Faculty Council

1. Shall follow Faculty Council Policies and Procedures as detailed in this webpage;
2. Shall maintain liaison with the departments, programs of the College, and with other Faculty Councils within the University;
3. Shall serve upon request in an advisory capacity to the Dean;
4. Shall develop and provide mechanisms to inform the faculty about University and College organizations (e.g., CHS faculty handbook, etc);
5. Shall interpret the Rules and Procedures of the College and may recommend to the faculty any modification thereof;
6. May make recommendations to the faculty on any matters that should be addressed to the Dean of the College, the Provost, the President of the University, or the University Senate;
7. Shall study and make recommendations relative to specific issues which have College-wide, long-range impact;
8. Shall review and evaluate existing educational policies and programs through the Academic Affairs Committee which they appoint.
9. Shall be responsible for conducting all College faculty elections. Shall appoint members of the standing faculty committees immediately following the election process, which will generally be concluded in April of each year. Shall appoint members of the standing faculty who may not be a current member of the FC, nor a current member of more than one faculty standing committee. No later than April 30th of each year, if possible, the Council shall approve the Chair-elect for each standing committee based on the recommendations from the respective committees. It shall inform the faculty of all committee appointments.
10. May charge faculty standing committees with matters for study and recommendations;
11. Shall be responsible for the organizing and planning of faculty enrichment;
12. Shall be responsible for overseeing standing and ad hoc faculty committees in order to expedite faculty business
13. Shall receive, review and recommend to faculty requests for voting and non-voting membership in the College faculty organization.
14. Shall act on behalf of the faculty when the faculty is unable to meet;
15. Shall perform other responsibilities as delegated to it by the faculty.
16. Shall annually solicit nominations and select the Distinguished Scholar Award recipient.
    1. The Distinguished Scholar Award will be granted at the College level to recognize a faculty member who has made significant and lasting contributions to his or her discipline. The award is not dependent on receipt of extramural funding. It is intended to recognize a distinguished body of work and its impact on the discipline over time.
    2. Nominations may be made by any faculty member and must be in writing including a CV and discussion of the achievements/activities that qualify the recipient for the award. Submit the nomination to the Chair of Faculty Council. A subcommittee of the Faculty Council will make recommendations to the full Faculty Council about selection of the award. Nominations will be received in March, with specific calendar dates determined annually.

