Minutes of the Meeting of the Senate
of the Faculty
Thursday, November 14, 2002, 7:00 p.m., Room 106, Law
School
Meeting called to order with a quorum at 7:15 p.m.
Present: Edmund Acevedo, Donna Adler, Milam Aiken, Brahram Alidaee, Deborah Barker, John Bentley, Nancy Bercaw, Luca Bombelli, Wei-Yin Chen, Kirsten Dellinger, Gail Herrera, Kathy Knight, Fred Laurenzo, Jeanette Martin, Phil Malone, Amy E. Mark, Rosemary Oliphant-Ingham, James Reid, David Rock, John Schetz, Bobbie Smothers, Warren Steel, Ken Sufka, Mark Tew, Annette Trefzer, Joseph Urgo, Marilyn Zarzeski
Absent: Aileen Ajootian, Julie Aubrey, Bonnie Avery,
Charles Brower, Laurie Cozad, John Czarnetzky, Steven Davis, Charles
Eagles, Rick Elam, Jennifer Ford, K.P. George, Ahmed Kishk, Clifford
Ochs, Anne Quinney, Robert Riggs, Charles Ross, Charles West,
Nancy Wiggers, Dawn Wilkins, Susan Wolcott
* Prior notification
I. Old Business
A. Minutes of the October 10, 2002 Senate meeting were approved
without dissent.
minutes_20021000.html
II. Announcements
A. Extraordinary Senate of the Faculty meeting December 5,
2002 (due to exam schedule)
III. New Business
A. Second Vote on Amendments to the Constitution of the Senate
of the Faculty passed without dissent.
To view updated Constitution, click on sections: Economics
moved to Liberal Arts and Conversion
to a chair elect system.
B. Revisions to (UM: Faculty Handbook Section IV. Part One)
Extension of the Probationary Period
Senator Martin moved to accept the policy with the amendments/2nd
Senator Barker
Handcount: Yea=24; Nay=1; Abstain=0
Amendments in bold; [procedure bold and italics]
To view this draft without formating, click
here
1. Any faculty member may request an extension of one year
of [friendly amendment by Senator Malone/Second Senator Bercaw.
Handcount: Yea=24; Nay=0; Abstain=1] the probationary
period based on personal circumstances. Extensions generally shall
not be granted for circumstances under the control of the University
(e.g. undertaking administrative assignments, lack of adequate
facilities).
2. The following shall be considered a nonexclusive list of personal circumstances that might support such a request:
a. Because of pregnancy and childbirth
b. Because of the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care.
c. To provide primary care for a child within twelve months after birth or placement.
d. To care for a spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent who has a serious health condition.
e. Because of personal illness or injury.
f. Because of the death of a spouse, domestic partner, child, or parent. [friendly amendment by Senator Tew/2nd Senator Rock. Handcount: Yea=23; Nay=0; Abstain=2]
3. A request for an extension must be initiated on or before March 1 prior to the academic year in which a tenure decision is to be made.
4. The process can only be initiated by the faculty member. A written request for an extension shall be prepared by the faculty member and submitted simultaneously to the Department Chair and the Dean, or, for those in schools without chairs, to the Dean and the Provost. Suitable supporting material will be submitted with the application. The request for extension and the rationale for the request shall be kept confidential. Only the granting of the extension shall be made public.
5. The Chair and Dean may take into account the time elapsed since the event, but the applicant shall not be denied an extension for having attempted to maintain progress towards tenure despite personal circumstances.
6. Upon receipt of the written request, the Department Chair will then make his or her recommendation to the Academic Dean. The Academic Dean's recommendation will be forwarded [to the Dean of the Graduate School who will subsequently forward his or her recommendation] to the Provost/VCAA. The recommendation of the Provost/VCAA shall be forwarded to the faculty member. If the Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs supports the extension request, the request shall be forwarded to the Chancellor. The Chancellor shall take final action on the request to extend the probationary period. The Chancellor will inform the faculty member, Department Chair, Academic Dean, Dean of the Graduate School and the Provost/VCAA of the final disposition of the request. When all action has been completed the recommendations alone will be filed in the Department of Human Resources. The faculty member making the request shall be notified in writing at each stage of the process or the recommendation made at that stage. [choice of second option and to delete the text in brackets, moved by Senator Herrera/2nd Senator Martin. Handcount: Yea=21; Nay=4; Abstain=0]
7. If the request is granted, an appropriate indication shall be placed in the applicant's promotion file. All documentation regarding the rationale for the request shall be kept confidential and maintained in a file separate from the faculty member's official institutional personnel file. This confidential file may be accessed by and must be released to the applicant upon request.
8. The faculty member whose application is approved is not expected to present a record of accomplishment different from other tenure applications.
9. No person shall be discriminated against in any promotion and tenure proceedings for seeking or obtaining an extension under this provision.
10. Tenure extensions are limited to one year except in the case of [part of Senator Malone's friendly amendment] an untenured faculty member who becomes the parent of a newborn or newly adopted child may choose to take a one-year extension of the pre-tenure probationary period for each child, up to a maximum of two years. Refer to sections 2a-2c.
11. The appeal process shall be through the Tenure and Promotions Appeals Committee using the same procedure as used for tenure decision appeals.
C. Update on the status of the Honor Code, Mark Tew
Senator Tew reported to the Chancellor that, in 1998/9 the Senate
decided that the University cannot propose an honor code without
a climate to support it. The Senate recommended that a task force
be appointed by the Chancellor to create movement from the student.
D. Motion to suspend the rules for discussion of Kincannon Hall statement; Senator Tew /Second Senator Sufka. Motion passed without dissent.
The following statement was approved without dissent:
"We the Senate of the Faculty express our disgust at the
racist graffiti in Kincannon Hall. These actions are fundamentally
at odds with the values of a university community, and we condemn
them. We are committed to work with other members of the university
community to combat racism and hate speech on our campus."
Meeting adjourned at 8:50 p.m.