Faculty Council Minutes

Faculty Council Minutes

Minutes of Faculty Council Meeting
27 April 1998 – noon
Room 1049 Duncan Hall

Present: Isle (speaker), Antoulas, Aranda, Braam, Cox, Driskill, Gibson, Ghorbel,
Hightower, Wilson, Wittenberg, Yunis. Absent: Beckingham, Caldwell, Meade and
Patten.

The agenda consisted of: (1) Proposal for Revising University-wide Requirements,
(2) Spousal Accommodation and Equity Issues, (3) Elections and Faculty Governance,
(4) Appeals and Grievances Committee Procedures, (5) Web Page, (6) Part-time
Faculty, (7) Salary Report (8) Other Business, Old or New.

Isle called the meeting to order and the minutes of the previous meeting were
approved.

(1) Proposal for Revising University-wide Requirements: This document was printed
in the April 23 issue of Rice News. It was moved, seconded and approved that
it be placed on the agenda of the next faculty meeting. The timing for a faculty
vote was discussed with some members preferring the first vote at the next faculty
meeting and a second vote in the fall, and other members preferring both votes
in the fall.

(2) Spousal Accommodation and Equity Issues: After a lengthy discussion, Wilson
volunteered to draft a letter to Pam Walker responding to a letter in which
she raised several questions on this subject. Driskill volunteered to work on
a recommendation to the administration which would be considered by council
in the fall. It was suggested that the Rice University Committee on Affirmative
Action become involved in drafting the recommendation.

(3) Elections: Isle announced the following election results:

Faculty Council and University Council
Ed Akin, mechanical engineering and materials science, replaces Athanasios Antoulas.
Bala Dharan, Jones Graduate School of Management, replaces Walter Isle.

Faculty Council
Joan Rea, Hispanic and classical studies, replaces Joe Hightower. No candidate
was nominated to replace Kate Beckingham. At the beginning of the fall semester,
Faculty Council will make a one-year appointment to replace Beckingham and a
one-semester appointment to replace Rea while she is out of the country.

(4) Appeals and Grievances Committee Procedures: Hightower presented the following
Revised Procedural Guidelines. It was moved, seconded and approved that these
guidelines be adopted after approval of the legal department.

1. Purpose — The Faculty Council Appeals and Grievances Committee (A&GC)
has been established by the Bylaws of Faculty Council to investigate allegations
regarding appeals of decisions on promotion and tenure made on procedural grounds
and grievances not related to decisions on promotion and tenure brought to it
by faculty members. The scope of the A&GC’s authority is to determine to
the best of its ability the facts involved in the case and to prepare a confidential
report or recommendation to the president with a copy to the speaker of Faculty
Council and to the appellant or grievant. Any further action is at the sole
discretion of the president. The A&GC will make itself available to the
president’s representative to discuss and/or clarify its report.

2. Membership — According to Faculty Council bylaws, A&GC membership consists
of those members of Faculty Council who do not also serve on the Promotion and
Tenure Committee. From this group, the speaker of the Faculty Council will annually
appoint a convener who will receive complaints and call the A&GC into action.
Anyone having a direct involvement or a potential conflict of interest in the
case does not serve on that case. The A&GC members will then elect a chair
from among those members to serve for each case it considers.

3. Confidentiality — All participants are expected to maintain strict confidentiality
about all aspects of the proceedings. The A&GC alone will determine the
extent to which material must be shared during proceedings with the involved
parties for the purpose of pursuing its investigation. No material given to
the committee will be voluntarily divulged outside the proceedings. When the
A&GC begins a hearing, it will inform the provost of the name of the appellant
or grievant and the general nature of the case. The provost will be informed
when a case is closed. Understanding that the university has legal obligations,
the A&GC recognizes that an administrator may need to discuss with other
administrators the facts and allegations on which the case is based. Those administrators
shall not, however, discuss the matter with persons not having a need to know
in order to fulfill their duties to the university.

4. Grievance or Appeal — After A&GC has received the initial appeal or
grievance, the appellant or grievant will be asked to prepare a document that
gives details supporting the appeal or grievance. This document should include
a specific list of grounds for appeal or grievances and a list of names, places,
documents and other supporting materials germane to the case.

5. Interviews — The A&GC will interview whomever it deems appropriate
to supply information about the appeal or grievance. The need for absolute confidentiality
will be stressed to all participants. This includes even the fact that they
were asked to talk with the A&GC. Neither the names of the people nor the
times of the interviews will be divulged. Consultants will be utilized by the
A&GC as it deems necessary. All interviewees will appear individually. No
one will be allowed to accompany either the appellant or grievant or any of
the interviewees.

6. Records — Audio tape recordings of the formal interviews before the A&GC
will be made. This confidential record will remain in the hands of the chair
of the A&GC. After the case is closed, the audio tapes will be destroyed
when so authorized in writing from the university legal counsel. A&GC members
are also free to take whatever notes they deem appropriate. These notes will
remain the property of the individual A&GC members.

7. AAUP Guidelines — AAUP recommendations were consulted in the formulation
of these procedural guidelines. It is recognized that these guidelines do not
conform in all respects with those recommended by the AAUP.

(5) Web Page: No report.

(6) Part-time Faculty: Driskill passed out a comprehensive report recommending
that next year Faculty Council review the policies on part-time and non tenure-track
hires.

(7) Salary Report: No report.

(8) Other Business: None.

The meeting was adjourned at 1:30 p.m.