Senate Constitution
FACULTY SENATE
I. Membership
A. The Senate membership shall be based on the number of eligible
faculty (cf. Article I, Section B) and professional librarians
within the defined constituencies (cf. Article I, Section E) at the
Westchester campus. Each defined constituency (except At-Large)
shall be represented by a number of senators determined according
to the following guidelines.
number of faculty number of senators
1 to 20 1
21 to 40 2
41 to 60 3
61 to 80 4
and likewise in this manner for larger numbers of qualified
faculty. The Senate membership shall also include three At-Large
seats.
B. An eligible faculty member is defined to be a full-time, active,
continuing, tenured or tenure-track faculty member. Eligible
faculty members may vote for senators and hold Senate seats in
their defined constituencies, and may vote for At-Large senators
and hold At-Large Senate seats.
C. Professional librarians are eligible to vote for the Library
senator(s) and hold the Library seat(s), and to vote for At-Large
senators and hold At-Large Senate seats.
D. Specifically excluded from membership and voting are academic
administrators at or above the level of Assistant Dean.
E. The Faculty Senate Membership shall represent the following
defined constituencies:
Fine Arts
Communication Arts
Science and Mathematics
Engineering
History, Philosophy, and Theological Studies
Economics, Political Science, Psychology, and Sociology
English, Classics, and Modern Languages
Business Administration
Education and Marital and Family Therapy
Library
and additionally
At-Large seat #1
At-Large seat #2
At-Large seat #3
F. The Senate Bylaws Committee shall annually review
apportionment in light of changes in the eligible LMU faculty
distribution, and report these to the Senate for action.
G. Senate terms are for three years, with no senator serving for
more than two
consecutive terms in the same seat.
H. If in any election process it should occur that, by the time
nominations are closed, no eligible candidate has been nominated
for a specific seat in a defined constituency, that seat shall be
uncontested in the immediate election, and shall remain vacant
until the next annual regular elections. Nominations will again be
sought for that seat in the next annual nomination period and, if
one or more candidates are nominated, the election for the
remaining two years' service in that seat will proceed. If,
however, no eligible candidate has been nominated for the seat by
the time nominations are closed, the seat shall remain vacant for a
second year. Nominations will again be sought for that seat in the
next annual nomination period, and if one or more candidates are
nominated, the election for the remaining one year's service in
that seat will proceed. If, however, no eligible candidate has been
nominated for the seat by the time nominations are closed, the seat
shall remain vacant for a third year. In all such cases, the seat
in question shall not be filled by special election during the time
period intervening between annual regular elections.
II. Elections
A. Elections will be held each Spring semester, in the manner
specified in the Senate Bylaws.
B. To be nominated for a Senate seat requires signatures from three
eligible faculty in the appropriate constituency plus the consent
of the candidate. Faculty from a given constituency may nominate
more than one candidate.
C. Vacancies due to sabbatical or other anticipated leaves will be
filled by an election in the spring, and the substitute will serve
for the duration of the term s/he is filling or the duration of the
leave, whichever is shorter. Unanticipated vacancies will be
filled, where feasible, according to procedures established in the
bylaws.
D. An Election Committee of the Senate will be appointed according
to the rules
established in the Bylaws, and will maintain a set of election
procedures and
conduct the nomination and election process according to the
procedures and the Bylaws
III. Officers
A. The officers of the Senate shall be: president, vice-president,
and secretary.
B. The duties of these officers shall be as follows:
1. The duties of the president shall be to: chair meetings, select
the parliamentarian, exercise the powers of the Senate, assist at
the meetings of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees,
act as an observer at Board of Trustees meetings, and appoint
ad-hoc committees. The president of the Senate shall receive one
course remission per semester.
2. The duties of the vice-president shall be to: act as president
in his/her absence, act as a substitute for the president at
meetings that s/he is unable to attend, and gather and prepare
agenda items for Senate meetings.
3. The duties of the secretary shall be to: prepare and distribute
minutes of the Senate meetings, prepare and distribute a faculty
newsletter, and handle any correspondence. The university will
provide secretarial support for the secretary of the Senate.
C. Officers shall be elected immediately following the election of
senators. Officers shall be elected by the new and continuing
senators.
D. The requirement for candidacy for each of the Senate officers
shall be as follows:
1. A candidate for president shall be a senator with tenure, with
at least one year of prior Senate experience (except for the first
president).
2. A candidate for vice-president shall be a senator with
tenure.
3. A candidate for secretary shall be any senator.
E. The term of office for each officer is one year. No one shall
serve more than two consecutive terms as president.
F. The Executive Committee of the Senate shall be composed of the
president, vice-president, secretary, and a fourth member who will
be elected from the Senate membership, by the full membership of
the Senate. This fourth member will be elected at the same meeting
at which the Senate membership elect the officers. The Executive
Committee shall recommend to the full Senate all faculty
appointments to standing committees of the Senate or the
University; call Senate meetings; set the agenda for all Senate
meetings; invite guests to the Senate meetings as appropriate; and
act as liaison between the Senate and the Administration.
IV. Meetings
A. The Senate shall meet at least four times each semester, at a
day and time specified in the bylaws.
B. Special meetings may be called by the Executive Committee at any
time. Written notice must be given at least three working days in
advance of such a meeting.
C. A quorum shall consist of a majority of the membership.
D. Members must be present at the meeting in order to vote. Members
shall not be permitted to send substitutes to the meetings.
