The Davidson College Faculty Handbook

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The Davidson College Faculty Handbook /
Effective: August 2016

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Davidson College is an equal opportunity employer. As such, the college is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all employees, students, applicants for student admission, and applicants for employment regardless of race, color, gender, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability or any other status protect ted by applicable federal, state, or local law unless allowed by law and deemed necessary to the administration of the college’s educational programs or operations. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including, but not limited to, decisions related to hiring, promotion, termination, compensation, and training. The college adheres to this philosophy in its admissions policies and in the way it administers all educational programs.

Table of Contents

SECTION I: HISTORY, PURPOSE AND ORGANIZATION

1.1 HISTORY AND PURPOSE

1.2 TRUSTEES

1.3 ADMINISTRATION

1.4 COMMITTEES AND ADVISORY COUNCILS: 2014-15

1.5 ADVISORY COUNCILS

1.6 FACULTY

1.6.2 DAVIDSON COLLEGE FACULTY BYLAWS

SECTION II: FACULTY POLICIES

2.1 ACADEMIC FREEDOM AND TENURE, FACULTY EMPLOYMENT AND EVALUATION

2.2 FACULTY EVALUATION

2.3 DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

2.4 FACULTY DEVELOPMENT

2.6 FACULTY PERSONNEL BENEFITS

2.7 FACULTY STUDY, RESEARCH, AND TRAVEL POLICIES

2.8 POLICY ON FACULTY ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE THE COLLEGE (Consulting) [08/01/94]

2.9 EMERITUS/EMERITA FACULTY POLICIES

SECTION III: ACADEMIC POLICIES

3.1 THE GOVERNANCE AND STANDARDS OF STUDENT CONDUCT

3.2 GENERAL ACADEMIC GUIDELINES AND POLICIES

3.3 ACADEMIC REGULATIONS

3.4 REGISTRAR POLICIES AND PRACTICES

3.5 LIBRARY POLICIES

3.6 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

3.7 ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS

3.8 OFF-CAMPUS ACADEMIC YEAR AND SEMESTER PROGRAMS

3.9 OFF-CAMPUS SUMMER/SHORT-TERM PROGRAMS

3.10 OFF-CAMPUS PROGRAMS: Insurance and Benefit Guidelines

SECTION IV: ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES

4.1 THE COLLEGE STORE [Refer also to the Employee Guide.]

4.2 COPYING AND FAXING SERVICES

4.3 TELEPHONES AND VOICE MAIL (managed by ITS)

4.4 FACULTY OFFICES, EQUIPMENT, BUSINESS CARDS

4.5 COLLEGE POLICY ON KEYS AND CARD ACCESS TO BUILDINGS

4.6 COLLEGE ALCOHOL POLICY

4.7 FACILITY USE POLICY

SECTION V: STUDENT LIFE POLICIES OF INTEREST TO FACULTy

5.1 STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION BYLAWS

5.2 STUDENT HEALTH AND COUNSELING CENTER (SH&CC)

5.3 HEALTH SERVICES

5.4 COUNSELING SERVICES

5.5 SERVICES FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

5.6 CENTER FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT

5.7 ALVAREZ COLLEGE UNION

SECTION VI: DIVISION OF COLLEGE RELATIONS

6.1 DIVISION OF COLLEGE RELATIONS: FUND RAISING

6.2 THE OFFICE OF COMMUNICATION and PUBLIC RELATIONS POLICIES

SECTION VII: DAVIDSON COLLEGE CENTER FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING

