Redbook Chapter Three

Organization and Governance of the Academic Programs

Article 3.1 Organization of Academic Units

Sec. 3.1.1 The Academic Units of the University

The academic units of the University are the following:

  • The College of Arts and Sciences
  • The School of Medicine
  • The Brandeis School of Law
  • The School of Dentistry
  • The J.B. Speed School of Engineering
  • The School of Music
  • The Graduate School
  • The College of Business
  • The College of Education and Human Development
  • The University Libraries
  • The School of Nursing
  • The Kent School of Social Work
  • The School of Public Health and Information Sciences

With the exception of the University Libraries, the above academic units are authorized to recommend to the Board of Trustees the granting of appropriate degrees.

The University Libraries consist of all libraries located throughout the University except the Law Library, which is administratively responsible to the Dean of the School of Law.

Sec. 3.1.2 Establishment of New Academic Units

The establishment of any new academic unit requires formal consultation with the Faculty Senate and the specified faculties involved. The President will then make the appropriate recommendation to the Board of Trustees for final action.

 

Sec. 3.1.3 Organizational Outlines and Bylaws of Units

The Executive Vice President and University Provost shall submit each proposed unit bylaw document to the Faculty Senate for confirmation that it is in accordance with this document.  It shall then be submitted to the President for review and recommendation to the Board of Trustees for final approval.  It shall be included in Addenda to The Redbook.  The President may approve amendments to unit bylaws approved by the faculty of the unit and the Faculty Senate which do not change governance or faculty rights.  A copy of the approved documents shall be filed in the office of the Executive Vice President and University Provost and shall be given to each member of the unit faculty.

Article 3.2 Deans of Academic Units

Sec. 3.2.1 Appointment of Deans

  1. All deans shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees on the recommendation of the President and shall serve at the pleasure of the Board. Deans may be removed at any time upon the recommendation of the President for any reason that is not illegal or arbitrary.
  2. Each decanal search committee shall consist of an even number majority of faculty, half of whom shall be elected by the unit faculty, and the other half appointed by the Executive Vice President and University Provost or designee. After consultation with the unit faculty, the Executive Vice President and University Provost or designee shall also appoint non-faculty committee members to assure a broad-based search considering all of the unit's constituencies. A goal in constituting the committee shall be to reflect the diversity of the University community. The committee shall also include the Executive Vice President and University Provost, or designee, as a non-voting ex-officio member.
  3. A simple majority of all dean's search committees shall be faculty. Each candidate shall be recommended by a two-thirds majority of all the members of the search committee. No one shall be appointed dean unless he or she qualifies for tenure and is, on appointment as dean, a tenured faculty member whose tenure has been recommended by the appropriate faculty of the University.

Sec. 3.2.2 Duties and Responsibilities of Deans

Deans shall be the educational and administrative heads of their units. They shall report to the Executive Vice President and University Provost, through whom they shall be responsible to the President for the administration of their units.

Specific duties and responsibilities in addition to the items set forth in this section shall be detailed in a job description which shall be approved by the President and the faculty of the unit and shall be attached to the bylaws of such unit. The deans of those units having extensive concurrent jurisdiction with other units involving faculty and curriculum or having as their major functions a service role, such as the University Libraries, must have job descriptions detailing these interrelationships approved by the President and the Faculty Senate and included in Addenda to The Redbook.

