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FACULTY SENATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Resolutions on Governance

A. Faculty Governance and Administration
B. Budget Committees in Decanal Units
C. Search Procedures for Senior Administrators
D. Faculty Role in Evaluation of Deans
E. Faculty Input on Chairs
F. Review by the Middle States Association
G. Organization of the University
H. Administration of Summer School Programs
I. Mission, Vision, Emphases and Outcomes 1995-2005
J. Arming of Public Safety Officers
K. Transfer of Statistics Department
L. Graduate School Bylaws
M. Transfer of Rachel Carson College and College H
N. Combination of Departments, School of Architecture
O. Split of Art and Art History
P. Establishment of Center for Teaching Effectiveness
Q. Resolution of Women's Studies

A. Faculty Governance and Administration

• Unit Articles of Governance
  • RESOLVED: That the Faculty Senate recommends the following minimum content guidelines for academic and University Libraries unit articles of governance:

  1. Provisions for a meeting of unit faculty at least once during the Fall Semester and at least once during the Spring Semester and for special meetings called either by unit faculty members or by the unit administration.

  2. Provisions for timely notice of and an agenda for these meetings and for insuring the right of unit faculty members to suggest additional agenda items prior to the meeting and to speak to old and new business during the meeting.

  3. Provisions for insuring the right of faculty members to discuss and to vote on matters covered at the meetings.

  4. Provisions for recording and distributing minutes or a report of the sense of these meetings.

• Review of Governance Documents
  • RESOLVED: That the Faculty Senate Executive Committee charge an appropriate committee to review all existing academic unit and University Libraries faculty governance documents to determine whether or not they meet the minimum content guidelines for such documents.
• Continuation of Membership
  • RESOLVED: That the immediate past Chair and Secretary of the Faculty Senate be included in the membership of the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Senate Executive Committee for one year following the expiration of the immediate past Chair's and Secretary's term of office. And, the Bylaws Committee be instructed to prepare appropriate language to so amend the Charter of the Faculty Senate.
• Election Timing
  • RESOLVED: That the Standing Orders of the Faculty Senate be modified to require that the election of the Chair, Secretary, the SUNY Senators, and the Senators to the Faculty Senate be completed by the end of the Fall Semester preceding the Fall Semester in which the Senators take office. And, the Bylaws Committee be instructed to prepare appropriate language to so amend the Standing Orders.
• Committee Membership: Timing
  • RESOLVED: That the Standing Orders of the Faculty Senate be modified to request the Faculty Senate Executive Committee to complete the appointment process for members of Senate Committees at the beginning of the academic year, but that this resolution should not be considered a bar to filling vacancies that occur after the start of the academic year. And, the Bylaws Committee be instructed to prepare appropriate language to so amend the Standing Orders.
• Overrides for Senate Officers
  • RESOLVED: That the Faculty Senate urge the President to set the temporary salary increase for the Chair of the Faculty Senate at a level equal to that of 10% of the University at Buffalo average for a full Professor's salary (AAUP average) and the temporary salary increase for the Secretary of the Faculty Senate at a level of 5% of the University at Buffalo average for a full Professor's salary (AAUP average).
• President/Provost -- School/Faculty Meeting
  • RESOLVED: That the Faculty Senate urges that the President and/or Provost be invited to attend a meeting of each Decanal or School Faculty at least once each academic year.
• Department/Dean Meeting
  • RESOLVED: That the Faculty Senate urges that each academic dean be invited to meet with each department faculty at least once each academic year.
• Committee Membership: Administrators' Role
  • RESOLVED: That the Faculty Senate Executive Committee should routinely appoint relevant administrators to Faculty Senate Committees.
• Charter Amendment
  • RESOLVED: That the Charter of the Faculty Senate be amended to include the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education as ex-officio non-voting members of the Faculty Senate. And, that the Bylaws Committee be instructed to prepare appropriate language to so amend the Charter.
• Chair's Meetings
  • RESOLVED: That the Faculty Senate urges the Chair of the Faculty Senate to schedule regular meetings with the President, the Provost, and the Senior Vice President.
• Chair's Role
  • RESOLVED: That the Faculty Senate urges the President and the Provost to include the Chair of the Faculty Senate as a member of decision-making Presidential and Provostal groups, e.g., the Council of Deans.
• Committee Membership: Annual Review
  • RESOLVED: That the Faculty Senate urges the Chair of the Faculty Senate to schedule annual meetings with the Provost and Senior Vice President to review the administrative and programmatic committee structure and membership to ensure faculty inclusion.
• Effectiveness of Consultation
  • RESOLVED: That the Faculty Senate Executive Committee charge the Committee on University Governance to design a method of polling Faculty Senators periodically on their perceptions on the effectiveness of the consultative processes within their own Departmental unit, within their own Decanal unit, within the Faculty Senate, and within the University, and to report thereon to the Faculty Senate.
• Breakdown of a Unit's Governance Structure
  • RESOLVED: That the Faculty Senate endorse the following principles as an appropriate framework for Faculty Senate intervention when a unit's governance structure breaks down.

