(Revised, Fall 1992)
Article I. Purpose
The Faculty Senate shall represent the faculty
of Tarleton State University in all matters of general faculty interest
including matters raised by Senators, by Senate Committees, and by the
President of the University, and, through petition, by any other administrative
official or body and by an full-time faculty member, any part-time teaching
personnel with no administrative responsibilities, and any librarian who
shall then have the right to speak to the petition. The Faculty Senate
is the principal means of liaison between the faculty and the Academic
Council and/or President of the University. The Faculty Senate shall be
empowered to act for and on behalf of the faculty and shall express the
opinion of the faculty on all matters laid before the Faculty Senate.
Article II.
Composition
Section 1. Membership
Elected members of the Faculty Senate
shall be full-time teaching faculty, or part-time teaching faculty who
do not have official administrative responsibilities, and one librarian.
Each academic department, regardless of size, shall elect one department
member to serve as department representative.
The Faculty Senate shall be composed
of full-time teaching faculty, or part-time teaching personnel who do not
have official administrative responsibilities, holding the rank of instructor
or higher, other than department heads; and one librarian. To be elected,
a faculty member must have a minimum of two years teaching experience at
Tarleton or another university. This does not apply to departments where
none of the faculty meet this qualification. The library representative
to the senate shall have two years of university experience. An individual
may not serve two successive full terms of office.
Election of department members to
the Faculty Senate shall be held during April. Each full-time faculty member,
and part-time faculty member who does not have official administrative
responsibilities, holding rank of instructor or higher, except department
heads, shall be entitled to vote. In the case of a department having only
one eligible member, such member shall automatically be the department
representative.
A majority of eligible voters shall
constitute a quorum for the selection of a Senator. A simple majority is
required for election. The elected members shall assume office on the first
day of the fall semester following their election.
Section 4.
Attendance and Removal from Office
Any senator whose department is
unrepresented for three regular or special called meetings of the Faculty
Senate during the year shall automatically be removed and a new senator
selected by his or her department at the beginning of the semester following
removal. A senator who is absent for three senate meetings but has provided
for departmental representation shall not be removed, but will be contacted
by the senate president to ascertain the problem. If it is determined that
the senator will be unable to attend future senate meetings, the president,
with concurrence of the Executive Committee, may suggest that the department
elect a new senator. Correspondence will be with the faculty members of
the senator's department.
A senator's term of office may be
terminated and a new senator elected at any time by a majority vote of
all eligible department members.
Elected members of the Faculty Senate
shall hold office for three calendar years with the following exceptions:
If for any reason membership is
terminated, a departmental election is to be held to complete the unexpired
term, and the new member shall take office immediately.
The elected members of the Senate
shall be divided into three classes, each with a term of three years, maintaining
as closely as possible a mathematical balance among the classes. As new
seats are created, the balance shall be maintained as closely as possible.
The term of office for members in each class shall end in different years.
Article III.
Operation of the Faculty Senate
Section 1. Meetings
Regular meetings of the Faculty
Senate shall be held each month. The President of the Senate may call a
meeting at any time he/she deems advisable, provided that at least one
day notice given.
Quorum: The presence of a
majority of the total membership of the Faculty Senate shall constitute
a quorum for the transaction of all business of the Senate.
Open Meetings: Meetings of
the Faculty Senate shall be open to members of the faculty unless, by a
two-thirds vote of the Senators present, the Senate decides that the meeting
should be held in executive session.
Rules of Order: In matters
of parliamentary procedures, the latest revised edition of Robert's Rules
of Order shall govern where applicable, provided the rules are not inconsistent
with the Constitution and By-Laws of the Faculty Senate or rules subsequently
adopted by the Senate for the governing of its own proceeding.
The officers of the Faculty Senate
shall be President, President-Elect, Past President, Secretary/Treasurer,
and Parliamentarian. Elections for the positions of President-Elect and
Secretary/Treasurer of the Faculty Senate shall be held at the final scheduled
spring meeting of the Faculty Senate. The Secretary/Treasurer shall be
elected for a two-year term of office. The Parliamentarian shall be elected
at the first meeting of the Faculty Senate during the fall term of the
academic year. The representatives to the Curriculum, Equal Employment
Opportunity/Affirmative Action, and Employment Benefits Committees shall
be appointed by the Senate President with concurrence of the senate at
the first scheduled fall meeting. If there is disagreement within the senate
regarding an appointment, the selection will be made by majority vote.
All positions, except that of the Secretary/Treasurer shall be for one-year
terms.
Following completion of his/her
term as President-Elect of the Faculty Senate, this officer shall automatically
become President at the first meeting of the Senate during the fall term
of the next academic year. Following the term of President, he/she shall
become Past President at the first fall meeting of the succeeding academic
year.