Sec. 3.2.3 Review of Service

  1. Deans shall receive annual performance reviews from the Executive Vice President and University Provost, with a written summary prepared for both parties. Every five years, or more often if circumstances warrant, the administrative superior of the dean shall conduct a comprehensive review of the performance and overall effectiveness of the unit administration from the point of view of the University, and of the unit, being advised in the latter by a broad-based committee.
  2. The decanal review committee shall consist of an even number majority of faculty, half of whom shall be elected by the unit faculty, and the other half appointed by the Executive Vice President and University Provost. After consultation with the unit faculty, the Executive Vice President and University Provost shall also appoint non-faculty committee members to assure a broad-based review considering all of the unit's constituencies. A goal in constituting the committee shall be to reflect the diversity of the University community. The committee shall also include the Executive Vice President and University Provost, or designee, as a non-voting ex-officio member.
  3. The review committee shall study the effectiveness of the unit's administration since the original appointment of the dean or since the last review and shall recommend to the Executive Vice President and University Provost, giving the reasons for its conclusions, whether the incumbent shall be continued or be replaced. In reaching its conclusion, the review committee shall solicit the opinions of faculty, students, staff, and administrators and shall examine objective data regarding the progress of the unit. The committee shall maintain confidentiality of its information and minutes and be guided by Board policies related to reviews. The dean shall be provided the opportunity to respond to the draft report and submit additional information before the report and recommendation are made. In consultation with the Executive Vice President and University Provost, the committee shall establish its own objective criteria and procedures for evaluation. The findings of the committee shall be circulated only to the committee itself, the dean involved, and the appropriate University officials. Additional circulation must be authorized by the Board of Trustees. The criteria, procedures, and a substantive summary of the findings shall be circulated to the faculty of the unit involved. The summary shall be written by the committee in consultation with the Executive Vice President and University Provost or designee.

Sec. 3.2.4 Leaves of Absence

When the Executive Vice President and University Provost, vice presidents or deans leave their offices but continue their service in the University as faculty members, provided that the period of service in that position has been for at least five years, they shall be entitled to one full year of leave with full pay. Otherwise, Executive Vice President and University Provost, deans, and other academic administrators are eligible for sabbatical leaves on the same basis as all other faculty members.

 

Article 3.3 The Faculties of the Major Academic Units

Sec. 3.3.1 Membership and Appointment

All persons with full-time faculty appointments who are appointed for at least one year and a part of whose work for the current year is in a particular academic unit shall be members of its faculty except in the case of those units which define faculty membership differently in their bylaws.

The Board of Trustees shall be responsible for the appointment of all full-time faculty members. It may make these appointments on the recommendation of the President of the University or it may delegate appointing authority to the President. These appointments shall have been recommended to the President or President's designee by the dean of the unit after recommendation by the appropriate faculty or faculty committee, in conformity with Section 2.5.2.A. In departmentalized units, the dean's recommendation shall be made on the initiation of the departmental chair after recommendation by the departmental faculty or faculty committee. [Sentence added 25 June 2001] A majority of full-time faculty in any academic unit shall be probationary or tenured.

Sec. 3.3.2 Jurisdiction and Purposes

Except as otherwise provided, each faculty shall have general legislative powers over all matters pertaining to its own personnel policies, criteria, and procedures, to its own meetings, and to the admission requirements, curricula, instruction, examinations, and recommendations to the Board of Trustees for granting of degrees in its own academic unit. All such actions shall be consistent with enumerated policies of the Board of Trustees.  For interdisciplinary degree programs and tracks, academic authority will be shared among the faculties of the participating units as specified in the Bylaws of the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies.

The Faculty Senate, after proceeding in the manner stated in Section 3.4.2.A may state its disapproval of any action of the faculty that seriously affects the general interest of the University, and may recommend appropriate action to the President as chief educational officer of the University.

Questions of academic jurisdiction between faculties of academic units shall be resolved by the President or President's designee in consultation with the Faculty Senate or affected faculty bodies.

Sec. 3.3.3 Faculty Meetings

The dean of each academic unit may at any time call a meeting of the unit faculty, but the dean shall be required to do so upon the written request of one-fourth of the members of that faculty, unless a lesser number is specified in the bylaws or actions of that faculty.

Minutes of all actions taken by a faculty shall be transmitted to the Office of the President and to the University Archives and shall be available for inspection.

Sec. 3.3.4 Bylaws of the Units

The faculty of each academic unit shall enact a set of bylaws by which the unit shall be governed. Those bylaws and all amendments shall be approved and preserved in the manner indicated in Section 3.1.3 of this Redbook.

Sec. 3.3.5 The Divisional or Departmental Officers

  1. Appointment and Tenure

    The chair of any division or department and the director of any institute or school within a unit shall be appointed by the Board of Trustees upon the recommendation of the dean after approval of the Executive Vice President and University Provost and President of the University. Such officers serve at the pleasure of the Board of Trustees and may be removed at any time upon the recommendation of the President.

