Part I: Introduction

The ECU Faculty Manual is the product of many years of faculty participation in shared governance at East Carolina University. The contents of the Manual require the approval of the Faculty Senate and the Chancellor, and for some sections, the approval of the Board of Trustees, UNC General Administration, and UNC Board of Governors. The Faculty Senate, through its standing University Academic and Appellate Committees, continues to periodically review and develop academic and faculty welfare policies and procedures when necessary.

All faculty are provided an overview and online access to the ECU Faculty Manual contents upon initial employment at East Carolina University and receive timely notification of updates/revisions to the Manual throughout the academic year. The Faculty Senate office coordinates the online publication and maintenance of the Manual and can be contacted for any questions about its contents.

In 1964, President Leo Jenkins established the Faculty Senate “as an organized voice for the faculty of East Carolina University to enable faculty to play a broader role in the decisional mainstream of the institution.” He constituted a committee of administrators and faculty to develop the ECU Faculty Constitution, that read in part “The Faculty Senate shall ratify, amend, or remand all matters of academic policy or faculty welfare which have been recommended by any standing or special committee of East Carolina or initiate any policies in such matters which it deems desirable.”

In 1974, a decade after the establishment of the Faculty Senate, President Leo Jenkins remarked “The result had been a constructive relationship between faculty and administration which has, in only a few years, resulted in the most representative and responsible Faculty Senate in the entire university system.”

In 1998, in his last term as Chair of the Faculty, Professor Don Sexauer stated “Shared governance in an academic setting is a fragile balancing act that takes place between the administration of the university and its faculty. It is the attempt by the administration and the faculty to solve problems and implement policies in a manner that benefits all the constituencies of the university.”

In 2009, Chancellor Steve Ballard charged the Faculty Senate, through the Chair of the Faculty, to conduct a complete review of the ECU Faculty Manual and revise the manual as necessary. During 2009-2012, major changes were made to the manual, including reorganization and deletion of outdated information. The ECU Faculty Manual has been redesigned to provide faculty members and administrators with policies and procedures in relation to faculty matters. The ECU Faculty Manual provides links to relevant UNC Board of Governors’ policies and procedures, as well as ECU Administrative Policies, Rules, and Regulations (PRRs).

Where ECU Faculty Manual policies are unclear or ambiguous, requests for interpretation of the manual are submitted to the Chair of the Faculty and/or Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for a joint conditional interpretation. The Chair of the Faculty and Provost will also consult with the Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences and/or Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies, in matters pertaining to their purview. A conditional interpretation will be in effect until a permanent interpretation is adopted through normal procedures and incorporated into the contents of ECU Faculty Manual as needed. The Faculty Senate office maintains an index of interpretations provided for in the ECU Faculty Manual.

(FS Resolution #12-65, April 2012)