Brown University Task Force on Faculty Governance Minutes of Meetings

Minutes of The Task Force on Faculty Governance

April 18, 2003

Attending: Nancy Armstrong (Vice Chair), Russell Church, and Peter Gromet.

Absent: Anne Fausto-Sterling, Richard Fishman, Rajiv Vohra, John Savage (Chair), and Michael White.

1. The meeting convened at 2:10 and adjourned at 3:45.

2. Review of Proposals for HR and Public Safety Advisory Boards

   We began by reviewing the proposals for HR and public safety advisory boards, both of which are under the direction of the VP for Administration. We were concerned with the prospect of a single administator having multiple boards, which could lead to a proliferation of advisory boards. We recall having agreed many moons ago that there should be one advisory board per administrator and that the board advise said administrator on a broad range of issues and policies. Moreover, we recall having decided that if an administrator needed to form committees (or subcommittees) for some specialized purpose--e.g., public safety--that would be within his purview as chair of the advisory board.

   After considerable discussion of both of the boards proposed by VP Walter Hunter, we recommended that the FEC go back to Walter and ask him to come up with a model for an administrative advisory board that could advise him on the various areas under his control. Such a board would, we felt, be more in keeping with the spirit of the advisory boards as we had initially conceptualized them.

3. Discussion of the College Advisory Board

   We moved to the second item on the agenda, the College Advisory Board. Thinking in terms of the same principle we articulated during our discussion of item one, we felt it might save considerable time and difficulty if, in consultation with the Dean of the College (DOC), the FEC agreed to remove the Student Life and Athletics and PE committees from the College Advisory Board. The remainder of the committees to be absorbed by that board struck us as potentially coherent, involving issues and policies on which the DOC might want the advice of an appointed board.

   We were unanimously unhappy at the thought of Athletics and Physical Education and Student Life committees becoming independent standing committees. It seems much more in keeping with this new governance structure that those two committees be absorbed in a board chaired by the Dean/V.P. of Student affairs, whenever the administration appoints such a person. Until then, those committees can maintain their present status.

   Finally, we entertained a motion to disband the Task Force but, for lack of a quorum, decided to wait until our dinner on May 1.

Submitted by
N. Armstrong