MU Faculty Council on University Policy is the elected representative organization of the MU Faculty. Members represent faculty in every college, division, and school that is led by a dean. It organizes efforts on behalf of faculty members that transcend department, school, and college. Faculty Council traditionally approaches issues from a campus perspective. In this way, it helps make our faculty more than a collection of units that share a catalog and local geography. Faculty Council develops policies that affect academic life; protects primary, shared, and advisory faculty authority; and serves as a reflection of faculty thought. It is the public face of MU faculty members to university officials, stakeholders, and media. Additional information about Faculty Council can be found in Chapter 300.010 in the UM Collected Rules and Regulations.
Faculty Council can be reached by email at FacultyCouncil@missouri.edu or by phone at 573- 882-7655.
Faculty Council Procedures
Council members are elected by and from the faculty of all colleges and schools headed by a dean who reports to the provost for academic affairs. For the purposes of Academic Unit Selections MU Libraries will be collectively treated as a school entitled to voting representation. According to MU Faculty Bylaws, Faculty Council can have no fewer than 25 and no more than 35 members. Representatives shall be allocated to a college or school on the basis of the total number of full-time ranked faculty members of the UMC faculty within the college or school. Regardless of faculty size, every college/school is entitled to at least one representative.
Council members are elected for three-year terms and are eligible to serve no more than two consecutive terms. Only these members, or an alternate that a member designates for a particular meeting may vote on Faculty Council actions. NTT representatives have full voting rights. Faculty Council maintains a list of recognized organizations that may authorize a representative to attend Council meetings and speak on matters before the Council. Members of recognized organizations may not vote.
Faculty Council meets on Thursdays as scheduled by the Executive Committee, with sessions beginning at 3:30 p.m. and adjourning as close to 5:00 p.m. as possible. Dates of Council meetings along with agendas are posted on the Faculty Council website. Items discussed by Faculty Council will not be acted on at that meeting but shall be placed on a subsequent agenda for a vote.
Participation of Faculty Council members or their designated alternate at every Council meeting is important and expected. Meetings are open to the public including the media. Guests may speak at Council meetings if recognized by Faculty Council Chair.
Officers
Chair: The Chair of the Faculty Council is the Vice Chairperson of the General Faculty. The Chair presides over Faculty Council meetings and meetings of its Executive Committee. The Chair, jointly with the Chancellor, presides over General Faculty Meetings. The Chair is one of three MU representatives to the Intercampus Faculty Council (IFC). The Chair serves as the contact point for the Chancellor and the Provost. The Chair may be called upon to engage with administrators on policy issues on behalf of individual faculty members. The Chair may receive requests for interviews by the news media, both local and national. The Chair oversees the staff, office, and budget of the Faculty Council.
Vice-Chair: The Vice Chair of the Faculty Council is a member of the Executive Committee (which meets biweekly) and acts as Chair in the Chair’s absence. The Vice-Chair serves as one of three MU representatives to the IFC. The Vice-Chair is expected to attend monthly IFC meetings and serve on IFC and/or campus task forces and external committees as requested or as needed. Per the Faculty Council Rules of Order (Appendix 7a), the Vice Chair is responsible for ensuring timely review of campus administrators as well as dissemination of results and may convene a Special Projects Committee as needed. Per the 2021 Committee Reform Recommendations, the Vice Chair is to serve as Council’s point person for campus committees, explicitly outlined as assisting committees to get their ideas onto the Council agenda and helping committees coordinate their work with one another. As the role of the Vice Chair in relation to campus committees is being “reimagined”, the Vice Chair should actively engage in determining the scope of responsibilities the Vice Chair should take on regarding committee functioning.
Intercampus Faculty Cabinet Representative:
The IFC serves as a liaison committee between the President and his staff and the four campus faculties. It communicates to the President and his staff the views and concerns of the faculties. It performs those functions or duties which are deemed appropriate to an elected intercampus faculty body. It brings to the President and his staff representative views and opinions of members of the several campus faculties on such problems as the President wishes to bring to the IFC. The IFC representative is a member of the Faculty Council Executive Committee, and the representatives report regularly to Faculty Council. Additional information at the link below:
Academic Affairs Co-Chair: The Co-Chair of Academic Affairs leads a committee of faculty, staff, students, and administrators (up to 30 people) to help advise faculty affairs issues (e.g., the academic calendar, student grade policies, syllabi policies, etc.) on campus. The co-chair organizes and leads bi-monthly committee meetings, and semester meetings with the Provost’s office, and also invites in-person and online guests to discuss or present policy issues. The co-chair is a liaison between academic contacts on campus (the registrar, advising, etc.) and Faculty Council and is responsible for understanding related policy issues and presenting or problem-solving issues with the committee or council. The co-chair of the committee is a member of the Faculty Council Executive Committee and the committee reports regularly to Faculty Council.
