Due to decreased interest in the Faculty Council, the Faculty unanimously supported a proposal which would amend the process by which faculty are nominated to the Council.

Under the old nomination system, a faculty member required five nominations in order to be placed on the ballot for the Faculty Council.

The amendment reduces the number of nominations necessary from five to three. Under the amendment, the dean is authorized to nominate additional candidates if there still are not enough nominees.

Knowles said that by the mid-1980s, the number of nominees began to fall below the number of vacancies, so the Dean on a regular basis had to invite faculty members to stand for election.

Chemistry Department Renamed

The Department of Chemistry was officially changed to the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology yesterday by another unanimous vote of the Faculty.

Professor of Chemistry Gregory L. Verdine said the name change reflects the increase in cooperation between the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. The newly created Chemical Biology subgroup includes faculty from both departments.

Verdine also said the term "chemical biology" is preferred over "bio-chemistry" because the former term more adequately describes the integration of synthetic organic chemistry and molecular and cellular biology.

After the vote, President Neil L. Rudenstine said he applauded the process by which the chemical biology discipline emerged from an existing department--a move which avoided the creation of a new department