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FACULTY SENATE CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS

FOR TRUMAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Preamble

The members of the faculty of Truman State University, in order that they may participate in the formation of the basic university policy and assist and advise the administration through a system of representative participation, do hereby establish this constitution as a pledge of faculty cooperation and support of Truman State University’s continuous program as an institution for higher education.

Article I

A faculty organization designated as the Faculty Senate shall be considered as representative of instructional staff, professional personnel of the University who have substantial academic responsibilities, administrators who have faculty qualifications and substantial academic responsibilities, and the undergraduate and graduate body (in the capacity of advisors and consultants).

Article II

Within the framework established by statutes and the Board of Governors, the Faculty Senate shall be a deliberative and legislative body for academic matters and for University policies pertaining to promotion, tenure, and leave.  In regard to other issues affecting the faculty and academic community, the Faculty Senate shall be an advisory body to the Administration and Board of Governors, through channels established by the Board.  Budgetary matters shall be advisory issues.  The Senate shall be granted authority to: 

(a)     consider any questions which concern more than one division or which are of University-wide significance;

(b)     receive, discuss and disseminate information concerning any such questions;

(c)     conduct studies, make recommendations and adopt resolutions concerning any such questions;

(d)    request information through appropriate channels from any component of the University.

Article III

The Faculty Senate shall have the authority to establish necessary standing councils and temporary or special committees and to prescribe their responsibilities.

Article IV

The Faculty Senate shall define and modify its own governance structure by procedures specified in the Faculty Senate Bylaws.

Article V

The Faculty Senate shall establish distribution of its representation and that of its subordinate bodies.

Article VI

The existing Faculty Senate membership shall continue and shall approve rules for the Senate’s transition under new amendments or bylaws.

Article VII

Amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws shall be proposed to the electorate through a two-thirds vote of the voting membership of Senate or through a petition signed by 20 percent of the electorate.  Approval of amendments to the articles of the Constitution shall require two-thirds of those voting and approval of amendments to the Bylaws of the Faculty Senate shall require a majority of those voting.  The Faculty Senate shall determine the eligibility criteria for voting on amendments.  Approval of the criteria shall be by a two-thirds vote of the Senate’s voting membership.

Article VIII

This Constitution shall be considered ratified upon approval of the Board of Governors and two-thirds of the University Staff voting for the constitution and a majority of the University Staff voting for the proper bylaws of the Faculty Senate.

 

BYLAWS - revised due to reorganization, effective date October 2008

  1.  Meetings
    1. The Faculty Senate shall meet at least once per month during the academic year.
    2. Special meetings of Faculty Senate may be called upon:

                                                               i.      the request of the University President or the Provost;

                                                             ii.      the request of the President of the Senate, or in his/her absence from the University campus, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;

                                                            iii.      the petition of a majority of the membership of Faculty Senate;

                                                           iv.      the petition of at least 10 percent of the number of persons eligible to vote on amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws.

    1. The Faculty Senate may call a meeting of the whole faculty by rank, tenure status, or as an open meeting by petition of one-quarter of the faculty in the respective group wishing to call a meeting.
    2. Minutes of all meetings called by Faculty Senate shall be transcribed and distributed by the Senate Secretary to all Senate members and shall also be made available to all faculty.  The President’s Office shall distribute the minutes to the Board of Governors.
       
  1. Membership
    1. In accordance with Article V of the Constitution, the membership of Faculty Senate shall be:

                                                               i.      one representative from each academic department;

                                                             ii.      one representative from the School of Business in lieu of a representative for an academic department;

                                                            iii.      one representative for the faculty-status librarians at Pickler Memorial Library;

                                                           iv.      ex-officio, voting: the President of the University or designee;

                                                             v.      ex-officio, non-voting: the Provost;

                                                           vi.      ex-officio, non-voting: two Student Senate representatives; and

                                                          vii.      invited guests, non-voting: the Chair of Undergraduate Council, the Chair of Graduate Council; Dean of Students, Registrar, and Director of Interdisciplinary Studies and one department chair (representing all chairs, to be elected by department chairs).

    1. Any two departments may have the option of combining for the purpose of electing a single representative to Faculty Senate. When this option is selected, the entities involved will be responsible for assuring that communication between the elected representative and the electorate for that representative is sufficient. This combined representative will carry one vote for each department. If this option is selected, it will remain in place until the next scheduled election of representatives for Faculty Senate.
    2. Elections shall be held by the end of April of each year; elected representatives will take office in May. At the time of election, an alternate shall be elected for each representative. The alternate will serve in the temporary absence of the elected representative or when the elected representative is unable to serve.
    3. Special elections: If the representative and the alternate are both unavailable, the department chair or equivalent will appoint a temporary representative for no more than 30 days.
    4. The term of office for each representative will be for two years, with staggered terms so that approximately half of the body stands for election each year. There are no term limits for representatives.
    5. The term of office for Student Senate representatives shall be for one year. The qualifications of the Student Senate representatives and the procedures for nomination and selection of those representatives and their alternates shall be determined by Student Senate. 
    6. Qualifications of Faculty Senate members may be largely determined by departments. During the time of service, representatives should have at least an average of a one-third teaching assignment to be calculated by the department, with the exception of faculty-status librarians at Pickler Memorial Library.
    7. A Faculty Senate member may be recalled by a two-thirds majority vote of the group that elected that member.
       
