FA-5001 Election and Appointment to VTCSOM and University Committees

1.0       Purpose

To establish procedures for electing VTCSOM faculty members to serve on medical school and university commissions, committees, councils and other governance bodies.

2.0       Policy

VTCSOM faculty members shall be elected or appointed to medical school and university governance bodies in accordance with requirements of the faculty bylaws and in observation of the specific procedures hereinafter stated. 

3.0       Procedures

A. General Guidelines

Except as otherwise noted, all faculty standing committee terms are three (3) years. An individual faculty member may serve two (2) consecutive terms on any one committee (except where noted below), but then must stand down from that committee for at least one (1) year. After a one (1) year hiatus, the faculty member may run again and, if elected, is eligible to again serve two (2) consecutive terms.

Faculty members can only run for elected office representing the department of the primary VTCSOM appointment.

If a faculty member cannot serve an entire term, the Dean may appoint another faculty member to serve out the remainder of the unfilled term. Regardless of time served by the replacement faculty, this would not count as a "full" term. Committees should have faculty member elections/appointments such that, as much as possible, terms are staggered.

In the circumstance that a faculty member changes primary departmental affiliation (e.g., from a basic science to a clinical department) or is promoted (e.g., from Associate Professor to Professor), and this change would unbalance a committee, the faculty member would not have to step down from the committee; they would continue to serve the remainder of their term. However, if there was a desire to run for a second term, the faculty member would run representing the new primary department or rank.

Concurrent membership on more than two committees or concurrent service as chair on more than one committee is discouraged.  Ex officio members are in addition to elected members.

No student may serve on more than one faculty standing or ad hoc committee. Being on a faculty committee does not limit participation by a student, on student governance committees. Unless otherwise specified, student committee members on faculty committees serve only one (1) year.

B. VTCSOM Academic Committee

The Academic Committee is the chief oversight faculty committee and serves as the executive committee of the faculty association.  The purpose of the Academic Committee is twofold:

1. To ensure that all standing committees carry out their functions in a timely, thorough and proper manner, and that all committees follow the proper policies and procedures in carrying out their work.  All standing faculty committees present a formal report of their activities twice per year to the Academic Committee.  Suggested changes in procedures from standing faculty committees are submitted to the Academic Committee for discussion and feedback, and the Academic Committee may request additional information or meet with a committee and/or its chair as needed.
2. To ensure that the Dean has a consultative body that can advise on governance and policy-making processes, in accordance with LCME element 4.6.  Through updates and workflow from the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Committee, the Academic Committee will also review/monitor VTCSOM operating policies on a systematic basis and approve new and/or revised policies as needed (subject to final approval by the Dean).*

The Academic Committee will invite decanal and/or other administrative leaders to its meetings as needed, to ensure that required expertise on specific issues is provided and to facilitate informed discussion of policy proposals.

*Note:  the Medical Curriculum Committee (MCC) has responsibility for medical education at VTCSOM; the Academic Committee may provide feedback to the MCC but does not have a role in setting educational policy.

The Academic Committee also serves as the committee that reviews “honorific” types of designations for VTCSOM faculty members.  Examples may include honorary degrees conferred, emeritus/emerita faculty status and/or similar designations. 

The Dean serves as advisor to the Academic Committee.

The Academic Committee will have six (6) faculty members, consisting of five (5) elected faculty and one Dean's appointee.  Faculty who hold decanal titles are not eligible to serve.

The terms of the Academic Committee are as follows:

The elected faculty and Dean's appointee serve a term of three (3) years. The terms are staggered in a three-year cycle such that two (2) faculty are elected Year 1, two (2) faculty are elected Year 2, and one (1) is elected year 3 (a 2-2-1 election cycle) with the Dean's appointee selected in Year 3.

