THIS DOCUMENT WAS SUPERCEDED JULY 1, 2005.
THIS VERSION IS LISTED FOR HISTORICAL PURPOSES ONLY.

UNIVERSITY SENATE BYLAWS

Part 1 of 2

ARTICLE I. UNIVERSITY SENATE MEMBERSHIP, ELECTIONS, AND OFFICERS

1. Voting Units

For the purpose of electing representatives and alternate representatives, if any, to the University Senate, qualified faculty members, academic professionals, and students shall vote as faculty/academic professional members or students within each of the following units of the University:

TWIN CITIES (1) Agricultural Experiment Station, (2) Agricultural, Food, & Environmental Sciences, (3) Architecture and Landscape Architecture (4) Biological Sciences, (5) Dentistry, (6) Education & Human Development, (7) General College, (8) Graduate School, (9) Human Ecology, (10) Law, (11) Liberal Arts, (12) Libraries, (13) Management, (14) Medical School, (15) University of Minnesota Extension Service, (16) Natural Resources, (17) Nursing, (18) Pharmacy, (19) Public Affairs,(20) Public Health, (21) Technology, (22) College of Continuing Education, (23) Veterinary Medicine

CROOKSTON (24)

DULUTH (25) Business and Economics, (26) Education and Human Service Professions, (27) Fine Arts, (28) Liberal Arts, (29) Medicine, (30) Other [includes non-collective bargaining faculty/academic professionals from UMD]; (31) Science and Engineering

MORRIS (32)

In the event that the faculty of one or more of the units eligible to elect senators votes to unionize, the academic professionals meeting Senate membership requirements but not included in the union contract will become members of a single academic professional unit and be entitled to representation using the usual allocation rules.

2. Faculty/Academic Professional Elections

The elected representatives of the faculties shall be elected in accordance with the following procedures:

a. Each spring before April 1, the clerk of the University Senate shall prepare for each faculty/academic professional unit listed in Section 1 of this Article a list of all persons in that unit who, as of March 1, are entitled to vote for Senate members, and shall send the appropriate number of copies thereof to the administrative head of each unit.

b. Between April 1 and April 30, each unit listed in Section 1 of this Article shall conduct an election for Senate members and alternate members, if any. Each unit shall establish its own procedures for conducting its elections. The results of the elections shall be mailed to the clerk of the Senate not later than May 5.

In establishing election procedures, each unit must adhere to the following principles and must provide notice of these principles to all individuals eligible to vote:

--everyone in the unit eligible to serve in the Senate must be provided the opportunity to nominate individuals in the unit to be candidates for the Senate (including nominating themselves).
--everyone in the unit eligible to serve in the Senate must be provided the opportunity to vote in the Senate elections.
--write-in candidates must be permitted, and notice of that option must appear on any ballot.
--ballots must be distributed to all eligible voters at least three working days before they are due.
--the ballot must make clear that elections are college-wide, not department-based.
--the Senate office will provide a ballot template that colleges and campuses may use.

c. The names of the Senate members and alternate members elected for the coming year shall be reported in the minutes of the first regular meeting of the succeeding fall semester.

3. Student Elections

The elected representatives of the students shall be elected in accordance with the following procedures:

a. Between February 1 and April 30 of each year, each unit listed in Section 1 of this Article shall conduct an election for University Senate members and alternate members, if any. Each unit shall establish its own procedures, in accordance with the constitution, for conducting its elections and for determining the number of students who are qualified to vote and hold office. The results of the elections shall be mailed to the clerk of the Senate not later than May 5.

b. The names of the Senate members and alternate members elected for the coming year shall be reported in the minutes of the first regular meeting of the succeeding fall semester.

4. Vacancies

Faculty/academic professional and student vacancies in the Senate shall be filled in accordance with procedures determined by the constituencies of the relevant voting unit.

5. Non-Affiliation with a Voting Unit

Any person eligible to vote for members of the Senate under the provisions of Article III, Section 4, of the Senate Constitution, but not attached to any voting unit designated in Section 1 of this Article, may apply in writing to the Senate Consultative Committee for a determination of his or her status for voting for members of the Senate. It shall be a duty of the Senate Consultative Committee to classify such a person with one of the voting units specified in Article I, Section 1, of these Bylaws.

