Faculty Reviews and Appeals Principles and Procedures

At the University of Pittsburgh, reviews of faculty appointments and appeals of appointment decisions are guided by the following objectives and principles: to achieve justice and equal consideration for all parties in the University community; to provide a fair hearing process; to ensure that there is no unnecessary delay in the process; to uphold the principle of faculty self-regulation; to keep external intervention through the courts or other outside authority or parties to a minimum; and, where feasible, to maintain a single and orderly route of appeal.

Within any organizational setting, conflicts and disputes between and among individuals will occur from time to time. When such incidents occur, the University provides both informal and formal mechanisms through which individuals may work together to seek resolution of their differences. The essence of the University appeals framework is collegiality: the principle that differences are most efficaciously resolved by means of reasoned discourse, deliberation, and peer review. Throughout, responsible and honest discourse and the protection of academic freedom are essential. As scholars and citizens of the University community, all parties must be ever-cognizant of the axiom that every increment of authority and discretion brings with it corollary responsibilities—to their fellow faculty members, to students, to the University, and to the community and society at large.

Copies of the procedures that were approved by the University Senate Council on May 8, 1978, and the Board of Trustees on May 16, 1978, amended November 27, 2000, are available in the Office of the Provost.

For additional information, refer to the policy and procedure at Faculty Reviews and Appeals AC 28 (formerly 02-02-10).