FACULTY MEETING GUIDELINES REGARDING

QUORUM AND VOTING

FOR UNIVERSITY AND UNDERGRADUATE FACULTY MEETINGS

The following guidelines for quorums and voting on matters raised at University and Undergraduate Faculty meetings (not Law Faculty meetings) are intended to provide an understanding on how quorums will be established and votes taken on University business the faculty addresses. The guidelines will assist the faculty in conducting University business, recognizing that some faculty are unable to attend all faculty meetings, whether they are on leave or have academic scheduling conflicts, but nevertheless have a stake in matters voted on by the University and Undergraduate Faculty.

For the purpose of these guidelines, the distinction between routine and non‑routine matters becomes important. Routine matters include, for example, approval of most standing committee minutes, voting for faculty committees, and approval of degree candidates. Non‑routine matters involve, for example, adoption of or changes in policy, calendar changes, and any other extraordinary matter that demands the attention of the faculty. The presiding officer may designate matters as routine or non‑routine.

1. PROXY VOTING: The preference shall always be to take votes on the floor of the faculty, after full discussion and in the presence of a quorum of the faculty. There shall be no proxy votes on routine matters. On non‑routine matters, voting faculty members who are unable to attend a particular faculty meeting may inform the Secretary of the Faculty how they would vote on a specific motion scheduled to arise at the next faculty meeting. Faculty members must inform the Secretary directly (by e‑mail or in writing) and not through an intermediary. The Secretary of the Faculty shall see that such votes are included in the final tally unless the faculty makes substantive amendment(s) to the proposal at the meeting, in which case the Secretary shall not cast the proxy vote. Faculty members should exercise this option with the greatest discretion and restraint.

2. ELECTRONIC VOTING: The first recourse shall always be to take a vote on the floor of the faculty meeting.

a.) Electronic voting may occur under the following circumstances, and other unique circumstances, at the discretion of the presiding officer..

i) To obtain the broadest participation by voting faculty members on motions of unusual significance, the presiding officer may schedule an electronic vote provided that the motion is first subjected to full discussion on the floor of the faculty.

ii.) If, in the course of voting on a non-routine matter, it becomes apparent no quorum is present, the presiding officer may elect to take the vote by electronic means, subject to faculty objection noted below. Electronic votes must be completed within six (6) business days of the faculty meeting.

No electronic vote shall occur if a majority of those present at the meeting object to electronic voting. In this event, discussion on the matter may continue, but the motion on the matter will be carried over to the next regularly-scheduled or called faculty meeting in which there is a quorum.

b.) With any electronic voting of the faculty, a new vote of the faculty must be taken, and the Secretary of the Faculty shall provide all voting faculty with a summary of all sides of the floor debate.

c.) No result shall be valid unless a quorum of the faculty votes. The quorum for electronic voting is the same as the quorum for faculty meetings.

3. QUORUM: Before a faculty meeting is called to order, it shall be the responsibility of the Secretary of the Faculty to determine the number of voting members of the faculty required to constitute a quorum for non-routine business by subtracting those who could not be reasonably expected to be present, whether they are on leave or have academic scheduling conflicts, from the total number of faculty and calculating forty percent (40%) of that number. The Secretary shall be prepared to report that number and the number of voting faculty present to the presiding officer. When the absence of a quorum has been called, the presiding officer may open the floor to discussion and votes on routine business, announcements, etc. Discussion and debate on non‑routine business may take place, but no vote may be taken on such matters. If a quorum is present when the meeting is called to order but it becomes apparent during the meeting that a quorum is no longer present, the Secretary of the Faculty or any voting member of the faculty may call the presiding officer's attention to that fact and the presiding officer may invoke the provisions of section two (2) above. For routine business, a quorum shall consist of the number of voting faculty members present at a meeting.

4. NOMINATIONS FOR and FILLING VACANCIES ON COMMITTEES:

a) Nominations for faculty membership on university committees may be sent in writing or electronically to the Secretary of the faculty prior to the faculty meeting at which the vote is to be taken.

b) A preliminary round of voting for faculty membership on university committees may be conducted electronically prior to the faculty meeting at which the vote is to be taken.

c) In the event of a vacancy among the elected faculty members on a standing University committee, the presiding officer of the faculty may appoint the most recently‑elected faculty member of that committee whose term has expired to fill the vacancy until a faculty election is held. If that faculty member is unavailable, the presiding officer may choose the next‑most‑recently elected faculty member of that committee, or others who have previously served on that committee until a replacement is found.

Adopted by the University faculty on February 7, 2005

Policy maintained in the office of general counsel