Charter of the Faculty Senate

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Article I.  Constituency (See Amendments VII, VIII, XVI, XXI, XXII, XXV, and XXIX)

Section 1. The general faculty will elect Senate members to terms of three years. The faculty will be arranged in eight divisions for the purpose of elections. These divisions should correspond to the ratio nearest to one representative for every five full-time faculty in the division. The total membership of the Senate is thus determined by the number of representatives from the divisions. (See Section 2, below, for exceptions.) The current constituency of the Senate by division is as follows:

Division

Number of Senate Places

I.        Art, Theatre

2

II.      Economics and Business, Psychology

2

III.     History & Politics, Religion & Philosophy

2

IV.     English, Foreign Languages

2

V.      Biology, Chemistry, Math, Physics, & Computer Science

2

VI.     Education

3

VII.   School of Music

3

VIII.  Library

1

Total

17

Section 2. In order to meet population shifts in the faculty, the Senate shall reapportion itself every fifth year from the passage of this Amendment (XVI, 3/11/75), in the month of April, to correspond to the nearest ratio of five full-time faculty members per representative in each academic division, subject to the following:

  1. If reapportionment results in the deletion of one or more representatives from an academic division, the representative(s) holding the senate seat which will expire soonest shall be allowed to remain on the Senate until the expiration of their term at which time the position will be abolished.
  2. If reapportionment results in the right of an academic division to have one or more additional representatives, it shall be the power of the Senate to assign to that new representative(s) a term of one, two, or three years in order to preserve the rotation of five senators each year.

Article II.  Eligibility for Election

To be eligible for election to the Senate a faculty member must:

  1. Hold the rank of Assistant Professor, Asst. Librarian or above;
  2. Be a full-time faculty member or, with the exception of professional librarians, one who is tenured or who will become eligible for tenure;
  3. Have completed at least one academic year of service on the Converse faculty, exclusive of summer school; and
  4. Not hold an administrative position. These qualifications will be waived only if a division does not have a number of eligible faculty members in excess of the number necessary to fill the apportioned positions. See Amendments IV and IX below. Full-time faculty status is understood to mean that the person holds a salaried faculty position and teaches not less than the equivalent of 7 courses or 21 credit hours per academic year. Equivalence to teaching load to be determined by criteria in “Teaching Loads” section of this handbook or by the appropriate academic dean. After serving a three-year term, a senator will not be eligible for reelection for a period of one year.

Article III. Method of Election

The members of the Senate will be elected by majority vote of the general faculty in April. See Amendments II and X, below.

Article IV. Officers

The Senate will have a President and a Secretary and a President pro tempore. The President will be elected yearly by the Senate from among the members of the Senate. The Secretary will be appointed by the President from among the members of the Senate. The President pro tempore shall be appointed from the members of the Senate by the President to preside at meetings or portions of meetings when the President cannot be present or when the President wishes to yield the responsibility of chairing in order to participate in discussion. Any senator, except the secretary, upon agreeing may serve as President pro tempore for any number of meetings that the President shall designate or until the time that the President resumes the responsibility of chairing a meeting.

Article V.  Quorum

A quorum of the Senate will consist of nine members.

Article VI. Powers and Functions

Section 1. The Senate will be authorized to create ad hoc subcommittees from its membership for the efficient conduct of business and to include in the membership of these subcommittees such persons as may be desired, whether members of the Senate or not.

Section 2. The Senate will act with full authority for the general faculty in those matters within the province of the Senate. In none of its activities will the Senate go beyond the scope of authority assigned the general faculty in the Bylaws of the Board of Trustees, nor will it infringe upon any of the powers and responsibilities exercised by the administration. The President of the Senate, or a substitute authorized by them, will make a monthly report to the general faculty of all action taken by the Senate. Normally the general faculty will neither approve nor disapprove action of the Senate, but upon a motion in the faculty sustained by a majority vote, any action of the Senate can be reversed or amended. Furthermore, the Senate will be ready at any time to take instructions from the general faculty. A minority in the Senate will have the right to appeal a senate decision to the general faculty on a petition supported by as many as four senate members.

Section 3. The Senate will act in an advisory capacity to the President of the University, the academic deans, and the administration generally. It will also serve as an authorized representative of the general faculty in communications with the Board of Trustees, such communications to be made only with the knowledge and consent of the President of the University, who is the legally constituted Chair of the Faculty.

Section 4. The Senate will formulate the policy for class attendance and exercise general supervision over class attendance regulations. The Class Attendance Committee existing prior to the 1964-65 session has been abolished and the routine of administering attendance regulations will be exercised by the academic deans, who will make periodic reports, as requested, to the Senate. The Chapel and Assembly Attendance Committee existing prior to the 1964- 65 session has also been abolished. Regulations concerning chapel assembly attendance will be established as tofore by the Administrative Council and the Dean of Students will administer these regulations under supervision of the Administrative Council.

