The Faculty of the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at Indiana University in Bloomington and Indianapolis draws this Constitution as the framework of governance to facilitate and sustain excellence in research, creative activity, teaching, service, and civic engagement.

Article I. Officers of the Luddy School

Section 1. Role of the Dean

The Dean is the chief administrative officer and chief academic officer of the School as a whole. The Dean reports to the Provost of the Bloomington campus and consults with the nonresident campus administration.

Section 2. Role of the Executive Associate Dean and Associate Dean

Each Executive Associate Dean (EAD) and Associate Dean (AD) is appointed by the Dean in consultation with the faculty or the Faculty Policy Committee and in accordance with university and campus policies. The decisions and actions of the EAD on a given campus shall be informed by discussions with the Faculty Policy Committee of the respective campus.

The EAD shall be reviewed through procedures developed at the University level and approved by the University Faculty Council. A review of ADs shall be scheduled at the beginning of the third year after the initial appointment or reappointment. The Faculty Policy Committee shall work with the Dean to conduct the review or to appoint a review committee. The report of the review shall be shared with the Dean, the AD, and the Faculty Policy Committee before a decision is taken on whether to reappoint the AD.

Section 3. Role of the Unit Chair

A unit, for the purposes of this document, is an administrative grouping of faculty with academic programs under a chair. The Chair shall make executive decisions regarding the operations of the unit.

Each Chair is appointed by the Dean. When the position of Unit Chair needs to be filled, an election shall be held where the faculty elect a list of possible candidates for the Dean to appoint. The Dean, based on the faculty vote within the unit, shall make an appointment from this list of FTE tenured or external candidates. Should the Dean find none of the candidates suitable, the candidates on the list shall be removed from contention in all future elections of the current appointment cycle, and a new election shall be held. The details of the voting mechanism and the minimum and maximum number of individuals to appear on the list forwarded to the Dean shall be determined by the campus or unit bylaws.

Article II. The faculty of the Luddy School

Section 1. Right and responsibilities of voting faculty

The powers and responsibilities of this Constitution shall be exercised by the voting faculty of the School of Informatics and Computing.
The voting faculty of the School consists of all tenured and tenure-track Professors, Clinical Professors, Professors of Practice, Lecturers, and Research Scientists with a full-time equivalent (FTE) appointment at any percentage within the SoIC. The voting rights of Clinical Professors, Research Scientists, Lecturers, and Professors of Practice may be restricted by SoIC campus bylaws.
Faculty whose sole faculty appointment in the School is an Adjunct appointment are not eligible to vote.
Voting faculty shall vote on the campus of their primary appointment and shall be counted on that campus for purposes of representation. No faculty member may vote or be represented on more than one campus.
Tenured and tenure-track Professors shall make up at least 60% of all voting bodies. Bylaws shall specify the mechanisms (e.g., weighted votes, abstentions) to enforce this requirement.

Section 2. Emeritus faculty

Each campus and unit shall provide bylaws specifying the requirements and voting procedures needed for a retiring faculty member to achieve the status of Emeritus upon retirement.

Section 3. School voting

The following list specifies basic voting protocols for the voting faculty:

The Faculty Policy Committee, 40% of any unit, 10 faculty members of the School, or the Dean may call for a School or campus vote.
When any vote is taken, the outcome shall be determined by the total number of votes cast. Abstentions shall not be counted as part of the total votes cast.
All votes shall be private, but who votes shall be public record.
On yea/nay votes, the outcomes shall be determined based on the total number of “yeas” and “nays” cast.
To pass, a vote must garner majority support (greater than 50% of the votes cast must be “yea”). Furthermore, to ensure that the vote represents the will of a sizeable fraction of the School, at least 30% of the School’s eligible voting faculty must vote “yea” in the vote. (For example, if a vote garners 54% approval, but only 20% of the eligible faculty voted “yea,” the vote would fail.)
Voting may be open over a period of days, in which case it is called open voting. Open voting is always considered to have a quorum. For open voting the text of the matter up for a vote shall be distributed by email and votes shall be cast during a period of at least five (5) Indiana University working days following the email’s distribution. Exceptions to the time period requirement can be made by the Schoolwide Faculty Policy Committee.
In open voting, any ballot must unambiguously identify the voting text. Normally such a system is an electronic scheme, supplemented by paper ballots for those who prefer it. A paper only ballot may be used in situations where the vote format is not supported by standard electronic schemes.
Voting during a faculty meeting may be desirable or necessary. For example, sensitive subjects, more timely votes, or subjects that may require a series of interdependent votes are often better served by faculty meetings. The person or group responsible for proposing the vote in question shall determine whether a meeting is required and, if so, shall be responsible for organizing the time and location of the meeting. If possible, advance notice should be given of at least five (5) Indiana University working days.
A quorum of voting faculty is required to enact legislation or exercise voting power in a faculty meeting. A quorum is defined as half of the voting faculty that are eligible to cast votes. Faculty on sabbatical or leave are not counted towards the quorum unless they participate in the meeting.
For paper ballots, vote counting should be performed by selected members of the voting faculty. Any voting faculty member has the right to observe vote counting, or otherwise inspect and audit any voting procedures that do not conflict with the ability of faculty members to cast secret ballots.
Nonvoting faculty may not be present when votes are being tallied.
Insofar as possible electronic ballots should use secure cryptographic mechanisms.

Section 4. Voting faculty of campus bodies and units

Each campus and unit shall have its own voting faculty body.
Each voting member of the School as defined by Article II, Section 1 has voting rights in at least one unit, namely, the unit of his or her (main) appointment.
These voting faculty bodies are composed of the voting faculty members of the School, who should have a home unit, as explained in Article II, Section 1.
A unit may vote to extend membership of its voting faculty body for unit votes either to individuals or on a categorical basis, as long as the extension does not violate the Constitution or Bylaws of any superseding unit, campus, or School. Any extension of voting privileges lapses after six months, if not renewed.
Only the voting faculty members that qualify under Article II, Section 1, may participate in any votes to extend voting rights.
The process of voting should be defined in the unit and campus bylaws, but may not remove any voting faculty member’s rights under Article II, Section 3.

Article III. Authorities and responsibilities of the faculty

Section 1. Powers of the faculty

The voting faculty of the School of Informatics and Computing shall exercise all legislative and consultative authority granted by the Indiana University Constitution and Academic Handbook, subject to law, subsequent actions of the Indiana University Board of Trustees, and policies of its campuses.

Section 2. Legislative authority

The voting faculty has the legislative authority to establish policy and determine procedures for its implementation in matters of research, creative activity, teaching, service, and civic engagement. Areas within that authority include, but are not limited to, the list in Articles 1.2 and 2.2 of the Indiana University Constitution. As stated in Article 2.4 of the Indiana University Constitution, the legislative authorities delineated in Article 2.2 of the Indiana University Constitution are allocated to school faculties.

The faculty exercises its authority over these areas by means of majority votes of the relevant faculty. For all-School matters, this is the combined faculties of both campuses. For campus-specific matters, this is the faculty of the corresponding campus.

Section 3. Consultative authority

The school faculty shall have consultative authority over areas that include, but are not limited to, the list in Articles 1.2 and 2.3 of the Indiana University Constitution. As stated in Article 2.4 of the Indiana University Constitution, the consultative authorities delineated in Article 2.3 of the Indiana University Constitution are allocated to school faculties.

Article IV. Amendments to the constitution

Amendments to this Constitution shall require at least a two-thirds majority vote in a regular or special faculty meeting or by electronic voting called by the School of Informatics and Computing Faculty Policy Committee. The faculty must be given a copy of the proposed amendment at least 10 Indiana University working days before the meeting.

Article V. Bylaws

Each campus of the School of Informatics and Computing may establish bylaws for the structures and procedures to implement this Constitution on that campus, but subject to the authority of this Constitution. These bylaws are enacted by majority vote of the faculty of that campus.

