APPENDIX
A
(amended spring 1996)
CONSTITUTION
The Faculty Conference of Lynchburg College
is a self-constituted body composed of the full-time teaching faculty of
The Conference shall convene at the call of
its elected chairperson for the purpose of considering matters of interest to
the full-time teaching faculty of
Section II. Officers
There shall be a chairperson and such other
officers as provided for in the by-laws of the Conference.
BY-LAWS
OF THE FACULTY CONFERENCE
OF
Article I
Name
The name of this organization is the Faculty
Conference of Lynchburg College.
Article II
Purpose
The purposes of this Conference are (a) to
provide a forum for the discussion of, and formulation of faculty views on,
matters of academic and professional concern and issues relating to the general
or specific welfare and status of teaching faculty, and (b) to convey to the
administrative officers of the General Faculty the views of the Conference
regarding teaching faculty concerns.
Article III
Members
The membership of the Faculty Conference
consists of all teaching faculty members who have full-time teaching
appointments (as that category is currently defined in the Faculty Handbook)
with the rank of instructor or higher, and those on sabbatical leave or leave
of absence who leave with that status. In a given year, the current conference
officers shall decide membership status of individuals in unusual circumstances
(e.g., an individual participating in a phased retirement program), giving recognition to the fact that membership would
exclude individuals whose duties are primarily administrative. Active
membership is voluntary.
Article IV
Officers
Section 1--The officers of the Conference shall be chairperson,
vice-chairperson and two recording secretaries. In the absence of or at the
request of the chairperson or vice-chairperson, the senior member of the
faculty in attendance shall preside. In case two members shall have served the
same length of time, the basis for determining the choice shall be the
alphabetical order of their last names.
Section 2--The chairperson shall
(a) call meetings of the Conference;
(b) preside over the Conference meetings;
(c) make any official releases and announcements to the campus
community ordered by the Conference and shall be the official spokesperson
unless otherwise determined by the Conference;
(d) appoint committees provided in Article VI, Section 2.
Section 3--The vice-chairperson shall serve in the absence or
at the request of the chairperson.
Section 4--The recording secretaries shall record the
proceedings of the meetings and prepare the minutes for typing in final form by
a non-student typist. The minutes shall report the action taken and the
relevant parts of the discussion exclusive of debate. A written copy of each
motion made in Conference meetings shall be presented by the author to the
secretaries immediately after adjournment. Two files of these minutes shall be
maintained, one by the secretaries for reference by the members of the
Conference; and a second, a bound copy, in the closed stacks of the library.
The minutes shall not be distributed to the membership, nor the proceedings
electronically recorded via audio or video tape.
Section 5--The chairperson shall appoint a Nominating Committee
by March 1 of election years to prepare a list of nominations for the elected
offices. This slate shall be distributed to the membership at least five days
before the April meeting at which elections shall be the first order of
business.
Section 6--The officers of the Conference shall be elected at a
special meeting in April by a simple majority of those voting. Absentee ballots
shall be accepted. In the event a quorum isn't achieved at the election
meeting, absentee ballots shall be accepted for 5 working days after
notification is made that a quorum wasn't achieved.
Section 7--The term of office for all officers shall be for a
period of two years beginning the day following spring commencement.
Article V
Meetings
Section 1--The Conference shall convene at the call of the
chairperson. The chairperson shall be required to call a meeting by the
submission of a petition stating the purpose of the meeting and signed by ten
per cent of the membership as defined in Article III and in Section 2 which
follows. However, the chairperson shall not be required by petition to call a
second meeting within ten days for consideration of the same issue. Written
notice of the time, place and purpose of the meeting shall be sent to each
member at least one day before the meeting is to be held.
Section 2--One-third of the membership, exclusive of those on
leave, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting
of the Conference.
Section 3--The chairperson shall appoint a parliamentarian to
serve throughout the term of the chairperson. The Faculty Conference and its
Committees shall be governed by the rules contained in Robert's Rules of
Order, Revised Edition, in all cases in which they are not inconsistent
with the by-laws or the special rules of order of this Conference, which
follow:
(a) Any matter of
business which requires actions or approval of the Conference may be discussed
but not acted upon unless the members have received the proposal in writing
five days before the meeting or suspend this rule by a two-thirds majority
vote, a quorum being present.
(b) In any strictly
deliberative meeting, only members who are present when the question is finally
put may vote.
(c) The following
shall be the order of business for all meetings:
(1) Initialing of
the list of Conference members
(2) Call to order
(3) Approval of the
agenda
(4) Reading of the
Minutes of the previous meeting and their approval
(5) Reports of ad
hoc committee(s)
(6) Unfinished
business
(7) New business
(8) Adjournment.
Section 4--Only members shall be admitted to business meetings
although the Conference, by majority vote, may extend an invitation to selected
individuals to attend for specific purposes.
Article VI
Committees
Section 1--All committees shall submit to the Conference for
its consideration reports on their findings, conclusions and/or
recommendations. Such reports shall be for internal use only unless
specifically authorized by the Conference.
Section 2--The chairperson shall appoint such ad hoc committees
as needed to consider issues or proposals.
Article VII
Method of Amending the By-Laws
These by-laws may be amended by a two-thirds
vote, a quorum being present, provided that a copy of the proposed amendment is
sent to each member of the Conference with the notice announcing the meeting.