The Chair is elected by the members of the Academic Committee from among the five (5) elected members. The Chair serves a one-year term and may not serve more than one year as Chair during the three-year committee appointment. It is possible to remain on the Committee after serving as Chair.  It is not necessary for the Chair to be in the last year of the three-year committee term on Academic Committee. Election of the new Chair will take place at the first meeting of the new academic year. During this one (1) year term, the Chair of the Academic Committee is also Chair of the Faculty Assembly.

In contrast to other committee terms, the elected faculty members and the Dean's appointee may only serve one (1) term on the Academic Committee before standing down. Faculty, however, may choose to stand for election back onto the Academic Committee after a one (1) year hiatus. If elected to Academic Committee for a subsequent term, a faculty member who had been Chair previously is eligible to be elected Chair again.

The Dean's appointee serves at will; it is possible for the Dean, without cause, to replace an appointee before having served a full three (3) years. The subsequent replacement, also appointed by the Dean, may only serve the remainder of the previous appointee's term before reappointment or selection of a new appointee.

C. VTCSOM Medical Student Admissions Committee (MSAC)

The Medical Student Admissions Committee is responsible for all activities and policies related to the admissions process and makes final decisions regarding acceptance of applicants.  The dean advisors to the MSAC are the associate dean for admissions, senior associate dean for medical education and the associate dean for educational affairs.

The Medical Student Admissions Committee will have 28 members, consisting of:

• Two (2) Dean's appointees to serve as Chair and Vice Chair. The appointed Chair and Vice Chair shall be faculty members.
• Fifteen (15) elected faculty members
• Seven (7) Dean's appointee faculty members
• Four (4) student members, which shall include four from the M3 class

The terms of the Medical Student Admissions Committee are as follows:

• The Chair and Vice Chair of the Admissions Committee, appointed by the Dean, do not have a limit on the number of terms served; both may serve indefinite consecutive terms.
• The term of service of all elected faculty members is three (3) years. Each elected faculty may serve two (2) consecutive terms before standing down for at least one (1) year.
• The fifteen (15) elected faculty will have their terms staggered such that each year the faculty will elect 5 new members.
• The seven (7) appointees serve at the will of the Dean. The expected term for each appointee is three (3) years and the appointments are such that the terms are staggered in a 3-2-2 cycle. All appointees may serve indefinite consecutive terms.

The term of service for each student is one (1) year. Students shall only serve one term.  The Committee functions as two (2) parallel sub-committees utilizing common admission criteria, each with fourteen (14) members headed by the Chair or the Vice Chair. Each sub-committee is relatively independent, evaluating approximately half the applications, providing members for interviews or other functions approximately half the time. Both sub-committees are asked to vote to select the most competitive applicants, with offer letters sent throughout the application cycle. At the discretion of the Chair and Vice Chair, both sub­-committees may be asked to meet in joint session for purposes of procedural changes or other Admissions Committee business.

D. VTCSOM Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee (APT)

The Appointment, Promotion and Tenure Committee is responsible for the oversight of all faculty appointments; for promotion within tracks and ranks of faculty; and for overseeing the maintenance of appointment process (though the actual process is administered by the Office of Faculty Affairs).  The dean advisor to the APT Committee is the associate dean for faculty affairs.

Recommendations by the APT Committee for appointment, promotion and tenure of faculty go directly to the Dean; recommendations for procedural changes are reviewed by the Academic Committee. The APT committee will have seven (7) faculty members consisting of:

• Five (5) faculty members, including the Chair, who are full Professors
• Two (2) faculty members who are Associate Professors
• The Dean appoints one member to the Committee and six members are elected by the faculty.
• The Chair is elected by the members of the APT Committee from the five (5) faculty members who are full Professors. The Chair serves for a one (1) year term. A person can serve as committee Chair for only two years out of a given three-year term as a committee member.

The terms of the APT Committee members are as follows:

• Three (3) years, which is renewable one time, for a total of two (2) terms, before standing down for at least one (1) year. The Dean's appointee may also serve two (2) terms.

