Bylaws

I. Purpose
II. Election, Representation and Composition
III. Operations and Authority
IV. Officers
V. Other Elections
VI. Committees
VII. Amendments
Appendix A: Calendar
Appendix B: Balloting and Tallying Procedure for Election of Officers and Executive Cabinet
Appendix C: Procedure for Election of Council Delegates from and by Contingent Faculty

I. Purpose

The Newark Faculty Council has been established by the Rutgers Newark faculties in order to:

1. Provide a forum for determining and expressing Newark faculty opinion on issues of concern;

2. Establish means for the regular exchange of information and ideas between faculty and administrators;

3. Provide a quick-response structure for mediating conflicts among Newark units represented in the Council;

4. Establish a body for studying and providing advice on educational and administrative matters that affect the Newark campus;

5. Advise and make recommendations to the Chancellor and, through him or her, officials of the Central Administration on all appropriate matters.

The Council will complement, rather than supplant, the University Senate, the college faculties, and the university administrative officers.

II. Election, Representation and Composition

1. Faculty eligible to participate in academic unit elections of Council delegates and to serve as voting Council delegates shall consist of all full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty and clinical faculty at the rank of assistant professor or above, who are appointed on a faculty line under the jurisdiction of the Newark Chancellor, as well as all librarians at Dana Library at the rank of Librarian III or above. A faculty member holding a joint appointment with two or more colleges or schools shall represent the unit in which his or her “primary home” is defined.

2. Faculty members whose primary assignment is administration (e.g. Deans, Associate/Assistant Deans) shall not be eligible for election during their terms as administrators. (This exclusion shall not apply to Area or Department Chairs). University Senators holding faculty rank as defined above shall be eligible for election to the Council.

3. All Council delegates specified in Section 1 of this Article shall be elected by colleagues from the unit of their appointment in accordance with the provisions of the faculty by-laws governing elections. Contingent faculty, consisting of part-time lecturers and full-time non-tenure-track appointees (other than those included in Section 1 of this article), who teach courses for credit on the Newark campus, shall elect voting Council delegates on an at-large basis, in an election conducted by the Council. No more than one contingent faculty delegate shall be primarily attached to any one academic unit. All elections shall be conducted using secret ballots.

4. Members elected by units shall be elected to staggered three-year terms. Members elected by the contingent faculty shall be elected to one-year terms. Elections shall take place during the spring semester, and the term of office shall begin July 1.

5. Should an elected member go on leave, the unit from which he or she was elected may elect a replacement for the duration of the regular member’s leave.

6. To the extent that it is possible, and particularly within the Faculty of Arts & Sciences-Newark, the membership should be broadly representative across the disciplines. For the Council to be effective, it is essential that its members be widely respected among their peers for their teaching, scholarship, and service to the University.

7. The Council shall consist of 21 members, composed as follows:

Whenever requested by any unit, or whenever recommended by the Chancellor, the Executive Cabinet shall review the composition of the Council, consulting current data on faculty distribution among units, and if the Executive Cabinet deems a change in the composition of the Council to be appropriate, they shall cause a bylaw amendment for that purpose to brought to the Council for its consideration.

III. Operations and Authority

1. To achieve its goals, the Council will be expected to meet at least once each semester during the academic year. (Additional meetings may be held as pressing business or continuing issues dictate).

2. The Chancellor, who will serve as an ex-officio member of the Council, shall be present at all Council meetings to make reports and respond to questions from Council members and to provide such additional information as the Council may require to facilitate its work.

3. If requested by the Council, the Chancellor shall communicate, in writing, his response to any advice which the Council shall render.

4. If requested, and as appropriate, the Chancellor shall provide the Council with information bearing upon matters under the Council’s consideration.

5. Members of the Chancellor’s staff, Deans and other Campus administrators, and members of the Central Administration, may be invited to attend Council meetings as the agenda dictates.

6. Meetings of the Council will normally be open, except when, at the request of the Chancellor or a member of the Council, portions of the meeting may be closed to discuss matters in confidence.

7. Any faculty member may propose agenda items for the Council’s consideration. Such requests shall be reviewed by the Council when it adopts its agenda.

8. Council members shall report regularly to their faculty colleagues on the work of the Council and shall transmit faculty reactions and suggestions to the Council when requested.

9. Except for matters that are clearly outside the expertise or jurisdiction of the faculty, the Chancellor, when appointing a special or ad hoc committee to study an issue, shall inform the Council that he is doing so.

10. Meetings of the Council shall be conducted under Roberts Rules of Order.

11. A quorum shall consist of a majority of elected members.

IV. Officers

1. The officers of the Council shall consist of the Chair, the Vice Chair, and the Secretary. The Council will elect the Vice Chair and Secretary as specified in the Calendar. The Vice Chair shall be a tenured faculty member with two years remaining in his or her term as Council member. The Chair shall preside over meetings of the Executive Cabinet of the Council and over meetings of the full Council. The Vice Chair shall preside in the absence of the Chair and shall be Chair-Elect.

2. The Executive Cabinet shall be made up of the Council Chair, the Vice Chair, the Secretary and three additional Council members, elected by the full Council. The Chancellor may be invited to attend meetings of the Executive Cabinet. Among other duties, the Executive Cabinet shall set the agenda for Council meetings and review and evaluate the functioning of the Council. The Executive cabinet shall act for the Council between meetings and during the summer. Such actions are subject to later review, when appropriate, by the full Council.

3. The term of office of the officers and the Executive Cabinet shall begin July 1st.

V. Other Elections

(a) The Council shall elect a Senator at large to represent the Newark campus, annually as specified in the Calendar to succeed the Senator whose term is expiring and also when necessary to fill a mid-term vacancy. Eligibility to serve as Senator at large shall be as specified in the Senate Enabling Regulation.

