January 24, 2008
TO: The USM Community
FROM: Joseph S. Wood, Interim President
In accordance with Part VI, Article III of the USM Governance Constitution, I petition formally for an amendment to the Governance Constitution, specifically the section entitled Definition, Paragraph 9, Colleges and Schools. The purpose of this amendment is to align our present organizational structure that includes the School of Music, the School of Nursing, and the School of Social Work with the Governance Document.
With the exceptions noted in Articles I and II, amendments may be initiated by petition of the president or a school, a college, an independent degree program, or the Faculty Senate or a vote by the Faculty or the Student Senate or any one hundred members of the university community or forty faculty members or thirty professional or classified staff members. Such amendments require ratification by a two-thirds vote of the faculty voting and the approval of the president. A proposed amendment must be published to the university community at least fourteen school days before the vote is taken. The chair of the Faculty Senate will schedule a public hearing to take place at least five school days before the balloting. The ratification vote may be at a faculty meeting or by mail ballot. The Faculty Senate Chair shall be responsible for preparing all amendment ballots and conducting the vote. The president may elect to request student, professional staff and classified staff referenda before deciding upon approval of such amendments.
The proposed amendment would read as follows with additions in italic and deletions scored:
9. Colleges and Schools. A college or school is normally a grouping of faculty members or departments of the University offering courses of study leading to a bachelor’s or graduate degree with majors in single disciplines or areas of study
In order to provide for internal consistency, I also petition amendment of the second sentence of Part III, Article IV.1.A regarding responsibilities of a dean:
The responsibilities of the dean include, but are not limited to, the following: implementing the educational objectives of the school or college in cooperation with chairs, directors, faculty, staff, and students.
And to add at end of that same paragraph A:
Any administrative unit identified as a school or college that is actually headed by an official other than a dean shall have the status of a department or program within a school or college headed by a dean, or shall report directly to the Provost.
Again, the purpose of the amendment is to align our present organizational structure that includes the School of Music, the School of Nursing, and the School of Social Work with the Governance Document.