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Article 2 - Faculty Senate

Last Amended August 2022

Section A. Vision

The Faculty Senate and its constituent committees will serve as the faculty voice of the University.

Section B. Mission

The Faculty Senate, an elected and representative body of the Faculty Council, functions to:

  1. provide a forum wherein any matter associated with academic policy can be openly discussed by any faculty member;
  2. enable the faculty to reach informed collective recommendations on academic matters;
  3. advise the administration on academic matters including new and existing academic programs;
  4. provide advice to the administration on fiscal, personnel, and long-range planning matters; and
  5. provide the faculty a representative voice in issues relating to the exercise of academic freedom, professional rights, general welfare, working conditions, and professional responsibilities in the university community.

The Faculty Senate and its component committees operate in an official capacity with authority delegated by the Chancellor.

Section C. Membership

General Membership Requirement

  1. The Faculty Senate shall be elected by and from voting members of the Faculty Council of the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith.
  2. A faculty member becomes eligible to serve on the Senate after being a voting member of the Faculty Council for two years.


Academic Component Representation

Each academic component shall be entitled to at least one Senator elected by the voting members of that academic component. Each academic component is also entitled to one Senator for each additional fifteen (15) voting members of that component. Apportionment will be based on the following scale:

Faculty Members per Component

Senators Representing that Academic Component

1-15

1

16-30

2

31-45

3

46-60

4

61-75

5

Section D. Apportionment and Terms of Office

  1. All elected members of the Faculty Senate shall normally serve a two-year term with approximately one-half of the Senate terms expiring each year. In the event of a vacancy or reapportionment (see Article IV Election Guidelines) some positions may be designated as one-year terms by the Elections Committee in order to keep one-half of the Senate terms expiring each year.
  2. The term of a member of the Faculty Senate shall expire upon the seating of his or her successor in the fall semester after the elections in March.

Section E. Senator Duties

Each Senator shall be responsible to his/her respective academic component for expressing its views on issues before the Senate, and for conveying the actions and rationale of the Senate to that component.

Section F. Officers

Officer List

  • Officers of the Faculty Senate shall be the Chairperson, the Chairperson-elect, and the Secretary.

Chairperson

  • Election - The chairperson elect will become the chairperson after the previous chairperson leaves office.
  • Term of Office - The Chairperson will serve in that office for one year.
  • Duties - The Chairperson shall:
    • Preside over all meetings of the Faculty Council and Faculty Senate.
    • Call for agenda items at least five working days prior to all meetings, and publish the agenda at least two working days prior to the meeting.
    • Refer to the Provost and/or Chancellor within two working days of passage all actions, recommendations, and resolutions passed by the Faculty Senate or referred by the Faculty Senate to the Faculty Council and voted on there.
    • Receive requests and responses from the Provost and/or Chancellor.
    • Appoint a parliamentarian from the membership of the Faculty Senate. The parliamentarian will serve for both the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Council.
    • Appoint ad hoc committees as needed.
    • Assemble and lead faculty in the procession at commencement.
    • Meet monthly with the Chancellor and Provost to communicate and discuss issues of the faculty. A report of these meetings shall be included in the minutes.
    • Vote only in case of a tie.

Chairperson-elect

  • Election - The Chairperson-elect shall be elected by the membership of the Faculty Council and serve as Chairperson-elect of both the Faculty Council and the Faculty Senate.
  • Term of Office - The Chairperson-elect will serve one year in that position and then become the Chairperson of the Faculty Council and Faculty Senate
  • Duties - The Chairperson-elect shall:
    • Assume the duties of the Chairperson in his/her absence.
    • Assist the Chairperson and the Secretary with their duties.
    • Develop a list of needs and priorities for the purpose of a strategic plan of action for the Faculty Senate for the next year.
    • Accompany the Chair to monthly meetings with the Chancellor and/or Provost to communicate and discuss issues of the faculty.

Secretary

  • Election - The Secretary will be elected from and by the membership of the Faculty Senate and will serve as Secretary of both the Faculty Council and Faculty Senate.
  • Term of Office - The Secretary will serve in that office for one year.
  • Duties - The Secretary shall:
    • Record, publish, and maintain a file of minutes and actions for each meeting of the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Council.
  • Removal from Office - If needed, the Secretary may be removed from office by a simple majority vote of the Faculty

Section G. Meetings

Initial Annual Meeting - The Chairperson of the Faculty Senate shall call a meeting of the Faculty Senate within two weeks after the beginning of each fall semester to chair the election of the Secretary and to establish the schedule for Faculty Senate meetings.

Regular Business Meetings - The Faculty Senate shall meet monthly during the academic year and at the call of the Chancellor of the University, the Chairperson of the Faculty Senate, or a majority of the Faculty Senate members. Meetings are open to all faculty members.

Quorum - In the Faculty Senate, a quorum shall consist of two-thirds of the voting members of the Faculty Senate.

Procedure - Faculty Senate meetings will adhere to procedure governed by Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised.

Administration response - The Faculty Senate requests that the Chancellor or his/her designee respond on the status of all actions referred from the Faculty Senate before the next scheduled Faculty Senate meeting.

Section H. Unseating a Senator or Senator Officer

  • If the chair, chair-elect, or any senator fails to fulfill his/her duties, is habitually absent, or routinely demonstrates behavior that obstructs normal parliamentary procedures then that faculty member may be removed from their elected position by one of the following two methods.

    • Senate Initiated Method
      • The Faculty Senate may vote by secret ballot to remove the senator or officer.
      • The member in question cannot chair the discussion but will be allowed to be present to address charges against him/her.
      • A 75% majority vote of those voting is required for removal from office.

    • Constituency Initiated Method
      • Upon submission to the Faculty Senate of a petition signed by 20% of the faculty constituency that elected the senator (academic component) or officer (faculty council) the Elections Committee will be charged with holding a vote of the constituency to determine if the faculty member is to continue in office.
      • A simple majority of those voting will result in the faculty member being removed from his/her office.
  • Any senator or officer so unseated shall be ineligible to return to the Senate during the academic year in which he or she was unseated or in the academic year immediately following the removal.
  • In the case of the chair being unseated or otherwise vacating the office, the chair-elect will immediately assume the office of chair and continue to stay in that position until the end of the following academic year. Furthermore, an election will be held to replace the chair-elect.
  • In the case of a senator being unseated or otherwise vacating his/her office, an election will be held to replace the senator.