Matters of Academic Unit Governance and Related Procedures

University Libraries Faculty Governance Bylaws

In keeping with the mission of the University Libraries (UL) at Kent State University, the primary responsibility of UL faculty is to provide professional library and media services to the students, faculty, and staff of Kent State University.

As these professional services are developed and delivered, the UL Faculty, as per the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Agreement, acting on its own behalf and/or through the College Advisory Committee (CAC), is the primary advisory and recommendatory body to the Dean on those academic matters that are central to the mission of UL. The elected members of the CAC shall also assist the Dean of UL in implementing the following Bylaws. These Bylaws guide the governance of and by the Faculty and Non-Tenure Track (NTT) faculty of UL.

Bylaws approved by the Faculty of UL, November 30, 1993
Revised in part and approved by the tenure-track faculty, May 11, 1999.
Proposed Bylaw revision: 4/7/06
7/24/06 - Motion made and approved by CAC (Maurer/Gilgenbach): to recommend Faculty approval of the revised Bylaws (after further editorial review for style consistency and correctness of See references) at the next Faculty meeting
Revised bylaws approved by the Faculty of UL, August 16, 2006
Revised bylaws approved by the Faculty of UL, October 3, 2007
Revised bylaws approved by the Faculty of UL, December 13, 2007
Revised bylaws approved by the Faculty of UL, February 7, 2008 (final approval July 15, 2008)
Definitions

A. The word "Faculty" as defined and used in the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Agreement, shall in these Bylaws (exclusive of headings) mean all and only those UL Faculty who are members of the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Unit, whether on the Kent or Regional Campuses.

B. The phrases "NTT faculty" and "Non-Tenure Track faculty" shall in these Bylaws mean all and only those UL faculty who are members of the Non-Tenure Track Collective Bargaining Unit as defined in the Non-Tenure Track Collective Bargaining Agreement.

C. The phrases "faculty," "all faculty" and "entire faculty" shall in these Bylaws mean all UL faculty, whether on the Kent or Regional Campuses, including Faculty, NTT faculty, administrators with faculty rank, term faculty (whether full-time or part-time), or resident librarian faculty.

D. "Dean" means Dean of UL of Kent State University or an Acting or Interim Dean appointed by the University.
Faculty Representatives, Chair, and Secretary
Representatives of the Faculty

A. The representatives of the UL faculty shall be the Faculty or all the members of the CAC.

B. The Faculty may elect other such representatives as the needs of UL require.

Qualification, Election, and Term of Office for Representatives on College Advisory Committee

A. All representatives on CAC shall be members of the Faculty or NTT faculty.

B. Nominations of candidates for Faculty representative positions on CAC and Secretary shall be presented by a nominating committee made up of those Faculty CAC members whose term is expiring. In making nominations, the nominating committee shall consider eligible members of the Faculty from the Kent campus and the Regional Campuses. The nominating committee shall follow the ratio of tenured/untenured Faculty to be elected to CAC as set by CAC in compliance with the requirements of these Bylaws (“Committees,” Section A). Nominations shall be circulated with the agenda prior to the Annual Meeting. The process for the election of an NTT faculty representative can be found in “Committees,” Section A below.

C. Elections and voting for Faculty and NTT faculty representatives and Secretary are to follow election guidelines found in the “Committees,” Section A below.

D. All elected representatives shall serve for two years, or until their successors are elected. The terms of Faculty representatives begin at the close of the Annual Meeting at which they are elected.

E. In the event that a representative or Secretary is not able to serve, the CAC shall appoint an eligible member to complete the portion of the unexpired term up to the next Annual Meeting. A new representative or Secretary will then be nominated and voted on, according to the procedures as specified in these Bylaws. The person appointed shall serve only the remainder of the unexpired term. If the vacancy occurs within two months of the next election, the position will remain vacant for that period.

Chair and Secretary

A. The Dean, when present, shall preside at all meetings of the CAC, Faculty meetings, meetings of the Faculty and NTT faculty, and meetings of the entire faculty, and perform generally all duties incidental to the office of Chair.

