Faculty Senate Bylaws
I. Membership and Representation in the Faculty Senate
II. Meetings
III. Officers of the Faculty Senate
IV. Executive Committee
V. Councils
VI. Amendments to the Bylaws
I. Membership and Representation in the Faculty Senate
A. The Faculty Senate shall consist initially of 49 members with 11 of these being elected to the Graduate Council by the Graduate faculty and the remainder proportionally allocated to and elected by the various academic units as determined by the Rules and Procedures Council. The academic units are defined as: College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Dental Medicine, School of Education, School of Engineering, Lovejoy Library and School of Nursing. Representation of additional units may be added by majority vote of the Faculty Senate.
B. Faculty Senators shall be elected to three-year terms which shall begin with the new academic year. Each academic unit shall elect its representatives. If a faculty senator is appointed Chair of the university Planning and Budget Council, he/she shall. upon appointment as Chair, become an at-large, non-voting member of the Senate. This at-large Senate membership will continue for the duration of the term as UPBC Chair, provided that the individual remains eligible for Faculty Senate membership during the term as chair. The replacement for the Senator who becomes Chair of UPBC will be selected from the same unit in accord with the Bylaws of the Faculty Senate. Faculty members appointed as representatives to the University Planning and Budget Council who are not regularly elected members of the Faculty Senate shall become at-large, non-voting members of the Senate.
C. Faculty Senators will be expected to attend all meetings of the Faculty Senate or designate an alternate from the same academic unit to attend in his/her place.
D. Upon recognition of a vacancy, the Executive Committee shall inform the Rules and Procedures Council to initiate action to fill the vacant Senatorship. Resignation of a Faculty Senator shall be submitted, in writing, to the Executive Committee.
E. At the beginning of each academic term, the seat of any Faculty Senator who was absent without replacement by an alternate for a majority of meetings (more than 50% of the total Senate meetings and assigned Council meetings) during the preceding term may be declared vacant by the Rules and Procedures Council. The Faculty Senator may appeal the decision to the Executive Committee. If a Senator is to be absent from the Faculty Senate for an extended period of time then that Senator should either resign or have an alternate from the same School or unit (see I.A) to attend meetings during his or her absence.
F. Each elected member of the Faculty Senate shall serve on a Council.
G. A Faculty Senator elected by a unit must have at least a 50% assignment within that unit. If a Senator becomes unqualified to serve, the seat shall be declared vacant by the Rules and Procedures Council and the unit directed to elect a replacement. The Faculty Senator may appeal this decision to the Executive Committee.
H. A Faculty Senator elected by a unit can be recalled by a majority vote of the faculty of the unit. A recall election shall be held by the Rules and Procedures Council on the petition of at least 15% of the faculty in the unit. If the election is successful (a majority of the unit votes to recall), the seat shall be declared vacant by the Rules and Procedures Council and the unit directed to elect a replacement. (Top)
A. The Faculty Senate shall schedule a regular meeting at least once a month or more frequently if its responsibilities require. Normally, the Faculty Senate will not meet during the months of June, July and August, unless convened by the Executive Committee.
B. The Faculty Senate may be called into a special meeting by the Executive Committee provided the members are given at least one week's notice of the meeting and the topic or topics necessitating the meeting. Only those topics announced may be considered at the meeting. The Executive Committee shall a special meeting on the written request of five or more Faculty Senators.
C. The Faculty Senate shall conduct its business under recognized parliamentary procedures, as specified in Robert's Rules of Order, and shall appoint as needed its parliamentarian annually.
D. Agendas of the Faculty Senate and its subordinate units shall normally be prepared by the Executive Committee and the appropriate Chairpersons, respectively. Faculty Senators and committee members may place items on the agenda upon request to the Executive Committee or appropriate Council or committee Chairperson. Any member of the Faculty shall receive on request the agenda for any meeting of the Senate or any of its subordinate units.
E. Each Faculty Senator, or designated alternate, present at a meeting shall have one vote.
F. Any member of the university community may attend any regular or special meeting of the Faculty Senate and may be allowed to participate in its deliberations at the discretion of the Senate by majority vote. Only Faculty Senators or their designated alternates shall be eligible to propose and to vote on motions.
G. Meetings may be closed by the majority vote of the respective body. All meetings, however, must be conducted in accordance with the Illinois Open Meeting Law. Final action can be taken only in open meetings.
H. Quorums of the Faculty Senate and its subordinate units shall be one half of the Faculty Senate or subordinate unit membership. Designated alternates shall be considered in quorum counts.
I. Faculty Senate Councils shall meet at least once a month at the call of their respective chairperson or by petition of one-third of the respective membership. Normally the Faculty Senate will not meet during the months of June, July and August, unless convened by the Executive Committee.
