|
|
|
|
THE JOHN MARSHALL LAW SCHOOL
As of May 2007
ASSEMBLY CONSTITUTION
Adopted by the Assembly May 8, 1989
Amended by the Assembly October 8, 1990, September 13, 1993, November 14, 1994, May 12, 1997, April 16, 2001, April 23, 2001, October 7, 2003, March 1, 2004, April 5, 2004, December 6, 2004, October 9, 2006, and April 2, 2007.
[Formerly the Report of the Committee on Committees, As Amended and Approved by the Faculty at its Special Meeting on August 24, 1983]
The Association of American Law Schools provides in By-Law 6-6(a) that “a member school shall vest in the Faculty primary responsibility for determining institutional policy.” The Faculty and the Administration here set forth the following structure to enable the Faculty to discharge that responsibility.
I. The Assembly
The Assembly shall be constituted of the full-time Faculty and the Deans who have full-time Faculty academic rank (the “Assembly Members”). The full-time Faculty (hereinafter referred to as the Faculty) consists of full-time professors of all ranks, whether or not tenured or on the tenure-track. If a full-time visiting professor, who has a term of at least one year, at the inception of the visitorship, informs the Executive Committee chair of the visitor’s desire to participate in Assembly deliberations and serve on an appointive standing committee, the visitor shall have Assembly Member Visitor status during the term of the visitorship. Only members of the Faculty (including Deans with full-time Faculty academic rank), and full-time visiting professors with Assembly Member Visitor status, shall vote in the Assembly on matters committed to the Faculty by ABA or AALS regulations, this Constitution, or other school regulations. However, full-time visiting professors with Assembly Member Visitor Status shall not vote on matters that involve amendments to this Constitution; or the selection of any Dean; or the appointment or promotion or tenure status of full-time professors of any rank; or the appointment of any Center or Library Director. Deans and Center Directors without full-time Faculty academic rank, and full-time visiting professors who do not have Assembly Member Visitor status, shall be entitled to attend and speak at Assembly meetings. The Assembly shall meet regularly every month except January, June and July (unless a regular meeting is rescheduled or canceled by vote at an earlier meeting or by the Executive Committee) at a time and place determined by Assembly vote. Otherwise the Assembly may be convened for a meeting at a time and place specified by:
(a) The Dean
(b) Majority vote of the Executive Committee
(c) Majority vote of the Committee of the Whole
(d) Majority vote of the Assembly at a regular or special meeting.
Except in instance (d) above, not less than three days’ notice of a special meeting must be given in writing to all members of the Assembly and other persons entitled to attend Assembly meetings. The Dean, or in the Dean’s absence the Chair of the Executive Committee, shall chair all meetings.
Decisions on matters voted upon, other than amendments to the Assembly Constitution, shall be by majority vote of those Assembly members present and voting. For purposes of this Constitution, the phrase “majority vote of those Assembly members present and voting excludes abstentions and failures to vote by absentee ballot. However, if a Faculty Assembly Member with Visitor status is ineligible to vote on a particular issue, such individual shall not be considered in determining quorums or majorities in the results of such voting. No votes may be cast by a proxy. A quorum shall be one-half of the membership including those members on sabbatical or leave of absence who are able to and have notified the Secretary of their intention to participate in Assembly deliberations and are present in person at such meeting. No vote shall be taken in the absence of a quorum present in person at a meeting, and this rule as to quorum may not be suspended by way of motion.
Comment: It is contemplated that it will not be difficult to assemble the necessary quorum. The above provision should not preclude alternate methods of voting, such as secret ballot, written ballot, absentee ballot, and polling of the entire membership with ballots having to be returned by a certain time, if such method of voting is chosen by the Assembly by majority vote of those Assembly members present in person at an Assembly meeting at which the matter of voting procedure on a question before the Assembly is presented.
II. Committee of the Whole
The Committee of the Whole shall consist of all members of the Faculty other than those holding decanal positions. Meetings of the Committee shall be convened at any time pursuant to:
A. majority vote of the Assembly at a regular or special meeting, without notice;
B. majority vote of the Executive Committee; or
C. request of ten or more members of the Faculty to the Chair of the Executive Committee.
If the meeting is convened pursuant to II.B. or II.C. above, not less than three days’ written notice shall be given to the members of the Committee of the Whole.
