Committees

Standing University committees play an important role in the governance of the University.

They develop academic policies, evaluate curriculum proposals, and design effective assessment of student learning.

Most standing committees report to Academic Council, a committee that includes all school deans, academic department heads, and the Vice President for Academic Affairs, who also chairs the committee.

Many committees also report to the Faculty Senate, whose officers are elected by the faculty as a whole and whose senators are elected by the faculty of their particular departments. The Faculty Senate promotes academic freedom and collegiality, improves the quality of education, and makes recommendations to the administration as well as to Academic Council.

Similarly, the Staff Advisory Council is comprised of members elected by their peers to represent University staff for policy recommendations, communicate and share staff concerns to administration, recommend changes to University practices and provide administrative support.

Faculty Membership

• All Committees Member List (pdf)

Faculty membership on standing university committees will be determined on a yearly basis by the Faculty Senate’s Committee on Committees (hereafter referred to as the “Committee”), in accordance with these broad philosophical guidelines:

• ideally, each department will be represented on each committee, except as specified in the following descriptions;
• each faculty member should be allowed to express preferences for membership on committees and, if possible, those preferences will be honored;
• each faculty representative should be a full-time faculty member (Department Heads are eligible for appointment);
• faculty should serve on at least one committee and, if possible, no more than two

Faculty membership on committees is three years (unless specifically noted in the committee description) to facilitate scheduling, all terms for a given department will expire in the same year. Committee membership should be determined in the spring semester of the year prior to membership.

New faculty will be assigned to committees as they begin their teaching tenure. At the first meeting of each year, the committee members will select a chair (unless the chair is specifically designated) and other officers, as they deem appropriate.

Selection Procedure

University committee assignments for the following academic year would be made in the spring. Faculty hired subsequent to the process would be assigned membership in the fall. In February, the Senate will ask each faculty member for a statement on which committee(s) he/she would prefer membership. In March, the “Committee” will meet to select members for University committees, basing that selection on its own guidelines (see below) and on the skills, experience, and expertise of the faculty member and the needs of each committee. Between April 15 and May 1, members of committees will be notified of seating.