Kent State at Stark Campus Faculty Council By-Laws

Nothing in these By-Laws shall be contrary to the spirit or the letter of the Council Constitution, the University Policy Register, or the Collective Bargaining Agreements.

ARTICLE ONE - Membership:

Section 1. All full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty with Kent State University Regional Campus contractual teaching arrangements assigned primarily to Kent State Stark are eligible for election to constituencies I - V. All FTNTT faculty so assigned are eligible for election to constituency VI. FTNTT representatives may not serve as officers.

Section 2. Disciplines represented by each Constituency shall be examined periodically to ensure that all disciplines are represented, and should be altered as necessary so that Constituencies I through V represent roughly equal numbers of faculty.

1. Constituency I: Arts and Humanities
2. Constituency II: Social Sciences
3. Constituency III: Science and Math
4. Constituency IV: Language Arts
5. Constituency V: Professional Programs
6. Constituency VI: FTNTT

Section 3. An elected representative wishing to resign from Council shall submit his or her resignation in writing to the Council Chair. The Chair shall announce this resignation at the next Council meeting.

ARTICLE TWO - Officers:

Section 1. The Council Chair shall:

1. be responsible for scheduling all meetings.
2. prepare agenda in concert with the Dean and the Cabinet.
3. be the official spokesperson for the Council.
4. be (or shall appoint) the Council delegate in its external relations, except where the Constitution or these By-Laws provide for other delegates.
5. be recognized as the official chair of Kent State Stark Faculty by the University at large.
6. prepare a year-end report which shall be provided to the succeeding Council Chair.
7. be (or shall appoint) the recorder of Council minutes in the absence of the Secretary.

Section 2. The Vice-Chair shall:

1. assume the chair in the absence of the Chairperson.
2. chair the Professional Activities Advisory Committee.

Section 3. The Secretary shall:

1. keep all records of the Council.
2. be responsible for all correspondence of the Council.
3. give notice of all meetings and distribute agenda to all faculty members two working days (48 hours) prior to the meetings except in the case of constitutionally permitted exceptions.
4. distribute copies of the minutes (including attendance information) to all faculty, administrators (local and Central Office), and the Student Government Advisor.
5. distribute copies of the Council Constitution and By-Laws to all members of the new Council at the end-of-year meeting.
6. prepare and distribute to the entire Faculty a yearly attendance report.

Section 4. The Treasurer shall solicit and bank funds, keep records, and pay bills on behalf of the faculty.

Section 5. The Cabinet consisting of the Chair, the Vice-Chair, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the immediate past Chair and appointees for each constituency group not otherwise represented shall:

1. formulate Council agenda.
2. nominate all committee members including the committee chair.
3. distribute workload to committee.
4. schedule and conduct elections and referenda when necessary.
5. authorize distribution of monies from the Faculty Expense Fund.

ARTICLE THREE - Meeting and Operation of the Council:

Section 1. Council meetings will be held at 2:00 on the third Friday of each month during the regular academic year except May (during which the meeting will be held on the last Friday of the semester before finals week). There will be no regular meeting during December.

Section 2. Council may be convened for special meetings at the call of the Council Chair, upon petition of at least one-fourth of the Council members; or of 10 percent of the Faculty. Only subjects specifically listed in the proposed agenda for a special meeting may be considered at the meeting. The meetings may be held at any time including the summer months if a quorum of representatives are in attendance.

Section 3. The presence of a quorum (a simple majority) shall be determined by the Council Chair at the beginning of each meeting and at other times at the request of a representative.

Section 4. All meetings are open to all members of the campus community except when Council declares itself in executive session.

Section 5. After the agenda for a meeting has been distributed to the faculty at large, items on the agenda may be deleted or added, or the order of consideration changed, by a 2/3rds vote of the Council.

Section 6. The normal order of business for Council meetings shall be as follows:

1. Call to order.
2. Roll call and determination of quorum.
3. Approval of minutes of last meeting.
4. Chair’s report.
5. Dean’s reports.
6. Committee reports.
7. Old business.
8. New business.
9. Announcements and statements for the record.
10. Adjournment.

