C. The Faculty

1. The Faculty Meeting The Faculty meets once each month of the Fall and Spring semesters:

a. to bring up and air matters which should be considered by one of the Boards, one of the Standing or Liaison Committees, or one of the Committees of the Faculty, and to consider any matter under discussion by any Board or Committee;

b. to act on policy proposals from the Academic Affairs Board and from Committees of the Faculty;

c. to direct the Academic Affairs Board to initiate a study on any matter under its jurisdiction and to inform the Faculty of its findings;

d. to direct the Academic Affairs Board to act upon any matter within the Board’s jurisdiction;

e. to receive regular reports from the various Boards and Committees of the Governance System;

f. to hear regular reports by the President on the state of the college and to hear reports and announcements by administrators and colleagues;

g. to vote degrees;

h. to vote “sense of the Faculty” resolutions;

i. to nominate candidates for election to the various governance bodies and to committees of the Faculty; elections will take place electronically before the next Faculty Meeting with the same voting eligibility as at Faculty Meetings;

j. to ratify amendments to the Constitution of the Colgate Governance System.

The business of the Faculty shall be conducted according to the procedures which have been customary to Colgate until they are amended by a majority of those present and voting at a meeting of the Faculty.

2. Standing Committees of The Faculty

a. The Committee on Faculty Affairs The Committee shall propose to the Faculty policies and recommendations of policies on faculty appointments, faculty promotions, academic freedom and tenure, all matters pertaining to professional standards and ethics, loads, leaves, grants for development and research, faculty welfare, and similar matters.

The Committee shall propose to the Faculty procedures for faculty discipline and for hearing grievances from the faculty. The Committee shall consist of eleven members of the Faculty (one each from the Divisions of the Arts and Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Physical Education, Recreation and Athletics, Social Sciences, and University Studies, one from the library faculty, and five members at large for three-year, nonrenewable terms), the President, and the Dean of the Faculty. The Committee shall elect its own Chair. The Associate Dean of the Faculty acts as secretary.

Reporting to the Faculty Affairs Committee shall be the Research Council, members of which shall be appointed by the Dean of the Faculty. The Faculty Affairs Committee also recommends faculty to serve on the University Benefits Committee.

b. The Committee on Promotion and Tenure The committee shall consist of one full professor representing each of the four academic divisions and one position at large. Members will serve three-year terms. The at-large position will be open to both full and associate professors in those four divisions; associate professors must have at least three years in rank before serving. The Committee will choose a chair from among the full professors. The chair will normally have at least one year of experience on the Committee or as a division director. All members of the committee will receive information about Colgate's obligation to ensure that all of our employment decisions are free from discrimination. The division director (or directors, in the case of a joint appointment) will be present at all of the meetings pertaining to the candidate in their division. The Committee on Promotion and Tenure will review and make recommendations to the dean of faculty and president on all cases for pre-tenure review, promotion to associate professor, the granting of tenure, and promotion to full professor. Because recommendations are reached through careful evaluation of the dossier according to the Guidelines for Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion (see Section III. F.), the dean of faculty and the president should treat the elected committee's recommendations with a high degree of deference.

The elections for the Promotion and Tenure Committee will be conducted by means of instant run-off voting by the entire faculty, who will be able to vote for all five positions regardless of division. Because faculty elected to the committee may need to make adjustments in teaching schedules, elections should be held two semesters prior to the semester in which a term on the committee begins. A list of all full professors by division will be posted online approximately two weeks before the election, beginning with a one-week opt-out period for those unable or unwilling to serve. The Nominating Committee will supervise this process, resolve any problems that may come up, and verify the final online voting ballot.

University Studies: Those eligible to represent University Studies will include the following categories:

Members of departments or programs located in University Studies

Current holders of joint appointments in University Studies

Recent directors of University Studies interdisciplinary programs (within the last ten years)

Recent university professors or University Studies division directors (within the last ten years)

The At-Large Position: This position will be elected in the manner described above from among all full professors and all associate professors with at least three years in rank who have chosen not to opt out, regardless of division.

If someone is elected in more than one category: Candidates may run in the at-large position or for the appropriate divisional position. If a candidate wins in more than one category, the Nominating Committee will determine which category that candidate will represent. The division or position not chosen will go to the second-place candidate in that category. The Nominating Committee will supervise this process.

c. The Faculty Nominating Committee The committee shall nominate to the Faculty representatives to the various Boards and Committees of the Governance System and elected Committees of the Faculty. It shall consist of five members of the Faculty elected for three-year, nonrenewable terms from at least twice as many nominees as there are vacancies on the Committee. At least four of the members of the committee shall be tenured. Nominations for the Nominating Committee shall be made from the floor of the February meeting of the Faculty. The Committee shall elect its own Chair.

