ARTICLE 1: Meetings.

Section 1. Meetings of the Loyola University of Chicago Faculty Council shall be held at the time and place designated by the Chairperson.

Section 2. All Faculty Council meetings are open to attendance and observation by all members of the University community.

Section 3. The Chairperson shall invite persons to a particular meeting of the Council, if he or she considers their presence essential for the proper discussion of an item on the agenda of that meeting. The persons shall have the privilege of the floor but not of voting.

Section 4. Each person not a Council member wishing the privilege of the floor shall so state his or her intention in writing in advance of the meeting. He or she will not otherwise have the privilege of the floor, and in no instance will he or she have the privilege of voting.

Section 5. Voting on substantive issues shall be conducted by secret ballot upon request of any one (1) Council member or of the Chairperson.

Section 6. It shall be the obligation of the Council Chairperson or other Officer presiding in his or her absence, to insure that no business is transacted in the name of the Faculty Council unless a quorum is present.

ARTICLE II: Rules of Order.

In the conduct of the meetings of the faculty Council, Roberts Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall prevail except as otherwise provided in the Constitution or in these By-Laws.

ARTICLE III: Order of Business.

The order of business to be followed at meetings of the Faculty Council shall ordinarily be:

 

A. Minutes of the previous meeting; 

B. Chairperson's report; 

C. Unfinished business; 

D. Committee reports; and 

E. New business.

ARTICLE IV: Committees.

Section 1: Listing.

The standing committees of the Faculty Council are the Committee on University Committees, the Committee on Faculty Status, the Committee on Administrative Policy and Resources, the Committee on Physical Resources, the Committee on Awards, the Committee on Elections, the Committee on Religious Affairs, the Committee on Education, and the Committee on Research.

 

Section 2: Reports.

a. Standing committees shall present interim reports as requested by the Council and may present additional reports as they deem necessary.

 

b. Each standing committee shall submit an annual report. In advance of the meeting at which it is to be presented, the committee chairperson shall furnish the Secretary with a sufficient number of copies for distribution to members of the Council.

 

c. An ad hoc committee shall make interim reports as requested by the Council, and shall submit a final report to the Council upon the completion of their assignment.

 

Section 3. Committee on University Committees.

Charge: The Committee shall continuously review the function and membership of the standing committees of the University; and make recommendations to the Council relative to the function and membership of these committees.

 

Section 4. Committee on Faculty Status.

Charge: The Committee shall continuously survey the professional needs and benefits of the faculty and shall make recommendations with respect to fulfilling such needs and benefits; and continuously survey, investigate and report on criteria and procedures pertaining to faculty appointments, tenure, academic freedom, and academic responsibility.

 

Section 5. Committee on Administrative Policy and Services.

Charge: The committee shall keep the Council aware of any changes or proposed changes in the statutes of the University; suggest changes in the Faculty Handbook periodically; and maintain liaison between the Corporate Faculty and the University administration.

 

Section 6: Committee on Physical Resources.

Charge: The Committee shall make recommendations to the Council with respect to allocation and/or utilization of existing physical resources, based on assessed needs; and make recommendations for the improvement and expansion of physical resources.

 

Section 7: Committee on Awards.

Charge: The Committee shall solicit the faculty for names of candidates to be recommended for honorary degrees; and solicit the faculty for nominations for the Faculty Member of the Year Award.

 

Section 8: Committee on Elections.

Charge: The Committee shall conduct elections to the Faculty Council in the manner prescribed the By-Laws. As with other Faculty Council committees, faculty members who are not members of the Faculty Council can serve on the Committee on Elections of the Faculty Council. However, members of the Committee on Elections of the Faculty Council, during any year in which they serve on that committee, are ineligible for nomination, election, or re-election to the Faculty Council.

 

Section 9. Committee on Religious Affairs.

Charge: The Committee shall serve as a liaison between the faculty and University Ministry in discovering and responding to the religious needs of the University; sponsor programs and conduct studies which meet these needs; report to the Faculty Council on its programs and recommend Council action on policies and issues which affect the religious commitment and orientation of Loyola University of Chicago; and invite a representative designated by the Vice-President for University Ministry to all of its meetings.

 

Section 10. Committee on Education.

Charge: The Committee will advise the Council about questions concerning University-wide educational goals and means to the goals.

 

 Section 11. Committee on Research

Charge: The Committee is charged with monitoring the University Research policies and practices.

ARTICLE V: General Elections to the Council.

Section 1. The Faculty Council shall be elected by the full-time members AND Senior Faculty of the Corporate Faculty of the University. Leaves of absence shall not invalidate a faculty member's right to vote or his or her eligibility for office.

 

Section 2. Representation.

a. The Faculty Council consists of full-time members and Senior Faculty of the Corporate Faculty of the University. The members of the Council are elected from and by their respective faculties. With the exception of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Stritch School of Medicine, as noted below, each School and College of the University is entitled to a minimum of one (1) representative.

 

Each School or College of the University may be entitled to additional representatives, with the total number of representatives being determined according to the following scale:

 

0-30 faculty members, 1 Council member;

31-60 faculty members, 2 Council members;

61-90 faculty members, 3 Council members;

90-120 faculty members, 4 Council members;

121-150 faculty members, 5 Council members;

151-180 faculty members, 6 council members; and so on.

(In this way, approximately every thirty (30) faculty members will be represented by one (1) individual on the Council.)  

In the College of Arts and Sciences, each of the three (3) divisions (Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences) is entitled to representatives according to the already-mentioned scale.

