Scope

At IU Indianapolis, IU Columbus, and IU Fort Wayne:
Tenured and Tenure-Track (ranks of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, librarian, associate librarian, assistant librarian) and Non-Tenure-Track (ranks of clinical, lecturer, professor of practice, research scientist/scholar).

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Policy Statement

PREAMBLE

We, the faculty members of IU Indianapolis, in recognition of our common goal to better human conditions through the process of education, and in recognition and appreciation of the rights and responsibilities bestowed upon us by the State of Indiana through the Indiana University Board of Trustees for the accomplishment of this goal, do establish this Constitution for the purpose of creating a system which will aid in the identification, definition, and accomplishments of major specific objectives of this faculty.

ARTICLE I. FACULTY MEMBERSHIP

Section A.

All individuals serving full-time who are tenure-track, non-tenure-track, emeritus faculty, or librarians of comparable rank and who perform their functions primarily in Indianapolis, or who, having their principal functions elsewhere, have rank in an academic unit that is primarily situated at IU Indianapolis (including Indianapolis, Columbus, and Fort Wayne) shall be considered members of the faculty.

Section B.

1. The voting members of the faculty (referred to herein as Voting Faculty) shall be all full-time faculty who hold the following appointments:
   1. Tenured
   2. Tenure-Track
   3. Clinical
   4. Lecturer / Teaching Professor
   5. Professor of Practice
   6. Research Scientist/Scholar appointments
2. Those faculty described in Section 1.a. and 1.b. above will be referred to herein as tenured or tenure-track faculty (or TT faculty).
3. Those faculty described in 1.c. through 1.f. above will be referred to as non-tenure-track faculty (or NTT faculty).
4. Acting, visiting, adjunct, emeritus and other academic appointees are not voting members of the faculty.
5. Any provision in the IU Indianapolis Constitution or Bylaws stating, directly or by implication, that voting shall occur by means of an in-person vote or a paper ballot shall be understood to permit electronic voting. The method and means of electronic voting shall be as established from time to time by the IU Indianapolis Faculty Council (IFC) Executive Committee.

Section C.

The Office of the Provost at IU Indianapolis shall be responsible for maintaining a census of the faculty, as well as a census of the Voting Faculty. The President of the IFC, or their designee, shall request a list of Voting Faculty as of October 1.

Section D.

Anyone wishing to challenge any inclusion or omission from the official list shall first petition the Office of the Provost. If that Office holds against the petitioner, the petitioner may present their case to the Faculty Council, which may rule for the petitioner by a two-thirds vote of those present and voting.

ARTICLE II. FACULTY RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The faculty shall:

1. advise the Chancellor of IU Indianapolis, the Indiana University President, and the Board of Trustees concerning policies for admission, retention, and academic placement of students;
2. establish policies governing conduct and discipline of students;
3. develop curricula, course content, academic procedures, and degree requirements, and nominate candidates for degrees, subject to the rights of review by appropriate governing bodies within the universities and by appropriate external bodies when their prerogatives are affected;
4. advise the Chancellor of IU Indianapolis concerning policies for institutional and student participation in extracurricular activities;
5. advise the Chancellor of IU Indianapolis, the Indiana University President, and the Board of Trustees concerning policies and administration of the libraries;
6. recommend to the Chancellor of IU Indianapolis procedures for implementing at Indianapolis all-university criteria and procedures for appointments to the faculty, general faculty welfare, dismissal from the faculty, non-reappointment, promotion in academic rank, tenure, and sabbatical leaves of absence;
7. consult with decision-making administrators regarding proposed changes in academic organizations;
8. continually review educational policies;
9. consult with decision-making administrators regarding planning of physical facilities and staffing;
10. participate in the process of selecting candidates for major executive academic positions; and,
11. have the right to petition the Boards of Trustees through appropriate channels regarding views of the faculty on any matter pertaining to the conduct and welfare of the institutions.

ARTICLE III. EXERCISE OF RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Section A. Academic Unit Organization

The faculty of academic units within the university exercise their rights and responsibilities through faculty organization established by the faculty of those units, subject to the limitations of this Constitution.

