CONSTITUTION OF THE FACULTY COUNCIL
for
Preamble
We, the faculty of Troy University, in order to assist the University in fulfilling its mission and achieving its goals, to serve the educational needs of students, to enhance faculty morale and professionalism, to maintain effective communication with University Administration, and to assume our responsibility for the shared governance of the University in accordance with established guidelines of recognized accrediting agencies and learned societies of American higher education, do hereby propose the establishment of the Troy University Faculty Council.
Article I: NAME
The name of this duly constituted body of elected representatives shall be the Faculty Council of Troy University.
Article II: PURPOSE
Section 1. Governance
It shall be the purpose of the Faculty Council to achieve effective
participation by the faculty in the governance of the University, specifically as set forth in the Troy University Faculty Handbook,
and generally in other matters designated by the Chancellor or matters requested by the Faculty Council.
Section 2. Leadership
It shall be the purpose of the
Faculty council to exercise leadership on behalf of all faculty
to develop proposals, to make recommendations to appropriate administrative authorities, to review periodically
policies, procedures, and plans, and to ensure the consistent academic
integrity of its programs.
Section 3. Communication
A main goal of the Council is to
facilitate communication between the administration and the faculty, primarily
via the Chancellor and Executive Vice Chancellor. So as to aid the administration in pursuing
the goals of the University, information regarding matters of general faculty
concern including, but not limited to, professional
ethics, academic integrity, budgetary concerns, and faculty well-being should
be shared with the Council by the administration. The Council will therefore be able to
communicate such matters to the faculty and be able to make recommendations to
the administration.
Section 4. Purview
The basic purview of the
Council is to act as a representative of the general faculty, allowing for
effective communication with the administration. As such, the Council will review information
of relevance to the goals of the University so that appropriate recommendations
can be made both to the faculty and the administration.
Such issues that the
Council may seek to review, but should not be construed to be limited to,
include:
Professional
Ethics: Investigating alleged violations
of professional ethics according to the provisions of the Faculty Handbook.
Academic Integrity: Cooperate with Academic Council, Graduate
Council, accrediting bodies, or any other group dealing with academic issues in
maintaining academic quality.
Faculty Welfare: Advise in the establishment of the terms and
conditions of employment and the membership of administrative search
committees. As part of this function,
all changes to the Faculty Handbook should be forwarded to the Council
prior to their approval so that the Council can be afforded the opportunity to
comment upon the proposed changes.
Section 5. Administrative Communication
The Faculty requests that it be advised of the disposition of
any recommendations it makes to any administrative authority.
Article III: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Composition
The Faculty Council
shall have twenty-six members, six at-large members and twenty College-level
members.
A. There will be six total at-large members on
the Council. Five of these seats will be
designated to guarantee that each campus within
B. There will be twenty seats allocated to
represent the faculty by college. Each
college within the University will be represented proportional to the number of
full time faculty employed within it.
Candidates for these seats will come from any campus of
The initial allocation of seats per
college will be as follows:
College
of Arts and Sciences 7
College
of Communication and Fine Arts 2
College
of Education 4
College
of Health and Human Services 2
College
of Business 5
C. Every
five years an accounting of full time faculty will be made to determine if the
above listed allocations should be altered.
Should a significant change in the number of faculty take place between
censuses, then the Council should move to reapportion the seats at that time.
Section 2.
Elections
A. All full-time faculty,
regardless of rank or tenure-eligibility status, are eligible to vote. Full-time
faculty are defined as those persons primarily engaged
in teaching and/or research.
B. Candidates
for the Faculty council must be full-time, tenure-track faculty with a minimum
of one year service prior to the beginning of their Council term.
C. Elections shall be completed prior to April
1 of each year.
D.
Council members shall not serve longer than
two consecutive three-year terms; however, they may again serve after a
hiatus of at least one year. At
the organizational meeting, after the initial formation of the Council, members
will be divided into three classes, to serve either a one, two, or three year
term. After this initial election, all
terms will be three-year terms.
Approximately one-third of the membership shall have their term expire
each year.
E.. Procedures
for election shall be consistent with those set forth for the election of
members of standing committees in the University document entitled Standing Committees of Troy University.
Results of elections and run-offs (if
necessary) must be reported to the President of the Faculty Council prior to
April 1 of each year. The President will then forward the results to the Executive
Vice Chancellor/Provost.
