1. University Faculty Governance

The Board of Trustees Statement on University Governance (T73-098 as amended) endorses the 1996 joint Statement on Government of Colleges and Universities by the American Association of University Professors, the American Council on Education, and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges and recognizes faculty primary responsibility in academic matters and faculty status. The Faculty fulfills these primary responsibilities at the department, school and college level through appropriate committees, including personnel committees, and at the campus level through the Faculty Senate with its committees and councils.

Faculty Senate

The Faculty Senate provides oversight and advice to the central administration on most campus matters, including planning, development, budget, and other administrative matters. The Faculty Senate does not exercise responsibility with respect to faculty personnel issues or working conditions, which are bargained by the University administration and the Massachusetts Society of Professors, a union affiliate of the Massachusetts Teachers Association. The Faculty Senate consists of 60-80 elected senators from approximately 20 election districts including all academic departments and the library. There are also more than 20ex officio members, including the President, Chancellor, Provost, Vice Chancellors, and Deans. The Senate’s elected officers include the Secretary, Presiding Officer, Delegate to the Board of Trustees, and two Associate Delegates to the Board of Trustees. The elected officers, plus 4 members elected at-large, comprise the Rules Committee, which elects a Chair from among its at-large members. While the Chancellor is the titular President of the Faculty Senate, the Secretary is the chief operating officer and spokesperson. The Chair of the Rules Committee also plays a substantial leadership role, since the Rules Committee manages the flow of work to the councils and committees, sets the agenda for each full meeting of the Faculty Senate, and meets regularly with the Chancellor and Provost. The Faculty Senate meets approximately every two weeks, but not less than once a month, during the academic year. https://www.umass.edu/senate

Massachusetts Society of Professors

The Massachusetts Society of Professors (MSP), 105 Hampshire House, is the exclusive collective bargaining agent for faculty members and librarians on the Amherst campus. Along with its statewide and national affiliates (Massachusetts Teachers Association and National Education Association), MSP represents unit members' professional and employment rights through negotiation and maintenance of a contract with the Trustees. Membership in or payment of an agency service fee to MSP is mandatory and gives unit members the right to representation in most aspects of their employment covered by the MSP contract. Faculty have the right to be represented in meetings that may result in discipline. https://umassmsp.org/

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2. School of Public Health and Health Sciences Faculty Governance

The Faculty Assembly of SPHHS provides oversight on academic matters related to the School and provides recommendations to the Dean. The Faculty Assembly, and thus its voting members, is made up of all faculty in the School holding a faculty title (tenure track, non-tenure track, research, clinical, or extension track) and having at least a half-time appointment (0.5 FTE) for the full academic year. The Faculty Assembly shall assume primary responsibility, as defined in Trustee Document T73-098, for academic matters and issues of faculty status in the School. This document, as amended on 2/3/1993, states in I. B. Primary Responsibilities in Governance, 2. “Academic Matters: by virtue of its professional preparation and its central concern with learning and teaching the faculty will exercise primary responsibility in such academic matters as curriculum, subject matter and methods of instruction, research, admissions, libraries, and other aspects of University life which directly relate to the educational process.” It further states in I.B. 3. “Faculty Status: The faculty will have primary responsibility for matters of faculty status, such as appointments, reappointments, promotions, tenure, and salary adjustments. “It also states in I.B.1:“Whenever the phrase “primary responsibility” appears in this statement, it shall mean the capacity to initiate recommendations, after appropriate consultation, in accordance with the procedures specified in section II. D below.” The Faculty Assembly develops and evaluates policy recommendations in these areas primarily through its standing and special committees. The faculty as a whole meet at least once each academic semester and has the charge of advising the Dean on academic and administrative matters brought forward by either the Dean or the Faculty Assembly. The Faculty Assembly is governed by the By-Laws of SPHHS (see Appendix 1) and Board of Trustees documents (see Appendix II and III). It should be noted that all decisions of the faculty assembly are recommendations. Currently, each department has created by-laws that incorporate faculty governance aspects that are in line with the MSP bargaining agreement and the University Faculty Senate Policies including the Trustees Document (RED BOOK).

Standing Committees of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences

The School of Public Health and Health Sciences has several standing committees with the ability to create ad hoc committees. The following descriptions refer to the standing committees.

a) School Curriculum Committee

The School Curriculum Committee shall review all graduate and undergraduate courses and concentrations or tracks and shall study and evaluate graduate and undergraduate curricula with respect to their relationship to the Mission and Goals of the School. The Curriculum Committee is formed by one representative of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, Communications Disorders, Environmental Health Sciences, Health Promotion & Policy, Kinesiology, and Nutrition. A committee chair is elected in the first meeting of the academic year. Ex officio and non-voting members include the Associate Dean for Graduate and Professional Studies and the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Affairs.

This Committee will assume duties as outlined in Article VII of the School’s By-laws (see Appendix I).

b) School Committee on Research

The School Committee on Research will facilitate the advancement of research-based goals for the SPHHS. The School Committee on Research shall consist of sixfaculty members, one from each of Departments of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, Communications Disorders, Environmental Health Sciences, Health Promotion & Policy, Kinesiology, and Nutrition. Two graduate students shall be appointed by the Dean, one from Public Health and one from Health Sciences. The Associate Dean for Research shall be an ex officio and non-voting member.

This Committee will assume duties as outlined in Article X of the School’s By-laws (see Appendix I).

c) School Personnel Committee

The School Personnel Committee (SPC) functions as described in the Board of Trustees document (aka the “Redbook”) and the MSP Collective Bargaining Agreement. It operates according to personnel policies as identified by and in accord with university equal opportunity regulations. This Committee studies, evaluates and forwards to the Dean, the Committee’s recommendations on appointment, reappointment, promotion and tenure according to the criteria delineated in the Redbook and in the MSP Collective Bargaining Agreement. No faculty member shall participate in any recommendation or decision relating to the appointment, reappointment, promotion, tenure, or other condition of employment of the university of any person when such participation would represent a potential conflict of interest as stated in Academic Personnel Policy of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Section 6.6 (pg 17).

This Committeewill assume duties as outlined in Article VIII of the School’s By-laws (see Appendix I).

d) Non-Tenure Track Personnel Committee

The Non-Tenure Track School Personnel Committee (NTT SPC) functions as described in the MSP Collective Bargaining Agreement to study, evaluate and forward to the Dean, the Committee’s recommendations on lecturer promotions according to the criteria established by the MSP Collective Bargaining Agreement. No faculty member shall participate in any recommendation or decision relating to the promotion, of any person when such participation would represent a potential conflict of interest as stated in Academic Personnel Policy of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Section 6.6 (pg. 17).

This Committee will assume duties as outlined in Article IX of the School’s By-laws (see Appendix I).

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