Voting by APT Committee Members:

In discussion of a given candidate who is being considered for tenure or tenure to title, only APT Committee members who have achieved tenure or tenure to title may vote on the tenure or tenure to title decision. In discussion of a given candidate who is being considered for promotion to Professor, in any track, Associate Professors may participate in the discussion but not vote. The associate dean for faculty affairs, as advisor to this Committee, is a non-voting member. Recommendations of the APT Committee go to the Dean, who has final responsibility for recommendations to the Provost, President and/or Board of Visitors regarding promotion and tenure/tenure to title.

If a faculty member is elected to the APT Committee, it is prohibited for s/he to also serve on a departmental APRT Committee in order to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.  A committee member may not participate or vote when the committee is evaluating a spouse, family member, or other individual with whom the faculty member has a close personal relationship as this would constitute the appearance of a conflict of interest.  In those instances where a conflict of interest occurs, the committee member will be deemed as ineligible to vote on the promotion.

E. Departmental Appointment, Promotion, Review and Tenure Committees (APRTs)

Each department is expected to constitute an Appointment, Promotion, Retention, and Tenure (APRT) committee. Details of election by department faculty or selection by the Chair can be determined by each department.  The department chair cannot serve on the departmental APRT Committee. Duties of the APRT committee include making recommendations on issues of faculty appointment as requested by the department chair; faculty promotion and tenure or tenure to title; progress towards tenure or tenure to title and/or promotion; and maintenance of appointment and other issues relevant to retention of faculty in their track and rank.  Each departmental APRT committee is expected to develop and update explicit promotion and tenure guidelines (i.e., procedures) and expectations (i.e., standards) relevant to that specialty.

The composition of the departmental APRT committee should reflect the needs and resources of the department; hence, it may be a relatively large or small committee.  Members of the APRT committee must hold faculty appointments within the department(s); faculty from other departments cannot serve on a departmental APRT committee other than the one associated with an appointment. Voting membership on a departmental APRT Committee is reserved for faculty who are either Associate Professors or Professors. While the APRT committee is expected to have a certain balance of faculty with the rank of Associate Professor and Professor, recommendations concerning promotion can be voted upon by any committee member, regardless of the rank of the committee member or the candidate.

Regardless of the rank of the department chair, the recommendation for promotion is made from the perspective of the chair.  Hence, a department chair can complete a recommendation for promotion regardless of the track or rank of the candidate.

Efforts should be made to have at least three full professors on the departmental APRT committee; the full professors may be from any track. When dealing with issues of promotion and tenure, it is permitted for more than one department to combine faculty resources into one committee to review promotion requests from all the departments. This may be especially necessary if a department does not have an adequate number of full professors. The combined APRT committee may choose to remain a combined committee for all APRT activities or may choose to break into department-specific sub-committees to deal with actions that are more department-specific. Full professors from outside departments may also serve on a given departmental APRT committee on a case-by-case basis, if this is deemed desirable.

The APRT committee shall elect a chair; the chair should be a full professor. A combined APRT committee should elect a chair and co-chair(s) with one from each department represented.

If a faculty member is elected to the APT Committee, it is prohibited for s/he to also serve on a departmental APRT Committee in order to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.  A committee member may not participate or vote when the committee is evaluating a spouse, family member, or other individual with whom the faculty member has a close personal relationship as this would constitute a potential conflict of interest.  In those instances where a conflict of interest occurs, the committee member will be deemed as ineligible to vote on the promotion.

F. Medical Curriculum Committee (MCC)

In accordance with LCME accreditation standards, the Medical Curriculum Committee is responsible for the governance authority over the overall design, management, integration, evaluation, and enhancement of a coherent and coordinated medical curriculum. This includes curriculum design and integration, evaluation and continuous quality improvement, and learning environment oversight across all phases of the curriculum to ensure that students develop the professional identities and behaviors expected of VTCSOM graduates. The Medical Curriculum Committee holds final authority over all substantive curricular matters, and all new courses, required curricular changes, and major revisions must be reviewed and approved by the Committee prior to implementation. The only circumstances in which the decisions of the MCC can be overridden are when those decisions violate Virginia Tech policies and procedures or when implementation is not possible due to unanticipated non-curricular contingencies (e.g., legal or budgetary constraints).