SECTION I: HISTORY, PURPOSE AND ORGANIZATION

1.1 HISTORY AND PURPOSE

A. History and Growth: Davidson College 1835-2010

Founded by Concord Presbytery, Davidson College opened as a manual labor institute in 1837. The college’s name memorializes General William Lee Davidson, who died at the nearby Revolutionary War battle of Cowan’s Ford in 1781. General Davidson’s son provided the initial acreage for the campus.
The college seal and the college motto, Alenda Lux Ubi Orta Libertas (“Let Learning Be Cherished Where Liberty Has Arisen”), recall the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence; both seal and motto resulted from the suggestion of Peter Stuart Ney, an elusive Frenchman believed by some to have been Napoleon’s Marshal Ney.
Original academic subjects included moral and natural philosophy, evidences of Christianity, classical languages, logic, and mathematics. Three professors, including the college’s first president, Robert Hall Morrison, taught this curriculum to Davidson’s sixty-five students.
Although Presbyterian-originated, the college maintained from the beginning its intent to educate students without regard to their denominational affiliation. Students came from a variety of religious and regional backgrounds. By 1860, Davidson alumni lived in twelve states and two countries outside the United States.
A bequest in 1856 from Maxwell Chambers of Salisbury, North Carolina, provided the college with the means to strengthen its base and expand its influence. The gift of a quarter of a million dollars made the institution, for a time, the richest college south of Princeton and helped the college survive through the Civil War years. It also provided for the construction of a central academic building that was named in honor of the college’s first substantial benefactor. The present Chambers Building, which replaced the one burned in 1921, also bears his name.
While the college had a student body of only twenty-four men in 1866, during the post-war recovery period there was a gradual expansion of curriculum, faculty, and students. Newly added academic disciplines included chemistry, English, history, and physics. By 1890 the teaching faculty included its first Ph.D.-holding professors. Increasing growth in enrollment gave the college a student body of over 300 by 1910.
In 1911, the college offered A.B. and B.S. degrees, with the former requiring study of Greek and Latin, the latter allowing substitution of a modern foreign language in place of Latin. There were fifteen departments, though majors were not part of the curriculum until the 1920s. A strengthened financial base was augmented by the generosity of the Rockefellers, who provided funds for replacing the original Chambers building, and by annual support from the Duke Endowment, which continues today.
The 1920s and 1930s saw courses in accounting, business, economics, and music added to the curriculum, as well as honors programs and seminars. In 1923, Davidson was selected as the third college in North Carolina to be chartered for a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. Curricular revisions in the 1960s and 1980s altered the academic calendar and degree requirements, but retained Davidson’s emphasis on a broad liberal arts education along with increasing opportunities for specialization, independent academic work, study abroad, and interdisciplinary programs.
First admitting women as degree candidates in 1973, the college has grown to over 1,900 students on campus. The full-time teaching faculty numbers 170. Renovations and expansion of campus facilities have supported the college’s growth in athletics, the visual arts, the sciences, residential buildings, student and community activities, and the performing arts.
In 2007 Davidson College was the first liberal arts college in the country to replace loans with grants in all of its financial aid packages.Through a historic decision made by the college community and Board of Trustees, The Davidson Trust meets 100 percent of demonstrated financial need of accepted students through a combination of grants and campus employment, without relying on loans. In support of the college’s longstanding commitment to need-blind admission, The Davidson Trust makes it possible for talented students from all backgrounds to imagine coming to Davidson
Davidson’s underlying philosophy appears in the college’s official statement of purpose.
Statement of Purpose

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B. The Davidson College Constitution

One of the most far-reaching developments of the decade of the 1970s was the institution of a formal Constitution of Davidson College, which was drawn up over a period of approximately three years by a Governance Committee composed of trustee, administrative, faculty, and student members. After it was ratified by various college constituencies, the Constitution became effective on July 1, 1976. Prior to that time there had been no college constitution as such; rather, there were various constitutions and bylaws of individual college constituents.

All governance provisions of the college were declared subordinate to the Constitution with two exceptions: the Charter of the Trustees of Davidson College and the Bylaws of the Trustees of Davidson College. These exceptions were stated explicitly in a resolution adopted by the Board of Trustees on May 2, 1975.

The Faculty Constitution as amended was superseded by the Davidson College Constitution. As a substitute, the Faculty adopted a set of Faculty Bylaws on October 15, 1975. Substantive differences between the Faculty Constitution and the Faculty Bylaws include the addition of a Faculty Hearing Committee to the elective Committees of the Faculty, the provision for election of a Vice Chair of the Faculty pro tem, and a provision for the Faculty to elect members to the following Advisory Councils: Finance, Personnel and Development; Admission and Financial Aid; Intercollegiate Athletics; Campus and Religious Life; and the Student Conduct Council.