1. Voting
   1. Six faculty representatives and two alternates will be elected from the voting membership of the faculty who are not regular members of the College’s Administrative Council.
   2. The first and second alternates have voting privileges when substituting for an absent Council member.
2. Non-voting
   1. The Dean serves as an ex officio member of Faculty Council.
3. Extending voting
   1. The Faculty Council will use the following guidelines in their review of applications for voting membership in the College and their recommendation to the faculty for approval or non-approval. Extending voting privilege is the business of the Faculty and a serious responsibility. A voting member should be conversant and considerably involved in the issues of curriculum and academic standing as they affect the major purpose of the College - the education of the students. Therefore, a voting member should have:
      1. Awareness of trends in the health professions and specific knowledge of issues, trends and academic preparation in the health professions;
      2. Familiarity with the needs and view of the students of the College through frequent personal contact;
      3. General knowledge of the policies, procedures, rules and regulations of the College, Medical Center and University;
      4. Specific knowledge of the assumptions, goals and objectives of the College and the Medical Center.
      5. Application for non-voting or voting status may be initiated by the applicant or his/her department chair by submitting a letter documenting how the individual fulfills one or more of the criteria below.
         1. The prospective voting member shall have a major responsibility to direct teaching of students in the College in a numbered, for-credit course;
         2. A major responsibility in research directly related to instruction of students in the College in a numbered, for-credit course;
         3. Demonstrate an active interest and involvement in the business of the Faculty of the College by attendance at faculty meetings, service on committees, etc., as a non-voting member for the period of one year.
4. Elections
   1. Nominations and elections to the Faculty Council shall take place during the month of April and shall be by electronic ballot.
   2. If possible, twice as many eligible members of the faculty as there are places to be filled shall be nominated and their willingness to serve ascertained.
   3. Willing faculty members shall be voted on by the voting faculty of the College for membership in the Council.
   4. The positions of alternates to Faculty Council will be filled by the two individuals with next highest vote counts.
   5. Election of Chair and Chair-Elect
      1. At the first meeting of the Academic year (typically in August), Faculty Council members will nominate and elect a Chair-Elect from the members having two-year tenure on the Council.
      2. The Chair and Chair-Elect should ideally be a senior faculty member with tenure.
      3. Junior faculty are technically eligible to serve in this leadership role but should only do so in direct consultation and with the approval of the junior faculty’s Department Chair.
      4. Under normal circumstances, the Chair-Elect will assume the duties of the Chair in the following year. Circumstances, however, may preclude this from happening (e.g., resignations, sabbatical, a change in position, etc). In such cases, the Faculty Council members will nominate and elect an incoming Chair from the members present on the Council the following year.
   6. Election Committee
      1. The committee consists of three members of Faculty Council. This group is a subcommittee of the Faculty Council for the purpose of conducting faculty council elections.
      2. Members are appointed for each academic year.
      3. Members of the Committee shall decide who will call meeting(s) and provide Committee direction.
      4. Responsibilities of Election Committee
         1. Shall coordinate any and all Faculty elections
         2. The election procedure will be as follows:
            1. Determine number of vacancies (including alternate positions for all elected committees)
            2. Determine eligible faculty members;
            3. Request nominations (nominate double the number of vacancies, whenever possible);
            4. Ascertain willingness of nominee to serve in descending order of frequency of nomination until double the number of vacancies is acquired;
            5. Formulate the ballot (via Qualtrics or any other digital media) and circulate by email to all voting faculty (see calendar for schedule);
            6. Completed ballots are auto computed by Qualtrics (or any other digital media), or may be emailed or hand delivered, if printed, to the Dean’s Administrative Assistant;
            7. After computation of the ballots, results will be disseminated to the faculty;
            8. Any printed ballots will then be destroyed; and
            9. Documentation of the results will be kept in Faculty Council files at least 1 year.
5. Terms of Office
   1. The term of office for Council members shall be for two years from July 1 to June 30. The Chair of Faculty Council will serve a three-year term, chair elect (year one), chair (year two) and past chair (year three) to preserve leadership continuity.
   2. The term of office for alternates shall be for one year from July 1 to June 30.
   3. Only two consecutive terms as a full member may be served.
6. Vacancies
   1. If a member resigns or becomes ineligible to serve, the first alternate will become a member until the term of the member they are replacing expires.
   2. If the position of first alternate becomes vacant the second alternate shall become first alternate.
   3. If the position of second alternate becomes vacant the member of the faculty who at the last election received the next highest number of votes shall serve in the position until the next election.
7. Removing members of FC
   1. Faculty Council members who fail to attend at least 75% of the meetings in any academic year may be removed from office following review by Faculty Council at the end of the academic year.
   2. The review will examine extenuating circumstances that may have caused the violation. At the conclusion of the review, Faculty Council will vote on expulsion or retention of the member.

1. The members shall elect a chair and chair-elect;
2. Members and alternates shall attend all scheduled meetings. The chair must be notified prior to each meeting of any inability to attend. Three absences without notification within one academic year will result in ineligibility to serve on the Faculty Council; and
3. Members and alternates may submit items for the agenda.

1. The Chair shall appoint a recording secretary for each meeting.
2. The Chair shall appoint Council members or alternates to perform the following duties:
   1. Coordinate elections;
   2. Circulate committee preference list;
   3. Generate correspondence as determined by the Council;
   4. Report on Faculty Council activities at CHS Faculty meetings;
   5. Serve as chair of the faculty meeting in the absence of the Dean or the Dean's representative;
   6. Assure maintenance of an attendance record at Council meetings;
   7. Notify the University Senate about the results of CHS senator selections;
   8. Notify the HCCC about the results of CHS elections pertaining to this committee;
   9. Notify the Dean’s Office of all elections and committee appointments by May 1.

1. Recommendations for action are made to the faculty.
2. Interim or progress reports shall be presented to the faculty as needed or on request.
3. An oral or written annual report of activities shall be presented to the faculty.

