Constitution

Brazosport College Faculty Assembly Constitution

Revised - November 2022
Download a PDF of the Brazosport College Faculty Assembly Constitution

MISSION

The mission of the Brazosport College Faculty Assembly is to provide a formal organization capable of:

• Speaking for the teaching faculty of the college.
• To provide a channel to administration and the Board of Regents through which the members' expertise and experience is used in the process of policy formation, creating, and maintaining a professional working atmosphere, and ensuring the integrity of the channel.
• To promote the professional and economic welfare of the members.
• To formulate, deliberate upon, and interpret academic regulations and policies.
• To share responsibility for the institution through cooperation with the administration and the student body.

Article I - Name of Organization

This organization shall be called the Brazosport College Faculty Assembly, hereinafter referred to as The Assembly.

Article II – Membership

Sec. 1 - Membership of the Assembly will consist of both voting and non-voting members. Voting membership of The Assembly shall include all full-time faculty, whether contracted or tenured, and adjunct faculty who teach at least a 50% load in the current and past two semesters. Non-voting membership shall include all other adjunct faculty (except deans), Counselors and Academic Advisors, and Librarians.

Sec. 2 - No dues or fees are required for membership in The Assembly, although members may be asked to voluntarily contribute to funds such as a benevolence account.

Sec. 3 - The Executive Council shall resolve any questions of eligibility for membership.

Article III – Organization

Sec. 1 - The Assembly shall be the official voice in all matters under consideration by members of The Assembly.

Sec. 2 - The Assembly will have an Executive Council consisting of:

a. President - The President of the Executive Council shall: i. Preside at all Executive Council meetings and Assembly meetings and will have the sole authority over adherence to Robert’s Rules of Order during meetings

ii. Sign all official communications sent out in the name of The Assembly

iii. Develop the agenda for all Executive Council and Assembly meetings, regular or special

iv. Have the power to establish standing and ad hoc committees

b. Vice-President - The Vice-President of the Executive Council shall:

i. Perform the duties of the President in case of the absence, death, or resignation of the President

ii. Perform other duties as assigned by the President

c. Secretary - The Secretary of the Executive Council shall record proceedings and conduct correspondence and reporting of The Assembly and of the Executive Council.

d. Treasurer - The Treasurer shall receive and issue receipts for any monies handled by him/her by order of The Assembly or the Executive Council. The Treasurer shall also prepare and present to The Assembly a written financial report at the regular meeting of each semester.

e. Division Representatives - The Executive Council Division Representatives shall be spokespersons for their respective groups in the interim periods between meetings, regular or special, of the full Assembly.

Sec. 3 - The President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer positions will hereinafter be referred to as body-elected positions and each division representative position will be referred to as a division-elected position.

Sec. 4 - Members of the body-elected Executive Council may be removed from their positions upon presentation (to the Executive Council or to The Assembly in session) of a written petition containing the names of at least 50% of the members of The Assembly.

Sec. 5 - Executive Council Service

a. Members of The Assembly who wish to be considered for service in an Executive Council position shall have no supervisory duties of any voting members of The Assembly. If a member of the Executive Council becomes a supervisor during his or her term, he or she may finish out their term, but cannot continue to be on the Executive Council thereafter.

b. The body-elected members of Executive Council will serve staggered two-year terms with one-half being elected each year. President and Secretary will be elected on even-numbered years while Vice President and Treasurer positions will be elected on odd-numbered years. If the Vice President or Treasurer accepts a nomination to run for the office of President prior to the end of their term, then their current position will be placed on the ballot. An officer in a body-elected position shall serve no more than two consecutive two-year terms in that position.

Sec. 6 - Executive Council Election Process

a. The Executive Council will be elected in the Spring semester via a majority vote of the members of The Assembly and shall begin their duties on June 1st of each year.

b. Nominations for open Executive Council positions of President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer will be requested by the current President on the first week of March and Assembly members will submit nominations to the President by March 31st.

