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Emeritus Appointments

The Board of Regents has established the following policy with respect to Emeritus appointments. The title “Emeritus” may be conferred on a faculty member or an administrative officer as recognition for long and faithful service, or for very distinguished service to the institution. Members of the faculty with rank of professor or associate professor at retirement may be awarded Emeritus appointments provided they have completed at least 10 years of service at Texas Tech University or have been recommended on the basis of “very distinguished service.” 

Administrative officers in major positions at the time of retirement from administrative duties may be considered for Emeritus appointments. Emeritus appointments are strictly honorary and without stipend. Each such appointment shall be subject to approval by the Board of Regents upon recommendation by the President with concurrence by the Chancellor (OP 10.07; Section 04.01.2, Regents’ Rules).

Endowed Chairs and Designated Professorships

Designated academic positions are one means the university uses to honor certain faculty assignments. Designated positions affirm the importance of an area of scholarship and inquiry. They give the university the ability to attract and retain scholars of extraordinary talent. Policies and procedures related to establishing endowed chairs and professorships are in OP 02.08 and OP 32.22.

Horn Distinguished Professorships. Horn Distinguished Professorships—the highest honor the university may bestow on members of its faculty—are granted to professors of international or national distinction for outstanding teaching, research, or other creative achievement. The number awarded is not limited, nor is any attempt made to maintain any fixed ratio between colleges or departments. The first four appointments were made in 1967 and were named in honor of Texas Tech’s first president, Paul Whitfield Horn. Currently, the base salary of an appointee is increased by not less than $8,000, with a discretionary account provided in the amount of $20,000 per year.

Expressive Activities and Holding Public Office

Academic Expression. Institutions of higher education exist for the common good. The common good depends upon a free search for truth and its free expression. Hence, the faculty member must be free to pursue scholarly and creative inquiry without undue restriction and to voice, publish, and present conclusions. The faculty member must be free from the corrosive fear that others, inside or outside the university community, because of their differing view, may threaten the faculty member's professional career or the material benefits accruing from it (www.aaup.org/aaup).

Each faculty member is entitled to full freedom in the classroom in discussing the subject taught, as every faculty member is hired and credentialed to teach in the faculty member’s areas of expertise. Each faculty member is also a member of the nation, state, and community, and when speaking, writing, or acting as an individual citizen, must be free from institutional censorship or discipline. The teacher is entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing the subject(s) for which the teacher has been credentialed.

Freedom of Expression. Texas Tech University recognizes freedom of speech and expression as a fundamental right and seeks to ensure free, robust, and uninhibited debate and deliberation by students enrolled at TTU as well as other persons. Expressive activities on the TTU campus are governed by Texas Tech University System Regulation 07.04. The terms of such Regulation shall control in the event of any conflict between the provisions set forth in this Handbook and the terms of such Regulation. For additional information regarding events on university property, see “Use of University Buildings and Grounds.”

Expression as a Private Citizen and as a University Employee. When speaking as a private citizen on a matter of public concern, an employee of Texas Tech University has the same rights and responsibilities of free speech, thought, and action as any other American citizen.

When speaking as a university employee, a faculty member should remember that the public may judge the profession and the university by his or her utterances. Hence, a faculty member should at all times be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for the opinions of others, should emphasize that he or she is not an institution spokesperson, and should be mindful of the best interests of the institution.

Political Activity. An instructional staff member has a binding obligation to discharge instructional and other duties. Performance of these duties may be impaired by private activity requiring a large portion of time and energy. As a person of judgment and mature perspective, the teacher will not allow an interest and participation in public political affairs to be so consuming that work and influence will suffer as a teacher in the university. The classroom and the student have the first call on the instructor's time and interest. These are considered primary responsibilities.

Nothing in these regulations shall be construed as abridging the rights of citizenship guaranteed citizens of Texas and of the United States under the state and federal constitutions. When university employees appear at the polls in any capacity, they will do so as private citizens acting under their constitutional rights, and not as representatives of the university.

Instructional staff and other employees of the university should take an interest in public affairs. They should exercise their right to vote and to work for good government.

This policy is intended to safeguard the freedom of speech, thought, and action of university teachers and employees and to avoid impairment of the significant contributions they are capable of making toward improved local, state, and federal government (OP 32.07).

Holding Public Office. The Board of Regents does not undertake to determine whether an employee or a member of the faculty of the institution shall become a candidate for, or shall accept, an elective, full-time public office.

The Board of Regents may compel a faculty member or staff employee to take a leave of absence without pay while campaigning for any other public office and may terminate employment upon acceptance of such an office. The above regulations shall not restrict the acceptance of appointments or offices of a temporary or part-time nature for which the teacher is prepared to render exceptional service, which will not involve him or her in direct relationships with the university or make him or her a partisan in matters that have university implication and that will not interfere with normal university duties.

