UW-Whitewater University Handbook

Last policy revision: 8/1/84

CONSTITUTION OF THE FACULTY

ARTICLE I - Name

This organization shall be called the Faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

ARTICLE II - Responsibilities

The faculty, subject to the constraints of Board of Regents policy, shall be vested with the responsibility for the governance of the University. The faculty shall have primary responsibilities for the determination and implementation of its academic programs and educational activities, for faculty personnel matters and, along with the campus administration, for the development of institutional policy.

ARTICLE III - Membership

Section 1. Membership shall consist of the Chancellor of the University, all members of the Faculty who hold their position by virtue of recommendation by the Chancellor and appointment by the Board of Regents and all Academic Staff members who have been granted "Faculty Status" (as defined in Chapter UWS 1.05, Wisconsin Administrative Code).

Section 2. Academic Staff members who have been granted "Faculty Status" shall be considered to be in the "instructors" category for the sole purpose of faculty governance.

ARTICLE IV - Officers and Committees

Section 1. The Chancellor of the University shall preside at faculty meetings or, if he/she cannot attend, shall appoint a senator to fill his/her place. The secretary of the Faculty Senate shall be ex officio secretary of the Faculty.

Section 2. The chairperson of the Faculty Senate will have released time to one-half load. The chairperson is responsible for supervising the secretarial help assigned to assist in the clerical work of faculty governance. This work shall include any secretarial duties for the Faculty Senate, Faculty Elections Committee and other Faculty Committees. Office space, equipment, supplies and secretarial assistance will be provided.

Section 3. There shall be an Organization Committee and an Elections Committee and such other committees as the Faculty shall establish.

Section 4. The duties of the Organization Committee and the Elections Committee shall be defined by this Constitution and its Bylaws, and by the Faculty.

Section 5. The membership of all committees, the terms of office of committee members, and the manner of selection of committee members shall be determined by the Faculty.

Section 6. No individuals occupying an administrative position as Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Associate Vice Chancellor, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Dean, or equivalent position shall be elected to, or serve as, an elected member of a faculty committee.

ARTICLE V - Meetings and Agenda

Section 1. Regular meetings of the Faculty shall be held early each fall semester and during the first ten weeks of each spring semester.

Section 2. Special meetings of the Faculty may be called only when classes are in session during a fall or spring semester. A special meeting may be called by the Chancellor on his own initiative. A special meeting shall be called by the Chancellor: (a) at the request of any faculty committee; (b) at the request of the Faculty Senate; or (c) by petition in accordance with this Constitution.

Section 3. The first order of business after disposition of the minutes of the previous meeting shall be: (a) the Annual Report of the Chancellor to the Faculty at the fall regular meeting; (b) the Report of the Organization Committee at the spring regular meeting; and (c) a matter covered by Section 2 (a) (b) (c) above, a matter specified by the person or group requesting the meeting. The purpose of a special meeting shall be announced in the call. Any other items of business may be presented at any regular or special meeting.

Section 4. Ten percent of the active membership shall constitute a quorum at all faculty meetings.

ARTICLE VI - The Faculty Senate

Section 1. General Description The Faculty Senate shall represent and conduct the business of the Faculty except at those times at which the Faculty meets and except for those purposes otherwise specified by this constitution or by a vote of a meeting of the Faculty. It is answerable to the Faculty and may refer matters to the whole Faculty for decision.

The functions and responsibilities of the Faculty Senate are:

  1. To oversee the functions of the standing faculty committees and to hear and act upon their reports, except for the Organization Committee which reports directly to the faculty.
  2. To formulate, deliberate upon, and interpret academic regulations and policies.
  3. To act as liaison between the faculty and the campus administration.
  4. To act as liaison between the faculty and the University of Wisconsin System upon matters within the limits of its competency and discretion.
  5. To engage in campus academic, budget, and resource planning.
  6. To act as a consultative agency for the campus administration upon those matters referred to it by the Chancellor.

Section 2. Membership Senators shall be elected according to the following rules in elections conducted by the Elections Committee, which shall adjudicate difficulties.

  1. Senators-at-large shall be elected from each rank (Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, and Instructor) by the faculty of that rank. Each rank shall elect one senator for each 20 faculty of that rank or major fraction thereof, except that each rank shall elect at least one senator.
  2. Twenty (20) constituency senators. For Senate purposes there shall be five constituencies; they are the four colleges of the University, and a fifth made up of all faculty members whose major appointment lies outside an academic department. This fifth constituency shall be considered to be under the jurisdiction of the Offices of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs. The four constituency senators shall be elected at large within the constituency and by the constituency.
  3. Persons with a partial appointment in 2 or more constituencies shall vote in the constituency where their major proportion lies. If the proportions happen to be equal, the person will run and vote in the smaller constituency.
  4. The term of office shall be 2 years, with the constituents to be elected in the odd-numbered years and the members-at-large to be elected in the even-numbered years. Should a vacancy occur, a new election shall be held to choose a senator for the remainder of the term.
  5. Each faculty committee shall choose a delegate to the Senate and notify the chairperson of the Senate of its choice. The committee delegate is an advisor to the Senate and may not vote unless he/she is also a senator.
  6. The Chancellor of the University shall be an ex officio, non-voting member of the Faculty Senate.