1. Faculty Council should gather information from a variety of sources before appointing Standing and ad hoc committee members. This information may be collected when electronic surveys for elections are tallied and reviewed by Faculty Council. Sources of information should include but not be limited to:
   1. Individual faculty concerning their own preferences for service;
   2. Individual faculty for their recommendations for service by other faculty; and
   3. Committees for their recommendations about particular needs (e.g., particular expertise needed, faculty they might recommend, and so on).
2. Faculty Council should consider several additional factors when making committee appointments.
3. Individual faculty member's willingness to serve is of primary importance for final appointment. However, recognition of some of the other factors may induce Faculty Council to consider faculty who have not indicated a preference and to seek their commitment to serve. These factors include but are not limited to:
   1. Faculty members commitment to existing standing committees;
   2. Collegial support for a faculty member to serve on committees;
   3. Recommendations of the current year's committee about needs which certain faculty could fulfill; and
   4. Where possible, distribution of appointments among faculty with an attempt to vary representation by tenure status, title series, department, and division.
4. Ad hoc committees that are formed at times other than when most committee assignments are made need not follow the same process for selection. Assignments should be based on Faculty Council's assessment of the needs represented by the charge to the committee and their determination of how best to make assignments.
5. Ad Hoc Committees
   1. Ad hoc committees of the Faculty Council shall be formed at any time at the request of the Council in order to assist the Council in short-term projects such as social events, fact-finding efforts, or project development.
   2. The ad hoc committees shall not perpetuate themselves beyond accomplishment of the tasks assigned by Faculty Council.
   3. Ad hoc committees shall be composed primarily of faculty other than those serving on Faculty
   4. Council or the Standing Committees. Some ad hoc committees may require the particular expertise or background of faculty members who serve these other groups.

1. Regular meetings of the Faculty Council shall be held at least once a month during fall and spring semesters, except when a meeting is determined to not be necessary.
2. Additional or special meetings of the Faculty Council may be called by the chair, alternate chair, or a majority of the Council members upon notifying the Council members at least one day prior to the meeting.
3. A quorum of the Faculty Council shall consist of a simple majority of the voting membership.
4. Faculty council meetings shall be conducted according to Roberts Rules of Order (https://psd.ca.uky.edu/files/robertsrulesoforder.pdf).
5. Minutes of the Faculty Council shall be prepared by the member serving as recording secretary and circulated to all council members within seven working days. Copies of the Faculty Council minutes shall be placed on file and made available to the faculty in the College’s administrative offices.

The Associate Dean for Faculty Advancement, in collaboration with other CHS leadership, shall host orientation meetings at least once a year for new faculty members joining the College.

The orientation meeting will be led by the Associate Dean and Office of Faculty Advancement staff with input from Faculty Council Chair.  Others from within and outside CHS will participate based on specific areas of focus. 

Information to be presented to new faculty may include:

1. Relevant Governing Rules and Regulations of University;
2. Organization of the College;
3. Functions and services of Administrative Units
4. Faculty Governance
5. Promotion and Tenure Guidelines;
6. Faculty Evaluation process,
7. Distribution of Effort;
8. College and University resources for success
9. Any other items of important at the time or of interest to new faculty.

The Faculty Handbook shall serve as the basis of information provided during orientation.

View Office of Faculty Advancement and Clinical Engagement Website

1. Support Services
   1. Individual members should arrange for committee-related administrative support within their academic departments.
2. Minutes of Faculty Council Meetings
   1. Recording, typing, and distribution of the Minutes of Faculty Council Meetings will be the responsibility of Council members on a rotating basis. The Recorder will also provide a copy of Minutes for the permanent file. Minutes will be posted/archived on the Faculty Council webpage.
3. Permanent Record
   1. Access to all documents related to the Faculty Council will be maintained on the Faculty Council webpage. Records will be maintained for the meetings of CHS Faculty, Faculty Council, all Standing Committees, and special committees.
4. Agenda for CHS Faculty Meetings
   1. The CHS Faculty meeting Agenda will be the responsibility of the Dean in consultation with Faculty Council. The Agenda will be circulated at least five (5) days prior to the scheduled date of the Faculty meeting. The Chair of the Faculty Council will submit any action items from Faculty Council to the Dean 7 working days prior to the meeting.

