BYLAWS OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES COUNCIL
(Approved by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences March 4 2004)
- Purposes
As a faculty elective body, the Arts and Sciences Council represents
the faculty and advises the Dean of Arts and Sciences and the Dean
of Trinity College. The Council acts as a legislative body to approve
the curriculum and academic regulations and policies for Trinity College
undergraduates.
- Advisory to the Dean of Arts and Sciences: The Arts
and Sciences Council shall represent the faculty and advise the Dean
of Arts and Sciences with respect to policy and priorities concerning
issues that come before the Dean including budget; faculty development
and compensation; support and policy for faculty research; teaching,
research and administrative facilities; organization of departments
and units within the faculty; areas of interaction between graduate
and undergraduate programs such as teaching assistantships, and instructional
budgets and teacher training. The Council is not limited to these issues
but may investigate and express its views on any other matters of particular
concern to the Arts and Sciences faculty.
- Advisory to the Dean of Trinity College: The Arts
and Sciences Council shall advise and assist the Dean of Trinity College
in all aspects of undergraduate education. The Council shall insist
that the highest academic standards be imposed in all undergraduate
programs. The Council shall adopt academic regulations and legislate
on curricular programs that use resources of, or grant undergraduate
credit in, Arts and Sciences; consider all other matters affecting the
academic and residential life and the learning environment of students
and make recommendations and adopt regulations where appropriate; recommend
policies on admissions and financial aid to students; and develop appropriate
means of encouraging and recognizing academic achievement of superior
quality among students.
- Composition of the Council and Procedures for Election to the
Council
- Membership: The Arts and Sciences Council shall consist
of a Chair and representatives of Arts and Sciences departments and
programs that have regular rank faculty with primary appointments in
that program. Except for the three military departments, which shall
have one member and one alternate representing the three departments,
each department or program shall have one representative and one alternate.
Members shall be elected by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The Faculty
of Arts and Sciences shall be composed of the members of the University
faculty who are qualified to vote for the Academic Council and whose
primary appointment is in a department or program of the Faculty of
Arts and Sciences. The Chair may hold a primary appointment in any Division.
The Dean of Arts and Sciences, the Dean of Trinity College, and a representative
of the Engineering Faculty Council are ex-officio members of the Council.
- Terms of Office: The Chair and members of the Arts
and Sciences Council shall serve three-year terms. The term of the Chair
shall begin on May 15, and the terms of Members shall begin on August
1. Upon adoption of these bylaws, the first election for members will
provide for staggered terms of office. After the first election all
terms shall be for three years.
- The Chair of the Arts and Sciences Council: The Chair
of the Arts and Sciences Council shall preside over all meetings of
the Council. The Chair shall make appointments to the Standing and Ad
Hoc Committees of the Council in accordance with the Bylaws. The Chair
shall head the Executive Committee and preside over all of its meetings.
The Chair, in consultation with the Executive Committee, shall set the
agenda for Council meetings. The Chair, in consultation with the Executive
Committee, shall oversee all activities of the Council and its Committees.
The Chair shall be the formal representative of the Arts and Sciences
Faculty on all occasions when such representation is required. If the
Chair is absent or indisposed, a member of the Executive Committee shall
preside over meetings of the Arts and Sciences Council.
- Executive Secretary to the Council: The Chair of
the Council shall appoint an Executive Secretary to the Council from
the Arts and Sciences Faculty or from among the body of retired Arts
and Sciences Faculty. The Executive Secretary shall distribute the minutes
of Council meetings to the faculty at large as required in the Bylaws.
The Executive Secretary shall distribute notices of council meetings
and the agenda to the faculty at large well in advance of such meetings.
