Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty & Academic Affairs

Scope

All faculty and librarians on the Bloomington campus.

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Policy Statement

1. The latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of the meetings of the Council except insofar as the bylaws make express provision to the contrary. Ordinarily, major policy proposals should have first and second readings.
2. The Executive Committee shall publish a schedule of Council meetings for the academic year before the beginning of the fall semester but may schedule additional meetings or cancel meetings as the need arises. The meetings of the Council shall begin at 2:30 P.M. and adjourn at 4:30 P.M. unless a later adjournment is agreed to unanimously. The Council by concurrence of a simple majority vote may fix a different time for a regular meeting or call a special meeting.
3. The presence of a majority of the members shall constitute a quorum.
4. Elections
   1. The Nomination Committee and the Director of Faculty Council Offices shall conduct the elections for the Bloomington Faculty Council and the Faculty President-elect.
   2. Eligibility to Vote. Eligible participants and election units are governed by sections 5.5.A through D of the Constitution of the Bloomington Faculty. The election sub-units into which the College of Arts and Sciences are divided pursuant to section 5.5.A of the Constitution of the Bloomington Faculty shall be specified in an appendix to these bylaws.
      
      1. Preparation of Voting Lists. The Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs shall supply a list of eligible Bloomington faculty and librarians; this list shall specify the departmental or programmatic affiliations, tenured or non-tenured status, rank and email address of each person. The Nomination Committee and the Director of Faculty Council Offices shall check the lists and adjust them to provide that no person is assigned to more than one election unit.
      2. Individual Choice of Voting Unit. Anyone may request the Nomination Committee and the Director of Faculty Council Offices to change an assignment to an election unit. If the Nomination Committee and the Director of Faculty Council Offices do not agree to the change, this decision may be appealed to the Constitution and Rules Committee, whose decision will be final. The Constitution and Rules Committee shall report to the Council any such actions taken.
      3. Basis of Representation. Each of the election units shall be entitled to one Council representative for each fifty members (or major fraction thereof); each election unit shall have a minimum of one representative, unless otherwise specified in BL-ACA-D8 Constitution of the Bloomington Faculty.
      4. Seeking candidates. In January of each year, the Nomination Committee and the Director of Faculty Council Office shall solicit volunteers to nominate themselves as candidates for the Bloomington Faculty Council. The request for volunteers shall be accompanied by a list of all persons eligible to vote, organized by election unit. That list shall include the present membership of the Bloomington Faculty Council--indicating which persons will serve an additional year, which are finishing a term but are eligible for re-election, and which are ineligible for re-election under Section 5.5.E of the Constitution of the Bloomington Faculty. That list shall also include the number of seats to be filled from each election unit.
      5. The Nomination Committee and the Director of Faculty Council Offices shall also solicit nominations for the Faculty President-elect. Candidates for President-elect shall be selected from the current, elected members of the Bloomington Faculty Council through a process of nomination by fellow Council members. Each candidate must receive a minimum of three nominations to be considered for election. From among those nominated, the Nomination Committee will select at least two, but no more than six, candidates for President-elect, working to ensure diversity in the slate.
      6. Preparing the Election Ballot. Each volunteer may run either in their own unit or as an at-large candidate, but not both. The Director of the Faculty Council Office shall confirm that each volunteer is indeed eligible to run in the unit that they have indicated. All volunteers shall be placed on the final ballot. If there are no volunteers for a tenure-track unit seat, the seat shall be declared vacant and referred to the appropriate unit policy committee to fill the vacancy. If there are not enough volunteers to fill tenure-track at-large seats or non-tenure-track seats, those seats shall be referred to the BFC Nomination Committee to fill the vacancies. Until any seat is filled, the former holder of it shall be invited to continue as the representative regardless of the length of time they have served. In all elections, the candidates who received the most votes shall be elected, regardless of whether they received a majority of votes cast. In the case of a tie, the Director of the Faculty Council Office shall arrange a run-off election between the candidates who tied.