The Committee of the Whole may discuss any subject it wishes but may take no decision on matters that are subject to Assembly action other than a decision to convene a meeting of the Assembly. The quorum for decisions shall be one-half of the membership of the Committee of the Whole including those members on sabbatical or leave of absence who are able to and have notified the Secretary of their intention to participate in Committee deliberations and are present in person at such meeting, and the decision shall be made by a majority vote of those present and voting. The Dean is to be given not less than three days’ notice of such an Assembly meeting, unless notice is waived.
Meetings of the Committee of the Whole shall be chaired by the Chair of the Executive Committee.
Comment: The above provision on convening the Committee of the Whole is not intended to prevent informal discussion from occurring at Assembly meetings with or without the presence of a quorum.
III. Committee of the Tenured Faculty
The Committee of the Tenured Faculty shall consist of all tenured members of the Faculty including those on sabbatical or leave of absence who are able to and have notified the Secretary of their intention to participate in Committee deliberations and are present in person at such meeting. The Committee shall convene upon not less than three days’ notice given in writing by the Chair of the Tenure Committee, who shall chair its meetings.
This Committee shall meet to act upon the recommendations of the Tenure Committee relating to:
1. The initial grant of tenure to any person;
2. The promotion of any person to the rank of Associate Professor; and
3. The retention on contract of any untenured Faculty member.
This Committee shall not, however, have jurisdiction to approve recommendations for promotion or appointment to the rank of Professor.
A quorum of this Committee is a majority of its qualified members. Recommendations of the Tenure Committee shall be deemed adopted, and shall be the Faculty’s recommendation, unless rejected or amended by a majority of those members of the Committee of Tenured Faculty who are present in person at the time of the vote or by absentee ballot and who are qualified to vote. The Committee’s decisions are not subject to review by the Assembly.
Comment: It is contemplated that recommendations of the Tenure Committee may be divided by the Committee of Tenured Faculty; for example, a recommendation to promote and to grant tenure may be divided into the question of promotion and the question of tenure and decided separately.
IV. Committee of the Tenured Professors
The Committee of the Tenured Professors shall consist of all tenured full professors including those members on sabbatical or leave of absence who are able to and have notified the secretary of their intention to participate in committee deliberations and are present in person at such meeting. The Committee shall convene upon not less than three days’ written notice by the Chair of the Tenure Committee, who shall chair its meetings.
This Committee shall meet to consider the recommendations of the Tenure Committee relating to the promotion or appointment of any person to the rank of Professor, which shall be the limit of its jurisdiction. No person may be recommended for appointment or promotion to the rank of Professor who has not previously been tenured or recommended for tenure by the Committee of the Tenured Faculty. A quorum of this Committee is a majority of its qualified members. Recommendations of the Tenure Committee shall be deemed adopted, and shall be the Faculty’s recommendation, unless rejected or amended by a majority of those members of the Committee of the Tenured Professors who are present in person at the time of the vote or by absentee ballot and who are qualified to vote. The Committee’s decisions are not subject to review by the Assembly.
V. Standing Committees
The following committees are standing committees of the Assembly and shall make regular reports and recommendations at Assembly meetings. Except for the Executive Committee, the Tenure Committee, and any other committee designated by the Executive Committee, the Student Bar Association shall, for each standing committee of the Assembly, designate a student from the student body to represent the student body as a voting member of the standing committee.
A. The Executive Committee
The Executive Committee, consisting of five members of the full-time faculty who are not Deans, shall be composed of two tenured full professors, one faculty member who is not a tenured full professor, and two faculty members elected at large. The members of the Executive Committee shall serve two-year terms and shall be elected on a staggered basis. The Committee shall be elected by secret ballot of all members of the Faculty. The Committee shall select one of the full professors as its Chair by majority vote. The Committee shall also select one of its members as Secretary of the Committee. The president of the Student Bar Association shall have the right to attend, speak and vote at meetings of the Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee shall have the following duties, rights and responsibilities:
1. To appoint, in consultation with the Dean, the members and the Chair of the other standing committees, except members of the Tenure Committee. In naming committee members the Executive Committee shall give due consideration to the following factors:
The expressed wishes of the Faculty member;
Reasonable balance of academic ranks among the members;
Reasonable introduction of new blood and new ideas from year to year;
Reasonable continuity of membership from year to year;
Perceived performance of members in prior committee work; and
The functions and anticipated workload of the Committee.
The decision of the Executive Committee as to committee assignments shall be final. The Executive Committee shall not name any of its members chair of any other standing committee.