The Executive Secretary shall schedule the rooms to be used for these
meetings. The Executive Secretary, in cooperation with the Committee
on Nominations, shall conduct elections to the Council and to the Chairmanship
of the Council. The Executive Secretary shall assemble and preserve
in good order all minutes and official records of the Council. The Executive
Secretary shall have a stipend, staff assistance and office space as
determined by the Dean of Arts and Sciences. The Secretary shall have
no fixed term but shall serve at the pleasure of the Chair of the Council.
- Election to the Council: The Nominating Committee
shall administer elections for membership to the Council as follows:
In early March, the Nominating Committee shall send a request for nominations
to all Arts and Sciences Faculty instructing each faculty member to
nominate two members of their primary department or program to stand
for election. The two nominees, or in the case of a tie up to three
nominees, who receive the most nominations within each department or
program and who agree to serve will be placed on the final ballot for
that department. If a department fails to respond adequately, the Nominating
Committee, in consultation with the Chair of the department, will seek
additional nominations within the department. Before March 31, the faculty
shall vote for one of the candidates from their primary department or
program, and the candidate with the most votes will become a Council
Member. The other candidate will serve as Alternate. Voting shall be
by secret ballot either by mail or by electronic means. Votes shall
be tallied promptly by the members of the Nominating Committee and the
Executive Secretary who shall notify the faculty of the results without
delay.
- Election to the Chairship: The Chair of the Arts
and Sciences Council shall be elected in an at-large election simultaneously
with the election for ordinary Members of the Council. The Faculty of
Arts and Sciences shall be presented with a slate of at least two faculty
who have agreed to serve. The ballots shall provide for write-in candidates.
The candidate with the highest vote shall win. Voting shall be by secret
ballot either by mail or by electronic means. Votes shall be tallied
by the Nominating Committee and the Executive Secretary, who shall promptly
notify the faculty of the result.
- Vacancies: Vacancies may occur in the event of an
extended absence of an elected Member for academic leave or other reasons
or by death, retirement or resignation from the University. When notified
of either a temporary or permanent vacancy, the Chair shall appoint
a replacement Member of Council. Replacement Members shall be appointed
from the list of Alternate Members of Council (see below). Replacement
Members shall serve either until the Member returns or until the next
election.
- Alternates: Unelected nominees to membership in the
Council from the last election shall be considered Alternate Members
of Council. If no Alternate is available for a department or program,
the Chair of the Council, in consultation with the Executive Committee
and the Department Chair, shall appoint a new Member from the faculty
of the Department to be represented.
- Meetings of the Council
- Scheduled Meetings: The Arts and Sciences Council
shall meet regularly once a month on the second Thursday of each full
month of the academic year. The Chair may cancel regularly scheduled
meetings for lack of business. The Council may also meet at other
times upon the call of the Chair or upon the written request of five
or more Members or by written request of twenty or more Arts and Sciences
faculty.
- Agenda: The agenda fixed by the Executive Committee
shall be transmitted by electronic means at least five days in advance
of each meeting of the Council to all members of the Arts and Sciences
faculty.
- Minutes: Minutes of each meeting shall be taken
by the Executive Secretary of the Council and promptly distributed
in draft form to the entire faculty by electronic means. Minutes may
be corrected by Council Members when they are approved at the following
meeting.
- Voting Rights: Members of the Council shall serve
in person and only members can vote. Each elected member of the Council
shall have one vote on issues before the Council in its meetings.
Ex-officio members have no voting rights in the Council. Proxy votes
are not permitted. The Chair shall not vote except in the case of
a tie vote.
- Rules of Procedure: The Council shall follow the
rules set out in Robert’s Rules of Order.
- Quorum: One half of the elected Members of the
Council must be present to constitute a quorum.
- Absenteeism: The Chair, acting with the advice
of the Executive Committee, may ask any Member to resign if he or
she is absent without cause from an excessive number of Council meetings.
The resulting vacancy will be filled by an Alternate Member of Council
as specified in the bylaws.
- Open Meetings: Council meetings are open to all
interested members of the University community and to the public.
