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Bylaws of the Faculty Senate

 

PREAMBLE

The Faculty Senate, authorized by the faculty and approved by the Board of Regents, shall be the legislative body of the faculty with responsibility to advise the President and make rules and regulations for all areas under its purview as prescribed in Board of Regents’ Policy 3.2.4 and in Section IV of Statutes of Savannah State University. The Faculty Senate shall formulate academic policy and rules regarding student affairs. Upon approval of the President, its actions shall be considered policy to be implemented by the administration. The President shall respond to all decisions recommended by the Faculty Senate for approval within 30 days.

 

DEFINITION: When used in this document, “majority” shall be understood to mean “simple majority” unless otherwise specified.

ARTICLE I: FUNCTIONS OF THE FACULTY SENATE

SECTION 1: The Senate shall serve as the representative body of the University faculty and shall consider issues presented by any member or group from the faculty. Following deliberations of the Senate, matters specified in these Bylaws as requiring ratification by the entire faculty shall be presented to that body for a vote.

  1. The Faculty Senate shall serve as the representative body of the University faculty and shall study and prepare recommendations concerning the faculty and the University. The Senate shall:
    1. Have legislative responsibility with respect to academic policies, educational standards, curricula, and academic regulations;
    2. Approve or disapprove curricular changes recommended by academic departments and colleges of the University;
    3. Make rules and regulations for the students of the University regarding admission, dismissal, discipline, scholarship, classes, programs of study, requirements for graduation and other matters as may be necessary or proper for maintaining high educational standards; and
    4. Inform the University faculty of its actions by written communication to be distributed by the Executive Committee; and
    5. Prepare a written annual report developed by the Executive Committee and presented by the chairperson of the Senate to the University faculty at the last regular meeting of each academic year.
  2. The Senate shall establish and maintain standing and other committees of the University faculty and shall make rules and regulations for these.
  3. The Senate shall consider concerns of the University faculty and academic departments and colleges. It shall make recommendations or express opinions of the faculty to the University president, and, through the President, to the Board of Regents.

SECTION 2: On behalf of the University faculty, the Senate shall act to

  1. Recommend general rules and regulations for all academic programs of the University and the conduct of students and student organizations;
  2. Recommend actions to be taken for the general welfare of the faculty and for the protection of academic freedom;
  3. Advise the President on any matters that may affect any academic area or aspect of the academic image and integrity of the University; and
  4. Consider requests or petitions of a unit’s faculty (department or college) or an individual faculty member about matters within the realm of legitimate consideration of the entire faculty and make recommendations about same to the President of Savannah State University.

SECTION 3: The Senate, via these bylaws, shall make rules and regulations for its own governance and proceedings.

ARTICLE II: ORGANIZATION OF THE FACULTY SENATE

SECTION 1: MEMBERSHIP

  1. Regular (Voting) Members--The elected representatives of the academic units of the University shall be known as senators and shall have voting rights. In order to be elected to the Senate, a faculty member must have completed two years of service as a full-time, tenure track teaching faculty member at the University, or in units in which tenure is not offered, must have completed two years of service, be full-time, and hold faculty rank. Department chairs and unit directors who regularly teach during the course of an academic year may be elected to the Senate. Temporary, visiting, and adjunct faculty are excluded from membership on the Senate. The Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs shall be a regular member, but shall not be eligible to serve as an officer.
  2. Associate Members--The following administrative officers shall be continual, non-voting, associate members of the Senate by virtue of their positions and provision in the Statutes: the Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs, the Vice President for Student Affairs, the Vice President for University Advancement, the academic deans of the colleges, the Director of Institutional Planning, Research and Assessment, the Director of Library Services, the Assistant/Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, and the assistant and associate deans of the colleges. All associate members shall be ex-officio.

SECTION 2: ELECTION OF SENATORS

  1. Unit faculty shall elect their Senate representatives and shall report the names of those elected to the Executive Committee at least seven days prior to the last regularly scheduled Senate meeting of the academic year.
  2. Senators shall serve for a period of two years.
  3. Every academic department or degree-granting program of the University shall have at least one senator.
  4. The total number of senators shall be not fewer than 29 elected members and the designated ex-officio members. Minimally, the elected membership shall consist of one-fourth of the total number in the University faculty. The number of senators from each academic department, program or discipline in respect to the total number of elected regular members of the Senate shall be consistent with the ratio of the number of full-time faculty employed in the academic department, program or discipline to the total number of full-time faculty employed in the University faculty.
  5. New senators shall be installed at the last regular meeting of the academic year. Installation of new senators shall occur at the beginning of the meeting, which allows all new senators to vote/participate in the process of senate.
  6. If a department or program believes it is not being properly served by a senator, then that department or program has a right to recall that senator by majority vote.

