(Endorsed unanimously by SACUA on August 28, 2006)

University faculty members often ask to discuss their grievances or complaints with SACUA or with other central faculty units.  SACUA is almost always willing to listen with a sympathetic ear because it believes such discussions benefit not only the faculty member, but the University as a whole. 

But such discussions are not a substitute for the other means by which aggrieved faculty members can resolve disputes: for instance, through mediation, consultation with ombudspersons, grievances, legal action, and so on.  In particular, involving SACUA in a dispute does not alter the procedural requirements of these other procedures, nor does it change any deadlines they may impose.  Moreover, SACUA is not in a position to offer legal advice, even if, as is sometimes the case, there are lawyers on SACUA or in the SACUA office; no attorney/client relationship is expressed or implied, and if you are unsure of your legal position we encourage you to consult with an attorney.

SACUA is fully aware of how stressful disputes can be, and it remains committed to assisting faculty members (and thereby the University) in every appropriate way.  The purpose of this disclaimer is to assist faculty members in preserving and exercising their rights effectively.
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ACTION OF SACUA 082806-1
SACUA unanimously agreed to submit to the Regents the report drafted by S. Meerkov, with small revisions by K. Riles, for the September Regents' Faculty Governance Update as follows:

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
REGENTS COMMUNICATION

ITEM FOR INFORMATION

 Subject:  Faculty Governance Update

Shared governance between administrators and faculty is a foundation for successful operation of any university. The University of Michigan Regents Bylaws provide mechanisms for such co-operation. Indeed, at the university-wide level, Bylaw 4.01 declares that "The senate is authorized to consider any subject pertaining to the interests of the University, and to make recommendations to the Board of Regents in regard thereto". At the unit level, Bylaw 5.06 states that "The executive committee in addition to assisting with administrative functions shall be charged with the duties of investigating and formulating educational and instructional policies for consideration by the faculty and shall act for the faculty in matters of budgets, promotions, and appointments."

Unfortunately, the university faculty often takes less than full advantage of these opportunities. Indeed, the provision of Bylaw 4.01 has not been exercised in the recent past. Executive committees of many units, contrary to Bylaw 5.06, are not involved in issues of budget and academic administrative appointments.

To alleviate these deficiencies, in fall of 2005, SACUA created two ad-hoc committees to address the issues of shared governance at both university-wide and unit levels. This communication is intended to report to the Regents on the activities of these groups.

1.   The main outcomes of one of these groups, the Unit Shared Governance Task Force, are a Report and subsequent Resolution of the Senate Assembly of February 20, 2006 concerning the election of unit executive committee members and the functions of those committees. These documents can be found at http://www.umich.edu/~sacua/SenAssb/UnitSharedGovernanceTaskForceReport.pdf  and http://www.umich.edu/~sacua/SenAssb/ExecComResolution-Feb2006.pdf, respectively. According to the Resolution, "The name of the eligible candidate with the largest number of votes is to be submitted to the Provost for subsequent Regental approval." This provision modifies the earlier practice in which a runner-up could be appointed to the executive committee instead.

In addition, the Resolution calls for executive committees to participate in shared governance by giving their "consent for all academic administrative appointments in the unit, composition of search committees leading to these appointments, and to chair professorship nominations" as well as "to  provide oversight of the budget".

It is expected that these recommendations, after approval by the units, will be implemented during fall of 2006.

2.  The second group, the University Shared Governance Task Force, is currently in the process of developing its recommendations. The general direction of these recommendations is that SACUA should be advised and consulted on existing or on new policies, which affect faculty life and satisfy certain criteria. These criteria are currently under discussions with the Provost. It is expected that these recommendations will be finalized and put in place by the end of 2006.

SACUA believes that the above described actions will substantially improve mutually productive co-operation between the faculty and the administration for the benefit of the University as a whole.

