Faculty Senate

Establishment

On September 18, 1964, the Converse General Faculty voted to adopt a plan, proposed by the Eight-Year Plan Committee, for a Faculty Senate. The Senate was established on September 25, 1964, when the faculty elected the membership.

The Charter of the Faculty Senate can be found in Appendix D, beginning on page 133.

Membership

See Articles I and II of the charter and Amendments VII, VIII, XVI, XXI, XXII, and XXV.

Senate Committees

All Standing Committees, plus their Chairs, (with the exception of the Tenure, Assessment and Promotion Committee) will be appointed by the President of the Faculty Senate in consultation with the Academic Deans. The President of the Faculty Senate will circulate a survey of committee preferences during the spring semester, with actual appointment occurring after the Senate elections and the election of a new Senate president. Major Standing Committee appointments will be for three years, with each committee consisting of between seven and nine members.

Each committee chair will be responsible for submitting a written report of the committee’s activities to the Faculty Senate president and the Provost NO LATER than one week after the end of each long semester. Committees may be asked for interim reports when needed. After review by the Senate, reports will be posted for the information of all faculty.

CURRICULAR PROGRAMS COMMITTEE (CPC)

Responsibilities and Description

To supervise the undergraduate curriculum and special academic programs (such as Freshman Honors and foreign study), to hear student appeals for exceptions to curricular requirements and to refer all approved and rejected proposals to the Faculty Senate as seconded motions, where any Senator may move, with second, to reconsider the decision of the CPC.

Membership

A representative from designated divisions of the Senate will be included and assigned by the Faculty Senate President.  The Provost acts as chair; the Registrar, Associate Provost for Student Success, and the Academic Deans serve as ex officio members. In CPC, ex officio members do not have voting privileges.

SPECIAL LECTURES COMMITTEE (SLC)
 

Description and Responsibilities 
To provide disbursement of funds in support of honoraria and travel expenses for guest lecturers or speakers in classes, labs, programs or other related academic events or functions. Funding will be considered in two cycles per academic year (i.e. Fall and Spring) and may be requested by submitting a formal application to the committee for review and appropriate action. The maximum award amount per faculty member per year will be determined based on the annual budget.
In the case that more proposals are received in one cycle than the committee can fund, proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:
1. Alignment with Academic Mission (see clearly, decide wisely, act justly)
2. Educational Impact / Student Reach
3. Interdisciplinary or Community Value
4. Financial Need / Cost Efficiency
5. Equity and Distribution of Support

Membership

To be appointed by the Faculty Senate President.
 

FACULTY ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE (FEC)

Responsibilities and Description

To monitor the various aspects of the total environment in which faculty of the University carry out their responsibilities of teaching and mentoring students, service, and research. It can serve as a think-tank for issues related to benefits, retirement, the work/life experience, and communication between faculty and administration; advocate meritorious proposals that improve the work/life environment for faculty and academic professional staff. The committee works collaboratively with the Senate and the Administration to take steps to improve the faculty environment in areas such as: the basic terms of faculty employment, fringe benefits, faculty compensation and retention, faculty contracts and the facilities and equipment on which faculty rely.

The FEC will meet with the Provost and the president at least once each long semester to discuss issues relating to faculty environment which have been channeled through the Senate. In addition, the FEC will meet with the vice president for administration and the director of human resources each spring semester to review proposed changes to the employee benefits package for the coming year.

Membership

To be appointed by the president of the Faculty Senate. The chair of the FEC committee, also appointed by the senate president, will be a member of the Faculty Senate. The Provost and the director of human resources shall serve as ex officio members of the FEC.
 

TENURE, ASSESSMENT AND PROMOTION COMMITTEE (TAP)

Responsibilities and Description

To assess faculty for tenure and promotion according to the procedures and guidelines outlined elsewhere in this handbook, presenting recommendations to the administration regarding each candidate’s application. The TAP may also advocate proposals for revisions to TAP procedures to the Faculty Senate.

Membership

To consist of six tenured faculty at associate rank or higher, including librarians at associate rank or higher, with at least one representative from each of the following: the School of Arts, the School of Business and Data Science, the School of Education/the Graduate School (1 for these two areas), and the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences elected at-large by general faculty, chaired by President of Senate. Under no circumstances will any Senate division be represented by more than two members on TAP.
 

Modified for 26-27; Approved by faculty on 5/5/26.

TAP nominations will be made in an open nomination period for the two weeks prior to Spring Break. Nominations may be made to the President of the Faculty Senate by letter or email. Upon completion of the nominating process, an electronic vote will be held for the week after Spring Break. Election results will be announced at the next faculty meeting.