E. Attendance at meetings shall be limited to Senate members,
guests invited by the
Executive Committee, and eligible faculty. The Executive Committee,
however,
may call an executive session of the Senate, open only to the
Senate members and
guests invited by the Executive Committee. Typically discussions at
Senate
meetings will be limited to Senators and guests invited by the
Executive Committee.
F. Senate meetings shall be conducted according to Robert's Rules
of Order.
G. At least once each semester, a convocation of the entire faculty
shall be called by the
Senate Executive Committee. The agenda shall be announced in
advance.
H. Hearings on specific issues shall be called by Senators for the
purpose of providing
a forum at which interested faculty may present information and
express opinions.
Hearings could be initiated by the Senate, individual senators, or
a Senate committee.
V. Powers of the Senate
A. The recommendation of the Faculty Senate represents the voice of
the Faculty and
its advisory to the Administration.
B. The Faculty Senate shall make recommendations to the Academic
Vice President
and, where appropriate, to the President.
C. In keeping with the collegial nature of university governance,
it is expected that the
administrator will communicate to the Senate his/her rationale in
writing if a
particular recommendation is not followed.
VI. Committees
A. Faculty appointments to standing University committees and to
Trustee Committees
shall be made by the President of the University, upon the
recommendation of the
Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate will actively recruit committee
members by
notifying the Faculty of openings on committees as they arise.
B. Standing Committees of the University.
1. Committee chairs from the committees below will report to the
Academic Vice President. At the same time, final reports which are
submitted to the
Academic Vice President will be submitted to the President of the
Faculty
Senate for distribution to the Senate membership. During the
academic year,
the chairpersons of these committees will be asked to keep the
Senate informed of their work. Copies of the statutes and bylaws of
these committees will be kept on file by the Faculty Senate.
Changes in the
statutes and bylaws of these committees will be approved by a
majority vote
of the Faculty Senate.
Academic Planning and Review Committee
Library Committee
Rank and Tenure Committee (procedures)
Research Committee (procedures)
Respecting the hard work of colleagues on these committees, the
Senate
may wish to send recommendations to the Academic Vice
President.
2. The Faculty Senate will assist in the vital work of the
University by
forwarding relevant concerns to appropriate committees.
3. The Faculty Senate will be apprised of committee work by
regular
communication between chairs of committees listed below and the
Senate.
At the request of the chairpersons of these committees, the Faculty
Senate
will review and approve the statutes and bylaws of these
committees
.
Computer Steering Committee
Westchester Budget Committee
Campus Facilities and Environment Committee
Facilities Oversight Committee
Status of Women Committee
Student Affairs Committee
Athletic Advisory Board
Social Justice Committee
Multi-Cultural Affairs Committee
C. Faculty Senate Committees.
1. The Faculty Senate shall be empowered to create ad-hoc
committees
appointed by the Executive Committee to address particular issues.
Such
ad-hoc committees shall have limited mandates and shall be
terminated at the
fulfillment of their mandates.
2. The Senate shall be empowered to create standing committees from
among
Senate membership in order to address issues relevant to the
Academic
Community. Such committees appointed by the Executive Committee
will report directly to the Faculty Senate.
3. The Committee on the Economic Status of the Faculty (ESOF) shall
be a
standing committee of the Faculty Senate.
4. The Grievance Committee shall be elected by the eligible faculty
at the time
of the Senate elections.
VII. Initiative. Referendum. Recall
A. Initiative.
1. A petition for an initiative shall require the signatures of the
initiator and
10 of the eligible faculty.
2. Upon receiving such a petition, the Executive Committee shall
submit the proposal to a vote of all eligible faculty by mail
ballot.
3. If approved by a majority of the eligible faculty, the Senate
shall place such
a proposal into effect through regular Senate channels.
B. Referendum
1. A petition for a referendum shall require the signatures of the
initiator and
20 of the eligible faculty requesting that an action or proposed
action of
the Senate be submitted to vote of the entire Faculty.
2. Upon receiving such a petition, the Executive Committee will
submit the
proposal to a vote of all eligible faculty by mail ballot.
3. If approved by a majority of the eligible faculty, the Senate
shall put such a
proposal into effect through regular channels.
C. Recall.
1. A petition for a recall shall require the signatures of 25 of
the constituents
of the senator in question, plus the signature of at least one
senator at large.
This petition shall be presented to the Secretary of the
Senate.
2. Upon receipt of such a petition, the Executive Committee shall
put the
question of recall to the appropriate constituency by means of a
mail ballot.
3. If 2/3 of the constituents vote to recall, then the seat shall
be declared vacant and a special election held to fill the
vacancy.
VIII. Amendments
A. Amendments to the Constitution may be proposed by a 2/3 vote of
the Senate or by petition of 20 of the eligible faculty.
B. Amendments to the Constitution shall be adopted by a 2/3 vote of
all eligible faculty responding to a mail ballot.
IX. Ratification
A. Ballots for ratification of this Constitution shall be sent to
all continuing, full-time
active, tenured or tenure-track faculty and the professional
librarians.
B. This Constitution shall be ratified if 2/3 of those responding
vote affirmatively.
C. Ratification of this Constitution shall dissolve the Academic
Assembly and the
Faculty Advisors to the President as of May, 1986.
D. If this Constitution is ratified, an appropriate schedule of
elections to bring the Senate into being shall be developed and
implemented by a committee appointed by the Executive Committee of
the Academic Assembly.
.