I. Eligibility/Membership

For most committees, faculty must be full-time and in a number of cases, must be tenured or tenure-track or certain years of service. When possible, efforts are made to match faculty to committees based on interest or expertise.

Committees may have one representative from each department, one from each college, or simply one or more faculty representing the entire faculty assembly. It is important that if you serve on a committee, you understand who you are representing and that you communicate with constituencies for feedback.

II. Getting on a Committee

UHD uses 3 primary mechanisms to put faculty onto committees:

1. Nomination by the chairs and the deans – to get onto these committees, talk with your chair; this typically happens in late spring or early summer
2. Election by members of the college or department – most of these elections, especially for university-level work, are handled by the senate Committee on Credentials and Elections who send out calls for nominations and then distribute ballots (usually electronically); typically mid-spring semester
3. Election/Approvals by Faculty Senate – these committees are handled by the senate Committee on Credentials and Elections, who seeks nominations (you do not have to be a Senator to serve) and then runs an election in which the senators vote or asks the Senate to approve a slate of candidates.

Exceptions:

• The University Rank and Tenure Committee— each department Rank and Tenure Committee elects a member to serve on the University Committee
• Task forces, advisory councils, etc. —may be appointed by division heads (e.g., First-Year Experience Committee, SACSCOC, etc.)

Names of all faculty selected/elected for committee membership are forwarded to the Provost’s Office. The Provost’s Office sends out the official letters of appointment, typically in mid-August. Ideally, appointments will be completed by the end of spring semester, unless policy dictates otherwise.

III. Time Commitments and Responsibilities

• Most university committee appointments are for one or two years
• Workload and meeting frequency varies significantly among committees—ask colleagues before committing if you are concerned about time commitments
• The Shared Governance Committees have standing meetings times on Fridays
• Faculty who are on committees should commit to regular attendance and active engagement, offering to participate in producing committee deliverables as well as communicating work/ideas with their constituents on a regular basis.

IV. Committee Origins and Charges

Committees can be created in several ways. Depending on their origin, the reporting structure and oversight will vary. Some committees are established by the Faculty Senate Constitution which report to the Senate. Others are established by the Shared Governance Policy (PS 1.A.03). A few committees are considered advisory, in which case faculty members have advisory rather than representative roles. Each committee has a set of charges to carry out. For shared governance committees, any body can ask that the committee consider/review an issue. For details on the origins and charges of specific committees, contact one of your Senate Officers or check out our university committee website.