ONE — An eligible member of the Faculty Council is a full-time faculty member at the University of Houston. Faculty members who have appointments as assistant, associate, or vice deans, and higher are ineligible to be appointed or elected to the Faculty Council.

TWO — Duties of officers shall be as follows:

Duties of the Presiding Officer:

• Preside over all meetings of the Faculty Council.
• Be a non-voting ex officio member of all standing and ad hoc committees of the Faculty Council.
• Call special meetings when appropriate.
• Transmit to the appropriate administrative authorities of the University of Houston the recommendations and resolutions affirmed by the Faculty Council.
• Advise the President/Chancellor and the Provost of the University of Houston on matters of general interest to the faculty.
• Transmit from the President/Chancellor and Provost information on matters of general interest to the faculty.
• Be a voting ex officio member of the University Coordinating Commission.
• Be the representative of the faculty on the University President's Cabinet.
• Report on faculty interests to the University of Houston System Board of Regents at regular Board meetings.

Duties of the Associate Presiding Officer:

• Preside over all meetings of the Faculty Council in the absence of the Presiding Officer.
• Be a non-voting ex officio member of all standing and ad hoc committees of the Faculty Council in the absence of the Presiding Officer.
• Further assist the Presiding Officer as the Presiding Officer may deem advisable.
• Coordinate with the Secretary in relation to the communications of the Faculty Council.
• Be a voting ex officio member of the University Coordinating Commission in the absence of the Presiding Officer.

Duties of the Secretary:

• In consultation with the Presiding Officer and Associate Presiding Officer, be responsible for all forms of communication emanating from the Faculty Council.
• Ensure that a complete set of minutes for each meeting is kept and that a summary minutes is prepared of each regular or special meeting. The Secretary will work with FC staff to accomplish the duties of this role.

THREE — The Faculty Affairs Committee shall be comprised of designated members of the Faculty Council and the Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Faculty Affairs, who will be a non-voting ex officio member. The Faculty Affairs Committee shall review and advise on policies concerning the conditions of faculty employment and workload. The Faculty Affairs Committee will be advisory to the Provost and the Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Faculty Affairs. The chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee or designee shall be a member of the UH Faculty Advisory Committee on Human Resources-Fringe Benefits Committee.

FOUR — The Curriculum Committee advises on undergraduate and graduate curriculum matters. The Committee shall be comprised of designated members of the Faculty Council. The Curriculum Committee will be advisory to the Provost and delegates regarding curriculum and academic standards. The Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Student Success, and the Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School serve on this committee in non-voting ex officio capacities. Specifically, the committee will consider proposals related to academic programs, courses, and policies. The committee should have at least one member representing each college that delivers undergraduate and/or graduate programs.

FIVE — The Research and Scholarship Committee (RSC) shall be comprised of designated members of the Faculty Council and the Vice President for Research, who will be a non-voting ex officio member. The Research and Scholarship Committee shall focus on matters related to the research and scholarship of the university and will be advisory to the Vice President for Research and the Provost or designee. In order to be eligible for nomination for election to the Research and Scholarship Committee, the faculty member must satisfy the following criteria: The faculty member must have an ongoing, focused research agenda as evidenced by refereed scholarly articles, grant writing, research presentations, or other scholarly research output deemed in their discipline as appropriate to a faculty member actively engaged in the research endeavor of a nationally recognized research university. Such scholarly output must satisfy the expectations of the individual college from which the faculty member is nominated. The faculty member must be actively involved in either graduate or undergraduate research programs administered within their own academic unit. The RSC will advise on matters related to research, scholarship, and creative activity across disciplines and recommend policies to strengthen the University's research ecosystem, including research infrastructure and intellectual property. The committee will also administer the Assistant Professor Excellence (ApeX) speaker series.

SIX — The Executive Committee (EC) shall evaluate the eligibility and qualifications of all nominees for election to the Faculty Council. The EC shall be made up of the Presiding Officer, Associate Presiding Officer, Secretary, and the chairs of the standing committees of the Faculty Council. Appointed and elected members of the Faculty Council will be asked for their ranked preferences for committee membership. In the first year of the Faculty Council, elected and appointed members will be assigned to committees by an ad hoc committee containing the Presiding Officer, Associate Presiding Officer, Secretary, the Provost, and DOR delegates. Chairs of the standing committees of the Faculty Council will be elected from among the membership of each committee at its first meeting and will subsequently become members of the EC. In subsequent years, the elections and appointments will occur in the Spring semesters with sufficient time for committee chairs to be appointed and for members to be assigned to committees by the officers of the FC in consultation with the Provost and DOR delegates. The Provost and DOR delegates are typically the Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Faculty Affairs, the Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Student Success, the Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School, and the Vice President for Research.

SEVEN — An agenda for each meeting of the Faculty Council must be posted on its website seven (7) or more days before the meeting that contains sufficient detail to indicate the items to be discussed or that will be subject to a vote and any curriculum proposals that will be reviewed or on which a vote will occur. Agenda for Faculty Council meetings will be developed by the Presiding Officer in consultation with the Provost or designee. Minutes for regular Faculty Council meetings will be made publicly available on its website seven (7) or more days before the next regular meeting.

EIGHT — A Subcommittee of the Faculty Affairs Committee of the Faculty Council will nominate faculty members, from among the entire UH faculty, to serve on university committees as required/requested. This Appointments Subcommittee will be appointed by the EC from among members of the FAC, supplemented by members of other FC standing committees, as needed. The subcommittee will have one representative from each college.

NINE — The Presiding Officer of the Faculty Council, and the chairs of the Curriculum Committee, Research and Scholarship Committee, and the Faculty Affairs Committee are members of the University Coordinating Commission (UCC) which shall operate to coordinate and expedite communication among faculty, staff, students, and the review of updated policies and procedures.

TEN — The Presiding Officer and Associate Presiding Officer or their representatives shall serve as Faculty Council representatives to the University Faculties Executive Council [UFEC]. Each representative shall serve until the end of the calendar year, or until replaced. A Faculty Council representative may continue to serve until the end of the calendar year even if the Senator's term of office has expired.

ELEVEN — The Faculty Council is a member of the Texas Council of Faculty Senates (TCoFS), a state-wide organization composed of state colleges and universities. The two representatives to TCoFS shall be the Presiding Officer and Associate Presiding Officer of the Faculty Council.

TWELVE — The Faculty Council is a member of the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics. The delegate to, and an alternate for, the Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics (CoIA) will be elected by the UH Faculty Council for two-year terms. The elections will be held as necessary at the same meeting as the other officers each year. The delegate and alternate must be members of the Faculty Council at the time of their election. In the event that neither can attend a meeting of CoIA, the Faculty Council Executive Committee may appoint another Faculty Council member as the UH representative for that meeting. In the event the delegate resigns, the alternate will become the delegate and the Executive Committee shall appoint another alternate. In the event the alternate resigns, the Executive Committee shall appoint another alternate. Appointees must be members of the Faculty Council at the time of appointment. The elected CoIA delegate or alternate shall be a voting ex officio member of the University of Houston Athletic Advisory Committee.

THIRTEEN — the Presiding Officer of the Faculty Council may be asked to establish ad hoc committees to represent the academic interests of the campus.

FOURTEEN — Where needed and for short periods of time, additional faculty input and expertise will be drawn from department chairs, program directors, and assistant/associate/vice deans who are otherwise ineligible to be appointed or elected members of the Faculty Council.

FIFTEEN — The quorum for meetings of the Faculty Council shall consist of forty percent of the eligible voting faculty members. The quorum for meetings of standing and ad hoc committees of the Faculty Council will be fifty percent.