Standing Rules of College of Science Faculty
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Section 1. Committees
All standing committees are to make at least one yearly report to the Faculty on business transacted during the respective academic year. Whenever an election is held for which terms are staggered, the determination of the length of terms (if not otherwise made clear) shall be according to the vote count: those receiving the largest number of votes shall receive the longest terms. Committee Chairs shall report to the Chair of the Nominations Committee or to the Secretary of the Faculty any changes in the composition of their Committees requiring action.
(a) Promotion and Tenure Committee
Whenever the Committee receives a nomination for promotion or tenure from someone other than the candidate’s Department Chair it shall immediately notify the Department Chair of the nomination. The Dean is requested to notify Department Chairs and the P&T Committee early in the semester of the deadlines for submitting dossiers and their policies concerning failure to meet these deadlines. The Dean should also specify on the COS web site what information the Chairs should include in their recommendations.
The P&T Committee will remind Department Chairs of these policies, as well as the provisions in these standing rules that apply to Tenure and Promotion. All candidates for Promotion and Tenure shall be assigned one or more members of the Committee to serve as “liaison” with the Candidate. The liaison(s) shall have discussions with the Candidate in order to clarify any issues, and shall be the primary person(s) to present the case to the full Committee. Any member of the Promotion and Tenure Committee who participated in the first-level review of a candidate does not participate in the evaluation of that candidate in the Committee.
However, this shall not be construed as preventing anyone from appearing as a witness before the Committee. In fact, the Committee Chair shall afford each department chair the opportunity to appear before the Committee in order to answer questions that may clarify the candidate’s case. The Chair of that Department Tenure and Promotion Committee Committee shall also be given the opportunity to appear.
Candidates for promotion and tenure are expected to achieve high competence in the areas of teaching and scholarship, and must further demonstrate genuine excellence in either teaching or scholarship. Candidates are also expected to have an adequate contribution in the area of service. The specific metric for evaluating these achievements will vary from department to department, and will be worked out between department chairs and the Dean.
The Committee will carefully consider the differing expectations concerning teaching and research between departments and programs, for example based on current student enrollments, split faculty appointments, as well as the status of research funding and coauthorship in various disciplines. The Committee will consist of members of the tenured Faculty of the College. It will consist of appointed members from each department plus four at-large members which must be from different departments.
Although both Associate and Full Professors are eligible to serve, preference should be given by Departments in making their selections to those faculty who are Full Professors with outstanding credentials in teaching, and especially in research. Members of this committee may not succeed themselves. Members of this committee may not succeed themselves.
(b) Curriculum Committee
Departments which propose courses or programs that would have an impact on other departments must consult with those departments before submitting their proposal to the committee. The committee shall issue a report to the Faculty on a monthly basis listing all actions it has taken since the previous report. Committee decisions with which a specific Department disagrees will be referred to the Faculty Matters Committee for adjudication. Members of this committee may succeed themselves.
Section 2. Code of Conduct of Faculty Meetings and Elections
We seek to promote a safe, supportive, and welcoming environment for everyone in the College. We elevate our College by including a wide range of backgrounds, viewpoints, and talents. We value all academic, research and service contributions and celebrate the success of every person as a member of our community, and not just Faculty.
All Faculty are expected to treat others with respect and civility [1]. All members must adhere to the University’s policies prohibiting discrimination and harassment [2,3] on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, pregnancy status, or genetic information.
Faculty are expected to uphold this code of conduct both within the College and when representing the College at University and external events.
Violations of this code of conduct should be reported using appropriate University channels and/or the Faculty Matters Committee [4,5]. Retaliation for reporting is prohibited.
No individual will be permitted to speak twice to the same motion made at a Faculty meeting until all others who wish to speak have had the opportunity. The mover of the motion will not be exempt from this restriction. However, this rule shall not preclude an individual from answering a specific question directed at them. Disposition of any item introduced without prior notice and information may be carried over to the next regular meeting of the Faculty if at least 25% of the voting members present support a motion to carry it over. A motion carried over under this provision shall appear on the agenda of the next regular meeting as an item of old business and shall be supported by background information. For an asynchronous online ballot, a motion shall fail to pass if less than 15% of the eligible voting members cast votes.
Final Version: Adopted 5/1/06
Revision: Adopted 9/27/07
Revision: Adopted 3/19/24
These standing rules may be suspended, amended, or abolished by a simple majority of those voting under normal voting procedures.
[1] Virginia’s civility policy for employees
[2] The University's non-discrimination policy
[3] The University’s sexual and gender-based harassment policy
[4] The University’s page for reporting discrimination and ethics violations
[5] The University’s Sexual or Interpersonal Misconduct Report Form