RPC 03/04 4
February 26, 2004
To: St. Olaf College Faculty
From: RPC
Re: Revision to the Faculty Manual
At the March 2004 Faculty Meeting RPC will move the approval of the following amendment to the Faculty Manual:
Add the paragraph highlighted in boldface below to Section 1 - 1.0 of the Faculty Manual.
SECTION 1 THE FACULTY MANUAL
1.0 Purpose and Distribution
The Faculty Manual sets forth the rights of faculty members, and various obligations of faculty members to the College, and of the College to faculty members, through policies adopted by the Board of Regents pursuant to its responsibility under Section 3.02 of the College Bylaws. The Faculty Manual is recognized as a contract between each faculty member and the College. The terms of the contract are as set forth herein, and can be changed as provided in sections 1.1 and 1.2 of the Manual.
The Faculty Manual is a "unilateral contract." A unilateral contract is one that is not negotiated between two parties, but instead is offered by one party without receiving in return any promise of performance from the other. With a unilateral contract, the offering party must perform according to the offer for as long as the offer remains standing.
Should institutional sanction or dismissal proceedings be initiated against a faculty member, either for failing to comply with one or more provisions of the Faculty Manual, or for any other reason, the procedures identified in Section 4.XVII XXII of the Manual shall be followed.
Consistent with the College's commitment to shared governance, these policies generally reflect substantial faculty input, and the implementation of most of the policies contained herein depends upon faculty participation. The Dean of the College shall distribute the Manual in print or electronic form to the faculty.
The Board of Regents, as the highest governing body of the College, may change the policies contained in this Manual by following the procedures contained herein.
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Rationale:
This language clarifies:
a) The contractual nature of both the Faculty Manual and the Faculty Handbook.
b) The procedures that must be must be followed should institutional sanction dismissal proceedings be initiated against any faculty member for any reason.
