Desktop News, September 2022 | The College of Arts and Sciences faculty vote in favor of adopting new faculty bylaws.
Dean Messina’s Charge
Dean Messina believes in both shared governance and academic freedom and in the notion that these cannot operate or exist independently. His goal in asking the FAC for a modernized set of college bylaws was to create a transparent process using agreed-upon language for guiding shared governance and decision-making within the college.
The Process
The newly adopted bylaws of the College of Arts & Sciences represent over two years of extensive research, writing, sub-committee work, and deliberation by a twenty-three-member committee with representation from each of the College’s academic departments (with occasional rotations in membership). Called the Faculty Assembly Committee (FAC), this body is co-chaired by Prof. John Miller and, from fall 2019 to fall 2020, by Dr. Delores Robinson, and from spring 2021 to the present, by Dr. Lucy Curzon.
After presenting draft bylaws to A&S faculty for comment via an online survey, the committee and its co-chairs collected copious feedback from department chairs, faculty, the A&S Dean, A&S Associate Deans, the A&S Assistant Dean, and the Provost (among others). And after frequent and thoughtful deliberation as a committee of the whole in the Spring of 2022, the FAC arrived at the version of the bylaws affirmed this fall. This document represents the active commitment of the College and its faculty to shared governance, as well as to transparency and to mutual respect.
It is never easy to write anything collectively—whether an article, a literary work, a musical composition, or a governing document. As such, all the members of the FAC, from fall 2019 to spring 2022, deserve high praise for their unfaltering efforts: Ana Corbalan/Gina Stamm/Safa Elnaili (Modern Languages and Classics), Christopher Hale (Political Science), Diane Schultz/Moises Molina (Music), Matthew Dolliver (Criminal Justice), Benjamin Kozuch (Philosophy), John Miller (New College), James Mixson/Harold Selesky (History), Laura Reed (Biology), John Vincent (Chemistry), Kevin Curtin (Geography), Sara-Maria Sorentino/Megan Gallagher/Erin Stoneking (Gender and Race), Benjamin Harms (Physics and Astronomy), Holly Horan (Anthropology) , Mike Innis-Jimenez (American Studies); Marcia Hay McCutcheon/Paul Reed (Communicative Disorders); Lucy Curzon (Art and Art History); Deborah Keene (Blount Scholars Program); Delores Robinson/Samantha Hansen (Geological Sciences); Daniel Novak (English), Rebecca Allen/Rajesh Kana (Psychology); Rebecca Salzer/Misha Hader (Theatre and Dance); Theodore Trost/Merinda Simmons (Religion); Wei Zhu (Mathematics)
“The FAC has succeeded admirably and I appreciate their hard work.”
Dean Joseph Messina