UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
FACULTY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Annual Report to the Faculty
2004-2005
The Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) is established by the University Statutes, Article II, Section 4; its members are elected by the faculty at each campus. The FAC provides for the orderly voicing of suggestions for the good of the University, affords added recourse for the consideration of grievances, and furnishes a channel for direct and concerted communication between the academic staff and the administrative officers of the University. Any faculty member, current or retired, may voice a suggestion for the good of the University or submit a request for consideration of a grievance to any Faculty Advisory Committee member. The FAC reports to the Chancellor, the President, the Senate, and the faculty.
The following is the Annual Report to the Faculty of FAC actions for 2004-05.
Meetings and Membership
The members of the Faculty Advisory Committee are agents of the University, concerned first and foremost with the best interests of the institution. The committee serves as an advocate for fairness with respect to the application of campus policy and procedures.
The FAC meets twice a month each month of the year to consider issues brought to its attention by faculty and administrators. Additionally, the FAC periodically meets with the Provost to discuss specific cases and other academic issues. At UIUC, the FAC is comprised of nine tenured faculty; three are elected each year for three-year terms.
Consultations and Cases
The Faculty Advisory Committee is authorized to make findings on matters involving the application of procedures and policies and does not make judgments related to the evaluation of scholarly achievements and activities.
The FAC distinguishes between consultations and cases. Grievances are first received by the FAC as consultations. If the FAC determines the matter to be within its scope, the committee may assign case status and conduct an investigation. With respect to cases, the Faculty Advisory Committee reviews its findings and (a) returns it to a subcommittee with appropriate instructions, (b) arranges a meeting(s) of the committee or subcommittee with the parties concerned, (c) takes up the matter with appropriate University authorities, (d) takes any action it deems desirable in the best interest of the faculty member involved and of the University, (e) communicates its conclusions to the faculty member and to appropriate administrators and others, or (f) dismisses the matter.
The nature of complaints that come before the FAC vary. Consultations and cases for 2004-05 were categorized as follows:
Description Consultations Cases
Nonreappointment 2
Promotion 4 1
Administrative Action 7 1
Salary 3 1
Promotion & Tenure Process 1
Harassment/mistreatment 1
Termination 1
Other 5
Total 22 5
The sources of the consultations and cases for 2004-05 were categorized as follows:
College Consultations Cases
Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences 1
Business 1 1
Education 2
Communications 6 1
Engineering 1
Fine and Applied Arts 4
Liberal Arts and Sciences 4 2
Library 1
Other 2 1
Outcomes
With regard to the disposition of the five cases receiving formal investigations by the Faculty Advisory Committee in 2004-05, the FAC made a recommendation to the campus administration for further action in three cases, referred one case to other avenues of appeal, and dismissed one case.
With regard to the disposition of the 22 consultations they were either carried over into 2005-06 (5), referred to other avenues of appeal (3), resolved by the grievant after consultation and advice from the FAC (11), or declined by the FAC for further review(3).
This statistical breakdown does not provide a complete representation of the types of problems faculty encounter on the UIUC campus, since many faculty choose not to pursue their grievances to this level. Moreover, in conducting its investigations, the FAC at times discovers underlying issues that go beyond an individual grievance, and these may not be fully reflected in the statistics.
Issues and Recommendations
Following is a list of issues of a recurring or systemic nature that the FAC identified in the course of its investigations in 2004-05.
Composition of Promotion and Tenure Appeals Committees
In fall 2004, then Provost Richard Herman initiated a process of review and revision to the language of Communication No. 10, Guidelines and Procedures for Notice of Nonreappointment for Nontenured Faculty Members. New language was adopted and, while the FAC is pleased that Communication No. 10 provides the option to use a newly constituted appeals committee, we feel that the revised language did not go far enough in guaranteeing a fair reconsideration to nonreappointed faculty members. The Faculty Advisory Committee continues to advocate that the committee used to reconsider a negative tenure and promotion case should be a specially constituted committee consisting of persons who did not participate in the original decision.
