The Faculty Meeting

The meeting of the full-time faculty of the Department, including the Regional Campus faculty, shall be an advisory and recommendatory body to the Chair on academic matters central to the Department’s mission, as set forth in the CBA and in this Handbook.

The Faculty Meeting consists of the full-time faculty as defined in ARTICLE III. A. above. The Faculty Meeting is chaired by the Department Chair.

Student representatives, graduate and undergraduate, may participate, consistent with CBA and University policy. The graduate student representative will be recommended by the Graduate Coordinator to the Chair and appointed by the Chair. The undergraduate student representative will be recommended by the Undergraduate Coordinator.  Other persons may attend meetings unless a closed meeting is approved in accordance with the decision-making procedures elaborated below.  Student representatives may also be excluded under the same procedure.  Student representatives may participate in the Faculty Meeting without a right to vote.  The closing of the Faculty Meetings must be in accordance with state law.

The agenda and any draft resolutions for the Faculty Meeting shall be distributed in time to reach all the faculty members and – if appropriate – student representatives at least two working days before the meeting.  No recommendation may be made on any matter which is not on the announced agenda or on any draft resolution not circulated beforehand, unless the Faculty Meeting decides (in accordance with the decision-making procedures elaborated below) to suspend this rule for the particular meeting.

There shall be regularly scheduled Faculty Meetings held in the academic year.  Special meetings may be called by the Chair and may be requested by the simple majority of the FAC or by one-fourth of the Faculty. In all cases consideration should be given to the teaching schedules of regional campus faculty.

A simple majority of the Kent Campus full-time faculty members shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of the Faculty Meeting.  Faculty on leave or excused by the Chair are excluded for purpose of determination of a quorum.

There are five ways that the Faculty Meeting may make decisions. Two are “open” in nature, and three are “secret” in nature. Open voting is a norm in the department.  With regard to open decision making:

1. The Faculty Meeting shall be conducted in accordance with the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised.
    
2. In routine, non-controversial matters that must be decided before a Faculty Meeting is scheduled, the Chair may poll the faculty with electronic “ballots,” submitted directly to the Chair.  Faculty members will have 2 full business days to cast their votes.  If any Faculty member objects to the holding of an electronic vote during that period, a regular Faculty Meeting must be called instead.

In exceptional circumstances, a secret ballot may be used. With regard to secret ballots, there are three processes by which the Faculty may decide to cast a secret ballot. There are also three kinds of secret ballots.

The three processes that the Faculty may use to decide to cast a secret ballot are as follows:

1. A simple majority of the faculty present and voting at a Faculty Meeting may decide that a secret ballot in the meeting, a secret postal mail ballot, or a secret email ballot will occur on a particular item. 
2. A faculty member may privately request of the chair, in advance of the Faculty Meeting at which a decision is expected on a particular item, that a secret ballot in the meeting, a secret postal mail ballot, or a secret email ballot will occur on a particular item. The chair will then poll the faculty by secret email on the request for a secret ballot. These secret ballots will be sent by email to the administrative secretary, who will count them and report the results (in anonymous form) to the chair and to the faculty. A simple majority of the members of the Faculty must send in positive votes in order for a request for a secret ballot to be approved.
3. The Department Chair may decide that a secret ballot in the meeting, a secret postal mail ballot, or a secret email ballot may be advantageous for a specific item. The chair will then poll the faculty by secret email on the request for a secret ballot. These secret ballots will be sent by email to the administrative secretary, who will count them and report the results (in anonymous form) to the chair and to the faculty. A simple majority of the members of the Faculty must send in positive votes in order for a request for a secret ballot to be approved.

The three kinds of secret ballots are detailed below:

1. Secret ballot at the Faculty Meeting. When the faculty vote by secret ballot in meetings, the ballots shall be counted by at least two faculty members.
2. Secret postal mail ballot. When the faculty vote by postal mail ballot, the ballots shall be distributed a full calendar week before the deadline for submission so that all voting members of the faculty receive them in time to return them within the deadline, including those at the regional campuses. Postal mail ballots shall be delivered in sealed envelopes, signed by the faculty member on the outside of the envelope, and opened and counted by at least two faculty members.
3. Secret electronic mail ballot. These secret ballots will be sent by email to the administrative secretary, who will count them and report the results (in anonymous form) to the chair and to the faculty.