2.0 Organization of the Faculty

2.1 The Faculty

The faculty consists of the Ordinary Faculty, the Term Faculty, the emeriti, the president, the executive vice president, the provost, and the dean of undergraduate and graduate studies.

2.1.1 Ordinary Faculty

1. Academic Faculty. Personnel who hold one of the following academic ranks: professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor.
2. Professional Personnel. Personnel who are employed in the library and in the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies whose academic titles have been explicitly recognized in their contracts with Providence College as being equivalent to one of the above academic ranks. As it pertains to professional personnel, subsequent references in this Handbook to “the department chair” shall mean the director in a professional area, and subsequent references to “members of the department” shall mean professional personnel holding faculty status within that professional area.
3. Status, Rank, and Departmental Appointments and/or Assignments.
   Members of the Ordinary Faculty enjoy the status, rights, benefits, and services and bear the professional responsibilities as set forth in this Faculty Handbook and online at: https://friarsprovidence.sharepoint.com/academic-affairs
   
   The title given to members of the Ordinary Faculty shall include the department to which the member is appointed, e.g., assistant professor of English or associate professor of history. However, appointment may be in more than one area, if the faculty member qualifies for one of the categories defined below.

1. Associated Faculty Courtesy appointments may be established by two departments and/or a department and program with approval of the school Dean(s). A department or program may invite a member of the Providence College faculty to become an associated professor. The appointment is then negotiated between the home and affiliated department/program chairperson/director in consultation with the school Dean(s). Upon approval of the Provost, the appointment is established for three years and is reviewed for potential renewal by the school Dean at that time. A faculty member holding a courtesy appointment retains the same faculty rank in their associated department as they do in their home department, and they may list this affiliation in appropriate professional contexts, including external grants (e.g., Assistant Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience). Courtesy appointments do not confer voting rights on cases of tenure & promotion for the associated faculty member in the non-home department. All decisions for academic rank and tenure remain in the home department in accordance with established departmental and collegewide procedures.

2. Jointly Appointed Faculty Joint appointments are established by two academic units, which can be either departments or a department and program. Both the Development of Western Civilization and Honors programs at Providence College operate uniquely and are not eligible to serve as programs as part of a joint appointment. Faculty who are currently under joint appointment, before this legislation is passed, have the opportunity to opt in and draft a memorandum of agreement. One of those two academic units will be designated as the primary (normally but not necessarily the faculty member’s home department), and the other secondary. In cases in which joint appointments are made between a department and a program, the program must be the secondary unit. The establishment of a joint appointment will be determined by the primary and secondary units in consultation with the appropriate school Dean(s) and the approval of the Provost. At the time the offer of a joint appointment is made, the chairs/directors/deans will develop a memorandum of agreement that will detail the jointly appointed faculty member’s privileges and duties within each academic unit. In cases involving new faculty searches, a proposed memorandum of agreement, to be finalized at the time of the appointment, will be required as a portion of the initial request for the new/replacement tenure-track position. The memorandum of agreement must indicate: 1. Which unit is primary and which is secondary. 2. The proportion of teaching and advising duties assigned to each unit. 3. The proportion of service duties assigned to each unit. 4. Voting rights within each academic unit. 5. Which procedures for rank and tenure apply, those of the primary unit or modified procedures as described in 3.3.5.1 6. Which members of the primary and secondary unit are considered eligible deliberators in cases of rank and tenure. a. Only faculty who would be enfranchised deliberators on a traditional tenure and promotion vote within their academic department are eligible to be deliberators in the case of joint appointment as detailed in 3.4.4.1 and/or 3.5.4.1. 7. The length of the joint appointment is subject to review during the third-year review for a probationary faculty member or at other agreed-upon times for a tenured faculty member.

The Chair of the primary unit is responsible for (a) monitoring the jointlyappointed faculty member’s workload to ensure it does not exceed that of a faculty member assigned to a single unit; (b) overseeing the evaluation process for tenure and promotion at all ranks for the jointly-appointed faculty member; (c) ensuring that the contributions in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service for both academic units are recognized; and (d) ensuring that tenure and promotion procedures as described in 3.4.4.1 are adhered to.

2.1.2 Term Faculty

Personnel holding one of the below-designated ranks are appointed for specific limited terms (one semester, one year, three years, etc.) to fill a specific need. The appointments of personnel engaged as Term Faculty shall be made by the provost upon the recommendation of the school dean.