Grievance Procedures
The Faculty Advisory Committee continues to witness problems associated with the lack of bylaws-based grievance procedures at the unit and college level. In 2001-02, a subcommittee of the FAC worked with the Provost’s office in developing a set of minimum guidelines for bylaws-based grievance procedures. On September 5, 2001, then Provost Richard Herman wrote to college deans and directors concerning unit bylaws, stating that, “in development of Communication No. 21, Annual Faculty Review, each unit will provide a bylaws-based grievance procedure.” The Faculty Advisory Committee was assured in May 2005 that the Provost’s office would request confirmation of the establishment of grievance procedures. The FAC continues to encounter units and colleges that lack such mandated procedures.
Minimum Procedural Guidelines for Promotion and Tenure Review
In the course of investigating denial of tenure grievances, the Faculty Advisory Committee observed units and colleges following procedures that may have allowed for the operation of bias in the evaluation of the candidate. Examples of questionable procedures include departmental votes cast without a meeting of the voting body to discuss the candidate’s record, or decisions based on factors extraneous to the candidate’s dossier. The Faculty Advisory Committee recommends that the campus adopt minimum procedural guidelines for promotion and tenure review as expediently as possible.
Access to Information Pertaining to Promotion and Tenure
The Faculty Advisory Committee has long taken the position that individuals grieving nonreappointments will be able to make more informed decisions about their appeal when they are provided access to information. In 2003, University Legal Counsel concurred with this position. We continue to advise grievants as to which documents are disclosable as outlined in Communication No. 9, Promotion and Tenure. Customary practice did not recognize this right of access, and we note that grievants have been permitted to inspect these documents only with difficulty. We continue to informally monitor progress of grievants in their efforts to obtain this information. The Faculty Advisory Committee suggests reviewing the following:
Illinois Personnel Record Review Act
http://www.fs.uiuc.edu/CAM/CAM/ix/ix-a/ix-a-16.html
Communication 9: Promotion and Tenure
http://www.provost.uiuc.edu/provost/Communications/comm9/comm9.htm
This report and previous annual reports of the Faculty Advisory Committee can be found at www.fac.uiuc.edu.
The Faculty Advisory Committee Articles of Procedure are attached.
Respectfully submitted,
2004-05 Faculty Advisory Committee 2005-06 Faculty Advisory Committee
Mary P. Stuart, Chair Billie Jean Theide, Chair
Paul Gerding (r. Fall 2004) Sandra L. Kopels
Sandra L. Kopels Craig Koslofsky
Craig Koslofsky (e. Fall 2004) Herman Krier
Herman Krier Lynn Barnett Morris
Lynn Barnett Morris Jan Novakofski
Jan Novakofski Ann Reisner
Ann Reisner Beth Sandore
Beth Sandore Mary Stuart
Billie Jean Theide
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN
FACULTY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
Articles of Procedure
(Revised October 20, 2005)
1. Any faculty member, current or retired, may voice a suggestion for the good of the University or submit a request for consideration of a grievance to any Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC) member. FAC members may not refuse to hear a suggestion or grievance. The FAC member who is consulted shall promptly report the matter to the FAC. A faculty member may also request FAC consideration of any matter which is in the interest of the University and/or which is related to any grievance.
The FAC prefers to investigate a suggestion or grievance after all other University avenues of appeal have been exhausted. Further, the faculty member submitting a grievance is informed of the inadvisability of concurrent investigations of his/her case by other University or external channels and the FAC. The FAC shall suspend the investigation of a complaint upon request of the grievant.
2. The FAC distinguishes between consultations and cases:
Consultations. A faculty member requests a meeting with a member of the FAC. The initial consultation stage includes collecting information pertaining to a suggestion or grievance. Following the consultation, a report is made to the FAC. After FAC review, the committee may advise the faculty member (a) to pursue other options, (b) to exhaust other avenues of appeal, or (c) that the matter is outside of the Faculty Advisory Committee’s purview.
