Appendix C: By-Laws of the Council of Centre College
The College Council shall have primary responsibility and authority, subject to the general governing authority of the President of the College and the Board of Trustees, to establish policy and adopt regulations on matters of concern to the College community as a whole.
Membership
The College Council is a representative body whose membership is defined by the Board of Trustees. Fifteen members of the Faculty, elected by the Faculty; eight students, elected by the Student Government Association; and eight members of the staff, elected by the Staff Congress, shall serve as elected members of the College Council. Elected members shall be chosen in a manner to be determined by the electing body, but shall be elected not later than October 1 of the academic year in which their term of service shall begin. The President of the College, the Dean of the College, the Dean of Students, the Vice President for Enrollment and Student Planning Services, the Athletic Director, the President of the Faculty, the President and Speaker of the House of the Student Government Association, the President of the Staff Congress, and the chairs of standing committees of the Council shall serve as ex officio voting members.
Officers
The President of the College is the chair of the Council. The President of the College or his or her delegate shall preside at meetings of the Council. The Registrar shall be an ex officio, non-voting member of the Council, and serving as its Secretary, shall keep full and accurate minutes of all meetings. Minutes shall be published to the Council as soon as possible after each meeting.
Meetings and Quorum
The Council shall normally meet in October, February, and April for the transaction of business. Special meetings may be called by the President of the College, or by the Dean of the College, or by the Steering Committee of the Council, provided that written notice is sent to all members of the Council at least 24 hours in advance. All members of the Council, with the exception of non-voting ex officio members, shall have a full and equal vote and shall be fully and equally bound by its decisions. Decisions of the Council shall be taken upon the vote of a majority of the members of the Council present at meetings of the Council at which a quorum is present. A majority of the Council shall constitute a quorum. All meetings of the Council shall be announced at least 24 hours in advance and shall be open to all members of the College community.
Committees
With the exception of the Steering committee, membership and chairs of committees of the Council shall be appointed by the President of the College with the advice of a Nominating Committee to consist of the President of the Faculty, the President of Student Government Association, the President of the Staff Congress, and the Dean of the College, who will serve as its chair. Elected members of the Council will be appointed in reasonable proportion to all Council committees. Additionally, all full-time members of the Faculty, all full-time students, and all full-time members of the staff may serve as members of Council committees. Students shall be excluded, however, from any consideration of matters involving the confidential personal records of other students and prospective students. The President of the College, as chair of the Council, shall be an ex officio voting member of every committee of the Council.
The Nominating Committee shall give due regard to the jurisdiction of the particular committee and its oversight responsibilities in considering committee composition and in appointing committee chairs. Particular recognition shall be given to the Faculty’s predominant interest in activities under the jurisdictions of the Committee on Enrollment Management, the Committee on Athletics and Recreation, the Committee on Instructional and Technology Resources, and the Committee on Honors and Prizes.
Committees shall convene upon the call of the chair or upon the petition of a majority of the members. Decisions of a committee shall be taken upon the vote of a majority of members of the committee present at meetings of the committee at which a quorum is present. A majority of the members of a committee shall constitute a quorum. Accurate minutes of meetings of all committees shall be kept, with copies provided to all committee members, the President of the College, and to the Dean of the College. Copies of the minutes of committee meetings will also be posted electronically to the College community.