2. To serve as the Faculty’s general liaison to the Dean. This provision shall not be construed to preclude other Committees or Faculty from direct contact with the Administration.
3. To recommend policies governing the short- and long-term goals of the School and the means by which these may be best attained.
4. To recommend policies respecting alumni relations, public relations and fund raising.
5. To monitor and recommend policies concerning, and suggest means to implement, the development, utilization, and growth of the Law School and its facilities.
6. To coordinate and to monitor the activities of the other standing committees (except the Tenure Committee, as to which it shall have no jurisdiction). To this end, and without limitation, the Committee may delegate one or more of its members to attend meetings of other standing committees, convene joint meetings with one or more Chairpersons or the membership of other standing committees, assign responsibilities and problems to a committee where jurisdiction is doubtful, and resolve jurisdictional disputes between committees. Such actions shall be reported to the Assembly.
7. To coordinate Assembly meetings by:
(a) Preparing the agenda in consultation with the Dean;
(b) Prescribing the order of business; and
(c) Ensuring that committee proposals and reports are carefully prepared, are submitted in writing to Assembly members in advance of the meeting, and otherwise conform with procedures and provisions in Article VII of this Constitution.
8. To monitor the functioning of the committee system and organizational structure herein provided and to propose to the Assembly changes and improvements.
9. To interpret and construe the provisions of this Assembly Constitution.
10. To propose amendments to the Assembly Constitution for consideration pursuant to Article VIII of this Constitution, without prejudice to the right of any other Committee or Faculty also to propose such amendments.
11. To appoint an ad hoc Faculty discipline committee, the members of which shall be randomly selected at the commencement of each academic year.
12. To act, or authorize another standing committee to act, on behalf of the Assembly or the Faculty when necessary or appropriate due to unusual or exigent circumstances. If such authority is exercised, the Executive Committee shall report its action to the Assembly or Faculty as soon as practicable but in no event beyond 10 days. The committee may not under this authority amend the Assembly Constitution or make any tenure or promotion recommendations.
13. To recommend and apply rules relating to standards for the conferring of honorary degrees.
14. To establish further guidelines and procedures as may be appropriate, not in conflict with provisions of the Assembly Constitution.
15. To appoint, in consultation with the Dean, the Secretary of the Assembly.
B. The Tenure Committee
The Tenure Committee, consisting of seven members of the full-time faculty who are not Deans (including those with the rank of Associate Dean or higher), shall consist of five full professors and two tenured associate professors who shall serve two-year staggered terms. The Committee shall be elected by secret ballot of all members of the Faculty. Elections of the Committee shall take place after elections to the Executive Committee, whose members shall not be eligible for election to the Committee. The Committee shall elect a Professor to serve as its Chairperson.
The Committee is responsible for making recommendations concerning the following matters:
(a) Appointment at or promotion to the ranks of Professor and Associate Professor;
(b) Granting of academic tenure to any person;
(c) Retention on contract of any member of the untenured Faculty.
The recommendations of the Committee relating to appointment at or promotion to the rank of Professor shall be made to the Committee of the Tenured Professors; and recommendations regarding granting of academic tenure shall be made to the Committee of the Tenured Faculty. If the Tenure Committee recommends the appointment of an untenured person to the rank of Professor with tenure, the recommendation as to the grant of tenure shall be made to the Committee of the Tenured Faculty and the recommendation as to promotion to the rank of Professor shall be made to the Committee of the Tenured Professors. Notwithstanding any other provisions herein to the contrary, no person shall acquire tenure except by recommendation to the Committee of the Tenured Faculty.
Recommendations of the Committee regarding retention on contract of non-tenure-track Faculty shall be made to all tenured and tenure-track Faculty. Recommendations of the Committee regarding retention on contract of non-tenure-track Faculty shall be deemed adopted and shall be the Faculty’s recommendations, unless rejected or amended by a majority of those tenured and tenure-track Faculty who are present in person at the time of the vote or by absentee ballot and who are qualified to vote.
The Committee shall adopt and follow such procedures as it deems appropriate, with the concurrence of the Assembly, and shall follow such other directions as the Assembly may give. The Committee shall not maintain minutes of its discussions and decisions on matters of tenure, promotion, and retention, but shall prepare confidential written reports on such matters in lieu of minutes.
C. The Appointed Standing Committees
The Executive Committee, in concert with the Dean, shall appoint the following standing committees and shall designate their chairs. Each faculty member shall be appointed to at least one standing committee.
