Faculty Policies Handbook:

4. Policies and Procedures

4.2 Rules and Procedures Governing Elections in the College of Arts and Sciences
If at all possible, the election for positions on the Arts and Sciences Council and other elected bodies shall be conducted in the spring semester of each year.

4.2.1 General

a. To be eligible to hold elective office, an individual must hold a full-time, tenure or tenure-track appointment in the College of Arts and Sciences with no more than half-time administrative duties, and not be on leave during any part of the term of office. In the case of faculty members with dual teaching appointments, no more than one-third of their yearly regular semester teaching assignments may be in courses outside the College of Arts and Sciences.

b. To be eligible to vote in a College of Arts and Sciences election, an individual must hold a full-time, tenure or tenure track appointment in the College of Arts and Sciences. In the case of faculty members with dual teaching appointments, at least one-half of their yearly regular semester teaching assignments must be in courses offered in the College of Arts and Sciences. Administrators whose original Drake appointment was as full-time faculty of the College and who maintain some teaching responsibilities are eligible to vote. Excluded are part-time appointments; adjunct, acting, visiting, and emeritus appointments; and administrators holding faculty rank in the College, but not actively involved in teaching, or whose faculty appointments are only concurrent with their administrative appointments.

c. All elections shall be conducted by mail ballot.

d. The order of elections shall be Arts and Sciences Council, Promotion and Tenure Committee, and Faculty Cabinet.

e. An Associate/Assistant Dean and any faculty or staff member selected by him/her for each election shall serve as the Board of Tellers.

f. A candidate for office must receive an affirmative vote of at least 35 percent of the faculty voting in the election.

g. Except for membership in the Senate and the Arts and Sciences Council, which are governed by their own rules, no person may succeed him/herself in office. This rule shall not apply to an individual who has been elected to fill out a partial term created by a resignation or some other cause.

h. Marked ballots must be returned to the Arts and Sciences Office within four working days after the ballots are delivered to the Campus Post Office. The Associate/Assistant Dean shall notify the faculty of the results of any election within a reasonable time period.

i. The tellers may void an election if there is an error in the preparation of the ballot and if the Arts and Sciences Office is notified of the error prior to the deadline for the return of the ballot.

j. Any Arts and Sciences faculty member may appeal a decision of the tellers to the Faculty Cabinet for a final decision.

4.2.2 Nominations

a. At the beginning of each spring semester, the Arts and Sciences Office shall provide to the faculty a list of elections to be conducted and standing committees to be appointed for the following year. Faculty members are normally expected to serve on elected bodies and appointed committees. If there are extenuating circumstances, a faculty member may request in writing to the Dean to be relieved of such obligation for that year. If the requests of those persons are approved, their names shall not be placed on the ballot(s) involved or considered for appointment to the designated committees.

b. The Arts and Sciences Office shall prepare a nominating ballot for each election containing the names of all eligible staff members except for those who are excused from serving.

c. Twice as many candidates shall be declared nominated to be on the final ballot as there are positions to be filled by the election.

d. The number of nominees appearing on the final election ballot shall be increased to include all candidates tied for the last qualifying position.