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General Considerations

Committee Membership and Operations

  1. The President of the College is an ex officio member of all councils and committees except the Faculty Status Council and the Faculty Appeals Committee.
  2. Neither College Faculty Assembly members nor General Assembly members shall serve on standing or ad hoc committees or councils in their first year; nor shall they chair standing or ad hoc committees or councils in their first two years. Exceptions may be made only in unusual circumstances, as in the case of faculty who assume positions that entail ex officio service, faculty not new to the profession, or faculty with expertise critical to the work of a committee.
  3. No person elected by the faculties to serve on a council may be elected by the faculties to any other council or committee, with the exception of the Faculty Status Council (FSC). (See Elections and Appointments for additional information about Faculty Status Council nominations and elections.) Only the chairpersons or representative of the above councils, by also serving as members of the Executive Council, serve on more than one council. These individuals may not serve on any other committee or council. No council member is eligible for nomination to another council, but members of committees are eligible for election to a council. Since some council members are also assigned to a subordinate committee, if a committee member is elected to a council, they will relinquish membership on the original committee.
  4. No person may be elected by the faculties to serve on more than two committees or councils simultaneously. (Service as Faculty Advisor to the Student Government Association, Faculty Liaison to the Board of Trustees, Faculty Secretary, and Faculty Assemblies Chair count as committee service.)
  5. The committee system is partially designed with the principle of overlap between committees and councils in mind, to facilitate communication and discussion. Therefore, council members may also be required to serve as committee members. Unless otherwise specified, service by council members on committees is decided by the appropriate council in consultation with the individual members. The length of term for council representatives on subordinate committees is one year, subject to reappointment.
  6. Student positions are filled by the Student Government Association.
  7. Unless otherwise specified, a simple majority of committee or council membership shall constitute a quorum.
  8. Council chairpersons are elected annually by and from the councils themselves.
  9. Unless otherwise specified, ex officio members of councils and committees have vote as well as voice.
  10. With only a few exceptions, councils and committees do not typically meet during the summer months.
  11. All committees are expected to keep a record of their proceedings. No action of a committee or council is considered official unless noted in its minutes. Unless advance notice is given, or for reasons of confidentiality, committee meetings are open to interested members of the relevant faculty. In many cases, committees make a special effort to identify such persons in advance and extend invitations.
  12. The official copy of the minutes of each program council and its subordinate committees are maintained in the office of the Vice President who serves ex officio on that council. Minutes for the Executive Council, the Strategic Planning Council, and the Faculty Appeals Committee are maintained in the President’s Office. The Vice President for Finance is responsible for Budget Committee minutes. The Office of Academic Affairs maintains the minutes for the Enrollment Policies Committee. Copies of the minutes of the program councils and their related committees for previous years are publicly available in the College Archives in Hutchins Library. Minutes containing confidential information are not included in the public files.
  13. Councils and committees follow appropriate rules of order to insure that each member is afforded opportunity to voice opinions and raise concerns.
  14. As stated in Article VII, Section 1, of the Constitution of the General Assembly and College Faculty Assembly, changes to the governance structure shall be sent to the faculty two weeks in advance of action.

Elections and Appointments

With the exception of election to the Academic Program Council and the Faculty Status Council, elections to councils and committees are held in two rounds and are administered by the Executive Council. Round One is held in March, at which time all council vacancies are filled. Round Two is held in April, at which time all committee vacancies are filled.

Academic Program Council

Election of the divisional APC designee shall occur in two rounds. Members of a division will nominate (by election) two candidates for the divisional designee. Members of the College Faculty Assembly will then vote to select one of the two candidates as that division’s APC designee. Elected members serve staggered three-year terms, resulting generally in only two new division designees each year. (See section on Academic Program Council.)

Faculty Status Council

  1.  Prior to Round One elections in March, a special nominating ballot is used for vacancies on the Faculty Status Council. In early spring a list will be compiled of all tenured faculty, including those serving on another council. The list will be subdivided by gender and division, to suit the needs of available positions on the FSC. Faculty will be asked to vote for up to three candidates within each subdivision. The top candidates from the faculty vote will be contacted for agreement to serve and placement on the ballot. This ballot will go to the faculty for a vote. If an elected candidate is currently serving on a council, that candidate would be released from those council duties for the next academic year. The next round of elections would fill that newly vacated council seat. (See section on Faculty Status Council.)

  2. For each elective office to be filled, the Executive Council nominates one more candidate than the number of positions available. Further nominations may be made from the floor of the faculty meeting. In its nominations the Council takes into account eligibility, availability, interest, representative balance, past committee service, equitable distribution of workload, and other considerations the faculty may desire.
  3. Election to all positions is majority vote, with a runoff election between the top two nominees to be held in case of no majority on the first ballot.
  4. When a vacancy occurs on a council or a committee during the academic year or during the summer, the Executive Council acts to insure it is filled. If the remaining term of the elected member is to be for less than one year, the Executive Council fills the position by appointment. If the remaining term is to be for a year or more, the Council nominates a replacement and the position is filled by faculty election. In order to provide continuity, the replacement will complete the term of the individual even if the term of the person originally elected extends beyond the absence.
  5. General Assembly Divisional Appointments are made after the committee elections in April. Elections for the At-large General Assembly members are held in May and are administered by the Executive Council.

Faculty Meetings

  1. The College Faculty Assembly and General Assembly meet as a single body each month. Meetings are limited to two hours in duration unless extended by vote of those present. At times more than one meeting per month may be required to complete necessary business. The Executive Council annually designates the Chair of College Faculty Assembly and General Assembly meetings.
  2. The proposed agenda for each faculty meeting, set by the Executive Council, is usually distributed one week in advance. Any member of the General Assembly may suggest items to the Executive Council for inclusion on the agenda. The orders for each meeting include time for the hearing of brief committee reports and for new business, in addition to the orders set by the Executive Council. The College Faculty Assembly alone acts on matters pertaining to graduation requirements, curriculum, and College Faculty personnel policies. All other matters are considered by the General Assembly.