divisional committees, each division must still be represented on the most faculty committees. Currently, there are 22 faculty committees included in Bowdoin’s faculty governance structure.

T

ENURE AND

P

ROMOTION

D

ECISIONS

Candidates for tenure are usually evaluated in sixth year at the College. When it is time for a decision on a candidate’s tenure, the Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure assesses the candidate, “whether or not the person has been proposed for tenure by the department.”115 The Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure is an elected

111_{“Faculty Handbook, 2012-2013.” Bowdoin College. Pp.73-74.}

http://www.bowdoin.edu/academic-affairs/forms-policies/policies/pdf/12-13FacultyHandbook.pdf

112_{Ibid., P.58.}

113_{“Committee on Governance and Faculty Affairs.” Bowdoin College.}

http://www.bowdoin.edu/academic-affairs/faculty-governance/gfa.shtml

114_{“Revised Committee Structure.” Bowdoin College.}

http://www.bowdoin.edu/academic-affairs/faculty-flexibility/revised-committee-structure.shtml

115_{“Faculty Handbook, 2012-2013.” Bowdoin College. P.23.}

(24)

committee with five members, including three professors, one from each division, and two associate professors. None of the members can be from the same department.116

During the tenure and promotions process, the Dean for Academic Affairs first solicits opinions regarding the candidate’s “actual and potential professional achievement” from colleagues in candidate’s field who are not members of the college (these colleagues are typically suggested by the candidate and by other departmental faculty). At this time, the candidate must also submit a packet of tenure materials to the Dean, a dossier prepared by the department or review committee chair from the candidate’s department, and an evaluation of the candidate from the department review committee.

Once all materials and opinions have been collected, the Committee on Appointments, Promotion, and Tenure then reviews each candidate’s materials, and requests follow-up information from the candidate or department as needed. Then, the Committee meets with the Dean for Academic Affairs and the President to discuss candidate, and the Committee meets again with the Dean for Academic Affairs to make recommendations for tenure or promotion. The Committee then informs the candidate of its decision, and presents this decision to the President of the college. The President can then choose to recommend or not recommend the candidate to the Trustees, who may then vote to promote or not to promote the candidate.117_{Ultimately, the President “has discretionary authority to}

authorize or not authorize promotion.118

C

URRICULUM

D

ECISIONS

There are three curricular committees at Bowdoin College: the Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee, the Curriculum Implementation Committee, and the Recording Committee. The Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee is comprised of six members, including two faculty members from each division—one of whom must be tenured and the other of whom must be tenure-track. Three appointed students also serve on the committee, though one student serves as an alternate in the event that a participating student member is unable to attend a meeting. This committee is “responsible for broad oversight of the curriculum, and for proposing changes in academic policy and degree requirements for consideration by the faculty.” The Curriculum and Educational Policy Committee also advises administrators, presents proposed changes to the curriculum, and one of the members represents the faculty on the Trustee Committee on Academic Affairs.119

The Curriculum Implementation Committee is responsible for managing curricular implementation. This committee’s charge includes approving course revisions and new courses, supervising execution of policies such as grading, transfer of credit, and grading,

116_{Ibid., P.59.}

117_{Ibid., Pp.23-27.} 118_{Ibid., Pp.29.} 119_{Ibid., P.60.}

(25)

and other responsibilities. The committee consists of six appointed faculty members (two from each division), at least three of whom must be tenured.120

Finally, the Recording Committee “interprets, applies, and gives guidance on current academic policies, determines academic standing, reviews petitions re: academic standing, grading options, and transfer credit.”121_{This committee is comprised of three appointed}

faculty members, one from each division. None of the members have to be tenured or tenure-track.

B

UDGET

D

ECISIONS

The Financial Planning Committee is responsible for reviewing and advising the Board of Trustees regarding budgetary issues. These issues include the annual operating and capital budget, financial needs and resources of the College, and the policies and administration of compensation benefits. This committee also deliberates on and provides recommendations regarding long-term plans and projections for the budget. The committee is comprised of one faculty member, usually from the Governance and Faculty Affairs Committee, the Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration and Treasures, the Vice President for Finance and Controller, one student, and six or more Trustees. 122

O

BERLIN

C

OLLEGE

Oberlin College is a private, suburban liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio that enrolls nearly 3,000 students, has an acceptance rate of 29.6 percent, and ranks 26th on the U.S. News & World Report list of top national liberal arts colleges.123 Oberlin’s website entitled “How Oberlin Works,” provides information on the administration and leadership structures, as well as a glossary of the offices, positions, and committees at Oberlin.124 According to the college, “although this site was created with the whole Oberlin campus community in mind, we hope it will be most used by students seeking to effect change in the institution.”125 Three organizational charts available on the “How Oberlin Works” website. These organizational charts are reproduced in Figures 2.2 and 2.3 below.

120_{Ibid., Pp.60-61.}

121_{Ibid., P.61.} 122_{Ibid., Pp.71-72.}

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges

124_{Oberlin is divided into two divisions, the College and the Conservatory. Information on Oberlin’s tenure,}

promotions, curriculum, budget, and chair selection apply to Oberlin’s College division.

