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Faculty Senate

       Faculty Senate Resolutions 2004 - 2005  

Feb. 14

February 14, 2005

Motion FS04-05/02-01

Motion: Resolved that the Faculty Senate supports the changes to the        Faculty Handbook regarding reappointment procedure as outlined by          the Ad-Hoc Faculty Evaluation Committee of the Council of Chairs in the draft of Faculty Handbook changes titled “CoC – FH revisions on fac contracts.doc."

The committee was asked to respond to the proposal for revising the      Faculty Handbook from an Ad-Hoc Faculty Evaluation Committee of the Council of Chairs. The proposal recommends that ASU’s contracts to new faculty members alter the review period (from 1+1+2+3 to 4+3, 3+3, 3+2, or 4), to allow for explicit recognition and credit toward tenure for  Assistant Professors who have spent time elsewhere (as negotiated  by candidate, and up to 3 years credit maximum), and to allow for the option of hiring Associate and Full Professors with tenure and/or with no minimum waiting period before going up for tenure or promotion. We note that the review schedule is for the maximum length of time an Assistant Professor must wait before going up for reappointment (or termination) and for tenure (or termination), and that language in the Handbook still allows for any Assistant Professor to be recommended for tenure at any time:                                                                                                                       

3.4.2.4.6 Nothing in these regulations shall be construed to preclude a faculty member from seeking and being recommended for promotion at  any time.  Thus there is no new (or old) rule that requires new assistant professors to wait a certain amount of time before being put forward for promotion.

Our response to this proposal is supportive, though we recommend the following changes or clarifications:

In section 3.4.2.5.3, the word “normally” is vague. What are the   “normal” circumstances and what are not?

Clarify the differences between Assistant, Associate, and full Professor hires. Language in the Handbook, as amended, and the proposal for revising the Handbook does not clarify that Associate Professors can be hired with tenure, nor does it clarify that Associate Professors who are   not hired with tenure need not wait a minimum of three years before  going up for tenure. While Assistant Professors may wait a minimum of three years before their mandatory review for tenure or termination, Associate Professors joining the faculty without tenure do not need to have the same schedule before mandatory review.

Faculty Senate Committee:
Action Taken by Senate:
Status:
Academic Policies Committee   Failed

Motion FS04-05/02-01

Motion:  Resolved that the Faculty Senate supports the changes to the Faculty Handbook regarding reappointment procedure as outlined by the Ad-Hoc Faculty Evaluation Committee of the Council of Chairs in the draft

of Faculty Handbook changes titled "CoC--FH revisions on fac contracts.doc"

Faculty Senate Committee:
Actions Taken by Senate:
Status:
Academic Policies Committee  

Approved.  The amended motion to explicitly include post-doctoral experience as potential credit toward tenure is rejected.  In normal circumstances, post-doctoral experience is a prerequisite to obtaining a tenure track position; hence, it should not typically count as credit toward tenure.  Instead the following sentence is inserted:

A newly hired assistant professor may submit to her or his department chair a written request (with appropriate supporting documentation) that up to, but no more than, three years served elsewhere in a tenured or tenurable position (or in an equivalent position) may be counted toward tenure and promotion at Appalachian State University.

 

Motion FS04-05/02-02

Motion to approve resolution regarding W.C. Strickland.

Whereas Dr. William Claudius Strickland joined the faculty of Appalachian    State University in 1966 as Professor and Chairman of the Department of  Philosophy and Religion and continued as Chairman until he resigned that  position in 1970; and

Whereas he became the first Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences in 1968 and continued in that position until resigning it in 1984; and

Whereas as a man of sensitivity, vision and ability, his personal honesty and integrity were reflected in his strong and positive leadership of the very complex College of Arts and Sciences for sixteen years; and

Whereas he continued as Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion until his retirement from Appalachian State University in 1988 at which time the title of Professor Emeritus was conferred upon him by the Board of Trustees; and

Whereas he was always the consummate professional in his interactions with students, faculty, staff and administrators; and

Whereas he was a well organized, industrious and dedicated academic leader devoted to the joy of teaching, the importance of learning and the responsibility of overcoming ignorance; and

Whereas he strongly emphasized the value of a liberal education and served and honored scholarship particularly as it related to his study of  the works of Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy; and

Whereas he was known as an intelligent, understanding, hard-working professional and an amiable and admirable individual; and

Whereas he possessed an inimitable sense of humor and well-known    skill as a teller of stories and anecdotes and has left a legacy as leader, teacher, scholar and friend whose memory will enrich and nourish our   lives for years to come;

Therefore be it resolved that, in recognition of his long and devoted  service to Appalachian State University and his contributions to society's well-being, Room 224 in I. G. Greer Hall will henceforth be known as the William Claudius Strickland Conference Room.