A faculty member or staff employee may accept a public office or membership on the governing board of a school district, city, town, or other local governmental district provided no salary is received by virtue of such office. A faculty member or staff employee must maintain as a priority the full and complete performance of her or his assigned duties while holding such office. Acceptance of an additional position that pays a salary, per diem, or benefits and in instances when the two positions are such that they cannot be held at one time by the same person will automatically be considered as a resignation of employment with Texas Tech University (OP 32.07, OP 70.15). See Texas Constitution, Art. 16, Sec. 40.

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Faculty Enrollment in Courses

Full-time members of the faculty and staff of Texas Tech may enroll for courses by permission of their department chairperson concerned. In registering for graduate work, they become subject to the usual regulations of the Graduate School. However, members of the faculty who hold rank higher than instructor at Texas Tech are not normally eligible to pursue a graduate degree program at this institution; exceptions require prior approval of the faculty member's college dean.

Faculty members enrolling for coursework are exempt from payment of nonresident tuition.

Faculty Responsibility

Conduct of University Members. Colleges and universities that are tax-supported must function in accordance with the public trust, and the actions of faculty, staff, and students within them must be consistent with the execution of that trust.

Texas Tech University is a publicly supported institution that is obligated to provide instruction in higher education; to advance knowledge through scholarship and research; and to provide related services to the community, the state, and the nation. As a center of learning, the university has the obligation to maintain conditions that are conducive to freedom of inquiry and expression in the maximum degree compatible with the orderly conduct of its functions. The responsibilities of the university dictate, to a major extent, the responsibilities of the individual faculty member. The faculty member is properly concerned with the whole process of education and is aware of the responsibilities of the university in a free society. Responsibility is assumed for performing several essential functions: teaching; research, creative, and scholarly activity; university service; professional service; and community service and engagement. Specific expectations associated with each can be found in OP 32.06, Faculty Responsibility.

Teaching. As a teacher, the faculty member has responsibilities to students, to a discipline, to a profession, and to the university. These responsibilities entail facilitating the intellectual and emotional growth of students, encouraging free inquiry in the classroom, and striving to create and maintain a climate of mutual respect that will enhance the free interplay of ideas. A faculty member has a responsibility to recognize the varying needs and capabilities of students and to make every effort to assure that evaluations of students’ work reflect the students’ level of achievement. The faculty member as a teacher also has the responsibility to uphold the highest scholarly standards and encourage respect for such standards in the classroom; to engage in a continual and critical study of the subject matter of one’s discipline; to ensure that class presentations contain the most current and useful knowledge and that the course being taught is consistent with the course of study outlined by a department or college; and to recognize the responsibilities of a teacher as a counselor and devote a reasonable portion of time aiding, guiding, and counseling students outside the classroom. Finally, the faculty member has a responsibility to strive to maintain those skills and values that ensure the continuation of free and open inquiry.

Research, Creative, and Scholarly Activity. Through research and scholarly activity, a faculty member grows intellectually, stimulates students’ learning, and adds to the accumulated knowledge of a discipline. A faculty member should strive constantly to contribute to the growth and understanding of knowledge in one’s particular field through creative research and scholarship. The faculty member has an additional responsibility to share the results of research by disseminating them to students, colleagues, and professionals in one’s discipline and to the public.

University Service. A faculty member has a responsibility to participate in the various activities, programs, and functions related to the enhancement of the university, such as participating in the formulation of academic policies, service on university committees, and accepting other assignments.

Professional Service. Within one’s field of competence and as time and resources permit, the faculty member has a responsibility to respond to requests for advice and aid and to participate in the activities of one’s profession. The faculty member should exercise care to avoid infringement upon obligations and responsibilities to the university.

Community Service and Engagement. As a member of a community, the faculty member has the same obligations and responsibilities as those incumbent upon other members of the community to contribute to the effective functioning of the community. Such services should be consistent with regulations of the university and the state.

In the case of both professional and community service, the faculty member should exercise discretion in distinguishing between acts carried out or statements made as an individual or a professional and those carried out or made as a representative of the university (OP 32.06).

Drug-Free Workplace. It has long been the policy of the university to maintain a drug-free workplace as exemplified by Section 03.02.1i Regents' Rules, approved May 11, 2001. Furthermore, the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments of 1989—changed to the Clery Act—require that the university review each year the laws pertaining to the Student Right to Know-Clery Act and determine the information required for compliance (OP 76.02). The Risk Intervention & Safety Education website will include a statement of TTU’s policies regarding a drug-free workplace.

