Faculty Council Is Abolished In Favor of Regular Meetings; Representation Issue in Shift

By a vote of the Faculty at its Tuesday meeting, the Faculty Council will be discontinued for the remainder of the year, and in its place regular meetings of the entire Faculty will be held, it was announced yesterday by Dean of the Faculty, W. Scott Ferguson.

The substitution of full Faculty assemblies, which are felt to be more representative, is a return to the system used preceding 1934, when President Conant inaugurated the Faculty Council as an advisory group.

Frisdrioh Motion Tables

At the same meeting a motion to set up a committee "to examine the role of the Faculty in the governance of the University," was tabled. Professor Carl J. Fredric, who proposed this second motion, stated that the committee was not intended to limit the powers of the President but would merely examine the long-range problem.

Nevertheless the rejection of the Friedrich resolution was interpreted as a victory for the Administration, although Dean Ferguson reiterated the statement that "a vote of confidence in President Conant was never under discussion."

"Breach of Confidence"

In denying the interpretation of an Administration victory, Dean Ferguson hit at a Boston newspaper account of the meeting and at the "apparent breach of confidence" by an unknown Faculty member who related the proceedings of a "closed" meeting to the paper.

Dean Ferguson's full statement concerning the Boston newspaper coverage follows: "The Administration regrets the apparent breach of confidence which has resulted in the publication of what purports to be an interpretation as well as a record of the action taken by the Faculty yesterday." Information for the unauthorized story obviously came from a Faculty member, since outsiders are barred from the meeting.

Similarly displeased with the newspaper account, Professor Friedrich said, "It is ridiculous to assert that this motion would in any way take away the absolute power of the President.... In moving the tabling motion my colleague expressed warm sympathy for the motion's purpose which he merely wished to see postponed until a later time when things have quieted down."

A third proposal supposedly was introduced late in the meeting, but no vote was taken. This last measure favored appointment of associate professors in special cases although no permanent vacancies would appear immediately in that department.

Under the new system of assemblies of the entire Faculty, meetings will be held at regular periods, not less frequently than meetings of the now nonexistent Faculty Council. The necessary quorum for action will be 100