c. A meeting (either virtual or in-person) shall be held in early April, and the slate of nominees made in advance of this meeting, as well as nominations from the floor at this meeting, will be presented to the members. The members will have the opportunity to contest the eligibility of the nominees prior to official voting. If a body-elected Executive Council position has only one nominee, and that nominee’s candidacy is not contested during the meeting, they will be considered elected by acclamation

d. The body-elected Executive Council shall dictate the method of voting each year, and the current President will e-mail all the members of the Faculty Assembly informing them of the voting process. The email will also set a date when the voting shall cease. Votes cast after the deadline for voting will not be counted. The voting process will continue at least one week to give all voting members of The Assembly a chance to participate in the election. If no candidate for a particular office has a simple majority of the votes cast, a run-off election, also lasting about one week, will be required.

e. Winners of the election will then be announced to all members of The Assembly by an e-mail from the current President.

f. A majority vote of The Assembly members of each division will elect the Executive Council Division Representatives. Each division head will send a nominating ballot to each division member to nominate the Executive Council Division Representative. Each division may choose the manner in which they vote for their Division Representative.

g. In the event of a vacancy of a body-elected position prior to June 1st, the President and the remaining body-elected Executive Council members may appoint a person to fill the position in the interim. In the event of a vacancy in a division-elected position prior to June 1st, that division should follow the process outlined in the previous step.

Article IV – Meetings

Sec. 1 - The full Assembly shall meet, at a minimum, once each long semester (usually during convocation week). The Assembly may be called in session at other times: by call of the President, by call of the Executive Council, or by written petition of a simple majority of The Assembly.

Sec. 2 - The Executive Council shall meet, at a minimum, once per quarter or as necessary by call of the President or by call of a simple majority of the Executive Council.

Sec. 3 - Quorums:

a. Members present at a meeting of The Assembly shall constitute a quorum.

b. At least one-half of the members of the Executive Council must be present to constitute a quorum at Executive Council meetings.

Sec. 4 - An agenda for each meeting of The Assembly and/or Executive Council shall be prepared by the President with the advice and approval of the other Executive Council Officers. Requests by Assembly members to include any item on the agenda of The Assembly or the Executive Council must be submitted to the President at least one month prior to the meeting at which the proposed agenda item is to be discussed. The agenda shall be published to The Assembly members via email at least one week before the meeting is to be held. Under emergency conditions, an agenda item may be added to the published agenda by two-thirds vote of the members present at any meeting of the Executive council or The Assembly.

Sec. 5 - Except as directed by this Constitution, or upon adoption of bylaws by the full Assembly, all proceedings of The Assembly, the Executive Council, and Assembly committees shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order.

Sec. 6 - Only members of The Assembly and invited members of the Board of Regents, the Administration, and the student body may be present during debate or voting on any matter under consideration by The Assembly or the Executive Council.

Sec. 7 - Voting on any matter under consideration by The Assembly or the Executive Council shall be conducted by secret ballot at the request of at least three members of The Assembly during any meeting of the full Assembly, regular or special, or at least two members of the Executive Council during any meeting of the Executive Council, regular or special.

Article V – Relations with the Board of Regents, The Administration, and the Student Body

Sec. 1 – Members of the Board of Regents, the Administration, or the Student Body may address The Assembly, the Executive Council, or any committee and may remain before the body to answer questions of the membership.

Sec. 2 - The Assembly, the Executive Council, or any committee may request members of the Board of Regents, the Administration, or the Student Body to address them or to answer questions.

Sec. 3 - Delegates may be sent to present the recommendations of The Assembly to the Administration by simple majority vote of the Executive Council or of The Assembly. The President of the Executive Council or his/her designated representative may attend all meetings of the Board of Regents as a regular representative of The Assembly. While not excluding other possible channels of communication with higher authority, recommendations made by The Assembly normally will be transmitted by the President of the Executive Council to the President of the College.

Sec. 4 - The Executive Council may, on invitation, consult with the Board of Regents regarding the selection of the President of the College, and may, on invitation, consult with the President of the College regarding selection of other administrators.

Article VI – Amendments

Sec. 1 - Proposed amendments to this constitution shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Council at least three weeks prior to the next meeting of the full Assembly at which the proposed amendments are to be considered. Proposed amendments will be presented to The Assembly, and may be amended, at the meeting. Approval of amendments to the Constitution must be by a two-thirds majority of The Assembly present and voting.

Article VII – Ratification

Sec. 1 - The committee organized to review constitutional options and offer a recommended constitution for a faculty assembly shall schedule a faculty meeting. The Constitution of the Brazosport College Faculty Assembly shall be approved and adopted by a majority of those present at the meeting.