2023-66

2023-66

Motion Introduced by:  UAC

Date of First Reading:     March 27, 2023

Date of Second Reading: April 24, 2023

Title of Motion: Amendments to Bylaw I.B.2 Expanding the Membership of the University Grievance Committee

Action Requested:  Amend ACD 112-01, Bylaw I.B.2. to include career track faculty on university grievance committees

Rationale

Service on the University Senate Committee for Academic Freedom and Tenure (hereafter CAFT) and the Governance Grievance Committee (hereafter GGC) is limited to tenured professors and thereby excludes non-tenure eligible faculty are now known as “career-track” faculty.

However,career track faculty are vitally invested in the governance of the university, and face issues directly under the purview of these committees.  Career track faculty may face infringements on their academic freedom and unfair dismissals, but lacking the protection of tenure and therefore are more vulnerable to attacks on their academic freedom and dismissals. Moreover, career track faculty also bring grievances concerning salary inequities, teaching assignments, access to equipment, and other issues of unfair treatment of faculty by other faculty or administrators.; Thus, without representation of career track faculty on these committees, those who bring grievances to them currently lack the right to have their cases be heard by their peers.

Action.

1. Amend  ACD 112-01, Bylaw I.B.2.c. (GGC) defining membership to read “Members shall be elected by the Academic Assembly from among all full-time faculty who have been employed at ASU for at least six years for a period of three years”

 

1.  Amend ACD 112-01, Bylaw I.B.2.b.1 defining membership to read “Membership. Tenured and tenure-track faculty shall elect twelve members of this committee: six from the Tempe campus and two each from the Downtown campus, the Polytechnic campus and the West campus. Career track faculty shall elect six career track faculty members who have been employed at ASU for at least six years: three from the Tempe campus, and one each from the Downtown campus, the Polytechnic campus and the West campus.

[Existing language to remain:  Assembly members may vote only for those nominees for their campus. The term shall be three years, one-third of the elected members to be replaced each year. Members may not hold administrative positions at the level of department chair or above.]

1.  Amend ACD 112-01, Bylaw I.B.2.b.3) Functions of the committee

[Existing language:

a. the committee shall investigate alleged infringements upon the academic freedom, as defined and described in ACD 201 or tenure of faculty members

b. the committee shall hear cases assigned to it by the Clearinghouse Committee

c. the committee shall deal with dismissal and disability status.

 

[New language]

“a. the committee shall hear cases assigned to it by the Clearinghouse Committee

 

b. the committee shall deal with cases of disability status.

c. the committee shall investigate alleged infringements upon academic freedom as defined and described in ACD 201.

d. The committee shall meet to deal with cases of dismissal, but only the tenured members of the committee shall investigate dismissal of tenure-track or tenured faculty, or alleged infringements upon the tenure of faculty members.”