Eng. Constitution

Constitution of the Faculty*

1. Membership
The faculty of the College of Engineering of Purdue University, hereinafter referred to as "the faculty", shall be composed of the deans of engineering and the faculties of the several engineering schools, departments and divisions under the administrative jurisdiction of the dean of engineering and members of the faculty of the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.

2. Voting Members
The voting members shall consist of those members of the faculty of professorial rank and those full-time instructors who have completed two years of service in the instructor rank and are not candidates for an advanced degree. Some members of the faculty of the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering shall be recommended annually by its head to the Committee on Faculty Relations who shall certify certain of the listed persons as voting members of the faculty. Other members of the faculty may attend meetings of the faculty with voice but no vote.

3. Officers
The Dean of Engineering or his designee shall serve as chairman of the faculty meetings.  The secretary shall be appointed by the dean and shall be responsible for recording and distributing minutes of the faculty meetings.

4. Representation of the Faculty on the University Senate
The elected representation on the University Senate shall be apportioned among all schools and the Department of Engineering Education in close proportion to the number of voting members of the respective staffs.  The number of senators to which each unit is entitled shall be determined by the Committee on Faculty Relations subject to the approval of the faculty. Each senator shall be nominated from and elected by the voting members of his or her unit. The election shall be by mail ballot supervised by the Committee on Faculty Relations.

5. Engineering Faculty Meetings
Meetings of the faculty shall be held at the call of the chairman or upon written request of ten (10) or more voting members. There shall be at least one meeting each semester.

6. Jurisdiction of the Faculty
The jurisdiction of the faculty shall be as designated by current University faculty regulations.

7. Committees of the Faculty
Except as hereinafter provided, appointments to committees, including the chairmen thereof, shall be made annually by the dean. Ordinarily appointments shall be made from the voting members, but where desirable, non-voting members may be appointed; and members of other faculties may be invited to membership. The dean may also invite students, with or without vote, to membership on any standing committee, special committee, or subcommittee. The committee structure includes standing committees, special committees and subcommittees as hereinafter provided.

  1. Standing Committees:
    A standing committee is a permanent committee, which reports to the dean, Advisory Committee and/or faculty. The only exception is the Area Committee, which reports to the dean alone. The standing committees and their functions are:

    1. Advisory Committee (AC) - Voting members of this committee shall consist of the deans and the heads of the schools, departments, and divisions, and the chairman of the Committee on Faculty Relations. The chairman shall be the dean or his designee, and the dean may appoint non-voting members to the committee.

      The committee shall serve in an advisory capacity to the dean.

    2. Committee on Faculty Relations (CFR) – Members of the committee shall consist of one representative each from the voting members of the faculties of the schools and departments of engineering, plus the dean of engineering or his designated representative. Members representing the schools and departments shall be elected by ballot by the voting members of their respective faculties, except that heads of engineering schools, departments and divisions shall be ineligible for membership. Each member shall normally serve for three years beginning with the start of the fall semester. No member shall serve continuously for more than six years.

      This committee shall:
      1. Advise the dean relative to the planning and arranging of faculty meetings.
      2. Encourage members of the faculty to take part in faculty activities.
      3. Suggest and provide ways and means for effective communication among all members of the engineering academic community.
      4. Consult with the dean relative to matters affecting committee and faculty activities.
      5. Obtain nominations for and supervise all elections authorized by this constitution.
      6. Review and recommend for appointment all engineering committee memberships except as herein provided.
      7. Review the minutes of all standing, special, and subcommittee meetings of the engineering faculty, except those of the Area Committee.
      8. Serve in other capacities as requested by the faculty or the Advisory Committee.

    3. Committee on Education (CE) - This committee shall consist of one representative each from the voting members of the faculties of schools and departments of engineering. Normally, appointments shall be for a three-year period. No member shall serve continuously for more than six years. The dean may invite up to three students (voting or non-voting) to membership. Members of other faculties may be invited to serve on subcommittees of this committee when desirable.

      The committee shall study and make recommendations on any and all phases of education referred to it by the faculty or the Advisory Committee or which otherwise come to its attention.

    4. Engineering Area Committee (EAPC) - This committee shall consist of the dean, who shall be chairman, the heads of the schools and departments, and one full professor (excluding assistant and associate heads) from each school elected by the voting members of that school for a two-year term.

      This committee shall act on faculty promotions concordant with the West Lafayette Policy Concerning Promotions. In addition, this committee shall consider and vote on cases of faculty tenure without promotion and deviations from regular emeritus policy. The committee shall consider and make recommendations on nominations for the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award and for Honorary Doctor of Engineering degrees.

  2. Special Committees:
    A Special committee is a temporary committee, which may report directly to the dean and/or the faculty. Its existence automatically terminates with the accomplishment of its assigned objectives. A special committee may be established by the dean; and the faculty, acting through the Committee on Faculty Relations, also may establish special committees and specify their memberships. The Committee on Faculty Relations shall act as the communications link to the special committees, the faculty, and the dean.

    Subcommittees are inherent to committee structure and may be established and dissolved as deemed necessary by any standing or special committee.

8. Procedure of Faculty Meetings
Meetings of the faculty will be conducted according to established parliamentary procedure taking Robert’s Rules of Order as the authority. A quorum of 30 voting faculty must be present to transact business. Copies of the minutes of all meetings of the faculty shall be distributed as directed annually by the Committee on Faculty Relations.

9. Constitutional Amendments
An amendment to this constitution may be initiated by the Advisory Committee, Committee on Faculty Relations, or by petition of the faculty. Such faculty petitions shall contain the signatures of at least thirty (30) voting members of the faculty. A proposed amendment shall be presented and discussed at a faculty meeting and shall be distributed to all voting members of the faculty not less than two weeks prior to that meeting. Following the presentation, the proposed amendment shall be put to a letter ballot of all voting members of the faculty. The Committee on Faculty Relations shall act as teller and shall announce the results to the faculty.

A favorable vote by a majority of those voting shall be necessary for ratification.

*Revised from original adoption 16 November 1966, amendments of 24 April 1969, 21 March 1972, 27 February 1973 and 9 December 1980.