Appalachian State University Faculty Senate Agenda, May 21, 2012

By FIRE May 21, 2012

May 21, 2012 3:00 pm Special Session

NOTE: All Faculty Senate meetings are recorded.

I. Announcements

A. Welcome and Introduction of Visitors.

II. Chair’s Reports

A. Discussion of Faculty Senate committee assignments.

III. Committee Report

A. Agenda Committee (Koch, Anderson, Aycock, Botts)
1. Resolution on "Administrative Leave":

Whereas, The Faculty Handbook and the UNC Code are the sources of the rules and procedures that constitute the contracts for faculty at ASU, and

Whereas, The Faculty Handbook and the UNC Code do not mention the use of "administrative leave" as a mechanism for removing a tenured faculty member from his or her duties at the university, and

Whereas, The use of the term "administrative leave" fails to designate whether leave is voluntary or involuntary on the part of the faculty member, and

Noting that involuntary "administrative leaves" are not initiated by the faculty member but by the administration, and

Further noting that the imposition of involuntary "administrative leave" on a faculty member carries a negative connotation regarding the faculty member’s performance; therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Faculty Senate at Appalachian State University considers the imposition of involuntary administrative leave on a faculty member to be the equivalent of a faculty suspension and differs only with reference to the term assigned to the act.

2. Resolution on Due Process:

Whereas, Section 3.8.1.1 of the Faculty Handbook states that a faculty suspension is a "serious sanction" that is to be employed only in cases of "incompetence," "neglect of duty," or "misconduct of such a nature as to indicate that the individual is unfit to continue as a member of

the faculty," and

Whereas, The suspension of a faculty member either asserts or infers that a suspension is justified on the grounds that the faculty member may have engaged in activities that warrant such a serious sanction, and

Whereas, A suspension is likely to cause material harm to a faculty member, and
Noting that these harms include, but are not limited to: reputation, fulfillment of obligations to

grants and other contracts, scholarly research, and administrative duties, and

Further noting that faculty suspension causes psychological stress; therefore, it be

Resolved, That the Faculty Senate asserts that when a faculty member is suspended from his or her duties the right to due process outlined in Section 3.8.2 of the Faculty Handbook should be immediately afforded that faculty member.

IV. Unfinished Business

A. None

V. New Business

A. None

VI. Adjournment

 

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Cases: Appalachian State University: Professor Suspended for Classroom Speech