F. Terms
of office shall commence on August 1 and expire on July 31, except for the organizational meeting where
newly elected members meet in April prior to their term beginning.
G. Should
a council member’s seat become vacant during his or her term, a new
representative from the appropriate jurisdiction shall be elected to serve the
unexpired portion of the term. These
election results will be reported to the President of the Council. Such
an individual may be elected for two subsequent terms not to exceed seven years
of continuous service on the Council.
Section 3. Meetings
A. The Faculty Council shall meet at least once each month (summer may be excluded), and more frequently as necessary. Similarly, the Council may, by resolution, eliminate meetings if there is deemed to be lack of sufficient business to warrant a particular meeting.
Times and dates of these meetings will be established at the final meeting each academic year, but may be amended by a resolution of the Council. The President of the Council may call additional meetings only when the University is in session whenever two-thirds of the Council members, a majority of eligible voting faculty members, or the Chancellor requests a special meeting. The agenda for such additional meetings will be restricted to those item(s) which necessitated the call for an additional meeting.
Due to the global
nature of the University, efforts will be made via usage of video and
teleconferencing to reduce the burdens of distance on members of the
Council.
B. The Chancellor of the University shall be invited to address the Council once each year at a regularly scheduled meeting.
C. The President of the Council shall be responsible for the preparation and distribution of each agenda.
In the preparation of the agenda, the President will solicit agenda items from the members of the Council. Further, the President will consult with members of the administration (primarily via the Executive Vice Chancellor/Provost) regarding matters needing the Council’s attention.
D. Agenda items must be submitted in writing by Council members to the President of the Council at least ten (10) working days prior to the scheduled meeting. The President of the Council shall communicate the agenda to the Council members and the Chancellor at least five (5) working days prior to the scheduled meeting.
E. The President of the Faculty Council, upon the recommendation of a two-thirds majority of the Council members, may petition the Executive Vice Chancellor/Provost to call a meeting of the general faculty should an issue arise of such importance to warrant a meeting of the faculty at large. All efforts will be made to provide a means for faculty in distant locations to attend such a meeting and have their voices heard via conferencing technology.
Article IV: PROCEDURES
Section 1. Quorum
A quorum shall consist of a simple majority of elected Faculty Council members.
Section 2. Rules
The Council, by majority consensus, may determine the rules of its proceedings.
Section 3. Action
Resolutions adopted by the Faculty Council shall be presented to the Chancellor or other appropriate official for consideration and appropriate action. The Council shall make available to the entire faculty a record of its proceedings.
Section 4. Establishment of Committees
The Faculty Council shall establish such Council committees as a majority of the membership deems feasible and appropriate. In the establishment of such committees, the Faculty Council shall be guided by the wisdom of avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort and for coordination and cooperation among and between committees established by the Council and those ad hoc and standing committees of the University otherwise established. Council committee work shall include, but not be limited to the following:
A. The annual evaluation of the standing committee structure of the University for the purpose of reducing or eliminating duplication of effort, establishing clear boundaries of responsibilities, and enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in the operation of the University.
B. Analyses and recommendations regarding matters of general faculty concern such as professional ethics, academic integrity, and faculty well-being.
C. Other matters of general faculty interest referred to the Council by the Chancellor, the Executive Vice Chancellor/Provost, other administrative officials, the faculty-at-large or other members of the University community.
Article V: OFFICERS
Section 1. Terms of Office
A. The officers of the Faculty Council shall be the President, Vice-President, Secretary, and the Immediate Past President.
B. Election of officers shall occur at the last meeting each year from among currently serving members.
C. Officers shall serve one-year terms and may stand for re-election.
D. Officers may serve no more than two consecutive terms in a particular office.
E. In the event an office becomes vacant, the Council shall elect from its membership a person to fill the vacancy at the next scheduled meeting.
Section 2. Compensation
No compensation accrues by virtue of service as an officer of the Faculty Council; however, appropriate weight shall be granted for service to the University in the annual faculty evaluation and for consideration for promotion in academic rank and advancement to tenure.
Clerical assistance shall be provided by the University.