Duties of the Officers
The President of the Faculty
Senate shall call meetings of the Senate; shall preside at all meetings
of the Senate; shall appoint members to ad hoc committees; shall report
to the Senate all communications from the President of the University;
and all transmit to the President of the University the written minutes
of each meeting of the Senate and any other such written communications
as the Senate shall direct. In carrying out this office, the President
shall faithfully follow the mandate of the Senate whenever the Senate has
properly expressed this mandate by voting as specified in this document.
The President may have a voice in the meeting of the Senate at any time
he/she may desire and shall vote in case of a tie. The President will also
serve as the Senate's representative to the Academic Council.
The President-Elect of the
Faculty Senate shall call and preside at all meetings of the Senate in
absence of the President or shall preside over meetings when the President
shall vacate the chair and call upon the President-Elect.
In the absence of the President
and President-Elect of the Senate the Executive Committee shall designate
a temporary Chairman.
The Past President of the
Senate will serve an advisory role to the President and President-Elect
of the Faculty Senate.
The Secretary/Treasurer shall
keep full and faithful minutes of the proceedings of each meeting of the
Senate and shall present a written transcript of such to each member of
the Senate. The Secretary/Treasurer shall transmit to each member of the
Senate, promptly and in writing, the call and agenda of each meeting as
presented by the President of the Senate. The Secretary/Treasurer shall
write and transmit, in such form as directed, all such communications as
shall be ordered by the Senate or the President of the Senate. The Secretary/Treasurer
shall keep in good order, from the inception of the Senate, all minutes,
transactions, communication to or from the Senate, and all other records
directed to be kept by the Senate and shall make them readily available
to any member of the Senate and faculty, the President of the University,
or members of the Board of Regents.
The Parliamentarian shall
acquaint himself/herself with parliamentary procedure. He/she shall advise,
when requested, the President upon matters concerning parliamentary procedure.
In his/her absence the President shall ask another member to act in this
position. His/her rulings may be put to a vote of a majority of the Senate.
Section 3.
Executive Committee
The President, President-Elect,
Past President, Secretary/Treasurer, and Parliamentarian shall constitute
the Executive Committee.
The President of the Senate shall serve as Chairman of the Executive Committee. The Committee shall meet upon call of the Chairman, upon request of the President of the University, or upon request of three members of the Committee.
The Executive Committee shall be
charged with the preparation of an agenda for each meeting of the Senate;
shall serve as a Committee on Committees; shall call meetings of the Senate
when deemed necessary; and shall consider such matters as the President
of the Senate, or the Senate, shall lay before it.
The Executive Committee shall meet
in sufficient time in advance of each stated meeting of the Senate to provide
the members of the Senate with a written agenda at lease one week before
each stated meeting.
The Faculty Senate shall create
such standing and Ad Hoc committees as it deems necessary. Standing Committees
of the Senate shall have the power of originating proposals in their area
of competence, and of holding open meetings to explore campus opinion,
in addition to considering proposals referred to them by the Senate. Upon
order of the President of the Senate, or of the Senate at large or upon
written petition to the President of the Senate signed by a least twenty
members of the faculty, any topic or any aspect of any topic pertinent
to the work of the committee shall be considered by the committee and included
in its report to the Senate.
Membership
All members of the University faculty,
administrators, staff or students of the University shall be eligible to
serve on Senate committees, provided that the chairman of each committee
shall be member of the Faculty Senate. The chairman of a Standing Committee
may request that the Senate replace members for non-performance of committee
duties.
Terms
Standing Committees shall be elected
at the first meeting of the Senate in each academic year, unless created
by the Senate action at a later date, and shall serve until the beginning
of the fall term following. Ad Hoc committees shall serve until their final
report is presented to the Senate or until dismissed by the Senate.
Reports
All reports of committees shall
be presented to the Senate in writing and may also be presented orally
if desired by the committee or requested by the Senate. All standing committees
shall present an annual report to the Senate as well as such other reports
as the committee shall desire to present or shall be requested to present
by the Senate.
Meetings
All committee meetings shall be
open unless otherwise ordered by the Senate or as provided in the Senate
By-Laws. The time and place of any open meeting of a committee shall be
adequately published at least three days before the meeting is to occur.
A meeting of a committee may be called by a petition signed by twenty or
more members of the faculty. At least one meeting of each Ad Hoc committee,
and one meeting each semester of each Standing Committee, shall be an open
meeting.
Quorum
A quorum for any Senate committee
shall be a majority of the members of the committee.
Subcommittees and Minority
The committees may appoint subcommittees
without restriction, but all reports submitted to the Senate shall be adopted
by a majority of the parent committee. The minority of a committee shall
have the right to present to The Senate a minority report at the time the
majority report is presented.
Article IV. Ratification, Amendments, and By-Laws
The ratification and adoption of
this Constitution shall be accomplished upon the approving vote of two-thirds
majority of the members of the faculty voting in a general election called
for the purpose.
