Faculty Governance Explained
The
fundamentals of Pacific Lutheran University's system of faculty
governance emerged in the period 1968-1977 from discussions between
faculty and administration. These events have been briefly described
on pages 160-163 of Professor Phil Nordquist's history of PLU, Educating
for Service (1990).
Faculty
governance at PLU gives the faculty powers over educational policy,
subject to the approval of the Board of Regents, as well as the
right to make recommendations and give advice to the president and
other administrative officers of the university pertaining to other
areas of university life. There are four key features to PLU's system
of faculty governance: the Faculty Constitution and Bylaws, the
Faculty Assembly, the faculty committee system, and the faculty
officers.
The
Faculty Constitution and Bylaws can be found on pages 26-50 of the
Sixth Edition of the Faculty Handbook. Each faculty member is responsible
for maintaining an up-to-date version of the Faculty Handbook.
Under
the Faculty Constitution, the Faculty Assembly is the governing
body of the faculty. It meets at least once a month during the fall
and spring semesters. Through the Faculty Assembly, in meetings
conducted according to Robert's Rules of Order, the faculty exercises
its power to formulate courses of study, recommend requirements
for admission to and graduation from the university, enact rules
and regulations, establish committees, and exercise its other responsibilities,
as described in Article III of the Faculty Constitution.
Much
of the work of the faculty is carried out by committees, which the
faculty has the power to create and dissolve, and which remain responsible
to it. Under Article IV, Section 4 of the Bylaws to the Faculty
Constitution, there are three kinds of committees: faculty-created
standing committees, ad hoc committees, and university committees.
Seven faculty-created standing committees currently exist: Admission
and Retention of Students, Campus Life, Educational Policies, Faculty
Affairs, Governance, Instructional Resources, and Rank and Tenure.
Ad hoc committees may be created for a period of up to three years.
University committees are standing committees consisting of members
of the faculty and members of other segments of the university.
Ad hoc university committees may be created by the provost or the
president without formal faculty authorization, provided that they
do not exist for more than 60 days.
All
members of faculty-created standing committees are elected from
and by the faculty to three-year terms. In addition, the faculty
elects three officers for two-year terms: the chair of the faculty,
the vice-chair of the faculty, and the secretary of the faculty.
The chair of the faculty presides over meetings of the Faculty Assembly,
and over a Faculty Executive Committee, which assists the chair
in preparing the agenda for meetings of the Faculty Assembly, oversees
the implementation of faculty legislation, and, together with the
Governance Committee, helps to coordinate faculty governance.
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