CAPP Resolution Regarding an Interdisciplinary Certificate in Disability Studies

Whereas, once a certificate program is established, students beginning in the program have a right to expect that the courses necessary to complete the certificate will be offered in subsequent years; and

Whereas, the Center on Disability Studies is staffed almost exclusively by non-tenurable research faculty, whose continued presence at UHM depends entirely upon external funding in the form of grants; and

Whereas, this dependence on "soft money" makes it questionable whether the Center on Disability Studies could guarantee that students would always be able to complete the certificate program in a timely fashion; and

Whereas, there is no precedent at UHM for allowing a certificate program to be conducted almost exclusively by non-tenurable research faculty; and

Whereas, there does appear to be a serious community need for increased instruction in disability studies; and

Whereas, the academic merits of the proposed Interdisciplinary Certificate in Disability Studies seem clear; therefore,

Be it resolved, that the Manoa Faculty Senate supports in principle the creation of an Interdisciplinary Certificate in Disability Studies, providing that the Center on Disability Studies offers the certificate program in conjunction with another unit in the College of Education the majority of whose faculty are tenurable and which already has a recognized instructional function.