The Handbook is a contractual document, binding on the University and on individual faculty members. Insofar as applicable, its provisions are incorporated by reference in all faculty employment contracts. Faculty are expected to read the Handbook and to be familiar with its provisions.
Amendments to the Handbook may be proposed by any parties who have participated in its adoption: the Board of Visitors; the Faculty Senate, acting on behalf of the General Faculty; and the central administration. If a proposal to amend the Handbook originates with the Board or the central administration, the Board of Visitors, through the President, will notify the Faculty Senate of the proposed amendment and will ask the advice of the Senate at least twenty-one days before the Board acts on any such amendment. Senate representatives and other appropriate faculty will be given an opportunity to appear before the Board or the appropriate committee of the Board to explain the faculty position.
All amendments, however, require the formal approval of the Board. Each such amendment shall be incorporated, as of the effective date fixed by the Board, in all existing and future faculty employment contracts, whether with or without term, except that no such amendment shall operate retroactively to change materially the substantive rights of any faculty member. For example, the conditions of employment governed by the Handbook may be changed prospectively and criteria for tenure may be changed for faculty who have not been awarded tenure but may not be changed for faculty already tenured. Where no effective date is fixed for an amendment, it shall become effective at the end of the academic year in which it is enacted.
As of the date of the adoption of this edition of the Handbook, all prior policies of the Board of Visitors with respect to matters covered therein are repealed. The provisions of this Handbook supersede all inconsistent bylaws, policies and procedures (including, if applicable, custom and usage) of any officer, person, body, or unit of the University, including but not limited to the President or other officer of the University and any college, school, institute, department or other faculty organization.
The Handbook Committee acknowledges that some sections of the 1994 edition (notably those that deal with faculty personnel matters) use language taken from policy statements of the American Association of University Professors. The use of AAUP language does not, however, represent any University endorsement of AAUP policies other than those explicitly contained in this Handbook.
Members of the Handbook Committee, 1994 Edition
Henry J. Hamburger, Chair
Jeffrey A. Brandwine
Esther N. Elstun
James J. Fletcher
Clara M. Lovett
David L. Potter
James G. Smith
Mark A. Spikell