SP.03.07

November 4, 2002

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

URBANA-CHAMPAIGN SENATE

University Statutes and Senate Procedures

(Final;Action)

SP.03.07 Housekeeping Revisions to the Bylaws Revising Senate Council to Senate Executive Committee

BACKGROUND

In accord with SP.02.04 (Revisions to the Bylaws Part D.1 – Senate Council), approved by the Senate on December 3, 2001, in which the title of “Senate Council” was changed to “Senate Executive Committee” to more closely reflect the function of the committee, USSP proposes the following Bylaws housekeeping revisions.

Changes in Part F reflect that body’s approval of their recent name change.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Senate Committee on University Statutes and Senate Procedures recommends approval of the following revisions to the Bylaws. Text to be deleted is indicated in [brackets] and text to be added is underscored.

PROPOSED REVISIONS TO THE BYLAWS

Part A – Meetings

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2. Regular meetings of the Senate shall be held at least six times during the academic year. Dates and times of such meetings for the next year shall be proposed by the [Senate Council] Senate Executive Committee and approved by the Senate at the last regular meeting of the academic year.

3. An agenda for each regular Senate meeting, extensive enough to be descriptive of the subject matter of each item included, shall be prepared by the Senate [Council] Executive Committee and sent to all senators at least five days prior to that meeting. … Items of business submitted to the Senate [Council] Executive Committee by any senator or Senate committee…

5. (b) Prior to this organizational meeting, nominations shall be made for the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Senate [Council] Executive Committee and for members of the Committee on Committees.

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(d)

1. Nominations for [Council] Executive Committee officers shall be made by the incumbent Committee on Committees. … Nominations by mail must be received in the Senate Office prior to the date set by the Senate [Council] Executive Committee…

2. The final elections shall be by mail ballot. The ballots shall be marked clearly to distinguish between the election for Chair and the election for Vice-Chair of Senate [Council] Executive Committee.

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(e) … Immediately after the election meeting, faculty committee chairs shall caucus and elect seven faculty members of the Senate [Council] Executive Committee from among the faculty senators who chair the standing and ad hoc committees of the Senate. The student members of the Senate shall elect the student members of the [Council] Executive Committee before the organizational meeting.

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(g) The organizational meeting shall be supervised by the Senate [Council] Executive Committee, and the Chancellor or the Chancellor’s designee shall preside.

6. The Senate shall call an annual meeting of the faculty of the campus to hear reports from and to question the Senate [Council] Executive Committee and the administration.

7. The Senate [Council] Executive Committee shall be empowered to call special meetings of the Senate…

8. If an emergency exists on the campus requiring the convening of the Senate within a period of time less than the five days necessary for the notice provided above, the Chancellor or the Chair of the Senate [Council] Executive Committee may declare that such an emergency exists and convene the Senate as soon as may be practicable….

Part D.6 – Committee on Committees

(a) Duties

The Committee shall nominate the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Senate [Council] Executive Committee and appropriate numbers of persons to serve on standing and ad hoc committees of the Senate, and on other University bodies of which members are designated by the Senate.

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(c) Nomination and Election of Members

1. Nominations for the Committee on Committees shall be made by the incumbent Senate [Council] Executive Committee…

Part D.7 – Conference on Conduct Governance

(b) Authority and Jurisdiction

1. Rules filed with the Office of Campus Regulations and with the Clerk of the Senate shall become effective thirty (30) days after filing unless contrary action has been taken by the Chancellor… To this end, the thirty (30) day period may be extended by the Senate or Senate [Council] Executive Committee to ninety (90) days, excluding the period May 21 through August 20.

Part D.17 – Committee on University Senates Conference

(a) Duties

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2. One member of the Committee on University Senates Conference shall be elected to the Senate [Council] Executive Committee, as prescribed in Bylaw D, 1(b).

Part F – Senate Representatives to Other Bodies

3. Faculty Advisory [Committee] Council to the Board of Higher Education. The campus has one faculty member of the [Committee] Council who (a) is elected by the Senate for a four-year term staring July 1, (b) shall report to the Senate at least once each academic year, and (c) shall be a member ex officio with vote of the Senate [Council] Executive Committee. The Chair of the Senate [Council] Executive Committee shall designate an alternate to the [Committee] Council when necessary.

Part G – General Provisions

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2. All senators, and such other persons as the Senate [Council] Executive Committee may designate, shall receive copies of the agenda, minutes, and reports of the Senate.

3. Each faculty voting unit shall receive a reasonable number of copies of the agenda, minutes, and report of the Senate.

4. Any interested person may have access to the agenda, minutes, and reports of the Senate at the Office of the Clerk of the Senate. A reasonable number of copies shall be available for distribution.

5. Individual faculty or students, a group of faculty and/or students, or an academic department intending to appeal an administrative interpretation of the University Statutes to the Chancellor or to the President and believing the issue to be a concern to a wide segment of the faculty and/or students, may ask the Urbana-Champaign Senate [Council] Executive Committee to review the issue and determine whether it represents a broadly shared concern. This request shall be filed with the Chair of the Senate [Council] Executive Committee prior to the appeal to the Chancellor or to the President. If the Senate [Council] Executive Committee determines the issue is of broad concern, it will so inform the person or group submitting the request, and offer to submit a statement certifying that decision along with any supporting statements from the Senate [Council] Executive Committee. The individual or group originating the appeal of the interpretation of the Statutes may elect to accept the Senate [Council’s] Executive Committee’s certification and jointly file the appeal with the Senate [Council] Executive Committee or may elect to proceed alone on appeal. In no case is this procedure intended to limit the right of an individual or group from appealing directly to the Chancellor, the President, or the Board of Trustees, nor is it intended to be used in any argument for or against the merits of the appeal beyond the assessment of its potential for broad concern of the constituents of the Urbana-Champaign Senate.