End to Caucuses?

The Faculty will vote on next month--and probably approve--a slight change in the procedures for nomination to the Faculty Council this year. The change is a minor one, a reduction of the number of nominations a candidate needs to appear on the ballot for council membership to five. Last year the quota was five for non-tenured faculty and ten for tenured: the year before it was ten for non-tenured and 20 for tenured.

The reduction in the number of nominations needed is interesting because of one of the things it is likely to accomplish: a reduction in the influence of the Faculty's informal liberal and conservative caucuses, which each year nominate slates of candidates to the council each spring.

When the nomination quota is high, a candidate needs substantial organized (that is, caucus-related) support to appear on the council ballot; with only five nominations needed, a candidate doesn't need caucus backing to run.