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. Nominations will again be sought for that seat at the earliest reasonable opportunity to hold a special election in the relevant constituency, until such time as the seat is filled.
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.
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