  1. Councils and Committees
    1. Faculty Senate shall have four standing councils and committees:  Graduate Council, Undergraduate Council, Budget Committee, and Personnel Policies Committee. The charge of each standing council or committee shall be approved by a simple majority of the voting membership of Faculty Senate. Faculty Senate may create additional standing councils or committees as needed.
    2. Each standing council or committee shall formulate its own individual bylaws and rules of order if needed, subject to approval of a simple majority of the voting membership of their own members and of Faculty Senate.
    3. Each standing council or committee shall appoint standing and/or ad hoc subcommittees as warranted by their charge.
    4. Each standing council or committee shall report elections and/or membership changes to Faculty Senate at its September meeting, along with a proposed calendar for council or committee meetings for each semester.
    5.  Minutes and meeting calendars for standing councils and committees shall be available on the Faculty Senate website.
    6. The members of each standing committee, other than Undergraduate Council and Graduate Council, will be appointed by Faculty Senate. Faculty Senate will determine the appropriate number of members.
    7. Ad hoc committees for Faculty Senate may be formed by the simple majority vote of the Faculty Senate.
       
  1. Senate Officers  and Executive Committee
    1. The President of Faculty Senate shall be a department representative elected by a majority vote, by secret ballot, of the departmental representatives of the new Senate in May of each year. The term of office is one year. If no candidate receives a majority vote, a runoff vote of the two candidates with the highest number of votes shall be held. The President Pro Tempore shall be similarly elected. The term of office for these positions is for one year. The term limits are four years out of any consecutive six years. The President and/or President Pro Tempore may be recalled by a two-thirds vote of the departmental representatives of the Senate.
    2. The President shall convene and preside at regular and special meetings of the Senate.  The President may call a meeting of only the faculty caucus as he/she determines appropriate.
    3. The President shall attend meetings of the Board of Governors and, if directed by the Senate, shall communicate faculty concerns to the Board of Governors, through channels approved by the Board.
    4. The President shall be available for consultation with the faculty and shall communicate to the faculty how and when consultation may take place. The academic workload of the President shall be adjusted by the Provost commensurate with the demands and responsibilities of the office.

                                                               i.      The President Pro Tempore shall assume the chair in the absence of the President. The President Pro Tempore may represent the faculty and the Senate at University activities and shall assist the Senate President.

                                                             ii.      If the President steps down from the chair to address the Senate on the merits of a bill, the President Pro Tempore shall preside.

    1. If the office of the President or President Pro Tempore should become vacant, the Senate, at its next meeting, shall elect a replacement to complete the unexpired term (as provided in this section).
    2. Secretarial support for Faculty Senate will be provided by the Provost. The Secretary shall prepare reports at the discretion of the President and transcribe minutes of each regular and special meeting. If the Secretary is not a member of the Senate, he or she shall be without voice or vote.
    3. The President shall appoint a parliamentarian who shall be a member of the Senate. Rules of order shall follow Sturgis’ Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedures.
    4. The Executive Committee of Faculty Senate shall consist of the officers of Senate, the chair of Undergraduate Council, the chair of Graduate Council, the Provost, the Dean of Graduate Studies, the president of Student Senate, and others as determined by Senate. The Executive Committee sets the agenda for Senate meetings, assigns tasks to appropriate standing councils and committees, and consults as appropriate with various committees and administrators in order to efficiently conduct Senate business.
       
  1. Voting
    1. A permanent voting record shall be maintained by the Secretary. With the exception of consent items and unanimous votes, all votes shall be recorded individually.
    2. The following votes are required:

                                                               i.      To present an amendment to the Constitution or Bylaws to the University electorate – a two-thirds vote of the Senate’s voting membership.

                                                             ii.      To approve any other Senate action – a simple majority of votes cast with the number of votes in the affirmative at least equal to two-thirds of a quorum; abstentions do not count as votes cast.

    1. A quorum exists if there are representatives present who can cast a majority of all votes possible.
    2. Student Senate representatives shall have the right to have Student Senate’s support of or opposition to a motion recorded in the minutes of Faculty Senate.
       
  1. Enactment of Bills
    1. All recommendations shall be in the form of a bill.
    2. Bills may be submitted to the Executive Committee by any Senate member prior to the meeting of Faculty Senate to be placed on the agenda for that meeting.
    3. A bill may be assigned to a council, committee, or subcommittee for review before Senate action. If an assigned bill fails to receive the approval of the council, committee, or subcommittee, it will not normally come back to Senate. Senate may, however, override the decision of its council, committee, or subcommittee, and consider the bill directly. 
    4. A bill that Senate members determine does not fall within the purview of Senate shall be referred to an appropriate body for deliberation.
    5. Bills passed by the Senate require final approval by the President of the University or by the President’s designee. A decision not to approve shall be communicated to the Senate within 40 days of Senate approval.
       
  1. Amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws
    1. Proposed amendments may be submitted in writing by any member of the University community eligible to vote on amendments.
    2. A two-thirds vote of the Senate membership or a petition of one-quarter of the electorate is required for presentation of an amendment to the electorate.
    3. Amendments shall be distributed in written form to all eligible voters at least 10 calendar days before the election.
    4. Article VII of the Constitution stipulates the required vote for passage of an amendment.
    5. The President of the Senate shall certify the election results and the text of any amendment. That certification shall be forwarded to the office of the University President for the consideration and action of the Board of Governors.
    6. If the Board of Governors approves the amendment, the Office of the President of the University shall distribute an amended constitution and/or bylaws to each academic unit and all administrative offices within 21 calendar days of the Board of Governors’ action.
    7. The structure of faculty governance should be reviewed at least every five years by Faculty Senate and appropriate amendments to the Constitution and bylaws recommended.
       
  1. Severability
    1. If any article, section, or subsection of the Constitution or Bylaws is determined not to be in compliance with Missouri statutes, the Missouri constitution or the policies of the Board of Governors, the remaining subsections, sections, and articles shall remain in full force and effect.

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