UO Home | Dept Index

Faculty Governance

Home › Faculty ›
Printer-friendly version

 


Contents

-Oregon University System

-Administrative Rules and Policy Statements

-University Governance

-University Administration

 

Oregon University System

The University of Oregon is one of seven member institutions within the Oregon University System. The state system is administered by the State Board of Higher Education, consisting of eleven members appointed by the governor, two of whom are students. The chief administrative officer of the state system is the chancellor, through whom the institutional presidents are responsible to the board. You may see or hear "OUS" in reference to the state board and its activities. Other member institutions in OUS are: Eastern Oregon State University in LaGrande; Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls; Oregon State University in Corvallis; Portland State University in Portland; Southern Oregon State University in Ashland; and Western Oregon State University in Monmouth. and Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland. The state board is responsible for setting academic and administrative policy throughout the system's institutions. The state board sets the missions of the various institutions, it considers curricular proposals from the various institutional faculties, and it allocates to the institutions the funds made available to the system by the state legislature. The board meets monthly, except in August and December, when no regular meetings are held. The meetings are open to the public and held throughout the system. The board makes an official visit to each campus on a biennial basis in conjunction with its regular meetings.

Administrative Rules and Policy Statements

The University of Oregon and the Oregon State Board of Higher Education are agencies of the state of Oregon.  State law requires agencies to adopt rules and regulations according to the state's Administrative Procedures Act.  The formal rule-making procedure required by the act is the process used by the State Board of Higher Education as well as the University of Oregon and its sister institutions when adopting policies affecting students and student applicants, conditions of employment, and conditions for contracts and services in relation to outside entities.  The rule-making process requires an agency to give public notice of its intent to adopt rules, to hold a public hearing on the proposed rule changes, and to publish the rules as they are adopted.  The Oregon State Board of Higher Education publishes its rules as Oregon Administrative Rules, Chapter 580.  You will hear administrative rules referred to as "the O.A.R.s." The board also publishes Internal Management Directives (IMDs), which guide the institutions in administrative issues and relationships and on the implementation of the board's rules.  The University of Oregon publishes its rules as Oregon Administrative Rules, Chapter 571.  University policies relating to internal administrative processes and procedures can be found, here on the Academic Affairs website.  



University Governance

The tradition of faculty governance at the University of Oregon was established with the University's charter.  Today the charter continues in effect as state law, and specifies that the president and the professors constitute the university faculty, and that this faculty should "have the immediate government" of the institution in all matters of academic policy and student discipline.  The faculty at the University of Oregon has traditionally governed the institution through the University Assembly, a town-hall form of government in which every full-time faculty member with professorial rank has a vote.  In 1995, the faculty of the university through a University Assembly votes passed legislation altering the institution’s governance structure to make the University Senate the sole governing body of the university in all matters of faculty governance.  The University Senate consists of fifty-one senate seats distributed as follows: thirty-seven officers of instruction, two librarians, three officers of administration, three classified staff, five students, and the president of the senate.  Senate representatives are elected by their constituent bodies.  The thirty-seven senators who are officers of instruction represent specific academic constituencies, according to a formula based on the approximate proportion of tenure-related full-time equivalent (FTE) appointments in the constituent units relative to the total University of Oregon tenure-related FTE.  The five student senators represent academic majors and are chosen by the nine ASUO academic student senators in a method designed by the latter. They serve as student senators for the academic year.  Faculty senators, including officers of instruction, officers of administration, librarians, and classified staff are elected to serve staggered two-year terms, according to election procedures specified in the University Senate charter, enabling legislation and bylaws. The university faculty define the voting membership in its governing bodies and have developed procedures for election to the University Senate that are described below.  The University Senate is the main legislative body of the university. During the academic year, the University Senate elects a president, a vice president, and other officers it deems necessary.  Officers are elected for one-year terms.  The senate president chairs the senate meetings.  Senate meetings are open to the public to the extent that space permits.  Each academic unit represented in the senate determines who is eligible for the purpose of voting for and nominating candidates to serve as officer-of-instruction senators, subject to the following limitations.  All tenure-related officers of instruction holding the academic rank of instructor or higher, and employed at .50 FTE or greater, are eligible.  Officers of administration holding appointments at .50 FTE or greater are eligible to be nominated for, serve as, and vote for officer of administration senators.    

