CONSTITUTION OF THE FACULTY OF THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

(Approved by the University Faculty Senate 4/10/75, amended 9/18/75)
(Revised and approved by the University Faculty Senate 9/17/81)
(Revised and approved by Faculty Council 5/3/89)
(Revised and approved by the University Faculty Senate 3/26/98)
(Revised and approved by the University Faculty Senate 9/21/00)
(Revised and approved by the Faculty Council 3/4/2014)

(Revised and approved by the Faculty Council 3/21/18)

I. PLAN OF GOVERNMENT OF THE FACULTY OF THE COLLEGE OF ARTS ANS SCIENCES

            This constitution shall be the plan of government of the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences subject to and consistent with the Constitution of the Faculty of Indiana State University and its Bylaws. This document establishes the manner by which the Faculty of the College shall exercise the representative form of government provided for in Article VIII of the University Faculty Constitution.

II. FACULTY OF THE COLLEGE

1. Regular Membership
   Regular faculty of the College shall include all tenured and tenure-track faculty members of the College as well as Instructors, as defined by the University Handbook.
2. Voting Rights
   All regular Faculty of the College shall have voting rights in most matters placed before the faculty of the College. Instructors in the College are excluded from voting on certain sensitive personnel issues, which are specified by University policy.

III. AUTHORITY OF THE FACULTY OF THE COLLEGE

1. Means of Exercising Authority
   The legislative authority of the Faculty will normally be exercised by the Faculty Council and by the committees of that body. The Faculty may, however, exercise its legislative authority directly in Faculty meetings as provided for in Section D. below.
2. Primary Authority
   Subject to the limitations of Article I, the Faculty shall have the power to determine:
    

1. The curriculum of the College.
2. The policies for facilitation of teaching and research.
3. The structure of the College with reference to academic matters.
4. The standards for admission and retention of students.
5. The requirements for the granting of academic degrees.
6. The standards for faculty conduct and discipline.
7. The standards for faculty appointment, retention, tenure, and promotion.
8. The standards for freedom of expression and academic freedom.
9. The policies governing aspects of student life which relate directly to the educational process.
10. The procedures for the necessary and proper implementation of the foregoing powers.

1. Advisory Authority
   The Faculty of the College is properly concerned with, and shall actively participate in, decisions made on other matters that may affect the educational policies for which it has primary responsibility. Therefore the Faculty shall have authority to advise on all matters of College policy particularly those matters dealing with:

1. Selection and removal of the principal administrative officers having College-wide responsibilities, as well as the creation or abolition of such offices.
2. College and departmental budgets.
3. Research or service obligations of the College or departments within the College to private or public agencies.
4. College development and physical facilities.

1. Faculty Veto
   The Faculty of the College shall have the power to veto within 120 days any action of the Faculty Council. The appropriate procedure for the exercise of such power shall be as follows:
   Within 21 days after receiving a petition signed by at least twenty-five members of the voting faculty of the College, the Secretary of the Faculty shall distribute by campus mail a copy of the petition together with an announcement of the time and place of a faculty meeting to discuss and debate the issue. The faculty meeting will take place between 7 and 21 days after this distribution. The purpose of the meeting shall be limited to the issue stated in the petition. A quorum is not required. The Secretary of the Faculty shall act as moderator.

Within one week of the meeting a mailed ballot to veto or not veto the specified Council action shall be distributed by the Secretary of the Faculty to the voting members of the College. The Secretary of the Faculty, the Secretary of the Council, and the petition signatory whose name appears first on the petition shall, acting in concert, tally the ballots. A majority of the ballots returned within ten days will determine the will of the Faculty.

In order for the foregoing procedural steps to be completed within 120 days, a petition must be received by the Secretary of the Faculty not later than 60 days after occurrence of the Faculty Council action in question. All time limits set forth in the various steps above will be suspended during the summer and for regularly scheduled breaks during the academic year.

IV. FACULTY MEETINGS OF THE COLLEGE
Meetings of the Faculty shall be conducted in compliance with the following procedures and in the manner indicated.

1. There shall be two regular meetings of the Faculty of the College, one during each semester of the academic year. The primary purpose of the Fall meeting is for the Dean to provide an address on the state of the College.  The primary purpose of the Spring meeting is for the annual College awards presentation.
2. The Dean shall preside at faculty meetings. In the Dean’s absence, his/her designate shall serve.
3. Special Meetings of the Faculty

1. May be called by the Dean of the College;
2. May be called by the Faculty Council of the College;
3. Shall be called by the Chairperson of the Faculty of the College upon receipt of a single petition signed by no fewer than twenty-five members of the voting Faculty. The petitioned meeting shall by scheduled by the Chairperson for a date not later than three weeks following receipt of the petition.
4. Once called, Special Meetings of the Faculty will be conducted as follows:
   a. The Dean shall preside at Faculty meetings. In his/her absence, the Chairperson of the Faculty Council shall preside.
   b. The Secretary of the Faculty Council shall serve as secretary for the meeting. The Secretary shall keep accurate and permanent minutes of the meetings of the Faculty, give notice of meetings, and have charge of correspondence in the name of the faculty.

c. One-third of the entire voting membership of the Faculty shall constitute a quorum.
d. The legislative actions, with the exceptions of additions, deletions, and/or modifications to the Constitution or Bylaws, of the Faculty shall be determined by a majority vote of those present.

