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Overview of Faculty Senate Restructuring
Effective Spring 2008
(Please refer to the Faculty Handbook for further information.)
The purpose of the Faculty Senate is to serve as the instrument through which the faculty of Appalachian State University considers and acts on university matters. To this end, the Faculty Senate participates in the formation, implementation, and review of university policy.
The Faculty Senate shall consist of one member from each academic department, school, the library, and five at-large representatives. Any unit may choose not to fill its senate seat, in which case the seat will remain empty for that academic year. No Senator may serve more than two full terms consecutively. The normally designated term of office for Faculty Senate members is three years. Terms of members will be staggered so that one-third of the Senate are elected each year. The at-large seats will be elected accordingly with two openings each year for two years and the fifth vacancy elected in the third year. All Senators elected in a given year shall take office at the special meeting of the Senate in April called at the adjournment of the regular April meeting of the Senate. The Chair of the Faculty Senate shall nominate persons to fill vacancies created by unexpired terms. The Senate shall either elect or reject nominations made by the Chair. Persons so elected shall serve until the next regular election, at which time the faculty will elect a person to complete the unexpired term.
The officers of the Faculty Senate shall consist of a chair, a vice chair, a secretary, and a parliamentarian. These officers, with the exception of the parliamentarian, shall be elected from the total membership of the Senate chosen from a minimum of two names for each position nominated from the floor at the special Senate meeting in April called at the adjournment of the regular April meeting of the Senate. Candidates must give permission before their names are placed in nomination. Officers may be reelected each year for the duration of their tenure on the Senate.
It shall be the responsibility of the chair of the Faculty Senate to appoint a parliamentarian. It shall be the responsibility of the vice chair to serve as the Faculty Elections Officer. The secretary of the Faculty Senate is responsible for the accuracy of the motions, resolutions, voting results and major discussion points during the Faculty Senate meetings. The secretary is responsible for reviewing the accuracy of the transcribed minutes prior to being submitted to the Faculty Senate for approval. The Faculty Senate minutes are posted on the Faculty Senate website and distributed to all members of the faculty, administration, and Board of Trustees. The Faculty Senate minutes are also submitted to the University Archives to assure preservation and long term access. All Faculty Senate meetings are recorded electronically and transcribed by the Office Assistant.
The Faculty Senate shall meet as follows:
The Chancellor of the University shall meet with the Faculty Senate at its first and last meetings of the academic year. At the first meeting, the Chancellor shall review administrative plans and goals for the upcoming year. At the last meeting, the Chancellor shall review administrative accomplishments and on-going initiatives.
The Faculty Senate Executive Committee, consisting of the officers and the committee chairs, shall meet with the Provost at least once during each semester to discuss mutual concerns.
The Faculty Senate Agenda Committee shall be defined as the elected officers and the Parliamentarian of the Faculty Senate and shall meet at least once prior to each regularly scheduled Senate meeting to formulate and approve (by a vote of the members in attendance) the agenda for each upcoming Senate meeting. The Agenda Committee also prepares the agenda for general faculty meetings, refers matters to the appropriate committee, and handles other business pertaining to agenda matters. The Senate shall receive written suggestions for agenda items from any member of the faculty, the administration, student organizations, or the Board of Trustees. All operating procedures governing the transaction of Senate business shall be set forth in the Faculty Senate Guidebook and Manual of Order which shall serve as the by-laws of the Faculty Senate
The procedures for electing the members of the Senate are:
By February 1, each academic department, school, and the library will elect, as per established department/unit procedures, one faculty member for any open Senate seat in the respective department/unit. If a vacancy has occurred during a Senator's three year term, a department/unit may choose not to be represented by not electing a representative. This choice applies for the entire academic year following the election. The five at-large seats will be filled by election of faculty from across the university. Representation to the Faculty Senate requires that a faculty member hold one of the following ranks:
Lecturer
Instructor
Assistant Professor
Associate Professor
Professor
Excluded are emeriti faculty and adjunct faculty. In addition, a faculty member must be eligible to serve for the entire academic year.
