University Council
The President is advised on university policy matters not only by his own administrative staff but also by a broadly representative University Council composed of the President himself and fifteen additional members, including three individuals appointed by the President from the faculty or administration, eight members of the Faculty Council elected by the faculty, one staff member appointed by the President, one graduate student selected by the Graduate Student Association, and two undergraduate student representatives selected by the Student Association. This Council advises the President on the development of general university plans and goals and on the appointment of administrative officers. It reviews and makes recommendations on changes in curricula and degree requirements and approves the academic calendar before these issues are brought to the faculty for decision. The tenured members of the University Council constitute the Committee for Promotion and Tenure (P&T).
University Standing Committees
For many faculty members, the most frequent opportunity to participate with colleagues in other departments and schools in university-wide affairs is through membership in one of the University Standing Committees. Members are appointed by the President on recommendation from the Committee on Committees of the Faculty Council. This Committee seeks nominations for assignments to particular committees from deans and department chairs. It also polls faculty members directly with respect to their preferred committee assignment. While all committees perform a consultative and advisory role, most also have specific ongoing tasks. In 1998-99, there were nineteen University Standing Committees, not including the University Council and the Faculty Council.
Although the names of most of the committees accurately suggest their responsibilities, a few do not. The Committee on Examinations and Standing is concerned with the implementation of academic rules and policies. Among other duties, it considers and makes recommendations on student petitions for exceptions to the usual rules. The Committee on Salary Equity deals exclusively with the issue of gender equity. The Rice University Marshals Committee helps to organize and supervise commencement and other academic celebrations. The on-line version of this handbook includes the specific charges to university committees. From time to time, the president asks faculty to serve on additional ad hoc committees to conduct a search for an administrative officer or to study and offer advice on a particularly important policy issue.
The Faculty and the Faculty Council
The faculty participates in university governance both directly, in general faculty meetings, and indirectly, through its elected representatives on the Faculty Council. By custom, the Rice faculty collectively has been delegated the authority to establish new degree programs, to establish or modify graduate requirements, and to approve candidates for Rice degrees. Items on these and other topics that come before the general faculty may originate in standing committees, in ad hoc committees, in the Faculty Council, or in the administration. The University President presides at meetings of the general faculty, which take place at least four times a year. Typically before coming to the general faculty, proposals for action by the faculty pass through both the Faculty Council and the University Council, either or both of which may make recommendations.
The Faculty Council acts not only as a screening body for curricular and degree requirement proposals but also as the primary advising body to the President on policy decisions and matters affecting the faculty. This Council is composed of eight elected faculty members who serve also on the University Council plus another eight who serve exclusively on the Faculty Council. In each of these two elected groups of eight, there are two positions for assistant professors, five for associate or full professors, and one of any rank. Also in each group, three positions are assigned to Division A (Administration, Architecture, Humanities, Music, and Social Sciences), three are assigned to Division B (Engineering and Natural Sciences), and two are at large.
Each year the Faculty Council elects a Speaker, who acts as
its chief spokesperson and as spokesperson for the faculty. All
faculty members are invited to attend Faculty Council meetings
as guests but are advised to consult with the Speaker in advance
if they wish to address the group or to bring an issue before
it. The minutes of Faculty Council meetings, along with announcements
of future meetings, are distributed to the faculty regularly in
the Proceedings of Faculty Council, which are published by the
Office of the Faculty Council.
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