6. Clerk

a. The clerk of each Senate shall be the custodian of its records, shall prepare and circulate the agenda and minutes of Senate meetings as directed by the appropriate Senate Consultative Committee, and shall perform such additional functions as shall be assigned to the clerk in the Bylaws, in the Rules, or by the president.

b. It shall be a function of the clerk of the University Senate to obtain after convenient intervals but at least once annually from the Office of Human Resources or other official sources a complete list of (1) those active or retired faculty members, (2) those members of the academic professional staff, and (3) those members of the civil service staff who have died during the preceding interval.

The clerk of the Senate shall request the departments or units to prepare suitable memorial statements and send them to their respective administrative officers to be forwarded by the administrative officers to the clerk of the Senate. At convenient intervals the clerk shall include such memorials in the agenda of the Senate for adoption by it, and shall supply copies of the same to the president.

c. It shall be a function of the clerk of the University Senate to obtain after convenient intervals but at least once annually from the Office of the Registrar or other official sources a complete list of those registered students who have died during the preceding interval. The clerk shall include the names of these students in the agenda of the Senate for recognition of it.

7. Parliamentarian

The parliamentarian shall advise the presiding officer or, upon request, any member of the Senate on matters pertaining to parliamentary procedure. Parliamentary authority for the Senate shall be Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, provided these Rules are not in conflict with the Senate constitution or bylaws.


ARTICLE II. RULES FOR COMMITTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY SENATE

1. Eligibility for Membership

a. Individuals holding academic administrative or professional titles are eligible to serve as voting members of Senate committees even if they are not qualified for membership in the Senate, except that no individual (whether faculty or academic administrative or professional) holding a University position carrying as any part of its title president, vice president, chancellor, provost, executive director, counsel, attorney, controller, or chief of staff shall be eligible for appointment to a Senate committee, nor may the University Librarian or anyone who is a dean. Individuals with less than a one-third time appointment as assistant or associate dean may serve as voting members of Senate committees . Individuals with academic administrative or professional titles are not eligible to serve on the Senate Judicial Committee or on the Tenure Committee. Individuals with academic administrative or professional titles are only eligible to serve on the Senate Committee on Educational Policy, the Senate Library Committee, Senate Research Committee, and the Senate Committee on Student Academic Integrity if they are also eligible to serve in the Senate. 1

b. No individual holding an academic administrative or professional title may serve on a Senate committee which includes among its ex officio members the University officer to which the individual directly reports.

c. The term "academic professional" shall be interpreted in these bylaws to mean all individuals holding academic administrative or academic professional appointments who are qualified to serve on Senate committees as provided in Section II (1)(a) and (b) of these bylaws.

2. All committees of the Senate shall keep minutes of their meetings and proceedings. Copies of these minutes shall be placed on file with the clerk of the Senate and shall be available for inspection. Committee minutes should not contain information considered private or confidential under the provisions of state or federal law.

3. Any committee of the Senate may be required, upon a majority vote of the members of the Senate present and voting, to report to the Senate at its next meeting.

4. An ex officio member of any committee of the Senate shall not be entitled to vote as a member of the committee, unless provided for in the Senate Constitution or Bylaws.

5. Faculty/academic professional appointments to committees of the Senate normally shall be made for terms of three years with appointments so adjusted that the terms of approximately one third of the members expire each year. Academic professionals eligible to vote may serve on all committees that report to the University Senate except the Faculty Consultative Committee and the Judicial Committee. Student appointments to committees of the Senate shall be made for terms of one year (see Rules Article III, Section 3, for student eligibility rules).

6. Committees shall submit items for action simultaneously to the Senate Consultative Committee and to the clerk of the Senate at least ten days before the Senate agenda deadline.

7. Committees of the Senate shall have a policy of open meetings. Closed or executive sessions may be held only after approval by a two-thirds majority of the committee members present and voting. All regular sessions of the All-University Honors Committee and the Judicial Committee shall be considered closed or executive sessions. The committee shall keep a list of all topics discussed and actions taken in its closed meetings and incorporate that list in its minutes. Only committee members and others designated by the chair may remain in the meeting once a motion to close the meeting has been adopted.

