Constitution of the Council of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
Council of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities:
Constitution and By-Laws
I. NAME
1. The name of the Council is the Council of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, henceforth referred to as the Council.
II. PURPOSES
1. The Council determines the academic, administrative and organizational policy of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, except for those matters which are in conflict with the authority of the Board of Governors or with the existing collective agreement between the Board of Governors and the Lakehead University Faculty Association.
2. Outside the Council, the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities is officially represented by the Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities or designate.
3. Decisions taken by the Council on matters under the authority of Senate are subject to the approval of Senate.
III. MEMBERSHIP OF COUNCIL
1. Full Members of the Council:
a. Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities (non-voting);
b. Registrar (non-voting);
c. Administrative Assistant to the Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities (non-voting);
d. Full-time members of the University Faculty from the following Departments/Schools and programs: Criminology; English; Gender and Women's Studies; History; Indigenous Learning; Interdisciplinary Studies; Languages; Media, Film and Communications; Music; Northern Studies; Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism; Philosophy; Political Science; Social Justice Studies; Sociology; and Visual Arts.
e. One student registered in Faculty programs appointed annually by the Lakehead University Student Union; and
f. Contract Lecturers who are current members of LUFA.
2. Associate Members of the Council (all non-voting):
a. President (ex-officio);
b. All Vice-Presidents/Vice-Provosts or their designates (ex-officio);
c. Dean of Graduate Studies (ex-officio); and
d. Other members of the University admitted with the approval of the Council.
3. Meetings are open to non-members from within the University. Non-members from outside the University may attend meetings at the invitation of the Council. Such an invitation may apply to a whole meeting or to any specific part of a meeting. The Council may at any time vote to exclude non-members.
4. All Members may participate in discussion and debate during meetings. Only Full Members may move and second motions and vote during meetings, or nominate and second candidates and vote in elections. Non-members may participate in discussion and debate at the invitation of the Chair.
IV. OFFICERS
1. The officers of the Council are the Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary.
2. The Chair and Vice-Chair must be Full Members of the Council.
3. The Secretary will be the Administrative Assistant to the Dean of Social Sciences and Humanities.
4. The Chair presides at meetings of the Council and is responsible for enforcing procedures and interpreting the Constitution and By-Laws. Should the Chair wish to debate any motion, they must vacate the chair, which shall be assumed by the Vice-Chair for the duration of that motion.
5. The Secretary compiles the official minutes of Council meetings, and cooperates with the Chair and Dean in arranging meetings and drawing up the agenda.
V. COMMITTEES
1. The Council may set up such standing and special committees as seem necessary to further the purposes of the Council.
2. The names, duties, sizes, and methods of election of all standing committees shall be specified in the By-Laws of the Council.
3. A motion at any meeting of the Council may set up a special committee; such a motion will specify the names, duties, size, and method of selection of members for that committee.
4. All committees must report back to the Council. No recommendation of any committee can take effect until it has been approved by the Council, unless the Council has delegated authority for any specified issue or issues to a committee.
VI. ELECTIONS OF OFFICERS
1. There shall be a Nomination Committee, which shall be a standing committee, provided for in the By-Laws.
2. The Chair of the Nomination Committee shall present the names of at least one candidate for the offices of Chair and Vice-Chair at the April meeting of the Council.
3. The Committee will solicit nominations from Full Members no later than ten days before the meeting, with nominations closing three days before the meeting. All nominations must be seconded and have the consent of the person nominated.
4. Unopposed candidates are considered elected without a vote being taken. Full Members will be notified three days before the meeting of the candidates for any contested office.
5. Election of the Chair and Vice-Chair will occur at the beginning of the meeting through secret ballot.
6. The Secretary will act as the Returning Officer. In the case of contested positions, the vote received by each candidate is announced and the candidate receiving the most votes is elected.
7. In the event of two or more candidates receiving the same number of votes, the position will be decided by a coin toss.
VI. TERMS OF OFFICE
1. The Chair and Vice-Chair assume office on 1 July of each year. They hold office for one year.
2. The Chair and Vice-Chair may serve for no more than two consecutive terms.
3. In the absence of the Chair, the Vice-Chair will preside. In the absence of both, the Dean shall invite a Full Member of the Council to preside. In the absence of the Secretary, the Chair shall invite a Full Member to take the minutes.
4. If, at any time, either office becomes vacant, the Dean shall appoint a Full Member to serve in that office until the next regular meeting, when a replacement shall be elected for the duration of the term.
VII. MEETINGS
1. The Chair calls Regular Meetings of the Council. There shall be at least one such meeting in each calendar month from September to May inclusive.
2. The agenda for each meeting shall be set by the Dean, the Chair and the Secretary on advice received from Chairs/Directors of Departments/Schools.