Status, rank, departmental appointment(s) and/or assignment(s), and term of contract shall be specifically stated in the faculty member’s contract. Contract renewal is not automatic.

The tenure provisions applicable to members of the Ordinary Faculty are specifically excluded from this category. Written notification of contract renewal at the expiration of the term contract must come from the provost.

1. Visiting Faculty. Visiting Faculty serve as replacement of ordinary faculty who are temporarily unable to fulfill their teaching duties (e.g. sabbatical, medical leave, etc.). As replacements, Visiting Faculty will have the full-time load consistent with the normal
   load of ordinary faculty of 9 credit hours per semester. A decrease in this load may be negotiated in consultation with the department chairperson and the appropriate school dean. Visiting Faculty hold a full-time term appointment associated with an academic department in one of the following ranks: visiting instructor, visiting assistant professor, visiting associate professor, and visiting professor. The assignment of rank shall be made by the provost in consultation with the Committee on Academic Rank and Tenure. Visiting faculty shall possess academic qualifications that would otherwise admit them to the corresponding rank in the Ordinary Faculty. No member of the Visiting Faculty shall serve as such for more than two (2) years total service. Visiting Faculty whose initial appointment to Providence College as Visiting Faculty was prior to June 30th, 2022, remain under the previous terms of the Visiting Faculty, with a teaching load of 12 credit hours per semester, and may serve no more than (6) years. 

2. Renewable Contingent Faculty (RCF). Renewable contingent faculty are full-time faculty who are not ordinary faculty, but who have specialized training, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience in a particular field relevant to a departmental or programmatic need. Renewable contingent faculty must have an advanced degree, and significant professional/academic experience in their respective discipline as determined to be appropriate by the departmental faculty and the relevant school dean. Renewable contingent faculty may constitute no more than 25% of the faculty of any department and no more than 15% of the total faculty of Providence College. For the purposes of the calculation of RCF within a department, jointly appointed faculty will be included only in their primary department and calculated values will be rounded to the nearest whole number, utilizing the traditional rule of 5. The Office of Academic Affairs shall provide to the Faculty Senate President the number of renewable contingent faculty appointed in each department, school, and the college, and the percentage of departmental, school, and college faculty that the numbers represent. Department chairs shall be provided these data for their department, the school in which they are housed, and the college. Data are to be provided by October 31 each year. Renewable contigent faculty are eligible for promotion as described in 3.3.5.2. 

   The administration will not substitute a renewable contingent faculty position in place of a department or program’s request for a tenure-track faculty position. All proposals to create a renewable contingent faculty position will originate as a department program’s request for such a position in preference to a request for a tenure-track faculty position. Renewable contingent faculty will not occupy tenure-track positions, nor may they be used to replace existing tenure-track faculty lines. RCF are primarily engaged in teaching with a normal full-time load of 12 credit hours per semester. Reductions in load may be implemented when deemed appropriate by the school dean in consultation with the provost. RCF are not expected to be significantly involved in scholarship and research with a view to publication; however, they may be required to engage in qualification maintenance activities mandated by the accreditation standards of their school (e.g. PCSB & AACSB). RCF will also be required to maintain active involvement in their profession as it relates to their teaching. RCF are not eligible for sabbatical leaves, and may not serve as department chairs, are non-voting members of their department with respect to tenure and promotion and are ineligible to serve on the Faculty Senate. RCF may be expected to be engaged in student advising and in service, as appropriate, to the College, school, department, community, program, and/or professional discipline as determined by the department chair in consultation with the school dean. Though RCF are assigned to departments, a portion of their teaching assignment may be designated to a program. That designation is to be determined at the time of the appointment in consultation with the department chairperson, program director, appropriate school dean, and provost.

   Appointments in this category are for one year and are renewable, pending review by the department chair, program director when applicable, and the dean of the appropriate school, of teaching effectiveness and departmental/program needs. After six successive one-year contracts, each additional contract must be approved by CART and will be for a term of three years. In making its decision, CART will use guidelines provided by each school previously approved by CART. A decision on renewal or non-renewal of a subsequent contract must be communicated to the faculty member no later than February 1st of the final academic year of his or her term of service.

   Recognizing the diversity of fields in which RCF are drawn, several different titles may be deemed appropriate across the college. Departments, in consultation with the school dean, may determine which of these titles is most appropriate for RCF serving in their department.
   