8. A committee of the Senate shall have the authority to issue interpretations of Senate policies that it has previously introduced to the Senate and which the Senate and the administration have approved. The Senate Consultative Committee (for University Senate policies) and the Faculty Consultative Committee (for Faculty Senate policies) may issue interpretations for any policy adopted by those bodies. Those interpretations shall be considered part of the policy (1) once the interpretation has been reported for information at the next Senate meeting following committee approval of the interpretation, and (2) neither the Senate nor the president makes objection before or at that Senate meeting. The Senate may, by simple majority of those present and voting, vote not to approve the interpretation, in which case it is not part of the policy. If the president objects, the interpretation must be brought back at the following meeting for a vote by the Senate.

9. Additional general rules for functions and operational procedures of all committees of the Senate shall be contained in the Rules of the Senate.

10. Removal of Committee Chairs and Committee members

a. Committee chairs (faculty, P&A, civil service, or alumni) may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the Faculty Consultative Committee. Committee chairs (students) may be removed by a two-thirds vote of the Student Senate Consultative Committee.

Committee chairs may be removed from their position only on the grounds that they have failed to perform the duties required of a committee chair, they have obstructed the business of the Senate and its committees, they have violated the Board of Regents Code of Conduct or the University's Policy on Academic Misconduct (or, in the case of students, because they have violated the Student Conduct Code), or their continued service would cast doubt on the integrity and credibility of the work of the committee. Anyone removed as committee chair is automatically removed from membership on the committee.

b. Committee members (faculty, P&A, civil service, or alumni) may be removed from a committee by a two-thirds vote of the Faculty Consultative Committee. Committee members (students) may be removed from a committee by a two-thirds vote of the Student Senate Consultative Committee.

Committee members may be removed from a committee only on the grounds that they have prevented the committee from conducting its business, if they have violated the Board of Regents Code of Conduct or the University's Policy on Academic Misconduct (or, in the case of students, because they have violated the Student Conduct Code), or their continued service would cast doubt on the integrity and credibility of the work of the committee.

c. If the committee chair or committee member to be removed is a P&A staff member, the Faculty Consultative Committee will consult with the Executive Committee of the Council of Academic and Professional Administrators before voting on removal. If the committee chair or committee member is a civil service staff member, the Faculty Consultative Committee will consult with the Civil Service Committee before voting on removal. If the committee chair or committee member is an alumni representative, the Faculty Consultative Committee will consult with the President and the Director of the Alumni Association before voting on removal.

d. The Faculty Consultative Committee shall have the authority, by a two-thirds majority vote, to remove its chair. The Faculty Consultative Committee shall also have the authority, by a two-thirds majority vote, to remove one of its members. The Student Senate Consultative Committees shall have the authority, by a two-thirds majority vote, to remove its chair. The Student Senate Consultative Committee shall also have the authority, by a two-thirds majority vote, to remove one of its members.

e. The provisions of this Section 10 (a), (b), (c), and (d) may not be used to infringe on the academic freedom of committee chairs and committee members. Neither committee chairs nor committee members may be removed from their position because they express unpopular views.

f. Any committee member or chair who is to be the subject of a vote on removal may submit a statement to the Faculty/Student Senate Consultative Committee, as appropriate, before a vote on removal is taken. There is no appeal from the decision of the Faculty/Student Senate Consultative Committee. Nothing in this section bars anyone from making use of the University's normal grievance processes for employees or students.

g. Nothing in this section 10 shall affect the operation of Senate Rule III(3), which provides for replacement of committee members who are repeatedly absent from meetings of their committees.

h. In all cases, the majorities required in this section 10 are two-thirds majorities of the full voting membership of the committee, not two-thirds of those present and voting.



[In March 1994 the Senate parliamentarian ruled that alternates or proxy voting are not permitted at meetings of Senate committees.]

1 On May 8, 2003, the Senate Consultative Committee issued the following interpretation: In recommending the change in the bylaws regarding administrators serving on Senate committees, the Senate Consultative Committee intended that individuals who are currently serving on Senate/Assembly committees, but who would be disqualified by the new bylaw provisions, will be allowed to serve out their current term.

Part 2 of University Senate Bylaws

University Senate Constitution

University Senate Rules

Constitutional Flowchart

Return to University Senate Menu

Return to Faculty Senate Menu

Return to Student Senate Menu