SECTION 3: VOTING

  1. All powers of the Senate shall be exercised by the affirmative vote of a majority of Senators present.
  2. Each senator shall have one vote.
  3. Voting may be by (1) voice vote, (2) show of hand, or (3) ballots. Following a non-unanimous voice vote, a senator may request a division of the house which must be conducted immediately by show of hand vote. A senator may request a ballot vote.
  4. Given that all actions of the Senate are transmitted to the President as recommendations, the President, who also serves as the Chair of the Senate, may not exercise the usual tie-breaking vote.

SECTION 4: OFFICERS OF THE SENATE

  1. There shall be the following officers: Chair, Vice Chair, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Parliamentarian, and Logistics Officer.
  2. In accordance with Board of Regents’ Policy, the President of the University shall serve as Chair and preside over the Faculty Senate.
  3. All officers, except the Chair, shall be senators elected from the Senate membership at the year’s final, regularly scheduled meeting, shall take office on the 1st of July, and shall serve one year terms.
  4. Election of officers shall be by majority vote of the senators present. Each officer shall be elected in an individual motion. The Recording Secretary of the Senate shall be the election teller and shall certify all final vote counts.
  5. In the event of an officer abdicating a position, said position shall be filled by majority vote of the senators present during the regular meeting following the announcement of the vacancy.
  6. Excepting the Chair, an officer may be impeached for failure to perform those duties specified in the Senate’s Bylaws. A petition signed by ten (10) percent of the Senate’s voting members shall be required for including this action on the agenda. A two-thirds majority vote of senators present shall be required for impeachment.
  7. In the event of an impeachment, the vacant position shall be filled at the next regular meeting of the Senate.

SECTION 5: DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS OF THE SENATE

  1. Chair. The Chair shall preside at Senate meetings.
  2. Vice Chair. The Vice Chair shall be the presiding officer and Chair of the Executive Committee and shall be the official spokesperson for the organization. The Vice Chair shall serve in the absence of the Chair and shall perform any other duties assigned.
  3. Recording Secretary. The Recording Secretary shall (1) prepare and secure the minutes of the Executive Committee, (2) record, transmit and preserve the minutes of the Senate meetings, (3) reproduce and distribute the minutes of the previous Senate meetings to all senators, associate members, and faculty at least seven days prior to the regularly scheduled meeting, (4) act as vote teller at all meetings of the Senate, and (5) act as the Vice Chair in the absence of that individual.
  4. Corresponding Secretary. The Corresponding Secretary shall be responsible for all communications and correspondence going out from or coming in to the Faculty Senate. The Secretary shall receive from the Executive Committee the agenda and reproduce and distribute this. The Secretary shall also distribute announcements of meetings and other pertinent information.
  5. Parliamentarian. The Parliamentarian shall settle matters of debate procedures and protocol of conducting the meetings. The Parliamentarian shall be guided by Robert’s Rules of Order.
  6. Logistics Officer. The Logistics Officer shall meet with the appropriate service units of the University to ensure that the meeting site of the Senate is properly equipped and available prior to the hour scheduled for that meeting.
  7. No person shall be elected to the same office more than two consecutive terms.
  8. Officers shall be elected at the year’s final regularly scheduled meeting of the Senate and shall take office on the 1st of July.

