Ad hoc Committee on Faculty Governance Resolutions and Statements

At its January 8, 2024 meeting, the Faculty Executive Committee approved the creation of an ad hoc committee to consider questions and make recommendations regarding faculty governance resolutions and statements. The committee was active in spring semester through early fall semester of 2024.

A final report [PDF] from this committee was presented at the October 2024 Faculty Council meeting.

Charge

The committee will make recommendations to the Faculty Executive Committee, the Committee on University Government, and other faculty governance bodies as appropriate. The recommendations should be based on an assessment of recent practices regarding resolutions and statements, and should include recommendations about whether any changes or clarifications are needed regarding:

• The nature and types of statements adopted by FEC or FC as representatives of the faculty (e.g., legislative resolutions, advisory resolutions, ceremonial resolutions, other statements).
• The Joint Rules of Procedure of the General Faculty and Faculty Council that apply to the introduction and consideration of resolutions by those bodies.
• Faculty Council orientation and training materials.

The committee may also make other recommendations that it determines are relevant to the goals and questions under consideration.

The Chair of the Faculty will appoint the members of the committee. It is recommended that the membership be small (no more than 7 to 9 members, including the ex officio members). The members should include a representative of the Faculty Executive Committee, the Committee on University Government, and the Agenda Committee, and 2 to 4 additional faculty members. The Chair of the Faculty and Secretary of the Faculty will serve as ex officio members.

Membership

Appointed:
Anthony Charles (Surgery, Medicine), Faculty Executive Committee
Barbara Entwisle (Sociology, Arts & Sciences), Faculty Executive Committee
Andy Hessick (Law), Faculty Executive Committee, Committee on University Government
Joy Renner (Health Sciences, Medicine), Faculty Executive Committee, Committee on University
Government
Viji Sathy (Psychology and Neuroscience, Arts & Sciences), Faculty Executive Committee
Jonathan Weiler (Global Studies, Arts & Sciences), Agenda Committee
Meg Zomorodi (Nursing), Faculty Executive Committee

Ex officio:
Beth Moracco (Health Behavior, Public Health), Chair of the Faculty
Jill Moore (Government), Secretary of the Faculty

Background

Since summer 2023, the Faculty Executive Committee (FEC) has been engaged in discussions about when and how FEC or the Faculty Council (FC) should represent and speak for the faculty. In the recent past, both the FEC and FC have adopted resolutions or statements on a wide variety of issues, including some that may express beliefs or political views that are not shared sufficiently widely by Carolina’s diverse faculty. There have also been recent occasions when a resolution addressing a complex matter has been brought to the FC without adequate time or process for FC members to be prepared to vote.

During fall 2023, the Secretary of the Faculty asked FEC, the Committee on University Government (COUG), and the Agenda Committee to consider these issues and advise on them. Those consultations resulted in the identification of two goals and two main questions for further consideration:

Goals:

1. Create a culture to support informed, respectful and nuanced discussions about complex issues.
2. Provide procedures that allow for reflection and deliberation to precede discussion and voting.

Questions:

1. Under what circumstances should the Faculty Council or the Faculty Executive Committee speak for the faculty?
2. What forms should FC and FEC speech take in these circumstances (e.g., resolutions vs. statements, subtypes of resolutions)?