Faculty Senate Committee:
Action Taken By Senate:
Status:
Agenda Committee Passed Approved

Motion FS04-05/02-03

Motion: Faculty Senate approves the policy document titled: “Policies for Establishing and Reviewing Centers and Institutes at Appalachian State University.

The motion passed.

Motion (FS04-05/02-03) as amended.

The motion passed as amended.

Faculty Senate Committee
Action Taken By Senate:
Status:
Agenda Committee Passed as Amended Approved.  The amended motion that proposals for Centers and Institutes be approved by the Academic Policies and Procedures Committee is rejected.  The policy governing the establishment of Centers and Institutes expressly prevents those entities from offering academic programs; hence, there is no reason for such proposals to be submitted for approval by APP.  Instead, an advisory committee consisting of one dean, one departmental chair and three faculty members, all serving staggered three-year terms, will be appointed by the Provost to provide advice on the merits of proposals originating within the Division of Academic Affairs.

Motion FS04-05/02-05

Motion to approve the Council of Chairs Charter for inclusion in the

Faculty Senate Handbook in Chapter 7.

We recommend Senate approval of the Council of Chairs charter as amended in our committee for inclusion in the Faculty Handbook. We believe the Council of Chairs has an important responsibility to offer  advice and counsel on much university business, and that the most productive way for this to be done is in as close a relationship as    possible with the Faculty Senate. We do not think it appropriate for the Council  of Chairs to be set up as an equivalent agency to the Faculty Senate, whose constitutionally mandated role is to be the sole representative of faculty opinion and is to provide faculty advice, and counsel to administration. Neither do we believe that the Council of   Chairs should be established in any way that depends on future administrative interpretation of its independence from and equivalency     to the Faculty Senate. Chairs have often unique perspectives and knowledge not necessarily immediately available to faculty or other   groups on campus, and this must be a part of the evaluative mix that makes up governance  at Appalachian. But chairs are also faculty and   they often rely on departmental faculty opinion in their deliberations.     This motion regarding the Council of Chairs’ Charter sets up a productive and regular relationship between the Chairs and Senate and the Provost. It improves communication about university business among all three bodies, while retaining the crucial importance that in faculty governance the Faculty Senate must be the primary agency for all faculty and faculty-related perspectives.

Council of Chairs of Appalachian State University

Charter (approved by Council of Chairs 5/6/04)

[Guide to coding: Underlined italics are changes to the present charter proposed by the Council of Chairs. Caps and strike-throughs are    changes recommended by the Faculty Senate Handbook Committee.]

I. Objectives and Functions

1. The Council of Chairs of Appalachian State University shall gather       and exchange information on behalf of the chairs of the university.

2. The Council shall report to, advise and make recommendations to     BOTH the Provost/Executive Vice Chancellor AND THE FACULTY SENATE, who  shall EACH respond to the Council in a timely fashion.

3. The Chair of the Council of Chairs shall be available to advise the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor at regular intervals during the academic year.

4. The Chair of the Council of Chairs shall be available to advise the Chair       of the Faculty Senate at regular intervals during the academic year.

II. Organization and Relationships

1. The Council shall consist of all academic department chairpersons, the University Librarian, and Assistant or Associate Dean of Music, AND THE CHAIR OF THE FACULTY SENATE (WHO IS EX-OFFICIO AND NON-VOTING). Assistant Chairs, attending Council meetings, shall be ex-officio,  non-voting members unless representing the department in the absence of  the Chair. A department chair may designate a departmental representative to vote in his or her absence.

2. The Council shall have a Chairperson and a Vice-Chair who shall be nominated and elected by the Council of Chairs for renewable one-year   terms.

3. The Executive Committee of the Council of Chairs shall consist of the Chairperson and Vice-Chair of the Council, representatives from each college, and from the Library and School of Music. The representatives  shall be chosen in such manner and for such terms as specified by the Council. The Executive Committee shall meet prior to each Council   meeting to set and publish the agenda.

III. Operations

1. The Council shall operate under the current edition of Robert’s Rules

of Order.

Faculty Senate Committee:

 Action Taken By Senate:
Status:
Faculty Handbook Committee Passed No other University Councils have charters in the Handbook; hence, for consistency, the charter should not be included.  Rather the Charter will be a stand-alone policy document.  The document submitted by the COC is accepted as the official policy.

 

FS 04-05/02-06

Motion to approve changes submitted by the Technology Transfer Committee concerning academic ranks Associate and Full Professor. 

The motion failed.

Faculty Senate Committee:
Action Taken By Senate:
Status:
    Failed