Faculty Senate Bylaws

Revised February 2013

BYLAWS – FACULTY SENATE

Correct as of May 2, 2013

Created by the full time faculty of the South Orange campus of Seton Hall University October 7, 1992, it represents that faculty in matters of academic policies and procedures as well as matters of faculty welfare. It has the right and duty to represent that faculty on all matters which affect the South Orange faculty as a whole and to help inform faculty opinion on matters of campus-wide importance.

MEMBERSHIP

I. Eligibility for Election. Each full-time faculty member at the time of an election is eligible to be elected by his or her faculty governance unit to serve in the Faculty Senate. Each faculty governance unit shall conduct the election of Senators and Alternates from its full-time faculty members (as defined by the Faculty Guide and excluding visiting professors), using procedures specified in its Bylaws. Results of these elections, including information on the number of votes received by each candidate, shall be reported in writing to the Executive Secretary.

II. Members.
a. Senators. By accepting membership in the Faculty Senate, each Senator accepts the responsibility to (a) attend each of its meetings except when absent from all or part of a meeting for a serious reason and (b) be a member of and, if selected, chair a Faculty Senate standing committee. When he or she knows in advance of a forthcoming absence, it is a Senator’s personal responsibility to communicate this information to one or more Alternates within his or her faculty unit.

b. Alternates. Alternates shall be elected and assigned rank order by each faculty constituency in order to increase the attendance at Faculty Senate meetings whenever one or more Senators are unavoidably absent.
By accepting membership in the Faculty Senate, each Alternate accepts the responsibility of (a) participating in Faculty Senate meetings in the absence of a Senator from his or her faculty governance unit and (b) being a member of at least one Faculty Senate committee.

Whenever one or more Senators are absent from a meeting, Alternate(s) from the same faculty governance unit shall be seated as voting member(s) of the Faculty Senate, in terms of their rank order within their respective faculty governance units. Whenever a Senator will be absent on sabbatical or other leave for two or more months, his or her faculty unit may elect to designate a specific Alternate to fill that seat continuously throughout the scheduled period of leave.

III. Number of Members. Each three years the Senate shall review and as necessary, based on the current faculty data, reapportion the membership. As of 2013 the Senate will be apportioned based on the following formula: for the first 100 full time faculty members in a school there will be 1 Senator for every 10 full time faculty members (rounded to the nearest 10); over 100 there will be 1 Senator for every 15 full time faculty members (rounded to the nearest 15). According to Faculty Guide Article 12.6.f, there will be a minimum of two faculty members from each school. Each school shall by April 1, 2013 forward a list of full time faculty (as defined in the Faculty Guide) to the Nominations and Elections committee so that the number of Senators for each school can be determined.

In cases of failure to complete elections or where there is dispute concerning election results, any incumbent Senator and Alternate involved shall continue as a member until his or her successor is qualified and seated.

IV. Vacancies. As soon as possible after it occurs, a vacancy shall be filled by the group which elected or appointed that officer or member. Information on unsuccessful candidates in the most-recently completed elections for the Faculty Senate shall be consulted in determining replacements for Senator and Alternate vacancies.

Unexplained and/or unexcused absences by a Senator from three consecutive regular meetings shall be interpreted as resignation from the Faculty Senate.
V. Senators and Alternates, Term of Office. Senators shall serve two-year terms and the terms of approximately one-half of all Senators and of the Senators from each campus unit shall end each April 30th. Alternates shall serve one-year terms. At the end of a term, any Senator or Alternate may be re-elected by his or her faculty unit.

OFFICERS

VI. Officers. The officers of the Faculty Senate shall be a Chair, a Vice-Chair, and an Executive Secretary elected by and from its membership.

VII. Terms of Office. Officers of the Faculty Senate shall be elected each year during the first regular meeting of its May 1st – April 30th annual session. Terms of officers shall be one year in length. Re-election to an office is allowed but no person may hold two officer positions at the same time.

VIII. Chair. The Chair shall preside at all Faculty Senate meetings and all plenary meetings of the faculty and shall vote to break tie votes; shall be an ex-officio member of all Faculty Senate committees; shall be the chair of the Executive Committee; shall be the principal liaison between the Faculty Senate and other governance units on the South Orange campus; and shall be the major representative of the Faculty Senate and the faculty of the South Orange campus to the university administration. With other members of the Executive Committee, the Chair shall prepare an annual report on the Faculty Senate and its activities for circulation to faculty and administration, including information on administration response to Senate proposals and recommendations. Upon the election of the Chair’s successor, the Chair shall become the immediate past Chair of the Faculty Senate and shall serve as a nonvoting member of the Executive Committee until a subsequent Chair shall fulfill that position.

IX. Vice-Chair. The Vice-Chair shall preside at Faculty Senate meetings in the absence of the Chair or to allow the Chair to participate in debate; shall accept other responsibilities as assigned by the Chair; shall be a member of the Executive Committee; shall represent the Faculty Senate at meetings with university administrators when the Chair is unable to do so; shall succeed to the Chair automatically whenever that position becomes vacant.

X. Executive Secretary/Treasurer. The Executive Secretary/Treasurer shall maintain the official records of the Faculty Senate and have custody of the official records of the Faculty Senate and its predecessor organizations; issue meeting announcements, agenda and other notices to Senators and Alternates; communicate for the Faculty Senate with faculty units, including Faculty Senate committees and the eight South Orange faculty constituencies; be a member of the Executive Committee; prepare and circulate committee and other reports to Senators and Alternates before meetings; be recording secretary at Senate meetings and at plenary meetings of the faculty. To allow interested faculty access to information on the current activities of the Faculty Senate, this officer shall maintain a file of Faculty Senate documents, including approved minutes and committee reports, in the University Library. The Executive Secretary/Treasurer shall also be responsible for maintaining the Faculty Senate website, and for electronic communication of Senate matters.

MEETINGS OF THE FACULTY SENATE
XI. Quorum. A quorum for any meeting of the Faculty Senate shall be a simple majority of the number of Senators.

XII. Regular Meetings. The Faculty Senate shall meeting at least three times each fall and spring semester, at times and places determined by the Executive Committee and communicated in writing to its members at least ten days earlier.

At the first regular meeting of each annual session, to be held in May, (a) the Faculty Senate shall elect its officers and the other members of its Executive Committee and (b) its standing committees shall be reconstituted. Transition of duties to the new executive committee will take place between the May and June Senate meetings with the new executive committee presiding over the June meeting.

XIII. Special Meetings. A special meeting of the Faculty Senate may be called by the Executive Committee by its own decision and must be called by that Committee in response to a written petition of five or more Senators filed with the Executive Secretary. At least five days’ written notice of a special meeting shall be given to each Senator and Alternate, together with its agenda. In emergencies, the Executive Committee may at its discretion waive the notice requirement for special meetings. Electronic submission of petitions, notices and agendas shall be deemed sufficient for these purposes.

XIV. Agenda for Meetings. Unless the Senators then in attendance decide otherwise, the agenda for each regular meeting of the Faculty Senate shall be:
1. Sign-in for quorum

2. Call to order

3. Approval of the agenda

4. Approval of minutes, last meeting

5. Announcements from the Executive Committee, including

a. Report on actions taken by Executive Committee, including discussion and approval

b. Report on meetings with President and/or Provost

c. Communications received from
(i) Campus faculty governance units
(ii) President and/or Provost
(iii) Others

6. Old business
a. Reports, special committees
b. Reports, standing committees

7. New business

8. Adjournment

At the first regular meeting of each annual session, election of officers and Executive Committee shall be agenda item 4.

The agenda for each special meeting shall be proposed by the Executive Committee and approved at the start of each meeting by voting members then present.

XV. Parliamentary Procedures. At the first regular meeting of each annual session, the incoming Chair shall appoint a parliamentarian from among the members of the Faculty Senate. In making recommendations to the presiding officer, the parliamentarian shall use Robert’s Rules of Order, latest edition.

XVI. Proxy voting. Absentee or proxy voting is not allowed at meeting of the Faculty Senate or its committees. Committees may in their bylaws allow for electronic voting by their members on matters before the committee.

OPERATIONS OF THE FACULTY SENATE
XVII. Matters Before the Senate. The Senate will accept only written proposals for its discussion and evaluation. These will be accepted from its members, from the governance organizations of the eight campus faculty units, from its committees, from faculty members, and from the university administration through its Executive Committee. In each case the Faculty Senate by way of motion from an individual senator, from the Executive Committee, or from another Senate committee, shall be the final judge of which action or actions are appropriate, including immediate action by the Faculty Senate; referral of a proposal to one or more to its committees for evaluation; refusal to accept a proposal for its discussion or consideration; referral of a matter to another faculty body for comment or decision; referral of the matter to the South Orange faculty for discussion during a plenary meeting or for decision or advice in a campus-wide faculty referendum; or any other action it deems appropriate.

