As amended, 31 March 2022
I. Membership (University Statutes, Articles 58c, 291, 34)
A. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences shall consist of the President, the Provost, the Executive Vice President for the Arts and Sciences, the Deans of the Faculties within Arts and Sciences, officers of instruction appointed to the departments of Arts and Sciences with professorial grades, and such officers of administration and of instruction as may be assigned thereto by the Trustees on the nomination of the Faculty. The School of the Arts and the School of Professional Studies are considered departments according to the Statutes.
B. The Executive Vice President for the Arts and Sciences (“Executive Vice President”) shall maintain a record of all such officers of administration and instruction as may be assigned to membership in the Faculty by the Trustees on the nomination of the Faculty.
C. Right to vote: The Faculty may invite other officers of instruction and administration in the University to take part in its deliberations and serve on its committees in accordance with Article 34 of the University Statutes, but only officers of instruction and administration who are members of the Faculty shall have the right to vote.
II. Powers (University Statutes, Article 293)
A. Subject to the reserve powers of the Trustees and the provisions of the Statutes, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences shall have power and it shall be its duty:
1. to oversee the correlation and scheduling of courses offered by the faculties within Arts and Sciences;
2. to address all questions involving more than one faculty within Arts and Sciences;
3. to discuss and advise on issues affecting the Arts and Sciences relating to academic planning, budget, housing and facilities, and appointments and tenure;
4. to make all such regulations for its own proceedings, and for the better government of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, as shall not contravene the charter of the Corporation, the Statutes, or any resolution of the Trustees or University Senate.
B. Nothing contained herein shall be deemed to impair the powers of the Faculties of Columbia College, General Studies, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The Arts, and Professional Studies, which constitute the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and of their several deans.
III. Officers (University Statutes, Articles 292,54, and 37)
A. The Executive Vice President shall be the executive officer of the Faculty.
B. The Executive Vice President may be assisted by no more than three divisional deans, one for each division of the Faculty. Each divisional dean shall be a member of the division of the Faculty that he or she shall oversee. Divisional deans shall be appointed by the Executive Vice President with the advice of the Policy and Planning Committee and of the chairs, and shall serve terms of three years, except that the term of no divisional dean shall extend beyond the term of the Executive Vice President who appointed her or him without the express consent of the then-current Executive Vice President. No person may serve as a divisional dean for more than six consecutive years.
C. The Executive Vice President shall meet at least once each semester with the chairs of the Departments of the Faculty.
D. The Executive Vice President shall meet at least once each semester with the Junior Faculty Advisory Board.
E. The Executive Committee shall consist of the Executive Vice President, the Dean of Columbia College and Vice President for Undergraduate Education, and the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Vice President for Graduate Education.
F. The Faculty shall annually elect a Secretary, who shall perform the usual duties of a recording officer.
IV. Meetings (University Statutes, Articles 38 and 39)
A. The Faculty shall meet at least once each semester. Additional meetings may be called by the Executive Vice President, by the Policy and Planning Committee, or by a petition of 25 members of the Faculty at any time upon one week's notice.
B. In its proceedings the Faculty shall be governed by the most current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised.
C. For ordinary business 50 members shall constitute a quorum.
D. The following rules and procedures shall govern discussion and voting by the Faculty, in addition to those contained in Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised.
1. A question shall appear on the agenda of the Faculty if and only if the Stated Rules require it; or any of the following request that it be put on the agenda: the Executive Vice President; the Executive Committee; at least four members of the Policy and Planning Committee; at least 40 members of the Faculty who sign a petition to this effect. A petition from members of the Faculty must be delivered to the Executive Vice President at least 168 hours before the scheduled start of the meeting at which the question is to be discussed. The Policy and Planning Committee should usually place a question on the agenda whenever it thinks that the University needs faculty input to produce a better policy or decision.
2. Following parliamentary procedure, members of the Faculty may make motions from the floor during a Faculty meeting. These motions may be debated. However, no vote on a substantive motion may be taken until it has been advertised to the Faculty as a whole. Amendments do not need to be advertised to the Faculty as a whole, but they must be in order according to Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised.
3. Generally, an item to be voted on should appear on the agenda of and be discussed at the meeting immediately preceding the meeting at which it is voted on. However, there may be exceptions to this practice. The Policy and Planning Committee may in its discretion advertise to the Faculty that a question will be voted on in the first meeting at which it is discussed. If this advertising has occurred, a member of the Faculty may move the previous question during the discussion of this question. If the previous question is not moved or fails of adoption, the Policy and Planning Committee may advertise a vote on the question in the next meeting of the Faculty.
