ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION
OF THE FACULTY ASSEMBLY OF THE
SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING AND APPLIED SCIENCE
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY




  1. The School of Engineering and Applied Science has the following seven categories of academic positions:

    1. Regular Faculty: Regular academic appointments carry one of the following titles: professor, associate professor, or assistant professor. All regular faculty either have tenure or have tenure-track probationary appointment. The tenure of such individuals either has been or ultimately must be approved through the School of Engineering and Applied Science.


    2. Part-Time Faculty: Individuals having professional qualifications similar to those of the regular faculty can be appointed on a part-time basis with the title professor (part-time), associate professor (part-time), or assistant professor (part-time). Part-time faculty are not on the tenure track and are limited to a time commitment of 2/3 or less.


    3. Research Faculty: Qualified individuals whose primary function is research and whose salary is derived primarily from outside sources may be appointed on a full-time basis with the following titles: research professor, research associate professor, and research assistant professor. Research faulty are not on the tenure track.


    4. Visiting Faculty: Temporary appointments of qualified individuals may be made with the titles visiting professor, visiting associate professor, and visiting assistant professor. Normally visiting appointments will not exceed two years.


    5. Courtesy Appointments: Courtesy academic appointments as professor, associate professor, or assistant professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science are given only to regular faculty of Washington University, or to full-time professional employees of the Central Institute of the Deaf or the Missouri Botanical Garden.


    6. Affiliate Faculty: Qualified individuals who have a limited time commitment to the School of Engineering (for example, teaching a single course) may be given the title affiliate professor, affiliate associate professor, affiliate assistant professor, or lecturer. Affiliate faculty are not on the tenure track and normally would not teach more than two courses per semester.


    7. Part-time Instructors: Individuals who are pursuing graduate work at Washington University or other institutions may be appointed to the position of instructor (part-time). These appointments are not on the School of Engineering tenure track.


    The Faculty Assembly of the School of Engineering and Applied Science shall consist of:
    1. All members in Category (a.), regular, as described above.
    2. Voting members of the SEAS Executive Committee who are not faculty members in Category (a.), regular. Such persons may not, however, vote on any proposals to modify the Articles of Organization.

    The Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science, or the Speaker of the Faculty Assembly, or the Faculty Assembly Advisory Committee may, at their individual or joint discretion, invite observers from other divisions of the University, selected School administrators, or representatives of student organizations. Such invitations shall be for fixed time only and shall expire not later than the last day of June next following; and the invitees shall have only voice but not vote at the Assembly.

    A quorum shall be deemed present if at least half of the members of Category A is in attendance.

    In the event that a quorum is not achieved no votes may be taken on principal motions; such motions may however be introduced and perfected. At the pleasure of a majority of the members present, these motions will either (i) be submitted to a mail ballot or (ii) be held over until the next meeting at which a quorum is achieved when they will constitute the first order of business. In the event that a mail ballot is decided upon, the Speaker shall send a ballot together with a copy of the motions to all eligible members of the Assembly, and only those ballots received within two weeks of the date of posting shall be counted.

    Each year at the first meeting of the Assembly the Speaker shall distribute a list of members, and this list shall remain in force until amended.

    The Speaker shall also distribute a list of persons who hold appointments other than regular in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and administrators named by the Dean, and shall invite these people to all meetings of the Faculty Assembly, where they shall have voice but not vote.

    The Faculty Assembly Advisory Committee (see Article 2) shall nominate for membership persons from this list. All other nominations shall be considered under Article 6B.

  2. The governing body of the Assembly shall be a four member Advisory Committee, the Chairman of which shall be the Speaker of the Faculty Assembly. Only a senior member of the faculty, not a Dean or Department Chairman or otherwise in a position of major administrative responsibility, shall be eligible for election to the Advisory Committee. Members of the Advisory Committee must be tenured. They shall be elected for terms of two years each and the terms shall be staggered such that two members retire each year. The Assembly, in a meeting held shortly before the end of the Spring semester, shall elect by secret, written ballot two members of the Advisory Committee to replace the retiring Speaker and the other retiring members of the Committee. At the same time, a new Speaker shall be elected from the two incumbent members of the Committee. A senior member of the faculty shall mean a member of the Engineering Faculty Assembly holding the rank of professor or associate professor.


  3. The Speaker shall be a member, with the right to vote, of the Executive Committee, or whatever senior academic policy making committee is in effect, of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.


  4. The Engineering Faculty Advisory Committee shall call meetings for the purpose of approving or disapproving the awarding of undergraduate degrees to the candidates in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and of graduate degrees to candidates in the Sever Institute of Technology. In addition, the Committee shall call at least one other faculty meeting each semester, normally during October and March, at which topics of import to the faculty will be presented. The Committee will be responsible for the selection of the topics from those suggested by the faculty and for their presentation by one or more speakers prior to general discussion by the Assembly.


  5. Any member of the Engineering Faculty Assembly, if he/she deems it desirable for consideration of some important matter, may propose a meeting of the Assembly to the Speaker. If the Speaker and his/her Advisory Committee concur that the meeting is desirable, or if a petition for a meeting is signed by a least five voting members, a meeting shall be called by the Speaker to be held within a reasonable period of time.



