Faculty Senate
Report of the
Executive Committee on "Vice President for Administration"
In May 2002 Article VII of the Constitution of
the Faculty Senate was amended by referendum of the general faculty
to read as follows:
3. Proposals for changing titles
of ex officio members of the Faculty Senate shall be submitted to the
Faculty Senate Executive Committee. If in the judgment of the
Committee, a title change is of a nature such that incorporating it
into the Membership Article (III) of this Constitution does not
require a referendum, the Committee shall report this finding to the
Faculty Senate, together with a recommendation for an appropriate
change of the Membership Article. Unless specified otherwise in the
recommendation, the change shall become effective upon a two-thirds
majority vote of the senators present and eligible to vote. The
recommendation may not be voted upon at the meeting at which it is
first moved.
4. Any member of the Senate may challenge a
finding of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee that a change of
the title of an ex
officio member of the Faculty Senate
can be incorporated into the Faculty Senate Constitution without a
referendum. Such a challenge may be presented only prior to the
actual vote on the change. If the challenge is upheld by a majority
of the senators present and eligible to vote, the title change shall
be submitted to the referendum process as outlined in Article VII, 1
and 2, of this Constitution.
This summer at the request of President
Carothers, the Board of Governors for Higher Education approved the
change in title of the Vice President for Business and Finance to
"Vice President for Administration. Following is President Carothers'
rationale for the title change from his memorandum on administrative
reorganization:
The role of the vice president for
business and finance has changed in recent years, with a much broader
scope of responsibility evolving. As we take on more enterprises, and
as our partnerships with public and private companies and agencies
grow, the vice president takes on more executive responsibility for
managing these diverse activities. In addition to the Alton Jones
Campus, we now have both the Ryan Center and the Boss Arena as
enterprise accounts, and within the timeframe of this plan we intend
to establish a research corporation and explore seriously the
establishment of a University sponsored retirement community. More
partnerships of the kind evolving with Amgen are likely, as the state
anticipates our more aggressive involvement in building the economy
of our state. While the Provost and Vice President for Academic
Affairs is the chief academic officer of the University and second to
the President in the line of authority and responsibility, it is
neither appropriate nor possible for her to take on these new
areas.
Therefore it is my intent to rename the
business vice president's position as the "Vice President for
Administration," signifying the responsibility of this vice president
for the overall management of the University, accountable to the
Provost for support of the academic mission and to the President for
everything else.
The Executive Committee agrees that the Vice
President should remain an ex officio member of the
Faculty Senate and any change in the Constitution or By-Laws that
refers to the "Vice President for Business and Finance" should be
changed to "Vice President for Administration" in accordance with
Article VII, paragraph 3 and therefore recommends:
That the Faculty Senate approve
the change in title from Vice President for Business and Finance" to
"Vice President for Administration" in all documents referring to
ex officio
members of the Faculty Senate, including, but not limited to, the
membership article of the Faculty Senate Constitution (Article
III).*
*NOTE: This change may not be voted upon until
the next meeting of the Faculty Senate and requires a two-thirds
majority of those present and eligible to vote.