Medical College Assembly Bylaws

January 1999
revised 12/19/07
revised 6/2/08

Preamble

In accordance with Article X of the Policies of the Board of Trustees of State University of New York the Faculty of the College of Medicine, as a unit within the Upstate Medical University of the State University of New York hereby organizes and adopts these By-Laws as standards of governance for the Medical College Assembly. This organization is established to facilitate the attainment of Faculty objectives in the conduct of instruction, research, and service programs for which the College is responsible.

Definitions

As used in these By-Laws, unless otherwise specified, the following terms shall mean:

a. College. The College of Medicine of the Upstate Medical University, State University of New York.

b. Upstate Medical University. The Upstate Medical University including all composite academic divisions and the State University Hospital.

c. University. State University of New York.

d. Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees of State University of New York.

e. Chancellor. The Chancellor of State University of New York

f. President. Chief Administrative Officer of the Upstate Medical University.

g. Dean. The Dean of the College of Medicine at the Upstate Medical University

h. The Faculty. The Chancellor, the President, the Dean, and the academic staff of all Departments comprising the College of Medicine.

i. Academic Staff. The staff comprised of those persons having academic rank or qualified academic rank.

j. Academic Rank and Qualified Academic Rank. See 1998 Policies of the Board of Trustees, State University of New York.

k. Professional Staff. See Policies of the Board of Trustees, State University of New York.

Article I Name

The name shall be "The Medical College Assembly of the Upstate Medical University of the State University of New York".

Article II Purposes

The purposes of this organization shall be:

1. To provide a means for the Faculty to exercise its right and obligation to participate significantly in initiation, development and implementation of educational policies, research and service programs of the College of Medicine.

2. To provide the means for fulfillment of the responsibilities and prerogatives of the Faculty as stated in the Policies of the Board of Trustees 1998, Article X

3. To study and act upon matters relating to the Medical College Faculty

4. To serve such other functions as may be determined by the Chancellor, the President of the Upstate Medical University, the Dean of the College of Medicine, or the Faculty.

Article III Membership

Section 1. Membership with Voting Privilege
The Medical College Assembly of the Upstate Medical University shall be comprised of:

1. The Chancellor, the President of the Upstate Medical University, the Dean of the College of Medicine; and
the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs & Faculty Development
2. Members of the Academic Staff of the College except:

a. Instructors and assistant librarians who have completed less than one year of professional obligation in the University;

b. Assistant Instructors and persons holding temporary appointments.

Section 2. Non-Voting Membership

A. Non-voting membership shall be extended to:

1. All those excepted under (2) above;

2. The President and Secretary of each of the four medical college classes;

3. The President and Secretary of the Syracuse Medical Alumni Association;

4. Professional staff of the College of Medicine without academic rank.

B. Non-voting members shall have the right to attend open, regular meetings of the Assembly; to participate in discussion at such meetings and to introduce new business items for inclusion in the agenda according to the procedure outlined in Article V, Section 7, Paragraph 11.

Section 3. Dues Membership in the Medical College Assembly shall not be conditional upon payment of dues.

Article IV Officers

Section 1.
The Presiding Officer of the Assembly shall be a member of the Faculty who holds a continuing appointment. The Chairperson of the Executive Committee shall serve as Presiding Officer of the Assembly. To be eligible for the office of Presiding Officer one must have served on the Executive Committee for at least one year. The Secretary of the Executive Committee shall serve as Secretary of the Medical College Assembly

Section 2. Term of Office
New officers shall take office at the close of the Annual (Spring) Meeting and shall hold office until their successors are duly elected and installed.

No person shall serve as Presiding Officer or Vice Chair for more than three consecutive one year terms.

Section 3. Vacancies
In the event that a vacancy or inability to serve occurs in the office of the Presiding Officer, the Vice Chair of the Executive Committee shall serve until the next election. In the event that a vacancy or inability to serve occurs in the office of Secretary, the Presiding Officer shall appoint a successor to serve through the remainder of the term of office.

Section 4. Duties of the Presiding Officer
The Presiding Officer of the Medical College Assembly shall be prepared to preside over meetings of the Assembly. He/She shall be Chair of the Executive Committee. In the absence of the Presiding Officer, the Vice Chair of the Executive Committee shall preside at meetings of the Medical College Assembly. The Presiding Officer shall represent the Medical College Assembly on committees requested by the President, Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs & Faculty Development, or Dean, including at the College of Medicine Executive Committee (the Dean’s advisory committee) and the Council of the Faculty Organization.

