Governance Documents

Section 1

Regular meetings of the Faculty shall be held monthly during the academic year. At any meeting of the Faculty, each faculty member shall have one vote.

Section 2

The order of business for a regular meeting shall normally be:

• approval of minutes of previous meeting(s)
• announcements by the President
• special order of business
• reports of committees and Divisions
• unfinished business
• new business

Section 3

The meetings shall be conducted according to the usual rules of parliamentary procedure.

Section 4

The President may invite any member of the college staff to attend any meeting of the Faculty when such attendance will contribute useful information or assist the staff member in the performance of his or her duties.

Section 5

When business is brought to a meeting of the Faculty by a Faculty committee with student members, those student members may be requested by the chair of the committee to attend and participate in a full discussion of that business.

Section 6

The President shall release to the Reed Community a tentative Agenda of a regular Faculty meeting three or four days before the meeting. In the case of any other meeting, the President shall release the Agenda at least 48 hours before the meeting, excluding weekends, breaks and holidays.

Section 7

A sign-up sheet for non-participating student observers shall be provided outside the President's Office at the time of the release of the Agenda for all meetings other than Grade Reviews. A total of eleven seats shall be allocated for student observers at each meeting. One of these seats shall be reserved for a Quest reporter. The remaining ten seats shall be open to the first ten students signing up for the meeting. The Faculty reserves the right to move into closed session at any time by means of a vote of a majority of those members present.

Section 8

Any motion before a Faculty meeting must be voted on by secret ballot if any member of the Academic Faculty so requests. Any motion before a Faculty meeting shall be voted on by secret mail ballot if a motion for such a ballot is approved by a majority vote at that meeting.

Section 1

The Academic Faculty shall be grouped into the following Divisions:

• The Arts
• History and Social Sciences
• Literature and Language
• Mathematics and Natural Sciences
• Philosophy, Religion, Psychology, and Linguistics

The administration of major subjects and responsibility for the work of major students shall be assumed by the Division. Each Division shall elect a chair and secretary annually. Copies of the divisional minutes shall be sent to the President and to the Registrar, and be available to all members of the Faculty.

Section 2

There shall be a Museum Art School Committee that shall act in the place of a Division for students taking the combined Reed College--Pacific Northwest College of Art program.

Section 3

There shall be a committee on Graduate Studies that shall exercise general supervision over the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program.

Section 4

Each Division shall be divided into such Departments as are determined by the Academic Faculty. Each Department shall select, by simple majority vote of the Faculty members of the Department, a Department Chair to administer departmental matters not specifically reserved to some other body.

Section 1

The Committee on Advancement and Tenure

A. The Committee on Advancement and Tenure (CAT) shall consist of seven members of the Academic Faculty selected by the procedure below, the Dean of the Faculty, ex officio, and the President as presiding officer. Faculty will serve for two years, and terms will be staggered such that, if at all possible, three or four new members are normally elected each year. No more than one faculty member from any one department and no more than two from any division shall serve on the committee at any one time except as specified in item 4 below.

1. All members of the Academic Faculty are eligible to vote for the Committee on Advancement and Tenure.
2. All members of the Academic Faculty on continuing appointments of .5 FTE or higher are eligible to serve, except faculty members on either full or part time appointments as members of the administrative staff or Faculty who have just served in total any combination of four consecutive years on the CAT or CAPP. Faculty members should regard it as part of their normal responsibilities to make themselves available for service on CAT.
3. Each year all members of the Academic Faculty shall be sent a nominating ballot listing all faculty members who are eligible for the Committee in the following year and who have not withdrawn their names by notifying the President's Office in advance of a ballot distribution date announced by the Appeals and Review Committee. Faculty from any department that retains one sitting member or any Division that retains two sitting members, are not eligible for nomination. Each faculty member may vote for as many candidates as she or he wishes.
4. The number of names on the second ballot will be equal to twice the number of vacancies to be filled (normally six or eight names), or as many names as are necessary to permit departmental and divisional distribution as limited by paragraph (3) above and to assure that no candidate on the second ballot is automatically elected. These names will be the top vote-getters on the initial ballot, with additional names in case of a tie for the final position. Each faculty member may vote for not more than the number of candidates for which vacancies exist (normally three or four). The faculty members receiving the highest number of votes on the second ballot will be elected to CAT, except that, if the pool allows, no more than two members of the CAT shall be from the same division, and no more than one member shall come from an individual department. Thus, once one member of a department or two members of a division are seated, others from that department or division will be dropped from the pool, being reinstated only if no one else remains. Ties shall be broken by a “coin flip” supervised by the Appeals and Review Committee.
5. In case unanticipated leaves create more than three or four vacant positions in a given year, the number elected for the second ballot shall be increased accordingly to fill the Committee. In case resignations occur between the time of election and the completion of a full year’s service, replacements shall be elected by the same procedures set forth above.
6. The election shall be conducted by the faculty members of the Appeals and Review Committee who shall determine suitable dates for ballot distribution so that all Faculty elections shall be completed by the end of the academic year. The order of election shall be as follows: CAT, CAPP, A&R.