1. The Selection and Appointments Committee
This Committee shall have the following duties:
(a) After the Committee is appointed, it shall meet with the Dean to discuss hiring priorities for the coming year.
(b) Tenure-track and tenured positions: The following provisions shall apply to both all new faculty (persons not tenured or tenure-tracked at another law school) and lateral hires (persons tenured or tenure-tracked at another law school).
1. The committee shall conduct interviews with potential faculty members, and based on those interviews, invite candidates to meet with other faculty and administrators and to make presentations to the full-time faculty on an academic subject.
2. At a meeting of the full time faculty called with reasonable notice, the committee members shall report on the references of the candidates. If the candidate is tenured at another institution, the committee shall also report on whether the tenure standards used to grant the candidate tenure are substantially similar to those at JMLS. The faculty shall discuss the qualifications of the candidates. The full time faculty members shall:
a. by majority of the votes cast, decide whether to recommend hiring of each candidate; and
b. rank each of the recommended candidates.
3. The criteria the faculty shall consider in deciding whether to recommend hiring under the previous section shall include:
a. A candidate's potential to fulfill the teaching, scholarship and service criteria set forth in the Tenure Standards;
b. The extent to which the candidate meets other special hiring needs of the institution; and
c. For candidates with tenure at another institution, the faculty shall consider:
i Whether the tenure standards used to grant the candidate tenure at that institution are substantially similar to those at JMLS; and
ii Whether the candidate would appear to satisfy the minimum requirements under the JMLS Tenure Standards.
4. Absentee ballots will be allowed on the question of whether to recommend hiring. It is expected that faculty voting by absentee ballot will familiarize themselves with the candidates' qualifications.
5. The committee shall transmit the names of recommended candidates and their ranking to the Dean.
(c) Visitors
1. Visitors shall be classified in one of the three categories:
a. Look-see Visitors: These visitors are hired under the assumption that they will be evaluated during the period of their visitorship for a tenured or tenure track position.
b. One Year Visitors: These visitors are hired under the assumption that they will not be offered a tenured or tenure track position at year end. This will not prevent the visitor from applying for a tenured track position if one becomes available during the year.
c. Short-term Visitors: These visitors are hired for a period of less than one year.
2. The committee's responsibility for each type of visitor shall be as follows:
a. Look-see Visitors: The committee shall follow all the procedures in 1.b. above which are required for tenured and tenure track positions.
b. One Year Visitors: The committee shall interview candidates and make recommendations to the Dean. At the request of the Dean, the committee shall vote on whether to extend this visitorship for an additional year.
c. Short-term Visitors: The committee shall assess the candidates' qualifications and make recommendations to the Dean.
d. Adjunct Faculty: To recommend to the Dean the appointment of all adjunct faculty members, including those who teach in LL.M. programs.
e. Rank
1. For tenure track faculty without teaching experience: the faculty shall recommend the rank of faculty member to the Dean. New faculty without substantial teaching experience shall ordinarily be offered the rank of assistant professor.
2. For lateral hires: Rank shall be governed by the Tenure Standards.
3. For Visitors: Visitors shall hold the rank that they hold at their home institutions unless the committee recommends a different rank.
f. The granting of tenure for candidates considered under 1.b. above shall be governed by the Tenure Standards and Procedures committee.
g. Dean's role: The Dean shall negotiate with and hire faculty and visitors recommended by the faculty. The Dean shall give the ranking substantial deference among the recommended candidates.
2. The Academic Affairs Committee
This Committee shall have the following duties:
(a) To recommend standards and policies for dismissal of students for poor scholarship, and to recommend and apply standards and policies for readmission under appropriate circumstances.
(b) To evaluate Faculty grading practices and make recommendations and reports concerning grading.
(c) To develop, recommend and apply rules relating to academic standards, degree requirements, standards for honors degrees, and similar matters, and for J.D. and LL.M. degrees.
3. The Curriculum Committee
The Committee shall have the following responsibilities:
(a) To evaluate and monitor the curriculum and to recommend changes and improvements.
(b) To formulate and recommend policies respecting non-J.D. and non-LL.M. programs, continuing legal education programs, community out-reach programs and joint degree programs.
4. The Library and Computer Policy Committee
This Committee shall be charged with evaluating the educational aspects of the library and making appropriate reports and recommendations. This Committee shall also be charged with evaluating educational aspects of the Law School’s policies regarding computers, the internet, and related technologies and software, and making appropriate reports and recommendations. The Director of the Library and the Head of Computer Services shall be ex officio members of this Committee.
