Proposed changes to the Freedom of Expression Policy and Campus Use Procedures outlined in section 47 of the Faculty Handbook were approved during the April 26 meeting of the Academic Faculty and Senate and the General Faculty. 

Some of the reasons Jeanne Balsam, acting chair of the statutes committee, provided for updating the section included a need to reflect actual campus practices and address findings from a legal review.

Modifications include providing a more comprehensive statement on freedom of expression, an updated method to invite speakers to campus, specific reasons for denying an application for campus use and an updated process for appeals. The revisions also create a committee on use of Institute facilities and designate facilities that have their own scheduling officer. 

In other business, the following topics were addressed:

• Degree candidates were approved for spring graduation.
• Donna Llewellyn, director of the Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, discussed updates to the Course/Instructor Opinion Survey, which CETL hopes to implement this summer.
• A change that was approved at the Feb. 15 meeting was reversed. When a formal hearing committee is generated by the Faculty Status and Grievance Committee, the number of potential members will once again be 24, not 25. Also a statement has been added to the section on the formulation of a hearing committee that clarifies that the Faculty Status and Grievance Committee is not involved in formal dismissal hearings.
• Changes to the Grounds for Removal section of the Faculty Handbook were approved, including the addition of a paragraph stating that the president may at any time remove any faculty member or other employee “for cause.” A change was proposed to another section of the handbook that would eliminate a list of reasons why a tenured faculty member could be dismissed and instead direct readers to the section on grounds for removal. In addition, a sentence would be deleted that states that, “Unless legal considerations forbid, any such relief from duties will be with pay.” These changes must be read at the next meeting before further action can be taken.

To view the agenda for this meeting and the supporting documents that were provided for each agenda item click here.