B. In the absence of the Dean, the Associate Dean of UL will serve as Chair. In the event that the Associate Dean is also unavailable, the Secretary shall call the meeting to order and immediately call for nominations from the floor for a temporary Chair. A voice vote shall determine the temporary Chair.

C. The Secretary shall serve for one year.

D. The Secretary shall be the custodian of the current official records of the Faculty, and shall keep minutes of all Faculty meetings, meetings of the Faculty and NTT faculty, and meetings of the entire faculty, (see “Committees,” Section A.7).

E. The Secretary shall be the custodian of the current official records of the CAC, shall keep minutes of all meetings of the CAC (see “Committees,” Section A.7), and shall perform such other duties as shall be assigned by the CAC.
Meetings of the Faculty
Meetings

A. As per the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Agreement, meetings of the Faculty shall be held at least once during each fall and spring academic term at the call of the Dean, and these two meetings shall be primarily for Faculty business. The Annual Meeting shall occur prior to the end of the spring academic term. At the request of the Dean, the Faculty shall be notified at least thirty (30) days prior to the meeting.

B. The Faculty meeting in the spring shall be known as the Annual Meeting and shall be for the purpose of Faculty business, the election of tenure-track representatives and Secretary, and receiving reports of tenure-track representatives and committees.

C. Attendance at Faculty meetings is expected of all Faculty. All other faculty may attend. Other persons may be invited to attend.

D. The Faculty may be convened, with reasonable notice, for special meetings at the call of the Dean, upon petition of one-fourth of all Faculty (for Faculty meetings), or by a majority of the members of the CAC. Only subjects specifically listed in the proposed agenda for a special meeting may be considered at that meeting.

E. The Dean, at his discretion, may convene meetings of the entire faculty in addition to the aforementioned twice-annual Faculty meetings.

Quorum for Meetings of the Faculty

A. Two-thirds of the members of the Faculty shall constitute a quorum at Faculty meetings.

B. The presence of a quorum shall be determined and results reported by the Dean before a meeting is called to order, and at other times at the request of the Faculty.

Order for Faculty Meetings

A. After the determination of a quorum and the call to order, the business of Faculty meetings shall be conducted in the following order, unless changed as noted below:

1. Acceptance of the Agenda

2. Approval of Minutes

3. Elections

4. Old Business

5. New Business

6. Dean's report

7. Regional Campuses' report

8. Discussion of Faculty Reports

a. Faculty Senate

b. Provost's Advisory Council

c. Full-Time Non-Tenure Track Provost's Advisory Council

d. College Advisory Committee

e. Faculty Senate Budget Advisory Committee

f. Standing committees - required at Annual Meeting only

g. Ad hoc committees

h. Reports of faculty chairs/representatives to external committees

a. University Libraries National Advisory Council

b. Faculty Senate Library Advisory Committee

c. United Way

9. Adjournment

B. The old and new business to be discussed at Faculty meetings will be determined by the Dean in consultation with CAC.

C. Amendments to the agenda, including additions or deletions, or changes in the order, may be proposed only prior to the adoption of the agenda. These amendments must be approved by a simple majority vote of the Faculty members present.

D. After the agenda for a meeting has been accepted, the order in which items are dealt with shall be changed only by a two-thirds vote of the Faculty members present.

E. The agenda for meetings of the entire faculty will be decided by the Dean in consultation with CAC.

Distribution of Agendas and Supporting Documents

The agenda for Faculty meetings as prepared under the provisions of this section, shall be distributed to all faculty at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting. Electronic distribution shall be the preferred means whenever feasible. Documents pertinent to the agenda shall be included in this distribution.

Documents "For Discussion Only"

A. When a document embodying a policy recommendation is to be considered by the Faculty, the Dean shall first place the document on the agenda of the meeting "for discussion only."

B. At the meeting at which a document "for discussion only" is first presented, the Faculty may take final action on the document only in unamended form. Approval requires a two-thirds majority of Faculty present. Otherwise, as normal procedure, the document shall be placed on the agenda of the next Faculty meeting "for action."

