The Hendrix College Faculty Handbook is an official publication of the Office of Academic Affairs. In it the faculty defines the terms and conditions of professional life and the nature of the self-governance structure at Hendrix College, and the Handbook thus constitutes an important reference for all members of the faculty. Acceptance of a faculty appointment at Hendrix College implies acceptance of College policies and procedures. This implied acceptance includes the policies and procedures in both this Handbook as well as the Employee Handbook compiled by the Human Resources Office.
The faculty as a corporate body is charged with certain duties and responsibilities under the College’s Charter and Bylaws. These duties and responsibilities establish the faculty as a group of professional colleagues exercising a large degree of self-governance in pursuit of the College’s mission. Implicit in the broad authority the faculty enjoys over academic matters is an endorsement of the principle of academic freedom.
The College’s governance structure is meant to ensure close cooperation and shared responsibility between the faculty and the administration, with contributions from students where appropriate. In some areas, such as curriculum, calendar, and schedule, the faculty assumes primary responsibility. In others, such as financial and physical resources, personnel, and facilities, the administration’s role is primary, but the faculty plays an important part in determining how best to distribute and employ these resources.
An administration exists in order to provide, support, and enhance the context within which the faculty can realize the goal of educating students the most effectively. These responsibilities are assigned in our polity to the President, Provost, and Committee on Faculty, in their accountability to the Trustees. This pattern ensures the extension of faculty perspectives and interests to the highest administrative level. Conversely, this pattern also sustains some degree of administrative identity throughout the faculty, in the positions of the Provost, Area Chairs, Department Chairs, committee chairs, and committee memberships.
The President, Provost, and Area Chairs, through the Charter, Bylaws, and Operating Procedures, are assigned various responsibilities in the management of resources and disposition of personnel. Implied by these responsibilities, also, is a broader duty to assure an appropriate pattern of work and compensation among faculty in a context that nurtures the pursuit of the full range of faculty professional aims in the collegiate setting.
Basic policies of Hendrix College regarding Area Chairs, Department Chairs, faculty searches, hiring, rank, promotion, evaluation, tenure, leave, sabbaticals, grants, and retirement are stated on the following pages. Statements of Operating Procedure are established by the Hendrix Board of Trustees or its standing committees. (See Section 22 of the Bylaws.) Other policies are established internally by the Faculty and Administration of the College.