This handbook outlines the major personnel policies and procedures of the College of Liberal Arts faculty and the employment practices of the University. Together with the College of Liberal Arts Advising Manual and the Willamette University Catalog, it supplies a wide range of basic information about the College and University.
Revised August 1999
PREFACE: THE COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS
The College of Liberal Arts is the largest of the University's three colleges with an undergraduate population of approximately 1661 students, and a faculty of 120 full-time members and a number of part-time members. The College offers the Bachelor of Arts degree in 28 majors from 27 departments and programs. In addition, the professional Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Music Education degrees are offered by their respective departments.
The College is dedicated to fostering the finest in liberal arts education through its emphasis on the development of those intellectual skills of analysis, communication, and understanding that lead to the creation of judicious, tolerant, intelligent citizens and fulfilled, productive persons.
The College is also committed to fostering faculty development through a sabbatical leave policy, grants for summer work, and generous travel funds.
As a result of our fine faculty, our outstanding programs, and our good facilities, Willamette University enjoys an excellent reputation and draws top students from many states - especially the Western states, Hawaii, and Alaska - and from a number of foreign countries.
SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION TO WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY
1.1 UNIVERSITY MISSION STATEMENT
Willamette University is an independent, nonsectarian institution of higher learning founded in 1842, which educates men and women in the liberal arts and in selected professional fields. The University's mission now extends far from the Oregon Territory and the Pacific Northwest to encompass the larger world beyond. In its pursuits, Willamette University
Adopted by the Board of Trustees 1/31/93
In 1834 about a dozen farm families in the lower Willamette Valley and a handful of settlers at Astoria constituted the entire white population of what is now Oregon. In this year Jason Lee and several missionary associates started a school for Indian children beside the Willamette River about 10 miles south of Salem.
Within a few years, the slowly growing group of settlers felt the need for a more advanced school for the region "in order to secure the best education of the pupils in science, morality and piety." To meet this need, a group of earnest citizens met in the home of Jason Lee in what is now Salem. At a second meeting on February 1, 1842, a body of bylaws was adopted and a Board of Trustees appointed.
The stated purpose of the meeting was to establish a "collegiate institution" which would "become a university." The Board thus constituted has existed as a corporate entity from that day to this and the date of the action is accepted as marking the founding of Willamette University the oldest college in the west.
The school was known at first as the Oregon Institute. After a territorial government had been established, a charter was granted to the institution in 1854 under the name of "Wallamet University." The original building (first occupied by the Institute in 1844) was a three-story frame structure which served the community as well as the school, since it was considered the most imposing edifice in the Northwest. It housed the first session of the legislature to meet in Salem and sheltered the first court under United States auspices.
Willamette University is therefore closely associated with the very inception of law and government for the whole vast region now comprising the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and parts of Montana and Wyoming . . . the original Oregon Territory.
In facing its responsibilities in this remote area, Willamette attempted to serve the needs of the time. In addition to the College of Liberal Arts, a College of Medicine was established in 1866, the first north of San Francisco. It operated continuously until 1913 when it was merged with the medical school of the University of Oregon.
Willamette's first graduate was Miss Emily J. York in 1859, when she received the degree of Mistress of English Literature. The College of Law opened its doors in 1883 and was the first in the Northwest. The first degrees in music were granted by the College of Liberal Arts in 1872, and by 1898, the music department had become the College of Music; music is now again a department in the College of Liberal Arts. The George H. Atkinson Graduate School of Management began classes in 1974.
Although Willamette's first century was a period of slow growth, her educational strength was revealed in the achievements of her graduates, who reflected honor and prestige on the pioneer school. More recent years are marked by the development of academic programs and facilities. Many new study opportunities and options and many new buildings have been added on a campus that has expanded to 61 acres.
1.3 GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNIVERSITY
Willamette University is a non-profit corporation which operates under its Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws. It is governed by a self-perpetuating sixty-member Board of Trustees that has the responsibility of establishing basic institutional policies and overseeing the affairs of the University. The Board operates with an Executive Committee and standing committees in the following areas:
Student Affairs, Financial Affairs, Development, Endowment,Academic Affairs, College of Liberal Arts, Atkinson Graduate School
of Management, Atkinson Fund, University Facilities, Campus
Religious Life, College of Law Committee, and Committee on Organization.
The full Board meets three times each year.
The President of the University is appointed by the Board of Trustees and is the Chief Executive Officer of the institution. Five vice presidents head the five administrative areas:
Academic Administration,Financial Affairs,
Student Affairs,
Enrollment Management and University Relations.
All University functions are organized in one of the above administrative areas:
Academic deans head the three colleges:
College of Liberal Arts,
College of Law,
Atkinson Graduate School of Management.
The following is a chart of the administrative organization.
WILLAMETTE UNIVERSITY ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
A liberal education prepares students to lead rich and rewarding lives, rejoicing in the diversity of the world and contributing to its welfare. The College of Liberal Arts strives to search for truth and for those principles by which we can understand ourselves, one another, and the natural world upon which we depend.
GOALS STATEMENT
Goals of the College of Liberal Arts
In carrying out its mission, the College of Liberal Arts strives to create a collegial environment in which students and faculty continue growing intellectually and morally and in which they work together at the college’s paramount task: passing on the tradition of liberal learning. Both the curriculum of the college and its extra-curricular activities are designed to
I. Strengthen students’ intellectual powers
II. Provide opportunities for students to enrich their aesthetic and moral sensibilities by
III. Develop with students a scholarly knowledge of
This Faculty Handbook is written for the members of the College of Liberal Arts faculty. It describes employment policies, benefits, privileges and related operating procedures. In some cases, especially in the chapter on employment benefits, only a brief summary of the benefit or policy is provided. Additional information on such benefits and policies can be obtained from the Liberal Arts Dean's Office, the Human Resource Office or the President's Office.
This handbook applies to all College of Liberal Arts faculty members and supersedes all prior statements of policy. The University expressly reserves the right to change policies, benefits, and procedures but is committed to doing so in a manner consistent with established process.
It is hoped that each faculty member will become familiar with the contents of the Handbook. The loose-leaf format allows each person to maintain a copy that reflects modifications as they are made. When such modifications are made, revised pages of the Handbook will be sent to all faculty members. Master copies will remain in the Human Resources, Dean's, and President's Offices.