2023-66-Revised

2023-66-Revised

Motion Introduced by:  UAC

Motion Introduced by:  UAC

Date of First Reading: March 27, 2023 

Date of Second Reading: October 30, 2023

Title of Motion:  Resolution to expand the membership of the university grievance committees

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 currently 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 they lack 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. (new language in bold)

1. Amend  ACD 112-01, Bylaw I.B.2.c. (GGC) defining membership in the Governance Grievance Committee to read

1. Membership: Members shall be elected to serve a term of three years by the Academic Assembly from among two groups:

a. tenured professor and tenured associate professors

b. full-time career track faculty who have Associate or full Professor rank and who have been employed at ASU for at least three years.

Tenured and tenure-track faculty shall elect six members of this committee: three from the Tempe campus and one each from the Downtown campus, the Polytechnic campus and the West campus. Career track faculty shall elect career track Professors who have been employed at ASU for at least three years: three from the Tempe campus, and one each from the Downtown campus, the Polytechnic campus and the West campus. Assembly members may vote only for those nominees for their campus. One-third of the elected members shall 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.1 defining membership in the Committee on Academic Freedom and Tenure to read “

1. Membership: Members shall be elected to serve a term of three years by the Academic Assembly from among two groups:

a. tenured professor and tenured associate professors

b. full-time career track faculty who have Associate or full Professor rank and who have been employed at ASU for at least three years.

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 career track Professors who have been employed at ASU for at least three years: three from the Tempe campus, and one each from the Downtown campus, the Polytechnic campus and the West campus. Assembly members may vote only for those nominees for their campus. One-third of the elected members shall 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

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.”