Original
Adoption: 1978
Amended Fall 1998
The members of the faculty of the University of Houston-Downtown established this Constitution to provide an instrument for cooperative action in attending to such professional goals as the members may select.
Article Four: Committees Of The Faculty Senate
Article Five: University Standing Policy Committees
Article Six: Amending Procedure
Section One. The Faculty Senate shall consist of a president, a vice president, a secretary-treasurer, and representatives from all academic departments of the university.
Section
Two. All full-time university employees holding faculty
rank [tenured/tenure-track] excluding those on leave and those with
administrative duties above the level of department chair, shall be
eligible to serve in the Faculty Senate. Those who are eligible to serve
in the Faculty Senate shall constitute the Faculty Assembly.
Section
Three. Each academic department of each degree granting
college shall elect at least one representative to the Senate. Departments
with more than seven members eligible to serve in the Senate shall elect
one additional representative for every additional seven members or
major fraction thereof in the department at the time of the election.
Section
Four. The term of office for each representative shall
be two years, and no representative may serve more than two consecutive
terms. In the event of a vacancy prior to the normal expiration of a
term, a special election shall be held within thirty days to fill the
unexpired term. The terms shall be overlapping, with one-half of the
representatives being elected each year. Initial terms of office of
one year or of two years shall be determined by lot.
Section
Five. Terms of office shall run from May 1 through April
30. Each department shall elect by secret ballot the number of representatives
to which it is entitled prior to April 1. The Committee on Credentials
and Elections shall establish guidelines for department elections.
Section
Six. A senator maybe removed from office by a vote of
two-thirds [2/3] of the faculty assembly members of the department which
the senator represents. The Committee on Credentials and Elections shall
be informed two weeks in advance of the election and shall certify the
results. If the senator in question is on the Committee on Credentials
and Elections, that senator shall be temporarily excused from the committee.
Section Seven. All faculty members may attend and participate in discussions at the regular meetings, though only members of the Faculty Senate may propose motions and vote.
Section
One. The faculty senate shall have a president, a vice
president and a secretary-treasurer. The vice president and the secretary-treasurer
shall be regular voting members of the Senate, but the president shall
vote only to break a tie.
Section
Two. Senate officers shall be elected at large through
secret ballots distributed by campus mail to all members of the Faculty
Assembly. Elections shall be held prior to March 15 each even numbered
year. If a member of the Senate representing a department is elected
to a Senate office, that Senate position shall become vacant. If no
candidate for Senate office receives a majority of the votes cast, a
run-off election between the two candidates receiving the greatest number
of votes shall be held within ten days.
Section
Three. Terms of all officers shall be two years beginning
May 1 immediately following the election. No person may hold the same
office for two consecutive terms.
Section
Four. In the event of a vacancy prior to the normal expiration
of a term, a special election shall be held within thirty days to fill
the unexpired term.
Section
Five. The functions of the president are to:
Section
Six. The functions of the vice president are to
- Preside over meetings of the Faculty Senate in the absence of the president,
- Serve as chairperson of the Committee on Committees,
- Assist the Faculty Senate president,
- Represent the Faculty Senate on appropriate university and/or UH-System Committees and before external community or governmental bodies.
Section
Seven. The functions of the secretary-treasurer are to:
- Compile a complete set of minutes of the meetings of the Senate and of the Faculty Assembly and make the minutes of regular meetings available to members of the Faculty Assembly,
- Keep a record of members present at each meeting,
- Maintain the financial records of the Senate,
- Conduct all Senate correspondence,
- Represent the Faculty Senate on appropriate university and/or UH-System Committees and before external community or governmental bodies.
Section Eight. Senate officers may be removed from office by a sixty percent [60%] vote of the Faculty Assembly. A vote for removal is called after a two-thirds [2/3] vote of the Faculty Senate membership or after a petition signed by one-third of all Faculty Assembly members. The Faculty Assembly petition must be presented to and certified by the Committee on Credentials and Elections. The Committee on Credentials and Elections must conduct the recall vote within 10 days of the Faculty Senate vote or of the certification of the Faculty Assembly petition.
