Engineering Faculty Advisory Council Bylaws

To generate and develop broad ideas for the improvement and ultimate development of the Texas A&M University College of Engineering and to suggest policies that will enable the College of Engineering to better serve the educational needs of the people of Texas.

To advise the dean of engineering on matters of basic importance to the engineering faculty as a body.

No business can be conducted without a quorum of seven members present.

New members will be provided with a copy of the current bylaws at the first meeting that they attend.

At the first meeting of each September, Rules of Procedure will be adopted by the council.

The council shall regularly meet monthly on a specified date September through May.

Special meetings will be held at the call of the chair or upon petition of three members of the council.

Minutes of the council meeting shall be promptly delivered to all EFAC members.

All meetings of the council shall be open to all faculty members as visitors. A faculty member wishing to present a matter for consideration of the council shall do so through the council chair or their departmental representative.

The council shall consist of one member from each academic department in the College of Engineering including one member from the agricultural engineering department. Administrative officers are ineligible for membership on the council.

Members shall serve a term of three years. One third of the members' term on the council will expire each year.

The current departmental representative shall hold the election of each departmental representative through a vote of all department faculty and administration. Any one member of the department in which the election is being held may request oversight of the election by the council. In the event of such a request, the council as a whole will determine the procedure for the election.

Newly elected members shall take office at the first meeting in May.

Council members unable to attend shall send a substitute to act in their place.

The officers of the Engineering Faculty Advisory Council shall be a chair, a vice chair and a secretary. Each shall be elected for a one-year term.

A member of the council must have completed one year on the council before being eligible to serve as an officer of the council.

If for any reason the office of chair shall become vacant, the vice chair shall succeed to this office. If a vacancy occurs in any other office a member duly elected by the council shall fill it.

Determination of the method of voting on matters presented to the Council shall be at the discretion of the chair, unless a member of the council requests a secret ballot.

A simple majority vote of the members in attendance, provided that a quorum is present, shall be required to approve an ITEM FOR INVESTIGATION by the council.

A TWO-THIRDS majority vote of the members in attendance, provided that a quorum is present, shall be required to establish approval of the FINAL RECOMMENDATION OF THE COUNCIL on any item.

There shall be no standing committee on the Engineering Faculty Advisory Council.

Special committees shall be appointed and instructed by the chair as needed.

With the authorization of the majority of the council, the chair may appoint faculty members not serving on the council to special committees with specific charges.

The Rules of Procedure may be suspended by a three-fourths majority vote.

These bylaws may be amended or repealed by a two-thirds majority vote of the members in attendance.

Proposed alterations, amendments or repeals shall first be read at a regular meeting of the council and voted upon at the next meeting of the council.