CMCI Bylaws

Excerpted from the CMCI Faculty Council Bylaws, last updated April 24, 2018. 

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Article II. The Faculty of the College 

The primary governing unit of the college is the Faculty of Media, Communication and Information (FMCI). The FMCI will normally exercise its authority through its representative body, the CMCI Faculty Council.

A. Membership
Voting members of the FMCI are the voting members of the primary units in the College. The primary unit is the department, program or other academic unit with a minimum of two full-time-equivalent rostered faculty members. Included in the voting membership are the Dean, Associate Deans, and any other individuals with administrative contracts who also hold qualified teaching ranks in the college.

B. Conduct of Meetings
The FMCI shall meet at least once per regular semester in each academic year. The meeting of the FMCI can be held only while classes are in session. It can be called by the CMCI Faculty Council Chair with ten (10) calendar days’ notice. 

The CMCI Faculty Council Chair shall call a special meeting of the FMCI, to be held within ten (10) business days, upon receipt of a petition signed by ten percent (10%) of the voting members. The petition shall state the specific item(s) to be considered at the meeting. The CMCI Faculty Council Chair shall also call a meeting of the FMCI at the request of the Dean. 

The CMCI Faculty Council Chair shall preside over meetings of the FMCI, assisted by the administrative assistant, who will prepare the minutes and send them to the Faculty Council Chair, who will distribute them to Faculty Council Members. 

For action to be taken at a meeting of the FMCI, a quorum must be established. A quorum consists of twenty percent (20%) of the voting members of the College, with representation from more than fifty percent (50%) of the primary units in the College. 

An affirmative vote of a simple majority of members present and voting shall be sufficient for adoption of all measures, except as noted in these bylaws or required by university policy or Laws of the Regents. 

At the request of one-third or more of the members present and voting at a physical meeting of the FMCI, a mail ballot or e-mail ballot will be submitted to all voting members of the FMCI. For a mail or e-mail ballot to be deemed valid, a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the voting members must submit their ballots. To be adopted, a measure must receive a majority of affirmative votes cast. 

Article III. CMCI Faculty Council 

A. Membership
The CMCI Faculty Council is comprised of at least one member elected from each primary unit. Academic units with 10 or more tenured or tenure-track faculty members have the option to elect two members to the Faculty Council. Members who are elected by their units serve staggered 3-year terms. The Dean of the College is an ex officio, nonvoting member of the Faculty Council.

B. Responsibilities of Members
Members of the CMCI Faculty Council are expected to

  • Attend meetings of the Faculty Council
  • Participate in the work of the Faculty Council’s standing committees
  • Represent to the Faculty Council views of their units and report back to their units activities of the Faculty Council

C. Purpose
The CMCI Faculty Council represents the views and interests of the faculty of the College. The Faculty Council meets monthly during the academic year to discuss matters of policy affecting the College, make proposals for consideration by the faculty of the College and/or the Dean, and advise the Dean on other matters to carry out the mission of the College. The Faculty Council reports on its activities to the faculty of the College on a regular basis and at least once each semester.

D. Operation
The CMCI Faculty Council participates in the governance of the College through its actions and actions of its standing committees. The Dean will submit administrative and policy matters for review, amendment, and approval or disapproval by the Council. The Dean shall regularly report and explain his or her policies and decisions, both general and specific, to the CMCI Faculty Council or its appropriate committees, ensuring that significant decisions affecting the College will have been reached in a collaborative manner.

E. Election and Vacancies
Each primary unit elects one member of the voting faculty to serve on the CMCI Faculty Council. Any academic unit with 10 or more tenured or tenure-track faculty members may elect a second representative to the Faculty Council.

Elections are carried out according to procedures established by the unit. Members serve 3-year staggered terms. If a member goes on leave during his or her term, the unit may elect a temporary replacement, allowing the member to resume membership upon his or her return. Alternatively, the unit may elect another voting member who will begin a new 3-year term.

Representatives may serve no more than two consecutive terms on the Council. After a 2-year hiatus from service, former representatives may stand for election again. Any representative may be removed from the Council by majority vote of the Council for reason of nonattendance or other good cause.

Each academic unit is responsible for replacing its representative if, for any reason, the position falls vacant.  

F. Officers

  1. Chair
    The Chair acts as the presiding officer of the CMCI Faculty Council and its Executive Committee, and is an ex officio member of the Council’s standing committees. The Chair is an ex officio member of CMCI’s Chairs and Directors meetings. The Chair serves as a nonvoting member of the ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ Faculty Assembly (BFA) and of the BFA Executive Committee.  
    • a) Election
      Each year, a Council member will be elected by the Council to preside over the election of the following year’s Chair. The presiding officer may not be a candidate. At the next-to-the-last meeting of the Council in the spring semester, the presiding officer solicits nominations for the election of the Chair and conducts the election. Prior to the vote, candidates will present themselves and describe their qualifications. The vote will be held by secret ballot. The successful candidate will receive a majority of the votes cast. In the event that no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, a run-off election will be held between the candidate receiving the most votes and the candidate or candidates receiving the second-most votes.
    • b) Term
      The Chair serves a 1-year term, commencing at the end of the current academic year. The Chair may not serve more than two consecutive terms. In the absence of the Chair, the Council will designate one of its members to act as presiding officer.
    • c) Responsibilities
      The Chair is responsible, among other things, for setting the agenda for FC meetings, appointing members to FC committees, and maintaining ongoing communication with the Dean and with chairs of FC committees.
    • d) Assistance
    • The Chair will be assisted by a full-time program assistant (Administrative Assistant III or above). The position shall be provided by the Dean and supervised by the Chair of the CMCI Faculty Council. The program assistant will take notes during meetings of the Council and assist in other matters relevant to the Council and to the business of the committees of the Council. The administrative assistant will prepare the minutes of the CMCI Faculty Council meetings and send them to the Faculty Council Chair, who will distribute no later than one week before the next meeting. 
  2. Parliamentarian
    The Council will appoint one of its members or someone else to serve as a parliamentarian for CMCI Faculty Council meetings and for meetings of the CMCI faculty.  

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