Section B. The Faculty Council

1. Authority shall be exercised on behalf of the faculty by the IU Indianapolis Faculty Council (referred to herein as the Council) in regular and special meetings, subject to the limitation of this Constitution.
2. The Council shall adopt its own Bylaws.
3. The Council shall fill vacancies for unexpired terms of any of its elected officers.
4. The Executive Committee may specify the means of voting on matters before the Council and Voting Faculty.

Section C. Review of Council Actions

1. If, at a duly called regular or special meeting of the Voting Faculty, a majority of those present and voting opposes an action of the Council, that matter shall be remanded to the Council for reconsideration. To become effective, it must then be reaffirmed by two-thirds of the entire membership of the Council. However, by a majority vote the Council may submit the matter to a ballot (including electronic voting) of the Voting Faculty where a majority of those voting shall suffice for passage.
2. Fifty members of the Voting Faculty may mandate a referendum concerning an action of the Council. The Executive Committee shall conduct the referendum.

Section D. Meeting of the Faculty

1. There shall be at least one meeting of the Voting Faculty during the academic year for the purposes of receiving a report from the Chancellor of IU Indianapolis on the state of the Campus.
2. Special meetings of the faculty may be called by the President of the Faculty, the Chancellor of IU Indianapolis, the Vice President of the Faculty, the Executive Committee of the Council, the Council itself, or by petition of at least fifty members of the Voting Faculty, said petition to be delivered to the President of the Faculty. A special meeting shall be called within thirty days of receipt of such a petition. Any special meeting of the faculty must be called for a specific purpose and may depart from that purpose only by a suspension of the rules of order. Faculty must be given notice of time, date, place, and agenda of any meeting of the faculty at least ten days in advance. The Vice President of the Faculty shall be responsible for keeping minutes of such a meeting and for distributing a copy of the same to each member of the faculty.
3. One hundred members of the Voting Faculty shall constitute a quorum for a meeting of the faculty.

ARTICLE IV. FACULTY COUNCIL

Section A. Membership

Faculty Council shall be composed of elected and ex-officio members. All voting elected, ex-officio, and alternate members of the Council shall be eligible to vote in matters brought before the Council, unless otherwise restricted in this Constitution, the Bylaws, or university policy. 

1. Elected members. Faculty members dedicated to teaching, research, creative work, and service, and librarians dedicated to performance, professional development, and service shall represent academic units. To be entitled to representation on the Council, an academic unit shall have its faculty organization documents on file with the President of the Faculty, be headed by an Academic Dean, and be certified by the Council. The University Libraries of IU Indianapolis shall be considered an academic unit.
   1. Elected members of the Council shall consist of unit representatives and at-large representatives.
   2. If the Council selects as President of the Faculty or Vice President of the Faculty, a faculty member who is not otherwise a member of the Council, this shall confer ex-officio membership.
   3. If the Council elects to its Executive Committee a faculty member or librarian who is not otherwise a member of the Council, this shall confer ex-officio membership.
   4. Elected members of the Council shall serve terms of two years, commencing with the first Council meeting of the fall semester. No elected member shall be eligible to serve more than two terms consecutively.
   5. Election of unit representatives. Each academic unit shall conduct its election of unit representatives by procedures it shall itself establish. The results of the unit elections shall be reported by each academic unit president or chair to the Faculty Council Director and the President of the Faculty at a scheduled meeting or via electronic means. The President shall announce the results of the elections at the next scheduled meeting or via electronic means.
   6. Election of at-large representatives. Election of at-large representatives shall be conducted in accordance with the procedures specified by the Faculty Council Bylaws.
2. Voting Ex-officio members. The Chancellor of IU Indianapolis, two members from the Chancellor’s Cabinet who hold faculty appointments, having been designated by the Chancellor, and any elected member of the Executive Committee who is not otherwise a member of the Council shall be ex-officio members of the Council.
3. Alternate members. A member of the Council who must be absent from any meeting of the Council may be represented at that meeting by an alternate who is not a member of the Council, who will be permitted voice and vote provided that the alternate is a member of the Voting Faculty.
4. Non-voting, ex-officio members
   1. The designated administrative leader of each academic unit located in Indianapolis shall be a non-voting ex-officio member of the Council.
   2. An elected representative of the faculty governance organization of academic units utilizing existing IU Indianapolis faculty shall be non-voting ex-officio members of the Council. The voting rights of each IU Indianapolis faculty member shall be vested solely with the department and school or college of their primary academic appointment. Each such faculty organization shall be entitled to elect one ex-officio non-voting representative.
   3. An elected Parliamentarian appointed by the Vice President of the Council who is otherwise not an elected member of the Council shall be a non-voting ex-officio member of the Council.
   4. The President or, in their absence, the Vice President of the Undergraduate Student Organization and the Graduate Student Organization shall be a non-voting ex-officio member of the Council.
   5. The President of the IU Indianapolis Staff Council shall be a non-voting ex-officio member of the Council. When the Staff Council President is unable to attend meetings of the Council, they may send a designated alternate.
   6. Members of the University Faculty Council (UFC) not otherwise holding positions in the IFC, shall be non-voting ex-officio members.
   7. An elected representative of the IU Indianapolis Senior Academy (an organization of retired IU Indianapolis faculty and staff members) shall be a non-voting ex-officio member of the Council.
5. An individual elected in more than one capacity may serve in only one voting seat during the elected term on the Council. In no event shall one member have more than one vote.