Submitted:  September 2006
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ACTION OF SACUA 073106-2
SACUA unanimously authorized the chair to pursue the delinquency of a GRB committee report further with the provost as something that appears on the surface to be a case of serious malfeasance by the GRB chair, potentially more serious than the personnel matter brought earlier in the meeting by the president.
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ACTION OF SACUA 073106-1
The chair invited a motion that SACUA will participate in the joint committee [being constituted by the AAUP and the Academic Freedom Lecture Fund for review and revision of proposed rules for the operation of the Davis, Markert, Nickerson Visiting Professorship] through its chair.  The motion was offered by several members simultaneously.

The motion was approved unanimously.
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ACTION OF SACUA 071706-1
WHEREAS

• The University of Michigan Board of Regents re-appointed the University President without consulting the elected faculty governance;
• It is customary and desirable to conduct a careful and full evaluation of any administrator's performance before re-appointment, soliciting thorough comment from all affected parties;
• The Board of Regents engaged an external consulting firm, which, according to the Ann Arbor News, interviewed only 22 members of the university community;
• Faculty perceive this limited consultation as inadequate for meaningful faculty input;

Therefore, and in accordance with Regents' Bylaw 4.01,

• SACUA, as a duly elected representative of the University Senate, expresses its serious concern that the process that the Regents used to re-appoint the President has excluded the opportunity to engage the faculty when making this most important decision.
• Wishing then to improve communication between the Regents and elected faculty governance, SACUA proposes a joint task force of members from SACUA, the Regents, and the Office of the President to explore new structural mechanisms to ensure appropriate faculty consultation in future Regental decisions of this nature.

The resolution was adopted by unanimous vote. 
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ACTION OF SACUA 061206-1
Professor Seabury moved endorsement of the resolution drafted by Dearborn joint benefits committee.  Professor Frier seconded.

The action was approved by unanimous vote.
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ACTION OF SACUA 060506-2
Professor MacAdam moved that SACUA endorses the 2005-2006 CESF annual report to the Board of Regents (multiple seconds).

The action was approved by unanimous vote.
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ACTION OF SACUA 060506-1
Professor Riles moved that SACUA affirms past practice and hereby ratifies appointment of Professor Potter, runner-up in the most recent SACUA election, to complete the term vacated by the resignation of Professor Younker (multiple seconds). 

The action was approved by unanimous vote.
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ACTION OF SACUA 052206-3
Professor Meerkov moved that SACUA endorses the report "Assessing the Necessity of Extending the Maximum Probationary Period" and directs that it be transmitted to the provost, to the Flexible Tenure Committee, and to the Senate Assembly Tenure Committee (Frier seconded).

The action was approved by unanimous vote
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ACTION OF SACUA 052206-2
Professor Giordani moved that SACUA accepts the report of the Rules Committee and transmits it to the Tenure Committee for their consideration and comment (Riles seconded).

Vote on the Active Motion:
            Number approving- 6
            Number disapproving- 0
            Number abstaining- 1
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ACTION OF SACUA 052206-1
Professor Frier moved the SACUA approves the proposed position description for Administrator Coordinator/Project Coordinator for the Faculty Senate Office and commends it to the chair for immediate posting (MacAdam seconded).

The action was approved by unanimous vote.
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ACTION OF SACUA 051506-1
Professor MacAdam moved that SACUA endorses the language of model recommendation with slight modification, and commends the model to Senate Assembly for further endorsement (Seabury seconded):

"If you think you need an accommodation for a disability, please let me know at your earliest convenience.  Some aspects of this course, the assignments, the in-class activities, and the way I teach may be modified to facilitate your participation and progress.  As soon as you make me aware of your needs, we can work with the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) to help us determine appropriate accommodations.  SSD (734-763-3000; http://www.umich.edu/~sswd/) typically, recommends accommodations through a Verified Individualized Services and Accommodations (VISA) form.   I will treat any information you provide as private and confidential."

The motion was approved unanimously.
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