ARTICLE FOUR - Committees:

Section 1. Six standing committees shall be established by Council:

1. Committee I, Professional Activities Advisory Committee, is charged with advising the Dean on such matters as Faculty Travel Requests, Sabbaticals, Load Lifts and Grants. This Committee will be chaired by the Vice-Chair and will include five (5) faculty members selected by the Cabinet and on the advice of the Dean.
2. Committee II will serve Council for the numerous general tasks requiring short-term attention. The chair must be a member of Council with the other members representing each constituency.
3. Colloquium Committee plans faculty colloquia and other faculty seminar series.
4. Social Committee, chaired by the Council Treasurer, plans various social events, e.g., holiday and spring dinners.
5. Technology Committee is the advocate for appropriate uses of instructional technology on the Stark Campus. The chair need not be a member of Council.
6. Handbook Committee is charged with proposing timely revisions to the Stark Campus Faculty Handbook in response to changes in university and campus policies and procedures. The chair must be a member of Council.

Section 2. The Promotion, Tenure, and Reappointment Committee shall make advisory recommendations to the Dean about tenure, and tenure-track faculty personnel actions. The Promotion, Tenure, and Reappointment Committee will be chaired by the Council Chair, and will consist of all tenured Council representatives and Kent State Stark tenured full professors who are not members of Council. If the Committee consists of fewer than four members, including the voting chair, then a special procedure for enlarging it shall be developed by the Dean with the advice of the Council and the approval of the Vice President for System Integration. No member of the Committee shall be present during deliberations or votes on the promotion, tenure, or reappointment of an individual in a rank higher than that of the individual member of the Committee, or on the promotion, tenure, or reappointment of a domestic partner or relative.

Section 3. The FTNTT Performance Review Committee shall make advisory recommendations to the Dean about FTNTT reappointments. The FTNTT Performance Review Committee will be chaired by the Council Chair, and will consist of all tenured Council representatives and all promoted Council FTNTT representatives. If the Committee consists of fewer than four members, including the voting chair, then a special procedure for enlarging it shall be developed by the Dean with the advice of the Council and the approval of the Vice President for System Integration. No member of the Committee shall be present during deliberations or votes on the reappointment of a domestic partner or relative.

Section 4. All tenured or tenure-track Council representatives are full participants in advising the Dean on Merit Awards. FTNTT faculty representatives may not participate.

Section 5. Ad Hoc committees will also be commissioned when required.

ARTICLE FIVE - Elections:

Section 1. The election of members to the Council of Kent State Stark shall take place in April.

Section 2. All faculty who wish to stand for election shall so indicate on a form distributed by the Secretary at the appropriate time.

Section 3. All tenured and tenure-track faculty members vote to elect representatives in all constituencies. The representatives from constituency VI will be elected by the entire full-time faculty (tenured, tenure-track and FTNTT). The top three recipients of votes in all constituencies shall be elected.

Section 4. The incumbent Council Chair shall convene old and new Councils to:

1. introduce and orient new representatives.
2. discuss Council directions for the following year.
3. nominate and elect Council officers. The incumbent Council Chair will preside. Nomination shall be received and voted on in the following order: Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. A candidate must receive a majority of votes cast to be elected. If a majority is not received, successive balloting will be conducted until this is achieved. The incumbent chair shall appoint two tellers from the new Council who are not running for office. These tellers will be responsible for counting the ballots, determining whether a candidate has received a majority of votes and certifying those receiving a majority as elected. The tellers will announce the tallies for these elections.

Section 5. The incumbent Council Chair shall transfer all authority and records to the incoming Chair on May 15th.

Section 6. If in any constituency fewer than three faculty members agree to stand for election to Council, then that constituency will operate for the academic year with fewer than three representatives on Council. If a vacancy on the Council should occur due to a member’s inability to complete the term, but with five or more weeks before a new Council is to be elected, then a by-election will be held to fill the vacancy. If the vacancy should occur within the final five weeks due to a member’s inability to complete the term, then Council shall operate with one fewer member, with the quorum correspondingly reduced.

Section 7. If a referendum is held, the Cabinet will conduct the balloting and counting of the ballots.

ARTICLE SIX - Parliamentary Authority:

Section 1. The rules in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order New Revised shall govern the Council in all cases to which they are applicable. When they are inconsistent with the Council Constitution, these By- Laws, and any special rules of order the Council may adopt, shall govern the Council.

ARTICLE SEVEN - Adoption and Amendments of these By-laws:

Section 1. Adoption and Amendment of these By-laws requires ratification by a majority of the representatives at a regular meeting of the Council after the text of the proposed amendment has been distributed with the agenda for that meeting.