MEDICAL FACULTY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE (MFEC)

1. Charge

The Medical Faculty Executive Committee (MFEC) shall serve as a central faculty representative committee for the Brown Medical School faculty in clinical departments.

a. It shall investigate matters that are of particular concern to the Medical Faculty, and report, make recommendations, and suggest priorities to the Medical Faculty and, as necessary, the full Faculty. It shall refer matters pertaining to Medical Faculty business to the Medical Faculty, appropriate existing Medical Faculty Bodies (e.g. Faculty Rules & Regulations Part 1, Section 2, V) or Hospital/Health Care System Education & Research Foundation/Committees, or to an Ad hoc Medical Faculty committee that it may create to investigate and to make recommendations regarding an issue. It shall maintain close communication and coordination with the Faculty Executive Committee.

b. Changes in medical school policies and procedures relating to faculty appointments, reappointments, promotions, and other matters relevant to faculty in clinical departments will be provided to the MFEC for review and comment prior to action by the Biomedical Faculty Council and/or the FEC.

c. It shall be authorized to call Faculty Forums and Special Meetings of the faculty of the Medical School .

d. It shall receive and discuss the annual reports of the Committee on Medical Faculty Appointments, the Medical Curriculum Committee, the Medical Committee on Academic Standing, the Graduate Medical Education Committee, and the Continuing Medical Education Advisory Committee.

e. It shall consult on a regular basis with the Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences and advise the Dean on matters pertaining to medical school Faculty in clinical departments. It shall work in consultation with the Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences.

f. It shall consult on a regular basis with the administration and trustees of affiliated Hospitals and Foundations which employ Medical Faculty and advise the administration and trustees of these Hospitals/Health Care Systems and Foundations on matters pertaining to Medical Faculty in clinical departments.

g. It shall consult on a regular basis with the Brown University Corporation Committee on Bio-Medical Affairs, or its equivalent council.

h. It shall report to the Medical Faculty in person or by mail and/or internet on a regular basis.

i. Every (voting and nonvoting) Medical Faculty member shall have access to the MFEC for purposes of voicing his or her concerns regarding general matters relating to faculty business.

j. It shall be designated as the agent to resolve or recommend resolution of grievances (relating to faculty status or academic issues) of both voting and non-voting faculty in clinical departments in accordance with the Grievance Procedures outlined in Part 4, 10, I. A. 5. c.

k. It shall periodically review Medical Faculty governing structures to ascertain their efficiency and efficacy in carrying out faculty objectives and shall report its findings and recommendations to the FEC and the Biomedical Faculty Council.

l. It shall periodically review the status of Medical Faculty interactions and relationships across Institutional lines, including those with campus based faculty, and shall report its findings and recommendations to the FEC and the Biomedical Faculty Council.

m. An officer of the MFEC who is in the academic track shall be designated annually to serve as a member of the Faculty Executive Committee.

n. An officer of the MFEC who is in the academic track shall be designated annually to serve as a voting member of the Biomedical Faculty Council.

2. Membership

a. There shall be twenty faculty members: three officers; Chair, Vice Chair, and Past Chair and seventeen others who shall be elected from the academic faculty and from faculty in the Clinician Educator track. The chair of the FEC or his/her designee shall be invited to attend, ex officio, with voting privileges.

b. There shall be at least 2 members from each of the following Medical Faculty tracks: (1) teaching scholar, (2) research scholar, (3) (research), (4) Undeclared.  There shall be at least one member from the Clinician Educator track.

c. At least one member shall be elected from the faculty with rank below associate professor.

d. The Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences or his/her representative, the Associate Dean for Medical Faculty Affairs or his/her representative, the President of the University or his/her representative, the Presidents/CEOs of the hospitals/systems or their representatives will be invited to attend, ex officio, without vote.

3. Term of Office

a. Six or more members as needed of the committee will be elected each year for three year terms.

b. Each year a Vice Chair shall be elected by mail ballot from academic faculty with the title of Associate or Full Professor. The year following service as Vice Chair, that person shall become Chair, and the year after serving as Chair, that person shall become Past Chair.

4. Method of Election

a. The Sub-Committee on Nominations of the MFEC shall consist of three members of the MFEC and will solicit nominations from the academic faculty and from faculty in the Clinician Educator track, members of the MFEC and the FEC to develop a panel of potential nominees.

b. The Sub-Committee on Nominations shall place the candidates into as many categories as there are vacancies, in such a fashion as to insure a reasonable balance and wide representation among groups being cognizant that inclusion of women and minorities in the MFEC and balanced representation from among the hospitals, departments, faculty tracks, and academic degree are considered to be essential in order for the Committee to fulfill its charge.

c. The members will be elected by the voting members of the academic Medical School Faculty and medical school faculty in the Clinician Educator track from a ballot of candidates selected by the Sub-Committee on Nominations of the MFEC.

d. The Vice Chair of the MFEC must be elected by a plurality of those voting for that position from a slate proposed by the Sub-Committee on Nominations.

e. Non-officers of the MFEC shall be elected by a plurality of those voting for each category. In the event of a tie vote, a run-off election by mail ballot will be held to decide the winner.

5. Resignations

a. Officers of the MFEC

i. Chair - If the Chair is unable to continue in office, he or she shall be replaced by the Vice Chair, who shall hold office for the unexpired term of the resigned Chair and for the year that he or she would in the normal course of events, be Chair.

ii. Vice Chair - To replace a Vice Chair who has taken the office of a resigned Chair, or to replace a Vice Chair who resigns, an election shall be held as in 4 C.

iii. Past Chair - In the event of a vacancy in the office of the Past Chair, the MFEC shall select one of its third year members to be Past Chair. The Sub-Committee on Nominations shall then fill the vacancy created.

b. Non-Officers

i. The Sub-Committee on Nominations shall make an interim appointment of a non-officer for the MFEC, subject to review by the Faculty at its next Faculty meeting. Such interim appointments shall last only until the next election. If there are more than two vacancies to be filled, a special election to fill them shall be held as soon as possible.