Wesleyan University

Preamble. Appointment to the Wesleyan faculty, whether on a part-time, full-time, non-tenured or tenured basis, is subject to and governed by the terms and provisions of the following section.

Part I. The Faculty

Sec. 101. Composition of the Faculty. The by-laws of Wesleyan University state that "The faculty shall consist of the professors, associate professors, assistant professors, lecturers, and instructors, and the president of the University, together with such others as may be constituted members thereof by vote of the Board of Trustees." (Chapter IV, Section 1)

Sec. 102. Active Duty. The term, on active duty, means not on sabbatical or other leave of absence.

Sec. 103. Secretary. The Academic Secretary shall keep minutes of meetings, maintain a roll of the faculty and of those who have been invited to attend meetings, determine and certify the attainment of a quorum, certify the competence of members to vote, and circulate notices to the faculty.

Part II. Departments, Colleges, Programs, and Divisions

Sec. 201. Departments, Colleges, and Programs. Each member of the faculty is a member of at least one department, college, or program. Faculty members of equal academic rank have equal rights and privileges in the conduct of the affairs of the departments, colleges, or programs to which they belong. All matters of departmental administration, save personnel matters, are the subject of conference among all the faculty members in the department, regardless of academic rank.

Sec. 202. Divisions. The departments are grouped in three Divisions: Division I, Languages, Literature, and the Arts; Division II, Social Studies, Philosophy, and Religion; and Division III, Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The divisions consider matters of educational policy, and make recommendations through the Educational Policy Committee to the faculty, or to the president and his/her delegates. Colleges and programs are outside the divisional structure.

Part III. Powers and Responsibilities

Sec. 301. Powers of the Faculty. The by-laws of Wesleyan University specify the powers of the faculty as follows: "The faculty, with the concurrence of the president, shall have power to determine, subject to the approval of or revision by the Board of Trustees, the courses of study, the arrangements of the recitations, lectures, and other exercises, the times and modes of examination, and the general method of instruction." (Chapter IV, Section 3)

"The degree of bachelor of arts may be conferred on students recommended by the faculty as having completed the quota of studies required for the degree, and as having complied with all other prescribed conditions, in accordance with such regulations as may, from time to time, be adopted by the faculty with the approval of the Board of Trustees." (Chapter V, Section 2)

"A post-baccalaureate degree may be conferred on any student recommended by the faculty as having completed courses of study prescribed for that degree, and as having complied with all other prescribed conditions, in accordance with such regulations as may, from time to time, be adopted by the faculty with the approval of the board." (Chapter V, Section 3)

Sec. 302. Power to Recommend and Petition. On matters not within its immediate jurisdiction, the faculty may vote recommendations or direct petitions to the president and/or the Board of Trustees.

Sec. 303. Delegation of Powers. The faculty may delegate any of its powers to committees, to departments, or to other delegates.

Part IV. Faculty Meetings

Sec. 401. Schedule and Notice of Meetings

a) The faculty of Wesleyan University shall meet at least three times during each semester. The schedule of these meetings shall be published and circulated to the faculty at the beginning of each academic year.

(b) The faculty meetings shall be presided over by the chair, or in his/her absence, the vice-chair. The chair and vice chair shall be tenured full professors, elected for overlapping two-year terms, and are exempt from all committee service during their terms. The vice-chair automatically becomes the chair during the second year of his/her term.

(c) The agenda for faculty meetings, including special meetings, shall be published and circulated to the faculty at least five days prior to the scheduled meeting.

(d) The faculty may be convened on special occasions by the president, or upon petition of not less than 20 percent of the faculty on active service. The president or the petitioners must specify the nature of the business to be brought to the faculty; and petitions shall be submitted to the chair. Upon receipt, the chair shall notify the faculty in writing of the schedule for the meeting and the proposals to be considered, as stated by the president or the petitioners. Such meeting shall be held no later than two weeks after the receipt of the petition. The business of the special meeting shall be restricted to that specified in the petition or by the president.

(e) Except as otherwise provided by these by-laws, faculty meetings shall deal first with the agenda scheduled by the chair, and no other business shall be conducted until the business scheduled by the chair has been completed. At that time, discussion of other issues may be initiated by a member of the faculty but may not be brought to a vote until a subsequent meeting except by unanimous consent of the faculty present.

Sec. 402. Attendance and Voting. Visiting faculty and faculty less than half-time in the employ of Wesleyan University may attend faculty meetings, without vote. All other members of the faculty may vote. The dean of admission and financial aid, dean of the college, vice president and treasurer, and vice president for University Relations may attend meetings with voice, but without vote, ex officio. Other nonmembers of the faculty may attend meetings, without vote, by temporary invitation of the faculty, by formal vote, upon the recommendation of any member of the faculty. The faculty may, from time to time, choose to meet in executive session. Only voting members of the faculty may attend executive sessions.

Sec. 403. Quorum. A quorum shall be attained when the number of faculty members present is equal to 25 percent of the total number of faculty on active duty.

Sec. 404. Rules. The rules of parliamentary procedure, as stated in the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, shall govern the faculty in all cases to which they are applicable.

V. Committees

Sec. 501. Standing Committees of the Faculty. The following committees shall be standing committees of the faculty: The Educational Policy Committee; the Committee on Rights and Responsibilities; the Committee on Honors; and the Compensation and Benefits Committee.