Section
One. The Faculty Senate shall normally meet twice every
month during the fall and spring academic semesters. The University
President, or designated representative, is invited to sit with the
Senate in its regular meetings. An agenda of business to be considered
by the Senate shall be posted publicly and distributed to the faculty
assembly at least one week prior to each regular meeting.
Section
Two. Sixty percent [60%] of the total Senate membership
shall constitute a quorum.
Section
Three. All meetings of the Senate and its committees shall
be conducted according to the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order
unless otherwise stipulated by a two-thirds [2/3] vote of the members
present.
Section
Four. Components of the university other than academic
departments may be authorized by the regular Senate membership to elect
nonvoting representatives to the Senate. Any component of the university
desiring such representation may petition the Faculty Senate for authorization
to elect a non-voting representative.
Section Five. A meeting of the Faculty Assembly shall be called at least once a semester by the Faculty Senate president and a formal report made to the Assembly on the activities of the Senate. A quorum at Assembly meetings shall be a majority of the Assembly membership. At Assembly meetings, resolutions may be passed in the name of the faculty by a majority vote of all members present or may be referred to the Committee on Credentials and Elections to be voted on through a referendum. The Senate president must call a special Assembly meeting when requested to do so by a petition signed by twenty-five percent [25%] of the Assembly members. The presiding officer of the Senate shall serve as presiding officer of Assembly meetings.
ARTICLE
FOUR: COMMITTEES OF THE FACULTY SENATE
Section
One. The following committees shall be standing committees
of the Faculty Senate: Executive Committee,
Committee on Committees, Committee
on Credentials and Elections, Budget
Committee and the General Education
Committee.
The Faculty Senate may appoint such committees as are necessary for
reviewing policies and policy changes and for conducting research and/or
investigation on topics that are of concern to the faculty. Such committees
include but are not limited to the General Education Day Committee and
the Government Relations Committee. No department will have more than
one member on any committee.
Section
Two. The Executive Committee
shall consist of the president, the vice president, the secretary-treasurer
and two Senate members elected by the Senate. The members elected by
the Senate shall serve one-year terms but may be reelected. Functions
of the committee are to
- Prepare and distribute an agenda prior to each Senate meeting,
- Act for the Senate on routine business and in the implementation of policies and procedures,
- Receive and file all committee reports,
- Nominate and appoint faculty members to serve on university and/or UH-System committees or task forces whenever the Committee on Committees is not available to make nominations and the Faculty Senate is not available to appoint representatives.
Section
Three. The Committee
on Committees shall consist of the Senate vice president, who shall
serve as chair, and other members of the Faculty Assembly elected by
the Senate for one-year terms. No department may have more than one
member on the Committee on Committees. Representation should be equally
divided among the academic colleges. Functions of the committee are
to
- Nominate, to the Senate, faculty members for all Senate committees,
- Nominate faculty members to run for president, vice president and secretary-treasurer of the Senate,
- Nominate to the Senate [or to the Senate Executive Committee], faculty members to serve as faculty representatives on the committees or task forces of the university or system.
- Solicit committee nominations from the faculty.
Section
Four. The Committee
on Credentials and Elections shall consist of three faculty members
elected by the Senate for one-year terms. No department may have more
than one member on the Committee on Credentials and Elections. Representation
shall be equally divided among the degree-granting colleges. Functions
of the committee are to
- Conduct the election of Faculty Senate officers as well as other elections ordered by the Senate. The committee shall circulate to all members of the Faculty Assembly a ballot listing no more than three nominees for each office. Faculty members who wish to run for Senate office but who were not nominated by the Committee on Committees may have their names listed on the ballot by submitting to the Committee on Credentials and Elections a petition signed by at least ten percent [10%] of the membership of the Faculty Assembly,
- Inform each department through its chair, by February 1 of each year, of the number of representatives that department is entitled to elect to the coming session of the Senate,
- Investigate and report to the Senate all questions pertaining to elections. Final decisions on such questions shall be made by the full Senate,
- Decide questions concerning an individual's eligibility for membership in the Faculty Assembly,
- Establish guidelines for the election of departmental representatives to the Senate.
