News Briefs
Faculty Senate passes collegiality language
At its April 26 meeting, the last of the spring semester, Faculty Senate voted 14-11, with one abstention, to pass the addition of collegiality language to Section 4.04 C of the Faculty Handbook. The addition of this language to the introduction to “University Standards for Collegial Review” has been a longstanding debate in Faculty Senate and a Collegial Review Council has studied the issue since 2010-11. The revised text, with additions underlined, will read:
Faculty members at Western Carolina University are expected to be effective teachers, to be practicing scholars in their disciplines, and to provide meaningful service to the University and the community. The particular mix of these expected activities will vary as a function of departmental missions and the role of the faculty member in the department. Tenure-track or tenured faculty members should be active in all three areas. Overarching expectations of all faculty include professionalism and collegiality. Collegiality is not a separate criterion upon which faculty are assessed, unless otherwise dictated within DCRDs or College by-laws. Collegiality entails shared responsibility and effective cooperation to achieve common goals. Moreover, collegiality among associates must involve appreciation of and respect for differences in expertise, ideas, and background. The concept of collegiality, however, should be distinguished from congeniality; to be congenial is parallel with sociability and agreeableness, while collegiality is a positive and productive association with colleagues. A person need not be congenial to be collegial. See also UNC Policy Manual 101.3.1.II.B. The following minimum university standards provide the groundwork for departments to establish specific criteria for collegial review.