Section 5. Duties of the Secretary
The Secretary (or administrative assistant to the assembly and MCAEC - as referred to in all use of the term secretary in these bylaws) shall give proper notice as defined in Article V, of all meetings of the Medical College Assembly and shall keep accurate and complete minutes of each meeting and distribute them to the membership prior to the next meeting. He/She shall attend to all correspondence and perform such other duties as may be appropriate. He/She shall distribute to the membership, prior to each meeting, a copy of the meeting agenda. (See also Article V, Section 7, Paragraph 11.)

The Secretary of the Medical College Assembly, in consultation with the Director of Personnel of the Upstate Medical University, shall keep an official and up-to-date membership list of the Medical College Faculty and professional staff indicating those members who are eligible to vote.

He/She shall be Secretary of the Executive Committee.

Article V Meetings

Section 1. Regular Meetings

A. The Medical College Assembly shall hold two regular meetings each year, one in the Fall and one in the Spring, preferably to follow immediately upon the meetings of the Faculty Organization of the Upstate Medical University. The May meeting shall be the annual meeting. The specific date of regular meetings shall be announced at least eight weeks before the meeting. The Secretary of the Medical College Assembly shall notify each voting and non-voting member with known addresses by e-mail, mail or otherwise at least four weeks before a regular meeting.

B. The Executive Committee will arrange for additional meetings of the Faculty holding academic rank to discharge those responsibilities which are required by the Policies of the Board of Trustees or which are deemed desirable or necessary. Such meetings may be called:

(a) by the Chancellor of the State University of New York, the President of the Upstate Medical University or the Dean of the College of Medicine in accordance with Article X, Section 2 of the Policies of the Board of Trustees,
(b) by the Executive Committee,
(c) by a petition of 10% or more of the Faculty holding academic rank.

The agenda shall be composed of matters pertaining particularly to members of the Faculty having academic rank. Only those members holding academic rank shall be entitled to vote at such meetings. Faculty holding academic rank with known addresses shall be notified by email, mail or otherwise at least four weeks in advance of these meetings.

Section 2. Special Meetings

Special meetings may be called:

(a) by the Chancellor of the State University of New York the President of the Upstate Medical University, or the Dean of the College of Medicine in accordance with Article X, Section 2 of the Policies of the Board of Trustees,
(b) by the Executive Committee of the Medical College Assembly, or
(c) by the Secretary of the Medical College Assembly upon petition of twenty five members of the Faculty. Such meetings may be called of the entire membership, voting and non voting, or the entire academic staff, or of those members holding academic rank, or of those members holding qualified academic rank.

The Secretary of the Assembly shall notify each member, as appropriate to the requirements of the meeting, by mail at least seven days before a special meeting. The notice that calls the meeting shall state the purpose for which the meeting is called.

Section 3. Emergency Meetings
Emergency meetings may be called by the Chancellor, the President, the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs & Faculty Development, the Dean of the College of Medicine, or the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Medical College Assembly at any time.

Section 4. Rules of Order
The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order, revised, shall govern the Assembly in all cases to which they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the By-Laws or the special rules of order of this Assembly.

Section 5. Parliamentarian
The Presiding Officer shall appoint each year from the Executive Committee a member to serve as parliamentarian for both the Executive Committee and for the Medical College Assembly.

Section 6. Quorum
Forty of the membership entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting involving the total membership.

Section 7. Agenda
At each regular meeting of the Medical College Assembly the agenda may consist of the following items:

1. Minutes of the previous meeting
2. Report of the Chancellor
3. Report of the President
4. Report of the Dean
5. Report of the Faculty Senator
6. Report of the Executive Committee of the Medical College Assembly
7. Report of elections, when such have been held
8. Report of Standing Committees, minority reports may be included
9. Report of Ad Hoc Committees, minority reports may be included
10. Unfinished Business
11. New Business

Items of new business to be presented for vote at a regular meeting must have been submitted in writing to the Presiding Officer for review by the MCAEC, at least four weeks in advance of a scheduled meeting. The Secretary shall include an explanation of such new business with the announcement of the meeting.

New business may be presented by a member from the floor at any regular Medical College Assembly meeting. If such new business is judged by the Presiding Officer to be substantive in nature, it shall be referred to the Executive Committee for consideration and included on the agenda for the next meeting.

A. Electronic Vote

Voting for new business by the Medical College will be electronic. The steps involved in an electronic vote will be as follows:

1. Posting (7 weeks prior to the regular meeting): The secretary will email, mail or otherwise notify every member of the Medical College with known addresses, of the following:

a. A proposal for vote has been made;
b. The proposal will be posted on the Medical College Assembly secure web site;
c. Each member may participate as desired in an electronic discussion for the following 4 weeks;
d. A summary of the discussion will then be posted and will be available at the regular MCA meeting.

B. Electronic Discussion:

1.The Presiding Officer or his/her designee, usually a member of the party proposing the issue, will monitor the discussion, will prepare and post a summary of the electronic discussion at least 48 hours prior to the time of the regular meeting. The summary of the electronic discussion must be approved by the president of the MCA or his/her designee, prior to posting.

2. Mechanism for amendment of the item of business: If the electronic discussion indicates a need for amendment(s) to the item, the amendment will be discussed at the next meting of the MCAEC for re-consideration of the issue. The Presiding Officer will invite one or more individuals to present the issue, and the need for amendment, at that meeting. After the MCAEC meeting, the amended issue for vote will again be posted on the secure web site portal. Further electronic discussion will be allowed until one week prior to the regular meeting.

C. Conduct of Business at a Regular MCA Meeting:

1. At the regular meeting, the issue will be reviewed, including the summary of the electronic discussion and any amendment that had been approved by the MCAEC. At this point, the pathway is complete for an electronic vote on the item after the meeting.
2. Mechanism for amendment of the item of business: If a faculty member at the MCA meeting formally proposes further amendment(s) to the item, and this amendment is approved by a vote at the meeting; the amendment will be posted alongside the original proposal, as an additional option for the vote. With an amendment at the MCA, then, there will be two issues to vote on for the electronic vote, the original, unamended proposal, and the amendment as approved at the MCA meeting. Posting of the two options of the issue will then occur. As this presents a new alternative to the issue, further electronic discussion will be available for two weeks after the MCA meeting. The electronic vote will then occur over the following week.

D. Electronic Voting of Assembly Business

The secretary will email, mail or otherwise notify every member of the Medical College with known addresses the day after the regular meeting indicating:

The secure web site for posting the issue, and for electronic voting;

If there has been no amendment to the item, the duration of the vote will be the following six days;

If an amendment to the proposal from the MCAEC has been approved at the MCA meeting, amendment will appear as an option for the vote; option one will be the original, unamended proposal and option two will be the amendment;

In the presence of an amendment to the item, the vote will be delayed for 2 weeks to allow further electronic discussion; then the electronic vote will occur for the following week

Date of announcement of the result.

2. The vote will be anonymous, one vote per member.
3. The Secretary will tally and post the result within 1 week of the end of the voting.

Article VI Committees

Section 1. Standing Committees
There shall be the following standing committees of the Medical College Assembly: an Executive Committee (MCAEC) and an Educational Policies Committee (EPC). There shall be such other standing committees as may be recommended by the Executive Committee with the knowledge of the Dean of the College. The Chair of the Executive Committee shall serve as ex-officio member of each of the standing committees without vote.

Section 2. Executive Committee

A. The Executive Committee shall be the governing body of the Medical College Assembly. The Executive Committee shall consist of thirty members, one from each of the twenty-three academic departments of the College of Medicine at the Syracuse Campus, three from the Clinical Campus at Binghamton and four holding qualified academic rank.

B. The Senator and Alternate Senator, the Senior Associate Dean for Education, the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs & Faculty Development, the Dean of the College of Medicine, or their designees may be invited to the Executive Committee meetings.

C. The members of the Executive Committee from the Syracuse Campus shall be elected by the members of their department holding academic rank. Members from the Binghamton Campus shall be elected by faculty at the Binghamton Campus. Members holding qualified academic rank shall be elected by faculty holding qualified academic rank. Department chairs shall not be eligible for membership on the Executive Committee.

D. The term of membership on the Executive Committee shall be for three years. No member of the Executive Committee shall serve for more than three terms consecutively. The election of members from the academic departments of the College of Medicine campus at Syracuse shall be conducted by each department. The election of members from the Binghamton Clinical Campus shall be conducted by the Dean's Office at the Clinical Campus. The election of members from the qualified academic faculty shall be conducted according to the procedures stated in Article VII. One third of the members of the Committee shall be elected each year.

E. When an elected member cannot serve his/her full term, the Department represented by the member shall elect a member to serve the remainder of the term. Prior to expiration of members’ terms, the members and the bodies they represent shall be notified by the Secretary of the Executive Committee.

F. At the first meeting of the academic year the Executive Committee shall elect, by simple majority vote, its own Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary or administrative assistant.

G. The Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary shall have the right to vote on all voting issues within the Executive Committee.

H. The Chair, Chair-elect and Secretary of the Executive Committee shall serve respectively as Presiding Officer, Presiding Officer-elect and Secretary of the Medical College Assembly.

I. Meetings of the Executive Committee of the Medical College Assembly:

1. Regular meetings shall be held at least quarterly or as often as required for orderly fulfillment of functions.

2. Special meetings may be called by the Chancellor, the President, the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs & Faculty Development, the Dean of the Medical College, the Chair of the Executive Committee, or the Secretary of the Executive Committee upon petition by three elected members of the Executive Committee.

3. The Secretary of the Executive Committee shall be responsible for preparation of complete minutes of Executive Committee meetings which shall be kept on permanent file in the Office of the Dean of the College of Medicine. Reports to the Executive Committee of other Committees shall also be kept on permanent file in the Office of the Dean. Such minutes and reports shall be available for review upon request of any voting Faculty member except in the case of a grievance.

4. The Secretary of the Executive Committee shall be responsible for preparation of abstracts of the minutes of Executive Committee meetings which shall be distributed to each Faculty member including the Dean and the President of the Upstate Medical University.

5. The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order, revised, shall govern the Executive Committee in all cases to which they are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with the By-Laws or the special rules of order of this Assembly.

6. Eight members of the Executive Committee of the Assembly shall constitute a quorum.

J. The duties of the Executive Committee shall be:

1. Preparation of the agenda for Assembly meetings in consultation with the Dean of the College. Any voting or non-voting member of the Assembly may submit to the Chair of the Executive Committee suggestions for the agenda. These suggestions shall be made in writing to the Chair of the Executive Committee at least 15 days in advance of a scheduled meeting. The Chair will include in the report of the Executive Committee the disposition of each suggestion.

2. The referral of matters as necessary to appropriate committees and the receiving of reports from committees after an interval indicated by the Executive Committee.

3. Reporting to the Assembly for its consideration on actions taken by the Executive Committee; except that recommendations of the Educational Policies Committee and the Executive Committee affecting any changes in governance policy of the Medical College Assembly, grading policy, graduation or promotion requirements for the MD degree, or major modifications of required courses in the College of Medicine (to include addition of new courses, deletion of existing courses, or major changes in the curricular content of a given course) must be presented to and be voted upon by the Medical College Assembly before such recommendations are implemented.

4. Consultation with the Dean of the College on such matters as are deemed appropriate and performance of such other duties as may be requested by the Dean of the College.

5. Consideration of amendments to these By-Laws. The Chair may appoint a By-Laws Subcommittee to routinely review and update the By-Laws.

6. Consultation with the Dean or President for the purpose of advising on appointments to committees. These committees include Dean’s appointed standing committees for the College of Medicine, campus standing committees appointed by the President, or ad hoc committees or task forces appointed by the President, the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs & Faculty Development, Vice President for Research or Dean. In its advisory capacity, the Executive Committee shall make efforts to secure appropriate representation on the various committees from the various academic ranks, from Faculty members with qualified academic ranks, as well as from the many departments of the Medical College. Efforts shall also be made to avoid a multiplicity of committee assignments for any single member of the Faculty.

7. Formation of Ad Hoc Committees or Task Forces as may be required for the accomplishment of the goals of the Medical College Assembly, with the advice of the Dean.

8. Supervise and conduct nominations and elections according to the provisions of Article VII.

9. Selection of two members of the Executive Committee to serve with the Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary on the Liaison Committee, convened by the Dean or Dean's designee. The purpose of the committee is to enhance communication between the College of Medicine faculty and administration regarding current COM issues and problems, dissemination of information, and preliminary considerations by the faculty or the administration. The selection of members should be considered annually.

10. Selection of two faculty representatives to serve for two years to the College and Campus Judicial Boards, according to the provisions in the Student Code of Conduct and Judicial Policies.

Section 3. Educational Policies Committee

A. Membership
There shall be:

1. One faculty member from each of the basic sciences and clinical departments. Each department shall appoint (or elect) from its staff its own representative to the Educational Policies Committee. Two members from the Curriculum Committee of the Clinical Campus at Binghamton shall be elected by its membership.

2. One student member to represent each of the first two undergraduate classes in the College of Medicine and two students from the third and fourth year classes; one each year from the Syracuse and Binghamton components of the class. Such representatives shall be elected by their classmates.

3. One graduate student representative elected by the Graduate Student Association.

4. Six members (one of whom shall be from the Clinical Campus at Binghamton) shall be appointed by the Dean.

5. The Dean or his designee shall be an ex-officio member of the Committee.

B. Term of Appointment
Appointments of Faculty members shall be for a term of two years; but these shall be renewable biennially at the discretion and pleasure of their respective departments for a total period not to exceed ten years. Student members of the Committee shall be elected yearly.

C. Officers
The committee shall select a chair and a vice-chair, one of whom shall be a member of a clinical department and the other a member of a basic science department. The committee shall select those other officers it deems necessary. All officers shall be faculty members of the committee. Terms of office shall be for two years, shall be renewable biennially, and shall not exceed six years. The election of chair and vice-chair should not occur in the same year whenever possible.

D. Functions

1. It shall have the responsibility:

a. To determine the objectives and goals of the medical curriculum at this institution and how they relate to graduation and promotion requirements for the MD degree;

b. To assess the present curriculum in terms of reaching or meeting these goals and objectives;

c. To consider any changes in the curriculum which may be necessary to meet the stated objectives. (Such changes may include: major modification of required courses, addition of new courses, deletion of existing courses, major changes in course content)

d. To consider educational and curricular policies (Such policies may include those pertaining to electives or grading).

e. To consult with those departments whose programs may be affected by any contemplated curricular changes.

f. To circulate the minutes of each meeting to each Departmental Chairman.

2. It shall make a comprehensive report of its findings and recommendations, if any, at least semi-annually to the Executive Committee, to the Dean and to the Assembly for their information and consideration.

Section 4. Ad Hoc Committees
Ad hoc committees may be appointed by the Executive Committee or the Presiding Officer. These may include: A Committee on Faculty and Professional Staff Affairs and a Committee on Student Affairs. Ad hoc committees shall be convened by the Executive Committee with the knowledge of the Dean of the College as the need arises. Each ad hoc committee will have a defined purpose, membership, and time frame for completion of the function; the committee will report outcomes to the Executive Committee; it will be disbanded at completion of the goal.

Article VII Nominations and Elections

The Executive Committee shall serve as Nominating Committee for all Committees elected by the general membership of the College of Medicine. The Presiding Officer may choose to appoint a Subcommittee to oversee the details of nominations and elections. After soliciting by general announcement and receiving the suggestions and recommendations of the members of the Medical College Assembly, the Nominating Committee shall nominate candidates for membership on the several committees to be elected by the Assembly. Proper attention shall be given to the eligibility of the nominees to membership qualification and categories specified for the various committees. Willingness to serve, if elected, is also considered to be a qualification for nomination.

There shall be at least two nominees for each elective position to be filled and provision for a write-in vote. Nominations may also be made by petition signed by twenty or more voting members of the Assembly.

The Medical College Assembly shall elect membership to the Council of the Faculty Organization. The elections shall be by secret ballot sent to each of the voting membership at least six weeks before the Annual (Spring) Meeting. Two weeks shall be allowed for return of the ballots. The results shall be reported to the Executive Committee, to the Dean, to the Council of the Faculty Organization, and published in the Upstate Medical University Newsletter.

The Executive Committee shall follow the foregoing procedures to make nominations for the election of two members of the professional staff (non-academic) to the Committee on Faculty Professional Staff Affairs and Grievances, except that the recommendations for membership on this Committee shall come only from the professional staff (non-academic) and voting for such nominees shall be restricted to the professional staff.

There shall be provision for each Faculty member who bridges categories to register his preferred affiliation to one of the voting categories as outlined in Article Vi, Section 2, Paragraph A. This registration list will then be followed in future solicitations for nominations and for balloting purposes.

Article VIII Amendments

Proposals to amend these By-Laws may be initiated by the Executive Committee of the Medical College Assembly or by petition of at least twenty-five members of the voting Faculty. The Secretary of the Assembly shall notify each voting member of the Assembly by email, mail or other means regarding the proposed amendment(s). Amendments will be voted by the electronic voting process described above. Bylaws amendments will require a two-thirds vote of those voting. The amendment shall be effective upon approval by the Assembly, the Dean, the Council of the Upstate Medical University Faculty Organization and the President.