4. Generally, voting will follow the procedures in Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised. However electronic voting shall be used on the request of either the Policy and Planning Committee or of at least 40 members of the Faculty who deliver a petition to the Executive Vice President before the scheduled start of the meeting at which the question is to be voted on. The Policy and Planning Committee sets the time and form of the electronic vote. Electronic voting cannot begin on a question until after it has been discussed at one or more faculty meetings. Electronic voting is confidential. The motion passes if and only if the number of affirmative votes cast is greater than the number of negative votes cast, and the total number of votes cast (including abstentions) is at least 50.
The Policy and Planning Committee should use electronic voting for matters of the highest importance. It is recommended that electronic voting be used for major changes in the governance of Arts and Sciences, serious and long-lasting policies that affect a large number of faculty members, and matters of similar gravity and
importance.
E. After approval by the Policy and Planning Committee, minutes shall be available in a permanent location. The Secretary shall submit the approved minutes to the President of the University.
V. Policy and Planning Committee
A. There shall be a Policy and Planning Committee
B. Duties and powers. The Policy and Planning Committee shall be a full participant in the process by which priorities are set and resources are allocated among the Departments and Schools comprising Arts and Sciences, meeting typically once per week during the academic term with the Executive Vice President, deans, divisional deans, and other administrators. In addition, the Policy and Planning Committee’s responsibilities include working with the Executive Vice President and the Deans to constitute, dissolve, and appoint members of standing committees, to evaluate reports on the work of these committees, to call and set agendas for Faculty Meetings, and to report to the faculty.
In the event of a vacancy in the office of Executive Vice President, the Policy and Planning Committee shall request of the President that it (the Policy and Planning Committee) select a majority of members of any search committee, in accordance with tradition. The Policy and Planning Committee shall work with the President, endeavoring through consultation to resolve any differences in viewpoint, all to the desired end that a common endorsement of the ultimate nominee may result.
C. Support and compensation. The Policy and Planning Committee shall receive administrative support from the Office of the Executive Vice President and its members shall be granted appropriate leave credit. Members may receive additional leave credit for their third year of service.
D. Membership. The Policy and Planning Committee shall consist of nine tenured faculty members and one senior lecturer faculty member. The senior lecturer, who may be from any division among the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, and six of the tenured faculty (two from each division, and from different departments) are elected by the entire Faculty of Arts and Sciences from a nominated slate (referred to below as the “regular faculty members”). Three of the tenured faculty members (one from each division) are chosen by and from the chairs. Terms are three years for regular faculty and one year renewable up to three years for members chosen by the chairs. Each member shall serve for his or her term and until his or her successor is qualified.
Regular faculty members: Elections for regular faculty members shall be held in May of each year. The term of each regular faculty member elected shall begin on September 1 following his or her election. Whenever a regular faculty member leaves the committee, having completed his or her term or not, he or she shall be replaced by a new member from the same division elected by the Faculty at the normal election time in May. However, if a regular faculty member leaves the committee before May 1 in any year, the Policy and Planning Committee shall select an interim member, from the same division or among the senior lecturers, to serve until the term of the elected member commences. Members chosen by the chairs: The term of a member chosen by the chairs shall begin on September 1 following his or her selection. If a vacancy occurs among the members chosen by the Chairs, the Chairs shall select a replacement from the same division. The replacement member shall serve until the first August 31 following his or her selection.
E. The Policy and Planning Committee chair and vice chair. The Committee shall have a chair chosen from the pool of tenured regular faculty members. A vice chair shall be elected by a vote of PPC members at the beginning of the spring semester each year, and shall serve until the first August 31 following his or her election. A vice chair must be qualified to serve as chair in the year following his or her election. The vice chair shall become the chair for the following year. The chair shall serve a one-year nonrenewable term, beginning on September 1 and ending on August 31. In the event of a vacancy in either position, the Policy and Planning Committee shall select a replacement to complete the remaining term. The replacement chair shall not be eligible to serve as chair in the following year.
F. The Policy and Planning Committee nominating committee. A seven-person nominating committee consisting of the Executive Vice President and six members chosen by and from the chairs shall put forward a slate of candidates for the Policy and Planning Committee. The slate shall include at least two candidates for every open position for an annual election to take place in May. All members of the nominating committee may vote for any number of potential candidates. A nominee must receive five of the seven votes to be placed on the ballot. Candidates may be added to the nominating committee's slate upon presentation of a petition signed by twenty
members of the Faculty.
VI. Other Committees
The following may be standing committees in the Arts and Sciences advisory to the Executive Vice President:
A. The Promotion and Tenure Committee shall consist of at least twelve tenured full professors, at least four each from the divisions of the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, and the Executive Vice President or his or her designee. The Promotion and Tenure Committee shall be responsible for reviews for the purpose of promotion and tenure. To that end it shall be the duty of this committee to evaluate departmental recommendations for promotion of faculty and research staff in the following tracks: professorial rank, professor of professional practice, lecturer in discipline, and research staff.