1. August
   1. Election of Council Co-chair, past year Co-chair becomes Chair
   2. Establish rotation for taking minutes
   3. Review previous year and establish goals and objectives for new year
   4. Assign Council Member to:
      1. Council correspondence
      2. Elections
   5. Council Chair
      1. Solicit input from College faculty for agenda items
      2. Make appointment with Dean
      3. Notify Dean of Council Meeting dates and times
         1. Obtain updated faculty list and list of voting faculty from Dean's office
         2. Obtain list of faculty/staff for bulk email of Faculty Council announcements. Arrange when proposed items for faculty meeting should be into Dean's office each month.
   6. Ask to be advised of:
      1. Administrative Council Meeting (Chair of Faculty Council or designated representative)
      2. New faculty
      3. Faculty leaving the College
      4. Relevant correspondence from Senate or Provost
      5. Discuss what support the Dean can provide for retreats
   7. Chair assigns FC members to obtain reports from chairs of standing committees with oral reports to be made at monthly Faculty Council meetings.
   8. Plan New Faculty Orientation with Associate Dean for Faculty Advancement  
   9. In association with the Associate Dean for Faculty Advancement, decide on schedule for new faculty orientation and begin planning. 
2. September
   1. Decide on items for September Faculty Meeting
   2. Conduct routine business, including any charges from the Dean
   3. Discuss Spring Kick-Off ideas
3. October
   1. Conduct routine business
   2. Begin review/update of CHS Faculty Handbook
4. November
   1. Review progress on Spring Kick-Off and New Faculty Orientation and all committees
   2. Conduct routine business
   3. Update CHS Faculty Handbook
5. December
   1. Review progress on Faculty Retreat, New Faculty Orientation and all committees
   2. Establish meeting times for Spring Semester
   3. Conduct routine business
6. January
   1. Solicit input from College faculty for agenda items
   2. Faculty Retreat
   3. Council member(s) in charge of elections should begin activity
   4. Conduct routine business
   5. Update voting faculty list from Dean's office
   6. Update CHS Faculty Handbook on College web site
7. February
   1. Distribute electronic media poll for nominations for Faculty Council, standing committees, and other elected positions no later than the second week of February.
   2. Committee preference list and any other election that is necessary
   3. Conduct routine business
8. March
   1. Distribute electronic media poll with names of nominees that have agreed to serve.
   2. Assure that results are available no later than March 31st
   3. Appoint Standing Committee members from preference list
   4. Disseminate letters of appointment to Standing Committees
   5. Conduct routine Business
9. April
   1. Send welcome letters to new Faculty Council members
   2. Review and approve proposed chairs for Standing Committees (announce to faculty)
   3. Decide on date for combined meeting of new and old Council members
   4. Review, revise and finalize CHS Faculty Handbook
   5. Conduct routine business
10. May
    1. Remind Standing Committee Chairs that annual written reports are due in May
    2. Conduct routine business
    3. Meeting of old and new Council members, if time permits
    4. Review annual reports from Standing Committees if received
    5. Complete annual revision of CHS Faculty Handbook

Faculty development and mentoring are important responsibilities jointly shared by College faculty and administration. The orientation process for new faculty begins when the faculty member accepts a position. The Department Chair provides the new faculty member with written materials pertaining to rights and responsibilities and expectations for new faculty prior to the faculty member’s arrival on campus. The Human Resources (HR) Administrator in the Office of Faculty Advancement and Clinical Engagement (OFACE) uses the CHS onboarding checklist to ensure that faculty members are provided with necessary equipment and materials and acquaint them with specific procedural requirements consistent with HR policies. The OFACE and Department ensure that all necessary documentation is filed and dossiers are prepared according to university guidelines so that the appointment process proceeds smoothly. Faculty are provided with funding annually to support participation in faculty development activities.

The OFACE conducts Orientation in a series of sessions, beginning in August, including participation from various administrative units within the College and key resources from other elsewhere in UK.    Topics include 1) history and background of the College; 2) Who’s Who in the College and how to navigate college procedures and processes; 3) Annual Performance Reviews; 4) Annual Distribution of Effort processes; 5) How to be a successful instructor and researcher; 6) Promotion and/or tenure processes; and 7) College and University resources.   Orientation documents are provided in a handbook or electronically.

The University provides a New Faculty Orientation in early fall each year, and all College of Health Sciences new faculty are strongly encouraged to attend.

The CHS provides a structure for formal faculty mentoring with oversight by the CHS Associate Dean for Faculty Advancement. To facilitate 1:1 mentoring, the Associate Dean and the Department Chairidentify appropriate mentoring faculty for each new faculty member. With the agreement of the CHS senior faculty member and new faculty member, the mentor-mentee relationship is established for two years. The mentor and mentee may choose to continue the relationship beyond the expected two-year commitment. The content and structure of the mentorship is individualized based on the needs and preferences of the pair. 

Meetings with the Department Chair about Distribution of Effort allocation, Faculty Performance Review, and 2- and 4- year reviews provide faculty members with additional opportunities to assess skills and progress and to discuss faculty development strategies. Department Chairs and faculty provide suggestions to the Associate Dean regarding faculty development needs, and these form the basis for periodic workshops and activities available to all CHS faculty. In addition to these activities, periodic Grantsmanship sessions are provided through the CHS Office of Research. Faculty are encouraged to attend university-sponsored faculty development opportunities throughout the year. They also are provided with funding and release time to attend and participate in professional meetings.