Cases. If the FAC determines the matter to be within its scope, the committee may assign case status and instruct the chair to (a) take up the matter with appropriate University authorities, or (b) appoint a subcommittee from the FAC membership. The subcommittee shall investigate and report its findings and recommendations to the FAC. The Faculty Advisory Committee shall review the subcommittee report and (a) return it to the subcommittee with appropriate instructions, (b) arrange a meeting(s) of the committee or subcommittee with the parties concerned, (c) take up the matter with appropriate University authorities, (d) take any action it deems desirable in the best interest of the faculty member involved and of the University, (e) communicate its conclusions to the faculty member and to appropriate administrators and others, or (f) dismiss the matter.
3. Whenever the committee recommends that administrative action be taken, appropriate parties to the grievance shall be notified promptly and given an opportunity to bring to the committee’s attention, within a reasonable time, any misunderstandings which might have affected the committee’s conclusions, or bring to the committee’s attention any additional information relevant to the matter.
4. A recommendation involving administrative action will be accompanied by the request that the matter be considered within thirty (30) days and the committee informed of the outcome.
5. A chair is elected by a majority vote of the entire committee. The chair may designate a chair pro tempore to conduct official business of the committee in his/her absence. As an elected member, the chair shall have one vote on all questions, except as noted in Article 6 below.
6. A member of the committee shall be disqualified, either by his/her own initiative or by a majority vote of the committee, from voting on any matter with elements of conflicting interest. On those occasions when the chair might be deemed to have a conflict of interest, a chair pro tempore shall be designated to conduct official business of the committee.
7. A committee member shall accept no gifts from any party to a grievance.
8. Five members shall constitute a quorum. Approval by a majority of those members present shall be required for adoption of any measure, except in the cases of public statements, member replacements, or amendments to these articles, as indicated below. A minority may file a statement to accompany any recommendation by the majority.
9. Any matter coming before the committee shall be held confidential unless the grievant and the committee agree otherwise. If this should occur or if a public statement is made concerning the committee’s role in the matter, confidentiality will continue to be maintained for those aspects of the matter not mentioned in the public statement. Any public statement made by the committee in such circumstances shall be made by the chair or his/her appointee and shall have prior approval by a majority (5) of the entire committee. If litigation should occur in a matter before the committee and it becomes impossible to avoid disclosure of documents or testimony because of court orders, the committee as a body or any member of the committee must comply. All parties interviewed in connection with FAC cases shall be informed of this confidentiality policy.
10. At the request of the chair, and with the approval of a majority (5) of the committee members, a former member may be recalled to participate in current committee deliberations and actions involving a case in which he/she previously performed a principal role. During such deliberations, the former member shall be accorded the same rights and obligations of committee membership outlined in these procedures, except that he/she shall not be counted in determining a quorum nor have voting privileges.
11. In accordance with the FAC File Policy, committee minutes and records shall be considered confidential and open to inspection only for reasons satisfactory to the committee and authorized by it in writing, or by court order. The committee’s records shall be kept on file in the FAC Office for 20 years. After that time, the files shall be transferred to the University Archives where they will remain closed for an additional 10 years. (Copies of the committee’s File Policy are available upon request from the FAC Office, 228 English Building.)
12. The committee shall report to the faculty annually and at such other times as it may deem appropriate. Copies of such reports shall be sent to the Provost, the Chancellor, the President, and the Clerk of the Senate.
13. When a member of the Faculty Advisory Committee resigns, he/she will be replaced by the person who received the highest number of votes among those who failed to be elected in the most recent election. The replacing member will complete the term of the member being replaced.
14. The chair of the committee may, with the approval of a majority (5) of the committee members, request the resignation and replacement of a committee member who fails to attend committee meetings regularly and who does not participate fully in the work of the committee.
15. These articles of procedure may be amended at any time by a majority vote of the entire committee.
Faculty Advisory Committee
chair: Billie Jean Theide, 143 Art and Design Building, 898-7557, theide@uiuc.edu
office: Christa Petrillo, 228 English Building, 333-7373, christa@uiuc.edu