In the fall semester of each academic year (prior to November 1), the Director of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Planning will determine the faculty eligible to represent and vote in each department and forward that information to the Faculty Elections Officer. All members of the faculty as stated above are eligible for election to the Faculty Senate.
By November 1, the Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate, who is the Senate Elections Officer, shall contact department chairs who will, according to departmental guidelines, put the Senate Elections Officer in touch with the Departmental Elections Officer. The Senate Elections Officer shall request that the Elections Chairs of departments/units provide a mechanism for the nomination of candidates for the college elections. Prior to February 1, the faculty members of each department, school, and the library shall vote to elect the Senate representative for their department/unit. All voting shall be by secret ballot. It shall be the responsibility of the Department Elections Chair to set the date, time, and place of voting, prepare the ballots, supervise the election, provide for the tabulation of votes, notify all nominees of the election results, and report the results of the election to the Senate Elections Officer. The Senate Elections Officer shall announce the results of each election to the general faculty.
The procedures for electing members at-large are:
The five at-large seats in the Senate shall be determined by the faculty on the basis of an annual election to be held during the Spring term prior to March 1. At-large nominees will be elected by plurality voting. All voting shall be by secret ballot. Faculty will be allowed to vote for the number of at-large seats that are vacant that year. In the event of a tied vote, a special election shall be held to determine which of the nominees shall be elected. In this special election, the slate of nominees will be restricted to the tied nominees in the first election.
The Senate Elections Officer shall set the deadline for the submission of nominations for members at-large. Space for write-in votes will be provided on the ballots. It shall be the responsibility of the Senate Elections Officer to set the date, time, and place of voting, prepare the ballots, arrange for absentee balloting, supervise the election, provide for the tabulation of the votes, and notify all nominees of the election results prior to announcing those results to the general faculty.
Organizational Structure (Prior to Spring 2008)
The purpose of the Faculty Senate is to serve as the instrument through which the faculty of Appalachian State University considers and acts on university matters. To this end, the Faculty Senate participates in the formation, implementation, and review of university policy.
The Faculty Senate, in order to represent a continuing proportionate and distributive voice of the faculty, is composed of twenty-seven (27) members elected by the faculty. Specifically, the Senate is composed of faculty members who are elected at-large by the entire faculty of the university and of faculty members who are elected by the faculty of a specific college, school, or library. All employees of the university holding academic rank are eligible for election, excluding Emeriti Faculty, Adjunct Faculty, and Part-time Faculty teaching less than six hours (see Faculty Constitution, Article II, Section 2). The Senate elects three members of its body to serve as officers: a Chair, a Vice Chair, and a Secretary. Officers will serve a one-year term which may be renewed for a second consecutive year. A Senator is appointed by the Chair to serve as Parliamentarian.
To further involve the faculty in the policy of the university, standing committees of the university are established, modified and/or abolished as the Senate deems necessary. These committees make recommendations for action concerning university policy, particularly as the policy is related to concerns of faculty and students. The Senate's Committee on Committees is charged with periodically reviewing the composition, the effectiveness, and the areas of responsibility of each university committee, and with proposing a slate of new members for these committees to the Senate for its approval at the regularly scheduled March meeting.
To provide for orderly transaction of business, Faculty Senate committee members are appointed by the Chair of the Senate, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Faculty concerns needing study may be referred to a Senate committee by action of the Chair, the Agenda Committee, or the Senate. Items referred to committee shall be recorded in the minutes of the Senate. Furthermore, committees study and bring to the Senate recommendations on policies and problems in their areas of responsibility. Recommendations on all referred matters are submitted by committees to the Senate for action as expeditiously as possible.
Send comments or questions to Michael Ramey, Faculty Senate Chair
Faculty Senate Office, 221
I. G. Greer Hall
Appalachian
State University
Boone,
N.C. 28608
828.262.2067
