Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1952 [PAGE 388]

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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

485

not be interpreted to abridge the right of any member of the faculty to present any matter to the faculty; (3) he shall make reports on the work of the college; (4) he shall oversee the registration and the progress of the students in the college; (5) he shall be responsible t o the President for the educational use of the buildings and rooms assigned to the college, and the general equipment of the college as distinct from that of the separate departments; (6) he shall serve as the medium of communication for all official business of the college with other university authorities, the students, and the public; (7) he shall represent the college in conferences, except that additional representatives may be chosen by the faculty for specific conferences; (8) he shall prepare the budget of the college in consultation with the executive committee of the college; (9) he shall recommend the appointment, reappointment, or promotion of the officers and members of the teaching staff. In the case of appointment, reappointment, or promotion to the rank of professor or associate professor, he shall make his recommendation after consultation with the chairman and executive committee, or with the heads of the departments concerned; in case the college has no departments, t h e dean shall make such recommendations after consultation with t h e executive committee of the college; recommendations to positions in the teaching staff shall ordinarily originate with the department, or, in cases of groups not organized as departments, with the officers in charge of the work concerned, and shall be presented to the dean for transmission with his recommendation to the President; (10) in case recommendations from the colleges are not approved by the President, the dean shall have, with the consent of the Board, the opportunity of presenting the same in person before the Board of Trustees in session."

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"7. (f)<There shall be an executive committee of two or more members, composed of or selected from the professors and associate professors in the college, elected annually by the faculty, to advise the dean in the administration of the college and to transact such business as may be delegated to it by the faculty. T h e dean shall be ex-officio a member and chairman of this committee." Clearly the powers of a dean are substantial and to use them properly he needs full support. T h e Board of Trustees has already received from me documents indicating t h a t the elected members of the 1949-1950 Executive Committee of the College at times exceeded their powers. This view is held by t h e Executive Committee of the University Council. There is, however, the question of interpreting this Statute: "On the occasion of each such election (of a dean), t h e President shall have the advice of the executive committee of the faculty concerned." Every college executive committee across the University is free to offer such advice. Following the practice of my predecessor in what is probably a University tradition, I have assumed that once a dean is approved and in office the advice is to retain him unless there is advice to the contrary. There was no such negative indication regarding the renewal of Dean Bowen's contract in 1949, nor has there been, in four years, for any other dean at the time of his reappointment. (There was one positive recommendation on the reappointment of a dean.) Such discussion or advice would be in order on the occasion of an election. In the case of Dean Bowen, the elected members of the Executive Committee sought action 14 months before the expiration of a two-year term. This item of business was not delegated to the Committee by t h e faculty. Subsequently, on October 15th, the Committee reported to the press: "At no time did we request t h a t Dean Bowen's present contract be terminated." With respect to all deans, it should be noted that, in spite of the short-term contract, their term of office is generally regarded as continuous, subject to termination for cause or through resignation. Few men of standing in any field would accept the post if, every two years, the full machinery of a selection de novo were to be put in motion. The office is not lightly accepted by teachers and scholars; it should not become an easy target for disaffected faculty members. Ill Acting within a frame of reference set up by the Board of Trustees and the President of the University to move forward to better service and higher distinction, the staff