Standing Committees of the University Council

2.1 Steering Committee

2.1.1 Composition 

One elected faculty member from each college;
One faculty member from the university libraries;
One supportive professional staff member;
One operating staff member;
Two student members who are not from the same college;
Two administrative officers who may be either voting or nonvoting members of the University Council;

The executive secretary of the University Council who will serve as chair.

The faculty members of the committee shall be appointed by the executive secretary with the advice and consent of the Faculty Senate; the student members shall be appointed by the executive secretary with the advice and consent of the student members of the University Council. The administrative officers shall be appointed by the executive secretary in consultation with the president of the university. 

2.1.2 Duties 

2.1.2.1 The Steering Committee shall advise the executive secretary between meetings of the University Council. 

2.1.2.2 The committee shall prepare the agenda for distribution to the University Council members prior to meetings. 

2.1.2.3 In addition, the committee shall perform such other duties as are assigned to it by the University Council. 

2.1.3 Preparation of the Agenda 

2.1.3.1 Any member of the University Council or any 10 members of the university community may submit to the Steering Committee an item no less than 14 days prior to a Council meeting. 

2.1.3.2 The committee, by majority vote, shall decide what proposals shall be included on the agenda, and in what order, based on the Steering Committee's judgment as to whether a given proposal lies within the jurisdiction of the University Council and is appropriate for University Council action. 

2.1.3.3 Any member of the University Council may challenge the agenda for any meeting, as a priority matter, at the beginning of a meeting; the question of whether a proposal shall be added to the agenda for the day shall be resolved by a majority vote of the full University Council after hearing the rationale for the inclusion of the item by its sponsor.

2.1.3.4 As an emergency measure, the president may, under priority announcements, add to the agenda items of new business. 

2.1.3.5 Items affecting policy may not be added to the agenda for the day except as provided in section 3.32 of the bylaws; items not affecting policy may be added to the agenda for the day by majority vote. 

2.1.3.6 The University Council may establish rules limiting the amount of time available for individual presentations at University Council meetings, either by members of the University Council or by others permitted to speak before the University Council. 

2.1.3.7 In order to assure timely consideration on the academic year's agenda of the University Council and that of its relevant members, an item should be submitted to the Executive Secretary no later than 21 days prior to the penultimate meeting of the University Council. 

2.2 Faculty Senate-University Council Rules, Governance and Elections Committee

2.2.1 Composition The FS-UC Rules, Governance and Elections Committee shall consist of the following members: 

(A) Eight faculty members, four of whom shall be members of the University Council, and shall be appointed by the executive secretary of the University Council (with the advice and consent of the University Council). The remaining four shall be members of the Faculty Senate and shall be appointed by the president of the Faculty Senate (with the advice and consent of the Faculty Senate). No two faculty members shall be from the same department. Faculty members shall serve one-year terms and shall be eligible for reappointment.

(B) One student appointed by the Student Association. The student shall be a member of the University Council. The student member shall serve a one-year term and shall be eligible for reappointment.

(C) One Supportive Professional Staff member and one Operating Staff member who shall be members of the University Council. They shall serve one-year terms and shall be eligible for reappointment.

(D) One nonvoting member selected by and from the deans of the degree-granting colleges, who shall serve a one-year term and shall be eligible for reappointment. 

The committee chair shall be appointed by the executive secretary with the advice and consent of the University Council. 

2.2.2 Duties 

(A) Advise the University Council or Faculty Senate on any question referred to it by the University Council or Faculty Senate involving the interpretation of the university Constitution or Bylaws and/or Faculty
Senate Bylaws, and including questions relating to the definition or application of academic freedom standards.

(B) Administer and supervise elections to the University Council and Faculty Senate. Faculty Senate representatives on the committee will administer the Faculty Senate elections; University Council representatives on the committee will administer the University Council elections.

(C) Make final rulings on the eligibility of candidates from colleges and the University Libraries and all other election matters not specifically covered by these procedures.

(D) Review, prior to the elections in those years which are multiples of three, the ratio of the faculty in each college who are on regular contract, excluding the faculty member from the University Libraries, to the total number of faculty in all colleges who are on regular contract and recommend to the University Council any needed adjustment in the number of elected faculty seats on the University Council allocated to each college.

(E) When a university committee or council requires staggered terms for its elected faculty members, determine in advance of the election which seats in each college shall be filled for one-, two-, or three-year terms. Such a determination must be made before the initial election of faculty to such a committee or council, and before the first election after each successive reapportionment of seats on the committee or council. Staggered terms shall be assigned so that, as nearly as possible, there will be an equal number of members of the council or committee elected each year and an equal number of members elected from each faculty constituency each year.

(F) Administer and supervise all referenda that require the vote of the entire faculty of the university.