  2. Selection
    1. Searches for divisional or departmental officers may be limited to internal candidates at the discretion of the dean. In such cases, the departmental faculty shall submit a slate of candidates to the dean, from which the dean may strike any candidates. Before making a recommendation, the dean shall seek the concurrence of the departmental faculty by one of two methods: Method 1: The departmental faculty may vote on all acceptable candidates. Method 2: The departmental faculty may vote on the candidate tentatively selected by the dean. When the dean and a majority of the departmental faculty concur on a candidate, the dean may recommend that person via the Executive Vice President and University Provost for approval by the President and Board of Trustees. If there is an impasse in this process, the dean and departmental faculty shall each submit written reports to the Executive Vice President and University Provost, who shall recommend a departmental officer to the President and Board of Trustees.
    2. Searches for divisional or departmental officers open to both internal or external candidates shall be conducted by a search committee, the majority of whose members shall be full-time faculty of the unit involved. The candidate selected by the dean shall be acceptable to a majority of the departmental or divisional faculty. If there is an impasse in this process, the dean and departmental faculty shall each submit written reports to the Executive Vice President and University Provost, who shall recommend a departmental officer to the President and Board of Trustees.
  3. Duties and Responsibilities

    The officer of a department, division, institute or school within a unit shall be the educational and administrative head of that group. The chair or director of any department, school, institute, or division shall be immediately responsible to the dean of the unit for work and progress of the department or division. The faculty in each department, led by the department chair, shall develop a mission statement and specific goals and objectives for the department's academic mission, which shall be approved by the dean. Such officers shall be responsible for implementing the mission statement and specific goals and objectives through administration of faculty workload plans, space, equipment, staff, budgets, and other resources in the department, consistent with university policy and the law. In units participating in graduate education programs, the chair or director shall be responsible for executing graduate programs in accordance with the Minimum Guidelines for Graduate Education and appropriate unit guidelines.  Policy matters relating to graduate student education will be coordinated with the Dean of the School of Interdisciplinary and Graduate Studies.

  4. Evaluation and Review
    1. The performance of all chairs and directors shall be reviewed annually by the dean with input from appropriate senior administrators and faculty. A written summary shall be prepared of each evaluation indicating compliance with policies and objectives.
    2. After every five years of service, the performance and effectiveness of each chair or director shall be reviewed on a cumulative basis by a broad-based committee established with the concurrence of the departmental faculty. The officer under review shall be informed of the basis of all conclusions and offered an opportunity to respond before the report is completed. The chair or director may be retained or removed on the basis of a committee recommendation with which the departmental faculty and dean concur. In the event of an impasse on the outcome of a review, the dean and the departmental faculty shall each submit a report with that of the review committee to the Executive Vice President and University Provost for a final decision. All such reports are preliminary recommendations and shall be kept confidential. The criteria, procedures, and a substantive summary of the findings shall be made available in confidence to the faculty of the department or division involved. The summary shall be written by the committee in consultation with the dean or dean's designee.

    3. Deans may conduct special reviews of administrative subordinates at any time as may be necessary to assure effective leadership and may recommend removal of a chair or director at any time for any reason that is not illegal or arbitrary.

      A majority of departmental faculty may request a special review of a chair or director at any time. If, after consultation with the departmental faculty, the dean does not support such a request and the faculty do not recede from the request, the matter shall be referred to the Executive Vice President and University Provost for a decision after consultation with all parties.

Sec. 3.3.6 Postdoctoral Fellows and Researchers

Postdoctoral fellows and researchers are recognized as occupying a special category. The Executive Vice President for Research has the function to ensure that these appointments are made in the best academic interest of the fellows and researchers even though the formal appointments are made through the schools or colleges in whose budgets they are carried. Postdoctoral fellows' and researchers' appointments will be coordinated with the Executive Vice President for Research.

Article 3.4 Governing Bodies of the Faculty

Sec. 3.4.1 Assembly of the Faculty

  1. Membership

    The Assembly of the Faculty shall consist of all members of the faculty who hold full-time appointments at the University of Louisville.