Following ratification and adoption
by the faculty, this Constitution shall be submitted to the President of
Tarleton State University and the Board of Regents of the Texas A&M
University System and shall enter into force upon their approval. Current
members of the Faculty Senate shall constitute the initial membership of
the Faculty Senate under this Constitution.
The Senate shall by two-thirds vote
recommend to the faculty proposed amendments to this Constitution. Such
amendments shall take effect upon approval by three-fourths of the votes
cast by the faculty voting in a general election called for the purpose
and upon approval by the President of the University. Amendments proposed
by petition containing signatures of forty percent of the faculty shall
become effective upon approval by two-thirds of the votes cast by the faculty,
and upon approval by the President of the University. The Senate shall
provide each faculty member with a copy of proposed amendments at least
thirty days before the vote.
It shall be the responsibility of the Faculty Senate to provide for the preparation and publication of By-Laws which may be necessary and which shall be made in conformance with provisions of this Constitution.
By-Laws shall be adopted upon the approving vote of a simple majority of the members of the faculty voting in an election or a meeting called for the purpose. Copies of proposed By-Laws shall be provided in writing to the faculty at least five days prior to such meeting. Such By-Laws become effective upon approval by the faculty.
1. The Faculty Senate shall be the
sole judge of its own rules and By-Laws.
2. Ratification or amendment of
the By-Laws shall be accomplished upon the approving vote of two-thirds
majority of the members of the Faculty Senate.
3. Responsibilities to the university
committees overseen by the Faculty Senate are as follows:
a. The senate works with each committee
to establish a set of specific guidelines which clearly define the interactions
between the senate and the committee.
b. In order to work effectively
with its assigned committees, the senate must be prepared to call special
meetings, if necessary, to consider committee business.
c. Each committee should have a
Faculty Senate member as a regular member of the committee or as an ex-officio
member. The senate member can act as liaison between the senate and respective
committee.
d. At the end of each academic year,
the Faculty Senate President should submit a summary of each of the committees'
activities to the University President and Vice President for Academic
Affairs. The report may include an evaluation of the committee's effectiveness
and how well the senate and committee worked together.
e. In some cases, the committees
may send or present information to the senate that should remain confidential.
All members of the senate are obligated to preserve the confidentiality
of that information.
f. Each committee should have significant autonomy. The senate's primary concern is that the committees function effectively. The senate should render assistance when needed.
The primary mission of Tarleton State University is to educate its students. To fulfill that mission, administrators must maintain a relationship with faculty, staff, and students that promotes academic freedom, scholarly activity, teaching excellence, and creative endeavor. Specifically, Tarleton administrators1 are responsible for:
When there are concerns by a group of faculty2 that an administrator is not performing his/her duties in a responsible manner, or there is evidence of flagrant violation of the responsibilities outlined above, faculty may lose confidence in the administrator's leadership, jeopardizing the close relationship that is necessary to the fulfillment of Tarleton's mission.
Concerned faculty should first communicate with the administrator who they believe is not performing satisfactorily and attempt to resolve the complaint. If unsatisfactory conditions persist, the concerns should be presented to the administrator's immediate supervisor with a request for appropriate corrective measures. If the problem is not resolved in a timely manner, the faculty may wish to initiate the process leading to a vote of confidence on the administrator's fitness to continue his/her position. The purpose of this document is to detail the procedures for initiating a vote of confidence in such circumstances.
To initiate the process, faculty must communicate their complaints in writing to the president of the Faculty Senate, who will contact the chair of the Administrative Confidence Committee, a standing subcommittee of the Faculty Senate3. This committee will confer with the concerned faculty, the appropriate administrator, and the Faculty Senate, and decide if the complaint warrants initiation of the confidence vote process.
If it is decided that a vote of confidence should be pursued, the committee will notify the administrator and his/her supervisor and distribute ballots to all regularly appointed full-time faculty in the area involved (department, college, university) to ensure that the majority favors proceeding with the vote. An explanation of conditions which led to Faculty Senate involvement and consideration for a confidence vote will be given on the ballot.
If a majority of the faculty to whom ballots were distributed favor a confidence vote, and there is no resolution to the problem within ten working days, the committee will circulate ballots to all regularly appointed full-time faculty in the area involved for a vote of confidence or no confidence for the administrator. It is imperative that the anonymity of the voting faculty be ensured for all voting processes.
Ballots from the confidence vote
will be counted by the Administrative Confidence Committee and the result
reported to the president of the Faculty Senate who will forward the outcome
to the appropriate administrators. The result of a confidence vote on the
University President will be forwarded to the Chancellor and Chair of The
Texas A&M University System Board of Regents.
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1The term includes those
employees of Tarleton State University with administrative titles and responsibilities.
2A complaint or grievance initiated by an individual faculty
member should follow the procedure outlined in the Faculty Handbook.
3The Administrative Confidence Committee will consist of three
members and one alternate, each representing different colleges. At least
one member must be a senator, and all must be tenured faculty with no administrative
duties. The committee and chair will be appointed annually by the Faculty
Senate.
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