J. The Faculty Senate shall maintain a registry of membership of Faculty Senators and of all its subordinate units. It shall also maintain a calendar of all scheduled meetings for the convenience of its membership and other interested parties.
K. The President of the Faculty Senate shall call a meeting of the entire faculty at least once a year. The faculty shall be notified a least two weeks in advance of the meeting of the topics to be discussed. (Top)
III. Officers of the Faculty Senate
A. The Officers of the Faculty Senate shall be elected from the membership of the Faculty Senate and shall remain members of the Faculty Senate during their term of office, and shall include the President, President-Elect, and Past-President.
1. The President of the Faculty Senate shall be presiding officer with the power to call Faculty Senate and general faculty meetings. He/She shall be Chairperson of the Executive Committee and shall be a non-voting or ex-Officio member of all Faculty Senate subordinate units. The President shall represent the Faculty Senate in any organized all-University activity.
2. The President-Elect of the Faculty Senate shall assist the President of the Faculty Senate in his/her duties. He/She will serve as President-Elect the first year, automatically become President in the second year, and the Past-President in the third year. If the office of the president becomes vacated, the President-Elect shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term of President, followed by his/her regular term of President. In the event of a vacancy in the office of the President-Elect, the Rules and Procedures Council shall conduct an election to fill this vacancy. The President-Elect shall be a non-voting, ex-officio member of all Faculty Senate subordinate units.
3. Nomination and Election of the President-Elect of the Faculty Senate
a. Nomination of a candidate for President-Elect may be made either by the Nominating Committee or by nomination on the floor of the Faculty Senate. Nominees must be then current members of the Faculty Senate. The Nominating Committee shall consist of the president of the Faculty Senate, the President-Elect of the Faculty Senate, and the Chair of the Rules and Procedures Council. The Chair of the Rules and Procedures Council shall chair the Nominating Committee. This committee shall be formed in January. The committee shall prepare a slate of one or two candidates to represent to the Faculty Senate at the February meeting. The committee must contact potential candidates to insure their willingness to serve prior to advancing their names. At the February meeting of the Faculty Senate, the Chair of the Rules and Procedures Council shall present the slate of candidates to the Senate. Nominations will then be accepted from the floor of the Senate. If such nominees are not present when nominated, it will be the task of the Nominating Committee to determine whether they are willing to serve. Declining nominees will not be included on the ballot.
b. Following the February meeting of the Faculty Senate, the University Governance Office will prepare a mail ballot and distribute it to the voting faculty. The mail ballot will include the names in alphabetical order of all nominees willing to serve and a blank line for a write-in vote. Faculty will be provided with two return envelopes, an outer envelope which must be signed by the voting faculty member and an inner unmarked envelope. Faculty will have two weeks to return completed ballots to the University Governance Office. The persons appointed by the president of the Faculty Senate will count the ballots. They will first remove the unmarked envelopes form the outer envelopes and discard the latter. The confidentiality of votes is to be maintained. The results will be given to the President of the Faculty Senate.
c. If one candidate receives over 50% of the votes cast in the mail ballot election, that candidate will be the winner of the election for President-Elect, and the results will be announced at the March meeting of the Faculty Senate by the President of the Faculty Senate.
d. If no candidate receives over 50% of the votes cast, the decision on how to proceed will be made by the Faculty Senate at its March meeting. The Senate will be informed of the total number of votes cast in the election, the percentage return, and the number of votes received by the candidates receiving the two highest percentages; but, the Senate will not be informed of which candidate received those votes. The Senate may vote to accept a plurality rather than a majority, at which time the candidate with the highest percentage of votes will be declared the winner.
e. If the Senate votes not to accept a plurality, then there will be a run-off election between the candidates with the two highest vote totals. The run-off will be by mail ballot using the procedures outlined in Section b. above. The result will be presented to the Faculty Senate at the April meeting.
4. The President, President-Elect, and Past-President shall serve the whole faculty and consequently shall not serve as unit representatives. The unit from which the President-Elect was originally elected as a Senator shall elect a replacement to fill the unexpired term vacated by the election. The officers shall serve as non-voting members of the Senate and its subordinate units. The presiding officer of the Senate may vote to break a tie.
5. Functions and terms of office of other officers shall be designated by the Senate at the time the office is created. Election of other Faculty Senate officers shall be conducted by the Rules and Procedures Council in the Spring Semester.
B. Election of the Faculty Senate officers shall be conducted by the Rules and Procedures Council in the Spring semester. Terms of officers shall begin with the new academic year. (Top)
A. The officers of the Faculty Senate and the Chairpersons of the Councils will constitute the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, with power to act for the Faculty Senate between meetings on matters which must be dealt with immediately where a week's delay would constitute a decision. All other items shall be reported to the Senate for consideration. The actions of the Executive Committee shall be subject to review by the full Faculty Senate. No one serving as dean, associate dean, assistant dean, chancellor , vice-chancellor, associate vice-chancellor, assistant vice-chancellor, assistant to the vice chancellor, or equivalent positions, shall be a member of the Executive Committee.
B. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for the agenda of meetings of the Faculty Senate. The Executive Committee shall respond to matters presented to it by individual faculty members and may place such matters on the agenda as it deems necessary.
C. The President of the Faculty Senate, or his/her representative and any member of the Executive Committee who so chooses shall meet on a regular monthly basis with the Chancellor of the University for informational purposes.
D. The Executive Committee shall be responsible for scheduling and assigning projected completion dates for those agenda items sent to Faculty Senate subordinate units. (Top)
A. The Faculty Senate shall establish the following standing Councils:
1. Curriculum Council
2. Faculty Development Council
3. Rules and Procedures Council
4. Welfare Council
B. The Faculty Senate Past-President, President, and President-Elect shall appoint Chairpersons for the Councils for the coming year and shall submit the appointments for approval of the Faculty Senate at the May meeting.
C. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee shall assign the membership of each Council. Such membership shall be composed of six to twelve members of the Faculty Senate and no more than two members of each of the other campus constituency groups, and these latter members shall be voting members.
D. Each Council shall develop its own operating procedures, which must be approved by the Faculty Senate.
E. Each Council may establish, in addition to the standing committees identified in Section VII, Paragraph G, below, ad hoc committees as needed to fulfill that Council's responsibilities. Membership to standing or ad hoc committees is not limited to members of the Faculty Senate; however, it is desirable that a majority of each committee consist of members of the Faculty Senate. The chairperson of each committee shall be appointed by the Council to which the committee is to report, and the Chairperson must be a member of that Council.
F. As described in Article V, Section C of the Constitution, the Graduate Council shall also be considered a standing Council of the Faculty Senate.
G. Additional Standing Committees may be established by amending these Bylaws.
H. Functions and responsibilities of the Faculty Senate Councils and Standing Committees are as follows:
1. Curriculum Council
a) Functions: The Curriculum Council is responsible to the Faculty Senate for formulating and recommending policy on undergraduate curriculum (instructional programs; courses of study; definitions of certificates, diplomas, degrees, student entrance, retention and exit), for formulating and reviewing undergraduate curricular policy proposals, for reviewing the administration of all undergraduate curricular matters, and for conducting undergraduate program reviews. "Undergraduate" shall be defined as including both dental and continuing education.
b) Standing Committees: Academic Standards and Policies Committee, General Education Committee, Undergraduate Courses Committee, Undergraduate Programs Committee. (Top)
2. Faculty Development Council
a. Functions: The Faculty Development Council shall support, coordinate, and promote activities related to the professional development of tenured and non-tenured, full-time and part-time faculty.
b. Standing Committees: The Excellence in Undergraduate Education Committee shall be responsible for oversight of the EUE Program. The members of this Committee shall work in conjunction with the EUE Coordinator to: develop program guidelines and review procedures; conduct a periodic assessment of the EUE Program; and advise the EUE Coordinator on matters pertaining to EUE. The Council shall also be responsible for conducting the review of the EUE proposals and making recommendations to the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs on the allocation of EUE funds.
The Faculty Roles and Responsibility Committee shall work with the Office of the Provost to develop and promote programs relating to faculty roles and responsibilities. It shall serve as a liaison to SIUE faculty to: identify faculty development interests; coordinate the dissemination of information of campus, state, and national initiatives, encourage broad faculty involvement and open discussion within departments; and, coordinate these activities at school, college, and university levels. The Committee shall serve as a clearing house of resource information on issues related to improvement of practice in the areas of teaching, scholarship, and service.
3. Rules and Procedures Council
The Rules and Procedures Council is charged with recommendations pertaining to structuring the Faculty Senate, specifically the reapportionment of Senate seats, seating and unseating Senators, and the election of Senate Officers; examining the academic governance of the University per se including name changes and/or the restructuring of departments and schools; liaison with internal, e.g. Student Senate, University Staff Senate, etc., and external, e.g. , SIUC and the Board of Trustees, bodies; evaluation of the Chancellor and the Vice Chancellor and Provost; recommending possible changes in the Board Statutes to the Board of trustees; reviewing current practices and policies in the area of academic governance and formulating guidelines for the administration and governance of all academic units.
4. Welfare Council
The Welfare Council shall be concerned with, but not limited to, policies pertaining to: faculty evaluation, salary, promotion, tenure, leaves of absence, recruitment, employment, retraining, development, rights and responsibilities, general faculty benefits, discipline, severance, and grievances. (Top)
Bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the Faculty Senate and a majority of the faculty voting on a written ballot. The Senate vote may be taken at a Senate meeting if previously circulated to the members.