In the Stritch School of Medicine, there shall be two (2) Divisions for these purposes: Basic Sciences and Clinical. The total number of representatives shall be eight (8), two (2) from the Basic Sciences Division and six (6) from the Clinical Division.

b. The Committee on Elections has the responsibility for deciding which departments in the College of Arts and Sciences fall within the categories of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. The Committee on Elections also has the responsibility for deciding which departments in the Stritch School of Medicine fall within the categories of Basic Sciences and of Clinical.

 

c. In all balloting, whether for nominations or elections, voters are entitled to vote for persons according to the following scale:

 

1 position to be filled, 2 nominations

2 positions to be filled, 3 nominations

3 positions to be filled, 4 nominations

4 positions to be filled, 5 nominations

5 positions to be filled, 8 nominations

6 positions to be filled, 9 nominations, and so on.

d. In the general election balloting, voters are entitled to vote for persons according to the following scale:

 

1 position to be filled 1 vote

2 positions to be filled 2 votes

3 positions to be filled 3 votes

4 positions to be filled 4 votes

5 positions to be filled 5 votes

6 positions to be filled 6 votes, and so on.

 

Section 3. General Voting Procedures.

a. The Committee on Elections, through E-mail, shall inform all persons eligible to vote about the nominating and election procedures as early in the semester as faculty eligibility is determined. This includes all full-time and Senior faculty as of November of the current year.

 

b. Faculty unable to serve should notify the Committee on Elections in writing or through E-mail at this time. This includes lack of eligibility as well as academic commitments precluding regular attendance at meetings.

 

c. At the time of nomination, the Committee on Elections will arrange for the ballots to be placed in mailing envelopes with return envelopes, the ballot envelopes, the instruction sheet and the relevant faculty lists. These are to be sent through the campus mail to the individual faculty members unless they are on leave or out of town, in which case the U.S. mail will be used.

 

d. Completed nomination ballots are to be sealed in the ballot envelope. The ballot envelop is then sealed in the return envelope and signed on the flap with Division and College. The instruction sheets will indicate that nomination ballots returned in unsigned return envelopes will not be counted.

 

e. The return envelope is to be signed by the voter. The instruction sheets should indicate that ballots which are returned in unsigned return envelopes will not be counted.

 

f. The ballots are to be counted in the presence of the Chairperson of the Committee and two (2) eligible faculty members at a time and place previously announced at the start of each election process. For each/school division, the return envelopes should be checked and counted. Any questions about this material raised by anyone present must be settled by the Committee before the return envelopes are opened.

 

g. On either the nomination election ballot, one may vote for fewer candidates that one is entitled to vote for. However, voting for more candidates than the maximum allowed invalidates the entire ballot. (Multiple votes for a single candidate will not be recognized.)

h. The names of write-in candidates shall be counted.

 

i. When the counting is completed, the Committee will contact the individuals with the highest number of votes to confirm their ability to run. In the case of ties in the nominating procedure, all those who are tied are to appear on the election ballot.

Section 4. Specific Election Procedures.

a. The voting procedures for the election round are not the same as those for the nominating round with the following adjustments:

(i). The name of a candidate who has received fewer than two (2) nominating votes may not appear on the election ballot. Within these limits, the election ballots shall contain twice as many names as a voter is entitled to vote for as well as space for a write-in.

(ii). In any school or division, in the case of a tie in the election procedure, the winner shall be determined by the tied candidates drawing lots in the presence of a quorum of the Committee on Elections.

(iii). The election procedure calendar should adhere as closely as possible to the following schedule to ensure the satisfactory completion of the process:

1. Information regarding the process will go out as soon as eligibility lists are determined in the fall semester.

2. Nomination ballots will go out the beginning of the spring semester. They are to be returned no later than mid-February.

3. Election ballots will go out the first week of March. They are to be tabulated by the last week of March to ensure that electees may attend the April meeting if they so desire. 

b. Elected candidates should be notified by the Chairperson of the Committee on Elections as soon as possible after the ballot count.

 

c. All materials pertaining to the entire election procedures should be retained for a period of thirty (30) days after the election results have been certified by the Faculty Council.

  Section 5. Vacancies. When a vacancy occurs on the Faculty Council, that vacancy is to be filled by selecting the person who is the next eligible runner-up from the most-recent election in the school or division involved. The replacement member shall serve until the next election and shall be eligible for further election.

ARTICLE VI: Amendments

Section 1. Required vote. These By-Laws can be amended only by an affirmative vote of 2/3 of the total membership of the Faculty Council, at any duly scheduled meeting of the Council.

 

Section 2. Submission of Proposal. Any proposed amendment shall be submitted in writing to the members present and/or to the Secretary at the duly-scheduled meeting of the Council prior to the one at which the amendment will be considered and voted upon.

 

Section 3. Interval between proposal and vote. A minimum of one week shall elapse between the meeting at which the amendment is submitted in writing and the meeting at which the amendment is voted upon.

Section 4. Adequate notice. The Secretary shall send a copy of the proposed amendment with the agenda for the meeting at which the amendment will be voted on.

 

Section 5. Executive Committee Elections.

a. Newly elected members of the Faculty Council are invited by the Chairman on E-mail, to attend the April meeting as observers. At that time a call will be made for nominations (in writing) for the new Council officers and executive committee. Nominations may be made only by current members who will continue to serve and by the newly elected members.

 

b. After the seating of the new Council at the May meeting, nominations will again be opened to allow new names to be added to each slate. During the election sequence, members may continue to be nominated if they have been unsuccessful in an earlier vote. Multiple nominees for each position will be encouraged. In the case of multiple candidate for executive offices and for the remaining members of the Executive Committee voting will be by secret ballot.

 

c. Results will be announced as soon as they can be tabulated.

 

d. The tallied results of the vote will be announced in full as soon as possible- either verbally at the conclusion of the process or in writing at the first fall meeting.

Last amended: 10/14/98