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. The chancellor is supported by several vice chancellors and a staff that is generally referred to as "the Board's Staff." The state system was formerly known as the Oregon State System of Higher Education. 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. Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland is affiliated with, though no longer a member of, the state system.

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 regularly, generally on the third Friday of every month except in August and December, when no regular meetings are held. The meetings, which are open to the public, are held throughout the system. The board makes an official visit to each campus on a biennial basis in conjunction with its regular meetings.

B. 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. Copies of OAR Chapter 580 and the board's Internal Management Directives are on file in every major departmental office at the University of Oregon and in the library. For further information about the board's rules and policy, contact the secretary to the board at 5-5707.

The University of Oregon publishes its rules as Oregon Administrative Rules, Chapter 571, and maintains copies on file in major offices throughout the university and in the library. For information about the university's rules and policy, contact the executive assistant president at 346-3036.

University policies relating to internal administrative processes and procedures are published as University of Oregon Policy Statements and Procedure Guidelines. These policy and procedure documents are also kept on file in departmental offices and in the library.

When the University of Oregon is considering the promulgation of a rule or an amendment to a rule, copies of the proposal are available for review in the offices of the president (110 Johnson Hall), and the vice presidents: Academic Affairs (202 Johnson Hall), Administration (112 Johnson Hall), Public Affairs and Development (103 Johnson Hall), in the ASUO Office (Suite 4, Erb Memorial Union), and at the Reserve Desk of the library.

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 the last few decades, however, much of the authority of the University Assembly has been delegated by the Assembly to the University Senate, an elected body of faculty members and students.

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 The University Senate consists of forty-eight senate seats distributed among officers of instruction, librarians, officers of administration, and students as follows: thirty-seven officers of instruction, two librarians, three officers of administration, 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, and librarians, 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.

Eligibility and Voting Criteria for University Senators 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. No faculty person appointed at less than .50 FTE is eligible, nor is any officer of administration who does not hold a tenure-related officer of instruction appointment in a school or college, nor any courtesy, adjunct, or visiting faculty members, nor any student.

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.

Senior administrators who are ineligible for membership on the Faculty Advisory Council are also ineligible for election to the University Senate.

The University Assembly The University Assembly is composed of all University of Oregon officers of instruction, librarians, officers of administration; eighteen members of the Student Senate; twenty-five members of the ASUO Executive; and five members of the ASUO Constitution Court. The assembly convenes three times a year (once each term) and at additional times at the request of the president of the university. The assembly can be convened by request of the president of the senate, by a vote of two-thirds of the senate, or by a petition signed by 10 percent of the officers of instruction, librarians, and/or officers of administration. The University Assembly, with full legislative power, shall be convened after a petition to do so has been signed by 33 percent of the voting faculty (those faculty who are eligible to vote for the election of non-student university senators). The president of the university serves as chair of the assembly.

All members of the University Assembly have the right to the floor on any matter under discussion in the University Senate and have the right to introduce legislation. The assembly may discuss any matter that it wishes. At the first meeting of each academic year, the president of the university delivers the state-of-the- university address and introduces new tenure-related faculty. All memorials are presented at meetings of the University Assembly and are entered into the minutes of the assembly. Within a reasonable time period, the assembly may refer any legislation passed by the senate back to the senate for reconsideration.

The Faculty Advisory Council The faculty elects the ten-member Faculty Advisory Council (commonly referred to as the F.A.C.) which, in regular meetings with the president, provides faculty opinion and counsel on the wide range of university affairs. In its relations with the president and with the faculty, the Faculty Advisory Council may act either on request or on its own initiative. Faculty Advisory Council members serve staggered two-year terms. The election of new members takes place during spring term. There are four members from the College of Arts and Sciences, four from the professional schools and colleges, and two from among officers of administration. In addition, the University Senate president is seated on the Faculty Advisory Council with full privileges.

Faculty members interested in having an issue raised directly with the president may ask any advisory council member to bring up the matter. However, in order to keep discussion open and wide-ranging, the advisory council's meetings are private and its agenda is confidential.

University Standing Committees Every year more than 400 faculty members participate in university governance through their service on university standing committees. The Faculty Personnel Committee, the Graduate Council, the Promotion-Tenure-Retention Appeal Committee, the Faculty Grievance Appeal Committee, the Faculty Advisory Council, Intercollegiate Athletics, and the Undergraduate Council are bodies elected by the faculty. The other faculty committees are composed of volunteers recruited by the faculty's Committee on Committees, approved by the senate, and appointed by the president.

Faculty Committees 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 or the president and vice presidents on a particular matter. The following standing committees were established in this way:

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 standing 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 following standing committees were established in this way.

Radiation Safety

Safety Advisory

Scholarships

Student Health Advisory

Technology Transfer

Traffic Appeals Board

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.

Externally-Required Committees The third way that standing committees are created is through the requirements of federal or state law and regulations or through the state board's administrative rules. The following committees were created in this way:

Student Government The students at the university are represented by officers of the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO). 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 ASUO Executive. 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.

