SP.00.04
September 27, 1999

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN SENATE

University Statutes and Senate Procedures
(Final;Action)

SP.00.04 Proposed Changes to Election Rules for Faculty Senators

BACKGROUND

When the Senate approved SP.95.04, Proposed Bylaws Changes to Merge the Committees on University Statutes and Senate Procedures, Elections and Credentials, and Parliamentarians, on January 29, 1996, the duties of the Senate Elections and Credentials Committee (SECC) were assumed by University Statutes and Senate Procedures (USSP). The housekeeping amendments below reflect that change. Also, in accord with provisions approved by the Senate on February 9, 1998, to eliminate the first organizational meeting, amendments to sections 6.5 and 10 are proposed below.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Senate Committee on University Statutes and Senate Procedures recommends approval of the following modifications to the Election Rules for Faculty Senators (only amended sections and subsections have been included). In the amendments below, text to be deleted is in [square brackets]; text to be added is underscored.

PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE ELECTION RULES FOR FACULTY SENATORS

2. College Committees

• 2.1 Creation. College elections and credentials committees are created pursuant to paragraph 2, Part C, of the Senate Bylaws. Under the Bylaws, these committees may perform whatever duties are delegated to them by the [Senate Elections and Credentials Committee (SECC)] Senate Committee on University Statutes and Senate Procedures (USSP).

• 2.2 Delegation of Power. The [SECC] USSP will delegate various duties to the college committees by way of Rules and Guidelines it adopts and publishes. These Rules and Guidelines may be added to, amended, or repealed at any time by the [SECC] USSP.

• 2.3 Specific Powers. The [SECC] USSP hereby delegates to the college committees the following duties, subject to any limitations set forth in the Rules and Guidelines of the [SECC] USSP.

  • (a.) Apportionment Plan. In all colleges, the college committee, in cooperation with the Senate Office, will prepare an apportionment plan for submission to the [SECC] USSP, which will establish voting units from which faculty representatives will be elected.

  • (b.) Conducting Elections. In all colleges, the college committee will conduct nomination and election procedures under the supervision of the Clerk of the Senate.

  • (c.) Priority of Existing Plan; Amendment. Where an apportionment plan establishing voting units has been implemented, that plan shall remain in effect until otherwise determined by the [SECC] USSP. The procedures for amending an apportionment plan shall be the same as those employed in adopting a new plan.

3. Election Units; Apportionment

• 3.3 Voting Units. Faculty voting units shall be determined in the following manner: . . .
  • (c.) Based on [SECC] USSP Statistics. The determination of voting units required in Section 3.1 shall be based upon faculty figures supplied by the [SECC] USSP.

4. Time and Duration of Elections

• 4.1 Duration. The final election shall be held on two consecutive weekdays, specified by [SECC] USSP in the Timetable issued to all voting units.

• 4.2 Time. Nominating elections and final elections shall be held in faculty voting units at such times as shall be specified by the [SECC] USSP.

6. Candidate Qualifications

• 6.5 Limited Terms. The terms of senators elected from the faculty electorate shall be two years, with a maximum of three consecutive terms. The election of a faculty senator in a regular election constitutes a full term unless he/she resigns prior to the [First] Organizational Meeting of the Senate. A replacement senator who is elected prior to January 1 of the first year of a resigned senator's term shall be considered to have served a full term.

8. Nomination Procedures

• 8.4 Nominating Ballots.
  • (a.) Preparation of Ballots. Nominating ballots shall be prepared by the administrative office in each voting unit, and should conform as nearly as possible to the model ballot issued by the [SECC] USSP. Where a voting unit embraces two or more departments, the administrative office of the largest department shall prepare the ballots, unless otherwise provided by the appropriate college committee. Where a large department is divided into two or more voting units, the offices of the department shall prepare the ballots for all voting units within the department, unless otherwise provided by the appropriate college committee.

  • (b.) Contents. Ballots shall contain the following items:
    • (1.) name of the department or departments which comprise the voting unit;

    • (2.) the designations which have been assigned by the [SECC] USSP to the voting unit and to the senators elected from the voting unit;

10. Election Certification by Senate Committee

The [SECC] USSP shall certify election results to the Senate at the [first] organizational meeting of the newly elected Senate. These results shall be entered in the minutes of that meeting. The [SECC] USSP may delay certification of candidates whose elections are in doubt or may certify the election of such candidates upon appropriate conditions.

11. Formal Reports

All reports from college elections and credentials committees to the [SECC] USSP should be addressed to the Senate Clerk.

13. Grievances and Appeals

• 13.1 College Committee Jurisdiction. Unless otherwise provided by the [SECC] USSP, the college election committees shall have original jurisdiction over the following: . . .

• 13.2 Appeal to [Senate Elections and Credentials Committee] University Statutes and Senate Procedures (USSP). Any aggrieved person may appeal a decision of a college committee to the [SECC] USSP, and actions and decisions of the [SECC] USSP may be appealed to the Senate by any senator.

14. Resignations and Vacancies

• 14.3 Review of Status. The Clerk of the Senate will review official records each semester, and will report to the [SECC] USSP the names of all those senators no longer in the employ of the University.

UNIVERSITY STATUTES AND SENATE PROCEDURES
Robert Fossum, Chair
Humza Durrani
H. George Friedman
Harry H. Hilton
John W. Kindt
Amit Mathur
Julian Palmore
Robert C. Damrau, ex officio
C. K. Gunsalus, ex officio (designee)
Vera V. Mainz (PAC Liaison)