(b) The Council shall elect one member of the Newark Campus Advisory Board, e very two years as specified in the Calendar and also when necessary to fill a vacancy. Those eligible to serve as a member of the Newark Campus Advisory Board shall be the same as those eligible to serve as voting Council delegates elected by units, as specified in Article II, section 1 of these Bylaws.

(c) For each election under sections (a) and (b) of this Article, the Council shall solicit nominations from the entire eligible Newark campus faculty and from the deans and assistant deans of all units, allowing at least ten days for submission of nominations, verification of nominees’ eligibility and willingness to serve, and submission of statements by nominees. The full Council shall then elect the Senator or member of the Campus Advisory Board from among the nominees by secret ballot.

VI. Committees

A. The Council shall have the Standing Committees specified below, with areas of concern including but not limited to the matters indicated:

• (1) Academic Affairs (curriculum, pedagogy, academic standards and regulations, testing and grading, academic calendar, research, academic freedom, and academic personnel policies)
• (2) Budget and Planning (budget priorities and allocations and general planning)
• (3) Bylaws and Governance (Council bylaws, unit election procedures, and governance issues at all levels)
• (4) External Affairs (relations with City of Newark, County of Essex, other colleges and universities, and community groups)
• (5) Facilities and Services (campus physical facilities, security, computing, libraries, other campus services, athletics, and student life)

The function of the Standing Committees shall be to investigate and report to the Council on matters within their areas of concern, either on their own initiative or on request from the Council or its officers.B. The Chair of the Council shall annually appoint new members to the Standing Committees from among newly elected or reelected Council members. Appointment to a Standing Committee shall be until the end of a member’s term on the Council. Every Standing Committee shall have at least three members. Every Council member shall be expected to serve on at least one Standing Committee. The chair of any Standing Committee may invite any person to meet with that Committee on an advisory basis.

C. The Chair of the Council may create temporary Special Committees. The membership of a Special Committee may include faculty members who are not members of the Council, so long as a majority of its members are members of the Council.

D. The Chair of the Council shall designate the chairs of all committees, and keep the Council informed of the membership and chairs of all committees.

E. Committees may deliberate and decide on their reports and recommendations by means of electronic mail or other technology-assisted meeting methods, as well as by face-to-face meetings.

VII. Amendments

Amendments to the By-laws shall be first discussed by the Council. If a majority of the Council present votes in favor, a secret ballot on the proposed amendments shall be sent to all Council members. Adoption of amendments shall require a two-thirds vote of the members who cast a ballot.

Appendix A: Calendar

February-April: Council conducts election of contingent faculty delegates. Units conduct elections of unit delegates. Election results shall be reported by April 30.

March (or earlier): Council solicits nominations for, and completes election of, Senator-at-Large, and, in odd-numbered years, a member of the Campus Advisory Board

May: Chair solicits nominations (including self-nominations) for Vice Chair, Secretary, and three Executive Cabinet members, from among continuing and new members of the Council, allowing members to run for more than one position. Chair prepares ballots with instructions providing as necessary for ranked voting. Secret ballots shall be sent to all new and continuing members of the next year’s Council.

June: special committee reports are due June 1.

July: Council chair’s annual report is due July 1.

July: Chair asks newly elected and reelected Council members for their preferences for Standing Committee membership.

By September 15: Chair appoints new members of Standing Committees.

Appendix B: Balloting and Tallying Procedure for Election of Officers and Executive Cabinet

1. Ballots shall be sent only to continuing and new members of the Council.

2. For each office on the ballot, the voter shall rank all the candidates for that office, using the number 1 for the voter’s first choice, number 2 for second choice, and so forth. (Note: ‘office on the ballot’ means Vice Chair, Secretary, and Member of the Executive Cabinet.)

3. Tallying procedure:

(a) First, on all ballots, cross off any votes for candidates who have withdrawn their candidacy.

(b) Second, tally the highest-ranked remaining vote for Vice Chair from each ballot; the candidate with the greatest number of such votes is elected Vice Chair. If the person elected Vice Chair was also running for another position or positions, cross off any votes for that person for each other position on all ballots.

(c) Third, tally the highest-ranked remaining vote for Secretary from each ballot; the candidate with the greatest number of such votes is elected Secretary. If the person elected Secretary was also running for Member of the Executive Cabinet, cross off any votes for that person for that position on all ballots.

(d) Last, tally only the three highest-ranked remaining votes for Member of the Executive Cabinet from each ballot. The three candidates receiving the greatest numbers of such votes are elected Members of the Executive Cabinet.

4. In case of a tie vote for Vice Chair, if any of the tied candidates was also running for Secretary, a runoff election for Vice Chair shall be held before the ballots for Secretary are tallied; and if any of the tied candidates was also running for Member of the Executive Cabinet, the ballots for Member of the Executive Cabinet shall not be tallied until the runoff election for Vice Chair is completed. In case of a tie vote for Secretary, if any of the tied candidates was also running for Member of the Executive Cabinet, a runoff election for Secretary shall be held before the ballots for Member of the Executive Cabinet are tallied.

Appendix C: Procedure for Election of Council Delegates from and by Contingent Faculty

The Chair solicits nominations (including self-nominations) by e-mail to a current list of the part-time lecturers and full-time non-tenure-track faculty teaching on the Newark campus, furnished annually by the Chancellor’s office, allowing one week for reply. The Chair then asks each nominee to confirm his or her willingness to serve and to furnish a brief statement including at a minimum the unit to which he or she is primarily attached. After allowing one week for receipt of nominee’s statements, and assuming there are more than two nominees, the Chair prepares a ballot including the statements and makes it available to the same list, with a deadline for return of ballots that will allow for results to be determined by April 30. In case there are only two nominees, they become the Council delegates without a ballot.