M 31146&
MEMORANDUM
FROM: Tom Brose
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TO: Senate
SUBJECT:
Senate's Responsibilities
DATE:
October 3rd, 1966
under Sec.
46(f) Universities
Act.
Sec. 46(f)
(T)he Board has power...
with the approval of the Senate, to
provide for the establishment and maintenance of Faculties and
departments with suitable teaching staff, and for such chairs,
fellowships, scholarships, exhibitions, bursaries, prizes, and
courses of instruction in any subject as may seem meet to the
Board and Senate, except for theology courses intended as train-
ing for the ministry of any religion, and with the approval of
the Senate to discontinue any Faculty, department, chair, fellow-
ship, scholarship, exhibition, bursary, prize, or course of
instruction.
This memorandum seeks to open the discussion on Senate's responsibilities re-
garding the "maintenance of...departments with suitable teaching staff" as
mentioned in the Act. In our several months of existence, we have not accept-
ed the full burden of our responsibilities. I hope our discussion could cla-
ify Senate's role and lead to the creation of Senate committee or committees
concerned with staffing, promotion, and tenure in the Faculties.
Since the essential criteria for either hiring, promoting, or granting of
tenure are academic, it seems only reasonable to expect to have Senate enter
the picture at some stage, if only to give approval after review to proposals
of the departments as accepted by the Board. To date, Senate has been absent
and silent.
There are also practical reasons in favor of Senate's participation in this
process, even though 54(b) of the Act gives Senate the power "to provide
for the government, management, and carrying-out of curriculum, instruction,
and education offered by the University". Senate could bring both the public
and a wide segment of the Faculty, selected by the Faculty, into the academic
process of establishing criteria for hiring, promoting and granting tenure.
The present system of dealing with these matters is very overlapping. Heads
make recommendations which are reviewed by a committee composed of Heads, and
then subject to another committee struck by the President and composed of some
of the Heads and full professors. Senate's committee could be a review com-
mittee as well as an appeal committee within the Act,. If the role of Senate
as the academic decision-maker is to be made fully'meaningful, then the academ-
ic criteria for promotion, tenure and the like should be presented, at some
stage, to Senate.
Furthermore, Senate as a body concerned with the academic consequences of de-
partmental staffing could review, prior to giving its approval, the Board's
decisions which, in the main, are determined by economic considerations. One
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could maintain a situation in which the Senate might have to inform the Board
on any academic dangers resulting from Board decisions to limit staff for eco-
nomic reasons. Also, the changes in students' academic interests might result
in departments being temporarily overstaffed, but decisions made on economic
grounds by the Board could result in danger to such academic values as a broad
liberal education.
Finally, I am not here suggesting that Senate attempt to spread itself too
thin by keeping a hand in all aspects of the university, but I think that the
maintenance of departments involves essential questions of an academic nature,
and Senate should not shirk its responsibility. Senate should realize, more-
over, that if it does not assume its full role, its function will be performed
by other persons and other bodies in the university.
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