Faculty Assembly
The Elizabethtown College Faculty, in order to continue the collegial relationship among the College Board of Trustees, Administration and Faculty and to articulate the faculty role in the decision-making process of the College, adopts the following Constitution, which replaces all previous constitutions.
The Constitution of the Faculty of Elizabethtown College
This Constitution, as adopted on March 15, 1990, and as approved and interpreted by the Academic Affairs Committee and adopted by the Board of Trustees on April 28, 1990, and as subsequently amended, is the means by which the Faculty of Elizabethtown College exercises its responsibilities for academic and professional policy making and programming. All substantive actions and programs adopted within the framework of this Constitution are subject to review and approval by the Board of Trustees.
The Faculty Assembly Membership
The Faculty Assembly of Elizabethtown College shall consist of (a) all full-time instructional personnel with rank of instructor or above; and (b) the President of the College, the Provost and Senior Vice President, the Dean of Faculty, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, the Dean of Students, full-time professional librarians, and full-time lecturers.
All part-time instructional personnel who have rank of instructor or above and all part-time lecturers who have taught for Elizabethtown College for at least four semesters may nominate themselves or be nominated by either their department or the Provost and Senior Vice President for full membership status in the Faculty Assembly. Such nominations shall be submitted to Personnel Council, which shall then make a recommendation on the award of membership to the Faculty Assembly.
All members of the Faculty Assembly as defined above have voting privileges. Some members of the Student Assembly; all part-time teaching faculty who do not have full membership status; and all additional persons whose contractual obligation to the College involves them directly in a teaching or instructional function with its students may attend and participate in meetings of the Faculty Assembly, without vote. All non-voting members must absent themselves from those meetings or for those agenda items that are designated as appropriate for Executive Session by a three-fifths vote of the voting members present. One-third of the voting membership of the Faculty Assembly constitutes a quorum.
Responsibilities
The Faculty Assembly has the primary responsibility for determining the requirements for admission and graduation and for approving candidates for degrees. The Faculty Assembly also has the primary responsibility for establishing policies and standards for curricula and other aspects of the academic program of the College. The Faculty Assembly further has the primary responsibility for determining the policies and standards for faculty appointments, promotions, tenure, dismissal, ethical conduct and other matters that affect the professional welfare of the faculty.
Officers
The officers of the Faculty Assembly shall be the President, the Vice President, and the Secretary. These officers shall be elected for a two-year term by the Faculty Assembly in accordance with the procedures stated in the Bylaws of this Constitution.
The President shall be the Chair of the Faculty and shall officiate at all regular and special meetings of the Faculty Assembly. The President shall prepare the agenda in consultation with the Executive Council, the President of the College, and the Provost and Senior Vice President. The President shall serve as Chair of Executive Council. In the absence of the chair, the Vice President shall serve as Chair.
The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President during the absence of the President, shall be a member of Executive Council, and shall assume the office of the President in the case of a vacancy in that position.
The Secretary of the Faculty Assembly shall, if so requested, assist the President of the Faculty Assembly in the preparation of the agenda for each meeting; shall keep accurate minutes of all meetings of the Faculty Assembly and distribute them according to the provisions of Bylaws; shall maintain orderly records of Faculty Assembly business; and shall be a member of the Executive Council.
The Faculty President, Vice President, and Secretary shall attend the meetings of the Board of Trustees as observers and provide an observers’ report to the Faculty Assembly. In addition to the Business Meeting, they attend the meetings of the Academic Affairs, Finance, Enrollment and Marketing, Buildings and Grounds, Advancement, and Student Life Committees. In consultation with Executive Council, the Faculty President shall prepare a written report for the Board of Trustees’ Academic Affairs Committee for each regularly scheduled meeting in accordance with the general procedures of the bylaws.
Relationship to Other Bodies
The Faculty Assembly shall elect or otherwise designate designees and/or observers to Councils, Committees, and/or other bodies as it shall deem appropriate.
Proceedings
Meetings of the Faculty Assembly shall be convened and presided over by its President. In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall preside. In the event that neither of these officers is available, the Secretary shall preside. The calendar of the regular meetings of the Faculty Assembly shall be prepared by Executive Council. Procedures for the introduction and disposition of business shall be adopted by the Faculty.
Special meetings of the Faculty Assembly may be called by the President when issues warrant such action. Special meetings of the Faculty Assembly must be called by the President upon receipt of a petition signed by one-third of the voting members of the Faculty Assembly. All meetings shall have a written agenda prepared and distributed to all voting and non-voting members at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting. At special meetings, only the item or items of business for which the meeting was called may be discussed.