Subject: Toward a more accountable and representative Faculty Senate.

Description: accountable@virginia is an email list for faculty senators, former faculty senators, and faculty members who want a more accountable Faculty Senate at the University of Virginia. Membership is limited to faculty members who share this conviction, except that to avoid an apparent conflict of interest, membership tentatively excludes the presiding officers of the Senate. This exclusion is subject to change through agreement by list members. We are primarily a communications channel. We agree that senators, as representatives, must be advocates for the interests and the values of the faculty colleagues we represent. We agree that such advocacy, responsibly presented, is a representative duty and a free-speech right. We agree that this duty makes responsible disagreement sometimes necessary, including disagreement with the Senate's presiding officers. We agree that respectful and candid communication is essential to the conduct senators' representative duties, and for this reason we agree to welcome relevant messages from each other. We agree that the Senate's Executive Council, as a body that acts on behalf of the Senate, must be accountable to senators. We agree that committee chairs, as the voices of their committees at Executive Council meetings, must be accountable to their committee members. We agree that the Senate's presiding officers must be accountable to senators. Within this general shared purpose we welcome diverse views and responsible disagreement. We are an informal body that may reach agreement by whatever means we agree upon together. When we do not agree, we disagree without being disagreeable. We reserve the right to exclude from membership any faculty member whose words or actions demonstrate inconsistency with the list's stated purposes.