Faculty Senate Procedures

SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE UNIVERSITY FACULTY

Special meetings of the University Faculty can be called by the Faculty President to address specific Senate decisions. The Faculty President must call a meeting upon receipt of a petition signed by fifty fully-affiliated members of the University Faculty. A call for a special meeting shall specify the time and objectives thereof, and no business other than that specified in the call shall be transacted at such meeting unless otherwise agreed upon by a two-thirds majority of all present and voting members of the University Faculty. A quorum of one-hundred faculty members must be present for business to be conducted at this meeting.


FACULTY PRESIDENT & VICE PRESIDENT ELECTION PROCEDURES

(approved by Senate - 10/09/17)

  1. The schedule of times for nomination and election process will be specified by the Executive Committee (EC).   These dates include:
    • Initial call for nominations
    • End of nomination period
    • Beginning of election  
    • Closing of election   
  2. The Office of the Faculty President and the EC will solicit nominations, including self-nominations, for Faculty President via the Faculty Senate Agenda, FacultyLine, and faculty governance e-mail list.   The nomination period should extend for at least one month.  
  3. At the same time, the Office of the Faculty President and the EC will solicit nominations, including self-nominations, for Faculty Vice-President via the Faculty Senate Agenda, FacultyLine, and faculty governance e-mail list.   The nomination period should extend for at least one month.   
  4. After the close of the nomination period, the Senate Secretary and the Executive Committee will verify the nominees’ eligibility and confirm the slate of nominees.  The EC will then set the election dates.  If there are no qualified nominees at this time, a new nomination period will be designated by the EC and nomination procedure will be repeated. A nominee cannot seek both the office of President and Vice President, but a candidate for either office may also run at the same time for a Faculty Senate seat.
  5. Nominees for Faculty President will be asked to submit a vita and statement of the objectives they wish to achieve as Faculty President.  These documents should be submitted within three days of their notification by the Senate Secretary.  These documents will be supplied to the faculty as part of the election procedure.  Failure to submit a vita by the deadline will result in removal of the nominee’s name from the ballot.
  6. Nominees for Faculty Vice-President will be asked to submit a vita.  This document should be submitted within three days of their notification by the Senate Secretary.  The document will be supplied to the faculty as part of the election procedure.   Failure to submit a vita by the deadline will result in removal of the nominee’s name from the ballot.  
  7. Nominees for Faculty President and Faculty Vice-President shall appear on the ballot for these offices as individuals and not as parts of a “ticket.”  Ballots will permit one vote per office, not one vote for a pair of nominees.
  8. Electronic ballots shall be distributed to all fully-affiliated faculty members on the date selected by the EC.  Voting shall close at the end of business seven days later, unless the voting closes on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday in which case voting will be extended to the next business day.  
  9. Ballots shall be tabulated via the electronic tabulation methods available through CaTS.   
  10. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, the conditions specified in the Faculty Constitution, Section 3-A-2–c will be applied.  
  11. The President of the Faculty shall be responsible for conveying the results of the election within 72 hours of the tabulation of the votes.  Notification shall be given in this order:  the slate of candidates, the Faculty Senate, the University Faculty.
  12. These procedures may be modified in whole or in part by a majority vote in the Faculty Senate.

Faculty President & Vice President Qualifications and Duties can be found on the Faculty Membership and Senate Elections page.


ELECTION OF FACULTY SENATORS

Election of Senators

All elections shall be conducted prior to the last regularly scheduled Faculty Senate meeting of each year following these guidelines:

Third week of Spring Semester

Faculty Office secures the list of eligible faculty from Human Resources.

Fourth week of Spring Semester

Faculty President determines what Senate seats need to be filled

Fifth week of Spring Semester

Faculty Office contacts eligible faculty, informing them of eligibility and soliciting candidate nominations, including self-nominations.

Seventh week of Spring Semester

Faculty return nominating forms to the Faculty Office, which contacts nominees to secure approval of their candidacy.

Eighth and Ninth week of Spring Semester

Ballots distributed; elections held.

Tenth and Eleventh week of Spring Semester

Time allocated for possible run-offs.

Twelfth and Thirteenth week of Spring Semester

Faculty Office announces election results.

There shall be at least one candidate per constituency for each open Senate seat.  If there are not the required number of candidates, the Faculty President will inform the constituency Executive Committee representative there is such a lack, seeking his/her help in securing the minimum number of required candidates.

A plurality of votes is necessary for constituency elections.  Should a tie exist, a run-off election shall be held to determine a winner.

The Faculty Senate shall adopt regulations governing the conduct of elections, the filling of vacancies, and the recall of representatives from constituencies.

The Executive Committee will appoint a replacement for any vacancy.  The replacement must come from the same constituency as the original representative and will serve until the next election.  Runners-up in descending order are contacted for willingness to serve; if no replacements are appointed in this manner, volunteers are sought.

Faculty Senator Qualifications and Duties can be found on the Faculty Membership and Senate Elections page.


FULLY-AFFILIATED CONSTITUTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

(approved by Executive Committee - 03/17/2014)

  1. Human Resources full-time designation of 75%+FTE will be used to determine if a faculty member satisfies the full-time requirements of Faculty Constitution Article II Section 1.
  2. Human Resources reported college designation shall be used to determine constituency membership.
    • In cases where constituency membership isn't clear, the primary funding organization should be considered as the constituency.
    • The Executive Committee, on a case-by-case basis, will assign University College faculty to an appropriate constituency.