The Medical Curriculum Committee:

1. Approves new courses, clerkships, clinical experiences, and all major curricular changes.
2. Approves major policy changes related to the curriculum.
3. Approves substantive changes to required courses and clerkships, including changes in course objectives, instructional methods, assessment strategies, course duration, or sequencing within the curriculum.
4. Approves and monitors the workload of students.
5. Ensures the educational program objectives address the breadth and depth of knowledge required for a medical professional education.
6. Ensures the courses, clerkships, electives, rotations, and other clinical or research activities complement and supplement the curriculum so that each medical student will acquire appropriate competence in general medical care regardless of subsequent career specialty.
7. Ensures the faculty leadership responsible for each required course and clerkship uses the educational program objectives to develop their content and that the learning objectives link to the educational program objectives.
8. Ensures the appropriate content and content sequencing of curricular elements.
9. Ensures horizontal and vertical integration of curricular content across all phases of the curriculum.
10. Ensures the instructional and assessment methods are appropriate for the achievement of curricular objectives.
11. Monitors the adequacy of faculty resources required to fulfill the expectations of the curriculum.
12. Oversees student performance outcomes.
13. Reviews program evaluation data and ensure continuous quality improvement of the curriculum.
14. Reviews evidence regarding the learning environment, including professionalism evaluations, climate surveys and other types of data.
15. Monitors the implementation and effectiveness of the VTCSOM student mistreatment policies and reporting mechanisms to ensure compliance with LCME Element 3.6.
16. Reviews student evaluations of every course/block, clerkship, and elective, including teacher quality, and monitors any needed changes.
17. Performs cyclical reviews of all phases of the curriculum and recommends and monitors revisions as needed.
18. Identifies positive and negative influences on the learning environment, professional behavior, and student well-being and collaborates with appropriate stakeholders to enhance positive elements and mitigate negative ones, consistent with LCME Element 3.5.
19. Directs appropriate curricular subcommittees to conduct reviews, develop proposals, or implement modifications to courses, clerkships, or other curricular elements, and reviews and approves resulting recommendations.

The fourteen (14) voting members of the Medical Curriculum Committee consist of:

• Four (4) faculty from basic science or health systems & implementation science departments;
• Four (4) faculty from the clinical sciences;
• Two (2) students, one from the M2 year and one from the M4 year;
• PIC 1 Chair, Director of Foundational Sciences Curriculum – Phase 1 (ex officio) 
• PIC 2-3 Chair, Director of Clinical Clerkships – Phase 2 (ex officio)
• Director of UME-GME Transition - Phase 3 (ex officio)
• MCC Chair, appointed by the Dean (ex officio, votes only in case of a tie)

The Advisory members (ex officio, non-voting) are:

• Senior associate dean for medical education; associate dean for assessment, evaluation and strategic analytics; director of institutional effectiveness and accreditation.

Additional advice can be obtained by the following as needed: vice dean; associate dean for faculty affairs; associate dean for clinical science.

The eight (8) faculty members are elected by the faculty. Student members are elected to a one-year term according to guidelines in the Student Bylaws.

The terms of the Medical Curriculum Committee are as follows:

• The term for elected faculty is three (3) years, which is renewable one time for a total of two (2) terms before standing down for at least one (1) year. The schedule for election of faculty members is such that the four (4) faculty of basic sciences are elected in a 2:1:1 cycle and the four (4) physician faculty or other health professionals who are clinically active are also elected in a 2:1:1 cycle.
• The term for students is one (1) year which is not renewable.
• The term for the MCC chair is three (3) years.

