Faculty Council Constitution

We the faculty of Kent State Stark hereby establish a democratically elected Council for the purposes of being a recommendatory and/or advisory body to the Dean. The Council shall be responsive to the faculty and exist on its good graces. It shall follow the letter and spirit of all University Collective Bargaining Agreements and the University Policy Register.

ARTICLE ONE: There shall be a Constituency Representative Council with six (6) constituencies. Constituencies I through V will represent tenured and tenure-track faculty and Constituency VI will represent FTNTT faculty. The disciplines represented by Constituencies I through V will be defined in the By-Laws (Section I.B). To the extent possible, Constituencies I through V will each contain similar disciplines and represent approximately equal numbers of faculty.

All tenured and tenure-track faculty members vote to elect representatives in all constituencies. The top three recipients of votes in constituencies I through VI shall be elected.

All terms shall be for one year. The Dean and Assistant/Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the Stark Campus shall be ex-officio, non-voting members.

Constituency VI will include all FTNTT faculty. Annually, the representatives from this constituency will be elected by the entire full-time faculty (tenured, tenure-track & FTNTT) to serve a one-year term as voting members of Council.

ARTICLE TWO: The officers of the Council shall be elected by the Council. They shall consist of a Council Chair, a Vice-Chair, a Secretary and a Treasurer, elected by a secret ballot of the elected representatives and shall serve for the duration of the Council term.

ARTICLE THREE: All meetings, including general faculty meetings called by the Council, are sessions of record, if a majority of representatives (or of the faculty in the case of general meetings) shall be present. All resolutions, bills and other statements of policy shall be passed by a simple majority of those present and voting. The Council, at its option, may submit referenda to the faculty at large on important issues. A petition on a given issue signed by eight (8) faculty members shall require the Council to hold referenda at any time. The results of the referenda shall have the force of official policy if a majority of the faculty votes. A simple majority of those voting shall carry an issue.

ARTICLE FOUR: Council shall establish both Standing Committees as described in the By-Laws (Section I.B) and ad hoc committees as necessary. Unless otherwise specified in the By-Laws, each committee shall be chaired by a Council representative and may include faculty members who are not members of Council. Non-council members of committees will be nominated by the Cabinet and ratified by Council.

ARTICLE FIVE: The Council shall be the sole determiner of its own rules and procedures, provided these are consistent with this Constitution and the University Collective Bargaining Agreements and the University Policy Register.

ARTICLE SIX: All faculty members have the right to engage in the discussion at the meeting of the Council, with the exception of personnel matters (e.g., Merit) when the Council declares itself in executive session. The agenda will be made public forty-eight (48) hours prior to meetings, except in the case of immediate, urgent issues.

ARTICLE SEVEN: This Constitution shall be ratified by a majority of the faculty. It shall be amended by a similar majority in a referendum, which may be initiated either by the Council or upon petition of eight (8) faculty members.

ARTICLE EIGHT: A meeting of the entire faculty will be held at least once a semester, and more often at the discretion of the Council, for reporting and presenting to the faculty matters of concern. If a motion, resolution, or bill is to be presented at such a meeting for a vote, a quorum for such meeting is a majority of faculty members. The time and agenda for the meeting will be determined by the Cabinet, a majority of the Council, or by a faculty petition. Notice of the meeting will be distributed to the faculty in a week prior to the meeting.