Section 3. Eligibility

  1. All members of the Faculty holding rank of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, or Instructor (including Academic Staff members who have been granted "Faculty Status") are eligible.
  2. The Elections Committee shall adjudicate cases in which the constituency of a candidate may be difficult to determine.

Section 4. Executive Committee

  1. Functions
    1. The Executive Committee shall set the agenda for each meeting of the Faculty Senate.
    2. During the intervals between meetings of the Faculty Senate the Executive Committee shall conduct the business of Faculty Senate subject to the constraint imposed upon it by the Senate.
  1. Membership
    1. The chairperson of the Senate (who is also chairperson of the Executive Committee) or his/her appointee.
    2. The secretary of the Senate.
    3. 1 Senator from each constituency elected from and by those Senators with major appointments in the constituency.
    4. 2 members elected at-large from and by the Senate.

Section 5. Procedures of the Senate

  1. Meetings shall be held monthly.
  2. The agenda for each meeting shall be published to the entire Faculty at least 3 days in advance.
  3. Special meetings may be called by the chairperson or the Executive Committee.
  4. All meetings shall be open to the public. Faculty members shall be heard at the discretion of the chairperson.
  5. Two-thirds of the number of senators compose a quorum, not counting vacancies.
  6. Minutes of each meeting shall be published to the entire Faculty.

ARTICLE VII

Organization Committee

Section 1. Functions

  1. To review the structure of faculty governance of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The scope of this review shall consist of:
    1. The structure and functions of the Faculty Senate and of Faculty committees.
    2. The Faculty Constitution and Bylaws.
  2. To assist the Faculty in making changes in the Constitution, Bylaws or committee structure of the Faculty according to Article IX of this Constitution.
  3. To arbitrate disagreements concerning interpretations of the Constitution, Bylaws or committee structure of the Faculty according to the following procedure:
    1. Appellants to the Organization Committee shall file requests for arbitration with the chairperson of that committee.
    2. The Organization Committee upon receipt of a request for arbitration shall select a panel numbering at least three from the Faculty that shall include at least one member of the Organization Committee. No faculty member with an interest in the issue under consideration shall serve on the panel.
    3. The arbitration panel shall review the issue and report its recommendations to the Organization Committee within three weeks of the date at which the panel was convened.
    4. The Organization Committee shall issue a ruling binding upon all interested parties unless subsequently overturned by a vote of the Faculty.
  4. To assume responsibility each year for an amended and corrected version of the Faculty Constitution.

Section 2. Membership

One Faculty member shall be elected from each constituency for two year terms. Members from Business, Education and Arts shall be elected in even-numbered years. Members from Letters and Sciences and the Other Constituency shall be elected in odd-numbered years. Members of the Organization Committee may not serve simultaneously on the Faculty Senate.

ARTICLE VIII

The Right To Be Heard

Section 1. The following procedures are open to any faculty member for petition or appeal, including all matters acted upon by the Faculty Senate or the Faculty.

  1. He/she can appeal to the appropriate committee (and any committee has constitutional power to request a special faculty meeting).
  2. He/she can petition the Faculty Senate and shall be given the right to be heard.
  3. He/she can require consideration by the entire Faculty at a regular or special faculty meeting if his/her petition bears the signatures of a quorum of the Faculty.
  4. He/she can require a referendum of the entire Faculty if his/her petition bears the signatures of a quorum of the Faculty. A result of such referendum shall be considered the decision of the Faculty.

ARTICLE IX

Amendments

Section 1. If an amendment to or a revision of the Constitution is desired, the proposed amendment or revision shall be presented to the Organization Committee for consideration. Upon approval by that committee, a copy shall be sent to each member of the Faculty at least one week in advance of the meeting at which the amendment or revision of the Constitution is to be considered.

Section 2. If the amendment is rejected by the Organization Committee, or if in the judgment of the originator, that committee fails to act within a reasonable length of time, the originator may circulate a petition setting forth the desired amendment and if ten percent of the Faculty express a desire to consider the amendment, the petitioners may present the amendment at a regular meeting of the Faculty or at a special meeting of the Faculty which shall be called for that purpose within two weeks of the presentation of the amendment and signed petition to the Chancellor. A copy of the proposed amendment shall be sent to each member of the Faculty at least one week in advance of the meeting.

Section 3. An amendment shall be considered passed if it receives a two-thirds vote of those voting in a faculty meeting, a quorum being present.

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