1.5 GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE

1.5.1 The Faculty

Preamble
The Faculty of Juniata College recognizes the ultimate authority of the Board of Trustees as the governing body of the College. Within the framework set forth by the Board, the Faculty has certain responsibilities. The purpose of this Faculty Constitution is to define those responsibilities.

1.5.1.1 Constitution of the Faculty of Juniata College

Article I (Name)
The name of this organization shall be The Faculty of Juniata College.

Article II (Purpose)
Section I.
The Faculty shall be responsible, within the framework of a liberal arts college as determined by the Trustees, for the educational program its structure, its graduation requirements.

Section II.
Subject to the availability of resources provided by the Trustees and Administration, the Faculty shall determine educational policies to implement the academic program approved by the Board of Trustees.

Section III.
The Faculty shall advise the administration on matters of general college planning, academic resources, personnel relations, and student life.

Section IV.
The Faculty shall insure that each of its members, whether tenured or untenured, retains academic freedom as defined by the 1940 statement of the A.A.U.P. and adopted by the Board of Trustees on June 1, 1970.

Article III (Membership)
The membership of the organization shall consist of all individuals employed by the Board of Trustees and granted the faculty rank of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor or Instructor. Members on official leave from the College retain their faculty status.

Article IV (Procedures)
The Faculty shall construct a set of By-Laws which shall specify the procedures by which the Faculty governs itself and executes its purposes.

Article V (Amendment)
Section I.
Amendments to this Constitution may be initiated by the Executive Committee of the Faculty or by a petition addressed to that Committee and signed by twenty-five members of the organization. The proposed amendment must be presented in writing at a regular faculty meeting in the month before it is to be placed before the faculty for a vote.

Section II.
For the adoption of a proposed amendment, a three-quarter majority vote of those voting at any regular faculty meeting shall be required and whatever procedures of ratification are required by the Board of Trustees.

1.5.1.2 By-Laws of the Faculty of Juniata College

Article I (Officers)
Section I.
The officers of the organization shall be the Chair, the Deputy Chair, the Secretary, and the Parliamentarian.

Section II.
The Chair of the Faculty shall be the President of the College; the Deputy Chair shall be the Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs. The Secretary and the Parliamentarian, whose terms are one year, are elected by the Faculty during the last meeting of the academic year.

Section III.
These officers shall perform the usual duties of such offices as prescribed by the parliamentary authority adopted by the organization.

Article II (Meetings)
Section I.
The regular meeting of the Faculty shall be the first Wednesday (that classes are in session) of each month of the academic year unless the Executive Committee cancels the meeting. In addition, there shall be two other regular meetings: one to open the college year and one to close it.

Section II.
Special meetings of the Faculty may be called by the President, the Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs or the Executive Committee. Except in emergencies, such meetings will be announced at least three days in advance of the meeting.

Section III.
One-half of the voting Faculty currently active on campus constitutes a quorum.

Section IV.
The Faculty shall determine who may attend and who may speak at the meetings of the Faculty.

Article III (Committees)
Section I.
The standing committees, subcommittees, and ad hoc committees of the Faculty shall carry out the purpose of the Faculty as stated in Article II of the Constitution. The committees are empowered to discharge the functions as set forth in Sections III and IV of this Article of this set of Bylaws.

Section II. Membership and Procedures

  1. The standing committees, subcommittees, and ad hoc committees of the Faculty are composed of elected members, appointed members, ex officio members, and/or student members.
  2. The Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs chairs the Executive Committee. The chairs of the Academic Planning and Assessment Committee, the Curriculum Committee; the Academic Development and Benefits Committee; the Student Academic Development Committee; and the Personnel Evaluation Committee shall be chosen during faculty conference by the respective committees from among their membership. Committees with a representative on the Executive Committee, will select that representative after the chair has been selected.
  3. If a permanent vacancy occurs on any committee or subcommittee,an election shall be held to fill the unexpired term at the next regular faculty meeting. One-year vacancies will be filled by election of a member to a one year term. Should the vacancy be that of the Chair, it shall be filled by election as described previously, and following the election the members will caucus to select a Chair.