(26)

Figure 2.2: Oberlin Administration Structure126

(27)

Figure 2.3: Oberlin Faculty Committee Structure127

(28)

F

ACULTY

C

OMMITTEES

According to the Oberlin Faculty Guide, each member of the Oberlin faculty is expected to “render a reasonable share of the general service that comes upon the Faculty in common. One of the ways in which this service is rendered is through the faculty committees.”128 As depicted in Figure 2.3, above, Oberlin College’s faculty governance structure is comprised of 36 faculty committees. Faculty committee members are typically either appointed by faculty and nominating committees or elected by the general faculty. Elected committees include the General Faculty Council, the College Faculty Council, the Conservatory Faculty Council, the College Educational Plans and Policies Committee, the General Faculty Mediation Committee, the Professional Conduct Review Committee, and some other standing Trustee committees.129

The General Faculty Council (GFC) is charged with managing the entire College and speaking for the faculty. It is comprised of six elected members, the Dean of Arts and Sciences, the Dean of the Conservatory, and the President of the college. The GFC is the executive committee elected by the general faculty, including all faculty members in the College and the Conservatory, certain administrators, and Student Senate Members. This committee’s duties include making and approving legislation, passing resolutions, and managing the rules regarding the “welfare, conduct, and discipline of students.” 130

Separate from the GFC are the divisional faculty councils, which serve as the executive committees of the faculty in their respective division. Faculty from the College division elect seven members to the College Faculty Council to manage the College division, while Conservatory Faculty elect seven members to manage the Conservatory Division. The division deans and the President of the college also serve on these divisional committees. The divisional councils have the responsibility to make appointment, promotion, tenure, and salary decisions within their division. However, their decisions are “subject to approval by the General Faculty Council and the Board of Trustees.”131

S

ELECTION AND

R

ESPONSIBILITIES OF

D

EPARTMENT

C

HAIRS

The department chairs in the College of Arts and Sciences are appointed by the College Faculty Council, upon recommendation of the Dean (after consultation with members of the department).The Chair appointment usually lasts four years. Responsibilities of the department Chair include administration of departmental affairs, maintaining department records, reporting on the work of the department, scheduling department classes, assigning Faculty advisors to department majors, supervising department employees, and other management duties of department faculty, staff, and finances. The Chair also participates in the hiring process by requesting faculty positions, providing the College Faculty Council with a job description, recruiting and screening applicants to fill the position, and requesting the initial appointment of a qualified candidate.132

128_{“Oberlin College Faculty Guide.” Op. cit., 7.} 129_Ibid.

130_{“Oberlin Faculty Committee Structure.” Oberlin College. http://how.oberlin.edu/book/page/5} 131_Ibid.

(29)

T

ENURE AND

P

ROMOTION

D

ECISIONS

All tenure-track faculty members may participate in deliberations regarding tenure decisions. However, first-year tenure-track faculty members are not permitted to vote on tenure decisions. After the department votes on tenure decisions, a faculty member writes a Department Report with recommendations to the College Faculty Council. The Department Chair also writes a report and meets with the Dean to discuss the candidate. Then, the College Faculty Council reviews the Department Report and the Chair’s Report, and decides whether to recommend the candidate for tenure or deny the candidate’s tenure request. If the College Faculty Council decides to recommend the candidate, the GFC reviews this decision, and then either recommends or does not recommend the candidate for tenure. If the GFC decides to recommend the candidate, the President presents the cases of the recommended candidates to the Trustees, who make the final decision to ratify or deny the tenure recommendation.

The promotion process is similar to the tenure decision process. The Department Chair prepares a dossier of promotion materials to put before the members of the department. The department members review the materials and vote on their recommendation, and then the Department Chair writes the Department Report containing the department’s assessments of the candidates, as well as the Chair’s Report “which reports the committee vote, presents any minority views within the committee, and certifies the process that was followed in committee deliberations.”133

The divisional Faculty council reviews the dossier, and may ask the department or candidate for clarifications. The divisional Faculty Council then makes a recommendation to the General Faculty Council, which makes its own recommendation to the President. The President presents the candidates for promotion to the Trustees, and the Trustees can ratify or deny the promotion.

C

URRICULUM AND

B

UDGET

D

ECISIONS

The College of Arts and Sciences has several curricular committees, including curricular committees on archaeology, law and society, Russian and East European studies, and others. These committees are charged with “running” majors and offering courses, or administering academic offerings and requirements. Membership varies by curricular committees. For example, the Curricular Committee on Archaeology has faculty members from several disciplines, including Ancient Art, Anthropology, Classics, Religion, and other associated departments. The Curricular Committee on Law and Society usually only has three faculty members.134

The Vice President for Finance plays a major role in “managing the College’s annual operation budget.” This individual also aids in resource allocation, financial planning, accounting and reporting finances, management of the endowment and investments,

133_Ibid.