Unanimous faculty votes

This list is part of the Open Access Directory.

• This is a list of unanimous faculty votes for university OA policies. It started as an article in SOAN for June 2010.

• When possible, annotate each entry with the name of the institution, the date of the vote, a link to the policy, the type of faculty body voting (e.g. full faculty, faculty senate, faculty within a division or department), and the type of policy (e.g. OA mandate, encouragement, etc.).

• For a more comprehensive list of university OA policies (not limited to policies adopted by unanimous faculty votes), see ROARMAP.

• Wikidata identifier for this page: Q75546481

• Chronological within each section.

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1. February 12, 2008. Harvard University, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
   • Vote by the full faculty (of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences).
   • Text of the policy.
   • Background and comment
   • The Harvard FAS policy was the first unanimous faculty vote. It also appears to be the first university OA policy to be adopted by faculty rather than administrators.
2. April 27, 2008. Macquarie University
   • Vote by the University Senate and Council.
   • See these excerpts from the policy.
   • Announcement (August 28, 2008).
   • The Macquarie policy is the first faculty-adopted OA mandate without a waiver option.
3. May 7, 2008, Harvard University, School of Law
   • Vote by the full faculty (of the Law School).
   • Text of the policy.
   • Background and comment
   • The Harvard Law School policy was the first to be adopted by a law school.
4. June 10, 2008, Stanford University, School of Education
   • Vote by the full faculty (within the School of Education).
   • Text of the policy.
   • Background and comment
5. October 2008, University College London (UCL)
   • Vote by the Academic Board
   • Announcement (June 3, 2009).
   • Background and comment.
6. February 11, 2009. Boston University
   • Vote by the University Faculty Council.
   • Text of the resolution approved by the Council.
   • Background and comment
7. February 24, 2009. University of Pretoria
   • Vote by the University Senate.
   • Text of the policy.
   • Background and comment
   • The Pretoria policy was the first university-based OA policy (and first OA mandate) in Africa.
8. March 6, 2009, Oregon State University, Library Faculty
   • Vote by the Library Faculty.
   • Text of the policy. Also see the announcement (March 13, 2009).
   • Background and comment
9. March 18, 2009, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
   • Vote by the full faculty.
   • Text of the policy.
   • The MIT policy was the first unanimous vote by the full faculty for a university-wide OA mandate.
   • Background and comment
10. May 2009. University of Calgary, division of Library and Cultural Resources
    • Vote by the Faculty Council of the division of Library and Cultural Resources.
    • Text of the policy.
    • Background and comment
11. May 7, 2009, University of Oregon, Library Faculty
    • Vote of the Library Faculty.
    • Text of the policy.
    • Background and comment
12. May 14, 2009, University of Oregon, Department of Romance Languages
    • Vote of the Department of Romance Languages.
    • Text of the policy.
    • This was the first OA mandated adopted by a humanities department, and it made the U of Oregon the first university with two departmental OA mandates (not to mention the first with two OA mandates adopted by unanimous faculty votes).
    • Background and comment
13. May 14, 2009, Gustavus Adolphus College, Library Faculty
    • Vote of the Library Faculty.
    • Text of the policy (or "pledge").
    • This was the first departmental OA policy at a liberal arts college.
    • Background and comment
14. October 1, 2009, York University, librarians and archivists
    • Vote by the librarians and archivists. We learned that the vote was unanimous in a blog post by John Dupuis.
    • Text of the policy.
15. October, 2009. Universidad de Oriente (Venezuela)
    • Vote by the Academic Council
    • Background and comment.
16. November 18, 2009, Oberlin College
    • Vote by the full faculty.
    • Text of the policy.
    • Announcement (November 20, 2009).
17. December 2, 2009, University of Northern Colorado, Library Faculty
    • Vote by Library Faculty
    • Text of the policy.
18. February 1, 2010, Wake Forest University, Library faculty
    • Vote by Library Faculty
    • Text of the policy.
19. February 9, 2010, California Polytechnic State University
    • Vote by the Academic Senate
    • Text of the resolution. This is an encouragement policy. We learned that the vote was unanimous from the CalPoly report (April 1, 2011) on the first three years of its institutional repository.
20. February 12, 2010, Oregon State University College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences (COAS)
    • Vote by the full faculty (of the COAS). After a COAS faculty meeting expressed unanimous support for the policy, a COAS administrative meeting voted unanimously to adopt it.
    • Text of the policy.
21. February 24, 2010, University of Virginia
    • Vote by the Faculty Senate
    • Background.
22. February 25, 2010, Rollins College Faculty of Arts and Sciences
    • Vote by the full faculty of the arts and sciences (all the faculty outside the Crummer Graduate School of Business).
    • Text of the policy.
23. March 18, 2010, Duke University
    • Vote by the Academic Council.
    • Text of the policy.
    • Background.
24. March 24, 2010, University of Puerto Rico School of Law
    • Vote by the full faculty (of the Law School)
    • Text of the policy.
25. April 19, 2010, San Jose State University
    • Vote by the Faculty Senate.
    • Text of the policy.
26. September 27, 2010, University of Northern Colorado
    • Vote by the Faculty Senate.
    • Text of the resolution.
    • The resolution encourages green and gold OA.
27. October 2010, Trinity College Dublin
    • Vote by Trinity's "research committee" (according to this article).
    • Text of the policy.
28. December 22, 2010, Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
    • Vote by the observatory's Executive Committee.
    • The policy was announced on February 1, 2011.
29. March 15, 2011, Emory University
    • Vote by the Faculty Senate
    • The statement recommends an "opt-in" or encouragement policy.
30. May 11, 2011, University of Pennsylvania
    • Vote by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.
    • The vote was announced May 24, 2011. The text of the approved OA statement and principles will be released later.
31. September 2011, Princeton University
    • Text of the policy.
    • Vote by the full faculty.
    • The policy was proposed in March 2011, and adopted in September 2011.
32. October 19, 2011, Florida State University
    • Text of the policy.
    • Vote by the Faculty Senate.
33. December 8, 2011, Pacific University
    • Text of the resolution.
    • Vote by the University Council & Faculty Senate.
34. January 27, 2012, Bifröst University
    • Vote by the faculty (unanimous, May 18, 2011), ratified by the Bifröst University Council (unanimous, January 27, 2012).
    • The policy is a variation on the Harvard model.
35. February 15, 2012, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto
    • Vote by the Faculty Council (apparently unanimous, according to this blog post)
    • Text of the policy.
36. April 2012, Utah State University
    • After a unanimous vote by the Faculty Senate in April, the policy was approved by a unanimous vote of the President's Executive Committee in May.
    • Text and procedures of the policy. Also see this article about the policy.
37. May 21, 2012, University of California - San Francisco
    • Vote by the Academic Senate
    • See the policy web site and the text of the policy itself.
38. February 6, 2013, Wellesley College
    • Vote by the Academic Council
    • See the text of the policy.
39. March 4, 2013, College of Wooster
    • Vote by the full faculty
    • See the text of the policy.
40. March 5, 2013, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Library faculty
    • Vote by the library faculty
    • See the text of the policy.
41. March 21, 2013, University of Rhode Island
    • Vote by the Faculty Senate
    • See the text of the policy.
42. April 2013, Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University
    • Vote by the Faculty Steering Committee
    • The vote was sometime in April 2013, and the policy takes effect on May 1, 2013.
    • See the text of the policy. Also see the school announcement here or here.
43. June 13, 2013, Oregon State University
    • Vote by the Faculty Senate
    • Text of the policy
44. December 2013, Télé-université (TELUQ), Université du Québec
    • Vote taken between September 16 and December 11, 2013 by each of the four Tables professorales (department-like governing bodies of which all professors are members); the policy takes effect retroactively on January 1st, 2013.
    • Text of the policy
45. December 2, 2013, Columbia University, School of Social Work
    • Vote by the faculty
    • The policy itself does not yet seem to be online. But see the announcement, February 17, 2014.
46. June 18, 2014, Harvard Medical School
    • Vote by the Faculty Council
    • Text of the policy
47. October 7, 2014, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
    • Vote by the Faculty Council
    • Text of the policy
48. October 9, 2014, Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University
    • Vote by the faculty directors and staff
    • Text of the policy
49. February 11, 2015, Boston University
    • Vote by the University Council
    • Text of the policy
50. April 6, 2015, University of Delaware
    • Vote by Faculty Senate
    • Text of the policy
    • Announcement of the policy, April 23, 2015
51. April 24, 2015, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
    • Vote by the Faculty Council
    • Text of the policy
    • Announcement of the policy, May 6, 2015
52. April 27, 2015, Dartmouth College
    • Vote by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences
    • Text of the policy
53. May 6, 2015, University of Arkansas
    • Vote by the Faculty Senate
    • Text of the policy
54. February 17, 2016, Florida State University
    • Vote by the Faculty Senate
    • Text of the policy.
55. April 7, 2016, University of Massachusetts Amherst
    • Vote by the Faculty Senate.
    • Text of the policy.
56. February 21, 2017, Indiana University
    • Vote by the Faculty Council.
    • Announcement of the vote.
    • Text of the policy.
57. November 8, 2017, University of North Texas
    • Vote by the Faculty Senate.
    • Text of the policy (a revision of an earlier, 2012 policy).
58. May 2, 2018, University of San Francisco
    • Vote by the Faculty Association (no dissents, one abstention)
    • The text of the policy is not yet online.
59. May 17, 2019, California State University, Fullerton
    • The text of the policy is not yet online.
    • The vote in the Academic Senate was unanimous.

