Academic Senate

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

As amended through April 30, 2007

Part B - Senate Committees

  1. The Senate shall have an executive council, called the Senate Executive Committee, and such standing and ad hoc committees, with such duties and membership, as the Senate shall determine.
  2. The committees of the Senate shall identify those issues embodying substantive policy questions and present them in writing, with committee recommendations, to the Senate for consideration, in accordance with the procedure of Bylaw A-3.
  3. Committee members, and chairs of committees other than the Committee on Committees, shall be elected by the Senate.
  4. Ex officio committee members shall not have voting privileges except where otherwise expressly provided herein.
  5. The Committee on Committees shall make nominations for Chair and Vice-Chair of the Senate Executive Committee and for members and chairs of standing and ad hoc committees, except for members of the Committee on Committees itself. Nominees for faculty and student positions need not necessarily be senators except where otherwise expressly provided herein, but must be members of the faculty or student electorate of the Urbana-Champaign campus or of the College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign. Nominees for academic professional positions must be members of the Professional Advisory Committee electorate of the Urbana-Champaign campus or of the College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign. A list of those nominated by the Committee on Committees shall be communicated to all senators in accordance with the due notice provision of the Constitution prior to each election for committee membership or chair. Additional nominations may be made from the floor. Whether from the Committee on Committees or from the floor, each nomination shall have the consent of the nominee. After nominations have closed, the Senate shall elect from the nominees those who are to serve. Ties will be broken by drawing lots.
  6. Unless otherwise provided herein or by the Senate at the time of election, faculty and academic professional members of standing committees shall be elected for terms of two years, about half being elected each year, and student and other members shall be elected for terms of one year. Terms of Executive Committee and committee members, except those of the Committee on Committees, shall begin on the first day of the academic year following election. The term of the Committee on Committees shall begin immediately after completion of the last regularly scheduled Spring session of the old Senate. The term of service for a member of an ad hoc committee shall begin upon election and continue until the individual is replaced or recalled or until the committee is discharged. Both senators and non-senators may be reelected to membership.
    • (a) A senator whose senatorial term expires before the committee term shall continue as a committee member. If, after election to a committee, a member of the faculty electorate or student electorate at the time of election ceases to be a member of that electorate, then that person shall cease to be a member of the committee. When a vacancy occurs, nomination and election of a replacement shall be in order and shall accord with relevant provisions of these Bylaws.
    • (b) A member of the Senate who resigns from an elected term will be presumed to have resigned also from all standing committees to which the member had been elected, unless the letter of resignation states the member's intention to continue as a member of one or more such committees.
    • (a) A committee may be dissolved or discharged from further duties by majority vote of the senators present and voting at a Senate meeting, provided that due notice of such proposed action has been given to the Senate.
    • (b) The Senate may recall any individual committee member by a majority vote of the senators present and voting at a Senate meeting, provided that due notice of such proposed action has been given to the Senate and to all members of the committee. Recall of an individual committee member shall immediately terminate service on that committee.
    • (a) Senate committees are authorized to act for and in the name of the Senate on minor matters. Such actions shall be reported promptly to the Senate and will stand unless the Senate, upon receiving such a report, takes jurisdiction of the matter for further consideration.
    • (b) Senate committees may serve as advisory bodies to the University Board of Trustees and to administrative officials. In such cases, the views of the committees shall be considered as the views of administrative advisory committees and not as the views of the Senate, and any reports made by the committees shall not be considered to be or identified as reports of the Senate unless they have been approved by the Senate.

  7. Each standing and ad hoc committee shall submit a written report of its activities and unfinished business to the Senate at the last regular meeting of the year, and a supplementary written report shall be submitted at the first regular meeting of the next year if, in the judgment of the committee chair, activity during the summer warrants such a supplementary report.