SECTION 2: GOVERNANCE
2.2 ORGANIZATION OF THE FACULTY SENATE
The Faculty Senate shall be comprised of twenty-five senators and a Faculty President. Any member of the full-time instructional faculty may serve as a senator regardless of rank. The Faculty President must have attained the rank of associate professor or above with tenure. If elected as a senator or as Faculty President, a faculty member must relinquish any position currently held on a faculty standing committee and is prohibited from serving on any standing committee while serving as senator or Faculty President, with the exception of the Budget Advisory Committee.
2.2.1 Faculty Senate Elections Each of the twenty-two academic departments may elect a faculty senator on an annual basis during the fall semester to begin a term the following fall. However, for any academic year a department may decline to elect a faculty senator by notifying the Faculty Organization Committee (FOC) prior to the election of at-large senators in the spring semester. In that case, an additional at-large senator seat will be elected by the faculty. The faculty will elect two at-large senators, as well as any additional at-large seats created by department declination, during the spring semester to begin terms in the fall. The President-Elect will serve as the third at-large senator until installed as Faculty President.
2.2.2 Faculty Senate Terms All faculty senators, with the exception of the President-Elect, will serve one year terms with years corresponding to the academic year. Senators may serve unlimited, consecutive terms. Senators may be removed from office for cause at the prerogative of their department or the faculty in the case of the President-Elect or at-large senators. In the event the position of President-Elect or at-large senator becomes vacant, the FOC will conduct a special election in order to fill the vacated seat. If a faculty senator representing one of the academic departments resigns or is removed for cause during the middle of a term, the department will elect a replacement and inform the FOC and the Faculty President. If the department is unable to elect a replacement, they must inform the FOC and the Faculty President. The FOC will then conduct a special election for an additional at-large senator, to be elected by the faculty, who will complete the remainder of the vacated term.
2.2.3 Officers of the Faculty Senate The officers of the Faculty Senate shall be the Faculty President and the President-Elect.
2.2.3.1 The Faculty President The Faculty President will serve a two year term and will also serve as the BOV/SCHEV representative. The Faculty President must have attained the rank of associate professor or above with tenure. The Faculty President is a non-voting member of the Faculty Senate, except in the case of a Faculty Senate tie vote. In the event of a tie, the Faculty President will cast the deciding vote.
2.2.3.2 The President-Elect The President-Elect will be elected by the faculty every other year during the spring semester to begin a term in the fall. The President-Elect must have attained the rank of associate professor or above with tenure. If the in-coming President-Elect is already a department senator, the FOC will ask the department to elect a replacement. The President-Elect will become Faculty President automatically at the expiration of the President’s term. Candidates for the position of President-Elect may also run for one of the two other at-large senator seats, but the ballots will be counted in the order of President-Elect, then at-large senator. Once elected, a faculty member’s name is not further considered and subsequent votes for him or her are not included in the count of votes cast for at-large senator.