   1. (Assistant, Senior, Principle) Professor of Practice
   2. (Assistant, Senior, Principle) Clinical Professor
   3. (Assistant, Senior, Principle) Instructional Professor
   
   Initial appointment of RCF will be at the assistant rank.
   
   Faculty appointed as practitioner faculty prior to July 1, 2022, will remain so until the time of reappointment, at which time their title will be updated in accordance with the section on RCF of the Faculty Handbook and their years of service as a practitioner faculty will be credited.

3. Special Faculty.
   1. Scholar-in-Residence. One who, while holding professorial rank at another institution, temporarily serves as a member of the faculty at Providence College.
   2. Research Associate. One who serves the College primarily in the capacity of a researcher within an academic department of the College.
   3. Adjunct. One who serves the College in an academic department on a part-time, course-by-course basis. Adjuncts must possess the following requirements:
      1. Possession of at least the Master’s degree or its equivalent in the academic discipline in which the rank is to be held.
      2. Evidence of those qualities of character and personality generally recognized in the academic profession as appropriate to a teacher, advisor, and director of students.

2.1.3 Emeriti

Those who are separated from the Ordinary Faculty by reason of retirement or resignation may be reappointed to the faculty as Emeriti. A candidate for Emeritus must be nominated, normally within three years of the candidate’s retirement or resignation, by another member of the College’s Ordinary Faculty, who provides to the relevant department chair both a letter of nomination and a curriculum vitae of the candidate. The department chair shall present these materials to the tenured members of the department for discussion and deliberation.  The department chair, or chair’s designee, shall write a deliberation report, and secure approval of it by those tenured members who attended the discussion and deliberation.  The department chair shall then forward the letter of nomination, the candidate’s curriculum vitae, and the department’s deliberation report to the College President. 

The normal criteria for Emeritus status shall be:

1. the rank of professor;
2. at least 10 years of teaching or administration at the College;
3. and a career of distinguished achievement in teaching, scholarship, and service, as described in Section 3.4.2 .
   
   Those holding Emeritus status are not members of the Ordinary Faculty. They are, however, entitled to all benefits afforded retired Ordinary Faculty without Emeritus status plus additional benefits such as remote access to the library’s electronic resources, interlibrary loan, and access to the emeriti office suite. 

2.2 Department Status of Faculty

2.2.1 Faculty Voting Rights

The faculty are organized according to the department and program structure described in the Undergraduate Catalog. Faculty hold voting rights, where applicable, in the department(s) to which they are appointed or assigned.

2.2.2 Faculty Administrator Voting Rights

Faculty members who hold administrative positions, i.e., administrative officers, assistant administrative officers, and administrative staff, hold full status within their department and are entitled to vote in regard to the academic affairs of their department provided that they have taught at least three semester hours in that department in each of the four prior semesters (excluding the School of Continuing Education) or have held a research assignment for the same period and provided that they are otherwise qualified to vote.

2.2.3 Faculty Voting Rights While On Leave

All faculty members who are on approved leave of absence or on approved sabbatical leave, but who do not hold such administrative positions, are entitled to vote and to be informed of the academic affairs of their department, provided they are otherwise qualified to vote and provided such leaves have not exceeded twenty-four (24) months at the time of the vote.

2.3 The Faculty Senate

The Faculty Senate of Providence College is an elective assembly representing the faculty in the process of determining academic policy. Under the authority granted to it by the Corporation of Providence College on November 9, 1967, this body has the authority to initiate, revise, and regulate organization of the faculty educational policies of the College. Its legislative decisions are, however, subject to approval by the president. The constitution and by-laws of the Faculty Senate are set forth in the Policy and Informational Documents for the Faculty of Providence College.

If the president exercises his option to disapprove or veto legislation recommended by the Senate, that body may, by a two-thirds vote, appeal to the Board of Trustees, whose decision is final.

2.4 Academic Governance

The College consists of academic departments, programs, and schools. A department is an academic organization which has its own Ordinary Faculty, has its own major, and offers courses of studies leading to that academic major. Departments are administered by department chairs; where schools are established, they are directed by academic deans who supervise department chairs and program directors in their schools and also advise the provost on policy questions. Schools may offer courses and courses of study. The process of assigning instructors to undergraduate day school courses offered by a school and managing workload for those instructors happens in consultation with the faculty member’s department chair, program director, or direct supervisor. Deans of schools report directly to the provost.