V. THE FACULTY COUNCIL OF THE COLLEGE

A. Membership
At the regularly scheduled February meeting of the College Council, the Council Chairperson shall identify those departments (or equivalent units) whose representatives are in the final year of the term of office for which they were elected and shall request that the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences advise their chairpersons of said departments that an election of the Council representative is necessary.
Biennially and before the end of March, a faculty representative from each department within the College shall be elected by secret balloting in each department at a regularly scheduled Faculty meeting at which a majority of the departmental members are in attendance. Normally a faculty member holding academic appointment in more than one department shall be considered a member of the department in which his/her salary is budgeted. No member of the faculty shall serve simultaneously on the University Faculty Senate and the Council of the College.
Replacement of a Council member prior to the expiration of the normal two-year term shall be by secret balloting at a regularly scheduled Faculty meeting attended by a majority of departmental faculty members and shall be for the balance of the term remaining.
The Dean and Associated and/or Assistant Deans shall be non-voting members and shall not hold office in the Council.
Two students who are pursuing undergraduate majors in the College of Arts and Sciences can serve as non-voting representatives of undergraduate students on the Faculty Council. With the exception of voting, they shall have the same rights and privileges as other members of the Council. The term of service is one academic year, and the representatives shall be selected by the Student Government Association by April 15^th for service during the following academic year.
One student pursuing a graduate degree in a program of the College of Arts and Sciences can serve as non-voting representative of graduate students on the Faculty Council. With the exception of voting, he or she shall have the same rights and privileges as other members of the Council. The term of service is one academic year, and the representative shall be selected by the Graduate Student Association by April 15^th for service during the following academic year.

B. Organization
Each year prior to the end of the spring semester, the Chairperson of the Faculty Council shall call into session the Council officers and the members of the incoming Council. The Dean or the Dean’s designate shall also be invited. With the Chairperson presiding, the incoming members shall proceed to elect by secret ballot, a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, and a Secretary from its membership.
In those instances in which three or more names are placed in nomination for a given office and in which none of the nominees receives a simple majority of the votes cast, the name of the individual receiving the fewest numbers of votes will be eliminated from the subsequent balloting. Balloting shall continue until an individual receives a simple majority.

C. Operation of the Council
Two-thirds of the voting membership of the Council shall constitute a quorum. A majority of the voting members present shall be necessary for the passage of a motion or approval of an action.
Council meetings shall be open to members of the Faculty except when Council determines otherwise.

D. Powers and Duties of the Council Shall Be:
1. To act upon matters as defined in Article III.
2. To appoint members to the Committees of the Council as provided for in Article VI and described in the Bylaws.
3. To investigate and make recommendations on matters referred to it by the Dean.
4. To consider written suggestions submitted by faculty or students in the College. Suggestions are to be dated, signed, and submitted to the Council Chairperson who will:
            a. treat them as agenda items for consideration by the Council at the earliest opportunity or
            b. direct them to appropriate Standing Committee.

5. To receive and act upon grievances within the jurisdiction of the College of Arts and Sciences in accordance with the procedures described in the Bylaws.
6. To receive an act upon recommendations of committees, as provided for in Article VI.
E. COMMITTEES OF THE COLLEGE
 1. Standing Committees
The standing committees of the College Faculty are determined by the Bylaws of this Constitution. Standing committees are responsible to the College Faculty through the Faculty Council. Meetings of the standing committees are open except when a committee determines otherwise.
2. Special Committees
The Council may create special committees for study of matters not normally within the jurisdiction of a standing committee. The Council shall determine the duties of each special committee and its length of service.

F. GOVERNMENT AND AUTHORITY OF ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS AND EQUIVALENT ENTITIES
1. The faculty of each department or equivalent is guaranteed a representative form of government in respect to the formulation and administration of internal policy and the right to participate in the selection of its chief administrative officer(s).
Each department or equivalent entity shall be autonomous in matters of internal policy subject to the provisions of this Constitution and Bylaws with particular attention given to those areas set forth in the University Handbook under the title of “Duties and Responsibilities of Chairpersons of Academic Departments”.
G. AMENDMENTS
A Proposed amendments to this Constitution may be initiated by any CAS standing committee, by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Council, by five members of the Council, or by twenty-five members of the Faculty, and will be submitted in writing to the Council for presentation at one meeting and for vote at the next meeting of the Council.  If the Council approves the proposed amendment, ballots will be mailed to the Faculty of the College. Should the Council fail to approve the amendment, a petition signed subsequently by fifty members of the Faculty shall mandate the Council to distribute ballots to the Faculty for vote. An affirmative two-thirds vote of the ballots returned within one week will be necessary to pass the amendment. The amendment becomes effective when endorsed by the University Faculty Senate.
H. ADDITIONS, DELETIONS, AND/OR MODIFICATIONS OF BYLAWS TO THE CONSTITUTION
  a. Additions, deletions, and/or modifications to the Bylaws are to become effective when initiated by the Council and approved by:
  1. Two-thirds of the membership of the Council or
  2. A majority of the Council members present and, subsequently, by the Faculty of the College voting by ballots.
  b. Additions, deletions, and/or modifications to the Bylaws are to become effective when initiated by the Faculty at a regular or special meeting and approved by the Faculty of the College voting by ballot. An affirmative majority vote of the ballots returned within one week will be necessary to approve the alteration.