WHEREAS, the Organization and Procedures of the University Faculty (OPUF) recognizes that
“University leadership functions best when it is derived from the consent of the governed and is able to
strike the delicate balance between the twin needs for broad consultation and decisive, timely decision making,” and that “[t]he appropriate role of faculty governance is to facilitate communication between the faculty and the administration, ensuring a full consideration of faculty views, thereby building a faculty administration partnership that will serve as a firm foundation for effective leadership,” and

WHEREAS, OPUF further provides that the Faculty Senate carries out the functions of the University Faculty “to consider questions of educational policy which concern more than one college, school or separate academic unit, or are general in nature,” and

WHEREAS, the Faculty Senate, on May 10, 2000, ratified the document titled “Principles of Cooperation and Consultation between the President and Faculty Senate,” which includes the agreement between the President and the Faculty Senate that: “Meaningful faculty governance requires adequate time for consideration of issues and development of recommendations. To that end, the President or other members of the Administration will not reach final conclusions or take action on major multi-college educational policy issues until the normal steps for securing faculty input, including a reasonable period for relevant Faculty Senate Committees to act and for subsequent deliberations by the Faculty Senate to occur, have been completed,” and

WHEREAS, the report by Faculty Senate Committee to Review Faculty Governance in 2007 concluded that “the problem of a lack of early and adequate consultation has persisted” since the “Principles of Cooperation and Consultation” were ratified in 2000, and

WHEREAS, the Committee to Review Faculty Governance made recommendations that “focus on openness and meaningful consultation between faculty and the administration and the trustees, toward a goal of consensus as decisions are made,” including the recommendation that “issues for faculty consultation …shall be raised early enough to provide time for meaningful consideration by appropriate Faculty Senate committees, ad hoc faculty committees, or joint faculty/administration committees,” and

WHEREAS, the Cornell administration did not engage in early or meaningful consultation with the faculty prior to reaching its recent decisions to close the Department of Education and to relocate the Africana Studies and Research Center to the College of Arts and Sciences, which affect faculty in those units and in other departments and colleges, and

WHEREAS, issues concerning restructuring of academic departments are likely to be raised again in upcoming years as part of university strategic planning initiatives,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate calls upon the Provost and President to follow agreed upon faculty governance procedures, including OPUF and “Principles of Cooperation and Consultation between the President and Faculty Senate,” and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the University Faculty Committee (UFC) shall negotiate with the Provost and President to clarify faculty governance procedures, including: reaching a clear definition of consultation; creating protocols for the administration and the faculty to ensure early and meaningful consultation with academic departments and the Faculty Senate on issues affecting the faculty, such as restructuring academic departments; and defining as narrowly as possible the restriction of information based on confidentiality.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the UFC shall report back to the Faculty Senate with the results of the negotiations about faculty governance procedures, including submitting principles and/or procedures to the Faculty Senate for ratification.

• Eric Cheyfitz, Senator, UFC member, English
• Abby Cohn, Senator, Linguistics
• Carole Boyce Davies, Senator, Africana Studies and Research Center
• Carl Franck, Senator, Physics
• Shelley Feldman, Development Sociology
• David A. Levitsky, Senator, Nutritional Sciences
• Risa Lieberwitz, Industrial Labor Relations
• Ellis Loew, Senator, Biomedical Sciences
• Satya Mohanty, Senator, English
• Elizabeth Sanders, Senator, Government
• John Sipple, Alternate, Education
• Shawkat Toorawa, Senator, Near Eastern Studies
• Sofia Villenas, Education
• Vicki N. Meyers-Wallen, Senator, Biomedical Sciences
• 2/1/11, Cosponsors added 2/7/11

Referred to Provost Kent Fuchs February 10, 2011; his response:

Response to Faculty Governance and Consultation Resolution

Provost Kent Fuchs
Feb. 16, 2011

I’am writing in response to the Faculty Senate resolution entitled “Resolution on Protocols to Ensure Faculty Governance,” which was passed by the Senate at its February 9, 2011 meeting. President Skorton and I strongly support the resolution’s goal of improving shared governance and creating a collective understanding of the proper nature and functioning of faculty consultation, although we do not agree with some of the resolution’s assertions. In order to achieve our shared goal, Senior Vice Provost John Siliciano and I met earlier this month with the University Faculty Committee to propose a joint UFC/Provost’s Office study of the complex set of issues relating to faculty consultation on academic issues. The UFC has agreed to this proposal. Senior Vice Provost Siliciano is currently working with Dean Fry and members of the UFC on a joint document. They will report their progress to the full UFC and to me, with the end goal of reporting the outcome of their efforts to the Faculty Senate, the Academic Deans, and the President. It is my expectation that this joint effort will yield a better and more permanent understanding of this key aspect of academic governance.