2.4.1 Election of Chair

1. Term and Election. Each department has a chair who is elected by the duly qualified electors of the department for a term of three years. Elections shall be held at a department meeting by secret ballot. Absentee ballots are permitted in the election of the chair. The number of votes necessary for any eligible faculty member to be elected as chair shall be a majority of the eligible electors. 
2. Role of the School Dean. All such elections are subject to the approval of the school dean, who makes the official appointment in consultation with the provost. The school dean will respond to the department recommendation by February 1. In the event the school dean does not accept the department’s recommendation, the department may ask for a reconsideration of the school dean’s decision by written response no later than March 1. Upon departmental request for reconsideration, the school dean will respond to and, if requested by the department, meet with the department no later than April 15. The school dean, by virtue of his or her appointive power, will make an administrative appointment no later than June 1.
3. Time of Election. The election of the department chair shall be held prior to December 15 of the academic year preceding that in which the newly elected chair’s term begins.
4. Eligibility for Election. To be eligible for election as department chair, candidates must be tenured members of the Ordinary Faculty, and must be appointed in or assigned to the department in which they seek election in at least the rank of assistant professor. Candidates must also have served a minimum of four years at Providence College unless otherwise authorized by the provost.
5. Electors. Electors for department chair are members of the Ordinary Faculty holding appointment in or assignment to the department, and who have completed at least two consecutive semesters on the Providence College faculty immediately prior to the election.

2.4.2 Powers and Duties of Department Chair

1. The chair is the administrator of the affairs of the department and presides at all department meetings. The chair shall have the authority to appoint a member of the department to serve whenever the chair is unable to attend to the duties of the chair. In the event of the absence of such an appointee, the senior member in terms of service at the College shall act as chair. If the chair is unable to fulfill the duties of the office for a period exceeding thirty (30) days, the provost shall authorize the department to elect a chair, pro tempore. As administrator of the department, the chair reports regularly to the school’s dean, where appropriate, or to the provost on the state of the department, its programs, and its financial requirements.
2. The chair is responsible for planning, in consultation with the members of the department, for a sufficient number of faculty so as to sustain the teaching, scholarship, and service missions of the department, and shall perform the tasks of Section 3.0  and Appendix A  in order to meet this responsibility. Chairs within schools are responsible for planning with the dean, as well as members of their departments.
3. For all promotion and tenure cases, the chair shall collect each department member’s recommendation ballot at the conclusion of the deliberation meeting. The chair must then oversee the completion of two documents 1) a deliberations report (written by the chair or a designee) that gives an account of the discussion prior to the completion of the recommendation ballots with due consideration being given to minority opinions, and 2) a personal recommendation as outlined in Appendix E . The deliberation report shall be approved by the eligible voting members of the department. These documents shall be included with the department’s recommendation ballots and presented to the dean of the applicable school.
4. The chair is responsible for orientation of new faculty and for providing assistance in the development of teaching skills, service opportunities, and scholarship. The chair shall meet annually with each probationary faculty member to review the previous year’s activities and the faculty member’s plans for the subsequent year. The chair is responsible for ascertaining that the department’s procedures for evaluating a probationary faculty member’s achievements in teaching, scholarship, and service relative to promotion and tenure are implemented annually and shall submit a formal report to the candidate and the applicable school dean to this effect. The chair (or his or her designee) is responsible for coordinating and implementing a formal third-year review of each probationary faculty member’s progress toward the standards for tenure as described in the applicable department tenure and promotion procedures and qualifications. 
5. The chair is responsible for calling department meetings at least once each month during the academic year, September through May. Department meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised. All decisions pertaining to the academic policies of the department are to be arrived at by majority vote. The minutes shall record the vote and an account of the discussion leading to it, with due consideration being given to the recording of minority opinions. Absentee ballots/votes are not permitted except in the election of the chair. The approved minutes of department meetings are submitted in a timely manner by the chair to the president and the provost, and to the school dean. A copy is retained in the department’s records.
6. The chair, in consultation with the members of the department, prepares the proposed department budget requests for each fiscal year and presents them to the school dean and provost, who forward them to the vice president for finance and business.
7. The chair, in consultation with the members of the department, assigns the office and non-teaching laboratory space which has been allocated to the department. The dean allocates space available to individual departments, within the policies of the Office of Academic Affairs.
8. The chair is required to hold regular office hours and at such times to be available both to the members of the department and to students. The chair also has the responsibility for setting up a program for guiding and advising the majors in the department and of assigning members of the department to aid in this work. A record of the academic status of all students who are majors and minors shall be kept by the chair, as well as a record of the graduate and professional progress of those who have graduated as majors of the department.
9. The chair, after consultation with the members of the department and with the school’s dean, has the responsibility for assigning courses to the members of the department and submitting these to the Office of Enrollment Services (Academic Scheduling and Registration). When any member of the department is unable to meet classes, that faculty member is obligated to inform the chair, whose duty it is to provide an appropriate substitute or cancel the class meeting.
10. The chair approves requests for members of the department to attend professional meetings through the assistant vice president’s office in accordance with the current faculty travel policy. The chair forwards approved travel requests to the Office of Academic Affairs.
11. Individual department members or a department chair may present appeals of department decisions according to the Grievance Procedures in Appendix G . When such appeals are heard, all concerned parties have the right to present arguments and evidence in support of their points of view.
12. The chair is responsible for assisting in the transition of the new chair between the time of appointment by the provost and July 1. 