SECTION 6: COMMITTEES

  1. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the Senate’s Vice Chair, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, Parliamentarian, and Logistics Officer. The chairperson of the Faculty Affairs Committee is a non-voting member of the executive Committee.
  2. The Senate shall establish and maintain standing and ad hoc committees of the University faculty and shall make rules and regulations for these.
  3. The terms of membership on standing committees of the Senate shall be two years, beginning in the fall term of the academic year. The terms of membership of special committees shall be as defined by the Executive Committee at the time that such committees are created.
  4. The Executive Committee shall require a standing or ad hoc committee to report to the Senate as needed.
  5. Membership on the standing committees shall include senators but, except as provided in Section 7A below, shall not be limited to senators only. As much as possible, membership shall be representative of the various academic units and of the race/gender mix of the faculty population. Membership in all committees shall be for two years with terms of service to be staggered one year for half of the membership of each committee.
  6. Chairs of standing committees shall be senators. These persons may be elected by the committee or appointed by the Senate.
  7. Any committee (including ad hoc committees) dealing with promotion, tenure, retention, and/or dismissal of faculty or with grievances by or against faculty shall consist of tenured and good standing faculty only.
  8. Except in situations involving confidential matters, the Senate may require its appointees to administrative committees to submit a report to the Faculty Senate.

SECTION 7: THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

  1. The Vice Chair shall chair the Executive Committee.
  2. The Executive Committee shall serve as the executive body of the Senate and shall be responsible for planning and directing the work of the Senate. It shall prepare and distribute, through its Corresponding Secretary, the agenda for meetings.
  3. The Executive Committee shall be the channel of communication between the Senate and the University administration. It shall meet regularly with the President to discuss the issues which are of interest to the faculty and the University.
  4. The Executive Committee shall request and receive regular reports from the standing committees of the Senate. It may establish ad hoc committees to examine and report on issues which are of interest to the faculty but which do not fall within the domain of a standing committee.

SECTION 8: STANDING COMMITTEES

  1. The standing committees of the Senate shall be: Executive Committee; Committee on Committees (Senate members only); New Programs and Curriculum Committee (NPCC); Committee on Student Affairs; Library and Education Media Committee; Scholarship Committee; Faculty Development Committee; Committee on Faculty Affairs; International Students Programs and Activities Committee, Committee to Revise the Faculty Handbook; and Evaluation Committee.
  2. The chair shall schedule meetings and notify members; prepare the agenda for each meeting (a copy shall be filed with the report submitted to the Senate); preside at committee meetings; present written committee reports to the Faculty Senate, including reports of attendance and participation records; and appoint a recorder, assure that the committee elects a recorder, or accept a volunteer committee member as recorder.
  3. An elected, volunteer, or appointed recorder shall take notes at committee meetings, keep accurate attendance records, and prepare and present minutes to the committee and other individuals/groups as requested.

ARTICLE III: PROCEEDINGS OF THE SENATE

SECTION 1: MEETINGS OF THE SENATE

  1. The Senate shall meet at least twice each academic term. Summer meetings shall be scheduled if needed.
  2. The Chair of the Senate shall preside at Senate meetings. The Chair may delegate, to the Vice Chair, this function on an ad hoc basis for portions or all of a meeting.
  3. The Chair of the Senate shall distribute to all senators and associate members a calendar of regular meeting dates for the academic year. Such distribution must be completed prior to the initial meeting of each year, and the meetings so identified shall be deemed regular meetings.
  4. Special meetings of the Senate may be called by the Chair of the Senate or the Executive Committee.
  5. A quorum shall consist of one-half the elected senators. All powers of the Senate shall be exercised by the affirmative vote of a majority of senators present.
  6. A summary of the minutes of each meeting shall be furnished by the Recording Secretary to all senators, associate members, and faculty not later than seven calendar days prior to the next meeting of the Senate.
  7. Except as determined by majority vote of senators, all meetings of the Senate shall be open to visiting members of the general University faculty. Such persons may be granted the privilege of the floor on a specific agenda item at the discretion of the presiding officer.

ARTICLE IV: AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS

These Bylaws shall be amendable by a majority vote of the elected senators at a regular meeting, provided that the proposed amendment is a part of the written agenda of that meeting and that a quorum has been certified. Said amendment shall then be presented to the general faculty for approval. All amendments shall be submitted to the Senate at least one meeting prior to the meeting at which the vote on the amendment shall be taken.


ARTICLE V: RATIFICATION OF AMENDMENTS

Having already been approved by the Senate, amendments to the Bylaws shall be recommended to the University faculty for approval by a two-thirds vote of the faculty present.

ARTICLE VI: SUBORDINATION TO THE STATUTES

The Bylaws of the Faculty Senate shall be in compliance with the Savannah State University Statutes and the policies and bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. In case of any conflict between the Bylaws of the Faculty Senate and the University’s Statutes, the Statutes shall prevail.