Proposals to the Faculty Senate shall be delivered to the Executive Secretary far enough in advance of the next Faculty Senate regular meeting, but no less than 48 hours before the meeting, to allow their electronic reproduction and distribution to members together with the notice of the forthcoming meeting.

The proposer of any matter under consideration by the Faculty Senate or by any of its agencies will be informed from time to time of the status of that proposal.

To allow orderly completion of a committee’s work, matters under discussion by it at the end of an annual session may carry over into the following session without the need for further action by the Faculty Senate.

COMMITTEES

XVIII. Executive Committee. The Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate shall consist of the Chair, the Vice-Chair, the Executive Secretary, and two other Senators elected at-large. The immediate past Chair of the Faculty Senate shall be a nonvoting member of the Executive Committee. No school or faculty unit shall have more than three voting members on the Executive Committee.

This committee shall act for the Faculty Senate between meetings and, as soon as possible after taking an action for the Faculty Senate but in no case later than the next regular meeting, it shall provide information on each of the actions it has taken to the Faculty Senate for discussion and for ratification or rejection.

Immediately after each Faculty Senate meeting the Executive Committee shall meet with the Provost and/or the President and communicate the results of Senate deliberations.

As soon as possible after the Faculty Senate’s first regular meeting of each session, the outgoing Executive Committee shall distribute to each full-time faculty member on the South Orange campus a complete written report of the Faculty Senate’s activities during the annual session just completed, including information on resolutions accepted by the Faculty Senate, resolutions approved by it and submitted to the administration, the university’s response in each case, and such other data as will inform the faculty on the Faculty Senate’s stewardship during that time period.

XIX. Standing Committees. In addition to the Executive Committee, the Faculty Senate’s standing committees shall be Academic Facilities, Academic Policy, Admissions, Calendar, Compensation and Welfare, Core Curriculum, Faculty Development, Faculty Grievance, Faculty Guide and Bylaws, Graduate Studies, Information Technology, Library, Nominations and Elections, Program Review.

 The Academic Facilities Committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on any matters affecting the classrooms, laboratories and other University facilities used for academic purposes.

 The Academic Policy Committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on matters of academic policy, including proposed new academic programs, changes in existing programs or in general School or College requirements, and policies affecting the academic work of the University, with the exception of matters referred to other committees of the Senate.

 The Admissions Committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on matters concerning admission of students to the University and its programs.

 The Calendar Committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on the design and implementation of the University academic calendar, including the timing and length of semesters, of courses and of classes.

 The Compensation and Welfare Committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on matters of faculty salaries and benefits, and on other matters relating to the welfare of the faculty as a whole.

 The Core Curriculum Committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on matters relating to the design, revision, administration and implementation of the Core Curriculum.

 The Faculty Development Committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on matters relating to the professional development of faculty members, such as research, publication and travel support, and other University policies affecting faculty members’ professional development.

 The Faculty Grievance Committee shall hear grievance cases in accordance with the appropriate sections of the Faculty Guide, and report on these cases as provided for by the Guide. The Committee may also make recommendations to the Senate on improving University processes for handling grievances.

 The Faculty Guide and Bylaws Committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on proposed changes to the Faculty Guide and to the Faculty Senate Bylaws.

 The Graduate Studies Committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on matters pertaining to graduate education in general. Review of individual graduate programs remains the responsibility of the Academic Policy Committee, and of the Program Review Committee.

 The Information Technology Committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on matters pertaining to the academic use of information technology at the University.

 The Library Committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on matters pertaining to the University Libraries.

 The Nominations, Elections and Appointments Committee shall oversee the election of Faculty Senate officers and the election or appointment of members to Senate committees. It shall also make recommendations to the Senate on the reapportionment of Senate seats as the result of the triennial review of faculty data.

 The Program Review Committee shall oversee and conduct the regular program reviews of all academic programs, and make recommendations to the Senate on the results of these reviews.

XX. Special Committees. Special committees shall be created by the Faculty Senate to carry out the responsibilities assigned to each when it is appointed. Special committees shall not replace standing committees or assume their responsibilities.