      7. Conduct of the Election. The election of the Bloomington Faculty Council and of the President-elect for the following academic year shall be completed by the end of the spring semester. Each voter shall be entitled to vote in this election for representatives in their election unit, at-large and President-elect. Tenure-track faculty and librarians will additionally vote for at-large representatives. The Nomination Committee and the Director of Faculty Council Offices shall file with the Bloomington Faculty President a record of the votes cast and the final ballot that shall be available for inspection by any faculty member.
   3. In early November, the Executive Committee shall circulate a ballot to the current members of the BFC containing at least ten nominees for a new Nomination Committee. The names on the ballot shall be arranged in pairs, with the aim of broad representation from across the academic units and of which no fewer than four shall be represented. The person in each pair receiving the larger number of votes shall be elected. The new Nomination Committee should be elected by the end of the first week of December. The Nomination Committee shall be chaired by the President-elect, who shall be a voting member of the committee. Nomination Committee members, once elected, will serve terms from January to January. Some members of the Nomination Committee may complete their term on the Nomination Committee six months after the end of their term on the Bloomington Faculty Council. On July 1st, the new President-elect becomes the chair of the Nomination Committee. The former President-elect remains a member of the committee through the end of their term as President.
   4. After the Bloomington Faculty Council members of the ensuing year have been determined, the Nomination Committee shall circulate a ballot to the voting members of the Council--as it will be constituted for the ensuing term--to elect a Secretary and a Parliamentarian. There shall be two nominees for Secretary and two for Parliamentarian. The ballot shall permit write-in candidates. The persons receiving the most votes for Secretary and Parliamentarian shall serve in those offices and shall also be members of the Executive Committee.
   5. Representatives from this campus to the University Faculty Council must be members of the Bloomington Faculty Council. Bloomington representatives to the University Faculty Council shall consist of the President-elect and a subset of chairs/co-chairs of the standing committees such that the designated number of seats is filled. If this procedure does not provide the designated number of
      representatives, the Nominations Committee will fill the remaining positions. Bloomington representatives shall include at least one tenure-track and at least one non-tenure track faculty member, with the total numbers including both tenure-track and non-tenure track members in approximately the same proportion as on the Bloomington Faculty Council. These BFC members shall
      be the principal Bloomington nominees for the chair or co-chair of their counterpart committees of the UFC.
   6. Specific times for particular steps in the election process established by the above regulations, as well as number to be elected from units or length of terms of service, may need to be modified in emergencies. Such necessary revisions shall not invalidate the election procedures or results.
   7. If a vacancy occurs in any of the following--President, Secretary, Parliamentarian, Nomination Committee, or Executive Committee--the Nomination Committee and the Executive Committee (deciding jointly) shall elect a replacement from among the present faculty members of the Council.
   8. In all elections of officers, committees, and Council members, ties will be decided by lot.
5. The Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs, the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Health Sciences and the Vice Provost for Research in Bloomington shall be voting members of the council.
6. One representative of the Bloomington Reserve Officer Training Corps shall be a non-voting member of the Bloomington Faculty Council, representing the Departments of Military Science (Army) and Aerospace Studies (Air Force), to be designated jointly by the members of those departments.
7. Alternates, Temporary Replacement Members, Vacancies:
   1. Members of the Council may appoint alternates to serve in their places at any meeting. Alternates should be selected from the same election unit as the council member. Notice that an alternate will serve in place of a council member should be provided to the Faculty Council Office no less than 24 hours before the meeting.
   2. If an elected member will be absent for one or two semesters, the member shall notify the Executive Committee prior to the first meeting of the semester. The Executive Committee will initiate a process for temporary replacement that will include consultation of the member's school policy committee or, in the case of at-large members, the Nomination Committee. If an elected member will be absent for more than a year, the member shall notify the Executive Committee, and the Executive Committee will declare the seat vacant. If someone is elected President, their seat also becomes vacant and should be filled according to the procedures in section 7.C.
