1 GRADUATE COUNCIL MEETING 9 May 2012 102 Kern Graduate ...

B2
• The Outside Unit Member, however, would need to have a primary appointment outside
the administrative unit in which the dissertation adviser holds his/her primary
appointment, so as to avoid the potential for conflicts of interest. Thus, “Outside Unit” in
the title of this position on the doctoral committee would be defined as different from the
primary appointment home [e.g., in the case of tenure-line faculty, the tenure home] of
the student’s dissertation advisor, and this member would need to be approved by
Graduate Enrollment Services in The Graduate School.
It is possible that the Outside Field Member position and the Outside Unit Member position
could be filled by the same individual (who also could potentially represent the major program),
so it would not always be necessary to add a fifth committee member, although this may be
necessary in some situations.
During discussion of the Committee’s concept in a Graduate Council meeting, several new
models were discussed (European model of an impassionate “examination observer,” and
Canadian “Pro-Dean” model), but for the same reasons the policy was revised in May 2011 to
eliminate the “policing” aspect of the previous “Outside Member,” the Committee did not feel
that a return to this requirement would be beneficial. In addition, concern was expressed that a
faculty member could be too “outside,” or too far removed from, the dissertation topic, in which
case it is possible that neither the student nor the committee member would derive any benefit
from the committee member’s service on the committee. Depending on the subject matter, it may
be very difficult for a student to defend his/her dissertation to a faculty member who is not
familiar with the subject (exam given in another language, for example). Further, outside of the
structure of administrative unit, there is no way to discern whether a conflict may exist (personal
relationship, student may have taken class from faculty member, etc.)
As noted frequently during these deliberations, ALL members of the Graduate Faculty are
expected to maintain the standards of The Graduate School. Having a policy seemingly isolate
this responsibility to a single member/role on a doctoral committee sends a poor message to
faculty.
The Committee recognizes that it is impossible to create a policy that will cover every situation.
Ethics cannot be legislated; there will always be relationship factors (collaborations, friendships,
social group memberships, relatives, etc.) that cannot be anticipated or controlled. However, the
Committee feels that the addition of an Outside Unit Member, while retaining the requirement
for an Outside Field Member, is both fair and comprehensive.