Faculty Senate

News

At the April 27, 2021 meeting, the Senate voted to endorse the Ethical Investment Advisory Committee’s recommendation regarding investment in fossil fuels. The recommendation can be found on the ‘Reports’ page.

The University Coronavirus University Restart Team will provide an update on anticipated plans for summer and fall semesters at an upcoming Senate meeting. The continued partnership of the Faculty Senate and CURT team will extend into the upcoming year as it has throughout the 2020-2021 academic year.

On March 2, the Senate Executive Committee assembled a list of nine nominees to serve on the Provost Search Committee. From this list, the President selected at least four faculty members to be a part of the search for the next Provost of the University.

To review the ongoing work of the University of Rochester Faculty Senate, please refer to the ‘Reports’ page. Included on this webpage are all formal reports distributed by ongoing and ad hoc committees of faculty.

Approved revisions to the Faculty Senate Charter

At the April 7, 2020 meeting, the Faculty Senate approved the addition of By-Law III to the Faculty Senate Charter outlining procedures for the University Committee on Tenure and Privileges.

At the May 8, 2018 meeting, the Faculty Senate approved a revision to the Faculty Senate Charter to allow for faculty representatives on specific Board of Trustees committees, to specify the beginning and end of Senate terms, to use gender-inclusive language, and to correct a usage error. The Board of Trustees approved these final revisions on May 17, 2018.

Approved revisions to the Faculty Handbook

Three changes to the University of Rochester Faculty Handbook were approved by the Board of Trustees during the February 2021 meeting. These changes are:

• Clarifying that extensions to tenure “clocks” due to COVID-19 impacts should not be voided by the current handbook language of Section IV.A.1.
• This past November, the Senate approved language on Community-engaged scholarship. With the addition of this language in Section IV.A.3, Faculty work in all three areas critical for promotion, teaching, scholarship, and service, that is, community-centered, is explicitly recognized in our promotion criteria.
• During the September 2020 Faculty Senate meeting, revisions to Faculty grievance procedures were approved. The revision adds important procedural concepts, among which are how the peer grievance committee makes decisions, who decides who may be interviewed, the role of advisors to witnesses, procedures for cross-examination, how the peer committee’s work is supported in its work, and timescales for the process. An explicit prohibition on retaliation against participants in the process, consistent with existing language in the Faculty Handbook supporting involvement in shared governance, is also added.

The Board of Trustees approved three changes to the University of Rochester Faculty Handbook in its May 2020 meeting.  These are:

• Addition of Section II.G: “Examination of alleged violations of processes prescribed by the Faculty Handbook.”  The section establishes a process to be followed to examine alleged violations.
• In Section IV.A.2, the language about appointments from outside the University now incorporates the option for schools to offer tenure upon initial appointment at the rank of associate or full professor.
• In Section IV.A.3, there are additions to the language about promotion and tenure process.   That new language establishes a periodic faculty review of promotion and tenure processes at each school.

The revised handbook is available here.

At the final Faculty Senate meeting of the 2017-2018 academic year, the Faculty Senate approved changes to the Intimate Relationships Policy and Grievance Policy in the Faculty Handbook. The Board of Trustees approved these final changes on May 17, 2018.

At the Faculty Senate meeting on September 25, 2018, the Faculty Senate approved changes to the Emeritus Designation Policy and the Promotion, Tenure, and Community Engagement Policy in the Faculty Handbook. The Board of Trustees approved these final changes on October 5, 2018.