  2. Meetings

    The Assembly of the Faculty may be convoked by the Office of the President. The Assembly shall also be convoked by the President upon the request of the Faculty Senate, thirty-five or more full-time faculty members, or the Board of Trustees. A quorum of the Assembly of the Faculty shall consist of such number of members as are present at any duly called meeting. The agenda for such an assembly shall be prepared by the Office of the President and shall include those items submitted by the group at whose initiative the assembly may have been called. Except in emergencies, the agenda shall be distributed ten days prior to the assembly. Only items listed on the agenda may be considered for final action.

  3. Officers

    The presiding officers of the Assembly of the Faculty shall be the President of the University or a designee.

  4. Powers

    Ultimate faculty authority resides in the Assembly of the Faculty. It is not contemplated that legislation will be initiated in the Assembly. Nor is it expected that decisions of the Faculty Senate will be reviewed routinely by the Assembly. It is understood that extraordinary and University-wide faculty matters may be referred to the Assembly. Such matters may include the establishment of policies relating to academic freedom or tenure, any major decision involving the economic welfare of the faculty, or modification of The Redbook. The approval of the Assembly of any matter passed by the Faculty Senate may be required by action of the Board of Trustees, of the President, or by written petition from thirty-five members of the Assembly to the Secretary of the Senate.

  5. Quorum and Voting

    A simple majority of those present and voting shall be sufficient to propose a substantive amendment or alternate proposal for any matter recommended by the Faculty Senate. In either case, the Senate may at its option adopt the amendment or alternate proposal or submit both its recommendation and the amendment or alternate proposal by mail ballot for final vote by the members of the Assembly of the Faculty.

    1. A substantive amendment is defined as an amendment which changes the meaning of the original proposal.
    2. An alternate proposal is defined as a proposal offered as a substitute for the original proposal.

Sec. 3.4.2 The Faculty Senate

  1. Composition and Powers of the Faculty Senate

    There shall be a University of Louisville Faculty Senate, which shall be the official representative of the faculty of the University and which shall be responsible for eliciting and expressing the opinions, suggestions, and recommendations of the faculty on all matters of concern to the faculty as a whole. The Faculty Senate shall be responsible for a continuing review of University policies and documents affecting the faculty and shall make recommendations concerning these matters, whenever appropriate, to the University administration.

    The Faculty Senate shall adopt bylaws providing for such officers, committees, and meetings as are necessary for the performance of its functions.

    The Faculty Senate shall have jurisdiction over all matters involving the educational policies of the University insofar as this jurisdiction is not reserved to the faculties of the academic units. The establishment or termination of any degree-granting program shall require action by the Board of Trustees and such proposal shall first be submitted to the Faculty Senate for a recommendation. The Faculty Senate may state its disapproval of any action of a faculty that seriously affects the general interest of the University and recommend appropriate action to the President as chief educational officer of the University. To disapprove any action of the faculty of an academic unit: (1) the action must seriously affect a general faculty interest of the University; (2) such unit faculty must be given an opportunity to be heard before action is taken; and (3) two-thirds of the membership of the Senate present must support the disapproval.

    Each year, the Senate shall prepare and adopt a statement reviewing the academic program of the University and other concerns of the faculty and making appropriate recommendations.

  2. Membership

    The Faculty Senate shall consist of faculty representatives elected by the academic units listed in Section 3.1.1. The number of senators to be elected by the faculty of each unit will be determined by the application of a formula predetermined and established by the Faculty Senate. When the total voting membership of the Faculty Senate exceeds seventy, the Senate shall modify the numerical basis for faculty representatives so as to provide a lesser membership.

  3. Rotation of Membership and Ex-officio Membership

Senators shall be elected by their unit faculties for terms of three years. The President, all vice presidents, and all deans of units shall be ex-officio non-voting members of the Senate and shall not be eligible to be elected as faculty representatives.

The Staff Senate and Student Senate shall each select from their respective memberships one ex-officio voting member and one ex-officio alternate member of the Faculty Senate The alternate member shall have the right of the floor, but shall have no vote unless the voting member from that Senate is absent.

The Faculty Senate shall also include six voting members elected by the "part-time faculty," which for purposes of this provision only is defined as everyone who is under paid contract to teach courses for credit within an academic unit but who is not entitled to elect faculty representatives to the Faculty Senate under Section 3.4.2.B. Elections for these six members shall be conducted at a time and under procedures established by the Faculty Senate. [This paragraph revised by the Board of Trustees 11/25/02.]

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