When a vacancy occurs on the TAP Committee outside of the annual nominating schedule, a special election must be held. Vacancies must be announced by the TAP Chair to the full faculty immediately and a one-week nomination period will open at the time of the announcement. Once the nomination period closes, a one-week electronic voting period will open. In the meantime, all TAP processes will be paused until the new representative is elected, and the committee’s work will be deemed valid up to the date of the vacancy. The elected representative may complete the committee term of the person whom they replaced if needed and they are considered eligible for nomination in the next election.
 

FACULTY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE (FDC)

Responsibilities and Description

To coordinate faculty development through research grants, leaves, and sabbaticals; to prepare and announce materials for research and development; to select faculty and faculty projects to receive funding provided by the various trusts and funds available to the University, focusing primarily upon curriculum or program development, and improvement of teaching and scholarly research.

Membership

To be appointed by the faculty senate president as outlined above. The Provost shall serve as an ex-officio member of the committee.
 

UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSION COMMITTEE (UAC)

Responsibilities and Description

To recommend and evaluate undergraduate and Converse II admissions policy and to assist in reviewing applicants for undergraduate and Converse II admission. The committee shall meet with the director of admissions and the chair of the retention committee at least four times per year with a minimum of one meeting in each long semester, to monitor the status of admission numbers, compliance with admission standards, policies, and procedures, and aspects of the admission process which bear on retention.

Membership:

To be appointed by the Faculty Senate president as outlined above. The chief academic officer, the director of admissions, and the chair of the retention committee (an administrative committee) shall serve as ex- officio members of the UAC.
 

AWARDS AND HONORARY DEGREES COMMITTEE (AHD)

Membership:  To be appointed by the Faculty Senate President according to the procedures outlined above.

Responsibilities and Description

AWARDS: To solicit nominations and select recipients for the following scholarships or awards:

• Mary Mildred Sullivan (non-student and female student)
• Algernon Sydney Sullivan (male student)
• American Legion (student)

• Kathryne Amelia Brown Award for Teaching (faculty)

  Criteria for each award will be sent to the General Faculty and Staff no later than March 15 of each year.

  For all awards, nominations must be submitted in writing, should include reasons why the individual should receive the award, and should be signed electronically. 
  
  Upon selection of the nominees, the chair of the Awards Committee will submit these recommended nominations to the following offices:

  • Mary Mildred Sullivan (non-student):  Office of the President to be presented at May Commencement. This recipient must be present to accept the award.
  • Mary Mildred Sullivan and Algernon Sydney Sullivan (students):  Office of the Provost to be presented at May Commencement.
  • American Legion:  Office of the Dean of Students to be presented at Awards Day.
  • Kathryne Amelia Brown (undergraduate faculty) Award:  Nominations are submitted to the Chair of the Awards and Honorary Degrees Committee. The chair selects and meets with 3 former recipients of the award and reviews all nominations. They select up to 3 individuals to be considered for the award. They present these names to the Provost and the deans who select the recipient. The recipient is named at the May Commencement. Past recipients are not eligible for this award.
    
    Information concerning the nominees for all awards is confidential. All submitted nominations become the property of the committee and are kept confidential.
    
    For all awards, the Committee maintains a statement of eligibility, the nature of the award, who presents it, when it is presented, the recipients, and other pertinent information to be filed in the Office of the President. This file includes a section on past practices for awarding to faculty.
    
    Each responsible office and the faculty adviser in the case of student groups, oversees the financing, purchasing, engraving, and presentation of the awards.
    
    The Awards Committee is at liberty to ask
    1. The Public Relations Office to solicit nominations from the community for the Mary Mildred Sullivan Adult Award.
    2. Any faculty member to attend the Awards Committee meetings to solicit additional information regarding a nominee
    3. The Committee uses its own resources and those of the Office of Career Development to help students prepare applications and get ready for interviews.

If no nominations are submitted or the Awards Committee determines there are no worthy recipients, the awards need not be given annually.

 HONORARY DEGREES SELECTION TIMELINE & PROCEDURE

Converse’s Faculty, Staff, Students, and Trustees, acting through the Governance Committee, may recommend potential commencement speakers. The Governance Committee evaluates prospective speakers before sharing them with the Awards Committee for consideration to assess any potential conflicts of interest. The Awards Committee is responsible for evaluating the curated list and ranking its top three prospects. The Awards Committee will then submit prospects to the faculty for final consideration and a vote. 

The final commencement speaker recommendation will then be presented to the Board of Trustees, as honorary degrees may only be conferred upon individuals endorsed by both the general faculty and the Board of Trustees.