  1. A request for intervention must be made in writing to the Chair of the Faculty Senate.

  2. Either the Chair or the Faculty Senate Executive Committee may decide not to act on the request for intervention; the Chair's decision may be appealed to the Executive Committee; the Executive Committee's decision is not appealable.

  3. The informal good offices of the Chair should be used as the first recourse for resolution.

  4. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee will appoint a committee to investigate and make recommendations to the Executive Committee.

  5. The Chair of the Faculty Senate shall, on the basis of the Executive Committee's recommendations, consult with appropriate administrative officials.

  6. The Chair of the Faculty Senate shall monitor whether a timely resolution of the issue, substantially conforming to the Executive Committee's recommendations, is achieved and shall inform the Executive Committee of progress resolving the issue.

And, this Resolution shall be directed to the Bylaws Committee for its use in revising Section 7 of the Senate's Standing Orders.
[All the 15 resolutions above passed unanimously by the Faculty Senate on 4/30/96]

B. Budget Committees in Decanal Units
The Faculty Senate urges individual Faculties and Schools to establish or charge committees to examine academic criteria used in making internal budget decisions, according to their particular bylaws or structures. Such committees could coordinate their activities with the Faculty Senate Budget Priorities Committee, the Faculty Senate University Governance Committee, and other groups as appropriate. Matters contractually under the exclusive jurisdiction of the official bargaining agent shall not be affected.
[passed by the Faculty Senate on 10/27/92 by a vote of 50/1/0]

C. Search Procedures for Senior Administrators

1. BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Faculty Senate endorse the principle that each University constituency involved in the selection of a senior university administrator (President, Vice President, Provost, Vice Provost, Dean and Director) has the right to nominate individuals to serve on the search committee, and that these nominations shall constitute the list, balanced as far as possible for gender and ethnicity, from which the representative(s) for the search committee will be chosen. These constituencies should be identified well prior to any search procedure.

2. Faculty representation on major search committees should be increased and follow the SUNY published guidelines which indicate that at least one-third should be full-time faculty.

3. The final stages of selection of all senior University Administrators should be made as public as possible.

[passed unanimously by the Faculty Senate on 11/16/93]

D. Faculty Role in Evaluation of Deans
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Faculty Senate commends the Provost for his proposed "Procedures for the Review of Academic Deans, February, 1994," accepts it as being generally consistent with previously expressed Faculty Senate concerns, and urges its immediate implementation.(See ATTACHMENT C for text of the procedure)
[passed by the Faculty Senate on 3/1/94 by voice vote]

E. Faculty Input to the Appointment and Reappointment of Chairs
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Faculty Senate recommends to the President that each decanal unit within the University through its faculty governance unit develop procedures that provide for significant faculty consultation regarding the appointment or reappointment of Departmental Chairs.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Office of the Provost be requested to develop a means to document to the Provost and to the faculty the mode and outcome of such consultation before appointments and reappointments are made.
[passed unanimously by the Faculty Senate on 5/2/95]

(On April 22, 1996, Provost Headrick wrote to Deans, with a copy to the Faculty Senate, that he would follow the practice indicated below:

1. "Decanal units and departments are free to develop their own governance mechanisms that spell out a procedure for defining the nature of faculty consultation in the process for appointment/reappointment of chairs;

2. Whatever the local governance policies, I will expect from you, when you forward a recommendation for chair appointment/reappointment, a full and clear account of the nature and degree of faculty consultation in the matter; if you do not provide such an account, I will return the request without action for appropriate revision."

F. Reports Related to Review by the Middle States Association

1. The Faculty Senate receives the documents related to the process for accreditation by the Middle States Association and refers information and results of the self study to appropriate committees of the Senate.

2. The Faculty Senate acknowledges with gratitude the extensive work of the task forces and steering committee under the dedicated leadership of Professor Dennis Malone.

[passed by the Faculty Senate on 2/7/95 by voice vote]

G. Organization of the University
WHEREAS the Senate's Academic Planning Committee has recommended, with the Triggle Committee, that authority for the undergraduate curriculum be vested with those who are responsible for its implementation; and

WHEREAS the Faculty Senate has, by statute and by tradition, exercised trusteeship for the curriculum; and

WHEREAS agreement on goals and the means needed by achieve them must be negotiated between administrators and faculty members working in concert;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Faculty Senate will address the following goals:

1. Reconcile the Senate's guardianship of the curriculum with the recommended decentralization of authority for its implementation;

2. Reconcile the Senate ideal of broad faculty participation in local governance with administrative concerns for pragmatic efficiency;

3. Recommend a role in undergraduate general education for faculty members outside the Arts and Sciences

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Senate charges the FSEC to report progress at the first regular Senate meeting in Fall, 1994.
[passed by the Faculty Senate on 5/10/94 by voice vote]