At the discretion of the Chair, non-Council members may be recognized
to speak. The Chair may at any time declare a closed executive session
for discussion of personnel or other sensitive matters.
- Parliamentarian: The Chair shall appoint one Member
to serve as Parliamentarian who is conversant with the Council Bylaws
and Robert’s Rules of Order. The Parliamentarian shall advise
the Chair on proper procedures for meetings and rule on contested
points of order.
- Meetings of the Arts and Sciences Faculty: The
Chair and the Executive Committee may call a meeting of the entire
Arts and Sciences Faculty at any time. The agenda for the meeting
must be distributed to all faculty at least ten days in advance of
the meeting.
- The Executive Committee of the Council
- Composition: The Executive Committee shall consist
of eight persons: the Chair, two Members from each academic division
who are also Members of the Council, and ex officio the Dean of Arts
and Sciences. Each spring the outgoing Executive Committee, in consultation
with the newly elected Chair, shall prepare two slates of two Council
members each who are drawn from the membership of the newly elected
Council, taking care to assure a reasonable balance among the three
curricular divisions of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural
Sciences as Members rotate off the Executive Committee. These slates
shall be submitted to the membership of the Council in advance of
the final meeting of the academic year. Additional nominations may
be received from the floor at that meeting, provided they have indicated
their willingness to serve. At the final meeting, the Council shall
elect one from each pair or set of names by secret ballot.
- Function: The Executive Committee shall advise
the Chair in all matters pertinent to the work of the Council. The
Executive Committee shall set the agenda for each meeting of the Council.
The Executive Committee shall serve as the Committee on Committees
and must approve all appointments to Standing and Ad Hoc committees
of the Council.
- Meetings: The Executive Committee shall meet at
the call of the Chair.
- Changes to Bylaws
These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of those Members
present at a meeting of the Arts and Sciences Council. Notice of a
proposed change in the bylaws must be circulated to the Members and
to all Faculty in Arts and Sciences at least two weeks in advance
of a meeting.
- Duties of Members and Standing Committees
- Committee Portfolios: The Chair shall assign a
portfolio of committee responsibilities to each Members of the Executive
Committee each year. Each Member shall be an ex officio, non-voting
member of one or more Standing or Ad Hoc committees of the Council
as designated by the Chair. Each Member shall ensure that there is
a stable reporting relationship between the Standing or Ad Hoc committee
and the Council and shall act as a liaison between the committees
to which he or she has been assigned and the Council.
- Standing Committees: The Chair in consultation
with the Executive Committee shall appoint the Chairs and all faculty
members to all Standing Committees of the Council except for the Committees
on Information Technology, Courses, Curriculum and Study Abroad. The
Dean of Arts and Sciences shall appoint the chairs and members of
the latter four committees from a list of nominees submitted by the
Chair of the Council. The Chair, Executive Committee and Council are
charged with actively monitoring the activities of the standing committees.
Members of all Standing Committees shall be appointed for three year
terms. The duties and membership of the various Standing Committees
shall be as follows:
- Committee on Nominations: The Committee on Nominations
shall assemble slates of candidates required for the elections to
the Arts and Sciences Council and for the Chair of the Arts and Sciences
Council. The Committee on Nominations shall identify faculty members
willing to serve on the Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees
of the Council and forward those lists to the Chair and the Executive
Committee. The Nominations Committee shall conduct annual elections
and tabulate the results.
Membership: At the beginning of each academic year, the Chair of the
Arts and Sciences Council, in consultation with the Executive Committee,
shall appoint a Nominations Committee. The Nominations Committee shall
consist of a Chair and three additional members. The Chair and ordinary
members of the Committee on Nominations shall all be elected members
of the Arts and Sciences Council. Each academic division shall be
represented by at least one member of the Nominations Committee.
