In the span of two days, 263 out of 432 eligible faculty members turned out to vote Tuesday and Wednesday for open seats on various faculty committees.

Faculty Senate held elections for contested seats on the Faculty Senate, the Council on Academic Affairs, the Council on Teacher Education and the Admissions Appeal Review Committee. Graduate faculty also voted for contested seats on the Council on Graduate Studies.

Faculty Senate Chair Bud Fischer, associate biology professor, sent e-mail messages on both days of elections to faculty that could vote to “encourage all faculty to get out and vote.”

However, the snow storm that hit Charleston Monday night and Tuesday morning may have influenced some faculty to wait until Wednesday to vote.

After Tuesday’s turnout of roughly 80 faculty members, Reed Benedict, Senate Elections Committee chair, said he expected a higher turnout for Wednesday because faculty that voted would go persuade their colleagues to vote. Benedict’s prediction was correct, and an extra 183 faculty members showed up to vote.

“That’s a very good and respectable turnout,” Benedict, associate sociology professor, said. “Generally, the election turnout is around 250.”

According to the April 17, 2001 Faculty Senate minutes, last year’s turnout was 253 voters.

Benedict thanked the faculty who voted because every vote was important and “many of the races were very close.”

“I would like to thank the faculty and chairs for coming out and supporting their colleagues,” he said.

Faculty Senate will vote to approve the election results at Tuesday’s meeting. If approved, the senate will announce the winners on Tuesday.

Ten faculty ran for five Faculty Senate spots; nine faculty ran for three open seats on the Council on Academic Affairs; two faculty members each from the College of Sciences, the College of Arts and Humanities and the College of Educational and Professional Studies ran for each college’s seat on the Council on Graduate Studies; two faculty from the College of Sciences also ran for its seat on the Council for Teacher Education, and three faculty from the College of Sciences ran for its seat on the Admissions Appeal Review Committee.