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A&S Constitution

Article I: The Faculty Meeting

1. Procedure

  1. Robert's Rules of Order is hereby adopted as the rules of proceedings and conducting business in the Faculty Meeting, except as modified by rules of organization and procedure below, or subsequent amendments, thereto. A Parliamentarian, responsible for the interpretation of these rules, shall be appointed by the Dean at the opening meeting of each academic year.
  2. Fifty voting members of the Faculty shall constitute a quorum to do business on any matter. Voting members of the Faculty include all those who hold full-time (or part-time, full-status) faculty positions.

2. Meetings

The Dean shall schedule a Faculty Meeting each month during the regular academic year. Special meetings may be called by the Chair of the Faculty Council or the Dean of the College, or upon written petition signed by 10 percent of the voting membership of the Faculty, calling for the consideration of a specified item of business. After receiving such a petition the Dean shall either include the item in the agenda of the next Faculty Meeting or call a special meeting within thirty days.

3. Officers

  1. Chair: The Dean of the College shall be ex officio presiding officer of the Faculty Meeting. In consultation with the Chair of the Faculty Council the Dean shall prepare the agenda.
  2. Secretary: A Secretary shall be elected by a majority vote at the Faculty Meeting for a two-year term. The Secretary shall prepare the minutes of the Faculty Meeting as to reflect the viewpoints developed in debate of the issues before the Faculty. The Secretary shall be the officer in charge of elections to the Faculty Council and of A&S representatives to the Graduate Faculty Council and the Faculty Senate. The Secretary shall facilitate the solicitation of candidates to run for faculty governance positions.
    1. The Secretary shall announce the date of the election at least three weeks in advance and shall direct all eligible faculty to the “Candidacy Declaration Form” for Faculty Council, Faculty Senate, and the Graduate Faculty Council. All declared, eligible candidates will appear on the ballot, and the elected positions will be filled by candidates earning the highest number of votes.
    2. In the event of a vacancy, the Secretary shall select the person with the next highest number of votes for that post.
    3. The Secretary shall follow the Election Guidelines established by the Faculty Council.
  3. Executive Secretary: The Dean of the College of Arts and Science shall appoint an Executive Secretary as a staff position to support the meetings and business of faculty governance for a term of five years. The Executive Secretary shall prepare agendas, take notes, and cooperate with the Secretary of the Faculty and the Secretary of the Faculty Council in writing Minutes for A&S Faculty Meetings and Faculty Council meetings; help guide legislation through the A&S approval process; help implement approved proposals and notify authors of disapproved proposals of the reasons for disapproval; organize faculty elections for the Faculty Council and for A&S representatives to the Graduate Faculty Council and the Faculty Senate; and organize A&S referenda.

4. Calendar

Except as modified by the Dean and the Faculty Council, or by two-thirds of the members present and voting, business of the Faculty shall be taken up in the following order under the Calendars defined below:

  1. Executive Motion Calendar: Recommendations of the Faculty Council which embody major or significant changes in existing policy, programs, or procedures shall be placed on this calendar as motions for debate and formal acceptance or rejection by the Faculty. Such motions shall be highly privileged and subject only to technical (non-substantive) amendments from the floor. Before the final vote is taken, only three motions shall be in order (apart from motions to cut off debate or to adjourn): to table, to postpone to a time certain, or to return the proposal to the Council for further consideration in light of the Faculty discussion. All other Council actions reported to the Faculty under Article II, Section IV, B without a motion shall be subject to one motion of disapproval under this calendar.
  2. Committee Calendar: Committees of the Faculty may submit a draft of reports on items of special interest to the Faculty for discussion and information only. No formal action shall be taken at this time.
  3. Original Motion Calendar: Motions covering either old or new business of the Faculty submitted by individual members. Motions shall take the form of:
    1. An expression of the sense of the Faculty upon a specified policy or program.
    2. The requirement of a report from the Faculty Council or a Committee of the Faculty to be submitted at a time certain under the original motion calendar.
    3. A directive for a mail ballot of the entire Faculty on a given issue. If passed in the same form at two successive Faculty Meetings, then the mail ballot on that issue shall be held within two weeks. Time for original motions shall be arranged for each regular meeting of the Faculty.

Article II: The Faculty Council

1. Membership

The voting members of the Faculty Council shall be twelve elected members and the Dean of the College. The Chancellor of the University and the Dean of the Graduate School shall be non-voting ex officio members. The Council may invite consultants or observers. The Council may determine its own rules of proceedings and conduct consistent with its responsibilities as the representative agency of the Faculty.

  1. Elected members of the Council shall be elected for a three-year term on a rotating basis, electing four members each year.
  2. The twelve elected members shall be divided as follows: three members from each division and three members at large. Each year, one member is elected from each division and one member is elected at large. The divisional members shall be elected by that division.
  3. Each voting member of the Faculty shall have one vote for each position to be filled in the Faculty member's division and for each at-large position.
  4. No Faculty member can be a candidate for both an at-large and divisional post at the same time.

2. Meetings

Regular meetings shall be held monthly during the College year, normally two weeks in advance of the Faculty Meeting. Special meetings may be called by the Chair, or the Dean of the College.