- Committee on Information Technology: The Committee
on Computing shall study and make appropriate recommendations to the
Council and Deans concerning the needs and policies for computing
support in Arts and Sciences. This includes hardware, software, networks,
systems administration, training, and management; in cooperation with
the Planning and Priorities Committee, formulate and evaluate priorities
for academic computing; act as a conduit or forum for comments and
suggestions about computing from the whole Arts and Sciences faculty
and student body; develop and maintain an informed base of technical
opinion and expertise on all matters concerning computing in Arts
and Sciences; and represent Arts and Sciences on university-wide computing
issues.
Membership: The Committee on Information Technology shall consist
of twelve members: a Chair appointed from the Arts and Sciences faculty
at large; two faculty representatives from each division (Humanities,
Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences) one undergraduate student nominated
by Duke Student Government; one graduate student nominated by the
Graduate and Professional Students Council; ex officio a representative
from the Dean of Arts and Sciences; ex officio a representative from
the Center for Instructional Technology; and one ex officio Member
of the Executive Committee.
- Committee on Faculty Research: The Committee on
Faculty Research has two responsibilities: a) It shall administer
funds made available to the Committee by the Dean of Faculty of Arts & Sciences, and the Committee will allocate these funds by awarding grants for research, for conferences hosted at Duke University, and for conference travel expenses incurred by members of the faculty of the Arts & Sciences, and b) it shall
address larger issues of research that are important for Arts and
Sciences faculty.
Membership: The Committee on Faculty Research shall consist of ten
members: a Chair appointed from the Arts and Sciences faculty at large,
eight additional faculty distributed so that the 3 Divisions (Humanities,
Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences) are equally represented; and
ex officio a Member of the Executive Committee. One of the members
from each Division shall be designated the chair of a subcommittee
formed for the purpose of evaluating proposals for funding. The membership
of the subcommittees shall be drawn from the membership of the full
committee.
- The Committee on Courses: The Committee on Courses
shall insist on the highest academic standards in both undergraduate
and graduate courses offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
The Committee shall approve or disapprove new courses, including house
courses. The Committee shall ensure proper and appropriate academic
credit, classification and labeling of all courses in accordance with
the stipulations of the current curriculum.
Membership: The Committee on Courses shall consist of seven members:
a Chair appointed from the Arts and Sciences faculty at large; one
faculty representative from each division (Humanities, Social Sciences,
and Natural Sciences); one undergraduate student nominated by Duke
Student Government; ex officio a representative from the Dean of Trinity
College; and ex officio, a Member of the Executive Committee.
- The Committee on Curriculum: The Committee on Curriculum
shall address general issues associated with the curriculum as described
in the Undergraduate Bulletin to ensure that the Bulletin accurately
represents what Departments and programs offer and that those offerings
are in keeping with the policies established by the Arts and Sciences
Council; address proposals for new majors, minors, and programs; review
proposals by Departments to change their majors; and determine scheduling
and implementation of necessary program reviews.
Membership: The Committee on Curriculum shall consist of eleven members:
a Chair appointed from the Arts and Sciences; two faculty representatives
from each division (Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences);
one undergraduate student nominated by Duke Student Government; ex
officio a representative from the Dean of Trinity College; ex officio
a representative from the Registrar's Office; and ex officio a Member
of the Executive Committee.
- The Committee on Officer Education: The Committee
on Officer Education shall review the credentials of candidates for
appointment in the three military departments and make recommendations
to the Dean of Arts and Sciences. The Committee shall periodically
review the curriculum of the ROTC programs and report the results
of that review to the Council.
Membership: The Committee on Officer Education shall consist of eight
members: a Chair appointed from the faculty of Arts and Sciences at
large; one faculty representative from the faculty of Arts and Sciences;
one faculty representative from each of the ROTC faculties (Army,
Navy and Air Force); one faculty member from the Pratt School of Engineering;
ex officio a representative from the Dean of Arts and Sciences; and
ex officio a Member of the Executive Committee.
