The Washington State University Faculty Executive Committee (FEC), under the name Executive Committee of the Faculty of the State College of Washington, was first organized in January 1934. From this beginning two long-standing concerns of the committee were evident: academic tenure and faculty salaries. Other matters of concern to the faculty were also quickly brought before the committee.
Because of what were termed "practical difficulties" encountered by the committee, it nearly ceased operations during 1936 and 1937. In late 1937 the committee proposed its own dissolution and the establishment of a Faculty Advisory Committee. By vote of the faculty this was done and the Faculty Advisory Committee was established in October, 1937. The change in name was meant to be a change in function.
In 1945, as a result of the reorganizations proposed by the Committee of Forty, the Faculty Executive Committee was re-established and took over the functions of the Faculty Advisory Committee. Recent accounts of the history of the committee refer to the 1945 body as the "first" establishment of the committee. In each case the records of the preceding body were transferred to its successor.
In the fall of 1971, with the establishment of the University Senate and the subsequent reorganization of the committee structure, the FEC was again dissolved. Its functions were divided between the Faculty Affairs Committee of the University Senate (which did not begin operations until the following spring) and the faculty-elected Faculty Status Committee. This split assigned personnel arbitration, a major function of the FEC, to the Faculty Status Committee. Other matters, formerly the responsibility of the FEC, were turned over to the Senate's Faculty Affairs Committee. These included policy recommendations on appointments, promotion, tenure, leave of absence, standards of performance, professional ethics, faculty rights and responsibilities, academic freedom and faculty compensation. All of these were given on-going consideration as revisions were proposed to the Faculty Manual. Between the demise of the FEC and the establishment of the Faculty Affairs Committee these matters were also handled by the Faculty Status Committee.
The records of the Faculty Executive Committee consist of minutes, correspondence, reports, memoranda, clippings, working drafts and notes, and financial and other records used by the committee in its efforts on campus. While the material has been separated into five distinct series they are not mutually exclusive, That is to say, some correspondence exists in the Minutes files and, conversely, copies of the minutes occur in both the correspondence and subject files. The completed survey questionnaires of the last series have been retained because of the many illuminating comments by members of the faculty on the educational process, an expression of a wide sample of the faculty. The Minutes series contains some duplication because the nature of the committee, and especially its rotation of officers, did not encourage a central "official" file of committee records, although it is apparent that certain officers did attempt this at different times. For the early years, and for some of the later years as well, the "Minutes" file was considered the file of records and all correspondence and reports were added to it. In some years the correspondence and reports were so extensive that they were relegated to separate files in other series. Basically, however, the "Minutes" series is the main record of the committee's activities; the other series merely supplement it.
The Correspondence series is less complete than it might be if all of the correspondence, reports, and memoranda were removed from the Minutes series.
Following the Correspondence series is the Confidential Personnel Case File series. This series may be restricted as it deals with individual personnel matters rather than generalized policy statements. Few of the personnel matters brought before the committee have produced any extensive documentation. The major cases have been separated into this series.
The Subject File series contains an assortment of copies of minutes, correspondence, memoranda, working notes, drafts and other papers on a variety of subjects of interest to the committee. Many of these papers have been separately filed only for convenience. The more recent files also illustrate a common problem of duplication wherein several members of the committee have, through the process of becoming the recording officer, added their one file of miscellaneous material to the common pool. This is the case with several individual folders. Where possible the compiler of the individual file has been identified. Again, subject gaps in these files can often be filled through reference to the Minutes and Correspondence series.
The fifth series consists of the completed questionnaires of two surveys of the faculty on the question of faculty evaluation.
The final series contains materials added at a later, unknown, period.
The records are arranged in six series. Within series 1-4, materials are arranged chronologically, and then alphabetically within each time period. Series 5 is arranged by internal categorization for purposes of summarizing the results. Series 6 is in rough chronological order.
This collection is open and available for research use, with the exception of the Confidential Personnel Case File series, where some material may be restricted. Contact the Washington State University Archivist for clarification.
Copyright restrictions may apply.
[Item description]
Washington State University Faculty Executive Committee Records, 1934-1971 (Archives 27)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
The records of the Faculty Executive Committee were deposited in the Washington State University Library in three installments, in the 1950s, the 1960s, and the final installment in January 1975.
The records were arranged and described by Terry Abraham in January 1975.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.