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Constitution and Bylaws

 

Faculty Senate Bylaws

Faculty Senate Bylaws (PDF) - (updated February 2022)


Faculty Senate Constitution

Article I

Section I: The Faculty Senate shall investigate, consider, and act on any matter the Senate deems appropriate by virtue of relevance to the concerns of the University faculty. The Faculty Senate shall report fully to the University faculty, and to other elements of the University when appropriate, on all deliberations and actions of the Faculty Senate. The Senate shall be an advisory body to the President of the University. The President of the University may refer matters to the Senate and expect a response from that body.

Section II: The University faculty for purposes of this document shall consist of all full and part-time university employees holding the rank of instructor, adjunct, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor.  In order to meet this definition of University faculty, at least fifty percent of the individual’s appointment must be in any combination of the following areas: teaching, scholarly research, library service, or academic departmental administration.

Section III:
The Faculty Senate shall be empowered to organize itself, its own by-laws and discipline its own members, except as restricted by this constitution.

Article II

Section I: Elected Members.

Eligibility: Any members of the University faculty shall be eligible for election to membership in the Faculty Senate, except that a member of the Faculty Senate shall not succeed himself or herself to the Faculty Senate until he or she has been out of office for one (1) year.

Term of Office: The term of office for an elected member of the Faculty Senate shall be three (3) years.

Election:
Each area listed in Section II below shall elect the number of Senators specified for that area. Each eligible voter may vote for as many candidates as there are positions, or for any number less than that. The candidates receiving the highest vote totals will be elected Senators, up to the number of positions available. If a tie in the vote total results in more potential Senators than there are positions, the tie shall be broken by a vote of the senate in like fashion.  All elections for Senate seats shall be conducted by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate by a process of secret balloting. Regular elections shall be held during the spring semester of each year. The term of each Senator shall commence on May 1 and terminate on April 30 of each year. Members of the Executive Committee have duties extending through the regular meeting in May of each year. In case of vacancies for any reason, special elections may be conducted for the unexpired term. Special elections to fill vacancies shall normally be conducted during November of each year, but may be conducted at other times as the Executive Committee deems necessary.

Nominations:
Written nominations must be submitted by a second member of the University faculty at least four (4) days prior to the election. The nomination must be signed by both the nominator and the nominee. The Executive Committee shall confirm the eligibility of both.

Section II: Representation
Representation in the Faculty Senate will be proportional based on the number of faculty in the various disciplines. Since the numbers of faculty change over time, representation will be addressed in the by-laws so that necessary and appropriate adjustments might be more easily made.

Section III:
Officers of the Faculty Senate
The officers of the Faculty Senate shall be Senators, elected by a majority of the entire Faculty Senate for one year at the regularly scheduled meeting in May, except that any officer may be removed from office by a vote of no confidence by a majority of the entire Faculty Senate whereupon a new officer must immediately be chosen to complete that term of office. The officers of the Faculty Senate shall be:

  1. President of the Faculty Senate. The President of the Faculty Senate shall be the presiding officer of the Faculty Senate. The Senate President shall meet and confer regularly with the President of the University and apprise him/her of relevant investigative studies of the Senate.
  2. Vice President of the Faculty Senate. The Vice President of the Faculty Senate shall be the presiding officer of the Faculty Senate in the absence of the President.
  3. Secretary of the Faculty Senate. The Secretary of the Faculty Senate shall be responsible for recording and distributing the minutes of Faculty Senate meetings, and whatever other duties that are agreed on by the Executive committee.
  4. Treasurer of the Faculty Senate. The Treasurer of the Faculty Senate shall be responsible for the finances of the faculty senate.  The Treasurer will oversee the Faculty Senate budget and make financial recommendations to the Executive Committee.  The Treasurer will also oversee all Faculty Senate financial transactions. When deemed necessary by the Executive Committee, the Treasurer will form a budget committee comprised of two current senators and two former senators.
  5. The Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate. The Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate shall be composed of the President, Vice President, the Secretary of the Faculty Senate, a Faculty Senate Representative on the Deans Council, a Faculty Senate Representative on the Curriculum Committee, and one Executive Committee person selected by the Faculty Senate [Member-at-Large]. In addition, the immediate Past-President of the Faculty Senate, provided such person currently serves as a faculty member at Austin Peay State University, will be a member ex officio, with voice but no vote on the Executive Committee. The responsibilities of the Executive Committee shall be as follows:     
        A. To propose the agenda for Faculty Senate meetings.
        B. To conduct the elections to the Faculty Senate. 
        C. To recommend to the Faculty Senate, for its advice and consent, individuals to serve on the various committees of the Faculty Senate. 
        D. To advise, the President of the Faculty Senate. 
        E. To act on behalf of the Faculty Senate ad interim and to report such actions to the next meeting of the Faculty Senate for its approval or disapproval.

6. Parliamentarian of the Faculty Senate. The Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate shall appoint a Parliamentarian from the full-time faculty at the beginning of each academic year. The purpose of the Parliamentarian is to assist the President in conducting orderly and efficient Senate meetings.

Article III

Meetings of the Faculty
Senate Faculty Senate meetings shall be held at a regular time each month as determined by the Faculty Senate. Additional meetings may be called by the President of the Faculty Senate, by a majority of the entire Executive Committee, or by a majority of the Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate may convene the University faculty at its discretion.

Article IV

Amendment
Amendments to the Faculty Senate Constitution shall be made under the following provisions executed in sequence:

      1. Initiation of amendments shall be made by the University Faculty upon petition of twenty (20) percent of the University Faculty; or by the Executive committee; or by the Faculty Senate.
      2. Amendments shall be submitted to the Faculty Senate at a Regular meeting.
      3. Action on proposed amendments shall be delayed until at least the next regular meeting of the Faculty Senate, whereupon a majority of the entire Faculty Senate must approve the amendment.
      4. Ratification of amendments shall be sufficient upon approval by a majority of the entire University faculty.

Article V

Ratification
The Faculty Senate constitution shall become effective upon a vote of two-thirds of the University faculty. If this Constitution is ratified on or before September 15, 1975, the first elections shall be held beginning October 7, 1975. The Executive Committee of the Faculty Council shall have responsibility to conduct the first elections for the Faculty Senate. 


Latest amendments:

    • Presented to Faculty Senate at January, 2004 meeting.
    • Approved by Faculty Senate at February, 2004 meeting.
    • Newest amendments ratified by full faculty as of July, 2004.
    • Newest amendments referenced in Spring 2007 minutes; document corrected April 21, 2009.
    • Presented to Faculty Senate at January 2019 meeting.
    • Approved by Faculty Senate at February 2019 meeting.
    • Ratified by full faculty as of March 2019.