Section
Five. The Budget Committee
shall consist of at least one faculty member from each degree granting
college appointed by the Senate for one-year terms. No department may
have more than one member on the Budget Committee. The Budget Committee
consults with the administration and represents faculty views on budgetary
matters of concern to the faculty in general. The committee is also
responsible for providing information to faculty concerning budgetary
matters.
Section Six. The General Education Committee shall consist of one faculty member from each department. The committee addresses educational issues of concern to the faculty.
ARTICLE
FIVE: UNIVERSITY STANDING POLICY COMMITTEES
Section
One. The following committees are designated as University
Standing Policy Committees in PS 01.A.03 Section 2.5, the Academic Shared
Governance Policy, dated 10/16/95, and by the Faculty Senate. University
Standing Policy Committees are responsible for developing and /or reviewing
all university policies that directly affect the academic environment.
The Committee on Committees nominates faculty representatives for University
Policy Committees. The Faculty Senate then elects the faculty representatives
to the university standing policy committees. No department will have
more than one faculty representative on any committee.
The University Standing Policy Committees include Faculty Affairs Committee
[PS 01.A.03, §2.5.1], Academic Policies Committee [PS 01.A.03,
§2.5.2], Curriculum Committee [PS 01.A.03, §2.5.3]
Section
Two. University Standing Policy Committees shall have
equal representation from the academic colleges whenever possible. Terms
of committee members shall run from early May through April 30. Each
Committee shall elect a chairperson and a secretary whose primary function
is to keep a record of committee actions.
Section
Three. The Faculty Affairs Committee is responsible for
the review and recommendation of policies pertaining to faculty related
issues and any matters affecting the professional lives of faculty.
The committee is concerned with such faculty-related issues as rank
and tenure, promotions, faculty benefits, course loads, faculty leaves,
grievances, and academic freedoms and responsibility.
Section
Four. The Academic Policies Committee is responsible for
the review and recommendation of policies pertaining to academic standards,
practices and regulations.
Section
Five. The Curriculum Committee is responsible for the
review and recommendation of policies pertaining to the development
and approval of new courses, new degree programs and other curriculum
changes and requirements.
Section
Six. Faculty representatives to other university committees
and councils may be selected through standard Committee
on Committees' procedures or other alternative procedures as agreed
to by the Faculty Senate or by election when appropriate. The Faculty
Senate Executive Committee is responsible for working with the President's
office and the Vice President of Academic Affairs/Provost's office to
identify all university committees on which faculty representatives
will serve.
Section Seven. Faculty representatives serve on the following councils and on any other councils that may be constituted in the university by virtue of their being nominated to the Credentials and Elections Committee and their election by the faculty assembly members in their academic colleges.
- University Planning Council
- University Marketing Council
- University Academic Affairs Council [PS 01.A.03 Section 2.7.1]
ARTICLE
SIX: AMENDING PROCEDURE
Section
One. Amendments to this constitution may be presented
by any senator at any meeting of the Faculty Senate and shall be voted
on at the next regular meeting, provided that there be at least one
week between the two meetings. If two-thirds [2/3] of the Senate membership
supports a proposed amendment, the amendment shall be presented to the
Faculty Assembly for a vote.
Section
Two. Between fifteen and thirty days after the Senate
approves an amendment, the Committee on Credentials and Elections shall
submit by campus mail the amendment(s) and ballots to the Faculty Assembly.
Ratification of proposed amendments shall require the support of a two
thirds [2/3] of those voting in the election.
The Constitution was adopted in 1978.
Attachment: PS 01.A.03, Academic Shared Governance Policy, dated 10/16/95
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