WCSU Faculty Handbook : Standing Committees of Schools

Macricostas School of Arts & Sciences Nomination and Elections Committee Bylaws

  1. Objective

    1. To run elections every spring to fill vacancies that occur on the Macricostas School of Arts & Sciences (MSAS) committees. Spring election procedures will be initiated late in the spring term.
    2. To run special elections as requested by the Dean of the MSAS.

  2. Areas Of Responsibility

    1. To survey the general faculty for willingness to serve on the various MSAS committees.
    2. To determine eligibility of people willing to serve on specific MSAS committees.
    3. To prepare, distribute, collect, and process ballots at the various stages of the nomination and election process.

  3. Membership

    1. Total membership: Three (3), one from each area of Math, Science, CS; Social & Behavioral Sciences; and Humanities
    2. Three (3)  faculty members, elected by the MSA&S faculty for overlapping two-year terms.

  4. Conduct Of Business

    1. Meetings
      1. The first meeting of each academic year shall be convened by the previous year’s chairperson if that individual still serves on the committee. In his/her absence, he or she will designate a committee member to convene the committee.
      2. A quorum consists of two members.
    2. Officers
      1. The chairperson is the elected general faculty member serving in his/her second year. If two members are eligible to be chair, the chair will be decided by coin toss.
    3. Reports
      1. Committee records and reports from the current and previous academic years are maintained on file with the committee chair, specifically the tallies from each stage of the election are kept, and ballots are destroyed.
      2. In order to run elections, the committee must be provided by the MSAS with the membership rules for each committee. Any question about the interpretation of these rules will be settled by the Dean of the MSAS.
      3. Reports of election results are sent to the Dean of the MSAS. Election requests and instructions come from the chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee.
    4. Amendments
      1. These Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of members present at any regularly scheduled meeting at which there is a quorum, with the approval of the Dean of the MSAS.
    5. Procedures for elections
      There are, at most, four stages to the election procedure.

      1. Stage 1 Willingness to Serve
        • The purpose of this stage is to find who is willing to serve on what committee. A copy of those results is sent to the entire Nominations and Elections committee.
          1. Special case a: If the number of people willing to serve on a committee is fewer than or equal to the number of vacancies on that committee, then those people expressing a willingness to serve will automatically become members of that committee.
      2. Stage 2 First Ballot
        • The purpose of this stage is to reduce the number of people running for an elected position to no more than two, except in the case of a tie.
          1. Special case b: If, before stage 2, the number of people willing to serve on a committee is already fewer than or equal to twice the number of vacancies, then this ballot determines the composition of the committee, and no further balloting need be held, except in the case of a tie.
          2. Special case c: This ballot may also determine the composition of a committee in the following circumstance. Suppose v is the number of vacancies on a committee. If exactly v people get a majority then they become members of the committee and consequently no more balloting is needed. Here majority is defined as greater than 50% of the votes cast for a position.
      3. Stage 3 Final Ballot
        • This ballot determines the composition of a committee unless, perhaps, there is a tie. This determination is made as follows. If there are positions voted for as a group, then the people with the highest votes are elected, unless there is a tie.
          1. Special case d: If there is a tie, there shall be a runoff election.
      4. Stage 4 Runoff Ballot
    6. Early Vacancy:
      1. If a vacancy results from a resignation, the position is filled by the person with the next highest number of votes in the most recent election for that position, provided that person is still willing to serve.