Faculty Bylaws

1. Members of the teaching Faculty shall be eligible for election to an elective office of the Faculty and are eligible to be Chair of any of the Standing Committees of the Faculty or Standing Committees of the College Senate.

2. Members of the professional Faculty shall be eligible for election to the elected office(s) of Treasurer and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisor, and are eligible to be Chair of the Student Affairs Standing Committee of the College Senate.

1. A vacancy occurring in the Senate academic unit membership shall be filled by election in the academic unit in which the vacancy occurred.

2. A vacancy occurring in the professional membership of the College Senate shall be filled by appointment by the President of the College.

3. A vacancy in the at-large Senator membership shall be filled by appointment by the Executive Committee with approval by the College Senate. The appointee shall serve the remainder of the academic year.

1. At least one month before the start of the spring election, the Committee on Nominations and Elections shall present a slate of nominees for officers of the Faculty, except the University Faculty Senator, and at-large Senators .

2. At the spring All-College Meeting the report of the Committee on Nominations and Elections shall be presented; a nominee must have consented to run for office before their name is added to the slate.

3. The slate of nominees shall be published in the College Senate Bulletin by the Secretary of the Senate at least one week before the start of the annual election.

1. General elections shall take place annually and shall be completed no later than seven days prior to the final Executive Committee meeting of the spring semester.

2. The time of election shall be determined by the Committee on Nominations and Elections in concurrence with applicable provisions of the Constitution and the Bylaws of the Faculty.

1. Voting in elections shall be by secret ballot.

2. The preparation and distribution of the ballots shall be the responsibility of the Committee on Nominations and Elections.

1. All members of the Faculty shall be eligible to vote in the election of officers of the faculty.

2. Only members of the teaching Faculty shall be eligible to vote in the election of at-large Senators and in the election of teaching faculty to  Standing Committees of the Faculty.

1. In all elections for multiple positions from a single pool of candidates, the positions shall be filled in order of number of votes received by each candidate eligible to hold a position as dictated by the committee’s staffing requirements as specified in the Faculty Constitution (e.g., number of members at a particular rank).

2. In the event a position cannot be filled because of a tie of eligible candidates, a run-off election will be held among the candidates who tied.

3. The Presiding Officer shall keep a record of the results of campus-wide elections such that if any elected representative cannot fulfill the term of their position, the person receiving the next highest vote total in that election shall be asked to serve the remainder of that term. This provision shall not apply to officers of the Faculty.

a. A Senator representing an academic unit shall be elected by a method selected by that unit. This election shall take place after the election of at-large Senators and not later than May 1.

b. Professional Senators shall be elected in the spring semester by a method recommended by the administration, in consultation with the Executive Committee. The election process shall take place after the election of at-large Senators and not later than May 30.

A member elected to office shall take office on the June 1 immediately following their election. Committee assignments shall be confirmed at the first Senate meeting in the fall semester.

The Faculty shall be consulted in each instance in which it is called for in the Policies of the Board of Trustees in accordance with the procedures stated below.

The President of the College serves as the Chief Administrative Officer. The President shall be chosen according to the policies and guidelines from the SUNY Board of Trustees. The Executive Committee excepting the President and Provost shall be consulted on any matter where these policies and guidelines pertain to involvement of the Faculty.

a. The President of the College shall consult with the Executive Committee on the selection process for filling any vacancy for vice president of the College, other direct report to the President, or dean, including interim appointments.  For selection of an ongoing Provost the process shall include a nationwide search. For other positions, if the process will not include a search then the Executive Committee shall recommend a mechanism to ensure campus consultation.

b. When a search is conducted for appointing a vice president the search committee shall include members as described below as well as other members as named by the President.

1. The committee chair shall be appointed by the President of the College after consultation with the Executive Committee. No individual shall be contacted concerning the chair position until after they have been the subject of such consultation. In the case of a provost search, the search committee chair shall be a member of the teaching Faculty.

2. The committee shall include at least four members of the teaching Faculty and at least two members of the professional Faculty.  In the case of a search for provost or academic dean, teaching Faculty shall make up a majority of the search committee. At least one of the professional Faculty shall be from the same division as the position being searched for.

3. The Executive Committee shall prepare a list of nominees from each category, from which the President shall select committee members.  The two lists of nominees transmitted to the President shall contain at least three times the number of Faculty to be appointed and should be diverse in areas such as rank, appointment type, discipline, and division. Nominations for the list shall be accepted by the Presiding Officer prior to the time at which the Executive Committee makes its evaluation of nominees. Notification shall be provided so that members of the Faculty have at least a one-week opportunity to submit nominations.

4. The committee shall include at least two students, selected by the President from a list of students provided by the Executive Committee of the Student Association. This list must have at least four times the number of students to be appointed.

a. In filling a vacancy for department chair, director, or other academic or professional leadership position, the President or their designee shall ensure appropriate consultation with and clear communication to all directly affected Faculty.  Resulting appointments shall be communicated in a timely fashion to the full Faculty.

b. In the case of filling a vacancy for academic department chair, consultation shall include a departmental committee that is selected by the members of the department.  The size of the committee, and the decision to include persons who are not members of the Faculty in the department on the committee, rests with the department in question. This does not preclude the President or their designee from seeking the advice of other members of the Faculty or other professionals who are off campus.

The President shall consult with an academic unit committee (in addition to the academic unit head) prior to the appointment of a member of the teaching Faculty. This committee shall collect impressions and opinions from other faculty and students who have interviewed the candidates.