Article VI — General Provisions
- Section 1. At the request of the Chancellor, upon request contained
in a petition signed by members of the faculty
electorate as provided hereafter, or on its own
initiative, the Senate shall obtain by a written mail
poll the requested expression of opinion from the
faculty electorate. The minimum number of valid
signatures required in such a petition from the faculty
electorate shall be established by the Senate in its
bylaws. The formulation of the questions presented, and
the procedures for obtaining such an expression of
opinion shall be determined in each instance by the
Senate. In all cases in which such poll is required,
the Senate shall arrange for the poll to be conducted
promptly upon receipt of the request. The results of
any such poll of the faculty electorate shall be made
public promptly.
- Section 2. The Senate shall provide for the distribution of minutes,
agenda, and reports of the Senate so as to maximize the
opportunity for all interested persons to be informed as
to the Senate's business.
- Section 3. The Senate shall meet at such times as the Senate shall
determine. Due notice (Article VI, Section 10) shall be
given of all meetings except that in an emergency a
meeting may be called on such notice as the bylaws may
provide.
- Section 4. Senate meetings shall be open to the public, subject to
such reasonable rules and procedures as may be adopted
by the Senate.
- Section 5. The Senate is empowered to appoint to Senate committees
such non-senators as the Senate may determine. Such
committee members shall have Senate floor privileges,
including the privilege of making motions, on matters
relating to the committee on which they serve, but they
shall have no vote in the Senate.
- Section 6. A senator must be present at a Senate meeting to vote;
no senator may vote by proxy or absentee ballot.
- Section 7. The Presiding Officer may not vote on any matter before
the Senate except in the event of a tie vote to decide the question even
though the Presiding Officer would not otherwise be entitled to vote.
- Section 8. The Senate may employ such staff and other assistants
as are necessary to carry out its business effectively.
The Chancellor shall undertake within available
resources to provide funding for such purposes.
- Section 9. Periodically the Senate shall provide for a
comprehensive review of its size, organization,
structure, and operation by a commission composed of
members of the faculty and student electorates, and
administrative officials. Such commission shall report
its findings and make recommendations. The report of
the commission shall be made public and distributed as
all other reports of the Senate.
- Section 10. "Due notice" as used in this Constitution shall consist
of written notice, announcing the meeting or proposed
action, sent to the individual members of the Senate
at least five days prior to the date of such meeting
or proposed action.
- Section 11. When the Senate selects members of a search committee,
faculty senators shall nominate and elect faculty
members of the committee, Other Academic Staff senators shall nominate and elect Other Academic Staff members of the committee, and student senators shall
nominate and elect student members of the committee
in separate votes.
- Section 12. As permitted by the University Statutes, the Senate
delegates to the faculties of the several colleges
and other independent academic units the
recommendation of candidates for earned degrees,
diplomas, and certificates to be conferred by the
President under the authority of the Board of
Trustees. A college may further delegate this
authority to the faculties of its internal units.