Amendments to Report
The original report of the Ad
Hoc Committee to Review Faculty Governance was circulated in January
2005. In response to feedback from the faculty, the Committee amended
some of its initial recommendations as follows.
NOTE: In the language below, "No change" means
"no change from original recommendations," not "no change in
existing practice."
From the Agenda of the March 2005 Faculty Meeting:
Section II, Immediate Recommendations (Approved in March 2005)
- Meeting time: The meeting time should be changed from Monday, 5-6:30.
The Faculty Council should determine the best alternative time. (By
vote of the Faculty, this was changed to "The Faculty Council should
propose an alternative time." In April 2005 the Faculty Council proposed
the first and third Tuesdays of the month at noon for 2005-2006, and
this was approved.)
- Agenda order: As a standard practice, reports and motions from
standing committees should be first on the agenda, but the Chair and
Faculty Council may change the order to respond to circumstances that
require another order. A brief presidential statement at the
beginning of the meeting would not be inconsistent with this motion, as long as any questions for the president or his staff were saved until later.
- Agenda deadline: The texts of committee reports and motions must be
either attached to the published agenda, or made available at the same
time as the agenda is published.
- Substitute motions: Substitute motions on committee reports
should be discouraged by the Chair until the report has been fully
presented.
- Limits on speakers: We would emphasize that the cited provision of Robert's Rules would not prevent the presenter of a motion from speaking more than twice.
- President at head table: No change.
- President's authority: We will make no motion on this recommendation.
Because this issue was specifically mentioned in the Middle States Report,
we will not withdraw it, in order to have our position on the issue
on the record.
- Chair's released time: No change.
- Secretary and Trustees: No change.
Section III, Handbook Changes
- Quorum: No change.
- Standing committees: Faculty or University committee status should
be determined by the Faculty Council or such group as it delegates.
- Strategic Planning Council: No change.
- Faculty Council charge: No change.
- Librarians: We will withdraw this recommendation.
Section IV, Basic Structural Change
We will make no motion on either model, because the
advisability of either is contingent on the future performance of
the governance system with the changes here proposed. But we do
think it advisable for the Faculty Council (with its new charge)
to begin thinking about these long-term options.
Unfinished Business
Information is now being gathered concerning governance
systems at comparable institutions. The Faculty Council or
its delegate should receive this information and determine
what lessons it may hold for Bucknell. The Faculty Council or its
delegate should conduct a review of the charges of the present standing
committees, and determine if changes should be recommended.
The Faculty Council or its delegate should systematically assess
the impact of the changes implemented as a
result of this report, and make further recommendations concerning
governance, as it finds necessary.
This page maintained by
Marty Ligare
mligare@bucknell.edu
