Williams College Employee Handbook
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The Board of Trustees, the President, and Other Senior Administrators
The Board of Trustees
The "President and Trustees" constitute the ultimate corporate authority responsible before the law for the College's policies and programs (Laws of Williams College, p.1). The number of Trustees at present is twenty-five: the President, who is a member of the Board throughout his or her service as President; fourteen Regular Trustees, elected by the Board itself and serving up to a total of fifteen years on the Board but not beyond their seventieth birthday; five Alumni Trustees, one nominated by ballot of the alumni annually, and all serving five-year terms; and five Term Trustees elected by the Board for five-year terms.
The President is the presiding officer of the Board and an ex officio member of all its committees. The Senior Executive Assistant to the President currently serves the Board as its Secretary.
The current Trustees are identified in the Williams Alumni Review, which is mailed to all faculty quarterly, and listed in the Williams College Bulletin.
The President
Reporting to the Board as the senior executive officer of the College is the President, who is also a member and the presiding officer of the faculty of the College. Reporting directly to the President are the Dean of the Faculty, the Provost, the Dean of the College, the Vice President for Operations, the Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development, the Vice President for Strategic Planning and Institutional Diversity, the Chief Investment Officer, the Director of Public Affairs, and the Senior Executive Assistant to the President and Secretary of the College. The President is a member of the Committee on Appointments and Promotions, the Committee on Educational Policy, and the Honorary Degrees Committee.
Administrators Reporting Directly to the President
The Dean of the Faculty
The Dean of the Faculty is responsible for the faculty and curriculum at the College and is available to consult with members of the faculty on all issues of concern to them.
The Dean is responsible for the recruitment, appointment, and promotion of faculty and for the policies and procedures affecting all academic departments. The Dean oversees the annual budgets of the academic departments and programs; assists with curricular and faculty development; serves as ex officio member and executive secretary of the Committee on Appointments and Promotions, and as an ex officio member of the Committee on Educational Policy; and, in consultation with the Faculty Steering Committee, makes recommendations on the membership of committees to the President. The Dean of the Faculty oversees the Center for Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures, the Oakley Center for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the Center for Environmental Studies, the Faculty Center for Media Technologies, the Williams-Exeter Programme at Oxford University, the Williams in New York Program, and Athletics.
The Dean also works closely with the Office of the Provost on budgetary and compensation matters. In addition, concerns about professional conduct of faculty members are the responsibility of the Dean of the Faculty. The Dean is assisted by an Associate Dean of the Faculty and a Coordinator of Faculty Affairs.
The Provost
The Provost is responsible for the annual College budget and long-range financial planning, and for overseeing the Library, the Office of Information Technology, the Williams College Museum of Art, the Bronfman Science Center and Morley Science Laboratories, the Office of Admission, and the Office of Financial Aid. The Provost works with other executive officers in developing budgets for departments and offices under their oversight. The Provost is an ex officio member of the Committees on Appointments and Promotions, Priorities and Resources, and the Library. He or she is assisted by the Associate Provost, the Director of Budgets, and the Director of Institutional Research, whose duties include administering federal grants, financial planning and record-keeping, monitoring all department budgets, supervising the Student Course Survey, and conducting institutional studies.
The Dean of the College
The Dean of the College has primary responsibility for all areas of student life. Reporting to the Dean are the Associate Dean of the College, the Associate Dean for Academic Programs, the Associate Dean for Student Services and Registrar, the Chaplain, the Director of the Multicultural Center, the Director of Security, the Director of Health Services, the Director of Career Counseling, and the Director of Residential and Student Life. The Dean serves as an ex officio member of the Committees on Educational Policy, Academic Standing, the Discipline Committee, the Honor System Committee, and the Calendar and Schedule Committee.
The Vice President for Operations
The Vice President for Operations has primary responsibility for such non-academic operations and services as Facilities, Construction, Campus Planning, Dining Services, Human Resources, and other operations such as Risk Management, Legal Affairs, Real Estate, Conferences, and the College Bookstore. The Vice President for Operations serves as liaison to the Trustee Audit, Facilities, Legal Affairs and Public Affairs Committees. The Vice President also serves on a number of campus committees including the Committee on Priorities and Resources.
The Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development
The Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development oversees the Alumni Relations Office, the Development Office, Alumni/Development Communications, and the Advancement Information Services. In these capacities, he or she is responsible for the College's programs for annual, capital, and special gifts and for programs involving alumni in continuing education seminars, regional associations, reunions, alumni publications, and Society of Alumni activities. The Vice President for Alumni Relations and Development serves as an ex officio member of the Committee on Priorities and Resources.
The Vice President for Strategic Planning and Institutional Diversity
The Vice President for Strategic Planning and Institutional Diversity oversees the College diversity and inclusion activities and serves as the key institutional voice on related issues with campus and alumni constituencies. The Vice President leads the development and implementation of College policies related to diversity and inclusion; works with departments and offices on the recruitment and retention of faculty, staff, and students of diverse backgrounds. On issues of diversity, the Vice president is the key individual interfacing with the Board, media, community organizations, and other groups. Also, the Vice President is the College affirmative action officer.
The Director of Public Affairs
The Director of Public Affairs assists the president in the management of issues involving the public and serves as the College's official spokesperson, especially with news media and in the local community. He or she coordinates the College's communications; supports the president, senior officers, and faculty and staff in their communications, and is responsible for the content of the top pages of the College's World Wide Web site. He or she works with other officers on the College's involvements with the local community. The office of public affairs is responsible for the College's media relations, including sports information; various communications with internal audiences and with parents; organizing Family Weekends, and booking campus rooms for meetings and public presentations. The Director of Public Affairs chairs the Communications Advisory Group, comprising representatives of the main offices that communicate for the College; serves on the Advisory Group on Admissions and Financial Aid, staffs the Parents Council, and helps staff the trustee Public Affairs Committee.
The Chief Investment Officer
The Chief Investment Officer is responsible for prudent oversight and management of the College endowment, which consists of the Investment Pool and Planned Giving assets. The CIO works with the Investment Committee of the Board of Trustees and the President of the College. The CIO develops and recommends an asset allocation policy for approval by the Investment Committee. The policy portfolio establishes the risk and return expectations for the management of the endowment, and the CIO and the six member investment office team then implement the asset allocation policy.
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