B. The new Committee shall take office on August 15. During the summer the President or the Dean may invite new members-designate to meet with the Committee.

C. Meetings of the Committee on Advancement and Tenure may be called by the President or, at his or her designation, by either the Dean of the Faculty or Secretary of the Committee or by any three members of the Committee at any time, provided that written notice of the meeting be sent to all members of the Committee at least forty-eight hours before the time of the meeting.

D. Five members of the Committee on Advancement and Tenure shall constitute a quorum. When there is no quorum at a meeting duly called, the President may take whatever action seems to him or her to be immediately necessary and report such action to the Committee at its next meeting.

E. The Committee on Advancement and Tenure shall make routine reports to the Faculty and shall, at a regular spring meeting, review with the Faculty the criteria and procedures it uses in deliberating evaluation, promotion and tenure.

Section 2

The Appeals and Review Committee

A. The four faculty members of the Appeals and Review Committee shall be chosen by the following procedure:

1. All members of the Academic Faculty are eligible to vote for the Appeals and Review Committee.
2. Eligibility for election to the Appeals and Review Committee shall be restricted to those members of the Academic Faculty on continuing appointments of .5 FTE or higher (except for those faculty on either full or part time appointments as members of the administrative staff, and those faculty already elected to CAT or CAPP). Faculty members should regard it as part of their normal responsibilities to make themselves available for service on the Appeals and Review Committee.
3. Any member of the Faculty who has been selected for the Committee on Advancement and Tenure or for the Committee on Academic Policy and Planning shall be ineligible for membership during the year he or she is a member of either committee.
4. Any member of the Faculty who will be on leave for a semester or longer shall be ineligible for membership during the year he or she is on leave.
5. Each year all members of the Faculty shall be sent a first ballot listing all members of the Faculty eligible for the Committee in the following year. Each faculty member may vote for not more than eight candidates.
6. The second ballot, also to be sent to all members of the Faculty, shall list the eight individuals receiving the highest number of votes on the first ballot (with additional names in case of ties). Each faculty member may vote for not more than four candidates.
7. The four individuals receiving the highest number of votes on the second ballot shall be elected to the Committee. Ties shall be broken by additional Faculty balloting.
8. Any vacancy in the Committee shall be filled by ballot vote of the Faculty.

F. If after joint deliberation, the Faculty Committee on Academic Policy and Planning rejects a recommendation of its student counterpart, that recommendation shall lie on the table of the next regular meeting of the Faculty. If by the beginning of that meeting the student committee has formally appealed the rejection, this shall have the effect of taking the recommendation from the table and of giving members of the student committee the right to participate at that meeting in an informal discussion prior to Faculty debate on the question. If the Faculty Committee forwards to the Faculty a recommendation to which its student counterpart has objections, the student committee may forward its own report, and shall have the right to participate at that meeting in an informal discussion prior to Faculty debate on the question.

G. Special meetings of the Committee may be called by the President or by its Chair or by any four members at any time provided that written notice be sent to each member at least forty-eight hours before the time of the meeting.

H. Five faculty members of the Committee on Academic Policy and Planning shall constitute a quorum. When there is no quorum at a meeting duly called, the President may take whatever action seems to him or her to be immediately necessary and report such action to the Committee at its next meeting.

I. The Committee shall keep written records of its meetings. It shall report to the Faculty at each Regular meeting of the Faculty.

J. The faculty members of the Committee shall select from among its members a CAPP Budget Advisory Subcommittee (CBAS) to follow the construction of the College budget and to inform Committee members of the budget's progress and its bearing on the academic program.

