ARTICLE 1: THE GENERAL FACULTY

1-1. Members. The General Faculty consists of all persons holding appointments to the ranks of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, instructor, lecturer, any of the formally authorized lecturer-equivalent ranks, persons holding the ranks of librarian, associate librarian, assistant librarian, and general librarian under procedures approved by the chancellor, and the following officers of the administration, ex officio: the president, the chancellor, the provost and vice provosts, the vice chancellors; the university librarian, the university registrar, the directors of the Press, Extension Division, Undergraduate Admissions, and Student Health Service; and such other officials having responsibility for making and administering educational, research, and student welfare policies as shall be approved by the faculty Advisory Committee for ex officio membership on the General Faculty.

1-2. Organization. (a) Presiding officer. The chancellor shall be the presiding officer of the General Faculty. The chair of the faculty shall be chair pro tempore of the General Faculty and shall preside in the absence of the chancellor.

(b) Minutes. The secretary of the faculty shall keep a record of the proceedings.

(d) Bylaws. The General Faculty may adopt bylaws to govern its proceedings.

1-3. Meetings. The General Faculty shall meet at least once in the fall semester and once in the spring semester in each academic year. Special meetings may be called by the chancellor, or, in his or her absence, by the chair of the faculty, and shall be called on the written request of ten percent of the voting members of the General Faculty.

1-4. Voting. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this Code, the voting faculty comprises (i) all members of the General Faculty having tenured or probationary-term appointments, (ii) librarians who are members of the General Faculty, and (iii) fixed-term faculty whose positions satisfy the following criteria:

The position is for full-time employment and is not a visiting appointment; and
The duties of the position include teaching, research, or both; and
The actual or anticipated length of service in the position is at least three years. This criterion is satisfied if (i) the current term of appointment is for three years or more, or (ii) the appointment is a renewal appointment to the same position and the combined length of the current term and the immediately preceding terms is three years or more.

(b) For the purposes of Articles 1 through 4 and Article 13 of the Code, a member of the voting faculty who retires but continues on the faculty with a fixed term appointment that calls for at least one-half time effort shall be deemed to retain the faculty rank and voting status that he or she held immediately prior to retirement.

1-5. Office-holding. Only members of the voting faculty are eligible to hold offices established by the Code.

1-6. Powers. The General Faculty shall have power:

To establish the policies governing the educational activities of, and the award of academic degrees by, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and to promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement established policies;
To request information and reports from and to give advice to the chancellor with respect to any matter affecting the life of the University;
To act upon reports fromand to make recommendations tothe Faculty Council, faculty committees, colleges, schools, institutes, and other units of the University;
To discuss and resolve upon matters relating to the life of the University;
To join with the chancellor and other officers of administration and the student body in regulating student conduct and discipline; and
To delegate its powers, except the power to establish or amend this Code, to such officers and bodies as may be established herein.

1-7. Code amendments. Proposals to amend this Code must be passed on two separate readings. At the meeting at which it is introduced, the proposal must receive the affirmative votes of a majority of the voting members of the General Faculty present and voting. Upon such tentative approval, the proposal shall be referred to the Committee on University Government, which shall consider the proposal and report its recommendations to the next regular or special meeting of the General Faculty. When the proposal is reported by the Committee on University Government, those present shall first determine whether to submit the proposal to a general referendum, which shall be done upon motion of one-third of those present and voting. If the proposal is not submitted to a general referendum, passage shall require the affirmative votes of two-thirds of those present and voting. Before the final vote is taken on a proposal that is not submitted to a general referendum, any faculty member present may ask for a ruling of the presiding officer as to whether the proposal has been so materially amended that the text of the proposal as tentatively approved does not constitute a fair representation of the substance of the proposal as amended. If the presiding officer so rules, final action shall be deferred until the next meeting of the General Faculty, or the proposal shall be submitted to a general referendum, as may be decided by a majority of those present and voting. When a proposal is submitted to a general referendum, the secretary of the faculty shall mail a ballot and a copy of the proposal, together with any written report or explanatory material accompanying it, to each voting member of the General Faculty. Ballots must be returned to the secretary of the faculty not later than 15 days after the date of mailing. In a general referendum, passage shall require the affirmative votes of three-fifths of those voting.

1-8. Policy on selection of officers. It is the policy of the General Faculty that in selecting persons to fill positions established by or pursuant to this Code, consideration should be given to the factors of departmental affiliation, faculty rank, tenure status, color, age, and sex to the end that diversity of interests among the faculty are appropriately reflected in the various organs of faculty government.

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