Background
Procedure for Electing Program Directors to the Academic Council April 30, 2020
EMU’s Academic Council integrates the functions of the former Undergraduate and Graduate Councils. The scope and composition of the Academic Council is detailed in the “Faculty Shared Governance Guidelines,” which were approved by Faculty Assembly on April 13, 2020. This document addresses the procedure for selecting the program directors who will serve on the Academic Council.
Eligibility
Article II, Section 3 (Membership) of the Faculty Shared Governance Guidelines states that “3 Program Director representatives from each school” will sit as voting members on the Academic Council. Representatives may be elected for a renewable two-year term. These three representatives are “to reflect the mix of programs in the school.” Every currently serving program director in each school is eligible to be nominated to serve on the Academic Council, albeit any individual program director may “request to be omitted (from the ballot) based on unusual circumstances.”
Voting Procedure
At the last school meeting of the spring semester, or no later than May 15, all eligible faculty in each school will be asked to select three program directors to represent their school on the Academic Council. They will do so from the ballot of eligible program directors prepared by the dean of that school. The ballot will indicate the primary focus of each program director (undergraduate or graduate). The ballot will also indicate the relative representation of undergraduate and graduate programs in each school, and faculty will be asked to nominate representatives in accord with that ratio. The top five names will be considered the preferred nominees from each school.
Consultation
After receiving the ballots and computing the results, the deans will consult with each other, the Provost, and the Chair of the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion (CODI) regarding the mix of nominees. Since the purpose of the Academic Council is to reflect the diversity of EMU’s faculty, the deans may choose to recommend to the Council that it appoint one or two additional at-large Council members to achieve that goal.
Term and Duties
Program Director Representatives elected to the Academic Committee shall serve two-year terms and will represent the interests of their respective schools and the university as a whole by attending Academic Council meetings and communicating the opinions and perspectives of the faculty in their schools.
Review
This procedure is to be reviewed by the faculty every three years.
Distribution
Faculty/Staff Handbook
Last reviewed April 30, 2020