Fiscal Affairs Chair: The Fiscal Affairs Committee will address matters of faculty interest with respect to financial aspects of the administration of the University. This committee will advise University leaders on all aspects of the campus budgeting process in support of the University’s core missions of teaching, research, and service, and will support the priorities established through strategic planning. The Committee will advise on operational planning, appraisal of resource needs, and the distribution of resources through allocation models. The Fiscal Affairs Committee will coordinate the work of any campus task forces needed for the Committee’s mission. One chair, elected by the Faculty Council from among its own members (this person will serve on the Faculty Council Executive Committee); Staff support will be provided by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Finance. Motions may be sent from this committee to the Faculty Council.
Membership will include:
Five Faculty Council members
Faculty Affairs Chair: The Chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee organizes monthly meetings with an all-faculty committee including, members of Faculty Council, elected faculty representatives, and liaisons from the Campus Promotion and Tenure Committee, Campus Committee on Faculty Responsibility, Research Responsibility Committee, and Grievance Resolution Panel. The committee also meets twice per semester with a representative of the Provost’s office. The committee’s work includes faculty conduct, career development, promotion and tenure, and policies affecting non-tenure-track faculty. The chair of the committee is a member of the Faculty Council Executive Committee and the committee reports regularly to Faculty Council.
Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Chair: The Chair of the Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Chair Committee is responsible for arranging regular meetings of the Committee and for inviting appropriate guests for discussion of Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Chair (IDE)-related topics. The IDE Committee addresses matters of equity and discrimination. The committee has responsibility for enhancing a climate that embraces diversity in the campus community. The IDE Committee has regular communication with the Division of Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity. The chair of the committee is a member of the Faculty Council Executive Committee and the committee reports regularly to Faculty Council.
Research, Scholarship and Economic Development Chair: The chair of the Research Scholarship and Economic Development (RSED) committee leads a committee focusing on issues related to faculty research and scholarship as well as broader issues of economic development. These issues include topics such as MU policies affecting research, research funding, research infrastructure, libraries and other research tools. Topics also include compliance and both pre-and post-award support, as well as issues related to non-grant-supported faculty scholarship. The chair works with the RSED committee, which is composed of Faculty Council members to organize regular meetings. Frequently these meetings include guests invited by the committee. The chair of the committee is a member of the Executive Committee and the committee reports regularly to Faculty Council.
Student Affairs Co-Chair: The Student Affairs Committee is a joint Committee of University and Faculty Council committees. The Student Affairs Committee will advise University leaders on matters related to student life, including student organizations, student housing, student health, student recreation, and student conduct. The committee combines the work of the following deactivated campus standing committees: Campus Recreation, Missouri Unions, Residential Life, Student Organizations, Student Publications. The committee has liaison members from Intercollegiate Athletics, Student Conduct, and Student Health and Well-Being. The chair of the committee is a member of the Faculty Council Executive Committee and the committee reports regularly to Faculty Council.
The Student Affairs Committee consists of 28 members composed as follows:
10 faculty members (selected by Faculty Council)
6 staff members (selected by Staff Council)
4 undergraduate students (selected by MSA)
4 graduate or professional students (selected by GPC)
Liaisons chosen by:
- Student Conduct Committee
- Inter-Collegiate Athletics
- Student Health & Well-Being
- Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs (or designee)
The charges of the committee are to some extent open, given the various constituencies that the committee serves, and includes:
- Free Speech Issues
- Mental Health Issues
- Revisions to the Summer Welcome program
- Re-evaluation of the F to U grading policy and/or grading options in light of campus policies and student concerns with respect to the ongoing pandemic
- Correlates of Student Success (Colloquium planned for April of this year)
- Student Enrollment working group