(G) Monitor legislation that affects higher education and report the status of such legislation to the University Council so that appropriate actions may be taken. 

2.3 University Council Personnel Committee

2.3.1 Composition All voting members of the University Council Personnel Committee shall be tenured members of the faculty. The committee shall consist of members chosen as follows: 

2.3.1.1 Seven members of the University Council: one each from the faculty elected to represent the colleges of Business, Education, Engineering and Engineering Technology, Health and Human Sciences, Visual and Performing Arts, and two from among the faculty elected to represent the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

These members shall be appointed by the Faculty Senate prior to the selection of other members of the committee and shall serve staggered two-year terms during their membership on the University Council. 

2.3.1.2 Members from the faculties of the colleges chosen as follows: 

(A) One member from each of the following college councils chosen by members of that college council: Business, Education, Engineering and Engineering Technology, Health and Human Sciences, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Visual and Performing Arts; such members shall not be chosen from the same academic departments as the members selected for the committee from these colleges by the Faculty Senate.

(B) One member from the faculty of the College of Law and the University Libraries chosen by that faculty. 

2.3.1.3 The vice provost for graduate studies and research who shall serve ex officio, but who shall not vote; 

2.3.1.4 The executive vice president and provost who shall serve ex officio as chair, but who shall not vote. 

2.3.2 Duties 

2.3.2.1 Provide the colleges and the faculty with university criteria, current policies, and compliance dates for various personnel actions. 

2.3.2.2 Review and formulate recommendations regarding all proposed changes in university policy pertaining to salary increases, tenure, promotion in rank, leaves-without-pay, and for sabbatical leaves for academic personnel. No university policy relating to faculty compensation, including increments, shall be established or changed until it has been reviewed and recommended by the University Council Personnel Committee. All such recommendations shall be reported to the University Council. 

2.3.2.3 Insure that the personnel policies and procedures of the individual colleges and of the university libraries are up-to-date, in compliance with university policies, adequate to the demands and expectations placed upon them, and properly enforced and implemented in all situations. To accomplish this purpose, the committee may undertake analyses of aggregate personnel decisions by departments and colleges for the purpose of determining compliance by such units with university policies. In doing this, the committee shall not, however, undertake investigations or reviews of individual personnel decisions, except as such decisions must be reviewed in the context of a broader aggregate analysis of college and departmental personnel actions. 

2.3.2.4 Approve the personnel policies and procedures of the individual colleges and of the university libraries, and all proposed changes in such policies, before such policies and procedures can be implemented. 

2.3.2.5 Review all department and college recommendations pertaining to policies on salary increases and aggregate analyses of all department and college recommendations regarding tenure and promotion in rank for all personnel holding faculty rank. 

2.3.2.6 Formulate recommendations regarding sabbatical leave applications in accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of these bylaws. 

2.3.2.7 Review and forward its recommendation to the president on each case involving promotion, tenure, or sabbatical leave in which the executive vice president and provost disagrees with a unanimous recommendation made by the college and department concerned. 

2.3.2.8 Serve as an appeals board to hear and forward recommendations to the executive vice president and provost on individual cases involving:

A. Allegations of procedural violations at the college level;
B. Disagreements on a personnel decision/recommendation between a college and a department;
C. Disagreements on a personnel decision/recommendation between a dean and a college council or college personnel committee;
D. Concerns of the executive vice president and provost about a possible violation of personnel procedures or standards which was not resolved at the college level.

The definition of this review authority is further specified in section 6.3.4 of these bylaws.

2.3.2.9 Perform such other functions as may be assigned to it by these bylaws. 

2.4 Academic Policy Committee

2.4.1 Composition The Academic Policy Committee shall consist of members of the University Council as follows: 

Seven elected faculty members from at least four colleges; 
Two deans from among the colleges and Graduate School;
One other administrator;
One undergraduate student and one graduate student.

The committee members and committee chair shall be appointed by the executive secretary with the advice and consent of the University Council. 

2.4.2 Duties 

2.4.2.1 Advise the University Council on any question referred to by the University Council and involving the academic activities of the university. 

2.4.2.2 Recommend to the University Council, responses to substantive policy changes from the academic councils in Article 13 (Academic Planning Council, Graduate Council, and Baccalaureate Council). 

2.4.2.3 Recommend to the relevant academic councils issues of concern to the University Council that are within the purview of those academic councils. 

2.5 University Affairs Committee

2.5.1 Composition The University Affairs Committee shall consist of members of the University Council as follows: 

Seven elected faculty members from at least four colleges;
Two deans from among the colleges and Graduate School;
One other administrator;
One member of the supportive professional staff;
One member of the operating staff;
Two students who are not from the same college.

The committee members and committee chair shall be appointed by the executive secretary with the advice and consent of the University Council. 

