To carry out the statutory charge to the Graduate College “to develop and safeguard standards of graduate work and to promote and assist in the advancement of research in all fields” (Statutes, Article V, Section 1a), the Dean, with the advice of the Executive Committee, establishes standards for membership in the Graduate College, monitors their implementation, and retains responsibility for appointments to the Graduate Faculty. These standards assume that:
- faculty members appointed to units offering programs leading to graduate degrees meet the highest standards of the discipline for graduate teaching and research or for creative activity;
- those faculty members are given freedom, opportunity, and guidance to become involved in graduate
- education, and to participate to the fullest extent of their interests and capabilities in the affairs of the Graduate College; and
- the executive officer of the unit is committed to consistent high quality achievements of the faculty, accomplished through their active participation in the unit’s graduate programs.
Appointment Criteria and Procedures
- Each faculty member shall be recommended automatically for membership in the Graduate Faculty and shall be appointed by the Dean at the time of appointment or promotion to a tenure-track or tenured position.
- Others may be nominated by the unit executive officer for term membership on the Graduate Faculty if the qualifications of the nominee as judged by the Executive Committee and the Dean are comparable to those required for appointment to a tenure-track position. The initial term may be at most five years.
Extending Membership
- Members of the Graduate Faculty who have retired or resigned may be retained on the Graduate Faculty for up to five years, upon request by the unit executive officer or other authorized individual. The Graduate College recommends, but does not require, that these faculty members have adjunct or emeriti/ae appointments.
- Members of the Graduate Faculty who retired or resigned with tenure may retain Graduate Faculty membership and tenure status only for the purpose of serving on doctoral committees for a period of up to five years following their resignation or retirement upon the request of the unit executive officer or other authorized individual. That period may be extended at the request of the unit executive officer, so long as the faculty member remains actively involved in the graduate program.
- Members of the Graduate Faculty whose terms have ended may be renewed for up to five years upon request by the unit executive officer or other authorized individual.
Ending Membership
- A Graduate Faculty member may resign from the Graduate Faculty voluntarily by submitting a letter of resignation to the dean of the Graduate College.
- A Graduate Faculty member who resigns or retires from the university is automatically removed from membership in the Graduate Faculty unless the unit asks that the Faculty member continue for a specified period of time.
- A unit may submit a request to the Graduate College to have a member removed from the Graduate Faculty if the member has been grossly neglectful of or grossly inefficient in the performance of responsibilities as a Graduate Faculty member (as listed in the introduction to this policy). The written request for removal must be made by the unit executive officer to the Dean of the Graduate College and must state reasons. The Faculty member under consideration for removal may provide a written statement requesting continued membership.
- The unit’s request and the Faculty statement, if submitted, will be considered by the Graduate College Executive Committee, which shall make a recommendation to the Dean of the Graduate College. The Dean shall make the decision on removal, which may be appealed to the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.