5. The Admission and Financial Aid Committee
This Committee shall formulate, recommend, and monitor the implementation of policies and standards for admissions, pre-admissions programs, financial aid, and efforts to attract students who most fully meet the admissions goals of the School.
6. The Faculty Affairs Committee
The Committee shall have the following duties:
(a) To provide suitable orientation for new members of the full-time and adjunct Faculty. Such new members are to be fully apprised of the policies of the School, of its examination and grading policies, of its history, and in general of all information that will fully integrate them into the Faculty. Appropriate means of introduction to other members of the Faculty are to be developed and applied.
(b) To recommend programs and policies that promote the professional development of the Faculty, including teaching effectiveness, such as Faculty exchanges, seminars, sabbaticals, etc.
(c) To develop appropriate standards, in conjunction with the Dean, for Faculty support services, such as secretarial assistance, word processing, telephone service, paid student assistants, etc.
(d) To advise the Dean of Faculty opinion regarding salaries and fringe benefits.
(e) To recommend programs and policies dealing with, and suggestions for implementation of, other matters of Faculty concern, such as working conditions, conducive teaching environment, scheduling, class loads, administrative responsibilities, interim and summer teaching, and supervision of programs, divisions, centers, institutes, conferences and projects.
7. The Student Orientation Committee
This Committee shall recommend policies for, and monitor and conduct, orientation programs for entering students, and such additional programs of orientation or guidance as may seem desirable.
8. The Placement and Career Services Committee
This Committee shall formulate, recommend and monitor policies to assist in the promotion of placement and career development activities for students.
9. The Committee on Student Honors Programs
This Committee shall recommend policies and supervise the performance of the student run Honors Programs: Law Review, the John Marshall Journal of Computer and Information Law and Moot Court, and any similar programs added in the future.
10. The Committee on Adjunct Faculty
This Committee shall monitor the performance of adjunct faculty, and recommend to the Dean the retention or non-retention of such faculty. It shall not, however, recommend initial appointments to the adjunct faculty. The Committee shall also conduct programs, as it deems appropriate, for the development of teaching skills by adjunct faculty, and for the integration of adjunct faculty into the law school community.
11. Student Affairs Committee
This committee shall have the following duties:
(a) To develop and monitor the performance of programs for providing students with faculty advisors.
(b) To serve as faculty liaison with student organizations, other than Honors Programs.
(c) To recommend programs and policies to promote positive student-faculty relations.
12. Self-Study Committee
This Committee shall undertake the continuing duties of seeing to it that the faculty engages in an ongoing review of its performance in all areas, with particular attention given to developing the necessary material for submission in the sabbatical inspections conducted by the ABA and AALS.
13. The Discipline Committee
This Committee shall administer discipline proceedings in conformity with the Rules for Discipline Proceedings and/or any other applicable law school rules governing student discipline. The Committee may consist of student members and faculty members according to prevailing rules and procedures. Faculty members of the Committee may be appointed by the Executive Committee, in consultation with the Dean, or may be drawn from rotating panels appointed by the Executive Committee, in consultation with the Dean.
D. Ad Hoc Committees
The Executive Committee, in consultation with the Dean, shall have the authority to appoint ad hoc committees, in addition to the standing committees, to consider issues and address matters that do not fall within the jurisdiction of a standing committee.
VI. Assembly Procedures
The Assembly shall adopt rules of procedure for Assembly meetings, upon recommendation of the Executive Committee and majority vote of those present and voting, as soon as practicable. Upon adoption, those procedures shall replace this paragraph as Article VI of the Assembly Constitution. Subsequent changes to this Article may only be made in accordance with Article VIII, dealing with amendments to the Constitution.
RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE JOHN MARSHALL LAW SCHOOL ASSEMBLY
[Approved by the Assembly October 8, 1990]
SECTION ONE: AGENDA.
A written agenda of an Assembly meeting shall be prepared and distributed to all members of the Assembly within a reasonable period prior to the meeting, but in no event less than twenty-four hours. The agenda shall state the substance of any business that is to be brought before the meeting.
SECTION TWO: RECOGNITION.
No member may address the Assembly for any reason until recognized by the Chair. After obtaining recognition, the member may not be interrupted or otherwise prevented from speaking, but may yield the floor to another member or yield to a question, or unless a point of order may be raised by another member.
