Our Mission
The Faculty Senate is conceived as an assembly through which the faculty can exercise a collective and independent voice in the governance of the University. In forming its recommendations, the Senate pledges itself to the principle of reaching conclusions based on research and free and open discussion. [Faculty Senate ByLaws Introduction, paragraph 2]
Memorial Resolution for J. Keith Rigby, Jr.
On November 4th of this year, J. Keith Rigby, Jr., our colleague and the chair of the Faculty Senate, suffered a massive stroke that took his life later that same day. He was, at that time, in the thirtieth year of his employment on the faculty of this University as a geologist. Those years had been eventful ones for him, personally and professionally, for his department, for his field of research, and for this university. In each of those domains, Keith's involvement was always energetic, often controversial, sometimes confrontational, and, with blessed frequency, shot through with good humor. Above all he will be remembered for his warmth and support of his friends, colleagues and students.
Keith was a great teacher who worked mightily to convey the truths of geology, as he understood those truths, to his students both in the classroom and in the fossil fields of the American west. As a scholar, he made major contributions to the field of paleontology and participated vigorously in high level debates about events that took place sixty-five million years ago. As a field researcher, digging for dinosaur bones in Montana and the Dakotas, he was justly famous for his diligence and his success. As a devout Mormon, he was honored in his community for his missionary work and for his participation in the intellectual life of that community. As a family man, he was devoted to his wife, Sue, and to his six children.
As a member of the Senate, Keith was generous with his time and willing to take on any university problem that, in his judgment, should involve the Senate in its solution. As chair of the Senate, he had high hopes for the Senates constructive engagement with the administration on how best to resolve the most pressing of the problems that the university faces. As much as it saddens us that Keith will not be here to lead us in that engagement, we realize that our greatest tribute to him and to his memory will be to pursue that engagement on our own, with all of the vigor and at least some of the good cheer that he brought to everything that he did.
Faculty Handbook
The Faculty Senate Handbook is a resource that contains information relevant to faculty and academic administrators. This information includes the Mission Statement of the University, the Bylaws of the University, the Academic Articles, the Academic Code, and the academic policies. [Faculty Senate Handbook]