B. The Standing Committee on Language Lecturers shall review language lecturers in accordance with the Arts and Sciences Guidelines for Review of Full-time Lecturers in Languages as well as proposals for pedagogical course relief and leave. Ordinarily, the Standing Committee on Language Lecturers consists of three tenured faculty members and three senior lecturers, except that an additional tenured faculty member is appointed if needed to maintain compliance with section VI-G of these Stated Rules and Article 34 of the University Statutes. The Policy and Planning Committee shall appoint the members of the Standing Committee on Language Lecturers.
C. The Academic Review Committee shall oversee the periodic review of all departments, centers, and institutes in the Arts and Sciences, with the principal functions of the review to assess program quality and effectiveness, to foster planning and improvement, and to provide guidance for administrative decisions. The Academic Review Committee shall consist of at least sixteen members. At least five members shall be tenured faculty members in each of the three divisions of the Faculty (humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences), and one member shall be either a tenured professor or a full Professor of Practice in the School of the Arts. The Executive Vice President shall appoint the members in consultation with the Deans, the Policy and Planning Committee, and the Executive Committee. In addition, the Executive Vice President, the Chief Administrative and Academic Affairs Officer, and Associate Vice President for Academic Planning serve as members ex officio. A Divisional Dean shall administer the Academic Review Committee on behalf of the Executive Vice President.
D. The Educational Policy and Planning Committee shall coordinate educational policy across the schools that make up the Arts and Sciences. Each semester, the EPPC shall set its agenda in consultation with the Executive Committee of the Arts and Sciences, and summarize the results of its deliberations to the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The Educational Policy and Planning Committee shall be advisory to the Executive Committee and also collaborate closely with the Policy and Planning Committee. The Educational Policy and Planning Committee shall have the following members: the Executive Vice President; the Dean of Columbia College and Vice President for Undergraduate Education; the Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Vice President for Graduate Education; the Chair of the Committee on the Core (or his or her designee); the Chair of the Committee on the Global Core (or his or her designee); the Chair of the Committee on Science Instruction (or his or her designee); three faculty members appointed in consultation with the Policy and Planning Committee, and three additional members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, one from each division, appointed by the Executive Committee. The Executive Vice President shall appoint the chair of the Educational Policy and Planning Committee, who shall serve for no more than three years. Ordinarily at least one of the faculty members will be untenured. The Deans of the School of General Studies, the School of the Arts, and the School of Professional Studies shall be ex officio members of the Educational Policy and Planning Committee. The Educational Policy and Planning Committee shall coordinate with the Chair of the Committee on Instruction of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences as appropriate. Three student members, one each representing the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia College and General Studies, shall be selected by the respective schools from a slate of candidates nominated by the respective student councils.
E. The Junior Faculty Advisory Board, a committee elected by the untenured faculty of professorial rank in Arts and Sciences, shall advise the Executive Vice President, other members of Arts and Sciences, and the University about issues relating to the interests of untenured faculty. The Junior Faculty Advisory Board shall consist of at least two elected members each from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities divisions, as well as an elected Chair who will ordinarily come from the ranks of recently tenured members of the Faculty.
F. Special committees shall be appointed by the Executive Vice President in consultation with the Policy and Planning Committee or by the Policy and Planning Committee in consultation with the Executive Vice President.
G. At all times, a majority of members of each standing and special committee shall be members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, in accordance with Article 34 of the University Statutes.
VII. Amendments:
Amendments to these rules may be proposed at any regular meeting of the Faculty, but may not be voted upon before the next following regular meeting. Prior to this second meeting, notice of the proposed amendment must be sent to all members of the Faculty. To be adopted, 2/3 of the Faculty who vote (including abstentions) must vote in favor of the amendment, and a majority of members of the Faculty (>50%) must vote. Electronic voting is required, and must be confidential.
Resolution on Lecturers in Discipline
WHEREAS, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences believes that full-time lecturers in discipline who have successfully passed the second year review should be members of the Faculty for as long as they hold a full-time appointment; and
WHEREAS, Article 291 of the University Statutes provides that the Faculty of Arts and Sciences may nominate officers of instruction who hold appointments without professorial grades to be members of the Faculty;
NOW THEREFORE be it resolved by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences:
1. That the Faculty of Arts and Sciences hereby nominates full-time lecturers in discipline assigned to Departments in the Arts and Sciences who have successfully passed the second year review to be members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for as long as they hold a full-time appointment.
2. That the Executive Vice President of Arts and Sciences is hereby authorized to inform the Provost of this Resolution and request that such lecturers in discipline be considered members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for as long as they hold a full-time appointment