Bates College is operated under a charter granted by the State of Maine, which established a corporation and gave to it the authority to adopt by-laws for its governance. Article VIII of the by-laws of The Charter and By-Laws of Bates College defines membership of the Faculty, broadly defines its authority, and stipulates certain procedures. The entire text of Article VIII is as follows:

By-Laws of Bates College, Article VIII

Section 1: The Faculty of the College shall consist of the President, the Deans, the chief Financial Officer, the Registrar, the Librarian, the principal Assistant Librarian, the Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors, Instructors, Lecturers, and the Visiting Professors. Designation as a member of the Faculty confers the right to vote in Faculty meetings and serve as a member of Faculty committees.

Persons who enjoy Faculty status under the By-Law existing when this By-Law was adopted shall continue to do so so long as they hold the office which qualified them under the prior By-Law.

Section 2: The terms and conditions of the appointment, reappointment, promotion, and retirement of all members of the Faculty shall be determined by vote of the Corporation under such rules of procedure and of tenure of Faculty membership as may now or hereafter be provided by specific resolution of the Corporation.

Section 3: The government of the College, including the terms of admission, the bestowal of scholarships, the arrangement of courses of study, student discipline, and the control of student activities, shall be vested in the Faculty.

Section 4: For ceremonial occasions and in the publication of official catalogs, bulletins, or registers of the College, the members of the Faculty shall have seniority according to their academic grades or ranks (Professors, Associate Professors, etc.) and within each grade or rank in the order of their first appointment to that grade or rank; provided further, that emeritus members of the Faculty, as a group, and following the foregoing rule of seniority within their group, shall stand between the President and the full professors still in the active service of the College.

Section 5: The Faculty shall make provision for the keeping of proper minutes of their doings and may, by rule, create such offices and so regulate their doings as shall seem best calculated to promote their efficiency.

Section 6: If the President shall so request, the members of the Faculty shall annually make to him a written report covering the work of their respective departments or fields of activity.

Continue: Faculty Appointment, Reappointment, Tenure, and Promotion