Committee on College Policy (Rec. Gr. 131)

Historical note

On February 19, 1946, at a faculty meeting at the University of Rhode Island under the administration of President Carl R. Woodward, a proposal was made to create a Committee on College Policy. It was to consist of representatives of the faculty and officers of administration and was to provide the medium for a joint effort in forming rules and regulations, for structuring the administration, and for deciding on policy relating to rank, salary, tenure, and sabbatical leave.

Rhode Island State College, as the University of Rhode Island was then called, was undergoing extensive change as a result of the end of World War II and the subsequent crush of applicants to the College. As enrollment was growing, the College was experiencing a concomitant difficulty in recruiting qualified teachers due to a lack of policy on faculty status. Previously, no formal system of tenure existed, no provision for sabbatical leave was in place, and no universally accepted schedule of salaries was available. The Committee on College Policy was established to provide standardized policies for the faculty and administration.

At the first meeting, President Woodward proposed examining policy for 1) the administrative organization and its units, 2) the purpose and duties of administrative officers, 3) instruction, research, and extension personnel, 4) the faculty, 5) the Executive Council, 6) business procedures, and 7) any additional categories which the Committee deemed wise. The Committee would divide into sub-committees, composed both of administrative officers and of faculty, which would examine individual matters. The sub-committees would then report to the Committee, which would review all decisions collectively. The Faculty Manual, produced in 1947 by the Committee after thirty-three meetings, stated for the first time in writing what was expected of the faculty and what they, in turn, could expect from the College.

A new President, Francis Horn, began his term at the beginning of the academic year, 1960-1961. With his tenure came a new system of administrative and faculty organization. The Policy Committee ended its work over the summer of 1960 and its activities were taken over by the newly formed Faculty Senate. For information on the Senate meetings, see RG 122.