The MCC will periodically assign duties to established and ad hoc subcommittees as required; each subcommittee will make recommendations to the MCC for subsequent consideration and action.  The established subcommittees are:

MCC Subcommittee: Phase Integration Committee 1 (PIC-1)

The PIC 1 Subcommittee functions under authority delegated by the Medical Curriculum Committee (MCC) in accordance with institutional governance policies and LCME Element 8.3. PIC 1 is responsible for the design, coordination, operational management, implementation, integration, and evaluation of the Phase 1 (pre-clinical) curriculum, including oversight of horizontal and vertical integration within Phase 1. Within its delegated scope, PIC 1 reviews curricular content, sequencing, instructional methods, and assessment processes; evaluates program effectiveness using student performance data and course evaluation results; and develops recommendations to support continuous quality improvement. PIC 1 may implement operational curricular adjustments within Phase 1 consistent with MCC-approved policies and educational program objectives. All substantive curricular changes, program modifications, and evaluation findings are reported to the MCC, which retains final authority and approval responsibility for curricular decisions in accordance with Element 8.3.

Chaired by the Director of Foundational Sciences (Phase 1), PIC 1 functions as the primary Phase 1 governance and implementation body, ensuring coordinated delivery of the curriculum and ongoing monitoring of educational outcomes.

The committee includes:

1. Phase 1 course and curriculum directors across all three semesters (10)
   • Profession of Medicine and Identities (1)
   • Integrated Foundational Sciences, including Problem-Based Learning (6)
   • Health Systems Science and Interprofessional Practice (1)
   • Research and Inquiry (1)
   • Community and Clinical Immersions (1)
2. Value domain leaders (3)
   • Clinical Science (associate dean for clinical science)
   • Research (director of research value domain, also serves as associate dean for educational affairs)
   • Health Systems Science and Interprofessional Practice (associate dean pending)
3. Non-voting advisory members (9)
   • Senior associate dean for medical education (SADME )
   • Associate dean for educational affairs (ADEA)
   • Associate dean for assessment, evaluation, and strategic analytics
   • Assistant dean for faculty development
   • Assistant dean for student affairs
   • Senior director for educational affairs
   • Director of health sciences libraries (or designee)
   • Director of information technology (or designee; educational technology specialist)
   • Chair, Basic Science Education

MCC Subcommittee: Phase Integration Committee 2-3 (PIC 2-3)

The PIC-2/3 subcommittee oversees the planning, operations, and implementation of the Phase 2 and Phase 3 (clerkship and post-clerkship) curriculum. Chaired by the Phase 2 Director, PIC 2–3 meets monthly for 1.5 hours and has delegated authority to implement curricular decisions, reporting actions and recommendations to the MCC, which retains final approval and oversight. The committee includes:

• Clerkship directors (8; voting*) 
  • Emergency medicine (1) 
  • Family and community medicine (1) 
  • Internal medicine (1) 
  • Obstetrics and gynecology (1) 
  • Neurology (1) 
  • Pediatrics (1) 
  • Psychiatry (1) 
  • Surgery (1)
    *Associate clerkship directors attend PIC 2–3 and vote only in the absence of the clerkship director. 
• Phase 3 director (voting) 
• Value domain leaders (3, voting)  
  • Clinical science (associate dean for clinical science) 
  • Research (associate dean for educational affairs, current) 
  • Health Systems Science and Interprofessional Practice (associate dean for HSSIP, pending)  
• Intersession course director (1, voting) 
  • One faculty member votes on behalf of all four intersession course co-directors 
• Non-voting advisory members (7, non-voting) 
  • Senior associate dean for medical education
  • Associate dean for educational affairs
  • Associate dean for assessment, evaluation, and strategic analytics 
  • Assistant dean for faculty development 
  • Senior director for educational affairs 
  • Director of health sciences libraries (or designee) 
  • Director of information technology (or designee; educational technology specialist)