The Bylaws of the Board of Trustees were amended to authorize the Vice Chair of the Faculty pro tem and the President of the Student Government Association to attend all meetings of the Trustees, except Executive Sessions, with privilege of the floor but without vote. Each standing committee of the Trustees includes one faculty member with voting privileges.

The Bylaws of the Student Government Association, the Code of Responsibility of 1968 as amended, and the Code of Disciplinary Procedure of 1971 as amended were brought into conformity with the Constitution. The Davidson College Honor Code was not changed, although provisions for adjudication of Honor Code offenses were modified.

The Constitution of 1976 continues to guide the governance of the college and is amended as needed and appropriate to reflect changes in policies, procedures, and administration.

C. The Statement of Purpose

An official Statement of Purpose of Davidson College was approved unanimously by the Faculty in 1963 and by the Trustees in 1964; in 1974 it was reaffirmed by both bodies. Subsequently, it was embodied in the Constitution of 1976 as the Preamble to that document. Consequently, the Statement of Purpose can be amended only by the same formal procedures which are specified in the Constitution for amending any article thereof. These procedures were followed in 2005 when the Statement of Purpose was revised.

Statement of Purpose[Revised 2005]

Davidson College is an institution of higher learning established in 1837 by Presbyterians of North Carolina. Since its founding, the ties that bind the college to its Presbyterian heritage, including the historic understanding of Christian faith called The Reformed Tradition, have remained close and strong. The college is committed to continuing this vital relationship.

The primary purpose of Davidson College is to assist students in developing humane instincts and disciplined and creative minds for lives of leadership and service. In fulfilling its purpose, Davidson has chosen to be a liberal arts college, to maintain itself as a residential community of scholars, to emphasize the teaching responsibility of all professors, and to ensure the opportunity for personal relationships between students and teachers. Further, Davidson believes it is vital that all students in every class know and study under mature and scholarly teachers who are able and eager to provide for each of them stimulation, instruction, and guidance.

The Christian tradition to which Davidson remains committed recognizes God as the source of all truth, and believes that Jesus Christ is the revelation of that God, a God bound by no church or creed. The loyalty of the college thus extends beyond the Christian community to the whole of humanity and necessarily includes openness to and respect for the world’s various religious traditions. Davidson dedicates itself to the quest for truth and encourages teachers and students to explore the whole of reality, whether physical or spiritual, with unlimited employment of their intellectual powers. At Davidson, faith and reason work together in mutual respect and benefit toward growth in learning, understanding, and wisdom.

As a college that welcomes students, faculty and staff from a variety of nationalities, ethnic groups, and traditions, Davidson values diversity, recognizing the dignity and worth of every person. Therefore, Davidson provides a range of opportunities for worship, civil debate, and teaching that enrich mind and spirit. Further, Davidson challenges students to engage in service to prepare themselves for lives of growth and giving.

Davidson seeks students of good character and high academic ability, irrespective of economic circumstances, who share its values and show promise for usefulness to society. In the selection of faculty, the college seeks men and women who respect the purpose of the college, who are outstanding intellectually, who have the best training available in their fields of study, and whose interest in students and teaching is unfeigned and profound. The Trustees commit to being faithful stewards of the traditions of the college. They are charged with governing under the Constitution and By-laws and with providing the financial resources necessary for adequate student aid and appropriate facilities and programs, including furnishing the faculty with the time and opportunity for creative scholarship fundamental to the best teaching.

As a liberal arts college, Davidson emphasizes those studies, disciplines, and activities that are mentally, spiritually, and physically liberating. Thus, the college concentrates upon the study of history, literature and languages, philosophy and religion, music, drama and the visual arts, the natural and social sciences, and mathematics. The college encourages student engagement with other cultures through domestic and international studies. The college also requires physical education, provides for competitive athletics, and encourages a variety of social, cultural, and service activities. While Davidson prepares many of its students for graduate and professional study, it intends to teach all students to think clearly, to make relevant and valid judgments, to discriminate among values, and to communicate freely with others in the realm of ideas.

