Senate Charter Amendment No.: 1011-01A
UNIVERSITY SENATE
UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
Introduced by: Governance Council
Date: December 2010
Amendment RE: Chair of CPCA
IT IS HEREBY PROPOSED THAT THE FOLLOWING BE ADOPTED:
•
That the proposed clarifying amendment of the University Senate Charter, as highlighted
in boldface below, be adopted.
•
That this amendment go into effect in Fall 2011.
To add modify the Senate Charter, adding X.7.1.7 as follows:
X.7. Council on Promotions and Continuing Appointments
X.7.1. Composition
X.7.1.1. At least eight and no more than twelve Teaching Faculty (of whom at
least four must be Senators), from a balance of academic disciplines including the
library.
X.7.1.2. One Professional Faculty member
X.7.1.3. One graduate student, who must be a Senator
X.7.1.4. One undergraduate student, who must be a Senator.
X.7.1.5. No more than 2 voting members selected from Faculty or Staff who are
not students or Voting Faculty.
X.7.1.6 Staff support for the Council shall be designated by the Provost. [added by
amendment 5/2/05]
X.7.1.7 The chair of the Council must be tenured and have the rank of
Professor or Librarian
Rationale:
CPCA is the central mechanism at the University by which the Faculty through governance
recommend candidates for promotion and continuing appointment to the President. It should set
a high standard in terms of professional experience, achievement, and rank required of its
members, particularly the chair of that Council. The chair of CPCA is influential in guiding the
review and recommendation process by assigning cases to reviewers and directing case
discussions. Professors have the greatest experience and have achieved an advanced rank
through a peer review process and are therefore best able to perform the duties of chair.
Standard practice in the academy is that outside reviewers of a tenure case be of equal or,
preferably, higher rank than the candidate. If we do not hold that standard within the promotion
process at UA, we risk our reputation as an institution of higher learning and quality research.
Furthermore, only tenured chairs of the full professor or full librarian rank are in a position of
non-vulnerability, in that they have gone through all levels of promotion. To put an Associate or
Assistant Professor, or Associate Librarian, Senior Assistant Librarian, or Assistant Librarian
into the position of chair would unnecessarily expose their vulnerability. Therefore, in the
interest of protecting associates and assistants, and not putting them in any position of
jeopardy, it is proposed that only full professors and librarians be appointed as chair of CPCA.