    1. Topics, motions and other items to be entertained on the meeting agenda to presented at faculty meetings should be presented to the Advisory Committee. It is desirable that these items of business be considered and approved by the Advisory Committee before presentation at the Faculty Meeting so that such items can be placed on the agenda and be properly included with the order of business. The agenda for faculty meetings shall be prepared and distributed to the faculty at least one week prior to the date on which the faculty meeting is to be held.


    2. All motions to be acted upon at a given meeting shall have been placed on the distributed agenda for the meeting; except that any motion from the floor at given meeting may be acted upon at that meeting only after a 3/4 affirmative vote for consideration. Motions from the floor which fail to obtain a 3/4 vote for consideration, unless withdrawn, shall be placed on the agenda for the next meeting.



  7. In the absence, temporary or otherwise of the Speaker, his/her duties shall be assumed by the Advisory Committee member whose period on this Committee is concurrent with that of the Speaker.


  8. The Recording Secretary of the Engineering Faculty Assembly will be the Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science whose duties include those of Registrar. He/she will be responsible for recording the minutes of each meeting. At each meeting, the Secretary will distribute to the members of the Assembly the proposed agenda for the meeting. The proposed agenda will be supplied to the Secretary by the Speaker.


  9. All courses and curricula, including changes thereof, offered by the School of Engineering and Applied Science and by the Sever Institute of Technology and other proposals related to major changes in academic policy shall be approved by a majority vote of the Assembly. On the approval of the faculty, these items will then be entered into the Bulletin of the School of Engineering and Applied Science as necessary. Proposals for changes in course offerings or curricula and other matters related to academic policy normally shall originate in the Committee responsible for the initiation of academic policy. These proposals shall be transmitted through the Secretary of the Committee to the Advisory Committee to be placed on the agenda in the form of motions for presentation to the faculty at the following regular meeting of the Assembly. Any faculty member or group wishing to present changes in courses or curricula should submit these to the committee responsible for academic policy.


    1. The Engineering Faculty Assembly shall annually review the appointment of the Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science by letter ballot except for a dean serving his/her first semester. The Speaker of the Engineering Faculty Assembly shall call a Special Meeting of the Assembly each academic year during the last month of the Fall term. At this meeting, at which the Dean will not be present, the Speaker shall report the results of the letter ballot. This ballot shall be sent to the Assembly members in Category A at least two weeks prior to the Special Meeting. The numerical result of the letter ballot shall be transmitted by the Speaker to the Chancellor as the recommendation of the Engineering Faculty.


    2. Each departmental faculty shall annually review the reappointment of the Chairman of the Department. The senior tenured member of the departmental faculty shall call a special meeting of the department during the last month of the fall term. At this meeting, at which the department chairman will not be present, the departmental faculty shall, by secret ballot, vote upon a recommendation for the reappointment of the Chairman of the Department except for a department chairman serving his/her first semester. Each department shall provide a means of absentee ballot, such that each faculty member in Category A may have his/her vote counted. The numerical result of this vote shall be made known to the faculty of the department and transmitted by the senior tenured faculty member of the department to the Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science as the recommendation of the Department.


    3. At the annual departmental vote on recommending reappointment of the Department Chairman, the Dean may add to the ballot such questions as he/she sees fit to ascertain the state of the department.


  11. The representative of the School of Engineering and Applied Science on the University Senate Council will be chosen by a vote of the Engineering Faculty Assembly. This selection, when required, will be made at the last regular meeting of the Spring semester so that the representative will be qualified to begin his/her term of office on the following September 1. The term of office shall be for three years, as specified by the Articles of the Washington University Faculty Senate. The years of election for the School of Engineering and Applied Science are 1964, 1967, and 1970, and each successive third year thereafter. In the absence, temporary or otherwise, of the Senate Council Representative, the Speaker shall appoint a temporary replacement.


    1. The Faculty Assembly of the School of Engineering and Applied Science designates its Advisory Committee, with the Speaker as chairman, to serve as the standing faculty committee to review:

      1. claims of inadequate or unfair consideration that may be filed by faculty members on probationary appointment in accordance with the provisions of the Washington University Policy on Academic Freedom, Responsibility and Tenure, and
      2. any complaints or grievances that may arise from implementation of the policies and procedures pertaining to academic appointments, promotions, tenure, affirmative action and non-discrimination of the School of Engineering and Applied Science.


    2. In the event that a member of the Advisory Committee files such a claim, that member shall be disqualified from serving on the review committee. At the discretion of the eligible members of the Advisory Committee, the disqualified member may be replaced for the purpose and duration of review by invitation of another faculty member eligible for election to the Advisory Committee.


    3. In the event that the term of service of two members of the Advisory Committee expires before a review process is completed, the two members shall continue to function as members of the review committee until the review is completed.



    4. These Articles of Organization may be altered, changed or replaced, in whole or in part, by motion adopted by two-thirds majority vote of Category A members at a Faculty Assembly meeting where a quorum has been established.


    Revised December 2001 based on changes by the Faculty Assembly on

    1. March 29, 1976
    2. April 29, 1977
    3. October 18, 1983
    4. May 5, 1989
    5. April 27, 1990
    6. February 23, 1996
    7. May 1, 1998
    8. December 14, 2001