3. Officers

Chair: The Chair shall be elected by members of the Faculty Council. The Chair of the Faculty Council shall be elected for one year, but will be eligible for reelection. The Chair of the Faculty Council shall be the principal representative of the Council at the Faculty Meeting. The Chair of the Faculty Council shall conduct an orientation program for new Faculty members of the College during the first month of the fall semester to instruct them on the governance of the College.

Secretary: The Secretary shall be elected by members of the Faculty Council. The Secretary shall be elected for one year, but will be eligible for reelection. The Secretary shall prepare the minutes of the Faculty Council as to reflect the viewpoints developed in debate of the issues before the Faculty Council. The minutes of the Faculty Council and committee reports shall be distributed to the Faculty not less than forty-eight hours before the next Faculty Meeting.

4. Functions

  1. The Faculty Council shall act:
    1. As the continuing representative agency of the whole College Faculty responsible for formulating the educational policy of the College;
    2. As the screening and steering committee of the Faculty for consideration of matters presented by motion of individual members at Faculty meetings, communications from administrative officers, and reports and recommendations of standing and ad hoc committees;
    3. As the official, coordinating body for expressing authoritative, College-wide Faculty opinion and advice to the Dean and University Administration upon academic affairs and faculty-administration relations; and
    4. As the committee that will maintain and revise, as needed, the A&S Election Guidelines.
  2. The Faculty Council shall have authority to advise the Dean upon all matters affecting educational policy. Decisions and acts embodying such policies, programs, and organization, and all official changes thereof, shall be reported to the faculty and shall be binding unless disapproved by the Faculty.

Article III: Committees of the Faculty

  1. The Faculty of the College shall have the following constitutional committees. The establishment, abolition, or modification of a constitutional committee shall be subject to the rule for amendments. Other standing and ad hoc committees may be established.
    • Curriculum Committee: Shall evaluate all proposals for new courses and for modification of existing courses. Shall recommend placing of courses not falling within the scope of any department.
    • Committee on Educational Programs: Shall consider all proposals for study, establishment and improvement of undergraduate academic programs, methods, and departments.
    • Committee on Graduate Education: Shall examine proposals for new graduate programs, proposals for new graduate courses, and shall serve in an advisory capacity on matters concerned with graduate education.
    • Committee on Academic Standards and Procedures: Shall consider academic standards, regulations, and rules; such as changes in procedures with regard to grading and requirements for graduation.
    • Student-Faculty Relations Committee: Shall deal with and have authority to make proposals on matters of joint student-faculty concern; such as the procedures of communication between student and faculty governments.
    • Administrative Committee: Shall interpret and apply all academic regulations pertaining to the degree. It shall pass on all rules and exceptions to the rules for graduation.
  2. All committees shall be appointed by the Dean of the College of Arts and Science in consultation with the Faculty Council. They shall be appointed for a one-year term with possible reappointment of each member. In making appointments to the committees of the Faculty the Dean shall pay special attention to due representation by divisions and by ranks. Before committee assignments are to be made the Dean shall circulate a notice that committee appointments are to be made, requesting volunteers from members of the Faculty and suggestions from department chairs.
  3. Each constitutional committee shall normally have six to nine voting members chosen from the Faculty at large and one ex officio member. The voting members shall include one member of the Faculty Council and should include from one to three students with the exception of the Administrative Committee, which will not have a student member.
  4. All committees of the Faculty shall report to the Faculty Council. Reports shall be adequately documented and supported by evidence in such a manner as to reflect the views of all members of the committees so that the Council shall have the advantage of the committees' concern with each issue and shall be best equipped to discuss the pros and cons of every issue. Committee reports and recommendations may be approved for submission to the Faculty without substantial change, may be modified by mutual agreement between the Council and the committee, or may be modified by the Council at its discretion.
  5. Ad hoc committees shall be appointed by the Dean of the College of Arts and Science in accordance with the principles stated above. Ad hoc committees shall normally report to the Faculty Council.

Article IV: Eligibility for Faculty Council, Graduate Faculty Council, and Faculty Senate

  1. All voting members of the Faculty who are members of the Graduate Faculty are eligible for election to the Graduate Faculty Council and are eligible to vote in elections for the Graduate Faculty Council.
  2. All voting members of the Faculty may vote in elections for Faculty Senate and Faculty Council, and those not serving as administrative officers in the offices of the Dean, Provost, or Chancellor are eligible to serve as members of Faculty Council and Senators representing the College of Arts and Science. Eligible faculty may serve on the A&S Faculty Council, Graduate Faculty Council, and Faculty Senate simultaneously.

Article V: Amendments

Amendments to this Constitution may be offered by the Faculty Council or by any voting member of the Faculty at a regularly scheduled Faculty Meeting. Proposed amendments shall be immediately circulated to all members of the Faculty by the Secretary.

Amendments not proposed by the Council shall be referred without delay either to a committee of the Faculty whose jurisdiction is relevant to the purpose of the amendment or to an ad hoc committee appointed by the Dean. The committee shall submit in writing its report and recommendations upon the original proposal to the Faculty Council within thirty days, unless longer extensions of time are expressly authorized by the Faculty Meeting. The Council shall submit each original amendment, together with its report and recommendations thereon, under the original motions calendar the next regularly scheduled Faculty Meeting, or to a special meeting called for that purpose. Amendments shall become effective as revised, modified, or approved by a majority vote of the Faculty Meeting after adoption in the same form by a majority of the voting members of the Faculty voting in a mail ballot on the amendment.