Inside Iowa State
Oct. 10, 1997
P&T, misconduct policies on Senate's October slate
by Linda Charles
The approval process for a new promotion and tenure policy, results of an evaluation of the President's Office and an update on a proposed revision of the faculty misconduct policy will be on the Faculty Senate agenda Tuesday, Oct. 14.
At the September senate meeting, some faculty suggested the entire faculty should vote on a new promotion and tenure policy proposal. While that suggestion drew support from some senators, Senate President Bill Woodman objected. Woodman said the senate, the only body elected to represent the faculty, should approve or reject the policy.
A revised promotion and tenure policy is expected to come before the senate in November. The senate had planned to vote on the policy in December, but that may change if a full faculty vote is approved.
The original draft of a proposed promotion and tenure policy, unveiled spring semester, broadened the definition of scholarship and called for five-year reviews of tenured faculty. Parts of the draft were sharply criticized by faculty, and the ISU Committee to Review Promotion and Tenure Criteria and Procedures is revising it.
The senate also will learn the results of an evaluation of the President's Office. Faculty Senate bylaws call for the senate to conduct such a review every five years.
The Committee to Review the Office of the President gathered comments from many sources, including faculty, staff and outside sources. The committee was especially interested in the president's management of such issues as promotion and tenure, financial resources, admissions and retention, diversity, technology transfer, athletics and shared governance.
Richard Seagrave, committee chair, will present the results of the evaluation of the President's Office. An evaluation of President Martin Jischke will be shared only with the State Board of Regents and the Faculty Senate Executive Board.
A revised faculty conduct policy also will be presented at the meeting.
Denise Vrchota, senate president-elect, and Jack Girton, chair of the senate Council on Judiciary and Appeals, have been meeting with administrators to discuss the framework for a policy.
The policy would lay out the procedure to be followed when faculty are accused of misconduct. A new policy is needed to assure there are safeguards for faculty who have been accused of misconduct, especially when it comes to sexual harassment, Girton said.
Under discussion now is a two-tier process. Once a complaint is filed against a faculty member, a small faculty committee would investigate and make a recom-mendation to the provost. The committee could recommend that the case was without merit, that the provost could handle the matter, or that the matter was serious enough for a thorough investigation by a larger faculty committee. That larger committee would hear the case and make a recommendation to the president.
"There are an enormous number of details not yet fixed," Girton said. "These are concepts. They haven't been approved by anyone."
The senate meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in 260 Scheman. It is open to the public.
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