MINUTES OF THE FACULTY HANDBOOK REVISION COMMITTEE

Wednesday, July 18, 2007; Mason Hall, D5 � 12:00 � 1:30 p.m.

Present:� Kevin Avruch, Associate Director and Professor of Conflict Resolution, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution; Lorraine Brown, Professor of English, College of Humanities and Social Sciences; Rick Coffinberger, Associate Professor of Business and Legal Studies, School of Management, Chair; Dave Harr, Senior Associate Dean, School of Management; Suzanne Slayden, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, College of Science.

Absent: Martin Ford, Senior Associate Dean, College of Education and Human Development; David Rossell, Associate Provost for Personnel and Budget, ex-officio.

Fall 2007 Meeting Schedule:� After some discussion, it was decided to meet every other Monday morning from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. beginning September 10, 2007.

Discussion (continued): Should the Faculty Handbook cover adjunct faculty?

As discussed at last week�s meeting, the Provost�s opinion was solicited on whether adjunct faculty should be included in the Faculty Handbook, or whether a separate Handbook should be developed for their use.� The Provost responded: �I suggest very desirable to refer to a separate handbook to be developed, but not in this book.�� Some members of the committee disagree with his opinion; that process must be respected; that fewer segments need to be clarified.� The Virginia Tech Faculty Handbook covers all faculty � including instructional, administrative/professional, extension, and research � tenured, tenure-eligible, or non-tenurable - organized into sections for each type of faculty; which may serve as a model for us.� Concern expressed that adjunct faculty would not be covered at all if left out of this Handbook. They are explicitly discussed in some sections (2.1.4 Part Time Appointment).� ��Adjunct� not a universal term; part-time and adjunct faculty are often intermingled; there are also part-time term faculty. Evidence of great differences and variations of practices throughout the university are not a new problem.�� Some sections of Chapter Two �Faculty Personnel Matters� would need further clarification.� Should more references to offer letter text be included? Main theme of AAUP re part-time faculty is that they are paid so poorly.� If we include adjunct faculty, we must be very careful.

Also a section on rights of administrative faculty with instructional rank is needed.� There are complications in classification in Banner for administrative faculty who hold faculty rank, including those who have tenure but no instructional responsibilities.� In the late 1980�s titles developed in order to get more funding for positions from the State of Virginia, a problem later resolved.�� The system is more flexible and perhaps more complicated today.

Nine-month instructional faculty may ask Human Resources about policies and receive wrong answers as geared to staff/12 month employees.� With the departure of David Rossell as Associate Provost for Personnel and Budget, after thirty years� service, this is a huge issue for the Provost�s Office to resolve.� Faculty need to know to whom such questions as 15 days sick leave may be addressed.� Another big issue involves green cards; after trial and error, administrators in one school learned that the Commonwealth of Virginia retained attorneys in Richmond whom faculty should contact � a whole zoo beyond the Faculty Handbook.� Newly created schools may have greater issues in development of institutional knowledge.� The Peer Process (for green cards) was revised in March, 2005, creating huge changes.� If you need a primary work authorization to work in the US, the clock begins the day the person signs offer letter; which could be six months prior to beginning work here. Realistically, there needs to be someone in Human Resources as the guru on instructional faculty issues.� Questions extend also into retirement where faculty are not told (by Human Resources) about traditional semester sabbatical prior to retirement.� Some faculty may not wish to have it, but others may be ignorant of process and do not know this is an option.� Not sure whether a Handbook issue, but concern that instructional faculty have someone as resource for retirement, immigration, and� whole life cycle issues important.�

Recent note from Provost describing restructuring of his office � information needs to be included in the� Faculty Information Guide, if not the Faculty Handbook.

Ombudsman as half-time person, continued:� Could such a position become full-time in which person would have responsibility as clearinghouse for information for instructional faculty?� Would skill set match?� They are two separate functions; to combine both would give ombudsman a set of responsibilities someone may want to complain against; could not be a holder of policy.� Would the quality of part-time ombudsman suffer if hired only on a part-time basis; limited the number of applicants?�� Ombudsman should not report to administration, or be financed by them.� To set up like university counsel here who are employed directly by State of Virginia.�� This may be a useful goal to pursue in the next year.� We need to know functions of ombudsman to make a better case.� It may not be as important to be financially separate, but important that ombudsman reports to the highest officer (President).� The President must be educated not to delegate this; to be socialized how to work with an ombudsman.� Temptation for CEO to delegate reports very strong.�

If the Faculty Handbook creates a contract between some group and the university, what to do if (one party) is not honoring the contract?� Rick will meet with the new Rector, Ernst Volgenau, to get his views on this.�

Also important to discuss with the new Rector how important David Rossell was; how he made the system work in humane ways for the faculty.�

Respectfully submitted,

Meg Caniano

Clerk, Faculty Senate