College Park Faculty Assembly

On June 2, 1970, the University Senate directed the formation of a College Park Faculty Assembly. An Interim Steering Committee, composed of twenty College Park faculty members, held its first meeting on July 6, 1970.

As outlined in the Plan of Organization, the object of the University of Maryland College Park Faculty Assembly was to provide a means for the faculty to exercise their rights and assume their corporate responsibilites. The functions of the Assembly were to: 1) act as the voice of the faculty in the University and the community; 2) advise the Chancellor of the College Park Campus, the President of the University, the Board of Regents, the student body and the Campus Senate in matters pertaining to teaching, research and service; 3) act as the referendum body of the faculty; 4) serve as the faculty's advocate in regard to faculty welfare; and 5) formulate policies and procedures relevant to its own governance.

Membership of the Assembly was composed of all full-time appointees who held the rank of instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, professor, or lecturer, and who were administratively responsible to the Office of the Chancellor of the College Park Campus of the University of Maryland. The Faculty Assembly was to meet regularly, twice during the academic year, once in October and once in May. The primary purpose of these meetings was for the faculty to receive a report on the actions and activities of the College Park Campus Senate.

The forerunner of the College Park Faculty Assembly was the University Faculty Assembly, which was approved as part of the faculty organization plan by the Board of Regents on September 23, 1955. The University Faculty Assembly functioned until the reorganization of the University of Maryland system and the creation of the new body, the College Park Faculty Assembly, in 1970.

Once the College Park Faculty Assembly was created it proved difficult to obtain a quorum in order to hold a meeting of the entire faculty. Consequently, a new branch of the College Park Faculty Assembly, called the Faculty Council, was created in approximately 1973. The Faculty Council was to be a representative body that could provide a forum for discussion for any issues of concern to the faculty, and a means for communicating their views on those concerns to the administration, regents and state government. The Faculty Council was not part of the governing structure of the university and has no official responsibilities or authority.

From the guide to the College Park Faculty Assembly records, 1971-1983, null, (University of Maryland)