The Faculty Council was created soon after LaGuardia Community College was founded, in order to meet the faculty’s need for a forum of its own. The official governance body of the College, the Senate, was established as an egalitarian tri-partite entity, comprised of faculty, staff and students; as such, it could not provide an arena for the discussion of distinctly faculty concerns. Because the faculty needed a channel for the expression of its own voice, Faculty Council was established.

Unlike the Senate, the Council is not a part of the official governance structure of the College. Its strength lies in recognition of the fundamental nature of a college or university: while students are the essential members of an academic community, their presence on campus is of necessity temporary; likewise, administrators and staff members, whose primary functions do not include teaching, often follow paths of opportunity away from the college. Thus, the faculty, uniquely engaged above all in teaching and scholarship, and supported by tenure, is the enduring core of the college community, and has a special, long-range perspective. Faculty Council exists at LaGuardia as the place for open discussion among colleagues, where information is shared and issues are aired. These discussions may lead to recommendations and resolutions passed on to the governance body and the College administration.

All members of the LaGuardia community who are subject to the prescribed reappointment and tenure process, whether full-time or part-time, are automatically members of the Faculty Council. No dues are required, and all members are welcome to attend the Council’s meetings and participate in committees. Academic departments and other teaching units are each represented on the Executive Committee, which then elects the Board of Officers. The Board is comprised of the president, vice president, treasurer, recording secretary, corresponding secretary and Senate designee. Members of the Council’s Executive Committee and Board of Officers are also active participants in College and CUNY governance

The Council conducts major events, including an annual forum on tenure and promotion, open meetings between the faculty and the administration, debates among union electoral candidates, and others, all with the aim of keeping the faculty at large well informed. For the benefit of students, the Council offers numerous scholarship awards, paid from funds raised at an annual auction. Faculty Council is unique in its capacity for communication across disciplines, across departmental boundaries and without contractual constraints, to insure full and free discussion of all relevant concerns in the interests of LaGuardia’s students and educators – thus in the interests of the College first and foremost.

Faculty Council Constitution and By-Laws