C. This rule may be suspended upon a two-thirds vote of Faculty present at a Faculty meeting.

Voting

A. Decisions of the Faculty shall be determined by a majority voice vote of Faculty present, unless contrary requirements are specified elsewhere in these Bylaws. If the Dean or any Faculty member questions the outcome, that person may request a show of hands.

B. NTT faculty may vote on all issues at faculty meetings, except for those that pertain to Faculty personnel issues. Those exceptions include, but are not limited to: Reappointment, Tenure and Promotion policies; Research Time policy; any faculty excellence awards guidelines brought forward by CAC; or Professional Improvement Leaves or Research Leaves.

NTT faculty do not vote for Faculty representatives to CAC.

C. Any member of the Faculty may request that the vote on any issue be taken by secret ballot. This request shall be granted on the approval of a majority of Faculty present.

D. All voting for Faculty representatives shall be by secret ballot.

E. Absentee Voting for Faculty Representatives. The following shall govern absentee voting:

1. The person voting absentee shall be someone who otherwise meets the requirements for voting under these Bylaws.

2. The person voting absentee shall be a qualified voter who is unable to attend the Faculty meeting.

3. The person voting absentee shall do so by completing a regular ballot obtained from the designated member of the nominating committee.

4. The person voting absentee shall return the completed ballot in a sealed envelope to the designated member of the nominating committee prior to the meeting.

5. Absentee balloting and the counting of absentee ballots shall proceed in accordance with section 44 of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, latest edition.

Revision approved by the University Libraries faculty, 5/15/14
Committees Mandated Committees

A. College Advisory Committee

1. The CAC, as a committee mandated by the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Agreement, shall be the primary advisory and recommendatory body to the Dean in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Agreement. Accordingly, the CAC will advise the Dean of UL on those professional matters which are central to the mission of UL, including, but not necessarily limited to, those outlined in the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Agreement. The CAC of UL meets regularly, every other week during the fall and spring semesters, and generally as often during the summer sessions and intersessions.

2. The membership of the CAC shall be limited to Faculty and NTT faculty.

3. The six Faculty members of the CAC shall be elected from the Faculty by secret ballot. Ballots may be cast only by the Faculty. For each representative position, the candidate receiving the most votes shall be elected. Representatives shall serve two-year terms in rotation; three representatives will be elected annually.

4. Faculty shall be represented on the CAC in a ratio that reflects the current tenured/untenured composition of the entire Faculty. However, at least two representatives shall be tenured. If the representative to the Provost's Advisory Council is elected from outside the membership of the CAC, this person's academic status shall not be considered in calculating the ratio.

5. NTT faculty participation:

a. One (1) NTT faculty member will be elected to serve on CAC, in addition to the six Faculty members of CAC.

b. The term of service on CAC will be two (2) years.

c. An NTT faculty member shall not serve two (2) consecutive terms.

d. Every two years, in the week following the Annual Faculty meeting, NTT faculty will meet and elect one of their number to serve as NTT faculty representative to CAC.

e. NTT faculty will have the same rights as Faculty representatives on CAC to participate in the discussion and decision-making regarding all issues that come before CAC except the following, as indicated in the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Agreement, Article VI, Section 3, Paragraph A (p. 12): "...personnel decisions regarding tenure-track Faculty members, including, but not limited to appointment, reappointment, tenure, promotion, merit or sanctions. This provision does not prohibit [UL] from including Non-Tenure Track faculty on tenure-track search committees, as deemed appropriate or specified in the unit handbook."

f. Every two years the NTT Bargaining Unit President will oversee the nomination and election of a UL representative to Non-Tenure Track Provost Advisory Council (NPAC). If the elected representative is not a current member of CAC, that person shall be invited to attend CAC meetings as needed. The NPAC representative may bring issues or concerns to CAC as they arise from NPAC meetings and activities. The NPAC representative may also be asked to report to CAC on NPAC activities.

6. The Dean of UL shall be both Chair and an ex officio non-voting member of CAC.

7. At a scheduled meeting of CAC if the Dean should be absent, the Associate Dean of UL shall preside for the purpose of transacting any necessary business.

