at Duke University

Bylaws of the University Faculty

(also see Bylaws of the Academic Council)

  1. The university faculty shall meet annually at a date set by the Executive Committee of the Academic Council, at which time the president of the university shall usually present a report on the state of the university, and at which time the chairman of the Academic Council shall report on the activities of the council for the previous year and on plans for the ensuing year. The university faculty shall also meet at the call of the president or the provost or upon the written request of the Executive Committee of the Academic Council or of fifty members the faculty.
  2. All powers and functions of the university faculty, insofar as their powers or functions are not exercised in the individual departments, schools, colleges, and divisions of the university, are hereby delegated to the Academic Council, to which is also delegated the power the university faculty possesses to resolve jurisdictional disputes among the various component faculties of the university.
  3. These bylaws of the university faculty may be amended by a majority of those members of the faculty present at a meeting of the university faculty, provided that the text of any proposed amendment has been circulated to the members of the university faculty at least ten days prior to any such meeting.
  4. The Academic Council shall have the power to establish its own bylaws except that no amendment affecting the composition of the council shall be effective until it has been approved by the university faculty in accordance with Article III of the Bylaws of the University Faculty.
    1. Eligibility to vote at meetings of the university faculty and in Academic Council elections shall include all tenured and tenure-track members of the faculty and persons meeting all of the following criteria:
      1. The individual has an appointment in at least one Duke University school, department, program, institute, or center that provides credit toward an academic degree.
      2. Said individual's primary responsibilities are directed toward the university's goals and efforts with performance of his or her role principally at the university, and in accord with criteria for full-time status as defined by the unit in which the primary appointment is held.
      3. The activity of his/her work has an obvious instructional component either in relation to the degree-granting mechanisms of the university or in relation to those individuals at the university who are undertaking further training/studies beyond graduate degree programs.
      4. There is intent of ongoing contractual relationship to the university (e.g. tenure track; repetitive contract; participation in continuing research grants, etc.); and that such relationship is subject to either the appointment, promotion, and tenure process or to an alternative process approved by the provost for non-tenure track positions.
    2. The Academic Council is empowered to determine which faculty titles are consistent with the above criteria and which faculty are therefore eligible to vote in meetings of the university faculty and in elections to the Academic Council.
    3. Those eligible to serve on the Academic Council are:
      1. All tenured and tenure track faculty, and
      2. Those regular rank, non-tenure track faculty who are eligible to vote in Academic Council elections and who are in at least their third continuous year of service as a faculty member at Duke.

Amended 10/16/03