SECTION THREE: MOTIONS.
All decisions taken by the Assembly shall be pursuant to a motion made by a member or a request for Assembly action made by a standing committee and affirmatively adopted by the Assembly in accordance with these rules.
SECTION FOUR: MOTION TO ADJOURN.
A motion to adjourn or to fix the time for adjournment is neither debatable nor amendable. This motion takes precedence over all other motions and requires a majority to pass.
SECTION FIVE: MOTION TO APPEAL THE DECISION OF THE CHAIR.
This motion challenges any ruling by the Chair on any procedural matter that may come before the Assembly. It is neither debatable nor amendable, and requires a majority to pass. It takes precedence over all other motions except a motion to adjourn.
SECTION SIX: MOTION TO TABLE.
This motion postpones consideration of a matter indefinitely unless otherwise specified. It is neither debatable nor amendable. This motion takes precedence over all other motions, except for a motion to adjourn and a motion to appeal the decision of the Chair, and requires a majority.
SECTION SEVEN: MOTION TO TAKE FROM THE TABLE.
This motion seeks to recall for consideration a motion or a number of related motions previously laid on the table. The motion is not in order until some business has been transacted since the subject of the motion was laid on the table. The motion must be seconded, and is neither debatable nor amendable. If moved and rejected, the motion is renewable only after some further business has been transacted.
SECTION EIGHT: MOTION TO MOVE THE PREVIOUS QUESTION.
This motion calls for the immediate closing of debate on a subject and the taking of a vote on such subject. It is neither debatable nor amendable. The motion requires a two-thirds vote to be passed and takes precedence over every other motion, except for a motion to adjourn, a motion to appeal the decision of the Chair, or a motion to table.
SECTION NINE: MOTION TO SUSPEND THE RULES.
This motion is neither debatable nor amendable. It requires a two-thirds vote to be passed and takes precedence over every other motion, except for a motion to adjourn, a motion to appeal the decision of the Chair, a motion to table, or a motion to move the previous question. A motion to suspend a rule or rules must be for a specified period of time and may not be used to suspend a rule or rules indefinitely. Rules that cannot be suspended are: rules contained in Articles I and VIII of the Assembly Constitution; and rules protecting absentees or a basic right of the individual member. No rule protecting a minority of a particular size can be suspended in the face of a negative vote as large as the minority protected by the rule.
SECTION TEN: MOTION TO AMEND.
This motion takes precedence only over the original motion it is proposed to amend. A motion to amend may itself be amended only once, although the original motion may be amended as many times as the Assembly deems appropriate. If the proponent of any motion may agree to accept a proposed amendment, the amendment automatically becomes part of the original motion without any further action required by the Assembly. An amendment may be inconsistent with the original motion, but must relate to the original motion. A motion to amend is debatable and requires a majority.
SECTION ELEVEN: POINTS OF ORDER AND INFORMATION.
A point of order calls the attention of the Chair to an alleged procedural irregularity and a point of information is a request for further information from the Chair. These two points are decided by the Chair and require no action by the Assembly. However, rulings on both of these points are subject to an appeal from the decision of the Chair. Unless an appeal is taken these points and the rulings thereon are not debatable and are not amendable.
SECTION TWELVE: SECONDING.
All motions, other than requests for Assembly action by a standing committee, require a second in order to be considered by the Assembly. Points of order and points of information are not considered motions.
SECTION THIRTEEN: QUORUM.
A quorum for the purpose of an Assembly meeting shall consist of at least one-half of the membership of the Assembly, including those members on sabbatical or leave of absence who have notified the Secretary of their intention to participate in Assembly deliberations and are present in person at such meeting. No Assembly decisions may be made without the presence of a quorum at the time of such decision.
SECTION FOURTEEN: “MAJORITY” AND “TWO-THIRDS” VOTE.
A majority vote of the Assembly is defined as being the vote of a majority of those present and voting on the question. A two-thirds vote of the Assembly is defined as being the vote of two-thirds of those present and voting on the question.
SECTION FIFTEEN: NO PROXY VOTING.
There shall be no voting by proxy in the Assembly.
SECTION SIXTEEN: CHAIRPERSON TO PRESIDE FOR ALL BUSINESS.