Section 5. The Senate will take over and extend the powers and functions formerly exercised by the Curriculum Committee of Arts and Sciences. In addition to the powers of the former Curriculum Committee in the area of the General Education Program, the Senate will have the right to express faculty approval or disapproval of all proposed changes except such routine alterations as do not materially affect the educational program. Specifically, the Senate will exercise jurisdiction of the general faculty over additions to or deletions from the major programs. To provide efficiency and economy of operation, a Curriculum Committee will be set up within the Senate in accordance with the following plan: The President of the Senate will appoint one faculty member from each of the following divisions: Fine Arts, Social Sciences, Humanities, Languages, Natural Sciences, and Education. Three of these representatives are to be appointed from the Faculty Senate and the remaining positions are to be filled from the general faculty of these divisions. The Dean of Arts and Sciences and the Head Librarian are ex officio members of the Committee. All actions of the Curriculum Committee affecting the general educational program or referred to it by the general faculty or Faculty Senate will be subject to the approval of the Senate and the general faculty. When, and only when, the Senate addresses itself to curricular issues, the Dean of Arts and Sciences will assume temporary status as a voting member of the Senate. When the Senate acts upon proposed curricular changes in Arts and Sciences outside of the General Educational Program, only those senators representing Academic Divisions I through VI and Division VIII will participate in the voting, and only faculty in Arts and Sciences will vote among the general faculty.

Section 6. The Senate will absorb the functions of all the faculty committees existing prior to 1964-65, except Social Interests. Hence, in addition to the specific powers designated above, the Senate will concern itself with the following questions: educational policies and goals, intellectual life of the campus, relationships of the faculty with the trustees, administration, and student body, financial interests of the faculty (salary, fringe benefits, tenure, promotions, teaching load, etc.), academic freedom, and academic ethics and responsibilities

Article VII. Amendment Procedure

(Adopted by the Faculty Senate on February 23, 1965.) A motion of amendment to the Charter of the Faculty Senate shall carry in the Senate if, and only if, it receives the support of two-thirds of the regular members of the Senate. A motion of amendment which has carried in the Senate shall be presented to the general faculty for ratification and shall be considered ratified if, and only if, it receives the support of three-fourths of the voting members of the general faculty.

Amendments approved by General Faculty 9/18/65.

  1. See Article IV for text of this amendment.
  2. Term of the Senate: The Senate will remain in office until such time it is reconstituted in accordance with Article III. In April or May of each year, the President of the outgoing Senate will call and conduct the first meeting of the incoming Senate for the purpose of electing a President of the Senate. See Amendment XI, below.
  3. This amendment, limiting the consecutive terms of Senate officers to two, was nullified by Amendment XX, below.
  4. Supplement to Article II: If in any year the number of eligible faculty members within a division does not exceed the number of senate vacancies as determined by Article III, the entire faculty within that division shall become eligible.

Amendments approved by General Faculty 5/25/68.

  1. The number of consecutive terms of the Senate President will be limited to two. (See Amendment III, above.)
  2. A Senate Resolutions Committee will be established as a standing subcommittee of the Senate.
  3. Article I (Constituency) is amended as follows: History is moved from Division II to Division III and the representation of Division III is increased to five senators, while Division II retains its representation of two senators. In effect, the total membership of the Senate is increased to fifteen. It is provided that those senators from History now representing Division II serve out their terms in that division and that the representation of Division II be increased to three senators in 1968-69. After the expiration of the aforementioned terms, the representation of Division II will return to two senators and that of Division III will be expanded to five.

Amendments approved by General Faculty 3/4/69.

  1. The first sentence of Article I was extended by the addition of the phrase “for terms of three years.”
  2. See Article II for text of this amendment. The qualifications for membership on the Senate were reduced and the wording of the provisions for waiving the qualifications was altered.
  3. See Article III for text of this amendment. The time for election of the Senate was moved from September to the preceding April.
  4. The second sentence of Amendment II was revised as given in the text to conform with Amendment X.

Amendments approved by the General Faculty 2/9/71.

  1. The size of the present Curriculum Committee will be enlarged to eight members. These members consist of two faculty members each from Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences and one faculty member each from Fine Arts and Education/Physical Education. Five of these members, one from each division, are to be appointed from the Faculty Senate and three members at large to be appointed from the faculty.

Amendments approved by the General Faculty during 1971-72.

  1. The wording of Article II (3) concerning eligibility for election was changed 9/7/71.
  2. Article VI, Section 5, was amended to provide for inclusion of the Librarian on the Curriculum Committee 2/16/72.

Amendments approved by the General Faculty 4/3/73.

  1. Article II was amended by addition of the following provision: “ A faculty member who has served on the Senate at least six consecutive years shall have the right to withdraw their name from the ballot for the next two consecutive senate elections.” This amendment was nullified by Amendment XXVI below.

Amendments approved by the General Faculty during 1974-75.

  1. Article I was amended to provide for a redistribution of the senate into seven divisions, including professional librarians in a newly constituted Division VI and it further provided for reappointment of senate seats every five years. 3/11/75.
  2. Article II was amended by a temporary provision making professional librarians eligible for senate membership. 4/1/75.
  3. Article VI, Section 5, was amended to change the membership of the Arts and Sciences Curriculum Committee and redefine its functions. 5/6/75.

