SP.07.03
October 30, 2006
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
URBANA-CHAMPAIGN SENATE
University Statutes and Senate Procedures Committee
(Information; First Reading)
SP.07.03 Proposed Revisions to the Statutes, Article II, Section 2.a(2)
BACKGROUND
At its April 25, 2006 meeting, the University Senates Conference (USC) proposed revisions to the Statutes that would eliminate term limits for service on the USC. The membership of the USC comes from three different campuses of the University of Illinois. In the UIUC Senate there are term limits for service as a Senator; however, in the UIC and UIS Senates there are no term limits. In order to insure that the USC does not inadvertently force term limits on those Senates which do not currently have them and respecting the rules of the Senate that does have them, it is recommended to let each of the Senates decide for itself. The imposition of term limits on USC membership will be determined by each of the Senates independently rather than have the USC impose term limits.
RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on University Statutes and Senate Procedures recommends approval of the following revisions to the Statutes. Text to be deleted is indicated in [square brackets].
PROPOSED REVISIONS TO THE STATUTES, ARTICLE II
ARTICLE II, LEGISLATIVE ORGANIZATION
Section 2. University Senates Conference
a. Organization
(1) The University Senates Conference shall be made up of twenty members. The basic representation shall be two members from each senate. Additional members shall be apportioned to each senate, at least one from each senate, in numbers proportional to the number of faculty members on each campus. The apportionment shall be recalculated every five years. Each senate shall elect its own representatives from its membership.
(2) Senators whose senatorial terms expire before their conference terms expire shall complete their conference terms. Any faculty senator or faculty senator-elect shall be eligible for election to the conference [except that no member shall serve more than two full terms consecutively]. The term of office shall be three years beginning on the first day of the next academic year following the election. Approximately one-third of the conference members from each senate shall be elected annually.
(3) A quorum for conference meetings shall consist of a simple majority of the total membership of the conference. If a quorum cannot be obtained otherwise, the conference members from a senate may designate as many as two alternates from the faculty members of their own senate to serve at a specific meeting.
(4) The conference officers shall be a chair and a vice chair, who shall be elected for one-year terms by and from the conference and shall not be from the same senate. The chair shall not be from the same senate in two consecutive years.
(5) The executive committee of the conference shall consist of two members from each senate: the conference chair, the conference vice chair, and four additional members elected annually by and from the conference. The conference may authorize the executive committee to act on behalf of the conference between scheduled meetings.
University Statutes and Senate Procedures
William Maher, Chair
Joseph Finnerty
Bettina Francis
H. George Friedman
Peter Loeb
Vera Mainz
Shannon McMullen
Patrick Sykes
Elyne Cole, ex officio (designee)
Robert C. Damrau, ex officio
Larry Mann, Observer