G. Medical Student Performance and Promotion Committee (MSPPC)

The Medical Student Performance and Promotion Committee (MSPPC) is responsible for monitoring the academic achievement of all VTCSOM students. In this role, this committee is responsible for developing and overseeing procedures regarding standards for advancement, and procedures concerning possible dismissal.  This committee will periodically ascertain that adequate progress towards the medical degree is being achieved by each student in each year. Formal recognition of completion of one year's study and passage to the next year will be sent to the student and the Dean.  Towards the conclusion of the student’s academic program at VTCSOM, following the advice of the associate dean for student affairs and senior associate dean for medical education, the committee will recommend appropriate candidates to the Dean for the conferral of the Doctor of Medicine degree.  The dean advisors to the MSPPC are the associate dean for student affairs and the senior associate dean for medical education.  Other advisors may be invited to a given meeting on an ad hoc basis.

The Medical Student Performance and Promotion Committee (MSPPC) will have twelve (12) members, consisting of:

• Eight (8) faculty members, including a minimum of three (3) faculty from Basic Science and three (3) from Clinical Science;
• One student representative from each of the four classes (M1 - M4);

The Chair of this Committee is a faculty member and is elected by members of the Committee. The Chair serves for a one (1) year term. Election of the Chair takes place at the first meeting of the new academic year.

The terms of the Medical Student Performance and Promotion Committee are as follows:

• The term of office for the faculty members is three (3) years. If elected to a second term, the faculty member may serve an additional three-year term one (1) time before standing down for at least one (1) year.
• The term of office for student members is one (1) year. Student members are elected to a one-year term according to guidelines in the Student Bylaws.

H. Faculty Governance Committee

The Faculty Governance Committee proposes, develops, implements, and evaluates standards relevant to the academic activities of all faculty members. The Faculty Governance Committee must approve any revisions of the faculty bylaws before review by the Academic Committee and (in the case of substantive, non-minor changes) final vote by the full faculty.  Issues and concerns related to the bylaws can come from this committee or come as requests from faculty, administration, students, or other sources. The Committee also acts as the body that considers formal allegations of student mistreatment by a faculty member.  The Committee also oversees the annual governance committee election/selection process. This committee will put out a call to all faculty members interested in seeking election to committees, identify candidates for each open position, and approve the results of the committee election process.  The dean advisor to the Faculty Governance Committee is the associate dean for faculty affairs.

The Faculty Governance Committee will have five (5) elected faculty members. The Chair is elected from within the Committee. The Chair serves a one (1) year term. A person can serve as committee Chair for only two years out of a given three-year term as a committee member. Election of the Chair takes place at the first meeting of the new academic year.

The terms of the Faculty Governance Committee are as follows: three (3) years, renewable only once. After two (2) terms, the faculty member must stand down for at least one (1) year.

I. Learning Environment Advocacy Committee (LEAC)

(Note: the LEAC is a Dean’s appointed committee, not an elected faculty committee.)

The Learning Environment Advocacy Committee (LEAC) is charged with promoting a positive learning environment at all teaching sites associated with VTCSOM.  To that end, the environment should be engaging and trustful, free from student mistreatment, coercion, undue influence, or other behaviors that detract from the ability of students to learn and perform their best.

The LEAC membership includes broad representation from students, faculty, residents, nurses, and hospital or staff administration as follows:

• One (1) student from the M1 class and two (2) students from each of the M2, M3, and M4 classes. Students are elected by a student process each year and an individual student may be re-elected yearly.
• Five (5) faculty members, all of whom are appointed by the Dean; one of these appointed faculty serves as Chair. The faculty members can be reappointed indefinitely.
• Three (3) residents, nominated by the Program Directors and appointed by the Dean. The term for a resident is one year but may be reappointed yearly.
• Six (6) representatives of the Deans Office are ex officio advisors and are permitted to vote. The representatives are: vice dean; senior associate dean for medical education; associate dean for faculty affairs; associate dean for student affairs; director, phase 2; and chief well-being officer.
• A nurse and senior management officer from the Carilion Clinic system and a staff person from VTCSOM. The nurse and senior management officer are recommended to the Dean who appoints to the LEAC. The VTCSOM staff person is selected by the Staff Engagement Committee and appointed by the Dean. The term for the nurse and management persons is one year but each may be reappointed. The VTCSOM staff person may be re-selected and reappointed yearly.

