Executive Committee and Officers of the University Senate

(last updated 04-09-2009)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Presiding Officer Elect (USPOE) of the University Senate

II.Section4.A. Presiding Officer and Presiding Officer Elect. The University Senate shall have a Presiding Officer, who presides at all meetings of the University Senate, and a Presiding Officer Elect, who shall assume the position of Presiding Officer the following year. Only elected faculty senators are eligible to serve as Presiding Officer or Presiding Officer Elect. The election of the Presiding Officer Elect shall proceed as follows. At the spring organizational meeting of the University Senate, the outgoing Subcommittee on Nominations shall nominate one elected faculty senator from the incoming University Senate. The Presiding Officer at the spring organizational meeting shall then call for other nominations from the floor. Should this result in more than one nominee for Presiding Officer Elect, all members of the incoming University Senate shall vote by secret ballot. The nominee receiving the most votes shall be the Presiding Officer Elect. The terms of service for the Presiding Officer and Presiding Officer Elect shall begin with the adjournment of this spring organizational meeting, and shall end when his/her successor assumes office.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Presiding Officer (USPO) of the University Senate

II.Section4.A. Presiding Officer and Presiding Officer Elect. The University Senate shall have a Presiding Officer, who presides at all meetings of the University Senate, and a Presiding Officer Elect, who shall assume the position of Presiding Officer the following year. Only elected faculty senators are eligible to serve as Presiding Officer or Presiding Officer Elect. The election of the Presiding Officer Elect shall proceed as follows. At the spring organizational meeting of the University Senate, the outgoing Subcommittee on Nominations shall nominate one elected faculty senator from the incoming University Senate. The Presiding Officer at the spring organizational meeting shall then call for other nominations from the floor. Should this result in more than one nominee for Presiding Officer Elect, all members of the incoming University Senate shall vote by secret ballot. The nominee receiving the most votes shall be the Presiding Officer Elect. The terms of service for the Presiding Officer and Presiding Officer Elect shall begin with the adjournment of this spring organizational meeting, and shall end when his/her successor assumes office.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Secretary of the University Senate

II.Section4.B. Secretary. The University Senate shall elect a Secretary at it spring organizational meeting who shall be responsible for keeping minutes at all meetings of the University Senate. Only elected faculty senators are eligible to serve as Secretary. The election of the Secretary of the University Senate shall proceed as follows. At the spring organizational meeting of the University Senate, the outgoing Subcommittee on Nominations shall nominate one elected faculty senator from the incoming University Senate. The Presiding Officer at the spring organizational meeting shall then call for other nominations from the floor. Should this result in more than one nominee for Secretary, all members of the incoming University Senate shall vote by secret ballot. The nominee receiving the most votes shall be the Secretary. The term of service of the Secretary shall begin at the call to order of the first meeting of the University Senate following the spring organizational meeting at which (s)he is elected, and shall end when his/her successor assumes office.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Executive Committee of the University Senate (ECUS)

V.Section1.A.  The Executive Committee of the University Senate shall have no fewer than eight (8) but no more than ten (10) members distributed as follows: one (1) member that is the University President, one (1) member that is the Chief Academic Officer, one (1) member that is the Presiding Officer of the University Senate, one (1) member that is the Presiding Officer Elect of the University Senate, one (1) member that is the Secretary of the University Senate, and up to five (5) additional members as specified in V.Section1.A.1 and V.Section.1.A.2. The Chair of the Executive Committee shall be the Presiding Officer of the University Senate. The Vice-Chair of the Executive Committee shall be the Presiding Officer Elect of the University Senate. Within ten (10) calendar days of its membership being completely determined, the incoming Executive Committee shall hold an organizational meeting at which they elect a Secretary. This election shall be presided over by the Chair of the Executive Committee

V.Section1.A.1.  For each school or the library not represented from among the three (3) University Senate Officers serving on the committee, the outgoing Subcommittee on Nominations shall nominate an incoming elected faculty senator from that academic unit to serve on the Executive Committee.  This process shall never result in more than four additional members to the Executive Committee.

V.Section1.A.2.  Should the Chair of the outgoing Executive Committee not be reelected to the Executive Committee, (s)he shall serve as an ex-officio non-voting member of the incoming Executive Committee to assist with continuity for the following academic year.

V.Section1.B.  The Executive Committee shall meet as needed throughout the year to facilitate the functioning of the University Senate. Meetings of the Executive Committee may be called by the Chair, the University President, or by written request from a majority of the Executive Committee membership.  A majority of the Executive Committee membership shall constitute a quorum.

V.Section1.C.  The duties of the Executive Committee shall include the following:

V.Section1.C.1.  The elected members of the Executive Committee shall constitute an advisory committee of the faculty to the University President.

V.Section1.C.2.  The Executive Committee shall set the agenda for regular and called meetings of the University Senate. The agenda shall be disseminated to members of the University Senate no fewer than five (5) calendar days prior to the meeting. The Executive Committee shall include as part of this agenda the text of any motions that are to be considered by the University Senate at this meeting, including information necessary to access all documents supporting such motions.

V.Section1.C.3.  The Executive Committee shall, as the need arises, appoint not less than three nor more than five impartial faculty members to serve as the informal body of inquiry (the “body of inquiry”), as described in the Policy Manual of the Board of Regents (803.1102), to mitigate the removal of any tenured or non-tenured faculty member.  This body of inquiry shall be responsible for the determination of confidentiality relating to such informal inquiries, especially when sensitive information about particular individuals would be otherwise revealed.  Should this body of inquiry fail to effect an adjustment (e.g  be unable to negotiate a resolution), they shall advise the University President whether dismissal proceedings should be undertaken. The body of inquiry’s recommendation shall not be binding on the University President.