   3. Whenever a vacancy occurs among the elected members of the Council earlier than a month before the Council's final meeting of the academic year, that vacancy shall be filled by the unelected nominee in the same election unit (whether faculty and librarian election unit or the at-large unit) who received the highest number of votes in the most recent election. If that person is unable to serve, the elected faculty members of the unit's policy committee, or equivalent, shall elect a replacement from among members of the same election unit or, in the case of an at-large vacancy, the Nomination Committee and the Executive Committee, meeting jointly, shall elect a replacement from among eligible faculty.
   4. A member of Council who fails to attend a majority of Council meetings during a semester will be contacted by the Executive Committee. After the discussion the Executive Committee, at its discretion, may take no action, initiate a temporary replacement process, or declare the seat vacant.
8. Liaisons to School Policy Committees
   1. One representative from each faculty and librarian election unit shall serve as the Council liaison to the unit's policy committee or equivalent. The Council liaisons shall regularly inform unit policy committees of matters pending before the Council that affect the units.
   2. For units with more than one representative, the Nomination Committee shall designate which one shall serve as Council liaison, giving preference to representatives who are also members of their unit's policy committee.
   3. The liaisons shall convey to the Council the views and concerns of unit policy committees about matters that pertain to Council business. If the liaison is not a member of the elected unit policy committee, that policy committee may if it wishes send one of its members to attend BFC meetings as an observer with speaking privileges.
9. On request prior to a meeting, any faculty member may be invited by the Executive Committee to participate without vote in Council meetings--subject, however, to the exercise by the Executive Committee of its responsibility for taking varied points of view into account and for the efficient management of the Council's time. On its own initiative the Executive Committee may invite any non-member to participate in the discussion of matters of particular interest. Faculty members, students, members of the University staff, and members of the press are welcome to attend meetings of the Council, subject only to the adequacy of available space. The Executive Committee may invite the general faculty to participate in special meetings of the Council to be governed by ad hoc rules adopted by the Executive Committee.
10. The duties of the Faculty President shall include, but not be limited to, the following responsibilities:
    1. To serve as Co-Chair of the University Faculty Council.
    2. To serve, along with the Presiding Officer, the Past President, the President-elect, the Secretary, and the Parliamentarian of the Bloomington Faculty Council, as an officer of the Bloomington faculty. (Article III, Section3.1, Constitution of the Bloomington Faculty)
    3. To serve as administrator for the Bloomington Faculty Council.
    4. To preside at meetings of the Bloomington Faculty Council in the absence of the Provost or University President and to preside at meetings of the Bloomington Faculty.
    5. To preside at meetings of the Executive Committee.
    6. To report to the Council at the first meeting of each academic year the status of uncompleted business from the prior year and the status of legislative actions taken in the prior year.
    7. To convene search and screen committees, when the majority of the membership of any search and screen committee is selected by the BFC.
    8. To convene, with the Provost, review committees of administrative officers who hold positions bearing directly on the campus-wide teaching / research mission of IUB and who report to the Provost. (Review Procedures for Bloomington Campus Administrators, Section 5)
    9. To consult with the Provost in advance of actions taken to alleviate a crisis which could lead to a declaration of financial exigency. (Creation, Reorganization, Elimination, and Merger of Academic Units and Programs, Section VIII.E.)
    10. To represent the Bloomington faculty in meetings with the Board of Trustees, the University President; the Provost; and their administrative committees.
    11. The term of the President shall be for one year, to be served from July 1 in the second academic year following their election until June 30 of the subsequent year. During the year previous to their term, as the President-elect, and during the year following their term as Past President, they shall serve as an officer of the Bloomington Faculty Council and member of the Executive Committee. Election as President shall automatically extend that person's term as a BFC member by additional years sufficient to complete the term. No person, however, shall be eligible to serve consecutive terms as President.
