DOC I-06-05

PROPOSAL TO THE ACADEMIC SENATE

 

 

TITLE:                        Constitutional amendment to change the timing of elections and terms for faculty, instructional staff, and student representatives of the Academic Senate.

 

SUBMITTED BY:     Faculty Affairs Committee of the Senate

 

DATE:                                    April 21, 2006

 

ACTION:                    Legislative

 

Proposal:  A Constitutional amendment to change the timing of elections and terms for faculty, instructional staff, and student representatives of the Academic Senate.

 

Rationale of the proposal:  The rationale for this change is to bring terms of office in line with the academic calendar and with the elections of student representatives, thus improving continuity and productivity of the Academic Senate throughout the academic year.  Below are listed the articles of the Constitution affected by this proposal followed by the revised articles (in italics).   

 

Topic:  Election of University Faculty Representatives

Current:  Article IV.B.3.  Elections shall take place in the fall of the year and all terms of office shall begin with the first Senate meeting of the winter term.

Proposed:  Article IV.B.3.  Elections shall take place in the winter of the year, and all terms of office shall begin after the last winter semester meeting of the outgoing Senate. 

Current:  Article IV.B.5. The part-time faculty shall elect the part-time faculty representative in an election held each fall term. The term of office shall be for one year. The term shall begin with the first Senate meeting of the winter term.

Proposed:  Article IV.B.5. The part-time faculty shall elect the part-time faculty representative in an election held each winter term.  The term of office shall be one year.  The term shall begin after the last winter semester meeting of the outgoing Senate.

Current:  Article IV.B.6.  The full-time non-tenure track Instructional Staff shall elect a representative in an election held each Fall term.  The term of office shall be for one year.  The term shall begin at the first Senate meeting of the winter term. 

Proposed:  Article IV.B.6.  The full-time non-tenure track Instructional Staff shall elect a representative in an election held each winter term.  The term of office shall be for one year.  The term shall begin after the last winter semester meeting of the outgoing Senate.

Topic:  Election of Undergraduate Student Representatives

Current:  Article IV.C.3.  The term of office shall be one year. All terms of office shall begin with the first Senate meeting of the fall term.

Proposed:  Article IV.C.3.  The term of office shall be one year. All terms of office shall begin after the last winter semester meeting of the outgoing Senate. 

Topic:  Election of Graduate Student Representatives

Current:  Article IV.D.2.  The term of office shall be one year. All terms of office shall begin with the first Senate meeting of the winter term.

Proposed:  Article IV.D.2.  The term of office shall be one year.  The term shall begin after the last winter semester meeting of the outgoing Senate .

 

Topic:  Officers of the Academic Senate

 

Current:  Article VI.C.2.  The President, the Vice President, and the Secretary of the Academic Senate shall be elected by the Senate from the elected members of the University tenured and tenure-track faculty serving on the Executive Committee. Elections shall be held at the initial meeting of each new Academic Senate.

 

Proposed:  Article VI.C.2.  The President, the Vice President, and the Secretary of the Academic Senate shall be elected by the Senate from the elected members of the University tenured and tenure-track faculty serving on the Executive Committee, excluding the Deans’ representative.  Elections shall be held after the last winter semester meeting of the outgoing Senate and prior to May 16^th.

Topic:  Election of the Executive Committee

Current:  Article VI.E.2.  Vacancies of the Executive Committee shall be filled through elections by the Senate at the initial meeting of each winter term, except for the undergraduate student, whose election shall take place at the initial meeting of each fall term.

Proposed:  Article VI.E.2.  Vacancies on the Executive Committee shall be filled through elections by the incoming Senate after the last winter semester meeting of the outgoing Senate and  prior to May 16^th.

 

Implementation

 

With approval of the Senate, the Faculty Affairs Committee will work to present this amendment to the full faculty for approval early in the fall term of 2006.  It is anticipated that open hearings will be held in the first two weeks of September, followed by an election at the end of the month.  Elections will be conducted online through the balloting system used for the election of representatives.  If the Amendment is approved by at least two-thirds of the majority of the University tenure-track faculty, it will then be submitted to the President and Board of Trustees for approval at their October meeting.

 

If the amendment is approved, the change in the timing of the elections will result in a change in the length of term of the current representatives, officers, and Executive Committee members.  It is proposed that the terms of those sitting representatives the Executive Committee members be extended one semester, with terms ending at the end of the winter terms (2007, 2008, and 2009).  For faculty who choose not to serve this extension or cannot serve (e.g., part-time faculty who may no longer be with the University) procedures described in Article IV.B.7 will be used to replace those members.