V.Section1.C.4.  Except when the University Senate gives specific directions, the Executive Committee shall, when consideration is being given to referring any matter to a standing committee, determine the standing committee that shall have jurisdiction; provided, however, that nothing in this responsibility shall challenge the University President's authority and responsibility for interpretation of the Statutes and bylaws or for determining ultimate jurisdiction when conflicts arise.

V.Section1.C.5.  The Executive Committee may make editorial suggestions to the language of any motion, including a resolution, that is submitted for Senate consideration.  The Executive Committee should apply this responsibility judiciously, noting that the purpose of this review is to improve clarity, remove ambiguity, and identify inconsistencies with superseding policy.  Any such editorial suggestions are incorporated only after review and approval by the body submitting the motion.

V.Section1.C.6.  The Executive Committee shall appoint a Committee on Nominations as specified in V.Section1.D.1.

V.Section1.C.7.  The Executive Committee may recommend to the University Senate for their consideration and approval such standing and/or special committees as it deems necessary.

V.Section1.C.8.  The Executive Committee may consider and recommend to the University Senate any matters that are within the powers of the University Senate.

V.Section1.C.9.  The Executive Committee shall have the responsibility for initiating and maintaining a system of overlapping terms for elected University Senators.

V.Section1.C.10.  The Executive Committee shall ensure that up-to-date versions of any documents (e.g. statutes, bylaws, policy manuals, handbooks) that define or reference the governance structure in any unit of the University are archived in both "hard" and "electronic" format to facilitate access.

V.Section1.C.11.  The Executive Committee shall be responsible for maintaining a calendar of governance meetings.

V.Section1.C.12.  The Executive Committee shall ensure that its own minutes as well as those of the University Senate including all standing committees, sub-committees, and ad hoc committees of the University Senate are accessible to all members of the University Community

V.Section1.C.13.  The Archivist of the University Senate shall be the University Archivist.  In the absence of a University Archivist, the Executive Committee shall appoint an Archivist of the University Senate.  The Archivist shall maintain a historical record of University Senate activity both on paper and electronically and make the electronic version of this archive available to the University Community.

V.Section1.C.14.  The Executive Committee shall meet regularly with the Standing Committee Chairs to facilitate communication among the committees of the University Senate.

V.Section1.C.15.  The Executive Committee shall ensure that these bylaws are followed.

V.Section1.C.16.  The Executive Committee shall be responsible for operational matters of the University Senate including, but not limited to, consulted for Presidential Appointees (II.Section1.A.1), receive Corps of Instruction List (II.Section2.A.1), apportion elected faculty senator positions (II.Section2.A.2), receive election/selection procedures and results and announce results for academic units (II.Section2.A.3), Staff Council (II.Section1.A.3), students (II.Section1.A.4), conduct at-large elections (II.Section2.A.4), name a parliamentarian (II.Section3.B.3), receive operating procedures of committees (III.Section1), is one source that can initiate standing committee business (IV.Section1), receive motion text and disseminate agenda for Senate meetings (IV.Section2), receive and archive committee annual reports (IV.Section2), name facilitator and necessary voting proxies for standing committee chair elections (IV.Section3.A), receive committee composition report from Subcommittee on Nominations (V.Section1.D.2.d), receive or make motions for the addition of permanent subcommittees (V.Section2.A.3.a), and receive ad hoc committee charters (V.Section2.A.3.b).

V.Section1.D.  The Subcommittee on Nominations.

V.Section1.D.1.  The Subcommittee on Nominations is a subcommittee of the Executive Committee whose members and chair are appointed by the Executive Committee. 

V.Section1.D.1.a.  The membership of the Subcommittee on Nominations shall include, but not be limited to the Executive Committee, the Standing Committee Chairs, the Student Government Association President and the Staff Council Chair.

V.Section1.D.1.b.  The Secretary of the Executive Committee shall be the Secretary of the Subcommittee on Nominations.

V.Section1.D.2.  The duties of the Subcommittee on Nominations shall include the following.

V.Section1.D.2.a.  The Subcommittee shall nominate candidates to serve on the Executive Committee of the University Senate for approval by the membership of the University Senate in compliance with V.Section1.A.

V.Section1.D.2.b.  The Subcommittee shall nominate candidates to serve on the Standing Committees of the University Senate for approval by the membership of the University Senate in compliance with III.Section2, IV.Section4, V.Section2.A.2, V.Section2.A.4, and V.Section2.C

V.Section1.D.2.c.  The Subcommittee shall nominate candidates to serve on any permanent subcommittees of the University Senate, with the exception of the Subcommittee on Nominations, for approval by the membership of the University Senate in compliance with III.Section2, V.Section2.A.3.a and V.Section2.A.4.

V.Section1.D.2.d.  The Subcommittee shall nominate candidates to serve as the officers of the University Senate, specifically the Presiding Officer, the Presiding Officer Elect, and the Secretary, for approval by the membership of the University Senate in compliance with II.Section3.B.2 and II.Section3.B.4.

V.Section1.D.2.e.  The Subcommittee shall prepare a report that demonstrates that the composition of all committees complies with the requirements of these bylaws.  Such a report shall be submitted to the Executive Committee when the initial committee recommendations are made and any time that changes are proposed to committee membership.