J. Faculty Vitality and Professional Well-Being Committee (FVPWBC)

NOTE:  This committee is currently on hiatus; it may be re-constituted at a future date.

K. VTCSOM Honor Board

The purpose of the VTCSOM Honor Board is to implement the MD Honor Code.  The functions of the VTCSOM Honor Board are:

• To promote honesty and ethical behavior in all academic pursuits, including, but not limited to, study, course work, research, and clinical rotations.
• To disseminate information concerning the MD Honor Code to all new students, faculty, and other relevant parties.
• To investigate suspected violations of the MD Honor Code in an impartial, thorough, and unbiased manner.
• To hear cases involving potential academic infractions of the MD Honor Code brought before the VTCSOM Honor Board.
• To assure that the rights of all involved parties are protected and assure due process in all proceedings.

The advisor to the VTCSOM Honor Board is the associate dean for student affairs.

The VTCSOM Honor Board shall consist of one VTCSOM Honor Board Faculty Advisor, an Honor Board Chair, a minimum of twelve (12) Honor Board student members with at least three (3) representatives from each class, and three (3) Honor Board faculty members. The associate dean for student affairs (or designee) of VTCSOM shall serves as the advisor to the Honor Board and is responsible for the continued operation of the honor system. 

One member of the VTCSOM faculty will be appointed by the Dean to serve as the VTCSOM Honor Board Faculty Advisor. The Advisor shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Honor Board Chair and the Advisor shall be present (or represented) at all hearings of the VTCSOM Honor Board. The Advisor will have a three-year term with the limit of two consecutive terms.

Nominations for the position of Honor Board Chair shall be accepted from the Honor Board. Candidates for the position of Honor Board Chair must be a member of the Honor Board, in good standing, and must have been enrolled for at least two (2) semesters immediately preceding nomination.  2. The term of office shall be one (1) year, but if available and willing, the current Honor Board Chair may be re-appointed by the MD Honor Board Faculty Advisor to serve subsequent terms, up to two (2) years, upon the recommendation of the VTCSOM Honor Board.

Unless otherwise determined by members of a class, procedures for election of the members of the student board shall be by simple majority from candidates nominated or volunteering.  There shall be three (3) VTCSOM Honor Board Student Members elected from the first year VTCSOM class within one month of the beginning of the first semester of the first year. Elections for reappointment or new representatives will be conducted in conjunction with other class officer re-elections.  In the event of a vacancy in Board membership, such as with the appointment of a new Honor Board Chair, the class from which the vacancy occurs shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term by electing a student from that class.

VTCSOM Honor Board Faculty Members (total of three) shall be appointed by the dean in consultation with the VTCSOM Honor Board Faculty Advisor. The term of office shall be three (3) years from the time of the appointment. If available and willing, faculty may be reappointed to serve subsequent terms, up to six (6) consecutive years.

L. Library and Instructional Technology Advisory Committee

(Note: this is a Dean’s appointed committee, not an elected faculty committee.)

The VTCSOM Library and Instructional Technology Advisory Committee is responsible for meeting with and advising the Head of the VTCSOM Library on library collections (including but not limited to library acquisitions, management of current holdings, and circulation policies), spaces, and services, and advising the IT Director for technology support for classroom and learning space environments.

Committee members are expected to:  serve as the liaison for their respective constituents bringing ideas, concerns, or comments forward; participate and contribute to meetings and discussions; provide recommendations and/or priorities to the Head Librarian and/or IT Director; and when applicable, draft proposals for higher administration to review. 

