Constitution of the Alabama Council of College and University Faculty Presidents

Alabama Council of University Faculty Presidents

CONSTITUTION OF

THE ALABAMA COUNCIL OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY FACULTY

PRESIDENTS

Article I

Name

The name of the organization established in accordance with the terms of the present Constitution shall be The Alabama Council of College and University Faculty Presidents, hereinafter referred to as the Council.

Article II

Purposes

As an instrument of the common interests of the members of the academic faculties of the four-year colleges and universities in the State of Alabama, the Council has the following purposes:

1. To serve as a distinctive voice of higher education by adopting, publicizing, and supporting resolutions on educational policy and matters of general faculty concern;

2. To facilitate the organization of effective faculty representation in institutions of higher education by mutual assistance among participating representatives; and

3. To provide a continuing opportunity for the exchange of intelligence among college and university faculties by semi-annual and special meetings of the Council and by correspondence and other consultation among members.

Article III

Membership

1. The Council shall consist of the presidents or chairs, the immediate past presidents or chairs, and the presidents-elect or chairs-elect, or in the absence of a president-elect or chair-elect, a third representative to be determined by the faculty organization, of those faculty organizations which have ratified the present Constitution, and, except as provided in Article IV, Section 2, tenure in Council membership shall coincide with tenure as president or chair, the immediate past president or chair, or the president-elect or chair-elect of a faculty organization. In the absence of a president-elect or a chair-elect, a third representative shall be determined by the faculty organization with tenure in Council membership that coincides with the appointment by the faculty organization.

2. President or chair means that person who is the principal officer or chairperson of the faculty organization.

3. Immediate past president or chair means that person currently on the faculty who most recently held the office of president or chair before the current president or chair. President-elect or chair-elect means that person currently on the faculty who has been designated to succeed in office the current president or chair.

4. The educational institutions the representatives of whose faculty organizations may be members of the Council are those accredited colleges and university in the State of Alabama which grant baccalaureate academic degrees.

5. Members representing a given faculty organization shall cease to be members when their faculty organization has voted to discontinue their membership and has duly notified other participating faculty organizations.

Article IV

Officers

1. Elective officers of the Council shall be President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, each of whom shall be a member of the Council.

2. All officers shall be elected at the Fall meeting of the Council and shall serve from the adjournment of the meeting at which elected until the adjournment of the next Fall meeting even if, in any case, an officer shall in the meantime have been succeeded in office in his or her faculty organization. Officers elected at the organizational meeting provided in Article X shall take office immediately upon election and shall serve until adjournment of the next Fall meeting.

3. The President shall preside over all meetings of the Council and of the Executive Committee provided in Article VI. The First Vice President shall preside in the absence of the President, and the Second Vice President shall preside in the absence of the President and the First Vice President.

4. The Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of all meetings of the Council and of the Executive Committee, shall issue notices and agenda of Council meetings in accordance with decisions of the Executive Committee, and shall assist the President in necessary communications on behalf of the Council.

5. The Treasurer shall receive and disburse funds as authorized by this Constitution, the Council, or the Executive Committee, shall maintain a record of all such financial transactions, and shall render a written accounting to the Council at its semi-annual meetings.

6. If the office of President becomes vacant, the First Vice President shall become President; if the office of First Vice President becomes vacant, the Second Vice President shall become First Vice President. If the office of Secretary or the office of Treasurer becomes vacant, it shall be filled by decision of the Executive Committee.

7. A Parliamentarian shall be appointed by the President from among the members of the Council to serve at the pleasure of the President. The Parliamentarian shall, upon request, advise the Council and the officers of the Council on points of parliamentary law and on the rules of the Council.

Article V

Meetings and Procedures

1. The Council shall meet semi-annually in the Fall and in the Spring at a date, time and place to be determined by the Executive Committee and notified to members of the Council at least thirty days in advance.

2. Special meetings of the Council may be called by the Executive Committee whenever, in its judgment, such meetings are warranted by the purposes of the Council.

3. Meetings of the Council shall be governed by the following rules:

a. either one-half of the members of the Council or, alternatively, members representing one-half of the faculty organizations represented in the Council shall constitute a quorum to do business;

b. decisions of the Council shall be made by a simple majority of those members present and voting unless otherwise provided by the present Constitution;

c. a recorded roll-call vote shall be taken at the request of any member of the Council;

d. the Council may invite nonmembers to participate in deliberations without vote;

e. meetings of the Council shall be open to the public;

f. the rules contained in Robert’s Rules of Order Revised shall govern the Council in all cases in which they are applicable and are not inconsistent with this Constitution and such bylaws or special rules as the Council may adopt.