Borderline cases

• May 10, 2006, University of California
  • The vote was unanimous by the Assembly of the Academic Senate. But instead of adopting a policy, the vote merely launched a "joint Senate/Administrative effort" to adopt a policy.
  • Text of the proposed Scholarly Work Copyright Rights Policy.

• May 26, 2008, University of Helsinki
  • The vote was unanimous by the "university management team". What sort of faculty representation was on the team?
  • Text of the policy. (The link is dead; does anyone know a better one?)
  • Announced June 5, 2008.
  • This was the first institutional OA mandate in Finland.

• June 2009, Copenhagen Business School
  • Vote by the Executive Management Team (consisting of the President, Dean of Research, Dean of Education and Director of Administrative Affairs, after consultation with the Academic Council and CBS Heads of Departments and Directors of Centers)
  • Text of the policy.
  • This was the first institutional OA mandate in Denmark, and the first separate OA mandate by a business school. (The Sloan School of Management at MIT was covered by the MIT mandate in March 2009.)

• June 1, 2009, Harvard University Graduate School of Education
  • Vote by the full faculty. There were a few absentions but no dissents.
  • Text of the policy.
  • Announcement June 16, 2010.

• February 16, 2011, College of Health Professions at Pacific University
  • Vote by the college faculty. There was one abstention and no dissents.
  • Announcement of the resolution and vote.

• January 23, 2012, Purdue University
  • Vote by the Faculty Senate.
  • Text of the resolution.
  • The resolution is not a policy but a recommendation to adopt a policy.