11. The duties of the President-elect shall include, but not be limited to, the following responsibilities:
    1. To serve, along with the Presiding Officer, President, the Past President, the Secretary, and the Parliamentarian, as an officer of the Bloomington Faculty. (Article III, Section 3.1, Constitution of the Bloomington Faculty)
    2. To serve as a member of the Executive Committee of the Bloomington Faculty Council.
    3. To serve as a BFC representative to the University Faculty Council.
    4. To preside at meetings of the Executive Committee in the absence of the President.
    5. To preside at meetings of the Bloomington Faculty Council in the absence of the University President, the Provost, and the President.
    6. To substitute temporarily for the President in the execution of the duties specified in Bylaw 10, when unavoidable circumstances prohibit them from fulfilling those obligations.
    7. To serve as Chair of the Nomination Committee.
    8. To be the liaison between the Executive Committee and the standing committees.
12. The duties of the Past President shall include, but not be limited to, the following responsibilities:
    1. To serve, along with the Presiding Officer, President, the President-elect, the Secretary, and the Parliamentarian, as an officer of the Bloomington Faculty. (Article III, Section 3.1, Constitution of the Bloomington Faculty)
    2. To serve as Chair of the Long Range Planning Committee
    3. To serve as a member of the Executive Committee of the Bloomington Faculty Council.
    4. To serve as a BFC representative to the University Faculty Council.
13. The duties of the Secretary shall include, but not be limited to, the following responsibilities:
    1. To serve, along with the Presiding Officer, the President, the Past President, the President-elect and the Parliamentarian of the Bloomington Faculty Council, as an officer of the Bloomington faculty. (Article III, Section 3.1, Constitution of the Bloomington Faculty).
    2. To keep minutes of the proceedings and actions of the Council and to circulate these minutes.
    3. To write and circulate executive summaries of each Council meeting within 7 days following the meeting.
    4. To serve as a member of the Executive Committee.
14. The duties of the Parliamentarian shall include, but not be limited to, the following responsibilities:
    1. To serve, along with the Presiding Officer, the President, the Past President, the President-elect and the Secretary, as an officer of the Bloomington Faculty. (Article III, Section 3.1, Constitution of the Bloomington Faculty)
    2. To serve as Parliamentarian of the Bloomington Faculty Council.
    3. To serve as Chair of the Constitution and Rules Committee.
    4. To serve as a member of the Executive Committee of the Bloomington Faculty Council.
    5. To preside at meetings of the Executive Committee in the absence of both the President and the President-elect.
    6. To substitute temporarily for the Secretary in the execution of the duties specified in Bylaw 13, when circumstances prohibit them from fulfilling those obligations.
15. The comprehensive minutes required by the Constitution shall consist of two documents.
    1. Minutes produced by the Secretary in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order and distributed to the campus faculty within one week. See bylaw 13.B.
    2. Verbatim transcripts produced from the recordings of each meeting. These transcripts will be prepared by the Faculty Council Office. The verbatim transcripts and the original recordings for the current and previous year will be accessible on the BFC website. Earlier transcripts and recordings will be available through University Archives
    3. Both minutes and verbatim transcripts will be subject to review by the full Council at the beginning of the first meeting at which they are available.
16. Organization of the standing committees:
    1. Standing committees of the Council are those constituted for an indefinite term.
    2. Standing committees of the Council shall consist of the Benefits Committee; the Budgetary Affairs Committee; the Constitution and Rules Committee; the Creation, Reorganization, Elimination and Merger Committee; the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee; the Educational Policies Committee; the Executive Committee; the Faculty Affairs Committee; the International Affairs Committee; the Library Committee; the Long Range Planning Committee; the Nomination Committee; the Research Affairs Committee; the Student Academic Appointee Affairs Committee, the Student Affairs Committee; and the Technology Policy Committee.
    3. Standing committees shall be divided into three categories: committees with primarily consultative functions, committees with primarily legislative functions, and committees that support the critical administrative functions of the Council. This does not mean that consultative committees do not occasionally have legislative tasks, nor that legislative committees do not consult on issues. This is meant only to describe the primary function of the committee.
       
