The Department Council comprises all tenured professors, as well as tenured and fixed-term researchers affiliated with the Department (refer to the Organizational Chart), the Administrative Secretary, two representatives of research fellows and doctoral candidates, and two representatives of specialized trainees. It also includes representatives of students and representatives of technical-administrative staff.
Student representatives are elected through universal suffrage from students enrolled in study programs for which the Department is responsible for organization and management.
The role of the recording secretary is fulfilled by the Administrative Secretary, who holds an advisory vote on matters related to teaching and research and a deliberative vote on all other issues. Similar importance is attributed to the votes of representatives of technical-administrative staff.
Non-members of the Council may participate in Council meetings with an advisory vote, exclusively for the discussion of specific topics, as invited by the Director.
The Department Council serves as a deliberative, guiding, and oversight body, exercising all competencies related to the planning of the Department's activities.
Specifically, the Council is responsible for:
a) approving funding requests, following the regulations of the University's administration, finance, and accounting, as well as additional normative disciplines related to them;
b) approving the budget proposal for the Department;
c) establishing general criteria for the exercise of activities by technical-administrative staff and for the use of spaces and equipment;
d) defining general criteria for the use of the Department's financial resources;
e) deliberating on participation in University research centers and service centers, as well as other scientific institutions;
f) approving contracts and agreements related to the acquisition of goods and services, within the limit set by the Board of Directors, initially set at €250,000.00, plus VAT;
g) approving contracts and agreements between the Department and public and private institutions and entities, related to collaboration for institutional activities;
h) submitting deliberations under the aforementioned point g) for the favorable opinion of the Academic Senate and approval by the Board of Directors, following the General Regulation;
i) approving contracts and agreements for third-party services and distributing the proceeds;
j) making motivated proposals to the Board of Directors regarding the establishment and discontinuation of study programs;
k) making motivated proposals to the Academic Senate regarding the educational offering within its competence;
l) submitting requests for tenured professor and researcher positions, indicating the relevant sectors for the public selection;
m) approving, by an absolute majority of first-tier professors, the recruitment proposals for full professors, as well as, by an absolute majority of first and second-tier professors, the recruitment proposals for associate professors and researchers;
n) annually assigning teaching duties to professors and researchers of the Department, based on proposals from the study program councils, ensuring coverage of courses for which the Department contributes to organization and management; assigning teaching duties to the professors and researchers of the University of Messina or of other universities; alternatively, ensuring the coverage of teaching duties through the methods detailed in the following paragraph (o) for courses for which the Department holds administrative management responsibility.
o) proposing contracts for educational activities, including supplementary activities;
p) proposing the establishment of federative and associative forms as per Article 5 of the Statute;
q) deliberating on requests from professors and researchers for exemptions from teaching activities for study and research reasons, within the limits established by law, as well as approving permissions for teaching duties at other universities;
r) exercising any other function assigned by law, the Statute, and university regulations.
For additional details on the Department Council, please refer to the: