Membership. The graduate faculty shall consist of all tenure-track faculty members of the University in the ranks of assistant, associate, or full professor. Administrative officers who hold professorial rank are also members of the graduate faculty. Graduate faculty members may vote and hold office, serve on examining committees, and supervise graduate degree programs, theses, and dissertations.

Lecturers, visiting scholars, artists in residence, clinical-track faculty and other members of the instructional staff may be nominated by their departmental executive for a specified period and scope of membership (i.e., term appointment). Such nominations may be approved by the Graduate College dean upon recommendation of the Graduate Council, if satisfactory evidence is presented to attest to scholarly or artistic qualifications of the nominees and their participation in graduate instruction.

Procedures. Only members of the faculty, as herein defined, shall have the right to vote upon or consent to any matter upon which action by the faculty is taken or required.

Meetings of the graduate faculty may be called by the president or the president's representative, the dean of the Graduate College, the Graduate Council or upon written petition of 10 percent or more of the graduate faculty, filed with the dean of the Graduate College and the Graduate Council. Adequate notice is required for any meeting of the graduate faculty.

The presiding officer at all meetings of the graduate faculty shall be the dean of the Graduate College except in the event that the president elects to preside. The secretary of the graduate faculty shall be designated by the Graduate College dean. The secretary shall maintain a permanent record of the business transacted at all meetings of the graduate faculty, send out to members of the faculty minutes of the meetings and advance notices of meetings with agenda as prepared by the dean and the Graduate Council, maintain an active list of members of the graduate faculty, serve as election teller, and perform such other duties as the faculty, the Graduate Council, and dean may request.

A quorum shall be 5 percent of the graduate faculty. Unless the point of no quorum is sustained at a meeting, no action taken therein on items of business listed in the agenda shall be invalid for lack of a quorum. Robert's Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of meetings unless otherwise determined by the faculty at the meeting. Approval of agenda items shall normally be obtained by vote of the graduate faculty members present at the meeting. However, upon the discretion of the dean of the Graduate College and in consultation with the Graduate Council, agenda items may be voted upon electronically by the graduate faculty.

Special Committees. Special committees may be created by the faculty, the Graduate Council, or the dean, and their personnel appointed by the dean unless otherwise provided by the creating authority. The term of each committee shall begin at the time of appointment and shall end upon completion of its assignment or on the date of the first regular graduate faculty meeting of the next academic year, whichever is earlier.