Faculty Affairs Committee (FAC) 

            a.   Purpose:  The Faculty Affairs Committee is concerned with all matters relevant to the faculty’s well being, in the context of the overall well-being of the university.  It facilitates the faculty’s role in shared governance and serves as a protector of faculty rights and a promoter of faculty responsibilities.  More specifically, its purpose is:

                        i.   to execute the informal and formal grievance procedures as set out in the Faculty Handbook

                        ii.  to serve as a mechanism for the exchange of opinions and ideas among faculty, deans, and administrators

                        iii. to initiate proposals, including proposals to form ad hoc committees with particular charges, related to faculty governance and to faculty rights and responsibilities, including any aspects of the Faculty Handbook not delegated to a standing committee; all such proposals will be submitted to the senate for approval

                        iv. to receive proposals from members of the university community, including administrators and any others who do not have specific representation on the senate, for ultimate consideration by the senate; in collaboration with the Executive Committee of the senate, to serve as the vehicle for bringing such proposals to the senate

v.  in collaboration with the chief academic officer, to clarify and interpret the Faculty Handbook; to mediate, or to arbitrate if necessary, situations in which school or college actions seem to be at odds with university policies, and where appropriate, to refer issues to the senate

                        vi.  to receive questions and concerns related to shared governance, to investigate and clarify issues raised by any member of the university community; to provide informal mediation among affected parties, and to facilitate more formal action either through its own procedures, if all parties are faculty, or through a process developed in collaboration with the administration, if parties include both faculty and non-faculty

                        vii.  in consultation with the appropriate administrators, agree on the degree of faculty participation on “Additional Committees of the University” (see IV.C. below)

                        viii.  to consult with the appropriate hiring authority on the degree of faculty participation on search committees for academic administrators (see 2.c.ii.(d) above)

                        ix.  to receive from faculty names of potential candidates for honorary degrees, and to refer such names to the president, who may submit them, in addition to those recommendations that are made to the president from other sources, to the Board of Trustees 

            b.  Membership:   as in III.A.7. above, except that all members must be tenured faculty.  In addition, the chair will serve on the Executive Committee of the senate and, with the chair of the faculty, will participate in the AAL and the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees. 

Faculty                                                                                    

               to 5/31/07                    John Buri 
                                                        Agapitos Papagapitos
                                                        Greg Sisk                                                                                   

              to 5/31/08                    Robert Raymond
                                                       Richard Rexeisen, Chair

               to 5/31/09                    Susan Huber
                                                        Peter Parilla

               to 5/31/10                    Frank Coglitore

Last updated November 1, 2006

Comments, questions, or feedback on each committee can be directed to the committee chair.   Please see directory above.

Comments, questions, or feedback on the web site can be directed to committees@stthomas.edu

© 2006 University of St. Thomas
All rights reserved.

Faculty Affairs

Sue Smith-Cunnien
(651) 962-5637
slsmithcunni@stthomas.edu