Section B. Officers

The Officers of the Faculty Council shall be the President of the Faculty, the Chancellor of IU Indianapolis, the Vice President of the Faculty, and the Parliamentarian of the Faculty Council. The Presiding Officer shall be the Vice President of the Faculty or their designee. The President of the Faculty, the Vice President of the Faculty, and the Parliamentarian may be from any academic unit, and shall be selected in accordance with the procedure specified by the Bylaws.

Section C. Meetings of the Council

1. Regular meetings of the Council shall be held monthly during the academic year, starting in September.
2. Special meetings may be called by the President of the Faculty, the Chancellor of IU Indianapolis, the Vice President of the Faculty, the Executive Committee, or by petition of at least 20 members of the Council, said petition to be delivered to the President of the Faculty. The person(s) calling the meeting shall state the reason(s) for calling it, and the business of the meeting shall be restricted to items relevant to the matters for which it is called. Members of the Council must be notified at least one week in advance of the meeting.

Section D. Quorum

A majority of the Voting Faculty Council shall constitute a quorum.

Section E. Record

The Vice President of the Faculty shall be responsible for preparing minutes of the Faculty Council meetings and the President of the Faculty shall be responsible for preparing minutes of the Executive Committee meetings. The original copies of all minutes and the verbatim recording of the Faculty Council meetings shall be retained cumulatively in the Faculty Council Office for a period of at least one academic year. At the end of a year the original copies of the minutes and the verbatim recordings shall be sent to the IU Indianapolis Archives for preservation.

Section F. Executive Committee

1. Composition. The Executive Committee shall consist of ten members of the Voting Faculty, six or as many as eight who are tenure-track faculty and two or as many as four who are non-tenure-track faculty, elected by the Faculty Council. The President of the Faculty, who will chair the Committee, the Chancellor of IU Indianapolis, or that officer's designee, and the Vice President of the Faculty, shall serve ex-officio. The Immediate Past President of the Faculty shall also serve as a non-voting ex-officio member.
2. Eligibility. Any person who has served as an elected member of the Council, as Chair of a Council Committee, as the presiding officer of a school faculty governance body, or in leadership of an academic unit committee within the past four years is eligible for election to the Executive Committee. Two of the elected faculty on the Committee may be from the same academic unit, provided one is tenure-track faculty and one is not. If the School of Medicine has two members, both may be tenure-track faculty, and one each from the basic science and clinical departments.
3. Election. Each year, at the Council’s April meeting, the Nominating Committee shall submit a slate of nominees to serve on the Executive Committee. An electronic ballot will be sent to the Council members following the meeting. All candidates will be voted on in one group. The non-tenure-track member with the highest number of votes among the non-tenure-track candidates will be elected regardless of overall ranking. If two non-tenure track candidates are among the top five in terms of votes gathered, they will both be elected. The remainder of the five positions will be filled with the tenure-track candidates garnering the most votes. The candidates shall be elected to the Executive Committee for terms of two years. They shall be eligible for re-election, provided that no person shall serve more than two terms consecutively.
4. Duties. The Executive Committee shall:
   1. determine the agenda for its own meetings and for regular meetings of the Council;
   2. solicit, with the help of the administrator assigned to support the Faculty Council Director, the interest of faculty in serving on IU Indianapolis Faculty Council Standing Committees at a scheduled meeting or via electronic means;
   3. serve as the Committee on Committees for the Council;
   4. conduct the elections which are governed by the provisions of the Faculty Council Bylaws, and rule on matters of dispute relating to election procedures;
   5. determine the proper apportionment of unit representatives among the academic units, in accordance with the Bylaws; and
   6. perform such other duties as may be assigned to it by the Council or by the Council's Bylaws.
5. Emergency Procedures. The Executive Committee is delegated to act as the executive agent of the IU Indianapolis Faculty Council without prior consultation with the Council as follows:
   1. In cases requiring emergency action within a period during which no meeting of the Council is scheduled, including during the summer sessions;
   2. Emergency actions taken by the Executive Committee require, at minimum, a simple majority which must include the President and Vice President;
   3. When acting as the delegated executive agent for the Council, the Executive Committee will inform Council members through electronic communication of its activities; and
   4. Actions taken by the Executive Committee as delegated executive agent for the Council may, at the request of an elected representative of the IU Indianapolis Faculty Council, be reviewed by the Council at its next subsequent meeting and, where feasible, may be overruled by a two-thirds vote of the IU Indianapolis Faculty Council.