XXI. Committees, Membership and Procedures.

1. Senate Committees are reconstituted at the start of each session of the Senate. Between May and June of each year new committee members are recruited and elections are held for committee chairs. Committee members are generally expected to serve for two-year terms, which may be renewed depending on the needs of the committee.

2. The minimum number of members on a Senate Committee shall be equal to the number of Colleges listed in article 1 of the Faculty Guide. No more than sixteen members shall serve on any one committee.

3. Senate Committees are expected to have at least one member from every College under the jurisdiction of the Faculty Guide.

4. Members of Committees are recruited in the following order: 1) Faculty Senators; 2) Senate alternates; 3) Faculty members recruited from colleges not represented on the committee; 4) Faculty volunteers. Only when the committee has recruited members from the first three categories, will a call for volunteers be issued.

5. Elections. Committee chairs are elected in the first month of each Senate session, no later than the June Senate meeting. The chair is elected by new and continuing members who will be serving on the committee in the coming year. The chair must be a senator. If co-chairs are elected, one of them must be a senator.

6. Committee Procedures. Committee members are expected to attend all meetings. Chairs shall monitor attendance at meetings. Members who fail to attend more than 50% of meetings over two semesters are deemed inactive and are removed the committee roster at the end of the year. Exceptions may be made for legitimate reasons – illness, professional travel, teaching obligations, etc.

Committees require a quorum to hold meetings and conduct business. A quorum is attained when at least 50% of the members listed on the committee roster are present, unless otherwise specified in the committee bylaws.

Committee shall keep minutes recording attendance and listing matters discussed and actions taken.

Committees shall maintain a repository of materials including minutes and draft resolutions. The repository shall be available to committee members and to the Senate Executive Committee and shall be maintained from year to year.

XXII. Committees, Bylaws. The members of each standing committee shall adopt and, as necessary, revise its bylaws, subject to filing them with the Executive Secretary for approval by the Faculty Senate.

Unless its officers have been appointed by the Faculty Senate or by the Executive Committee when it is constituted, members of a committee shall elect annually from its membership its chair and other appropriate officers.

XXIII. Committees, Referrals to. Matters may be referred to any committee by the Faculty Senate, by the Executive Committee, or by a similar committee of any faculty governance unit, or by any of the eight faculty campus units, provided that in the last two instances each referral is made known promptly to the Executive Secretary for communication to the Faculty Senate. In case of doubt as to which Senate committee has competence, the matter should be referred to the Executive Secretary for registration and identification and for routing to the appropriate committee by the Executive Committee.

To indicate their status, all committee reports not yet approved by the Faculty Senate shall be clearly marked with such words as “draft” or “proposed”.

When a committee fails to report to the Faculty Senate within the time period prescribed on a matter proposed by a Senator or a faculty constituency, at any Faculty Senate regular meeting following the completion of that time period its proposer has the right to being that matter to the floor for discussion without the Faculty Senate receiving a committee report on it.

XXIV. Committees: Reports. Ordinarily, committee reports recommending action the Faculty Senate shall be delivered to the Executive Secretary far enough in advance of the next Faculty Senate regular meeting, but no less than 48 hours before the meeting, to allow their electronic reproduction and distribution to members together with the notice of the forthcoming meeting. To indicate their status, all committee reports not yet approved by the Faculty Senate shall be clearly marked with such words as “draft” or “proposed”.

When a committee fails to report to the Faculty Senate within the time period prescribed on a matter proposed by a Senator or a faculty constituency, at any Faculty Senate regular meeting following the completion of that time period it proposer has the right to bring that matter to the floor for discussion without the Faculty Senate receiving a committee report on it.

XXV. Executive Sessions. The Faculty Senate, its Executive Committee and each Faculty Senate committee have the right, for valid reasons, to meet either in executive session or in open session, and to invite non-members to attend meeting, to provide advice or to give testimony to it.

CHANGES IN BYLAWS & THE FACULTY GUIDE

XXVI. By a favorable vote of two-thirds, at any regular meeting the Faculty Senate may change its bylaws, and/or approve a change or changes in the Faculty Guide, provided however that these changes have been introduced at a prior regular meeting.

AS APPROVED BY SOUTH ORANGE FACULTY,
BY REFERENDUM

Updated June 7, 2002

Updated April 2, 2004

Updated October 7, 2005

Updated November 4, 2005

Updated January 13, 2006

Updated September 30, 2010

Updated October 13, 2011

Updated August 14, 2012

Updated April 22, 2022