Every year more than 400 faculty members participate in university governance through their service on university standing committees.  Elected Faculty Committees are elected by the faculty.  Committees of the Senate and Other Appointments are composed of volunteers recruited by the faculty's Committee on Committees, approved by the senate, and appointed by the president - these committees are created in three ways: 

  • Most commonly the faculty, through the senate or the assembly, sees the need to put together a group of people to advise it, the president, and or the vice presidents on a particular matter.  Having created these committees, the faculty has the prerogative to make any changes in the missions, membership requirements, or procedures applicable to these groups. Administrative Committees  
  • The second way these committees come into existence is through the request of the president or a vice president who feels the need for on-going advice about a particular area of administrative concern.  The mission, membership requirements, and processes for these groups are defined by the administrative officer who seeks the group's advice.  The faculty may advise about these matters, but decisions rest with the creating officer.  In addition, some of the institutionally created committees are now subject to externally imposed state regulations or laws. 
  • The third way these committees are created is through the requirements of federal or state law and regulations or through the state board's administrative rules. 

Students participate significantly in university governance through their elected officers, their student representatives in the University Assembly and Senate; and through their membership on most of the university's standing and ad hoc committees.  Each year the students elect a president and vice president who, with their appointed staff, are known as the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) Executives.  As the recognized voice of UO students, the ASUO Executive administers more than eighty-five funded ASUO programs.  The ASUO Constitution describes the legal and procedural functioning and the general makeup of the ASUO Executive.  Students also elect eighteen members of the ASUO Student Senate who represent the constituent interests of students and act on matters related to the allocation and appropriation of incidental fees. The incidental fee is a self-imposed tax by which students finance nonacademic activities and programs. Reflecting its two functions, nine members of the Student Senate are elected by majority to represent academic departments and nine are elected to serve on finance committees. Other branches of student government include the ASUO Programs Finance Committee, ASUO Athletic Department Finance Committee, Erb Memorial Union Board, the Associated Students Presidential Advisory Council (ASPAC), and the Constitution Court.



University Administration

The operational responsibility for the university is vested in the President and the Vice Presidents.  The President of the university is appointed by the State Board of Higher Education through search procedures established by the board.  The President, Richard Lariviere, is ultimately responsible for the operation of the university. The President’s staff includes the university’s General Counsel, Executive Assistant President, and Special Counsel.  Administrative officers that report directly to the President include:

The Senior Vice President and Provost is the officer who is called upon first to act as President in the President’s absence.  Faculty members normally refer to this Vice President simply as "the Provost".  The Provost administers planning and direction for all of the university's professional schools and colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School, and the Library.  The Provost’s portfolio includes:

 

Under the direction of the Senior Vice President and Provost, the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs administers all faculty personnel matters for the university's professional schools and colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School, and the Library.  Other academic and service programs under this jurisdiction are:

Most of the academic activities of the university have been organized into schools and colleges, each headed by a dean. The deans, along with the university librarian, meet regularly to advise and consult with the provost and represent their faculties in university-wide administrative matters. The various college offices are staffed differently depending on their size and organization. Most of the deans are supported by one or more associate deans who assist in the administration of the school or college. The larger schools and colleges are organized into departments.

The department heads are appointed by the dean, usually in consultation with the provost. Department head selection procedures are usually developed by the dean with the active participation of the department faculty. Each department is unique in its governance, its traditions, and its utilization of resources. Normally there is an administrative assistant or experienced staff support person who is primarily responsible for Implementing departmental administrative policy, and for assuring that the day-to-day operations of the department run smoothly. This staff member can be of great assistance to faculty members and, after the department head, is often the best source of information about process issues. In those units without departmental organizations, these services are most often found in the office of the dean. 

The Graduate School is the umbrella organization that coordinates graduate education in all the university's schools and colleges except the School of Law.  The Graduate Council, an elected body of faculty, has the delegated authority to approve graduate curricula in the various schools and colleges, and to deliberate on particular concerns brought before it by graduate students and their faculty advisors.  

Faculty members most often come into contact with the Office of Unclassified Personnel Services in their business dealings.  This unit operates through Academic Affairs and the Provost Office and is responsible for contracting for all unclassified personnel.