4. The agenda of each meeting of the Council shall be prepared by the Executive Committee after canvassing the faculty organizations represented in the Council membership, shall be communicated to members of the Council in the call of the meeting, and shall be accompanied, in so far as is appropriate and practicable, by draft resolutions on subject items.

5. Whenever at a regular or special meeting, the Council adopts a resolution on a matter of educational policy or general faculty concern in fulfillment of the first purpose of the Council recorded in Article II, the Council shall decide whether the text of such resolution shall be submitted by its members to their respective faculty organizations for their consideration and approval before being released in the name of the Council.

6. The Council may authorize any of its officers or other members to publicize its resolutions and to make representations to governmental officials and to officers of colleges and universities in accordance with such resolutions.

Article VI

Committees

1. The committees of the Council shall consist of the Executive Committee and of such other committees as the Council may create.

2. The Executive Committee shall consist of the five elective officers named in Article IV. It shall meet at such times as may be necessary, in its judgment, to fulfill its responsibilities according to the present Constitution. Three members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum to conduct business.

Article VII

Finances

1. At each regular meeting of the Council the Executive Committee shall propose and the Council shall consider and approve the budget of the Council.

2. The expenses of the Council shall be borne by the faculty organizations represented by members of the Council, as apportioned by the Council.

Article VIII

Amendments

Amendments to the present Constitution shall come into force when they have been adopted by a vote of two-thirds of the members present and voting at any meeting of the Council and ratified by two-thirds of the faculty organizations represented by the members of the Council.

Article IX

Adoption

1. The present Constitution shall be ratified by the faculty organizations whose representatives assembled in Birmingham, Alabama on April 7, 1979, have agreed to submit it to their respective faculty organizations; by those other faculty organizations which, having been invited to send representatives to the meeting on April 7, 1979, were not represented; and by other qualified faculty organizations.

2. Ratifications shall be notified to the Chair of the University Senate of Auburn University.

3. The present Constitution shall come into force for ratifying faculty organizations upon the notification of ratifications by eight faculty organizations, and the Chair of the University Senate of Auburn University shall notify all faculty organizations to that effect. The Constitution shall become effective for other qualified faculty organizations whenever their ratifications have been notified.

4. The notice of ratification by each faculty organization shall be accompanied by a statement of the arrangements by which the faculty organization is prepared to participate in the financing of the Council.

Article X

Transition Arrangements

The Chair of the University Senate of Auburn University shall convene an organizational meeting of the Council as soon as may be practicable after the coming into force of the present Constitution by notification to the presidents or chairs of faculty organizations which have ratified the present Constitution and shall preside over the meeting until officers have been elected, which elections shall be the first order of business.

Done at the city of Birmingham the seventh day of April, one thousand nine-hundred and seventy-nine.

AMENDMENT I

The language of the present Constitution is changed as follows (language ADDED is in capital letters, language [deleted] is placed in brackets):

Article II.3: To provide a continuing opportunity for the exchange of intelligence among college and university faculties by SEMI-annual and special meetings of the Council and by correspondence and other consultation among members.

Article III.1: The Council shall consist of the presidents OR CHAIRS, [and] THE immediate past presidents OR CHAIRS, AND THE PRESIDENTS-ELECT OR CHAIRS-ELECT, OR IN THE ABSENCE OF A PRESIDENT-ELECT OR CHAIR-ELECT A THIRD REPRESENTATIVE TO BE DETERMINED BY THE FACULTY ORGANIZATION, of those faculty organizations which have been ratified the present Constitution, and, except as provided in Article IV, Section 2, tenure in Council membership shall coincide with tenure as president OR CHAIR, [or] THE immediate past president or CHAIR, OR THE PRESIDENT-ELECT OR CHAIR-ELECT of a faculty organization. IN THE ABSENCE OF A PRESIDENT-ELECT OR CHAIR-ELECT A THIRD REPRESENTATIVE SHALL BE DETERMINED BY THE FACULTY ORGANIZATION WITH TENURE IN COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP THAT COINCIDES WITH THE APPOINTMENT BY THE FACULTY ORGANIZATION.

Article III.4: Immediate past president OR CHAIR means that person currently on the faculty who most recently held the office of president OR CHAIR before the current president OR CHAIR. PRESIDENT-ELECT OR CHAIR-ELECT MEANS THAT PERSON CURRENTLY ON THE FACULTY WHO HAS BEEN DESIGNATED TO SUCCEED IN OFFICE THE CURRENT PRESIDENT OR CHAIR.

Article III.5: The educational institutions the REPRESENTATIVES [presidents and past presidents] of whose faculty organizations may be members of the Council are those accredited colleges and universities in the State of Alabama which grant baccalaureate academic degrees.