3. Special Meetings of the Council may be called at any time by any group of ten or more Full Members. The Chair and the Dean must each be given notice in writing of this call at least seven days in advance of the proposed date of this meeting. Such notice must state the purpose of the meeting and must be signed by the members making the call. Special Meetings may also be called by the Chair on the advice of the Dean.
4. Notice of Regular Meetings, with an agenda, shall be posted on the Faculty website by the Secretary at least five days in advance when possible.
5. Notice of Special Meetings, with an agenda, shall be posted on the Faculty website by the Secretary at least three days in advance when possible.
6. The minutes of each Regular Meeting shall be posted on the Faculty website at least five days before the following meeting. The minutes of a Special Meeting shall be posted on the Faculty website not more than twenty-one days after the meeting.
Quorum
A quorum of the Council is ten Full Members.
A quorum of any standing or special committee is one-half the membership of that committee.
Voting
Each voting member of the Council has one vote on any question. Motions pass with a simple majority unless otherwise stated in the rules of procedure of the Council. Proxy voting is not permitted.
IX. PROCEDURES
1. The procedures of the Council are in accordance with general parliamentary law, as stated in the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, except where otherwise provided in the Constitution or By-Laws.
2. Motions to change existing programs or courses, or to create new courses, shall either: (a) be subject to notice in writing at least five days before the meeting at which they are to be presented, or (b) be introduced at a meeting preceding the one at which they are to be voted on. In the latter case, the proposed changes shall be described and any immediate queries registered, but no motions will be permitted.
By-Laws
The procedures of the Council will be set forth in the By-Laws of the Council. The composition, powers, duties, and procedures of standing and special committees shall be set forth in the By-Laws of the Council.
Amendment of the Constitution
The Constitution of the Council may only be amended with the approval of the Council. The process is initiated at the Council of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities by notice of motion being presented to the Council two weeks before the matter will be considered. After debate on the amendment is complete, an affirmative vote by two-thirds of the members present and voting is required.
Amendment of the By-Laws of the Council
The By-Laws of the Council may be amended with the approval of a two-thirds majority of the Council members present and voting. Voting shall take place at a regularly constituted meeting to which there has been two weeks notice of the proposed amendment.
The Chair and the Dean must each be given notice in writing of any motion to enact, amend or repeal any By-Law at least fourteen days before the meeting at which it is to be presented. All members of the Council must be given notice in writing of any such motion at least ten days before that meeting.
BY-LAWS OF THE FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
Committees of Council
1. Special Committees
a. A special committee, also called an ad hoc committee or a task force, is appointed as the need arises to carry out a specific task not assigned to a standing committee. A special committee automatically ceases to exist upon completion of its task.
b. Composition, structure, and membership of a committee will be decided upon at the time of creation by voting members of the Council.
c. A committee must have a defined purpose and a time frame to accomplish its purpose.
d. A special committee must report back to the Council, unless otherwise decided at the time of its creation.
e. Once an assigned project has been completed, a committee automatically dissolves unless the Council assigns additional projects to it.
2. Assistant Dean Selection Committee (Article 28.05 of the 2016-2020 LUFA collective agreement)
a. The Dean shall form a Recommendation Committee consisting of three tenured faculty members plus the Dean. The Recommendation Committee shall be composed so that:
i. At least one of the members is a Chair, Director, or Program Coordinator from an academic unit within the Faculty; and
ii. No more than one member shall be from any academic unit or program within the Faculty to ensure fair representation.
b. The Recommendation Committee shall review the applications and develop a short list of suitable candidate(s).
c. The names of the shortlisted individual(s) shall be placed on a ballot.
d. All full time faculty members in the relevant Faculty shall be invited to ballot for each applicant as follows: 1. I support the candidate for the position of Assistant Dean; 2. I do not support the candidate for the position of Assistant Dean; 3. I abstain from providing a recommendation.
e. The Dean shall ensure that the ballots are counted in the presence of a LUFA scrutineer. The results of the ballots, noting the number of the ballots in support of the candidate, not in support of the candidate, and abstentions, shall be provided in writing to the Recommendation Committee.
f. Once the selection has been made, the Dean shall forward the recommendation along with the original ballots and the ballot results to the Provost and Vice-President (Academic). Upon confirmation of a successful candidate by the Provost and Vice-President (Academic), the ballots shall be destroyed.
3. Nominations Committee
a. The Nominations Committee nominates candidates for the offices of the Council, according to the Constitution and, as required, for any other positions to be filled by members of the Council.
b. Unless otherwise decided by the Council, the Council must ratify all such nominations.
c. The Nominations Committee consists of three Full Members of the Council, elected at the March Regular Meeting of the Council.
d. Members of the Nominations Committee hold office for one year, and may serve for no more than two consecutive terms.
e. The Nominations Committee elects its own chair from among its members.