The nominating committee shall not place its members on the ballot for Boards or Committees of the Governance System or elected Committees of the Faculty. Nominating Committee members may be nominated from the floor of the faculty meeting, and they may appear on the ballot for the Committee on Promotion and Tenure.

d. The Faculty Committee on Affirmative Action Oversight This committee shall consist of five elected faculty members, at least one of whom shall be a woman, and in addition, at least one of whom shall be a member of a racially/ethnically underrepresented group as defined by the federal government. At least two of the members of the Committee shall be tenured. In addition, the Committee will include the Chair (if a faculty member) or other faculty representatives of the Committee on ALANA Affairs; and a faculty member from the Faculty Affairs Committee. All of the five elected Committee members will serve three-year terms. The Associate Provost(s) for Equity and Diversity and the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion shall be ex officio members (nonvoting) and (one) shall serve as secretary of the Committee. The Committee shall elect a chair from among its members.

The Committee helps ensure that Colgate achieves its affirmative action goals as well as attends to strategies and concerns related to equity and inclusion with respect to all faculty recruitment, hiring, promotion, and retention. Colgate has had either a voluntary or a federally-mandated affirmative action program in place since 1974. The Committee is responsible for the following:

Reporting annually to the faculty, delivering any annual federally mandated analysis of the faculty

Identifying areas of non-compliance with respect to the aforementioned areas
Providing recommendations to all relevant bodies for making efforts to address faculty affirmative action goals/concerns/strategies
Obtaining information from relevant bodies to support its charge
Actively working to support and implement Colgate’s DEI plan.

In order to implement its charge, the Committee, in collaboration with the Office of Equity and Diversity, works closely with relevant governance committees, administration, and other relevant bodies that support the academic mission.

e. Advisory and Planning Committee This committee is concerned with institution-wide planning at the University. It meets regularly to confer about the implementation of existing institutional plans, to examine issues of long-term planning, and to advise the President on matters of importance to the university community. A faculty member chosen by the faculty members of the committee reports to the Faculty at least once a year.

The membership of the Committee is as follows:

- President
- Dean of the Faculty/Provost
- Dean of the College
- Vice President for Finance and Administration
- 4 Faculty (one member each from the divisions of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities, and University Studies), elected to staggered 3-year, nonrenewable terms
- Chair of the FAC
- Chair of the Faculty Affirmative Action Oversight Committee
- One staff member (appointed by the President)
- an elected faculty member of the Academic Affairs Board
- an elected faculty member of the Student Affairs Board
- and elected faculty member of the Committee on Budget and Financial Planning

The President chairs the committee and will arrange for a member of the President’s staff to take minutes. Members of the committee who go on leave for a single semester shall not be replaced. The committee may invite to its meetings other members of the university community as consultants on particular issues, but no additional members of the committee shall be appointed.

f. The Committee on Intellectual Property The committee on intellectual property serves as an advisory committee to the Provost on all University intellectual property issues. The committee’s responsibilities will include the review of intellectual property issues affecting the University, determination of ownership of intellectual property, recommendation of policies for allocation of revenues, and review or development of policy recommendations pertaining to intellectual property. The membership of the committee is as follows:

Vice Provost for Administration and Planning
Financial Vice President and Treasurer (or delegate)
Chief Information Technology Officer
Four of the elected members of the Faculty Affairs Committee selected by the Faculty Affairs Committee (including one each from the Divisions of the Humanities, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Social Sciences)
University Librarian (or designate)

Either the Faculty Affairs Committee or the Provost determines when an issue arises that the committee needs to be constituted to address. The Associate Provost chairs the committee.

g. Core Revision Committee The committee is elected to facilitate the revision of the Core Curriculum on a ten-year cycle. This process reviews the entire Liberal Arts Core Curriculum, including the components, the distribution requirements, and Core Distinction. The Core Revision Committee consists of the University Professors and one elected member from each academic division, as well as the Division Director of University Studies, who chairs the committee. The committee should be elected in year eight of the existing Core Curriculum, following a review of the curriculum by the University Professors. The members will serve for two-year terms in years nine and ten. The committee drafts a proposal and brings it to the Faculty Meeting for discussion. When a proposal is supported by the faculty vote, it serves as a guiding document from which the Core Revision Committee drafts a description for the Colgate University Catalog. That catalog description is then considered by the Academic Affairs Board, who can bring it to a vote at a Faculty Meeting as the official legislation of the new Liberal Arts Core Curriculum. Once the revised curriculum is approved, its implementation is managed by the University Professors and the Director of the Division of University Studies, in consultation with the Faculty Affairs Committee. The first year of the new Core Curriculum is the year in which incoming students are required to fulfill the new Core Curriculum requirements in their entirety.

3. Ad Hoc Committees When issues arise that cannot be handled within the existing committee system, the President or the Dean of the Faculty may involve faculty in university decision-making through the creation of temporary ad hoc committees. Such committees will normally be charged with matters that will require at least one month but no more than twenty-four months of consideration. The convener will whenever possible draw faculty representatives from the elected membership of relevant existing committees. At least half the faculty representatives on ad hoc committees will be so drawn or will be chosen by special election at a meeting of the Faculty.¹ The convener will consult with the Nominating Committee or the Committee on Faculty Affairs, or both, prior to the appointment and election of faculty representatives on ad hoc committees. The creation of such committees will be promptly announced to the university community, with their charges and membership lists made publicly available.

Faculty Handbook

C. The Faculty

Footnotes