Faculty Council's Proposals for Governance Reform at Rice University
Proposal officially adopted by Faculty vote on February 28, 2005
Proposal Regarding the Promotion
and Tenure Committee
1. The Promotion and Tenure Committee shall be separated
from Faculty Council (or a Faculty Senate, if such is adopted) in order to
relieve the burden placed on the committee members who have to review promotion
files.
2. The Promotion and Tenure Committee shall remain a
University-wide committee, at least until further investigation. Suggestions
for replacing it with committees at the level of the school raise numerous
questions about the power of the Dean and uniformity of the process.
3. The Promotion and Tenure Committee will consist of up to 8
members, chosen as follows: The School of Natural Sciences, the School of
Humanities, the School of Social Sciences, the School of Engineering, and the
School of Management will each elect one representative to P&T. Any full
professor may be nominated for the position on the basis of a petition with at
least ten signatures. The School of Music and the School of Architecture will together
vote to elect one representative to P&T. Any full professor may be
nominated for the position on the basis of a petition with at least ten
signatures. The Provost may appoint up to two
additional full professors to a one-year term on the P&T Committee.
4. Elected Members will be elected to a single three-year term,
and may not be reelected to a consecutive term. Appointed members are limited
to three consecutive years of service.
5. In the event that a position is unfilled or an Elected Member
is unable or unwilling to serve, the Speaker of the Senate, in consultation
with the Provost and the Dean or Deans of the relevant School or Schools, will
appoint a one-year replacement.
Approved on February 2, 2005 first vote