2.5.2 Duties Advise the University Council on any question referred to it by the University Council involving the operation of the university, other than matters within the purview of the Elections Committee, Minutes Committee, University Council Personnel Committee, Rules, Governance and Elections Committee, Academic Policy Committee, and resources, Space, and Budget Committee. These questions any involve internal university matters (such as athletics, parking, the student judicial system, the university calendar, and the offices of the ombudsman and the executive secretary to the University Council) and the university's relationship with external agencies (such as local municipalities and the legislature). 

2.6 Resources, Space and Budget Committee

2.6.1 Composition 

2.6.1.1 The Resources, Space, and Budget Committee shall consist of the following members

(A) Twelve faculty members, six of whom shall be members of the University Council, and shall be appointed by the executive secretary of the University Council (with the advice and consent of the University Council). The remaining six shall be members of the Faculty Senate, and shall be appointed by the president of the Faculty Senate (with the advice and consent of the faculty Senate). Faculty membership shall include at least one representative from each academic college and the University Libraries. Faculty members shall serve one-year terms and are eligible for reappointment. No two faculty members shall be from the same department.

(B) One student appointed by the Student Association. The student shall be a member of the University Council. The student member shall serve a one-year term and shall be eligible for reappointment.

(C) Two Supportive Professional staff members and two Operating Staff members who shall be members of the University Council. They shall serve one-year terms and shall be eligible for reappointment.

(D) One nonvoting member selected by and from the deans of the degree-granting colleges, who shall serve a one-year term and shall be eligible for reappointment.

(E) The Vice President for Administration and Finance and Chief Financial Officer who shall be ex officio nonvoting. 

(F) The Executive Vice President and Provost who shall be ex officio nonvoting.

2.6.2 Chair The chair of the committee shall be a member of the University Council, selected by the executive secretary of the University Council with the advice and consent of the University Council. The chair shall serve a one-year term and shall be eligible for reappointment. 

2.6.3 Duties

(A) To participate with the president and the executive vice president and provost in the development of long-range planning regarding the allocation and reallocation of resources in both the operating and capital budgets and in the assignment and reassignment of space.

(B) To advise the president and the executive vice president and provost regarding goals and priorities for the utilization of resources, space, and budgets, and to provide periodic evaluations of progress in achieving the goals and priorities.

(C) To make other reports and recommendations to the Faculty Senate and the University Council regarding resource allocations and utilization as the committee feels appropriate or as may be requested by the faculty senate or University Council. In addition to holding regular meetings to seek input on resource needs and priorities, the committee shall meet with the president and the executive vice president and provost, together and/or separately, at least two times a semester, to offer advice on budget and space issues. The committee shall report its recommendations and evaluations to the Faculty Senate and the University Council. 

(D) To advise the president and executive vice president and provost on critical, time sensitive budget issues affecting the university.

(E) To participate and advise the president and executive vice president and provost on resource allocation matters and revenue generation opportunities that arise.

2.6.4 Operating outside of the academici calendar

(A) In order to address Item 2.6.3 (D) under Committee Duties, the committee is authorized by the University Council to function outside of the academic year calendar, without a quorum, providing there are at least five voting members, the majority of which must be faculty.

Alternates for this committee operating outside of the academic year will be selected by the Executive Secretary of the University Council.

2.7 Financial Exigency Advisory Committee

If the president believes a financial exigency is imminent, the president, in consultation with the Resources, Space, and Budgets Committee, shall form a Financial Exigency Advisory Committee, some of whose members shall be voting members of the Resources, Space, and Budgets Committee. All procedures, criteria, and guidelines developed by the committee to carry out the provisions of this bylaw and of the board regulations shall be reviewed by the University Council before any exigency-related decisions are undertaken.

2.8 Other Standing Committees

Other standing committees may be established by the Steering Committee with the advice and consent of the University Council.

2.9 Committee/Board Structure

The University Council shall reexamine periodically the internal committee and board structure of the university.

Article 2.8.1.1 (E) amended to reflect current position title per University Council approval of identical Committee Book update 09/07/2011.
Article 2.8.1.1 (E) and (F) amended to reflect current position titles and duty assignments, approved by University Council 04/02/2014.
Article 2.6 (previously 2.8), Resources, Space and Budget Committee, amended per University Council approval 04/29/2015.
Article 2.3, Minutes Committee, eliminated per University Council approval 04/29/2015.
Article 2.2, Elections and Legislative Oversight Committee, and Article 2.5, Rules and Governance Committee, merged into an amended 2.2 and one new committee: Rules, Governance and Elections Committee per University Council approval 04/29/2015.
Article 2.6.1.1 (C), (E and (F) amended per University Council approval 05/02/2018.