II. Faculty Membership and Governance

A. General Governance Structure

The University of Richmond is committed to the principle and practice of shared governance, which entails decision-making through a process of joint effort and collaboration on the part of the Board of Trustees, administration, faculty, staff, and students. The University is also committed to establishing and maintaining an atmosphere of openness and respect, as well as clear, ongoing, and reciprocal communication among the different groups involved in its governance.
 
The ultimate legal responsibility for the operation of the University rests irrevocably with the Board of Trustees.  The Board, however, chooses to delegate many of its responsibilities to other segments of the University and to accept their recommendations, provided they are consistent with the general purposes and the resources of the University.  Thus, it entrusts the administration of the University to the President, Provost, other Vice Presidents, and deans, and the teaching and research to the faculty.

Although all the major components of the University will be given the opportunity to express their opinions regarding important changes in goals, policies, and practices, the weight given to their respective opinions will vary depending on the nature of the decision involved and on a component's formal (legal) authority, its expertise on the matter at hand, and the extent to which its vested interests are at stake.  Thus, the Board has primary responsibility for establishing the general goals of the University and husbanding its endowment, and the President for overseeing all the programs of the University, enhancing its financial and physical assets, representing it to its many publics, and improving the quality of student life.

The faculty has primary responsibility for establishing and implementing the educational policies of the University. More specifically, it has the primary responsibility for determining the curriculum, methods of instruction, research, student admission policies, composition and status of faculty (selection, promotion, and tenure), academic support programs (such as library, research, and academic computing), and budgeting for the various academic programs.  The faculty is also responsible for determining the degrees to be offered by the University, degree requirements, and who should be awarded degrees.  In all these areas, the faculty's decision-making authority derives from its collective educational expertise, its stake in the success of the academic program, and its right to exercise and protect academic freedom.  In addition, even though it is not the body primarily responsible for making such decisions, the faculty will be consulted in a meaningful way on such matters as faculty workloads, salaries, and benefits, and on all non-academic decisions that may have a direct impact on the academic life of the students.

The faculty expresses its views through faculty meetings, committees, and individuals chosen to represent the faculty at meetings of the Board of Trustees and the administration.  Committees may be established at either the university level, for matters involving more than one school, or the school level, for matters affecting only one school.  (The committee systems in existence at both levels are described elsewhere in this document.)  Except when the University faculty or a school faculty votes otherwise, members of faculty committees shall be elected by their respective faculties (university or school).  Faculty members of Board of Trustees committees shall be appointed by the President after being elected by the faculty.

All policy recommendations made by committees are forwarded to their respective faculty (university or school) for its consideration, and all policy recommendations approved by a faculty are forwarded to the President or another administrative officer to whom the President has delegated the responsibility for receiving such recommendations.  In practice, a dean or the Provost will receive recommendations related to academic matters, and the Vice President for Student Development will receive recommendations related to non-academic aspects of student life.  The faculty may communicate with the Board of Trustees through University Faculty Council.

In those areas for which a faculty body has primary responsibility, the Board of Trustees, the President and other administrators will normally concur with the faculty's judgment.  In those exceptional instances when the faculty's judgment is questioned by an administrator or the Board, the latter will provide the appropriate faculty body a detailed explanation of his/her/its objections and will discuss the matter further with the faculty, with the aim of reaching agreement.  When the objections come from the Board or the President, either initially or in response to an appeal by a faculty body of a Dean or Provost's decision, and agreement with the faculty body cannot be reached, the Board or President's decision on the matter will be final.

B. University Faculty

1. Responsibilities

The University faculty is concerned with all matters connected with the educational, cultural, social, and moral program of the University and participates in recommending policies governing these matters.  Within this broad framework, the University faculty has major responsibilities for:

• Recommending new degrees to be offered by the University, all academic programs and policies which relate to two or more colleges.
• Recommending the policies to be followed in all student activities so long as those policies affect the students in two or more colleges.

Since it is impossible for the University faculty in full faculty meetings to devote the time and energy necessary for careful planning of varied policies, the University faculty will normally delegate the formulation and recommendation of these policies to its various subordinate bodies.  The University faculty reserves the right to call to its agenda a consideration of any policy recommended by any of these subordinate groups, as well as the right to establish standing or ad hoc committees to deal with these policies.

2. Membership

The University faculty consists of the President, the Provost, the Deans of the schools, those with full-time faculty appointments, and others who have been granted faculty status.  Membership in school faculties is analogously defined as full-time faculty with rank who have a primary appointment in a school or an academic department of a school.  Administrators (other than the President, Provost, and the Deans) who have entered their positions from the tenured faculty and hold limited period administrative appointments retain full membership in the faculty.

3. Student Representatives

The Richmond College Student Government Association, the Westhampton College Government Association, the Robins School of Business Student Government Association, the School of Continuing Studies Student Government Association, and the T. C. Williams Student Bar Association may select as many as two student representatives each to attend University faculty meetings.  Such representatives will have voice but may not make motions or vote.

4. Voting Rights and Quorum Determination

Full-time faculty who are tenured, on tenure-track, or on continuing term appointments have voice and vote in faculty meetings.   Full-time visiting faculty, i.e. those holding temporary, non-continuing appointments, shall have voice but no vote in faculty meetings.  Full-time voting faculty members on sabbatical leave or leave of absence continue to hold their right to vote if they attend the meeting.  Professional librarians and administrators with faculty status have voice and vote in University faculty meetings and in school faculty meetings as determined by each school's faculty.

A majority of those individuals with voting rights is a quorum for the transaction of business.  Excluded from the quorum determination and quorum count are faculty on sabbatical leave or leave of absence.

5. Meetings

All faculty members are expected to attend faculty meetings as a part of the professional responsibility to the University. The agenda for a University faculty meeting is prepared by the Provost.  Individuals or committees wishing to place items on the agenda should send requests to the Provost no later than ten days before the meeting date.  Announcements of the meeting time and place shall be given approximately one week in advance of the meeting, usually via SpiderBytes or email.  Every effort will be made to schedule meetings at hours which do not interfere with scheduled classes.

6. Faculty Status

Professional librarians hold faculty status.  Certain other positions directly involved in academic programs may hold faculty status by action of the faculty following the recommendation of the Committee on Faculty Status.  Faculty status gives them both voice and vote in University faculty meetings, eligibility to serve on faculty committees, to serve as student advisors, and to participate in P.E.T.E. programs; and it acknowledges that they play an active role in the intellectual activities of the University.  By action of its faculty, any school may include professional librarians as part of its faculty.  Faculty status does not carry with it eligibility for tenure or sabbatical, nor does it automatically carry with it faculty rank (Professor, Associate, Assistant Professor, or Instructor), since faculty rank is in a specific academic department, nor does it carry eligibility for other benefits normally assigned to full-time teaching faculty.

7. Directors in Arts & Sciences

The School of Arts & Sciences has a number of faculty positions with the title of Director. These are continuing, non-tenure-stream positions with a mixture of teaching and administrative responsibilities.  These positions carry faculty status and are associated with an academic department.  As members of the Arts & Sciences faculty, they are automatically members of the University faculty.