D. 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, whose office is in 110 Johnson Hall, 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.

The university has three vice presidents, who are also appointed by the board on the recommendation of the president of the university.

Academic Affairs. The provost and vice president for academic affairs administers planning, direction, and personnel matters for all of the university's professional schools and colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School, and the Library. Several other academic and service programs also come within the jurisdiction of this office. The office of the vice president for academic affairs is located in 202 Johnson Hall.

The provost and vice president for academic affairs is the senior vice president of the university, and 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’s portfolio is supported by staff organized into several staff segments, each headed by a senior administrator. These administrators include the vice provost and associate vice provost for academic affairs, the vice provost for international programs, the vice provost for research, the dean of the graduate school, the associate vice president for student academic affairs, the director of university computing, and associate vice president for resource management.

Most of the academic activities of the university have been organized into schools and colleges, each headed by a dean. The schools and colleges in the university are the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Architecture and Allied Arts (AAA, or "triple A"), the Charles H. Lundquist College of Business, the College of Education, the School of Journalism and Communication, the School of Law, and the School of Music.

The deans of the various schools and colleges are appointed by the provost and vice president for academic affairs, to whom they report. 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.

Administration. The vice president for administration is responsible for most of the university’s operational support services. The vice president for administration's office is in 112 Johnson Hall.

The associate vice president for institutional affairs, the associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students, and eight division directors or deans report to this vice president. These divisions include:

The associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students serves as the university’s chief student affairs officer and is responsible for coordinating the delivery of student support services.

Faculty members most often come into contact with the Office of Administration in their business dealings. Payroll and accounting report to the director of business affairs. It is important for the faculty of the University of Oregon to know that only the vice president for administration and the director of business affairs have the authority to bind the university contractually.

Public Affairs & Development .The university's public relations and fund-raising programs are the major concerns of the vice president for public affairs and development. The office of the vice president for public affairs and development is in 103 Johnson Hall.

Reporting to the vice president are the associate vice president for development and the directors of the Alumni Association, the Office of Communications, University Publications, and the Office of Merchandise, Marketing, and Licensing, as well as the general manager of KWAX-FM, the university’s classical-music-format public radio station, and the editor of Oregon Quarterly.

The university's fund-raising activities are supported through the University of Oregon Foundation, an independent non-profit corporation with a self- perpetuating board of directors. The foundation manages gift funds on behalf of the university, and facilitates its major capital projects and fund-raising efforts. Each school and college has an officer who is responsible for coordinating fund-raising activities within the unit. These officers' activities are further coordinated through the Office of Public Affairs and Development.

Research. The vice provost for research is responsible for the university's sponsored research activities, for federal government relations, and for technology transfer activities, including the Riverfront Research Park. The office of the vice provost for research is in 207 Johnson Hall.

Reporting to the vice provost for research are the assistant vice provost for research and graduate education, assistant vice provost for research and faculty development, the director of research services and administration, the human subject compliance coordinator, the director of technology transfer services, and the directors of research centers and institutes. The university’s centers and institutes include the Center for Asian and Pacific Studies; the Center for Housing Innovation, the Center for the Study of Women in Society; the Center on Human Development; the Computational Intelligence Research Laboratory, the Computational Science Institute; the Institute for a Sustainable Environment; the Institute for Community Arts Studies; the Institute of Cognitive and Decision Sciences; the Institute of Industrial Relations; the Institute of Molecular Biology; the Institute of Neuroscience; the Institute of Theoretical Science; the Institute on Violence and Destructive Behavior; the International Institute for Sport and Human Performance; the Materials Science Institute; the New Media Center; the Oregon Center for Optics; the Oregon Humanities Center; the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology; the Oregon Survey Research Laboratory; and the Solar Energy Center.

The Office of Research offers faculty and faculty development staff an array of services in getting research projects underway. They can help in developing project proposals for funded research activities; they maintain a list of potential funding sources to which proposals might be sent; and distribute a newsletter with important information about funding availability and application deadlines. The Office of Research Services and Administration staff reviews each project proposal before it is sent out to assure that it is in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations, and rules, and helps faculty ensure that all required authorizations are in place. Requests for research support may not be submitted without being processed through this office.

Graduate School. The Graduate School is the umbrella organization that coordinates graduate education in all the university’s schools and colleges except the School of Law. Through the Graduate School, the university offers studies leading to advanced degrees in the liberal arts and sciences and in the professional fields of architecture and allied arts, business, education, journalism and communication, and music. The dean of the graduate school is responsible for coordinating graduate education and reports to the university’s provost.

The Graduate Council, an elected body of faculty, has the delegated authority to approve graduate school curricula in the various schools and colleges, and to deliberate on particular concerns brought before it by graduate students and their faculty advisers. The Graduate School office is located in 125 Chapman Hall.