SEC passes dean policy

Senate Executive Committee members overwhelmingly passed the new procedure for the removal of a dean at their meeting March 1. Under the proposal, which is published in today's Almanac, the University president, provost or faculty members can initiate the process resulting in the removal of a dean. Provost Stanley Chodorow charged the Senate Committee on Administration (SCA) to draft the proposal last fall. If faculty members initiate the dean's removal, they must pass a vote of no confidence at a Faculty Senate meeting. The vote must then "be confirmed by a majority of the standing faculty in a subsequent mail ballot," the policy states. Regardless of who proposes the dean's removal, the policy states that the provost must then appoint an Advisory Committee of "at least five faculty members, a majority of whom shall be from outside of the school." The Committee would "gather information relevant to the issues specified in the charge, including interviews with the faculty and the dean." Within four weeks, the advisory committee must then provide its findings to the president, provost and the dean in question and report its recommendations to the faculty of the school. The proposal can only become part of the Handbook for Faculty and Academic Administrators after Chodorow, University President Judith Rodin and the Board of Trustees approve the draft. Prior to the SCA recommendation, faculty did not have an avenue for voicing their discontent with a dean's performance. The proposal also serves as a check against the power of the provost, who ultimately decides whether the University should fire a dean. "[The proposal] makes sure that there is faculty consultation no matter where the question of the dean began and that the provost has a well thought out report before making a decision," said Religious Studies Professor Ann Matter, who chairs the SCA. By calling for two faculty votes of no confidence, the proposal also ensures that an initiative to remove a dean represents the majority of the faculty, Matter added. "It's an example of faculty governance gone right," she said.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.