Information and Support
Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee (AF&T)
The Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee (AF&T) is a body of thirteen tenured faculty, elected by the Voting Faculty, that offers peer review on matters of academic freedom and tenure, as defined in the Faculty Handbook Section B. The committee reviews faculty complaints about possible violations of the university’s procedures for granting sabbatical, tenure and promotion, as well as threats to the academic freedom of anyone engaged in teaching or research at UNM. The AF&T Committee may, after completing all steps in its formal process, recommend the repeat or reversal of an administrative process concerning academic freedom and tenure, but it may not replace the academic judgement of a faculty body (such as a department) with its own.
- Faculty may bring concerns confidentially to any member of the AF&T Committee, and retain protection until they decide to submit a formal written complaint, requesting investigation by the committee.
- Faculty concerns may be resolved informally, through the AF&T Chair’s intervention, if administrators with authority wish to take corrective action and avoid a formal complaint.
- If AF&T lacks jurisdiction, or finds insufficient grounds to investigate a possible violation, the committee may decline to investigate the complaint.
- If after its preliminary investigation, AF&T decides to go to hearing, it will then forward its recommendation to the Board of Regents, which may reverse the committee’s recommendation. Either party in a complaint has the right to appeal the Board’s decision.
- If a particular complaint on academic freedom grounds may also involve improper considerations based on the race, gender, religion, sexual identity, or other protected grounds, AF&T will request CEEO investigation and findings on those policy violations, but retains jurisdiction over the academic freedom review of the case.
Faculty Ombuds Office
Provides consultation & mediation services to UNM faculty & administrators for potential or ongoing workplace conflicts. The Faculty Ombuds offers confidential, informal, independent, and neutral services to any and all parties to a dispute, as well as training and support for UNM faculty who engage in ongoing constructive conflict management.
- Your communications/visits remain confidential, even to the UNM administration;
- Visitors to the Faculty Ombuds space will be offered confidential consultation about their concerns, referrals to other UNM services/offices, and the option to engage in informal mediation with the individual with whom they are in conflict.
- This office supports entirely informal dispute resolution, and does not engage in investigation, advocacy, or sanction of parties to a dispute.
Confidential Advocates
The Women's and the LGBTQ Resource Centers are staffed by trained and confidential Advocates, who offer referrals and some continuing support for faculty and staff of any gender who have experienced harassment based on their sexuality and/or gender identity.
- Advocates trained in trauma-informed care will listen to what happened and offer relevant and confidential supportive services;
- Advocates can help visitors identify and navigate formal reporting options, and may be able to accompany you to appointments or meetings to deal with your experience.
- Because your communications with Advocates are confidential and the Resource Centers do not document your visit, no further actions are triggered by conferring with a confidential Advocate.
Counseling, Assistance and Referral Services (CARS)
CARS provides on-site and remote? services to assist UNM faculty and staff members with professional and personal concerns. Relationship difficulties, anxiety, stress and job burnout, depression, eldercare, coworker conflicts, alcohol or other drug abuse, managing change, grief and loss issues and preparing for retirement are just a few of the issues CARS can address.
- Crisis intervention during work hours.
- Regular appointments to treat a wide range of staff and faculty concerns from a therapeutic perspective.
- When warranted, CARS may arrange for departmental workshops or in-service trainings.
Other mental health services, both at UNM and in the community, may be found at https://mentalhealth.unm.edu/
Chair or Director
Your Chair or Director may advocate on your behalf or help you resolve the conflict informally, but they are also required to report certain incidents and may also have responsibility toward the offending colleague or student.
Chairs or Directors also play an important role in resolving bullying disputes – whether formally or informally -- via the University’s Respectful Campus policies. If you wish to report bullying by another staff member, contact the offending colleague’s supervisor; if the bullying is carried out by faculty, contact the faculty member’s chair.
- The Chair or Director may be able to refer you to helpful campus and community resources;
- Your Chair or Director may recommend remedies to help manage the situation, including voluntary mediation and changes to work schedule or environment.
- If you choose to formally report bullying, your Chair or Director may seek informal resolution or disciplinary action if the offending party reports to the same supervisor;
- As in any situation where you share information with someone other than a confidential resource, the offending party(ies) may seek retaliation, which is prohibited under university policy but can occur.
UA-UNM Grievance Committee
The United Academics of UNM represents all faculty at the university, except for those employed in Health Sciences. The Grievance Committee manages the process defined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Faculty who believe their union rights have been violated may contact this committee for guidance.
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- Faculty may contact the Grievance Committee using this form. The Grievance Committee will review the incidents described to determine whether the CBA may have been violated.
- A committee member will contact the faculty to assist with the faculty union grievance process.
The Grievance Committee can also provide guidance and referrals to faculty who wish to grieve other concerns.
Report
EthicsPoint Hotline
EthicsPoint is a third-party hotline and website through which any member of the campus community can report any suspected misconduct at the university. The UNM Compliance Office uses this information to initiate investigations and generate data on policy violations at UNM. You may use EthicsPoint to submit either an anonymous or identified report to the University.
- The University may choose to start an investigation per the relevant policy.
- If you provide your name, someone from the University may contact you for more information about the incident. They may also ask you to serve as a witness in an ongoing investigation.
- If you choose to remain anonymous, you will not be contacted unless you file your report with another campus office. However, be aware that your report to the EthicsPoint Hotline may trigger a University investigation of the campus unit where the incident occurred.
- CEEO will use the information you provide to identify individuals and units that have engaged in repeated misconduct.
- You may learn about actions the University has taken in response to your anonymous report by logging back in to the EthicsPoint website.
Chair or Director
Your Chair or Director may advocate on your behalf or help you resolve the conflict informally, but they are also required to report certain incidents and may also have responsibility toward the offending colleague or student.
Chairs and Directors may also play an important role in resolving bullying disputes – whether formally or informally -- the University’s Respectful Campus policies. If you wish to report bullying by another staff member, contact the offending colleague’s supervisor; if the bullying is carried out by faculty, contact the faculty member’s chair.
- The Chair or Director may be able to refer you to helpful campus and community resources;
- Your Chair or Director may recommend remedies to help manage the situation, including voluntary mediation and changes to work schedule or environment.
- If you choose to formally report bullying, your Chair or Director may seek informal resolution or disciplinary action if the offending party reports to the same supervisor;
- As in any situation where you share information with someone other than a confidential resource, the offending party(ies) may seek retaliation, which is prohibited under university policy but can occur.
