Message to USC Faculty
From: Michael W. Quick, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs; Paul Rosenbloom, President of the Faculty
June 14, 2018
Dear Faculty Colleagues,
We’re writing you about the update of Faculty Handbook policies that the Academic Senate worked with the Office of the Provost to develop during the Spring semester.
The 2018 Handbook edition is posted at https://www.usc.edu/facultyhandbook. You can read a summary of changes in chapter 1. We want to underline some of the key points:
- A link to the USC Code of Ethics is, for the first time, provided in the Handbook. Beyond that, the faculty are going to reexamine the Code to meet current challenges. We must recommit to our values and our core principles.
- The Handbook recognizes the new Ombuds service, which will provide a confidential means for all members of our community to raise their concerns.
- In the past we relied on deans or the Provost’s office to take the lead in selecting corrective actions and sanctions when faculty committed violations. Authority has now been shifted to a committee of faculty peers – the Committee on Professional Responsibility.
- Handbook amendments remind faculty to report through the diSClose online system all outside activities and relationships described in the policies on conflict of interest and conflict of commitment, at https://policy.usc.edu.
Please note that the diSClose system is separate from other reporting channels. If you are concerned about someone violating the Code of Ethics, the law, or our policies, you can report anonymously through the USC Help and Hotline at https://ooc.usc.edu/how-to-use-help-hotline. If you are concerned about any member of our community who is challenged with personal difficulties, you can express the concern privately and anonymously through Trojans Care for Trojans at https://studentaffairs.usc.edu/trojans-care-for-trojans-tc.
We hope your summer is both productive and enjoyable. We appreciate your care for the university as we all begin the work toward a new era.
Michael W. Quick, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
Paul Rosenbloom, President of the Faculty