GEP Converse Core Launch Committee

This committee dissolved on June 1, 2026; additional information can be found in the 2025-2026 Faculty Handbook.

Other Academic Committees

Graduate Admissions

Responsibilities

1. Members (representing each specific graduate program) screen applicants for their area and recommend full admission, provisional admission, rejection or deferment with specific recommendations for future consideration.
2. The committee members who are present vote on the adviser’s recommendation. The committee also discusses and votes on graduate admission policies.

Graduate Faculty And Council

1. Graduate Faculty
   
   All fulltime tenure track faculty members are eligible to be Graduate Faculty. There is no specific application process. If their peers in their academic department consider them qualified to teach graduate level classes, then they become Voting Graduate Faculty.
   
   Voting Graduate Faculty are eligible to serve on Graduate Council and its sub committees. The council and committees deal with graduate issues. Voting Graduate Faculty should teach at least one graduate class a year on a regular basis. 
    
2. The Graduate Council
   
   The following individuals serve on the Graduate Council by virtue of their Converse appointments:
   • Dean of the Graduate School (chair and non-voting member)
   • Registrar
   • Chair of Education Department
   • One graduate advisor from each of the following programs, as decided by each program and reported to the Council Administrative Assistant, at the beginning of the fall semester:
     • MLA
     • MFA
     • MMFT
     • MAT
     • MEd
     • EdS
     • PLP (EdD and MiM)
     • An at-large representative from art, and
     • An at-large representative from music as reported by each area to the Council Administrative Assistant, at the beginning of the fall semester:

The Council, therefore, has 12 members including one non-voting member who can vote to break ties. Quorum for the group is 6.

The Admissions Sub-Committee and the Curriculum Sub-Committee will be drawn from the twelve voting members. There must be a member from the Education Department on each committee and the other two must be from different academic areas to maintain balance. The Council chair is a non-voting member of both committees and is the summer designee on admissions decisions.

Procedures are as follows: the Council may meet in person once each semester and handles other business electronically. The Curriculum Committee reviews course and program proposals first and on a rolling basis. If approved, proposals move on to the full Council for a vote. Members have 48 hours to vote. Approved proposals are presented to the Voting Graduate Faculty at the end of the next scheduled faculty meeting.

The Graduate Admissions Committee meets if there are provisional applications to be reviewed.

The Graduate Curriculum Programs Committee

The Graduate Curriculum Committee consists of three Graduate Council Members from different programs.  Volunteers are solicited and if the committee cannot be filled, the Chair solicits other council members to balance the committee.  The committee reviews all proposals sent to the Graduate Council before they go to the council for a full vote.  Proposals must be approved by two out of three members to move to a full vote.  Proposers are often asked to make revisions and resubmit to the committee before they are sent to the full council.

Members of the committee are chosen by the Dean of The Graduate School from members of the graduate faculty.  There are to be at least 3 members on the committee.

Institutional Review Board (IRB) For Human Subject Research

Responsibilities and Description:

Converse University abides by the principles of the relevant federal regulations governing research involving human subjects, including clinical research. We agree that review independent of the investigator is necessary to safeguard the rights and welfare of human subjects of research investigations. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) will review and endorse or disapprove proposed investigations involving human subjects before they begin, to insure safeguards. The membership of this Board is appointed by the Provost. Reviews and decisions will be carried out in reference to:

• the rights and welfare of the individuals involved;
• the appropriateness of the methods used to obtain informed consent; and
• the risks and potential benefits of the investigations.

IRB will provide advice and consultation to investigators on matters involving human participants in research. Converse will keep records of group reviews, IRB suggestions and decisions, approval letters, and researcher application materials, including a copy of the informed consent.  

Serving on the Institutional Review Board for Human Subject Research will count as Senate committee service.

Faculty Investigating Committee

Responsibilities and Description

To inquire into faculty dismissal cases based on “unfitness” or “misconduct,” following any administrative actions to release a faculty member with tenure or prior to the expiration of a contract, to effect an adjustment or to determine whether formal proceedings should be initiated (Refer to “Termination of Employment” in this handbook for further information.); to consist of three faculty members recognized for their character and objectivity, appointed by the President of the Senate.

Faculty Hearing Committee

Responsibilities and Description

To follow up on the work of the Faculty Investigating Committee, examining the defense statement of the accused faculty member contesting a faculty dismissal and to conduct a hearing. (Refer to “Termination of Employment” in this handbook for further information; to consist of three faculty members, different from those of the Faculty Investigating Committee, appointed by the President of the Senate.)