       Standing committees with primarily consultative functions are: the Benefits Committee; the Budgetary Affairs Committee; the Creation, Reorganization, the Elimination and Merger Committee; the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee; the International Affairs Committee; the Library Committee; the Long Range Planning Committee; the Student Academic Appointee Affairs Committee, and the Technology Policy Committee.
       
       Standing committees with primarily legislative functions are: the Constitution and Rules Committee; the Educational Policies Committee; the Faculty Affairs Committee; the Research Affairs Committee; and the Student Affairs Committee.
       
       Standing committees that support the critical administrative functions of the Council are: the Executive Committee and the Nomination Committee.
       
       
    4. Each of the chairs of the following committees shall serve as an ex officio voting member of the Executive Committee: Budgetary Affairs; Educational Policies; Faculty Affairs; and Long Range Planning, Research Affairs and Student Affairs. That ex officio member must be a member of the Council.
17. Duties of the Executive committee:
    1. The function of the Executive Committee shall be as follows:
       1. The agenda of the Council shall be determined by the Executive Committee. All communications--including those from individual faculty members requesting Council action, study, or advice--shall be placed on the agenda or shall be referred to an appropriate body or committee for consideration. In the latter case, the Executive Committee shall report its action to the Council which may--by a simple majority vote--request the Executive Committee to place a referred item on the agenda.
       2. The Executive Committee shall prepare the final draft of any new legislation approved by the Council.
       3. The Executive Committee at any time may request the Council to determine the implementation and the effect of any past legislation or action or to reconsider any past legislation.
       4. The Executive Committee shall assign items proposed for Council consideration to the appropriate BFC committee. The committees shall consider the proposals and advise the Council as to their appropriate disposition.
       5. The Executive Committee shall meet with the Provost in weeks preceding the meetings of the Bloomington Faculty Council at a customarily fixed time and location. Additional meetings of the Executive Committee alone can be scheduled as needed.
       6. At least twice each academic year, the Executive Committee shall call a meeting of the Executive Committee with the chairs of Council committees, and with representatives of faculty and librarian unit policy committees, either together or separately, to survey and discuss issues to come before faculty governance groups during the year.
       7. The Executive Committee is delegated to act as the executive agent of the Bloomington Faculty Council, without prior consultation with the Council, as follows:
          1. When making editorial changes in Faculty Council policies and documents, including the constitution and bylaws, to reflect organizational changes to the structures of Indiana University, the Indiana University Bloomington campus, the University Faculty Council and their respective policies;
          2. In cases requiring emergency action within a period during which no meeting of the Council is scheduled, including during the summer sessions;
          3. Emergency actions taken by the Executive Committee require, at minimum, a simple majority which must include the President and President-elect.
       8. When acting as the delegated executive agent for the Council, the Executive Committee will inform Council members through electronic communication of its activities.
       9. Actions taken by the Executive Committee as delegated executive agent for the Council may at the request of an elected representative of the Bloomington Faculty Council be reviewed by the Council at its next subsequent meeting and, where feasible, may be overruled by a two-thirds vote of the Bloomington Faculty Council.
       10. The Executive Committee may create and appoint ad hoc committees and task forces and may make recommendations of faculty members to serve on administratively appointed committees.
18. Duties of the Faculty Council Office
    1. To prepare a summary of the activities of the Council each year and to distribute it to the Bloomington Faculty.
    2. To report in the minutes the names of those present or absent at Council meetings and names of alternates present.
    3. To make available the minutes and transcripts of the meetings; Council documents; the time, place and agenda of the next meeting to all members of the faculty and other campus and University constituencies or their representatives (e.g. the Secretary of the Board of Trustees).
19. Retention and disposition of Faculty Council records and files:
    1. Definition and principles:
       1. All records and files created or received by the Bloomington Faculty President of the BFC as administrator of the Council and relating to Faculty Council business are defined as the official records of the BFC.
       2. Records and files created or received by the chairpersons of BFC committees are defined as BFC committee files and are therefore excluded from the provisions of these rules.
       3. The maintenance of official BFC records and files shall be in accordance with general Indiana University rules established by the Trustees, the Executive Vice President for University Academic Affairs and the Indiana University Controller.
    2. Maintenance of BFC records and files:
       1. Official BFC records and files shall be maintained in the Faculty Council Office for the minimum periods specified:
          1. Incoming and outgoing correspondence relating to BFC business and incoming correspondence log: three years.
          2. Audio recordings of BFC meetings: permanently.
          3. Election ballots or other data relating to elections and committee assignments: one year
          4. Tabulations by name of votes in Council meetings: one year.
          5. File copy of agendas, minutes, circulars, and each year's Summary of the Year: permanently.
    3. Disposition of BFC records and files:
       1. Subject to space limitations, official BFC records and files may be retained in the BFC office for longer periods than those specified in Bylaw 15.B, at the discretion of the Faculty President.
       2. Ballots, and other election materials relating to elections and committee assignments may be erased / discarded after one year, at the discretion of the Faculty President.
       3. Other official BFC records and files shall be offered to the University Archives upon expiration of the period specified in Bylaw 15.B.
       4. Surplus copies of items listed under Bylaw 15.B.(1)(e) shall be offered to the University Archives at the end of the Council year in which they have been created.
       5. Records or files not preserved at the discretion of the Faculty President according to 15.C.(1) and 15.C.(2) of this bylaw or those not accepted by the University Archives according to 15.C(3) and 15.C(4) may be discarded.
    4. Exceptions:
       1. The records and files of BFC committees, while not subject to these rules, are an important resource for the efficient administration of Council activities and a potentially valuable historical record. Chairpersons are encouraged to pass on BFC committee records and files to their successors at the conclusion of the Council year and/or to offer them to the University Archives at an appropriate time.
       2. Files maintained by the BFC staff for their own use and containing unofficial materials shall not be subject to the provisions of these rules.

