About the UF/IFAS Faculty Council
The purpose of the UF/IFAS Faculty Council (FC) is to provide a group of faculty members which the Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources can call together to discuss items of concern on an as-needed basis. In addition, FC is encouraged to initiate discussion and meet on issues of faculty interest which they feel should be brought to the attention of the Senior Vice President. The council should examine items of potential as well as present concern. Emphasis should be on non-program issues and problems which extend across administrative units.
Eligibility for Membership on FC
Faculty eligible for membership on the FC shall be those appointed in tenure track and permanent status track positions. Persons in administrative positions serving at the discretion of the Senior Vice President and the Deans are excluded. District extension directors are excluded, but county extension faculty are included. Only those from the UF/IFAS statewide faculty eligible for membership on FC may vote in the FC elections and serve on the FC nominating committee. Each eligible faculty member has the privilege of voting for a full slate of candidates for FC.
Size of FC
FC shall consist of 13 members. Seventy percent (nine) of the FC members shall be elected by the eligible UF/IFAS statewide faculty and 30% (four) shall be appointed by the Senior Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources from the eligible UF/IFAS faculty (see Faculty Representation below).
Term of Service of FC Members
Representatives on the FC shall serve for a period of two years. A rotating membership is encouraged and one year must elapse before an outgoing FC member is eligible for reelection or appointment.
FC Year
Members shall serve on an academic year basis with new members being elected or appointed to begin service September 1 of each year.
Faculty Representation
It is very difficult to accurately represent a group as large and diverse as the UF/IFAS faculty on a small advisory committee. Major categories of representation are faculty based: (a) on the Gainesville campus, (b) at County Extension offices, and (c) at the Research and Education Centers. The membership shall be elected or appointed annually as shown in table 1 which follows. Although the size of the FC makes it impossible to have specific representation within these three groups of such subgroups as non-tenured faculty and minorities, the nominating committee should be aware of the need for as broad and diverse a representation of the faculty as possible. Appointments to the FC shall be made by the Senior Vice President who will make every effort to balance the representation on the FC in selecting appointed members. Consequently, appointments by the Senior Vice President will be made after the outcome of the election is known.
Nominations
A general call for nominations to the FC membership will be made to all eligible faculty during the spring semester each year. Nominations will only be accepted from faculty who are eligible to vote (see eligibility for membership on FC above). No self-nominations will be accepted. Only one nomination will be accepted in each membership category (campus, research center, county extension) from each nominator.
Elections
Elections shall be conducted by mail ballot. Ballots will be mailed by the UF/IFAS Office of the Senior Vice President under direction of the FC Nominating Committee. Completed ballots will be returned to the chair of the FC nominating committee. Fifteen calendar days from the date of original mailings will be allowed for the return of completed ballots. Only faculty eligible for membership will be eligible to vote. Candidates who receive the most votes in each category will be appointed.
Tellers' Committee
The FC shall appoint a Tellers' Committee of at least two persons from the eligible faculty membership to count the ballots and to report the results of the election to the FC and the Senior Vice President.
Filling Vacancies on the FC
An unexpired term which arises between elections because of resignation or death of a FC member shall be filled by appointment by the FC.
FC Officers and Operating Procedures
In July, the FC shall select a Chair from elected members remaining on the Council for the next year (September through August) by a vote of all (elected and appointed) FC members (old committee). The FC shall elect a secretary and other officers deemed necessary at the first (September) meeting of the new committee. The Council will develop its own operating procedures.
Table 1: Number of faculty elected and appointed to the FC from on-campus, county extension staffs and in RECs by year. All are two-year terms. This is a four-year cycle to be repeated beginning in 2007-08.
2006 - 2007
| Location | Elected | Appointed |
|---|---|---|
| Campus | 2 | 1 |
| County Ext. | 1 | 1 |
| RECs | 1 | 0 |
| Subtotal | 4 | 2 |
| Total 6 |
2005 - 2006
| Location | Elected | Appointed |
|---|---|---|
| Campus | 2 | 1 |
| County Ext. | 2 | 0 |
| RECs | 1 | 1 |
| Subtotal | 5 | 2 |
| Total 7 |
2004 - 2005
| Location | Elected | Appointed |
|---|---|---|
| Campus | 2 | 1 |
| County Ext. | 1 | 1 |
| RECs | 1 | 0 |
| Subtotal | 4 | 2 |
| Total 6 |
2003 - 2004
| Location | Elected | Appointed |
|---|---|---|
| Campus | 2 | 1 |
| County Ext. | 1 | 1 |
| RECs | 2 | 0 |
| Subtotal | 5 | 2 |
| Total 7 |
