Sections One through Three

1. The Senate shall consist of the President of the University, the Provost, the Vice President for Student Life, the Vice Provost for Academic Programs and Planning, the Vice Provost for Research, the Deans of the Colleges, the elected Senate officers, the elected faculty senators of the Units, two elected professional librarians, and four student senators of the University. Each member of the Senate (hereinafter called a senator) shall have the right to vote. In no case shall the number of non-elected senators exceed twenty percent of the Senate.
(Rev. of titles, 11/15/93; rev. Fac. Sen. 2/10/97; 9/15/97)

2. Each Unit shall elect a number of senators equal to the whole number part of the ratio of fifty (50) times the number of voting faculty (defined in the Constitution, Section III, Item 2 above) for that Unit to the number of such voting faculty of the University, with the added proviso that each Unit shall be granted at least two (2) senators. Should application of this recipe yield other than fifty (50) elected senators, the Senate shall review and approve recommendations to adjust this total to yield fifty (50). (Rev. Fac. Sen. 9/15/97)

The duly constituted undergraduate student government and the graduate student government will each elect two students from the full-time student body. In the absence of a duly constituted graduate student government, the Committee on Graduate Studies shall have the responsibility of arranging the election of the graduate student senators.

3. The term of an elected faculty senator shall be two years commencing on September 1. The terms of approximately half of these senators shall expire each year. The student senators shall be elected by the group that they represent for a term of one year commencing on September 1. No elected senator shall serve more than three (3) consecutive terms. The Senate shall in its Bylaws provide for the definition of nonfeasance of elected senators and for their replacement, and for the replacement of any senator unable to serve.
(Rev. fall 1988)

4. The Senate or a committee that it designates shall be responsible every second year for recomputing the formula for faculty senators given in (2) and shall notify each Unit by February 1 of that year of the number of faculty senators it is to elect in each of the following two years.

5. Each Unit shall nominate and elect its senators by secret ballot. Any vacancy shall be filled by the Unit in this manner within thirty (30) days after the Secretary of the Senate gives notice of the vacancy.

6. The Senate shall hold at least one regular meeting each month during the academic year (September through May). The Senate may by the vote of two-thirds of its membership increase the schedule of regular meetings. It shall hold special meetings (1) at the call of the President of the University, (2) at the call of the President of the Senate, (3) by majority vote of the senators present at any regular or special meetings, (4) by petition of twenty (20) percent of the voting membership of the University Faculty to the President of the Senate, or (5) by petition to the President of the Senate of at least twenty (20) percent of the senators. The President of the Senate (or in his or her absence the Vice President of the Senate) in the last three cases shall issue the call of the special meeting within a week of receipt of the request. The meeting shall be held within one week of the call. The call of a special meeting shall state the purpose or purposes of the special meeting and no business shall be transacted other than that specified in the notice of the meeting.
(Rev. 7/1/76)

7. At the first regular May meeting the Senate shall elect a President-Elect, and in alternate years, a Vice President or a Secretary from the full-time voting faculty of the University. The President Elect shall assume the office of President of the Senate in the second year of office. The Vice President shall serve for two years and may not be reelected. The Secretary shall serve for two years and may not be reelected. The Secretary of the Senate shall also serve as Secretary of the University Faculty. (Rev. Fac Sen. 4/25/91; 9/15/97)

8. The President of the Senate shall preside over meetings of the Senate, and the President Elect of the Senate shall preside when the President of the Senate is absent or chooses to participate in debate. If both the President and President Elect are absent or have chosen to participate in debate, the Vice President shall preside.
(Rev. 2/5/90)

9. The President Elect of the Senate shall serve as Chairperson of the Coordinating Committee on Education and the following year shall assume the office of President. The President Elect will also assume the office of President of the Senate in the event that the President of the Senate resigns or is no longer able to assume the responsibilities of that office.
(Rev. fall 1988)

The Vice President of the Senate shall prepare the agenda for each regular meeting of the Senate. He or she must include items presented by the President of the University or by a committee of the University Faculty. The agenda of the meetings of the Senate shall be distributed to the faculty at least one week before the meeting.

The first item of business at any regular meeting of the Senate shall be the agenda. By approval of a majority of the senators present, items may be added to the agenda prepared by the Vice President, and the order in which the items are to be considered may be changed.

As part of the agenda of each regular meeting, there shall be time allocated for new business. No motion introduced under new business, except a motion to refer to committee, shall be acted upon until the next meeting of the Senate.
(Rev. 10/1/90)

10. In determining a quorum, only the elected members shall be counted, and a simple majority of the elected membership of the Senate shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business.

11. Meetings of the Senate shall be open to all members of the Faculty as observers. Others may be invited to observe or to be heard in accordance with rules to be established by the Senate.

12. The minutes of each meeting of the Senate shall be distributed to the University Faculty within ten (10) days following that meeting.

13. Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised, 1970, shall be followed by the Senate in the conduct of its business in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with this Constitution and any special rules of order the Senate may adopt.

14. The Senate shall have the authority to establish such other committees of the University Faculty as are required to carry on its business and shall determine the methods of their selection. Each standing committee of the University Faculty existing prior to the establishment of the Senate shall continue to function until the Senate makes appropriate disposition of its duties.

15. The chairperson of each standing committee of the University Faculty, unless he or she is an elected faculty senator, shall attend or delegate a member of his or her committee to attend ex officio.