This committee consists of a broad representation of faculty, staff, administrative leadership and medical students.  Members are appointed in two broad categories as follows:

Standing Members (permanent appointment, serve by virtue of their position)

• Director, health sciences library will serve as an ex-officio member of this committee.  If the position is vacant, the University Libraries will appoint a temporary designee until the position is filled.
• IT director, VTCSOM will serve as an ex-officio member of this committee. If the position is vacant, the VTCSOM will appoint a temporary designee until the position is filled.
• Associate Dean, Assessment, Evaluation and Strategic Analytics will serve as an ex-officio member of this committee.
• Associate Dean for Educational Affairs will serve as an ex-officio member of this committee.
• Associate Dean for Student Affairs will serve as an ex-officio member of this committee.
• Chair, Medical Curriculum Committee will serve as an ex-officio member of this committee.
• Facilities director, VTCSOM will serve as an ex-officio member of this committee.

VTCSOM representative to the university Library Committee will serve as an ex-officio member of this committee. This seat serves as the liaison between the VTCSOM Library Advisory Committee and Virginia Tech’s Library Committee. This seat is eligible to serve as chair of the committee.

Selected/Elected Members (staggered terms)

• Department of Basic Sciences Education Representative will be selected by the department to serve as a member of this committee.  This can be a faculty member (either academic or A/P) or a staff member.
• PIC-1 Faculty Representative will be selected by PIC 1 to serve as a member of this committee.
• PIC-2/3 Faculty Representative will be selected by PIC 2-3 to serve as a member of this committee.
• Department of Health Systems and Implementation Science Representative will be selected by the department to serve as a member of this committee.  This can be a faculty member (either academic or A/P) or a staff member.
• Two At-large Faculty Representatives are appointed by the Dean of the VTCSOM.
• Medical Student Representative from M1 will be elected by the M1 class to serve on this committee.  The term of office for student members is one (1) year. Student members are elected to a one-year term according to guidelines in the Student Bylaws.
• Medical Student Representative from M2 will be elected by the M1 class to serve on this committee.  The term of office for student members is one (1) year. Student members are elected to a one-year term according to guidelines in the Student Bylaws.

None of the selected/elected members may serve in more than a single role on the committee, i.e., cannot serve in an additional role simultaneously.

Committee Chair

The committee will elect a Chair to a 1-year term from among the following committee members eligible to serve as Chair:

• Associate Dean for Educational Affairs
• Associate Dean for Assessment, Evaluation and Strategic Analytics
• Assistant Dean for Student Affairs
• Basic Sciences Education domain representative
• PIC 1 faculty representative
• PIC 2-3 faculty representative
• Health Systems & Implementation Science domain representative
• Two At-Large faculty representatives
• VTCSOM representative to the university library committee

The Chair is responsible for determining the meeting schedule (minimum of quarterly), setting the meeting agendas, and communicating with both the VTCSOM and University Libraries administration as appropriate as well as providing an annual report and transfer of committee minutes and records to the next committee membership each fiscal year. Eligibility to serve as Chair requires a minimum of 1 year of service on the committee, this service may be from a prior term.  In case of a vacancy, the Chair will be elected by members of the VTCSOM Library and Instructional Technology Advisory Committee to finish out the term.

Committee Vice Chair

The committee will elect a vice chair to a 1-year term from among the committee members eligible to serve as chair.  The vice chair oversees committee meetings when the chair is unable to attend.  The vice chair is responsible for taking notes at committee meetings, assisting the chair with writing reports and transferring access to records for the committee at the end of each fiscal year. The vice chair may assign a designee to take notes during meetings in which the vice chair is overseeing the meeting.

Other Collaborators

At the discretion of the chair, other people identified as having relevance to a topic for discussion may be invited to specific meetings.

4.0       References

• Virginia Tech Faculty Senate Bylaws
• VTCSOM Faculty Bylaws