After a summer-long review undertaken by the Faculty Policies Committee of the Faculty Council, the council voted at its September meeting to approve the revised Faculty Handbook with the caveat that the document is to be reviewed and re-approved annually.
Through the revisions, two-thirds of the content of the handbook were removed. “The committee thought the document should be targeted to faculty as specifically as possible,” explained council chair Debra Houry. “We cut information that is not faculty-specific and that can easily be found from other sources.” The committee also separated the Gray Book, the statement of principles governing faculty relationships with the university, from the Faculty Handbook. “The Gray Book is under the authority of the Board of Trustees,” Houry said, “and therefore the Faculty Council does not edit it.” The revised 65-page Faculty Handbook will now go through review processes with the Council of Deans and the President’s Cabinet. The final version of the handbook will be posted at this link.