3.2.7 Nominating Committee

(Bylaws)

The Nominating Committee is responsible to the faculty.
The committee consists of the President or an administrator designated by the President (ex officio), the Vice Chair of the University Senate (ex officio), and five faculty members elected by the faculty. The chair is chosen by the committee from among the five teaching faculty members for a term of one year.

To fill vacancies on the Nominating Committee, the University Senate Executive Committee will prepare a ballot of names for election by the faculty.
The term of membership is three years. Members may not serve consecutive terms.
The general work of the committee is two-fold: 1) to nominate qualified candidates for all elective faculty positions on governance committees, for Faculty Board Observers, and for faculty representation on the Student Senate, and 2) to supervise elections, with the majority of ballots cast necessary for election. To accomplish this work, the Nominating Committee will
1. Seek guidelines concerning nominations from each of the committee chairs and encourage suggestions from the faculty and students
2. Encourage balanced representation from varying faculty viewpoints, reasonable rotations of committee memberships, and broad participation by individual faculty members in academic governance
3. Present nominations for positions for the next academic year no later than 3 weeks before graduation. Other vacancies are filled as they occur.
4. Send notice of open ballots to all faculty members and allow at least three business days for returns
5. Provide secret ballots for each election. Normally, each ballot will contain two nominations and space for write-in votes. No position shall be filled by the Nominating Committee without at least an accept/refer ballot. If, after due diligence, the Nominating Committee cannot meet these requirements, the chair of the committee may request a one-time exception, which must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the University Senate.
6. Oversee the process outlined in 3.2.4 University Senate for the elections of faculty-at-large senators, the chair, and the vice chair.
7. Prepare a ballot in the case of an unexpired committee vacancy. In consultation with the candidates and with the chair of the governance committee involved, the Nominating Committee will select persons who will complete the term and, for the sake of continuity, may serve on the next complete term.
8. Follow the procedures noted below in the case of tie votes:
  i. When two nominees tie for a position, the Nominating Committee members vote to break the tie.
  
  ii. When more than two nominees tie for a position, the Nominating Committee submits another ballot to the faculty, listing only the nominees who tied.
The committee meets when called by the chair.

(Procedures)

Protocol
1. The chair develops agendas and distributes them in advance of meetings. Governance committee vacancies are given priority on agendas.
2. Actions are taken by vote or consensus.
3. Committee workloads (average in clock hours per quarter):
  i. Chair: 30 hrs.
  
  ii. Members: 20 hrs.
4. The Walla Walla University Governance Handbook provides the rules for nominations, elections, and appointments. It specifies which positions are filled by appointment and which by election, and it denotes the cases in which it is required that persons come from certain areas.
5. Nominations for the following year are to be presented as required by deadlines specified in the Governance Handbook. Other vacancies are filled as they occur.
6. All elections are by secret ballot.
7. Notice of open ballots are sent to eligible voters, including those on satellite campuses, at least three business days in advance of election deadlines. Ballots for elective offices have at least two candidates and space for a write-in, while those for appointments are filled on an accept/refer basis.
  
  Each ballot includes
  
  i. Voting instructions and a deadline
  
  ii. Names of Nominating Committee members
  
  iii. Handbook requirements for selections of candidates
  
  iv. Length of term and date of completion
  
  v. Names and departments of continuing members
  
  vi. Names and departments of candidates
8. In filling a vacancy occurring in an unfinished term, the Nominating Committee may, in consultation with the chair of the committee in question, ask the candidate to complete the current term and serve through the next complete term. In such a case the ballot will so state.
9. Members vote to break a tie between two candidates on a ballot. If there is a tie between more than two candidates, a new ballot is submitted to the faculty listing only the nominees who tied.
10. Votes are tabulated automatically using the online voting system. The results are submitted to the chair for presentation, review, and approval by the Nominating Committee.
11. Committee positions designated as "elected" require two names on the ballot. Positions designated as "appointed" require an accept/refer ballot of faculty.
Communication
1. Minutes are sent to all members.
2. The chair
  
  i. Informs all candidates personally of the election results and sends the results of each election to all faculty members within a week after the election
  
  ii. Seeks guidelines and suggestions from the chairs of committees for which members are chosen
  
  iii. Supplies the President with a list of appointments he or she must make for the following year
Documentation
1. Rationale accompanies all actions that appear in the minutes. As appropriate, rationale for specific positions will appear on the ballot. In addition to adhering to the criteria listed in the bylaws, rationale such as the following may be used in choosing candidates:
  i. Balance in gender and discipline
  
  ii. Number of committee assignments
  
  iii. Level of interest
  
  iv. Recency of university employment
2. Minutes, agendas, sample ballots, and election results are sent to the Central File.

Up one level

3.2 Committees