H. Administration of Academic Summer School Programs BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Faculty Senate and the Administration agree on the following principles and charge the Budget Priorities Committee to work with the administration to develop procedures before May, 1995 to implement them:

1. Academic units sponsoring summer programs share financial risks and benefits equitably with appropriate University administrative offices according to a collaboratively developed process;

2. Summer programs are selected, scheduled, staffed and administered jointly by the academic and administrative units responsible for delivering the program;

3. There is full disclosure by all parties of all assignable income and costs as part of the proposal and review process;

4. Procedures should be developed to simplify bills for summer session courses.

[passed unanimously by the Faculty Senate on 2/7/95]

I. Mission, Vision, Emphases and Outcomes, 1995-2005
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Faculty Senate thanks the President for his consideration of and response to the Faculty Senate's discussions and deliberations of the "Mission, Vision, Emphases and Outcomes 1995-2005" as reflected in the current draft.
[passed unanimously by the Faculty Senate on 2/7/95]

J. Arming of Public Safety Officers
BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Faculty Senate recommends to the President that the second revised document on "Proposed Policies Governing Use of Side Arms by Public Safety Officers at the State University of New York at Buffalo" dated March 25, 1994 be adopted as University Policy.
[passed by the Faculty Senate on 4/12/95 by voice vote]

K. Transfer of Statistics Department
The Faculty Senate supports the Administration's decision to accept student applications for admission into the Ph.D. program in Statistics. Successful candidates are to be alerted, in their letters of acceptance, to the uncertainty pertaining to the future configuration of this Ph.D. program, so that completion of the degree cannot, at this time, be guaranteed.
[passed by the Faculty Senate on 3/22/88 by voice vote]

The Faculty Senate deplores the process by which the proposed transfer of the Statistics Department from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics to the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences was handled.
[passed by the Faculty Senate on 3/20/90 by a vote of 33/3/1]

L. Graduate School Bylaws
In accordance with the Charter of the Faculty Senate, which indicates that the Faculty Senate shall review the bylaws of constituent academic units of the University prior to their adoption, the Faculty Senate has:

1. reviewed the draft Graduate School Bylaws prepared by and discussed within the Graduate School, and

2. forwarded the Bylaws to the Provost for his consideration.

[passed by the Faculty Senate on 5/23/89 by a vote of 33/0/1]

M. Transfer of Rachel Carson College and College H
The Faculty Senate recommends that the academic functions of the former Rachel Carson College and College H be incorporated within the Faculty of Social Sciences' Interdisciplinary Degree Program.
[passed by the Faculty Senate on 4/19/88 by voice vote]

N. Combination of Departments of School of Architecture
The Faculty Senate agrees that the Departments of Design Studies and Environmental Design and Planning be combined and retitled the Department of Planning and Design.
[passed by the Faculty Senate on 4/19/88 with one abstention]

O. Split of Art and Art History
The Faculty Senate concurs with the recommendation that the Department of Art and Art History be split into two separate departments as of 9/1/88, and recommends that steps necessary to effectuate this change be taken.
[passed by the Faculty Senate on 9/22/87 by voice vote]

P. Establishment of Center for Teaching Effectiveness
Whereas there have been a number of recent initiatives through the Faculty Senate to improve teaching effectiveness at this University; and

Whereas the demand for these activities indicates the time is right for the establishment of a permanent support facility dedicated to the improvement of teaching effectiveness:

Be it resolved that a Center for Teaching Effectiveness be created at the State University of New York at Buffalo. The functions of this Center would include, but not necessarily be confined to:

1. providing referral services for faculty members and graduate teaching assistants who wish to improve their teaching;

2. assisting in the development of teacher performance assessment instruments and in the evaluation of their reliability and validity;

3. sponsoring and generating external funds for research on teaching and assisting in training students to design and carry out such research;

4. sponsoring scholarly meetings, lectures, seminars, newsletters, and workshops on all aspects of the teaching-learning process;

5. serving as a repository for information, national and international, about teaching;

6. promoting cooperation among the on-campus centers which are presently involved in more specific missions regarding teaching.

[passed by the Faculty Senate on 5/20/85 unanimously]

Q) Resolution of Women's Studies
The Academic Planning Committee appreciates the extensive report prepared by Dr. Isabel Marcus, which responded to specific academic concerns raised by the Committee, and the steps she and her colleagues have taken to develop a significant number of affiliated and adjunct faculty in Women's Studies, to supplement the current core faculty. The Committee has no objection to Women's Studies being granted the status of a department within the College of Arts and Sciences, or that it continue to move ahead with its doctoral program. The Academic Planning Committee accordingly recommends that the Faculty Senate Executive Committee indicate to the provost, and to the Dean and faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, its formal acceptance of departmental status for Women's Studies.
[passed by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee on 3/29/00]

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