1: Membership, Election, Tenure

1.1: Membership of this Committee shall consist of five Faculty members at the rank of associate or full professor serving 3-year staggered terms. No two members may be from the same department. Members of the Appointments and Promotions Committee, members of the Appointments and Promotions Appeals Board and the Ombudsman may not serve concurrently on the Committee.

(Passed February 3, 1970, Amended December 6, 1994 ; April 9, 1996)

2: Jurisdiction, Obligations, Procedures

2.1: The primary function of the Committee shall be to protect and extend academic freedom at the College. The pursuit of this goal may involve a variety of actions by the Committee:

2.1.a: Review of cases which originate with the Faculty Ombudsman and are appealed by one of the parties involved, or brought to the Committee by the Ombudsman.

2.1.b: Formal hearings may be convened to consider:

2.1.b.i: Cases of Faculty dismissal (See Appendix B.9);

2.1.b.ii: Allegations of infringement of academic freedom that have been investigated by the Ombudsman but which have progressed to a stage where informal resolution by the Ombudsman is not possible;

2.1.b.iii: Allegations of infringement of academic freedom brought directly to the Academic Freedom Committee by a Faculty member for formal investigation and hearing;

2.1.b.iv: Any other grievance brought to the Committee by the Ombudsman because informal resolution could not be achieved. (See Faculty Manual Section 5.2.2.d).

In conducting formal hearings the Committee should utilize procedures which follow the A.A.U.P. guidelines set forth in the 1958 "Statement on Procedural Standards in Faculty Dismissal Proceedings" and the 1982 A.A.U.P. "Recommended Institutional Regulations on Academic Freedom and Tenure" as adapted, where necessary, to the particular conditions at the College.

In no case will the findings of the Committee offer direct relief to a complainant. In dismissal cases the Committee’s findings and recommendations are forwarded to the Board of Trustees for their action. In all other cases the findings must be submitted by the complainant to the normal sources for relief: either a standing Faculty committee or an administrative procedure. In particular, since the investigation of alleged academic freedom violations and the issuing of any findings in their regard are solely within the jurisdiction of this Committee, in those cases where a candidate’s appeal of a negative decision by the Appointments and Promotions Committee is based, in whole or in part, on the grounds of violation of academic freedom, the appellant must obtain an affirmative finding from this Committee in order to make a charge of violation of academic freedom part of an appeal to the Appointments and Promotions Appeals Board. Further, in the event that the Academic Freedom Committee finds that a violation of academic freedom has occurred, it shall be the sole prerogative of the Appointments and Promotions Appeals Board to judge the status of such a finding to any appeal in the Board’s consideration.

In no case may the Committee substitute its judgment for that of another committee of the Faculty, or any academic department or program, or any council or committee of the administration, with regard to any subject matter within the jurisdiction of such committees, councils, departments or programs. Just as no body other than the Academic Freedom Committee may determine whether academic freedom has been violated, the Academic Freedom Committee may not determine matters within the subject matter jurisdiction of other bodies. In particular, departments, programs, and the Appointments and Promotions Committee retain exclusive jurisdiction with regard to substantive evaluation of teaching, scholarship and service as they relate to the criteria for appointments, reappointments, tenure and promotion. (Amended December 6, 1994)

2.1.c: The Committee should critically review and make recommendations to the Faculty for changes in the rules, practices, procedures and regulations governing the Faculty and its relations with students and administration where academic freedom issues are involved.

On its own initiative the Committee may conduct a Formal Investigation of the rules, practices, procedures, and regulations referred to in this section and issue a finding concerning their appropriateness with respect to academic freedom along with suggestions for changes the Committee believes are appropriate. (Passed December 4, 1990)

2.1.d: The Committee should make regular reports to the Faculty on its activities, and, where appropriate, on the final resolution of cases which in its judgment or in the judgment of the Faculty warrant some public disclosure.

2.1.e: The Committee should report annually to the Faculty on the state of academic freedom at the College. (Passed February 3, 1970)

2.2: The powers of the Committee include: access to all pertinent records; the right to inquire of any member of the College community; the right to arrive at its own solution of cases coming to it and to report its recommendation to the Faculty, the College or otherwise as in the judgment of the Committee will promote a just final disposition of the case. (Passed February 3, 1970)

2.3: A subsidiary, but closely related, task of the Committee is the editing of the Faculty Manual. In this regard:

2.3.a: A subcommittee shall be formed to edit the Faculty Manual.

2.3.b: Its primary function shall be to determine the contents of the Manual and to prepare it for publication.

2.3.c: The subcommittee is empowered to seek assistance from other Faculty members and administrators whose interest or competence would be necessary or useful in working out the detailed contents of the Manual.

2.3.d: The subcommittee should report through the Chair of the Committee to the Faculty pertinent changes in the Manual and should solicit from the Faculty recommendations for improvements of the Manual.

2.3.e: It is the responsibility of the subcommittee to see that each member of the Faculty, especially new Faculty members, receive a copy of every new edition of the Manual. Likewise, the subcommittee shall see that sufficient copies are available to department heads and others concerned with the recruitment of new Faculty members to be used in informing prospective Faculty members of the state of the Faculty at Trinity College. (Passed February 3, 1970; Amended May 5, 1998)