Appendix
Below are the electoral sub-units within the College of Arts and Sciences that are authorized pursuant to amended Bylaw 4.B.(1).

1. College divisions (as defined by the College of Arts and Sciences) 
   1. Arts and Humanities (A&H)
   2. Natural and Mathematical Sciences (N&M)
   3. Social and Historical Sciences (S&H)
2. Hamiliton Lugar School of Global and International Studies
3. Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design
4. Media School

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History

Approved: BFC 11/18/75;

Amended: 

1/20/1976; 2/17/1976; 10/5/1976; 1/18/1977; 4/4/1977; 4/19/1977; 4/18/1978, 10/3/1978, 2/20/1979, 12/7/1982; 2/1/1983; 2/15/1983; 3/1/1983; 11/15/1983; 12/6/1983; 2/7/1984; 9/18/1984; 10/16/1984; 11/13/1984; 1/15/1985; 3/5/1985; 4/16/1985; 3/4/1986; 1/17/1989; 1//21/1992; 4/1/1997; 11/18/1997; 4/20/1999; 12/5/2000; 9/10/2002; 4/15/2003; 4/18/2006; 12/7/2010; 2/4/2011; 9/15/2015; 11/3/2015; 1/19/2016; 3/1/2016; 11/1/2016; 4/18/2017 (changes to take affect Spring 2018); 4/16/2019; 10/15/2019; 03/03/2020; 09/15/2020; 11/17/2020; 04/06/2021; 04/12/2022

Previous versions of the policy:

11/1/2016 - 04/18/2017

04/18/2017 - 04/16/2019

4/16/2019 - 10/15/2019

10/15/2019 - 03/03/2020

03/03/2020 - 09/15/2020

9/15/2020 - 11/17/2020

11/17/2020 - 04/06/2021

04/06/202 - 04/12/2022

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