University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Senate

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Articles of Procedure
(Revised October 20, 2005 )

1.Any faculty member, current or retired, may voice a suggestion for the good of the University or submit a request for consideration of a grievance to any Faculty Advisory Committee (FAC)
member.FAC members may not refuse to hear a suggestion or grievance.The FAC member who is consulted shall promptly report the matter to the FAC .A faculty member may also request FAC consideration of any matter which is in the interest of the University and/or which is related to any grievance. The FAC prefers to investigate a suggestion or grievance after all other University avenues of appeal have been exhausted.Further, the faculty member submitting a grievance is informed of the inadvisability of concurrent investigations of his/her case by other University or external channels and the FAC .The FAC shall suspend the investigation of a complaint upon request of the grievant.

2.The FAC distinguishes between consultations and cases: Consultations.A faculty member requests a meeting with a member of the FAC.The initial consultation stage includes collecting information pertaining to a suggestion or grievance.Following the consultation, a report is made to the FAC.After FAC
review, the committee may advise the faculty member (a) to pursue other options, (b) to exhaust other avenues of appeal, or (c) that the matter is outside of the Faculty Advisory Committee’s purview. Cases.If the FAC determines the matter to be within its scope, the committee may assign case status and instruct the chair to (a) take up the matter with appropriate University authorities, or (b) appoint a subcommittee from the FAC membership.The subcommittee shall investigate and report its findings and recommendations to the FAC .The Faculty Advisory Committee shall review the subcommittee report and (a) return it to the subcommittee with appropriate instructions, (b) arrange a meeting(s) of the committee or subcommittee with the parties concerned, (c) take up the matter with appropriate University authorities, (d) take any action it deems desirable in the best interest of the faculty member involved and of the University, (e) communicate its conclusions to the faculty member and to appropriate administrators and others, or (f) dismiss the matter.

3.Whenever the committee recommends that administrative action be taken, appropriate parties to the grievance shall be notified promptly and given an opportunity to bring to the committee’s attention, within a reasonable time, any misunderstandings which might have affected the committee’s conclusions, or bring to the committee’s attention any additional information relevant to the matter.

4.A recommendation involving administrative action will be accompanied by the request that the matter be considered within thirty (30) days and the committee informed of the outcome.

5.A chair is elected by a majority vote of the entire committee.The chair may designate a chair pro tempore to conduct official business of the committee in his/her absence.As an elected member, the chair shall have one vote on all questions, except as noted in Article 6 below.

6.A member of the committee shall be disqualified, either by his/her own initiative or by a majority vote of the committee, from voting on any matter with elements of conflicting interest.On those occasions when the chair might be deemed to have a conflict of interest, a chair pro tempore shall be designated to conduct official business of the committee.

7.A committee member shall accept no gifts from any party to a grievance.

8.Five members shall constitute a quorum.Approval by a majority of those members present shall be required for adoption of any measure, except in the cases of public statements, member replacements, or amendments to these articles, as indicated below.A minority may file a statement to accompany any recommendation by the majority.

9.Any matter coming before the committee shall be held confidential unless the grievant and the committee agree otherwise.If this should occur or if a public statement is made concerning the committee’s role in the matter, confidentiality will continue to be maintained for those aspects of the matter not mentioned in the public statement.Any public statement made by the committee in such circumstances shall be made by the chair or his/her appointee and shall have prior approval by a majority (5) of the entire committee.If litigation should occur in a matter before the committee and it becomes impossible to avoid disclosure of documents or testimony because of court orders, the committee as a body or any member of the committee must comply.All parties interviewed in connection with FAC cases shall be informed of this confidentiality policy.

10.At the request of the chair, and with the approval of a majority (5) of the committee members, a former member may be recalled to participate in current committee deliberations and actions involving a case in which he/she previously performed a principal role.During such deliberations, the former member shall be accorded the same rights and obligations of committee membership outlined in these procedures, except that he/she shall not be counted in determining a quorum nor have voting privileges.

11.In accordance with the FAC File Policy, committee minutes and records shall be considered confidential and open to inspection only for reasons satisfactory to the committee and authorized by it in writing, or by court order.The committee’s records shall be kept on file in the FAC Office for 20 years.After that time, the files shall be transferred to the University Archives where they will remain closed for an additional 10 years.(Copies of the committee’s File Policy are available upon request from the FAC Office, 228 English Building.)

12.The committee shall report to the faculty annually and at such other times as it may deem appropriate.Copies of such reports shall be sent to the Provost, the Chancellor, the President, and the Clerk of the Senate.

13.When a member of the Faculty Advisory Committee resigns, he/she will be replaced by the person who received the highest number of votes among those who failed to be elected in the most recent election.The replacing member will complete the term of the member being replaced.

14.The chair of the committee may, with the approval of a majority (5) of the committee members, request the resignation and replacement of a committee member who fails to attend committee meetings regularly and who does not participate fully in the work of the committee.

15.These articles of procedure may be amended at any time by a majority vote of the entire committee.

Faculty Advisory Committee
chair:Billie Jean Theide, 143 Art and
Design Building, 898-7557, theide@uiuc.edu
office:Christa Petrillo, 228 English Building, 333-7373, christa@uiuc.edu