Article IV.2: All officers shall be elected at the FALL [annual] meeting of the Council and shall serve from the adjournment of the meeting at which elected until the adjournment of the next FALL [annual] meeting even if, in any case, an officer shall in the meantime have been succeeded in office in her or his faculty organization. Officers elected at the organizational meeting provided in Article X shall take office immediately upon election and shall serve until adjournment of the next FALL [annual] meeting.

Article IV.5: The Treasurer shall receive and disburse funds as authorized by this Constitution, the Council, or the Executive Committee, shall maintain a record of all such financial transactions, and shall render a written accounting to the Council at its SEMI-annual meeting.

Article V.1: The Council shall meet SEMI-annually [, as early in November as is practicable,] IN THE FALL AND IN THE SPRING at a date, time and place to be determined by the Executive Committee and notified to members of the council at least thirty days in advance.

Article V.4: The agenda of each [annual] meeting of the Council shall be prepared by the Executive Committee after canvassing the faculty organizations represented in the Council membership, shall be communicated to members of the Council in the call of the meeting, and shall be accompanied, in so far as is appropriate and practicable, by draft resolutions on subject items.

Article V.5: Whenever, at A REGULAR [an annual] or special meeting, the Council adopts a resolution on a matter of educational policy or general faculty concern in fulfillment of the first purpose of the Council recorded in Article II, the Council shall decide whether the text of such resolution shall be submitted by its members to their respective faculty organizations for their consideration and approval before being released in the name of the Council.

Article VII.1: At each REGULAR [annual] meeting of the Council the Executive Committee shall propose and the Council shall consider and approve the budget of the Council.

Article IX.3: The present Constitution shall come into force for ratifying faculty organizations upon the notification of ratification by eight faculty organizations, and the Chair[man] of the University Senate of Auburn University shall notify all faculty organizations to that effect. The constitution shall become effective for other qualified faculty organizations whenever their ratifications have been notified.

Article X: The Chair[man] of the University Senate of Auburn University shall convene an organizational meeting of the Council as soon as may be practicable after the coming into force of the present Constitution by notification to the presidents OR CHAIRS of faculty organizations which have ratified the present Constitution and shall preside over that meting until officers have been elected, which elections shall be the first order of business.

Amendment I adopted by Council at Fall meeting of 8 December 1984 and ratified by member faculty organizations January 1985.

AMENDMENT II

The language of the present Constitution is changed as follows (language added is in bold italicized letters, language deleted is placed in ~~bold strikethrough~~:

Article I
Name

The name of the organization established in accordance with the terms of the present Constitution shall be The Alabama Council of ~~College and~~ University Faculty Presidents, hereinafter referred to as the Council.

Article II
Purposes

As an instrument of the common interests of the members of the academic faculties of the ~~four-year colleges and~~ public universities in the State of Alabama, the Council has the following purposes:

2. To facilitate the organization of effective faculty representation in institutions of higher education by mutual assistance among participating representatives; and

3. To provide a continuing opportunity for the exchange of ~~intelligence~~ information among ~~college and~~ university faculties by semi-annual and special meetings of the Council and by correspondence and other consultation among members.

Article III
Membership

4. The educational institutions, the representatives of whose faculty organizations may be members of the Council, are those ~~accredited colleges and~~ public ~~university~~ universities in the State of Alabama which grant baccalaureate academic degrees.

Article IV
Officers

Article V
Meetings and Procedures

2. Special meetings of the Council may be called by the Executive Committee whenever~~, in its judgment,~~ such meetings are warranted by the purposes of the Council. , including meetings and votes by electronic means.

3. Meetings of the Council shall be governed by the following rules:

a. ~~either one-half of the members of the Councilor, alternatively,~~ members representing one-half of the faculty organizations represented in the Council shall constitute a quorum to do business;

b. decisions of the Council shall be made by a simple majority of those members institutions present and voting unless otherwise provided by the present Constitution;

6. The Council may authorize any of its officers or other members to publicize its resolutions and to make representations to governmental officials and to officers of ~~colleges and~~ universities in accordance with such resolutions.

Article VII
Finances

1. ~~At each regular meeting of the Council~~ the Executive Committee ~~shall~~ may propose ~~and~~ a budget to the Council. ~~shall consider and approve the budget of the Council.~~

Article VIII
Amendments

Amendments to the present Constitution shall come into force when they have been adopted by a vote of two-thirds of the members institutions present and voting at any meeting of the Council and ratified by two-thirds of the faculty organizations represented by the members of the Council.

Amendment II adopted by Council at Fall meeting of 15 November 2002.