The person designated in Article I of the Assembly Constitution to preside at the meeting of the Assembly shall preside as to all business at the meeting. If it is necessary for the presiding officer to vacate the chair during a meeting, the chair may be occupied temporarily by whatever other person shall have been designated in Article I of the Assembly Constitution, or in turn by a chairperson pro tem appointed by the officer vacating the chair, subject to the approval of the Assembly. If no person designated as Chair in Article I of the Assembly Constitution is present, the Assembly shall immediately elect a chairman pro tem to preside during the meeting or until a person designated as Chair by Article I of the Assembly Constitution enters the meeting.
SECTION SEVENTEEN: GENERAL PROVISION.
The Chair and the Assembly shall have the authority to adopt and apply any other rule of procedure not substantially inconsistent with the foregoing expressed rules.
VII. Committee Procedures
A. Provisions
The provisions of this Article shall apply to all Faculty committees, whether standing, ad hoc or otherwise created, but not to the tenure and promotion responsibilities of the Tenure, Selection and Appointments Committee.
B. Meetings, Agenda and Minutes
1. Meetings
a. Committee meetings shall be open to all interested Faculty: All meetings shall be open to any full-time Faculty member who wishes to attend.
No committee selected by the Faculty or claiming to act on behalf of the Faculty, except the Tenure, Selection and Appointments Committee, the Committee of the Tenured Faculty, and the Committee of the Tenured Professors, shall prevent committee information from being disseminated to Faculty members under any claim of confidentiality. The Assembly may provide for other exceptions to this policy.
b. Notice of meetings shall be posted: All committees shall post notice of any scheduled meeting. The notice shall be posted in the faculty lounge at least three business days in advance of the meeting.
2. Agenda
If available, all committees shall post agenda for each of its meetings. The agenda shall be posted in the faculty lounge at least three business days in advance of the meeting.
3. Minutes
All committees shall post minutes for each of its meetings. The minutes shall be posted in the faculty lounge as soon as possible after their approval by the committee.
This requirement shall not apply to any matters that a committee decides, in accordance with authority given by the Assembly, to be confidential.
C. Committee Action, Decision and Report to Faculty
1. Procedures prior to committee decision and report:
Prior to distributing a final report to the Faculty on a matter the committee intends to present at an Assembly meeting, the committee shall take whatever action, in its discretion, it deems necessary to render a decision and provide a report as described in C.2.b. below.
It is strongly recommended that before any such final report is distributed to the Faculty, a committee consider input from all full-time Faculty. Such input may be sought by one or more of various methods, such as soliciting written comment, holding a special open meeting, or proceeding in any other manner that the committee deems appropriate to the particular matter at issue. If input is sought by open meeting, notice shall be given in accordance with B.1.b. above.
It is also strongly recommended that the committee obtain whatever information may be appropriate regarding the administrative impact of a proposed decision.
2. Reporting
a. Notice: A report regarding committee action and decision shall be distributed to the Faculty and Deans not less than five business days prior to the Assembly meeting at which the report is intended to be presented.
b. Content: A report shall include
(i) the committee’s decision(s);
(ii) the factual bases for the decision(s); and,
(iii) a concise summation of the arguments in favor of and against the decision(s).
D. Additional Guidelines and Procedures
The Executive Committee, pursuant to authority granted in this Constitution, may from time to time establish such guidelines and procedures as in its discretion may be necessary or appropriate to effectuate and implement other provisions of this Article.
Nothing in this Article shall be construed to preclude the Executive Committee from establishing and applying guidelines and procedures, as in its discretion may be necessary or appropriate, for expedited handling of particular matters or for the suspension or waiver in particular circumstances of a procedure set forth in this Article. Each application of such exceptional guidelines and procedures shall be communicated to the Assembly or Faculty as soon as practicable.
VIII. Amendments
This Assembly Constitution may only be amended at a properly-called Assembly meeting, prior to which the proposed amendment has been distributed to all members of the Assembly and other persons entitled to attend Assembly meetings, and listed as an agenda item. The proposed amendment may be placed on the agenda in either of two ways:
A. By prior vote of the Executive Committee, or
B. By a motion, properly seconded, and the affirmative vote of a majority of those members of the Assembly present in person and voting at a properly-called Assembly meeting, to place the amendment on the agenda of the next properly-called Assembly meeting.
At the Assembly meeting at which the amendment is considered for adoption, an affirmative vote of at least two-thirds (2/3) of those members of the Assembly present in person and voting (but not less than a majority of Assembly members eligible to vote) shall amend the Constitution.
Copyright © 2008, The John Marshall Law School