Article VI. Faculty Governance

Section 1. Definition of faculty governance

Faculty governance comprises the structures, policies, and procedures by which the voting faculty exercises the legislative and consultative authorities established by this Constitution and by the Constitution of Indiana University and campus and unit bylaws.
All meetings of the faculty, faculty policy committees, and all other committees, both standing and ad hoc (with the exception of promotion and tenure committees and review boards), are open for observation to all members of the faculty and administration, unless specified otherwise.
Voting participation in faculty and committee meetings shall be limited by the terms of this Constitution. Each committee shall determine the scope of contributions to its process by nonvoting members of the faculty or others.

Section 2. The School-Wide faculty

On occasion, it may be necessary for the School of Informatics and Computing Faculty to meet to agree on policy, legislative, and consultative issues affecting the entire School to foster system-wide dialogue and understanding on academic and collegial issues. The Dean is the presiding officer of the faculty. An EAD or AD shall serve in the Dean’s absence.

Meetings: The School of Informatics and Computing Faculty shall meet as needed. The meeting may be convened by the Dean, by agreement of the presiding officers of the individual campus Faculty Policy Committee, by request of the School-wide Faculty Policy Committee, by majority vote of the faculty councils of the two campuses, or by petition of one half of the voting faculty of either campus.
Emeritus Faculty may attend meetings but are not eligible to vote in faculty meetings.
During the exercise of its constitutional powers and responsibilities, the voting faculty may consult with nonvoting members of the School of Informatics and Computing faculty and staff. The faculty may invite any nonvoting members to meetings.
Membership: The Faculty shall consist of the faculty of both campuses.
Powers: The School of Informatics and Computing Faculty may advise the Dean, identify School-wide concerns, and propose legislation in all constitutionally enumerated areas. All proposed legislation must be ratified by a majority vote in each campus or by a two-thirds majority of the School-wide council.
Committees: The School faculty may form committees to advise it. Committee membership may be drawn from the School faculty, from the membership of the appropriate or parallel committees of the campus councils, or from both.

Section 3. Campus faculty

The voting faculty of each campus of the School shall establish its own bylaws to consider matters of specific and general concern to that campus and the School at large within the legislative and consultative areas of faculty authority and responsibility enumerated in this Constitution, the Indiana University Constitution, and the policies and traditions of its campus.

Section 4. Committees

This Constitution establishes one School-wide committee, the School Faculty Policy Committee, and defines the roles for other campus and unit committees. Additional committees shall be determined by campus and unit bylaws. The faculty of each campus and unit shall elect all committees to assist it in exercising the powers and responsibilities of this Constitution. Except in determinations of promotion and tenure and in deliberations of faculty grievances, where they may have other roles, committees formed by the faculty of each campus serve to advise the faculty in the exercise of its powers and responsibilities. The committees defined by this Constitution include

School-wide Committees: School Faculty Policy Committee
Campus Committees:
1. Faculty Policy Committee
2. Budgetary Affairs Committee
3. Promotion and Tenure Committee
4. Curriculum Committee

Other committees or groups formed by any means, including faculty election or appointment by the administration, may not enact legislation or establish policy in areas pertaining to the constitutional powers and responsibilities of the faculty.

School-wide Committees:

School Faculty Policy Committee
1. The School Faculty Policy Committee shall frame policy for the entire School.
2. 1. Each campus shall elect, according to campus bylaws, a campus Faculty Policy Committee.
  2. Each campus Faculty Policy Committee shall elect, according to campus bylaws, three of its members to represent the campus on the School Faculty Policy Committee.
  3. Each campus shall determine, according to campus bylaws, the size of the campus Faculty Policy Committee.
  4. Each Campus shall determine, according to campus bylaws, how units are represented on the campus Faculty Policy Committee, with a guiding principle that each unit is to be represented equally to the degree possible given the size of the committee.
  5. The rules and operating procedures for the campus Faculty Policy Committee are determined by the bylaws of each campus subject to the constraints of this Constitution.
  6. The School Faculty Policy Committee has no legislative powers but may recommend actions to the Dean, policies to the School of Informatics and Computing faculty as a whole and to the faculty of the individual campuses. When appropriate, recommendations shall be further considered by the relevant committees.
  7. The Dean may consult with the School Faculty Policy Committee on SoIC policy or personnel issues. For personnel issues the School Faculty Policy Committee shall meet in executive closed session.
  8. The School Faculty Policy Committee serves as a review board in situations where the administration is unable to implement a policy enacted by faculty vote. The School Faculty Policy Committee shall also consider grievances via a formal hearing to gather appropriate information and to consider its findings in light of existing policies and principles of fairness.
  9. The chair of the School Faculty Policy Committee shall rotate on a yearly basis between the campus Faculty Policy Committee chairs.
3. Other Committees
  All additional School-wide standing and ad-hoc committees are formed by the School Faculty Policy Committee in consultation with the Dean.

