University of Virginia Library

Faculty Petitions

Two petitions which circulated among the
faculty last week have received nearly 160
signatures each, with only a portion of the
petitions returned.

William A. Elwood of the English department
was responsible for the initiation of the
faculty petitions, one of which supported the
principles of the Coalition's demands, the other
supporting the transitional program for summer
of 1969.

Regarding these petitions, he wrote;

"The two faculty petitions represent a sense
of the faculty members and students who met
on Monday, February 24, as an appropriate
means at this time for faculty views. The
petitions' intent was to generate discussion
among our colleagues and to give them the
opportunity to express agreement with the
spirit of the coalition - student council
proposals while withholding their endorsement
of the letter on one or more points. The
separate petition on the transitional program
we felt to be necessary because it embodied
both the symbolic and the concrete nature of
the proposals.

"Copies of the petition were distributed to
faculty who attended the lunch meeting, who
in turn circulated them in their departments.
We intended wide circulation, but no systematic
polling. Some petitions are outstanding;
they will probably all be returned by mid-week,
at which time we will present them to
President Shannon."

Tabulations of the 160 signatures received
show that most belonged to faculty members of
Assistant Professorial rank and up. Only twelve
of some twenty five departments at the
University have, at this time, returned petitions,
and of those departments on the average of 50
per cent of their membership have signed.