Davidson holds a priceless heritage bequeathed by those who have dedicated their lives and their possessions for its welfare. To it much has been entrusted, and of it much is required.

Besides being the Preamble to the Constitution, the complete Statement of Purpose appears annually in the College Catalog, is distributed to prospective students and faculty, and is quoted in letters of appointment to faculty who are appointed for one year or more. Trustees upon their election are asked to “approve of and pledge to support the purpose of Davidson College as stated in the Preamble of the Davidson College Constitution” (Trustee Bylaws, Article I.3). The President is authorized to recommend for appointment as officers and faculty members those who can respect the Christian tradition and live in harmony with the College's stated purpose (Trustee Bylaws, Article IV.5 and Trustee resolution of October 11, 2002).

1.2 TRUSTEES

Excerpts from the BYLAWS ofThe Trustees of Davidson College

[with revisions to February 6, 2014]

ARTICLE I

Number, Election and Qualifications of the Trustees

1. The ownership, management and control of Davidson College are vested in the Trustees of the College, who shall be elected for a term of four years. The Board of Trustees shall be composed of between thirty (30) and forty-five (45) members (provided, however, that until December 31, 2019, the range shall be thirty (30) and forty-nine (49)). The number of Trustees may be fixed or changed from time to time, within the minimum and maximum, by the members of Trustees; provided, however, that a decrease in the number of Trustees shall not shorten an incumbent Trustee’s term. As nearly as practicable, the Trustees will be composed of members as follows:

(a) Four elected by and from the Alumni. These Trustees shall be nominated by the Alumni Association Board of Directors and chosen by an electorate composed of the Alumni Association and the then current Senior Class.

The Trustees, acting through the President, shall before each election be privileged to recommend to the Alumni Association, without any obligation on the part of the Alumni Association, persons believed by the Trustees to be desirable additions to the Trustees.

(b) The following persons shall serve as Trustees, ex officio, for the terms set forth below:

1. The President of Davidson College shall be a Trustee, with voice and vote, during his or her term of office;
2. The President and the President-elect of the Alumni Association shall be Trustees, with voice and vote, during their respective terms of office; and
3. The Chair and Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Visitors shall be Trustees, with voice and vote, during their respective terms of office.

(c) The balance of members shall be elected by the Trustees, upon nomination by the Governance and Nominating Committee and within policy guidelines established by the Trustees.

(d) At least 25 percent of the Board members will be a member or affiliate of a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation.

1. An elected Trustee who has served two consecutive full four-year terms shall not be eligible for re-election until one year after the expiration of his or her second full term. A Trustee serving ex officio shall not be eligible for re-election until one year after the expiration of his or her ex officio term.

1. All persons nominated for the office of Trustee shall be notified upon nomination that if elected, they will be required to give assent to the following questions which would be posed by the Chair of the Trustees in a brief ceremony at the opening of the first meeting which they attend:

1. Do you approve of and pledge to support the purpose of Davidson College as stated in the Preamble of the Davidson College Constitution?
2. In accepting the office of Trustee, will you be faithful in promoting the purpose of the College, seeking to honor the traditions that have shaped Davidson as a place where faith and reason work together in mutual respect for service to God and humanity?

1. If a Trustee should ever find himself or herself no longer able to support the purpose of Davidson College as stated in the Preamble of the Davidson College Constitution, he or she shall notify the Chair of the Board of Trustees immediately.

1. Historically, persons elected as Trustees have been active members of a Christian church. In openness to and respect for the world’s various religious traditions and the variety of religious preferences among the graduates and friends of Davidson, the Governance and Nominating Committee and the Alumni Association may recommend persons for the office of trustee who are not active members of a Christian church but who meet all other criteria for serving as a Trustee. As part of continuing the historic commitment of Davidson to the Reformed Tradition of the Christian faith, the Governance and Nominating Committee shall insure that at least 80% of all elected Trustees are active members of a Christian church.

1. A Trustee who misses three consecutive regular meetings of the Trustees will be deemed to have resigned as a Trustee.

ARTICLE III