ERIC Number: ED033644
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1969-Mar-4
Pages: 11
Abstractor: N/A
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Faculty Senates: A Dissenting View.
Lieberman, Myron
The purpose of this paper is to set forth some criticisms of faculty senates, the most common type of representation system on US campuses. Faculty senates vary a great deal but are all, in theory and practice, a type of employee council. Historically, employee councils have failed to provide effective leadership and some of their deficiencies are shared by faculty senates: a lack of independent funds, a lack of expertise needed for effective representation, control of internal affairs by the administration (the employer), and lack of recourse to a national structure that could bring pressure to bear upon a recalcitrant administration. Why faculties support such an objectionable system may be explained by the academicians' belief in a distinction between the terms "professional" and "employee." Faculty members have generally confused the line between employment and professional problems--a confusion particularly prevalent in current thinking about entry to professorial positions. The public policy of faculty committees should also be considered. The function of faculty representation should not be faculty administration of an institution, but to ensure that administration is equitable and efficient. If the faculty itself is responsible for administrative action, faculty rights are practically without protection from administrative abuse. (JS)
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Authoring Institution: American Association for Higher Education, Washington, DC.
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Note: Paper presented at the American Association for Higher Education's 24th National Conference on Higher Education, Chicago, Illinois, March 2-5, 1969