Charge to the Faculty Council

Duties

a. Provide advice to the Chancellor, Provost, Deans, and the Executive Council on matters of governance of UMW and other matters of interest affecting the Faculty and faculty life.

b. The Chancellor and Provost may consult with the Faculty Council on the composition and charge of search committees for senior leadership positions.

c. Receive informational reports from and provide input to all campus-wide Standing Committees and the educational committees of each school. Develop recommendations and resolutions regarding matters affecting faculty life.

d. Recommend representatives to serve on UMW committees and, as requested by the Chancellor or Provost, recommend representatives to serve on multi-campus committees and task forces established by the University President.

e. Whenever possible, the Faculty Council shall be advised of substantive changes in administrative policies affecting faculty life prior to the implementation of these policies.

Membership

a. Voting membership of the Faculty Council shall consist of:

i. Representatives of the Faculty elected by each School or Department (for Schools with Departments) in a numbe related to its complement of Faculty-at-large as follows:

1 – 100: 1 representative
101 – 200: 2 representatives
201 – 300: 3 representatives
301 or greater: 4 representatives

Terms for faculty members shall be for three academic years - staggered so that approximately one third will take office each academic year.

ii. Chairs of each school’s faculty Representative Body.
iii. One President of each school’s student Representative Body.

b. Non-voting membership of the Faculty Council shall consist of the following: the Chancellor; Provost; Deans of each of the schools; Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and other representatives or administrative officials as may be designated annually by majority vote of the Faculty Council.

Officers

The Faculty Council shall elect biennially from among its voting membership who are Faculty-at-large the following officers:

a. Chair, who shall:
         i. Preside at all meetings.
         ii. Serve as Chair of the Rules Committee of the Faculty Council.
         iii. Serve as a member of the Executive Council and its Rules Committee.
         iv. Serve as representative of the UMW faculty to the University Board of Trustees.

b. Vice-Chair, who shall:
         i. Preside at all meetings in the absence of the Chair.
         ii. Serve as a member of the Rules Committee of the Faculty Council.
         iii. Serve as a member of the Executive Council.
         iv. Serve as the alternate representative of the UMW faculty to the University Board of Trustees.

c. Secretary (not to exceed two positions), who shall:
          i. Serve as a member of the Rules Committee of the Faculty Council.
          ii. Review minutes for accuracy.
          iii. Ensure the following is completed in a timely manner:
              1) Notify all members of forthcoming meetings and distribute and publish the agenda at least three working days in
                  advance of all regularly scheduled meetings.
              2) Assure distribution of minutes to the faculty.

d. In selecting the above Officers, the Voting Membership shall give consideration to representation of all Schools and both clinical and basic sciences.

e. The Immediate Past Chair shall serve in an advisory capacity to the current Chair.

Rules Committee

The Rules Committee of the Faculty Council shall be comprised of the Chair, the Vice Chair, the Secretary, and one additional voting member of the Faculty Council appointed by the Faculty Council. Its duties include:

a. Preparation of the agenda of the Faculty Council. The Rules Committee shall review all proposed agenda items submitted by the President, the Chancellor, the Provost, the Deans of any School, the Presidents of each School’s student body committee, the Chair of any Standing Committee or any other UMW faculty member. If the proposed agenda item is within the Faculty Council’s stated duties, it shall be placed on the agenda of the meeting date requested or, if that request cannot be accommodated, on the agenda of the earliest next meeting date.

b. Resolution of procedural matters, including the appointment of Faculty Council members to a Consensus Committee as needed (Article V.C. below).

c. Oversight of the election of representatives to the Faculty Council.

d. Preparation of a list of representatives or administrative officials to be considered for non-voting membership on an annual basis.

e. Other duties as assigned by the Faculty Council or the Chair.

Meetings

The meetings of the Faculty Council shall be published at the first meeting of the academic year and any subsequent changes in those dates will require notification at least seven days in advance of the meeting.

a. The Chair, or in his/her absence, the Vice Chair, shall call such special meetings as he/she deems necessary or at the request of the President, the Chancellor, the Provost, the Dean of any School, any three members of the Faculty Council, the Chair of the Executive Council, or upon petition, by any 20 members of the faculty or 50 students of any one School.

b. One half of the voting membership shall constitute a quorum. Members may attend and vote by teleconference, video conference, or any other technology that allows full participation by the voting member. Representation and/or vote by proxy is not permitted.

c. Recommendations of the Faculty Council shall require a simple majority vote of those present provided that:
         i. A quorum is present.
         ii. The agenda and notice of the meeting was distributed to the members at least three days in advance of the meeting and only topics listed on the agenda are acted upon.

Bylaws

The Faculty Council shall regularly review its bylaws and at a minimum every 5 years.