Provost's memo of May 11, 1998, on revisions to the Faculty Handbook

MEMORANDUM
To: University Faculty
From: Charles Phelps
Subject: Revisions to the Faculty Handbook

Last fall we asked the Deans and Director to review the faculty handbook thoroughly and to comment on any areas that do not reflect current practice and/or that have been particularly problematic. We also asked the University's legal counsel to undertake a thorough review of the document. Four types of proposed changes emerged from those reviews. First, there are minor revisions in the form of updating phone numbers, organizational charts, and maps. Second, there are several proposed changes that address inconsistencies between the Faculty Handbook and the University's Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual. Third, there are proposed revisions that address inconsistencies within the handbook itself. In many cases, a policy stated in one Page of the handbook was paraphrased somewhat vaguely in another Page. Fourth, there are proposed revisions of substance that deal with things like faculty responsibilities and the tenure process. The major substantive revisions are described briefly below. (Additional discussion points were raised during the April 21, 1998, meeting of the Faculty Senate. Please refer to the minutes of that meeting for details.)

Replace the terms "limited tenure" and "unlimited tenure" with "without tenure" and "with tenure," respectively. Our use of the term "limited tenure" is confusing to those outside of the University, especially to those whom we ask to serve as outside reviewers on promotion cases. The proposed change brings our terminology in line with other universities. Others have suggested alternative wording, including "without tenure/with unlimited tenure" and "with a fixed term contract/with tenure".
Neutralize the description of the untenured associate position. The untenured associate professor position is on the standard promotion path in many areas of the University (e.g., Simon and Eastman). The current description of the position does not reflect this practice and, more importantly, has a slightly negative connotation. The proposed revision reflects current practice and neutralizes the language.
Allow schools to adopt new untenured teaching titles: "Assistant/Associate/Professor (Teaching)" and "Assistant/Associate/Professor (Research)". Like other universities, we have faculty members who only teach (or who only do research) and who are not on the tenure track. Under the current system, we are forced to call them Visiting Professors even though some have been "visiting" for many years. The availability of such titles would give schools considerable flexibility in hiring and retaining such individuals. (Note: The Medical School currently has such titles for research.)
Modify the process by which faculty members comment on proposed promotions within their departments. We propose that each faculty member in the department (at or above the tenure and rank of the candidate) be required to provide comment directly to the dean on each proposed promotion. This communication would be in addition to the written opinions and judgments provided to the department chair. The proposed change is designed to encourage substantially more candor in the process.
Allow for part-time leaves. The duration and terms of these leaves would be negotiated on an ad hoc basis.
Specify the ownership of course-related material developed by UR faculty.

At the request of the Faculty Senate, I have agreed to defer discussion of the proposed revisions until the fall of 1998 and will accept suggestions and comments through November, 25, 1998. This deadline will allow us time to consider carefully all suggestions and comments received before taking the revised handbook to the Board of Trustees for approval in February of 1999.

The proposed revisions will remain on the University's web site through next fall. (To get to the site from the UR Home Page, click on "For the University Community" and then "Faculty Handbook".) If you would like a hard copy to review, please contact my office (5-5931). Again, I encourage you to review the document and to send your comments and suggestions to: handbook@admin.rochester.edu or to Box 16, Administration Building. If you prefer, you may send comments directly to the Faculty Senate via Joyce Ostberg (ostberg@admin.rochester.edu).

Thank you for your help.

Copyright by University of Rochester
Faculty Senate site created June 29, 1998, by William Simon wsimon@biophysics.rochester.edu
Maintained by Douglas C. Ravenel drav@harpo.math.rochester.edu.
This page last revised September 27, 1998