Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Processing Note
Processing History
Organizational History
Collection Scope and Content Summary
Arrangement
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: University of California, Irvine, Academic Senate records
Creator:
University of California, Irvine. Academic Senate
Identifier/Call Number: AS.005
Physical Description:
79.5 Linear Feet
(85 boxes) and 4.75 unprocessed Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): 1964-2014
Abstract: This collection comprises minutes and supplementary material, agendas, and administrative files of the Academic Senate. The
administrative files include minutes and correspondence predating the establishment of the Irvine Division of the Academic
Senate (1963-1966), bylaws, membership lists, and material pertaining to standing and special committees, including minutes
and agendas of the Executive Committee and Graduate Council.
Language of Material:
English
.
Access
Processed components of the collection are open for research. Unprocessed additions may contain restricted materials. Please
contact the Department of Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access. Access to files covered by California
personnel records legislation is restricted for 50 years from the latest date of the materials in those files. Special Collections
and Archives policy places access restrictions on material with privacy issues for a specific time period from its date of
creation. Restrictions are noted at the file level.
Five business days advanced notice is required for access because the bulk of the materials are stored offsite. Please contact
Special Collections and Archives in advance to request access.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the University of California. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please contact the University
Archivist.
Preferred Citation
University of California, Irvine, Academic Senate records. AS-005. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries,
Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this
collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Acquisition Information
These records were acquired through transfers from various Senate members and the Academic Senate Office, beginning in 1978
to present. Accruals are expected.
Processing Note
In order to facilitate access, the collection was minimally processed. Most dates are approximate. Most of the materials are
in their original folders or were taken out of binders and placed in new folders. To facilitate access, folders were numbered
during processing so numbers written in pencil on folders match those in the guide. During processing, the collection was
not completely re-arranged, so materials in the same filing unit may not be consecutively numbered or housed. Researchers
will find that navigating the materials in this collection will be facilitated by keeping a copy of the contents listing with
them during their research.
Processing History
Initial processing by Lee Johnson 1997. Processing completed by Mary Ellen Goddard in 2000. Additions and revisions by Cyndi
Shein in 2007-2008, Dawn Schmitz in 2009, and Joanna Lamb in 2010. Minimally processed by Audra Eagle Yun and Special Collections
and Archives student assistants in 2012. The 2015 accretion of Graduate Council meeting minutes added by Laura Uglean Jackson
in 2015. The 2011 accretion was added by Sarah Glover in 2020.
Organizational History
The Irvine Division of the Academic Senate, established December 1, 1965, is the faculty governing body of the University
of California, Irvine. The UC-wide Academic Senate is empowered by UC's governing body, the Board of Regents, to exercise
direct control, subject to the board's approval, over academic matters of central importance to the University. These include
matters of educational policy and approval of programs, courses, and grades. The UC Academic Council acts as the executive
arm to carry Senate business forward to the President and the Board of Regents.
In 1963, UC President Clark Kerr formed advisory committees for each of the new UC campuses, the members of which were drawn
from the older campuses. Among other duties, these advisors recommended salary levels for incoming faculty, made final appointments
of academic administrators, and organized the academic programs on the new campus. The Irvine Campus Academic Advisory Committee
was led by John Galbraith of UCLA until 1964, when H.T. Swedenberg assumed his place. The committee held its last meeting
in May, 1965.
By the fall of 1964, 86 faculty members were eligible for Senate membership at UCI. A committee, composed of Abraham Melden
(Chair of Philosophy); Jack Peltason (Academic Vice Chancellor), and Edward Steinhaus (Dean of Biological Sciences) developed
the bylaws and part of the Senate's constitution. By May 1965 a draft of these documents was ready. In fall 1965 three more
members were elected to the committee and on June 7, 1966, a final draft was approved. Melden was the first chair of the Senate.
In 1968, department members of the School of Humanities voted three assistant professors-- George Kent, Donald Brannan, and
Stephen Shapiro--off the faculty. The young professors were all popular among students, and there was uproar among both students
(calling themselves the KBS Committee after the names of the three professors) and junior members of the faculty. The issues
of tenure and review fall under the jurisdiction of the Academic Senate, and an emergency meeting was called on February 20,
1969 to address a call for a retroactive moratorium on dismissals, until tenure policies could be reviewed. The moratorium
was voted down and the dismissals were appealed individually. Only Kent was eventually granted tenure.
Every regular faculty member at UC Irvine is a member of the Senate and until 1976, all UCI faculty were eligible to participate
in all Senate meetings. In November 1975, because of increasing numbers of faculty, the Senate voted to specify the number
of representatives from each school or college to serve on a voluntary basis through appointment in the Divisional Senate
Assembly.
The Chair of the Academic Senate is advised by the Senate Cabinet, standing committees, and special committees. Following
are some of the most important Academic Senate standing committees : Educational Policy (CEP), Academic Personnel (CAP, previously
called the Budget Committee), Coordinating Committee on Graduate Affairs (CCGA), Planning and Budget, Privilege and Tenure,
and Admissions and Relations with Schools.
The Special Committee on the Nixon Library was appointed by the Chair in 1983 to research and develop recommendations relating
to the possibility of the Nixon Presidential Library being located on the UCI campus. The Committee recommended several conditions
that the Nixon Archives Foundation felt were overbearing. As a result, UCI was not chosen as the site for the Nixon Presidential
Library.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The collection is comprised of minutes and supplementary material, agendas, and administrative files of the Academic Senate.
The administrative files include minutes and correspondence predating the establishment of the Irvine Division of the Academic
Senate (1963-1966), bylaws, membership lists, and material pertaining to standing and special committees, including minutes
and agendas of the Executive Committee and Graduate Council.
Arrangement
These records are arranged in 3 series:
- Series 1. Minutes and agendas
- Series 2. Reports and related documents
- Series 3. Committees, task forces, and councils
This collection also contains two unprocessed additions:
Accession 2016-010. Unprocessed addition, 1987-2014. 4.5 linear feet
Accession 2020-007. Unprocessed addition, 2008-2011. 0.25 linear feet
Subjects and Indexing Terms
University of California, Irvine. Academic Senate -- Archives
University of California, Irvine -- Faculty -- Archives
University of California, Irvine -- Archives