Section 3. Duties
A. President: The President shall have the following responsibilities:
1. Preside at all meetings.
2. Serve as chair of the Executive Committee.
3. Schedule and arrange all meetings for the term of office.
4. Inform, with timely notice, Council members of scheduled meetings and called meetings, as necessary.
5. Represent the interests of the faculty to the University Administration.
6. Prepare the agenda for Faculty Council meetings.
7. Report to the Council on actions taken by the University Administration on resolutions submitted by the Council.
8. Maintain the archives of the Council.
9. Perform such other duties as may be directed by the Council.
B. Vice President: The Vice President shall have the following responsibilities:
1. Execute the duties of the President when the President is absent.
2. Serve as an ex-officio
member of all standing committees of the Council.
3. Perform such other
duties as may be directed by the President.
C. Secretary: The Secretary shall have the following responsibilities:
1. Maintain the record of attendance.
2. Record the minutes of meetings.
3. Make available to Council members, faculty, and administration the minutes of each meeting.
4. Make periodic and timely deposits from Council archives to University Libraries.
5. Perform such other duties as may be directed by the President.
Section 4. Committees
A. Executive Committee
The Executive Committee shall be comprised of the officers of the Faculty Council and the chairs of the standing committees of the Council. The President of the Council shall chair the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall appoint members to all Council committees, and it may itself be constituted as an ad hoc committee for issues which may not reasonably be referred to a standing committee. The Executive Committee shall, upon request, recommend the appointment of Council members to serve on task forces, commissions, or committees to be appointed by the Chancellor or other University officials.
B. Rules Committee
The Executive Committee shall also serve as the Rules Committee for the Council. In this capacity, it will establish the agenda for each Council meeting, respond to questions concerning the operation of the Council, and recommend to the Council the resolution to be made of any disputes involving the operation of the Faculty Council. The Rules Committee shall ensure that representatives are duly elected and that representation complies with Article III of this Constitution. Vacancies on any Council committee will be filled by the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee shall ensure that Council records are properly maintained and forwarded to each newly seated Rules Committee subsequent to an election of Council officers.
C. Faculty
Personnel Advisory Committee
Three members of the Faculty Council will serve on the
Faculty Personnel Advisory Committee.
D.
Academic Affairs Committee
The Academic Affairs Committee shall have as its primary
concern issues which directly impact the academic integrity of the University,
including faculty performance and professionalism and the academic success of
students.
E.
Faculty Welfare Committee
The Faculty Welfare Committee shall have as its primary
concern issues directly impacting the welfare and morale of the
faculty-at-large. This committee will review and monitor all
proposed changes to the Faculty Handbook that originate outside the
council.
F. Elections Committee
The Elections Committee will initiate and oversee the election of
members to the Faculty Council.
The
Secretary of the Council will determine eligibility for these committees and
notify the Council members for each College in February. Council members will then hold elections in
accordance to the procedures outlined in the publication Standing
Committees of Troy University.
G. Other
Committees
1. The Council, by a two-thirds majority vote, may establish other standing committees.
2. The Council, by a majority vote, may establish ad hoc committees as deemed necessary or desirable.
3. Faculty Council members shall comprise at least fifty percent (50%) of the designated faculty appointments to the Troy University Athletics Advisory Committee. These representatives may be appointed or elected at the discretion of the President of the Council.
Article VI. ADOPTION
Ratification of this Constitution by a majority vote of eligible faculty and approval by the Chancellor shall signify its official adoption.
Article VII. AMENDMENT
Amendments
to this Constitution shall originate in the Faculty Council. Any proposed
amendment shall be debated at a scheduled meeting of the Council, with voting
deferred until the next subsequent meeting of the Council. Any proposed
amendment must receive a two-thirds vote of the Council prior to being
presented to the faculty for a referendum. There shall be, as a minimum,
a thirty-day period between the announcement of the referendum and the date of
the ballot. Amendments which receive a favorable vote of the majority of
eligible voting faculty shall be forwarded to the Chancellor. If the
Chancellor objects to an amendment, he will communicate that objection to the
President of the Council within fifteen working days so that a meeting can be
arranged to discuss the objection so that an accord on the matter can be
reached between the Council and the Chancellor. The President of the Council and the
Chancellor (or his designated representative) will discuss the issue so that a
resolution can be reached. Depending on
the agreement between the President and the Chancellor, the amendment will either be revised and re-submitted to the faculty or be put
into effect.
Approved
by Dr. Jack Hawkins, Jr., Chancellor, Troy University
March 31 , 2005