DUTIES:All grievances by the faculty are directed to the University Grievance and Mediation Committee as the first step in the grievance process. The committee makes the determination of grievability and attempts to mediate and solve the grievance. In cases where mediation is not possible, the committee will assist in the selection of a Hearing Tribunal and call the first meeting between that tribunal and the Faculty Liaison. The Faculty Liaison is a senior tenured faculty member who is appointed annually by the Executive Vice President and Provost, with consultation of the President of the Faculty Senate [See Appendix B, Section 1 D 1 of the Faculty Handbook for a full description of the responsibilities of the Faculty Liaison.]

COMPOSITION: The University Grievance and Mediation Committee is composed of six tenured faculty members who are not administrators and two administrators. The faculty members are elected by the Faculty Senate, to staggered three-year terms, with two terms expiring on August 15 of each year. No more than one faculty representative may be from any one academic division. Faculty members completing a term on the committee are ineligible for re-election until two years have passed. Any faculty vacancy occurring on the committee may be filled on a temporary basis by a majority vote of the faculty representatives remaining on the committee; the Faculty Senate shall elect a faculty member to fill the remainder of the unexpired term. The President of the University or his or her designee chooses the administrative members from among the administrators of the University who are tenured or tenure-earning faculty members in one of the academic programs and who hold an administrative appointment in an academic area. Each August, the committee selects its chairperson from among the faculty representatives. The chairperson is responsible for coordinating and expediting the work of the committee, ensuring that grievances normally are settled or are submitted to Hearing Tribunals within no more than eight weeks from the time the grievances are received by the committee. The chair works with the Faculty Liaison who provides guidance about the process to all parties and to the committee. [See the final sentence in the Duties statement, above.]  The committee does not meet during the summer months.

REPORTING CHANNEL: President through Executive Vice President and Provost

Membership

CO-CHAIR: Ron Dulek – Professor, Business – 08/16/2021-8/15/2024
CO-CHAIR: Maria Hernandez-Reif – Professor, HES – 12/14/2022 – 8/15/2025
Alan Blum – Professor, CCHS – 08/16/23 – 08/15/26
David Hardy – Assoc. Dean, Education – 8/16/22 – 8/15/25
Rich Houston – Chair, Dept. of Accountancy, Business – 8/16/22 – 8/15/25
Mercy Mumba– Associate Professor, NUR – 08/16/23 – 08/15/26
Robert Riter – Assistant Professor, C&IS – 08/16/2023-08/15/2024
Yong Zhang – Professor, Arts & Sciences – 08/16/2022-8/15/2025
FACULTY LIAISON: Brenda Smith – Assoc. Prof., Social Work