Sec. 502. Membership of Committees. The president and vice president for academic affairs or their respective delegates shall be ex officio members of all committees, except the Faculty Committee on Rights and Responsibilities. Ex officio members shall have no vote in committee deliberations. The committees shall consist of the following members:

(a) The Educational Policy Committee shall consist of six members of the faculty, two from each division; two undergraduate students; and one graduate student.

(b) The Committee on Honors shall consist of nine faculty members, three from each Division, serving three-year terms.

(c) The Committee on Rights and Responsibilities shall consist of six members, at least one of whom shall be tenured, at least one of whom shall be untenured, with two members from each division.

(d) The Compensation and Benefits Committee shall consist of three tenured faculty members, one from each division, two untenured faculty members not both from the same division, one member of the adjunct faculty and one professional librarian. The vice president for academic affairs and the treasurer will be ex officio members.

Sec. 503. Election of Committee Members and Length of Term

(a) Elections for the vice-chair of the faculty and for faculty members of committees established by faculty by-laws and legislation shall be conducted by the Office of Academic Affairs following a set of procedures providing for approval voting. The details of the procedures were approved by the faculty on May 3, 1995, and are available from the Office of Academic Affairs.

(b) Faculty members on the Educational Policy Committee and the Committee on Rights and Responsibilities shall serve for terms of two years. Faculty members on the Committee on Honors and the Compensation and Benefits Committee shall serve for terms of three years. The professional librarian member of the Compensation and Benefits Committee shall be elected by and from among the eligible professional librarians and serve for three years.

(c) Faculty members who have served for two consecutive years on standing committees, the Advisory Committee, or as vice-chair/chair of the faculty, may be excused from nomination to these committees, and the offices of vice-chair and chair of the faculty for a period of three years after said service. Those serving for three full years may be excused from nomination as above for four years. These “immunity” periods are intended to be in addition to (not concurrent with) the immunity from committee service permitted to department chairs.

(d) All persons elected to a Standing Committee must, except in extraordinary circumstances, serve for at least one full year. If he/she cannot serve for a full second or third year, a vacancy shall be declared and the elected replacement member will serve out the remainder of the unexpired term.

Should a member-elect of a committee determine that he/she cannot begin service as scheduled, a second election will be conducted as soon as possible in the manner prescribed above.

(e) Undergraduate students shall be nominated and elected to the standing committees of the faculty when appropriate according to procedures established by the student government and approved by the faculty.

(f) Graduate students shall be nominated and elected to the standing committees of the faculty according to procedures established by the Graduate Student Association, or its successor, and approved by the faculty.

Sec. 504. Powers and Responsibilities of Committees. The committees shall have the following general powers and responsibilities, which may, from time to time, be interpreted or specified by the faculty, voting by simple majority, at a faculty meeting:

(a) The Educational Policy Committee shall be responsible for conducting investigations of and making recommendations about all matters of graduate and undergraduate educational policy within the University. It shall regularly review the curriculum and course offerings; consider and recommend major changes in the calendar and curriculum and in the requirements for graduation; and coordinate its work with other committees. In addition, it shall consult with and advise the president on the establishment of the University budget as it relates to educational policy and shall advise the dean of admission in the making of admissions policy and the operations of the Office of Admission. It shall be responsible for academic review, implementing academic regulations, and recommending to the faculty degree candidates for the B.A., MALS, and CAS degrees. Further, by delegation from the faculty, the Educational Policy Committee will act on behalf of the faculty in consulting with the president on the establishment and implementation of policy with regard to nonacademic discipline, financial aid, and other matters affecting campus and community life. In carrying out these and other responsibilities, the Educational Policy Committee shall be empowered to appoint, at its discretion, subcommittees, task forces, or consultants from its own membership, or from the community, and may delegate this appointing power to others. It shall designate a member to serve as a liaison with the University librarian. The Educational Policy Committee shall report directly to the faculty.

(b) The Committee on Honors shall be responsible for (1) examining candidates for honors in general scholarship and University honors and submitting recommendations to the faculty on the award of honors in general scholarship and University honors; (2) establishing guidelines and approving procedures for departmental honors.

(c) The Committee on Rights and Responsibilities shall advise the president of the University in matters involving complaints by undergraduate and graduate students against a member of the faculty; or with respect to disputes between members of the faculty and members of the administration, their departments, or other members of the faculty. The committee shall be guided in its deliberations by the principles of academic freedom and shall file written reports to the president who, as specified in these by-laws, acts as final arbiter. Any member of the faculty or of the academic staff charged before the committee shall have the right to confront accusers and witnesses, to be represented by counsel, and to have access to the proceedings and reports of the committee. The committee shall serve as the "Hearing Committee" recommended by the American Association of University Professors in dismissal proceedings. The committee shall be responsible for adopting and promulgating a set of procedures governing the conduct of its work. (See "Faculty Committee on Rights and Responsibilities".)

(d) The Compensation and Benefits Committee shall be the delegates of the faculty and professional librarians. They shall share with the University administration the responsibility for arranging to meet in a timely fashion during the development of the budget with the vice president for academic affairs and the treasurer. The committee shall consult regularly with the faculty representatives to the Finance Committee of the Board of Trustees. The Compensation and Benefits Committee shall consult on their deliberations with the chair of the faculty, the faculty, and professional librarians and report directly to the faculty and professional librarians.

VI. Amendments and Effective Date

Sec. 601. These by-laws may be amended at any meeting of the faculty by a vote of two-thirds of those present provided that at least 40 percent of the faculty on active service vote, and that a copy of the proposed amendment be distributed to the faculty at least five days in advance of the meeting.

Sec. 602. These by-laws shall be effective no later than July 1, 2001.