Academic Committees 2024-2025
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GOVERNANCE
The standing committee structure of the faculty at Centenary Colleges is designed to involve the faculty as a community of scholars in guiding curricula, academic programs of study, academic policies and standards, student activities, and related matters. In this way, faculty committees are charged with making decisions within existing academic policy and recommending changes in policy to the faculty as a whole. The faculty standing structure is divided into two categories: academic committees and institutional committees. The faculty also has representation on College administrative committees and serves a critical advisory function. All faculty involvement is within the stipulations of the charter of Centenary College. Decisions made by faculty committees and councils may be appealed to the entire faculty at regular meetings throughout the year.
Each faculty committee shall have a secretary or recorder who will keep and circulate minutes to the committee for approval. Once minutes are approved by the committee, they should be submitted to the Faculty Coordinating Council for upload to the college website. At the end of each academic year, each committee chair will deliver a transitional agenda and other relevant documents to the Faculty Coordinating Council and Provost. Items of a confidential nature will be filed in the Office of the Provost.
Those faculty members who serve on committees have a major responsibility to the College and the profession. While classroom teaching is the primary function of a professor, contributing to shared governance of the college is also important to the health of the academic community. Newly elected and appointed committee members shall be empowered effective August 1 of each year. During the period following the April faculty meeting through August 1, newly elected and appointed committee members shall be empowered to act as substitutes when necessitated by committee business.
VOTING PROCEDURES
The following rules apply to the six members of the Faculty Personnel Council, the three members of the Economic Policy Committee, the three elected faculty members of the Trek Committee, and the six members of the Academic Policy Council. The election for these positions will be conducted following the election of the Faculty Coordinating Council chair. To be eligible for election, one must be full-time and hold faculty rank. In the event of unfulfilled terms, faculty members shall be elected for partial terms to fill the unfinished terms. After each full or partial term of at least two years, faculty members will be ineligible for reelection until three years have elapsed since the most recent service. No faculty member shall be elected to a full or partial term if he or she will not be able to serve that term.
No faculty member shall serve more than a total of fifteen years on the Economic Policy or Faculty Personnel committees.