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I-2.8(2) The Association of Emeritus Faculty and Emeritus Faculty Council

(Amended 06/19/2000; 6/19/25)

Effective June 19, 2025, this charter has been revised. For the most current version without redlining, return to I-2.8(2).

  1. Name and membership.
    1. The Emeritus Faculty Council, referred to below as "Council," is the 18-member executive committee of the Association of Emeritus Faculty of the University of Iowa, referred to below as "Association," and is elected by members of the Association. The Council shall conduct the business of the Association between the Association's annual meetings.
    2. Membership in the Association includes all persons who, before they retired, were eligible to vote in the election of members of the University of Iowa Faculty Senate.

      (The 1998 Constitution of the Faculty Senate defines those eligible to vote as including all traditional tenured and tenure-track faculty members plus the following non-traditional faculty members:

      "Tenured, non-tenured, and salaried clinical faculty who hold the rank of professor, associate professor, and assistant professor are considered members of the faculty and eligible to vote. Faculty members not attached to a represented college are assigned to the most appropriate of the represented colleges for electoral purposes.")
    3. Membership in the Association includes all persons who have been granted emeritus faculty status by the University of Iowa.
  2. Goals. The goals of the Association and Council are to provide advice and assistance to its current and prospective members on matters of mutual concern, and as well as to the university in carrying out its various missions. In seeking to achieve these goals, the Association and Council shall:
    1. Establish and maintain contact with current and prospective emeritus faculty; and
    2. Consult on a regular basis regularly with current Faculty Senate officers and appropriate university officials and offices;
    3. In addition, the Association, at its annual or special meetings, and the Council, between such meetings, may Consult with any individuals or groups and make recommendations to its members and/or to the university on any matters they deem appropriate; and 
    4. Periodically survey retired faculty about their current activities, including those that can be considered as furthering the goals and reputation of the university, and report the results to the Provost's office.
  3. Meetings of the Association.
    1. The Association shall meet annually, generally during May. Other meetings shall be called by the President of the Council to consider one or more specific issues if requested to do so by:
      1. A majority of the Council.
      2. Twenty members of the Association.
    2. The presiding officer of the Association meetings is the President of the Council. In the absence of the President, the Vice President will preside, and if both are absent, the Secretary will presid(e). If none of the no officers are present, the Association will designate the presiding officer from among the remaining members of the Council by majority vote. 
    3. Meetings of the Association shall be open unless a majority votes to meet in executive session. Some portion of each meeting must be open. A report of each executive session shall be made in the next open meeting.
    4. The Council will provide the tentative agenda for all meetings of the Association subject to the approval of the Association. The agenda may be amended from the floor of the Association meeting.
    5. A quorum of the Association shall be 36 4 percent of its members.
    6. Meetings of the Association shall be open unless a majority votes to meet in executive session. Some portion of each meeting must be open. A report of each executive session shall be made in the next open meeting.
  4. Special meetings.
    1. Other meetings shall be called by the President of the Council, who also serves as President of the Association, to consider one or more specific issues if requested to do so by either:
      1. At least 2 percent of the members of the Association, or
      2. A majority of the Council.
    2. The purpose and date of a special meeting shall be transmitted to members at least 14 days prior to the date of the meeting.
  5. Composition and functioning of the Council.
    1. To assure representation across the university, membership on the Council will include at least one representative from each college (nine members) except the Graduate College, and, to assure that the Council membership also reflects, at least roughly, the difference in the number of retirees from different colleges, the three colleges with the largest number of retirees will provide the remaining nine members as follows: the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences five additional members; the College of Medicine three additional members; and the College of Education one additional member. Voting for the members representing each college will be restricted to eligible Association members from those colleges. The Executive Vice President and Provost or their designee shall serve ex-officio as liaison to the Council from the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost. 

      To assure representation across the university, membership on the Council will include at least one representative from each college except the Graduate College, which for this purpose will be combined with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.  The seats on the Council will be allocated to colleges using the following procedures. First, obtain a count of the number of emeritus faculty in each college, and initially allocate one seat to each college. Second, use an iterative process whereby at each step, one additional seat is allocated to the college having the largest ratio of (college emeritus count) / (current number of seats allocated to the college). Repeat this process until 18 seats are allocated.
    2. The Provost or their designee shall serve ex officio as liaison to the Council from the Office of the Provost.
    3. Elections of Council members shall take place prior to July 1 each year, with the first election occurring in the year 2000 the Association’s annual meeting. Each year roughly one-third of the Council members will be elected to serve three-year terms starting on July 1 of the year of their election. Each year six Council members shall be elected to serve three-year terms starting on July 1 of the year of their election. Members of the Council are eligible for election for no more than two successive three-year terms. Following one or more years of absence from the Council, a former Council member becomes eligible once more to serve two consecutive terms.

