WHEREAS, Non-tenure track faculty are essential to fulfilling the instructional mission of the Indiana University Bloomington;
WHEREAS, Quality of instruction provided depends on faculty quality and on provision of a work environment wherein a faculty member is free to pursue instructional responsibilities to the best of their ability;
WHEREAS, Such a work environment cannot exist unless a faculty member believes that academic freedom is a reality for them and will be protected;
WHEREAS, Under Indiana University policy the academic freedom of non-tenure track faculty is protected, yet doubt about this is commonplace because of a perceived status differential between tenure track and non-tenure track faculty;
WHEREAS, all faculty, including NTT faculty, are entitled to participate in faculty affairs and to fully and freely exercise their professional expertise and judgment without fear of retaliation or unfair treatment;
WHEREAS, Long term contracts are a mechanism for attracting quality faculty members to Indiana University and minimizing doubts about academic freedom protection;
WHEREAS, Rolling contracts better accomplish these goals than do fixed term contracts; and
WHEREAS, Longer contracts better accomplish these goals than do shorter contracts; now therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the primary mechanism for implementing Indiana University’s long term contract mandate is recommended by the BFC to be a rolling contract, the preferred duration of which is five (5) years.