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Division of Strategic Communications and External Relations
September 4, 2007

1. What is faculty governance?

Faculty governance shapes important aspects of the Institute, including curriculum development, the hiring of new professors and the promotion and tenure of faculty. At Rensselaer, a subset of faculty members traditionally has advised the Provost and the President on academic matters.

2. Why is faculty governance so important?

In order to assure the continued progress of faculty and instructional staff, and the university as a whole, all strong institutions must have effective faculty governance. Among other functions, faculty governance helps shape what students learn while at the Institute, who teaches them, how faculty members are promoted for their dedication to teaching and success in research, and possible new research directions. Faculty governance enables faculty participation in governance at the committee, department, program, and school levels, facilitating peer-to-peer academic exchange and intellectual development. It nurtures future generations of academic and institutional leadership.

3. Why do we need to review the structure of faculty governance at Rensselaer?

The need for faculty governance review begins with the pace and scale of change that has occurred at Rensselaer over the last eight years. The Institute has evolved quickly as a national research university, demanding clarity with regard to the leadership and advisory roles of the tenured and tenure-track faculty. It has been well over a decade since Rensselaer’s faculty governance system was reexamined.

4. Why review the structure of faculty governance right now?

While the need to examine the governance structure was precipitated by the failure of the Faculty Senate (a group of voting faculty representatives) to change its constitution to comply with a directive from the Board of Trustees issued in December 2006, in addition, there are inconsistencies within the Faculty Senate constitution and the Faculty Handbook, and between the two guiding documents. The faculty governance review process seeks to resolve these discrepancies with the input of as many members of the faculty as possible. It is also intended to be a discussion of faculty governance broadly, and to lead to clarification with regard to the role of the faculty and the role of the administration in universities, and at Rensselaer in particular.

5. How are the definitions of faculty different?

The current Faculty Senate constitution defines “faculty” as any person at Rensselaer with the title professor, associate professor, assistant professor, research professor, research associate professor, research assistant professor, librarian, archivist and assistant archivist, and also those retired from these positions. In December 2006, the Board of Trustees defined the faculty of Rensselaer as active tenured and tenure-track faculty.

6. Why are tenured and tenure-track faculty key to the development of Rensselaer?

Tenured and tenure-track faculty have a career-long commitment to them by the Institute. This affords them a special role as stewards of the Institute’s core mission of teaching, research, and service. With this privilege comes important responsibility, including that of advising, in a constructive manner, the senior administration on academic matters.

7. What role do other professors and instructional staff play at Rensselaer?

All members of the Rensselaer community are vital participants in the ongoing transformation of the university. All professors and instructional staff play an important role in the education of our students.

8. What led up to this review?

• In the fall of 2006, the Faculty Senate proposed to the Board of Trustees changes to the Faculty Senate constitution to extend voting privileges to additional instructional staff. This action bypassed review and approval by the President, as required by the Faculty Senate constitution, and appropriate university processes.
• The Board of Trustees sent the proposal to the President, and asked the President to conduct an administrative review of the Senate’s proposal. She delegated that responsibility to the Provost. The Provost sent to the President alternative language for the Faculty Senate constitution, and the President approved it and communicated it to the Board.
• This exchange engendered a broad discussion among the Board about the need to clarify the role of all faculty and instructional staff at the Institute.
• As an outcome of this discussion, the Board did not accept either the Faculty Senate proposal or the Provost’s recommendations. Instead, the Board unanimously voted, in December 2006, to define the faculty as active tenured and tenure-track faculty. The Board stated in a letter to the President, and in a resolution codifying its decision, that it would look only to this group as the official voice of the faculty. It asked the President to transmit to the faculty the Board’s request that the Faculty Senate conform its constitution and other governance structures to the Board’s directive. The President did this in a letter to the Provost, dated December 11, 2006.
• In February 2007, the Faculty Senate voted to decline the Board’s directive, as transmitted by the President.
• In April 2007, the Faculty Senate conducted an election that allowed voting by members of the community not conforming to the Board’s December 2006 definition of the faculty as active tenured and tenure-track faculty.
• After the Senate had voted not to comply with the Board’s request to take action to modify its constitution, Faculty Senate representatives discussed with the President and Provost during the spring of 2007 the idea of assembling a review committee (including Trustees) to make suggestions for Faculty Senate consideration. The proposal was rejected because it did not comply with the Board’s request that the Faculty Senate take action, itself, to modify its constitution to comply with the Board’s directive. Moreover, it proposed inappropriate roles for members of the Board of Trustees – roles that were impractical and inconsistent with the proper oversight and broad stewardship role of the Board.
• After no action by the Faculty Senate during the 2006-07 academic year, in June 2007, the Board requested that the President create a means to implement its 2006 directive.
• The President delegated this responsibility to the Provost.
• In late July, the Provost recommended to the President a faculty governance review process and an interim structure of faculty governance that would prevail during the review.
• On Aug. 13, the President approved the Provost’s recommendations. The Board of Trustees endorsed the process and approved the plan for interim governance during the transition in a resolution. The Chairman of the Board also issued a letter to the Rensselaer community announcing a Board of Trustees resolution to this effect.

9. How will faculty governance function while the faculty governance review proceeds?

Much faculty governance activity occurs independently of the Faculty Senate, at the academic program, department, and school levels. Many institutions do not utilize faculty senates or other faculty representative bodies, but nonetheless have university-level promotion and tenure committees, curriculum committees, and other faculty groups that advise on academic matters.

Because the Faculty Senate did not comply with the Board’s directive to modify its constitution consistent with the Board’s definition of the faculty, a transitional faculty governance state became necessary, and the Faculty Senate has been suspended. The transitional faculty governance structure will preserve all key aspects of faculty governance by ensuring participation by the faculty in the decision-making of the Institute in areas of curriculum development and decisions on promotion and tenure. During the transitional period, the current members of key faculty advisory groups and current faculty representatives to Board of Trustees committees will have their terms extended. As necessary, members of these groups will be replaced by faculty nominees appointed by the Provost and approved by the President.

Also during the transitional period, a Faculty Governance Review Committee (FGRC) will work in consultation with the academic deans and the tenured and tenure-track faculty. Once established, the FGRC will develop a plan for faculty governance which conforms to the definition of faculty established by the Board of Trustees, and which ensures the participation of a substantial majority of the tenured and tenure-track faculty. After the conclusion of the review, the FGRC will establish a process to transition to the modified faculty governance and prepare a new constitution that reflects the changes.

10. How will the FGRC plan be reviewed?

The FGRC plan will take into consideration the perspectives of all tenured and tenure-track faculty and instructional staff.  The FGRC plan will be reviewed and approved by a substantial majority of tenured and tenure-track faculty. The approved plan will be reviewed by the President, and the President’s decision and comments will be forwarded to the Board of Trustees for a final decision.

The administration will be guided throughout the process by faculty governance principles at leading, selective private research universities, and by the research and analysis of national higher education associations, including the Association of Governing Boards, the American Association of University Professors, and the Association of American Universities.

11. How will the Rensselaer community be involved in the decision-making process?

The faculty governance review process will be highly participatory, involving all faculty and instructional staff, with special responsibility given to the tenured and tenure-track faculty.  In addition, as the process unfolds, the Provost will reach out as broadly as possible through formal and informal meetings with faculty and instructional staff.

12. Where can I find additional information?

A Web site has been developed as an information source on the issue of faculty shared governance. The site, which can be found at http://www.rpi.edu/about/governance/index.html, will provide continuous updates on the process and encourage involvement in the review of the faculty governance structure.