Section G. Procedures

1. A member of the Council may appeal an action of the Executive Committee to the Council, which may overrule the Executive Committee by majority vote.

ARTICLE V. REVIEW FUNCTIONS OF THE FACULTY

Section A.

The faculty shall express its judgment on any administrative action brought to its attention which raises an issue of academic freedom, tenure, promotion, salary, the nature and conditions of work, non-reappointment, or dismissal.

Section B.

The Faculty Boards of Review shall consider grievances of faculty members or librarians concerning academic freedom, tenure, promotion, salary adjustment, the nature or conditions of work, reappointment, or research misconduct. Any faculty member or librarian desiring a review of university action in these stated areas shall request, in writing, a review by a Faculty Board of Review.

Section C.

Collective faculty judgment on major issues affecting faculty interests may be expressed via a referendum. A referendum shall be initiated by delivery to the President of the Faculty of a petition by the Chancellor of IU Indianapolis, the Vice President of the Faculty, the Executive Committee of the Council, the Council itself, or at least 25 members of the Voting Faculty. The Executive Committee of the Faculty Council shall conduct the mandated referendum within four weeks of the delivery of such petition. The question (or series of questions) comprising the referendum shall be answerable by the word "yes" or "no." A majority vote shall be necessary to sustain or reject the question(s). The President of the Faculty shall inform the faculty of the results of the referendum within a period of no longer than 30 days after the final receipt date of answer specified on the circulated referendum.

ARTICLE VI. AMENDMENTS

Section A.

A constitutional amendment may be brought to the Council by any member thereof, or by a petition signed by twenty members of the Voting Faculty.

Section B. Adoption

1. If an amendment is approved by two-thirds of those present and voting at any regular meeting of the Council, copies of the amendment shall be distributed by the President of the Faculty to the Voting Faculty within one week of this approval.
2. If fifty or more members of the Voting Faculty so request by a written petition delivered to the President of the Faculty within three weeks after Council approval, the President of the Faculty shall then call a special meeting (Constitution Article IV, Section C, Subsection 2) of the entire Voting Faculty within no less than two weeks nor more than four weeks to consider the amendment. The amendment may be returned to the Council (with or without instructions) by a majority vote of those present and voting at this special meeting. If the amendment is not returned to the Council, the President of the Faculty shall conduct a ballot within one week after the meeting.
3. If no meeting is requested, a ballot shall be conducted within four weeks after Council approval and counted no earlier than four weeks later.
4. The ballots shall be distributed within a time frame to assure that both ten-month and twelve-month faculty will have the opportunity to cast their ballot.
5. An amendment shall become effective at the beginning of the academic year following its adoption, unless otherwise specified.

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History

The first IUPUI Faculty Constitution was adopted in 1969. The present Constitution, with accompanying Bylaws, was adopted in April of 1978, and has been amended several times.

Amended by the IU Indianapolis Faculty Council:
June 26, 1986
October 7, 1987
June 25, 1992
January 1, 1993
March 4, 1993
July 1, 1998
March 2, 2000
May 31, 2004
March 3, 2009
November 3, 2009
April 3, 2018
May 7, 2019
May 5, 2020
May 2, 2023
December 2, 2025

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