Section III. Faculty Committees: Principles of Operation

  1. No member of the Faculty may serve on more than one standing committee or standing subcommittee of the faculty, with the exception of representatives from one committee to another committee or subcommittee.
  2. Where possible, positions on ad hoc committees should be filled first by faculty who are not serving on a standing committee or standing subcommittee.
  3. Elections for faculty committees occur at the May faculty meeting. Newly elected members begin serving regular terms of office at the beginning of the academic year. Each standing committee and standing subcommittee of the faculty will elect a chair from among its members during faculty conference. The duties of the chair are to convene the meetings of the committee, to prepare the agenda for the committee, to assure that the committee minutes are recorded, and to report the work of the committee to the appropriate faculty committee or administrative officer.
  4. All standing committees are required to maintain summary minutes for all meetings.
  5. With the exception of some meetings of the Personnel Evaluation Committee, all regular meetings are open to all faculty and all minutes are open for review by all faculty and administrators. Minutes for faculty committees will be maintained in the office of the Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs.
  6. All standing committees are required to report to the faculty at each regular meeting.
  7. All standing committees and ad hoc committees which have motions requiring action by the full faculty are required to submit all such motions to the Executive Committee for review 15 days before the faculty meeting at which the vote is to occur. In addition to the motion, a report stating both the pros and cons of the motion must be submitted.
  8. All motions requiring action by the full faculty must be presented to the faculty, in writing, at least seven days prior to the faculty meeting at which the actual vote on the motion is to occur.
  9. The term of office for faculty elected to standing committees and standing subcommittees is three years. The terms will be staggered as fully as possible.
  10. All ad hoc committees of the faculty must be established with the approval of the faculty, or the Executive Committee in lieu of full faculty action. At the time of creation, each department chair whose programs may be affected by the work of the ad hoc committee must be notified in writing of the existence and charge of the ad hoc committee. All ad hoc committees must have a written charge and a fixed date for the completion of tasks. Should the task not be completed on time, the committee may be extended for an additional period of time by vote of the faculty. Faculty who serve on ad hoc committees shall be appointed by the Executive Committee in consultation with the Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs or, at the discretion of the Executive Committee, shall be elected by the faculty from a slate of candidates prepared by the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee may receive suggestions for ad hoc committees from the initiator of the ad hoc committee (be the initiator a committee, a faculty member or a College administrator). Elected faculty will serve one-year terms on ad hoc committees, unless otherwise specified in the committee's charge. Elected faculty are eligible for reelection.

Section IV. The Policy on Appeal of any Faculty Committee Action (See 1.6.5)
An appeal is defined here as the right to reconsideration of an action in light of new evidence.

  1. Any member of the faculty may challenge an action taken by a faculty committee. In addition, any student who has been directly affected by a committee action may ask for reconsideration of the action in light of facts which the student feels have not been properly considered.
  2. The appeal shall be in the form of a written statement to the committee in question and the Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs. The committee in question must reconsider its action in light of the new information and report its findings in writing to the appellant and the Executive Committee.
  3. If the appellant is not satisfied, the appellant may refer a written petition to the Executive Committee which will act as (or will appoint) a hearing board to rule on the petition. The action will be reported at the next regular meeting of the faculty.
  4. Appeals of the actions of the Executive Committee must come before the full faculty. A student who needs to carry an appeal before the Executive Committee must find a faculty sponsor to introduce the appeal and to act as advocate on the floor of the faculty. Such appeals must appear on the agenda of the next regular faculty meeting.
  5. Certain specialized appeals may require variation from this procedure. These variations are outlined in other documents.

Article IV (Parliamentary Authority)
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the organization in all cases in which they are both applicable and not inconsistent with these by-laws and any special rules of order the organization may adopt.

Section I.
Amendments to these by-laws may be initiated by the Executive Committee or by petition addressed to that Committee and signed by twenty-five members of the organization. The proposed amendment must be presented in writing at a regular faculty meeting at least thirty days before it is voted on.

Section II.
For the adoption of a proposed amendment, a two-thirds majority vote of those voting at any regular business meeting shall be required, as well as approval by the President of Juniata College, with the understanding that substantive items will be referred by the President to the Board of Trustees.