Employee Assistance Program. The university offers counseling through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) to assist employees and their family members with personal problems such as substance abuse, emotional stress, trauma, divorce, parenting problems, and financial problems. The EAP provides counseling and assessments by licensed professional counselors. Texas Tech employees are entitled to eight (8) free counseling sessions (individual, couple, or family) per academic year. Daytime and evening appointments are available. When necessary, the employee or family is referred to the most appropriate service available at the least cost. The EAP is located at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. To use the EAP, call 806.743.1327. Additional information is available on the EAP website.

Sexual Harassment. A basic objective of the university is to provide an environment in which faculty, staff, and students may pursue their careers and studies with a maximum of productivity and enjoyment. Behavior or conduct that interferes with this goal is not to be condoned or tolerated.

It is the policy of the university to maintain a workplace and a learning environment free of sexual harassment and intimidation. Harassment of students on the basis of sex is a violation of Section 106.31 of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Harassment of Texas Tech University employees on the basis of sex is a violation of Section 703 of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act. Sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when:

• Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual’s employment, participation in a university-sponsored educational program or activity, or in return for a grade or other consideration;
• Submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for an academic or employment decision affecting such individual; or
• Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s academic or work performance or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or educational environment.

Texas law requires that all employees, including faculty, who in the course and scope of employment witness or receive information regarding an occurrence of sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking by or against a student or employee of the university at the time of the occurrence must report all such information to the university Title IX coordinator, Title IX deputy coordinators, or Office of EO (see OP 40.03 and TTU System Regulation 07.06 for contact information).

Any faculty member, staff member, or student may pursue a grievance within the procedures outlined in OP 40.03 and TTU System Regulation 07.06 without fear of reprisal, stigma, or threats if a complaint is filed in good faith.

In conducting an investigation, the right to confidentiality, both of the complainant and of the respondent, will be respected to the extent allowed by law.

Pursuant to Article IX, Section 123.5 of the General Appropriations Act, Texas Tech is implementing EEO-Sexual Harassment training for each new benefits-eligible employee whose first day of work was after December 31, 1997. This is required training. Supplemental training for all employees (faculty and noninstructional staff) will be required biennially.

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Faculty–Student Conflict of Interest

The university is responsible for ensuring the integrity of the roles of faculty and students during the period of graduate or undergraduate enrollment and protecting them from conflict of interest. Faculty must avoid academic supervisory, teaching, or evaluative relationships with students that pose significant conflicts of interest from the standpoint of personal or professional connections. Such connections might include spousal or other affectional liaisons, supervisor-employee relationships, or parent-child relationships. The appearance of a conflict of interest is to be avoided. OP 32.33 sets forth details of procedures that are to be followed in this regard.

Faculty Workload

The faculty workload policy adopted by the Board of Regents conforms to the regulations of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the legislature. The current policy is set forth in OP 32.18. In summary, the policy indicates that faculty members in their normal academic assignments are expected to carry out a number of essential functions, the specifics of which would have been detailed in the faculty member’s conditional offer letter and/or addenda. These functions include, but may not be limited to, the teaching of organized classes; academic advising and counseling; supervising practica, internships, and clinical teaching; directing individual study, theses, and dissertations; developing curricula; conducting research, scholarly, and creative activity; and serving related institutional and public entities. Teaching load is but one element of faculty workload.

Responsibilities for assigning appropriate workloads shall rest with the department chairpersons and deans. Assignments are reviewed at the Provost level, monitored for compliance and equity, and reported to the President and Board of Regents (OP 32.18).

Final Examinations

The official university policy on final examinations is as follows (OP 34.10):

• Five days are to be scheduled for final examinations at the end of each long semester. Summer term final examinations are scheduled for two days.
• A 2.5-hour period of time is to be available for administering individual final examinations. Within the time period, instructors may limit the time of a given exam by prior announcement.
• Individual faculty members determine whether a final examination or some other summary submittal or performance is appropriate for the course being taught, unless there is a departmental exam for the course. Departmental objectives, student welfare, and faculty responsibilities should be considered in reaching this decision.
• Individual faculty members decide whether student exemptions from a final examination are appropriate.
• All faculty members giving final examinations adhere to the printed scheduled time unless granted permission to deviate from the official time by the departmental chairperson and the dean. Any such deviation should be made well enough in advance for planning by students to avoid schedule conflicts with other exams or class meetings. Final examination schedules are available at https://www.depts.ttu.edu/officialpublications/class_schedule/final_exams.php.
• Examinations other than bona fide make-up examinations are not to be given during the last week of classes or during the day(s) of no classes. Courses wherein lab examinations and design studio reviews are normally scheduled the week prior to finals are excluded from this policy. Day(s) of no classes are study days, and no class review sessions or similar classes may be scheduled then or during final exams except with permission of the Office of the Provost.

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Faculty Handbook Contents

Introduction

General Information

Role of the Faculty

Facilities and Services

Office of the Provost

Research

Faculty Affairs

Benefits and Services

Emergency Procedures

Financial Exigency Plan

Faculty Directory

Operating Policies