K. The Committee may appoint ad hoc subcommittees that include members selected from the administrative staff, Faculty and student body at large.

L. On the nomination of the President and with the agreement of the Committee on Academic Policy and Planning, administrative officers of the College may be appointed as ex officio members of the Committee for one-year renewable terms.

Section 4

The President shall have power to appoint such standing committees or special committees as he or she deems necessary or when requested by a vote of the Faculty. Among the standing committees shall be:

• Administration Committee
• Committee on Admission and Financial Aid
• Grievance Review Panel
• Library Board
• Off-Campus Study Programs Committee
• Committee on Diversity

A. The Administration Committee shall consist of the Registrar, the Vice President and Dean of Student Services, and one faculty member from each Division. The President shall appoint the Chair of the Committee from the latter group. The President may, when he or she deems it advisable, appoint additional members of the Faculty to the Committee. The Administration Committee shall have the responsibility of recommending to the Faculty scholastic disciplinary actions for underclass students. The Committee shall be responsible for interpreting the Faculty Code, for taking such actions as are delegated to it by the Faculty, and for proposing such changes in policy as are within its field of competence. The Committee shall share with the Registrar the responsibility for issuing revised editions of the Faculty Code at regular intervals.

B. The Committee on Admission and Financial Aid shall consist of the Dean of Admission, ex officio, Director of Financial Aid, ex officio, the Vice President/Treasurer, ex officio, at least six faculty members appointed by the President, and at least two students appointed by the President, with the advice of the President of the Student Body. The committee shall assist the professional admission staff in their review of applications for admission; shall supervise the awarding of financial aid to new and returning students; and shall formulate policy regarding admission and financial aid to students.

The President shall appoint one of the Academic Faculty members as Chair, who may not be a member of the Committee on Advancement and Tenure or the Committee on Academic Policy and Planning. The Dean of Admission, as well as the Chair, shall be empowered to call meetings and prepare agendas.

C. The Library Board shall consist of the librarian ex officio, as chair, five faculty members, one from each Division, appointed by the President, plus three students appointed by the President of the Student Body. The Board shall pass on matters of general Library policy subject to the approval of the Faculty and shall apportion books and periodical funds. The Librarian shall present any proposed Library budget, exclusive of individual staff salaries, to the Library Board before submitting it to the President or to his or her designee.

D. The Off-Campus Study Programs Committee shall consist of the Registrar, ex officio, the Dean of Admission, ex officio, the Director of Financial Aid, ex officio, the Director of International Programs, ex officio, the Vice President and Dean of Students, ex officio, up to six Academic Faculty members (one of whom shall be a member of the Committee on Academic Policy and Planning) appointed by the President, and two senior students appointed by the President with the advice of the President of the Student Body. The President shall appoint one of the Academic Faculty members as Chair. The Committee shall formulate policy regarding off-campus study programs (both foreign and domestic); shall review proposals for such programs from Departments or Divisions and shall report its findings and recommendations to the Committee on Academic Policy and Planning; and shall review and decide upon applications from students for participation in approved programs.

E. The Grievance Review Panel shall consist of six members of the Faculty, appointed by the President in consultation with the Committee on Advancement and Tenure and the Committee on Academic Policy and Planning. No member of the committee shall be a current member of the Committee on Advancement and Tenure or of the Appeals and Review Committee. The President shall appoint the Chair of the Grievance Review Panel.

F. The Committee on Diversity shall consist of five faculty members appointed by the President in consultation with the Committee on Academic Policy and Planning and drawn broadly from the College’s academic divisions; the Dean of Admission; and the senior member of the student services staff responsible for multicultural affairs. The committee will be responsible for monitoring the various programs and policies adopted by the College in pursuing its commitment to diversity; for presenting recommendations to the Faculty and its elected committees, and to the various administrative units of the College, regarding policies and practices that the committee believes would contribute to the diversity of the College community through better recruitment and retention of faculty, staff and students from under-represented ethnic and racial minorities; and for fostering communication among the faculty, faculty committees, and the offices of admissions and student services regarding challenges of diversity that reach across standard administrative boundaries.

Section 5

A majority of each committee shall have power to act in all matters under its jurisdiction except those specifically reserved for action by the Faculty.

Section 6

In all cases where there are student members of a committee the student members shall have an equal vote with the faculty members of the committee.