- The Committee on Program II: The Committee on Program
II shall study and make appropriate recommendations to the Dean of
Trinity College and to the Council with respect to Program II and
its relationship to the broader curriculum. The Committee shall admit
students to Program II and approve their programs and any later modification
thereof.
Membership: The Committee on Program II shall consist of seven members:
a Chair appointed from the faculty of Arts and Sciences at large;
one faculty representative from each division (Humanities, Social
Sciences, and Natural Sciences); one undergraduate student nominated
by Duke Student Government; ex officio a representative of the Dean
of Trinity College; and ex officio a Member of the Executive Committee.
- Committee on Study Abroad: The Committee on Study
Abroad shall recommend to the Dean of Trinity College and to the Council
appropriate regulations for study abroad and foreign academic exchange
programs. The Committee shall recommend guidelines for determining
transfer credit to Duke for academic work done abroad. It shall approve
academic changes (deletions, revisions, and additions) in study abroad
programs that have been previously endorsed by Duke. It shall recommend
new Duke-sponsored study abroad programs to the Dean of the College
following a careful review of detailed proposals. It shall review
periodically all Duke-sponsored and approved programs for study abroad
in terms of changing educational and academic needs at Duke.
Membership: The Committee on Study Abroad shall consist of eleven
members: a Chair appointed from the faculty of Arts and Sciences at
large; one faculty representative from one of the foreign language
departments; one faculty member from each Division (Humanities, Social
Sciences and Natural Sciences); one faculty member from the Pratt
School of Engineering; one undergraduate student nominated by Duke
Student Government, ex officio the Director of the Office of Study
Abroad;; ex officio one representative appointed by the Dean of Trinity
College; ex officio one representative appointed by the Vice Provost
for International Affairs; and ex officio a Member of the Executive
Committee.
- Committee on Undergraduate Teaching, Academic Standards
and Honors: The Committee on Undergraduate Teaching, Academic
Standards and Honors shall concern itself with the enhancement of
the teaching of undergraduates in Trinity College, with the enforcement
of the highest academic standards in undergraduate teaching, and with
the establishment and review of the standards for academic honors.
The Committee shall administer the annual teaching awards program,
acting as a review committee to select teaching award winners from
among the various nominees. The Committee shall also recommend requirements
and review standards for the awarding of academic honors and graduation
with distinction approve distinction programs from individual academic
units administer undergraduate honors convocations, and concern itself
overall with the means of recognizing and encouraging academic excellence.
Membership: The Committee on Undergraduate Teaching shall consist
of ten members: a Chair appointed from the faculty of Arts and Sciences
at large; one faculty representative from each division (Humanities,
Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences); one graduate student nominated
by the Graduate and Professional Students Council, one undergraduate
student nominated by Duke Student Government, ex officio a representative
from the Dean of Trinity College, ex officio the Director of the Center
for Teaching, Learning and Writing, ex officio the Director of Focus
Programs; and one ex officio Member of the Executive Committee.
- Committee on Faculty-Student Interaction: The
Committee on Faculty-Student Interaction shall concern itself with
enhancing advising and other faculty encounters with undergraduate
students outside the formal classroom setting. The Committee shall
work closely with the Committee on Undergraduate Teaching. The Committee
shall have monitoring responsibilities for Pre-Major Advising and
upper-class advising, for the House Course program, for the Faculty
in Residence Program, and for the Faculty Associates Program.
Membership: The Committee on Faculty-Student Interaction shall consist
of eight members: a Chair appointed from the faculty of Arts and Sciences
at large; one faculty representative from each Arts and Sciences division
(Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences); one faculty representative
from the Pratt School of Engineering; one undergraduate student nominated
by Duke Student Government, ex officio one representative appointed
by the Dean of Trinity College; ex officio one representative appointed
by the Vice-President for Student Affairs; ex officio the Director
of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Writing; and ex officio a
Member of the Executive Committee.