8. In order that Faculty members may be informed of issues to be discussed and express their opinions and concerns, the agenda for a regular meeting of the CAC shall be distributed to all faculty at least two (2) calendar days prior to the meeting. Electronic distribution shall be the preferred means whenever feasible.

9. Faculty and NTT faculty may make suggestions for the CAC agenda by contacting the Dean or an CAC member in advance of any CAC meeting.

10. Minutes of CAC meetings shall be distributed to all faculty within five (5) calendar days after their approval.

11. A representative to the Provost's Advisory Council shall be elected by the CAC for a one-year term at its first regular meeting after each election. If the representative is not already a member of the CAC, that person also serves as an at-large, non-voting member of CAC.

Revision approved by UL Faculty, 6/29/10 
Receipt acknowledged by the Provost's Office, 9/1710 
Final approval, 8/31/11
Standing Committees
Committee formation and general responsibilities

Each year at least one (1) month prior to the Annual Meeting, the CAC shall survey the Faculty and NTT faculty concerning committee preferences.

Within one (1) week following the Annual Meeting, the Dean shall call a joint meeting of the newly-elected, continuing, and outgoing CAC representatives. At this meeting the CAC shall appoint the chair of each standing committee. Whenever possible, standing committee chairs shall have served as members of their committees during the previous year.

At the second meeting of the CAC, the committee chairs, in consultation with the CAC, shall appoint the members of each committee, using information gained from the preference survey. There shall be at least three Faculty members on each committee. In addition, the committee chair may select NTT faculty to serve.

Committee chairs may give a report to the CAC concerning committee business. Committee chairs shall place pertinent committee information on the CAC meeting agendas.

A summary of the year's work shall be reported by each committee chair at the Annual Meeting.

CAC will consult with the committee chair to fill a vacancy on a standing committee. If the chair of the committee can no longer serve, CAC will name a replacement to complete that term of service.

The committees are responsible for setting their own meeting times and plans of operation.

Committees

Handbook Committee

Committee responsibilities include the following:

a. initiating, reviewing, or recommending revisions to the Bylaws;

b. initiating, reviewing, or recommending revisions to the Faculty Handbook;

c. initiating, reviewing, or recommending revisions to the Bylaws and the Faculty Handbook in order to help assure compliance with each new Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Agreement and Non-Tenure Track Collective Bargaining Agreement;

d. reviewing and recommending revisions to the Bylaws and the Faculty Handbook in order to help assure compliance with University policy.

Additionally, within two weeks of adoption by UL Faculty and UL Dean (or as otherwise covered by the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Agreement), the committee is responsible for:

e. adding new or changed Bylaws or Handbook content to the official electronic version of the Bylaws or Handbook;

f. providing paper copies for inclusion in the current paper handbook copies maintained in the Dean's office, in the Provost's office, and in the UL Department of Special Collections and Archives.

In order to expedite updating of Handbook content, the committee is to make non-substantive editorial changes to the Bylaws and other Handbook section content as follows:

1. Examples of non-substantive editorial changes include but are not limited to the following:

Updating citations or links to other documents

Updating name and/or title changes of positions, offices, entities, or documents

Updating page references or titles of sections

Punctuation, grammatical, spelling, or numerical changes or corrections

2. The process of making and tracking these editorial changes is as follows:

All non-substantive editorial changes are to retain the intent and meaning of the content being edited.

Any member of UL may bring editorial changes to the attention of the committee members.

All changes will be archived in committee records and presented to CAC in a timely manner.

All changes will be presented to the UL faculty in a summary report either in person or via the intranet.

If any faculty member is concerned about editorial changes, he/she may submit to the Handbook committee written explanations for the concern. The committee will then evaluate the concern, and enact the changes or report back to the faculty member the reasons for keeping the original editorial change. If need be, the change will be brought to a vote at a meeting of the full UL faculty.

Professional Development and Standards Committee

Committee responsibilities include the following:

a. developing professionalism by fostering and promoting opportunities for research and publication;

b. encouraging membership and participation in professional organizations;

c. reporting research time activities to the tenure-track faculty;

d. organizing local professional activities;

e. planning and promoting cooperative professional activities with the School of Library and Information Science and other schools and departments as appropriate;

f. coordinating the mentor program.

Faculty Professional Travel Committee

Committee responsibilities include the following:

a. managing the UL annual budget allocation for faculty professional travel (excluding travel by administrators with faculty rank);

b. reviewing and recommending revisions in travel policies and procedures.

Curriculum Committee

Committee responsibilities include the following:

a. reviewing and recommending proposals to establish, inactivate and revise courses, degrees, programs, concentrations, majors and sub-majors, emphases, and options;

b. reviewing and recommending proposed course changes including but not limited to course titles, course descriptions, prerequisites, grading specifications, credits, and content;

c. periodically reviewing existing curriculum and recommendation to program faculty to initiate proposed changes in order to update, collaborate, integrate where appropriate;

d. reviewing and recommending workshop proposals.

The College Advisory Committee shall serve as the UL Curriculum Committee, with the addition of the Head of Instructional Services if that person is not a member of the CAC. Additionally, a representative of the Regional Campus faculty in UL will serve in an ex officio capacity, to be recommended by the Regional Campus Library Directors Council and approved by CAC.

The purpose of the Curriculum Committee is to address issues and procedures related to for-credit UL course offerings, whether cross-listed or independently listed. The business of the Curriculum Committee may be conducted during meetings of the CAC. Minutes of the Curriculum Committee discussions and decisions may be included in the minutes of the CAC meeting.

Approved by UL Faculty 05/06/08; approved by the Provost 09/24/08.

Diversity Committee

Committee responsibilities include the following:

a. endeavoring to make University Libraries a diverse and inclusive place to work through various means, including but not limited to:

outreach programming

fellowship and scholarship oversight

strategic planning

recruitment and retention of diverse librarians

professional outreach and scholarship.

b. overseeing and managing University Libraries' Strategic Diversity Plan.

c. representing University Libraries on KSU's University Diversity Advisory Council.

d. working with KSU's Office of Affirmative Action to share information on best practices in forming search committees and conducting searches.

e. connecting and collaborating with professional organizations (e.g., ARL, ALA, or ALAO) to support and further diversity within the profession of librarianship.

The Diversity Committee shall be composed of at least three faculty members, with representation from both tenured / tenure-track Faculty and non-tenure track faculty, with the committee chair being a faculty member. To meet the broad scope of this committee's responsibilities, the committee chair shall ask for the University Libraries Staff Association to appoint at least one staff member to the committee and for the Dean's Office to appoint at least one student member to the committee.

Approved by UL Faculty on 5/19/09; approved by the Provost on 08/07/09.
Ad Hoc and Other Committees

A. The members of all ad hoc committees of the Faculty shall be appointed and notified by the Dean after consultation with the CAC, unless specified otherwise in these Bylaws, the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Agreement, or University policy.

B. Promotion, Reappointment and Tenure Committees

The consideration of members of the Faculty for purposes of recommending reappointment, promotion, and tenure decisions is the responsibility of the ad hoc Promotion, Reappointment and Tenure Committees and the CAC, following the procedures set forth in the UL RPT policies, the Kent State University Policy Register (3342-6-06, 3342-6-07, 3342-6-08), and the Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Agreement.

C. Dean Search Committee

At least fifty percent of the search committee for a new Dean of University Libraries (UL) shall be composed of representatives selected by University Libraries. UL representatives will include: at least four members of the Kent and/or Regional Campus UL full-time tenured and tenure-track Faculty; at least one member of the Kent and/or Regional Campus full-time non-tenure track faculty; at least one Kent Campus faculty member with administrative appointment; at least one Regional Campus library director; at least one classified or unclassified staff member.

Members of the UL faculty shall be selected by secret ballot at a special meeting of the faculty. CAC shall decide on the ballot formulation and voting processes. Provisions shall be made for absentee voting.

D. Tenure-Track Faculty, NTT Faculty, Term Faculty, and Resident Librarian Search Committees. Additional guidance for new positions is found elsewhere in this Faculty Handbook.

1. The CAC shall appoint a representative of CAC, who does not have to be a member of CAC, to each search committee.

2. At least one-half of the search committee for Faculty positions shall be comprised of Faculty members.

3. The search committee for NTT faculty, Term faculty, and Resident Librarian positions shall have at least two Faculty members, one of whom may be the CAC representative.

E. NTT faculty members may be asked to serve on ad hoc CAC committees. NTT faculty members may not serve on the following committees: the Reappointment and Tenure Committee, the Promotion Committee, and any other ad hoc committee set up to address personnel issues affecting Faculty, individually or as a group.

Revision approved by UL Faculty, 5/12/11
Sent to the Provost's Office, 9/1/11
Final approval, 1/14/12
Parliamentary Authority

Parliamentary authority for conducting faculty business is Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, latest edition, which shall govern the faculty of UL in all cases to which it can be applied and in which it is not inconsistent with the Bylaws or special rules of order such as the current Tenure-Track Collective Bargaining Agreement; the current Non-Tenure Track Collective Bargaining Agreement, the University Policy Register; rules of the office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs and miscellaneous Kent State University rules and regulations.
Amendments to the Bylaws

Amendments to these Bylaws may be adopted by a two-thirds majority of Faculty present at a Faculty meeting after the text of the proposed amendment has been distributed with the agenda for that meeting. If the proposed amendment is approved by a simple majority of Faculty present, but not by two-thirds of Faculty present, it may then be adopted at the next Faculty meeting by vote of a simple majority of Faculty present.
Handbook Modification, Amendment and Revision

1.0 Introduction

Guidance for Handbook content is found in several sources (refer to the Tenure Track Collective Bargaining Agreement Article VI, Section 7: Implementing Handbooks and the Full-Time Non-Tenure Track Collective Bargaining Agreement Article V, Section 4: Handbooks.) This Handbook is to implement University policies within UL, to cover such items as may be mandated from time to time by University policy, and to contain such other subjects as are reasonably related to the mission of UL. The TT CBA also states that the unit Handbook should specify the arrangements by which Faculty governance responsibilities and advisory roles are to be discharged in a fashion appropriate to the distinctive structure, composition, programmatic mission, and reporting relationships of the unit; and therefore, the UL Faculty Handbook is to include descriptions of such arrangements. Moreover, the Non-Tenure Track (NTT) Collective Bargaining Agreement also provides for coverage of UL NTT faculty in the unit Handbook. Suggestions for alterations of currently existing Handbook sections pertaining to the Faculty, or suggestions for additional Handbook sections pertaining to the Faculty, may be initiated at any time by the Dean of UL or by any Faculty member. Suggestions for alterations of currently existing Handbook sections pertaining to the NTT faculty, or suggestions for additional Handbook sections pertaining to the NTT faculty, may be initiated at any time by the Dean of UL, by any Faculty member or any NTT faculty member. Suggestions should be brought to any member of CAC, any member of the Handbook Committee, or to the Dean of UL. In keeping with its charge as found in the UL Bylaws, each year the Handbook Committee also works to recommend or develop new or updated Handbook content. Proposed changes are subject to discussion, revision and recommendation by the CAC and must be approved by a majority of the Faculty of UL in accordance with the Bylaws. All changes to the Handbook are subject to the approval of the Dean of UL who may also direct that the Handbook be amended or revised to reflect changes in UL or University policy. Also refer to TT CBA, Article VI, Section 7: Implementing Handbooks.

Approved by the Faculty of UL, August 16, 2006; February 27, 2007.
Retention of Minutes and Official Records

1. CUSTODIAN

The Secretary shall be the custodian of all minutes and official records of the Faculty and NTT faculty of UL and the CAC for the current year.

2. REPOSITORY

To preserve the historical records of the Faculty and NTT faculty of UL and the CAC, the UL Department of Special Collections and Archives shall be the repository of these records. Each year after the Annual Meeting, the Secretary shall be responsible for depositing the current year of the minutes and other records to the Archives.

Matters of Academic Unit Governance and Related Procedures

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