Resolution 77: Concerning Timely Response to Faculty Resolutions

Version 8.31.10 with rider

MOTION TO REQUEST FORMAL RESPONSE TO FACULTY STANDING COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
CALS Faculty Senate

WHEREAS all of Cornell University is undergoing a profound reimagining process which requires the full informed commitment of all the University community, and
WHEREAS the Organizational Stewardship Task Force report emphasizes the importance of shared governance and collaborative decision making with a commitment to open communication and
transparency, and
RECOGNIZING that the feedback loop from faculty to the several levels of administration remain unclear to the extent that there is no evident mandate for an administration response to faculty
standing committee resolutions and recommendations nor is there a readily accessible source for follow-up information on recommendations made and actions taken or not, and further
RECOGNIZING that final decision making authority at Cornell University resides with the Board of Trustees, the President, the Provost and the deans and their designees as delineated in the University charter and other applicable documents, and moreover
RECOGNIZING that standing faculty committees’ decisions and recommendations are to be interpreted as recommendations to University or college level administrators as indicated by the
nature of the recommendation, then let it be
RESOLVED that when a representative faculty committee (such as the Faculty Senate of the University or a College) makes a recommendation they will identify the recipient who is expected to respond (such as the official who constituted a committee)*. The recipient individual or his/her designee should send a formal response within 30 days indicating whether the recommendation was accepted or rejected in whole or in part, with a justification for the decision reached. The recommendations, responses and explanations should be posted within 30 days to a newly‐created web page accessible by the university community to contain all committee recommendations submitted, together with the decisions made and justifications for those decisions.

*The faculty realizes that some committee decisions may involve personal or sensitive information, such as tenure decisions, and thus are exceptions to this expectation for a public response and disclosure.

PROVOST RESPONSE:

September 8, 2010
Dear Bill,
Thanks for your background work related to today’s Senate meeting.
I have a request regarding the resolution on resolutions that was passed today by the senate.
I ask that the Dean of Faculty Office:
1) Ensure that every resolution is clear as to whom the resolution is addressed and who needs to respond. This specific resolution itself does not mention to whom it is addressed nor who should respond.
2) Keep track of all resolutions and recommendations from all faculty standing committees and keep track if the appropriate person has responded. If the appropriate person does not respond, then your office should send a reminder. I would suggest that your office notify the recipient when the resolution is passed and indicate how long they have to respond and then send a reminder 1 week or so in advance of the 45 day deadline. The responder should copy your office on their response.
3) Be the maintainer of the web site mentioned in the resolution. If I understand the resolution correctly, all resolutions by all faculty standing committees will be publicly posted on this web site and the responses to those resolutions will be publicly posted. Thus, if the CALS senate passes a resolution intended for the CALS Dean, then that resolution and the CALS Dean’s response will be posted on this web site.
Thanks,
Kent