      (The terms of office of members of the initial Council are staggered, so that six persons were appointed to a one-year term, six to a two-year term, and six to a three-year term. The terms of those now on the Council will be deemed to commence on July 1, 1999, and Council members with one-year only appointments may serve one additional three-year term.)
    4. If a Council member resigns prematurely, the Council President may identify a new Council member from the same college to complete the resigning Council member’s term. If two years or more remain in the term, it shall count as the first term for the new Council member.
    5. Officers.
      1. The Council will elect its own officers. The officers of the Council are President, Vice President who shall be President Elect, and Secretary. Terms are for one year commencing July 1, 1999. officers who will also serve as officers of the Association. The officers are President, Vice President (who shall become President the following year), and Secretary. Election of the next year’s officers will occur at the last Council meeting preceding the annual meeting of the Association, with each officer serving for one year or until a replacement is selected.
      2. If the President Elect's (Vice President's) term on the Council would otherwise end at the time they are to take office, the term shall be extended automatically for one year. No one may hold two offices simultaneously or serve consecutive terms in the same office. If the Vice President’s term on the Council would otherwise end at the time they are to take office, the term shall be extended automatically for one year.  
      3. No one may hold two offices simultaneously or serve consecutive terms in the same office, except the Secretary.
      4. If the office of President becomes vacant, the Vice President shall become President for the remainder of that term and remain President for the following term. If the office of Vice President becomes vacant, it may remain vacant until the end of the term, in which case the Council will elect a President as well as a Vice President and Secretary at the time scheduled for the next election of officers. At the Council's option, a Vice President may be designated before the regular election.
      5. The Council President may establish such general or special committees as the Association's business may require, and such committees may include both Council members and members of the Association who are not on the Council.
    6. Meetings of the Council shall be open unless a majority of Council members vote to meet in executive session. Some portion of each meeting must be open. A report of each executive session shall be made in the next open meeting. A majority of the Council will constitute a quorum.
    7. The President shall post agendas for the Association, Council, and special meetings on the Council webpage.
  6. Powers and duties of the Council.
    1. The powers and duties of the Council are to:
      1. To Represent the Association and act as its executive committee between meetings of the Association's members. The Council will organize itself in any manner appropriate for the accomplishment of  to accomplishing its duties.
      2. To Report on its activities to Association members at the annual meeting of the Association, and, to the extent feasible, by correspondence between annual meetings.
      3. Discuss and act on applications for permissive conferral of emeritus status, as provided in III-11.7(d) Emeritus Status for Retirees.
      4. To Consult with and counsel members and prospective members of the Association, the officers of the Faculty Senate, the Executive Vice President and Provost, and other appropriate university officials on matters of mutual concern.
      5. To Maintain the records of its own proceedings, Association proceedings, and all reports and communications received from Association and Council committees. and maintain a liaison with the University of Iowa Retirees Association.
      6. Maintain a liaison with relevant University of Iowa committees and councils and the University of Iowa Retirees Association (UIRA).
      7. Maintain a relationship with the Senior College Committee (SCC). The SCC requires that all meeting attendees be full working members, so it is not possible to have a Council member serve as SCC liaison unless they are already an SCC member. When no Council member is already on the SCC, an SCC member is invited to attend Council meetings as a guest; they can report on SCC activities and participate in discussions, but will have no voting privileges.
  7. Elections to the Council — the process.
    1. Election to the Council will be supervised by a Committee on Elections appointed by the President with the approval of the Council.
    2. Nominations for and election to Council membership.
      1. The Committee on Elections will solicit nominations for election to the Council from members of the Association. On the nominating ballot, Association members may make one nomination for each vacant position on the Council, whether from their own college or another.
      2. The names of the two eligible members who receive the highest number of nominations for each vacancy will appear on the ballot if they consent to run. If one or both decline to run, the name(s) of the eligible member(s) with the next highest number of nominations who consent to run will appear on the ballot. Voting for the members representing each college will be restricted to eligible Association members from that college.
      3. The election ballot normally shall normally contain twice as many eligible nominees as there are vacancies. If only one of those nominated for a vacant position consents to serve, the Committee on Elections will try to identify another eligible member willing to serve, and if it succeeds,. If the Committee is successful, both names will appear on the ballot. If not, one name will appear.
      4. If no member from a college is willing to serve, that college will not have a representative on the Council until the next election unless the sitting Council member from that college is willing to continue serving for an additional year. The two consecutive three-year term limitation will not bar such service.
    3. The Committee on Elections will prepare and distribute ballots to members. After counting the ballots, the Committee will certify the results to the membership.
    4. Vacancy. Vacancies.
      1. If a vacancy for one year or more on the Council is in prospect at the time of the annual election, the vacancy will be filled by regular election procedures. If a vacancy for less than one year is in prospect, it will be filled by the Council (from eligible members of the constituency affected).
      2. Service in a vacancy that extends for more than 18 months is considered equivalent to a full term in determining eligibility for reelection.
  8. Amendments. Amendments to the bylaws may be initiated by the Council or at the annual meeting of the Association on by motion of any member. The Association will be asked to approve a proposed change by paper ballot distributed to all members, with a change requiring a by the best method available. A change requires a simple majority vote of those voting.
  9. Parliamentary authority. The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall govern the Council and the Association in all applicable cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent when consistent with these bylaws the procedures in this Policy Manual and any special rules of order the Council and Association may adopt.