2.4.3 Review and Recall of Department Chair

In relation to the processes, powers, and duties outlined in 2.4.1 and 2.4.2, the following procedures are designed to promote prompt and efficient investigation and resolution of complaints or conflicts concerning department chairs in situations where the grievance procedures of Appendix G and the College’s anti-harassment policies governing potential Title VI and Title IX violations are insufficient or not appropriate. Whenever possible, all problems should be resolved before initiating this review process. Open communication between administrators and faculty is encouraged in the expectation that formal procedures will be needed only in rare and unusual circumstances.

a. Review of Department Chair. A review can be initiated in the case of a complaint or conflict involving the chair’s election in 2.4.1 and/or fulfillment of the responsibilities in 2.4.2. Review of department chairs occurs either at the written request, submitted to the school dean, of two thirds of the Ordinary Faculty members of the chair’s department, or at the request of the school dean, the Provost, or the President of the Faculty Senate. The school dean will conduct the review in collaboration with the chair of the Departmental Affairs Committee of the Faculty Senate and will, as appropriate given the nature of the complaint or conflict, invite all department members, including the department chair, to participate in a way that protects confidentiality. The review will generally conclude within one month of the formal request with confidential independent reports and recommendations submitted to the Provost written by the school dean and the chair of the Departmental Affairs Committee. If neither the school dean nor the chair of the Departmental Affairs Committee recommends the recall of the department chair, the Provost will either proceed with the recall process in 2.4.3.b or determine an alternative course of action and provide, in a way that protects confidentiality, a written rationale to the members of the affected department.

b. Recall of Department Chair. If after the review of a department chair the school dean or the chair of the Departmental Affairs Committee recommends that the department chair be recalled, or the Provost decides to proceed with the recall process, the Provost will form an advisory committee consisting of the chair of the Departmental Affairs Committee, an Ordinary faculty member appointed by the Faculty Senate President, an Ordinary faculty member appointed by the Chair of the affected department, the school dean, and an ordinary faculty member appointed by the Provost. In consultation with this advisory committee, the Provost will invite the department chair of the affected department to respond to the review, determine whether to recall the department chair, meet with the advisory committee to discuss the Provost’s determination, and provide, in a way that protects confidentiality, a written rationale to the advisory committee and to the faculty members of the affected department. If the chair is recalled, then the department will proceed by following the process outlined in 2.4.2.a.

1. The members of the advisory committee selected by the Faculty Senate President and Provost shall not be members of the affected department or otherwise have a conflict in accordance with the College’s Nepotism Policy.
2. In the performance of their roles hereunder, members of the affected department and advisory committee shall be guided by standards of professional ethics and confidentiality.
3. Nothing herein prohibits a department chair from resigning as chair upon notice to the school dean at which time the procedure outlined above shall cease.

c. Extraordinary Departmental Circumstances. If extraordinary departmental circumstances occur that are not explicitly provided for by 2.4 (such as the hiring of an outside chair), a formal review of the circumstances and response can be conducted according to the procedures in 2.4.3.a and b.

2.5 Academic Programs

A program is an academic organization which does not have department status, but which offers a major and/or minor or provides courses of studies in core requirements. A program director is appointed by the provost and is the administrator of the affairs of the program. Where appropriate, the responsibilities of a program director are the same as those of a department chair.