Amendment approved by General Faculty 3/16/75.

  1. Article II, Eligibility for Election, was amended to include the following changes:
    1. the addition of professional librarians among those eligible for election to the Senate;
    2. the exclusion from eligibility of those holding administrative positions at the level of Division Head or above;
    3. a definition of “full-time faculty status.”

Amendment approved by the General Faculty 4/12/77.

  1. The Senate is allowed the option of electing its President for a third successive yearly term.

Amendments approved by the General Faculty 4/4/80.

  1. Article I, Section 1: Politics is moved from Division II to Division III. (After Politics was combined with History into one department [1976-77], the faculty approved the senate proposal [3/9/78] that teachers of Politics primarily would remain in Division II for purposes of representation on the Senate. By this amendment, Politics is moved to Division 111, restoring its unity with History. No change resulted in the number of representatives of either Division II or Division 111.)
  2. Article I, Section 1: The total membership of the Senate will be determined by the number of senate representatives of the several divisions. (Prior to this amendment, the total number of senators was arbitrarily fixed at 15.)

Amendment approved by the General Faculty 10/13/92

  1. Supplement to Article IV: The appointment of a President pro tempore when deemed necessary by the President of the Senate. (Approved by the General Faculty 10/13/92)

Amendments approved by the General Faculty 3/2/93.

  1. Supplement to Article VI: Section 5, Faculty of the School of Music will not vote on curricular proposals in Arts and Sciences unless the proposals affect the General Education Program.
  2. Article I, Section 1: Professional Librarians were moved to a newly constituted Division VIII.
  3. Article II was amended by the addition of the following provision: After serving a three-year term, a senator will not be eligible for re- election for a period of one year.
  4. Article II was amended by the additional provision: The terms of newly elected Senators will start with the last scheduled senate meeting in May.

Amendment approved by the General Faculty on 10/7/97.

  1. Supplement to Article VI, Section 5: The Senate shall vote on each individual curricular log and that those votes appear in the Senate minutes.

Amendments approved by the General Faculty on 12/2/97.

  1. In addition to the Senate Rules of Discussion as adopted 9/17/92, the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall serve as the guideline for conduct of Senate business.
  2. The Tenure, Appointment and Promotions Committee will include at least one representative from each of the three schools: the School of Arts, the School of Education, and the School of Sciences and Humanities.
  3. A School of the Arts Curriculum Committee (SCHOOL OF THE ARTS CC) will be formed, consisting of six members (three from the Petrie School of Music, two from the Art Department, and one from the Theater Department for a two year trial period) chosen by the President of the Faculty Senate in consultation with the Dean of the SCHOOL OF THE ARTS. The Dean of the School of the Arts will serve as chair of the SCHOOL OF THE ARTS CC.
    All BFA and BM proposals approved by the SCHOOL OF THE ARTS CC will be sent to the SCHOOL OF THE ARTS faculty as seconded motions. Faculty approved BFA and BM proposals will then be sent to the CPC for information only. All proposals related to the BA degree will go from the SCHOOL OF THE ARTS areas directly to the CPC. Any PSOM proposal, regardless of degree affiliation, must receive a majority vote of the PSOM faculty before it can be sent to the SCHOOL OF THE ARTS CC or CPC.
  4. In the Faculty Handbook, the following shall be added to Section VI, Regulations Governing Tenure and Promotion, B., Evaluation for Tenure, that all annual dean’s evaluations and all annual chair’s evaluations be included in tenure applications, and that in the event that a chair’s or dean’s letter or set of student evaluations is missing, the candidate should explain the absence in the narrative. Further that the following shall be added to Section VI. C., Evaluation for Promotion, that all annual dean’s evaluations and all annual chair’s evaluations be included in promotion applications, and that in the event that a chair’s or dean’s letter or set of student evaluations is missing, the candidate should explain the absence in the narrative. Further, that all candidates for promotion who have previously applied unsuccessfully for promotion should include a copy of the previous TAP Committee’s letter and should address in their narrative the areas in which they have worked to improve. Further, that if promotion candidates previously have been promoted at Converse, that subsequent promotion application files should include student evaluations for all courses since the last promotion. (5/6/10)

Amendment approved by the General Faculty 5/14/10

  1. The Curricular Programs Committee will expand to include a representative from each division of the Faculty Senate.

The following amendment to Article III Method of Election, was approved by the General Faculty on May 7, 2019.

  1. All senators will be elected by their divisions. The Senate divisions are listed in Section X, C, Article I, Section 1 (pg. 116 of the online Faculty Handbook). Election procedures will proceed as follows:
    1. Senate elections for the following year will be held at the May faculty meeting. A ballot of eligible candidates, by division, will be presented to the faculty. Each faculty member will vote for a member (s) of their division only. Election to the Senate will be based on the candidate with the most votes in each division election. If there is more than one seat to be filled in the division, the candidate with the second highest vote count will be elected to the Senate.
    2. New members of the Senate will be announced during the May faculty meeting and will begin their service for the following year at the last half of the last Senate meeting of the year.