Departmental Bylaws and Department Faculty
Council (DFCs)
Approved by the Faculty Senate on
editorial changes approved by the Senate Executive
Committee operating on behalf of the Faculty Senate during the summer 2007 in
consultation with the Provost and the University President.
I.
Departmental Bylaws
A. Each department
shall, by
B. An up-to-date version of the bylaws shall be posted on
the department website and linked to the department homepage, in a conspicuous
way, by the end of the Spring Semester 2008.
C. The bylaws shall provide for a Department Faculty
Council (or like body**) to be operational by
II.
The Department Faculty Council
A.
The Role and Purpose of the DFC
1. The DFC is advisory to the Chair, who holds
decision-making authority at the department level.
2. The purpose of the
B.
Implementation and Membership of the DFC
1. Each department that does not have a DFC shall
establish an Implementation Committee to coordinate and oversee the
establishment of its DFC. That same committee shall also initiate the
establishment of written bylaws in cases where such bylaws do not already
exist. Membership of the Implementation
Committee shall be the department’s Faculty Senator plus the chairs of the
department’s Curriculum Committee and its Tenure and Promotion Committee.
2.
The Implementation
Committee should work with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee to address
problems arising in its work that may require external assistance.
3.
A DFC shall
consist of at least three members, all selected by vote of the department
faculty.
4.
A majority of the
DFC should be tenured or tenure-track faculty if possible.
5.
The exact method
by which the department selects its representatives to the
6. The Chair is an ex
officio, non-voting member of the DFC.
Chairs will respect their DFC’s desire, on occasion, to meet without the
Chair present.
7.
Department Chairs
are not eligible to vote for or to serve as representatives to the DFC.
C.
Alternatives to the DFC
1. The body performing the functions here outlined for
the DFC may be constituted differently if the faculty so desire, but any such
alternative body must:
a) Be composed of a majority of voting members who are
elected by the permanent full-time faculty of the departments they represent.
b) Be chaired by a tenured, elected faculty member who is
selected by vote of the elected members of the body.
c) Clearly acknowledge in its bylaws the prerogative of
the elected members, when those members wish, to meet without the Chair.
d) Be clearly identified in the department’s bylaws as
performing the functions of the
e) Be initially approved and then reaffirmed annually by
a majority vote of the permanent full-time faculty members of the department by
secret ballot as their preferred alternative to a DFC as outlined elsewhere in
this document.
2.
Similarly
departments may substitute a Committee of the Whole for a DFC, but such a
Committee of the Whole must:
a) Be composed of a two-thirds majority of fulltime
permanent faculty members.
b) Be chaired by a tenured, elected faculty member who is
selected by vote of the body.
c) Clearly acknowledge in its bylaws the prerogative of
the Committee of the Whole and its sub-committees to meet without the Chair.
d) Be clearly identified in the department’s bylaws as
performing the purpose of the DFC.
e) Be initially approved and then reaffirmed annually by
a majority vote of the permanent full-time faculty members of the department by
secret ballot as their preferred alternative to a DFC as outlined elsewhere in
this document.
D.
DFC Leadership
The chair must be elected
by the elected members of the DFC from among their number.
E.
Operation
1. Consistent with its purpose of providing greater
transparency and two-way communication between the faculty and the Chair, the
DFC shall have the right to prompt access to department information relating to
the planning and implementation of departmental policies.
2. Once the DFC is established in a particular department,
the DFC should work with the Dean and/or the Ombuds office to address problems
arising in its work that may require external assistance, and should notify the
Faculty Senate Executive Committee for information purposes.
F.
Frequency of Meeting and Summer DFCs
1. The DFC should meet as often as deemed appropriate by
the council membership with a minimum of two meetings per semester. Each meeting shall be called by the chair of
the DFC. The Chair or any other member
of the DFC can request a meeting by contacting the chair of the DFC.
2. Each DFC shall take necessary measures to assure
continuing functioning of the DFC during the summer months. These may include, but are not limited to,
establishing a reduced quorum requirement, allowing members to name, or elect,
proxies from among the faculty of their department, and electing an acting DFC
chair. Determining the best mix of such
necessary measures shall be the decision of the DFC itself, based on immediate
circumstances and without outside intervention. Such a “Summer DFC” shall be recognized by the
administration as the legitimate representative of faculty interests in the
shared governance of the department during the summer months, and consulted
accordingly.