Section 6. Committee on Committees

B29H

At the beginning of each academic year, the Chair of Committee on Committees will select up to nine additional members, from among existing elected Academic Council members, to serve on the Committee on Committees, ensuring that all four of the schools, all three of the divisions in the College of Arts and Sciences, and the staff with faculty rank are represented, and ensuring that at least one Committee on Committees member claims sufficient technical expertise to conduct elections through electronic/virtual means and to manage relevant data used by the Committee.

• In order to help Academic Council fulfill its responsibility to act as the coordinating committee of the Faculty, the Committee on Committees will perform the following duties
  o Oversees the collection of annual reports from the chairs of standing committees
  o Serves as the liaison between Academic Council and the standing committees. In that role, the Committee on Committees will receive concerns from faculty representatives of standing committees about issues of shared governance in areas relevant to their committees and will communicate with chairs of standing committees on behalf Academic Council.
•  In order to help Academic Council fulfill its responsibility to act as the appointing committee for standing committees and as an advisory committee to the administration in the creation of campus-wide ad hoc and special committees the Committee on Committees will have the following duties:
  o Creates and maintains a database of all faculty members serving on standing committees, advisory committees, special and ad hoc committees, search committees, and task forces.                  
  o Submits to Academic Council a slate consisting of one name for each opening on standing committees of the faculty (with the exception of Academic Council, the University Curriculum Committee, the School- and Division-Based Curriculum Committees, and the Promotions and Tenure Committee) at least one week in advance of the April meeting of Academic Council. The Committee on Committees will secure the consent of persons being nominated.
  o Submits to the University Curriculum Committee one or more suggestions for their Chair Elect in advance of their April meeting in Year One of the University Curriculum Committee's three-year election cycle.
  o Serves as a nominating committee for elected members of the University Curriculum Committee and the Promotions and Tenure Committee, submitting to Academic Council during the month in advance of either the March Faculty Meeting or the February School/College Meeting the recommended names for each place to be filled. Normally, the number of nominees will exceed the number of positions to be filled. The Committee on Committees will secure the consent of people being nominated.
  o Appoints committee replacements when membership positions on standing or special committees other than Academic Council, University Curriculum Committee, or Promotions and Tenure Committee are vacated during the year and reports all appointments to Council on or before the next meeting of Academic Council.
  o Works with Academic Council and University administration to fill temporary standing committee or advisory committee vacancies in roles designated as ex-officio.
  o Recommends to Academic Council faculty members to serve on ad hoc or special committees created by Council.
  o Recommends to the Chair of Academic Council faculty members to serve on ad hoc or special committees created by the President or Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Chair of Academic Council will forward these names to the President or Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
  o Recommends to the Chair of Academic Council faculty members to serve on search committees for administrators with faculty rank. The Chair of Academic Council will forward these names to the President or Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.
• In fulfilling these responsibilities, the Committee on Committees will attempt to balance the need to provide opportunities for committee service to interested faculty with its  responsibility to ensure that standing and special committees successfully contribute to effective shared governance.
• The Chair of Committee on Committees has discretion to leave vacancies on committees unfilled due to mid-year vacancies or lack of volunteers. Prior to making a decision to leave a vacancy unfilled, the Chair should consult with the chair of the affected committee and members of Academic Council representing the areas of the university with a committee vacancy.