Code Committee Minutes - March 29, 2022

KU Libraries Faculty and Staff Assembly

Committee on the Code

Minutes

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Present:

Scott Cossel (chair), Jon Giullian, Jamene Brooks-Kieffer (secretary)

Meeting activities:

  • Minutes from 2022/02/10 were previously approved via Teams
  • Discuss new special charge from LFA:
    • Review code sections for LCPT and SLPTR membership and suggest where appropriate membership restrictions could be changed to recusal.
    • Analysis is due to LFSA-Exec by April 1st.
    • Background notes from charging LFA-Exec members:
      • “I am unaware of any employment laws or policies that would impact the code as it is.” (Mike Broadwell to Angie Rathmel, 2022/02/22)
      • “There are some nuances here. LCPT files (all types) and PTR reviews don’t have to be ranked, but sabbatical applications do. This is why the recusals can happen on LCPT and for PTR on the SLPTR side but not sabbatical.” (Sara E. Morris comments to Angie Rathmel)
  • Brooks-Kieffer shared some background on supervisory relationship restrictions for SLPTR from previous service on that committee
  • All line numbers below refer to the PDF copy of the Code marked up with LFA-Exec changes shared by Rathmel with Cossel on 2022/03/25
  • LCPT:
    • Suggested language from Rathmel/LFA-Exec works only for supervisory/mentoring relationship (line 259)
    • FSRR governs the domestic/familial relationship restriction (FSRR 6.1.4.3); this cannot be a recusal and must be restored at line 245
  • SLPTR:
    • As a possible way of dealing with sabbatical restrictions and recusals, change term of service to 1 year, with the option to run multiple times? However, populating the ballot for a full committee every year could be difficult. Also, this committee benefits from continuity of service, so this may not be a good option.
    • Line 315: The SLPTR membership restriction for faculty undergoing PTR is more restrictive than the LCPT restriction for faculty undergoing promotion review. Why does SLPTR service need to be restricted for a full 2 year term, when LCPT service is only restricted for the year of the review? The University’s Post-Tenure Review policy only requires this membership restriction for the relevant year of review (2.c: Composition of Review Committee). This is a potential area for loosening membership restrictions.
    • Sabbatical review: FSRR governs the domestic/familial relationship restriction (FSRR 8.2.4.3); this cannot be a recusal and must be restored at line 317
    • PTR: University Post-Tenure Review Policy governs the domestic/familial relationship restriction (Post-Tenure Review 2.c); this cannot be a recusal and must be restored at line 317
    • Line 334: Language about reviewing no sabbatical files needs to be added to the supervisory/mentoring relationship recusal guidance. Otherwise, this suggestion to move supervisory/mentoring relationships to recusal works.
  • Options for making changes based on our review:
    • Revise the PDF of suggested changes supplied by Rathmel/LFA-Exec. Cossel has requested the Word version.
    • Revise a fresh copy of the Code using some of the language suggested by LFA-Exec.
    • Include language in our report to LFA-Exec that this committee can make the changes if needed after Exec reads the report.
  • Thanks to Cossel for completing and submitting the report for our first special charge

Action items:

  • Cossel will compile this discussion into a report for LFA-Exec by April 1
  • The committee will make revision suggestions to the Code if requested by LFA-Exec
  • Brooks-Kieffer will post draft minutes for this meeting to Teams