Resolution Passed on October 28, 2010
At the meeting of
The Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointment
Whereas the Senate Charter states that the Council shall consider and make
recommendations to the Senate concerning all matters of policy and procedure pertaining
to the applications of faculty members for promotion and/or continuing appointment;
Whereas the proposal to deactivate programs in Classics, French, Italian, Russian, and
Theatre represents a failure to recognize the pivotal role played by such programs across
the humanities and the university as a whole;
Whereas faculty in the targeted programs whose cases have been reviewed by CPCA
include senior colleagues with international reputations who have made important
contributions to the research and teaching missions of the university;
Whereas the proposed deactivations will have a deleterious effect upon the scholarly
activities of faculty, at the very least in a range of disciplines in the arts, humanities, and
social sciences;
Whereas the reputation of UAlbany as a comprehensive research and teaching institution
has already been seriously damaged, and will suffer irreparable harm from such a
downgrading of its academic offerings;
Whereas the Guidelines for Promotion and Continuing Appointment state that external
scholarly experts be chosen from those who are among the leaders in candidates' area of
specialization and are associated with academic programs of high quality;
Whereas such experts will be less inclined to assist UAlbany faculty in providing external
reviews of candidates for promotion and continuing appointment;
Be it resolved that the CPCA strongly opposes the deactivation of the Classics, French,
Italian, and Russian, and Theatre programs and calls upon the University Administration
to identify and institute alternative cost-saving measures.