Campus-level Committees:

Campus-level Faculty Policy Committee
The voting faculty of the School at each campus shall establish its own campus Faculty Policy Committee to consider matters of specific and general concern to that campus and the School at large within the legislative and consultative areas of faculty power and responsibility enumerated in this Constitution, the Indiana University Academic Handbook, and the policies and traditions of its campus. Each campus Faculty Policy Committee shall establish policies, procedures, and bylaws subject to the following:
1. The campus Faculty Policy Committee shall oversee committees, both standing and ad hoc, the method for selecting membership and Chairs, the terms of their service, and the purview and responsibility of each committee.
2. Policies drafted at the campus-level are forwarded to the campus Faculty Policy Committee to enable a final vote by the faculty. If approved the policies become campus bylaws.
3. The campus Faculty Policy Committee shall elect its own chair, from within its ranks, according to campus bylaws.
Campus-level Budgetary Affairs Committee
The Budgetary Affairs Committee shall review the general academic priorities of the campus and the reflection of such needs in the creation of budgets, shall inform the campus Faculty Policy Committee of budgeting procedures and potential faculty input, and shall alert the campus Faculty Policy Committee to matters of budgetary importance. In the case of financial exigency, the committee shall participate with the School administration in the formation of a plan to address the problem, consulting the various campus and university policies on financial exigency.
1. Each unit shall elect faculty members to serve on its respective campus Budgetary Affairs Committee.
2. Each campus shall determine, according to its bylaws, the size of its Budgetary Affairs Committee.
3. Each campus shall determine, according to its bylaws, how units are represented on the campus Budgetary Affairs Committee, with a guiding principle that each unit is to be represented equally to the degree possible given the size of the committee.
Campus-level Promotion and Tenure Committee
1. Each unit shall elect tenured faculty members to serve on the Promotion and Tenure Committee of their respective campus.
2. Each campus shall determine, through its bylaws, the size of the campus Promotion and Tenure Committee.
3. Each campus shall determine, through its bylaws, how units are represented on the campus Promotion and Tenure Committee, with a guiding principle that each unit is to be represented equally to the degree possible given the size of the committee.
4. The rules and operating procedures for the campus-level Promotion and Tenure Committee are determined by the bylaws of each campus subject to the constraints of this Constitution.
5. If necessary, qualified tenured faculty with tenure homes in other schools may serve on the campus Promotion and Tenure Committee of the School of Informatics and Computing.
6. The recommendation and voting tally of the Committee are passed to the appropriate campus- or university-level body.
Campus-level Curriculum Committee
The campus Curriculum Committee of each campus is defined by the bylaws of that campus.
1. All meetings of the campus Curriculum Committee are open for observation and dialogue with any member of the faculty, although the Committee may impose reasonable limits on that dialogue.

Other Committees

All additional campus-level standing and ad-hoc committees are formed by the campus-level Faculty Policy Committee in consultation with the EAD or Dean, as determined by campus bylaws. This is done with the understanding that committees that exercise legislative authority of the faculty, have membership specified and/or approved by the campus-level faculty bylaws, that enact appropriate faculty governance.

Unit Committees

All standing and ad-hoc committees are formed according to the bylaws of the appropriate campus, department, and unit. This is done with the understanding that committees that exercise legislative authority of the faculty will have their membership chosen and/or approved by the unit faculty, according to unit-level bylaws, thereby enacting appropriate faculty governance.

References

Confluence reference

The Constitution of the Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering

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