ARTICLE
I. THE SENATE
1. Organization
The University Senate
may determine its own organization, create committees whose membership need not
be limited to members of the University Senate, and adopt procedural rules for
the conduct of its business. The Faculty Senate and the Student Senate shall
determine their own organization.
The president of the University of
Minnesota shall chair the University Senate.
A vice chair shall be
elected by the Senate at its last meeting in the spring of the academic year
from among its members for a term of one year. The vice chair shall serve as
chair in the absence of the president and shall serve as a member of the
University Senate Consultative Committee. Term of office shall be July 1 to
June 30, and the person holding the office is eligible for re-election.
In the event that neither the president nor the Senate vice chair is available to serve as chair of a Senate meeting, the vice chair of the Faculty Consultative Committee shall preside.
A
clerk and a parliamentarian of the University Senate (non-members of the Senate)
shall be appointed by the president and confirmed by the University Senate and
whose terms of office shall run from the start of the first meeting of the
Senate in one year to the start of the first meeting of the Senate the following
year. The clerk and the parliamentarian may be reappointed.
The Senate
Consultative Committee shall serve as the executive committee of the University
Senate.
2. Meetings
Meetings of the University Senate shall
be held at least twice each semester during the academic year to consider
University-wide policies and issues. The University, Faculty, or Student Senate
may be convened for special session upon the call of the president. Upon
request of the appropriate Consultative Committee, or upon written request of
ten members of the Senate in question as submitted to the president, the
president shall convene the Senate. Senators shall be given notice of the
special session by the clerk of the appropriate Senate at the earliest possible
date and not less than two days before the meeting. Only subjects specifically
listed on the proposed agenda for any special session may be considered at that
meeting.
3. Agenda
The Senate Consultative Committee shall
plan the agenda for any meeting of the University Senate. The agenda shall be
prepared finally and distributed by the clerk of the University Senate. The
agenda consists of items submitted for University Senate consideration by any
Senate, campus assembly, or by any committee of the University Senate or campus
assemblies. At the discretion of the Senate Consultative Committee, the clerk
of the Senate may be instructed to include additional items on the agenda for
any regular meeting of that body. Items for the docket must be delivered to the
clerk no later than two weeks prior to the date of each meeting. All items
should be double spaced to facilitate printing.
4. Amendments to
the Rules
Amendments to the Rules shall be made by a majority vote of
the members of the Senate present and voting at any meeting of the University
Senate for matters pertaining to that Senate, or by majority vote of the members
of any Senate present and voting at any meeting of any Senate for matters
pertaining to that Senate. However, the Rules cannot be amended to contravene
either the Constitution or the Bylaws. If such a situation presents itself, a
constitutional or bylaws amendment motion must be
undertaken.
ARTICLE II. STANDING RULES OF THE
SENATE[**]
1.
Seating
The meeting room shall provide a clear and definite area
reserved for senators, and no non-senator (except authorized alternate) shall
have access to this area without explicit permission from the chair. Senators
and authorized alternates shall be identified in order to permit their seating
to ensure accurate voting.
2. Quorum
A majority of the
membership shall constitute a quorum.
3. Recognition and
Participation
- In deliberations, priority of recognition
shall be given to senators over non-senators; speakers who have not spoken over
those who have; alternation of pro and con on a specific
issue.
- Any senator, upon recognition from the chair, may yield
time in debate to a non-senator.
- In the event that a senator has
yielded time to a non-senator, both shall be considered to have
spoken.
- Speakers shall be limited to three minutes each time
they are recognized.
- The member of a committee presenting an
item on the docket who is not a member of the Senate shall be extended all
privileges associated with participation. These include making motions in areas
related to the committee report. Such a person shall not be extended the
privilege of voting.
- Members of committees of the Senate who are
not members of the Senate shall have the privilege of speaking on reports of
their committees before the Senate.
- The usual rules of
germaneness and decorum shall apply to both senators and
non-senators.
4. Agenda and Procedures
- The time
limits specified on the agenda are the maximum time for debate or discussion. A
motion to extend the limits of debate may be proposed on any agenda item.
- No amendment of a motion appearing in the printed docket shall
be in order unless it has been submitted in writing to the clerk of the Senate
and to the chair of the committee presenting the motion at least 48 hours prior
to the meeting at which it is presented.
- An item of new business
presented at a meeting of the Senate by an individual member shall be referred
to the Senate Consultative Committee for consideration and presentation at the
next regular meeting of the Senate; but such an item of business may be
considered and voted on at the meeting at which it is introduced by a two-thirds
majority vote of the members of the Senate present and voting on a motion for
immediate consideration (not debatable). An item on the agenda for information
may be sent back to the committee reporting it, for presentation as an item for
action at a later meeting, by a simple majority vote of the members of the
Senate present and voting; it may be considered for action at the meeting at
which it is reported for information by a two-thirds majority vote of the
members of the Senate present and voting on a proposal for immediate
consideration as an item for action.
- The motion to table shall
be debatable.
- At each regular Senate meeting, Questions to the
President shall be an item on the agenda.
- In the case of a tie
vote, the president shall be entitled to vote.
ARTICLE III. RULES
FOR COMMITTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY SENATE
1. Committee Structure
of the University Senate
The committees of the University Senate
shall be (1) Senate committees and (2) Subcommittees of Senate Committees. The
Senate may also create special committees. Senate committees, subcommittees of
Senate committees, and special committees are described in the Constitution and
Bylaws.
2. Ex Officio Members of Senate Committees
Ex
officio members shall be appointed from each of the offices listed below and are
non-voting positions unless otherwise noted.
- All-University
Honors--Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost; Office of the
Vice President for University Relations (three representatives, including one
from Alumni Relations and one from the University Development
Office)
- Disabilities Issues--Office of the Executive Vice
President and Provost (University ADA coordinator); Office for Campus Life (one
from the Disability Services Office)
- Educational
Policy--Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost (two
representatives, including the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education); Dean
of the Graduate School
- Equity, Access, and
Diversity--Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost (one from the
Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action); Office for Campus Life (two representatives including one from the Office for Multicultural and Academic Affairs and the Director, Office of University Women)
- Faculty Affairs--Office of the Executive Vice
President and Provost; representative of the University of Minnesota Retirees
Association; Office of the Vice President for Human Resources (two
representatives, including one from Employee Benefits); Chair (or his/her
designee) of the Academic Health Center Faculty Affairs Subcommittee; Chair,
Tenure Committee
- Faculty Consultative--Vice chair of
the Faculty Senate (voting); Chairs of the Academic Health Center Faculty
Consultative Committee (or his or her designee), Educational Policy, Faculty Affairs, Finance and
Planning, and Research Committees (if a non-faculty member is appointed as chair
of one of the four committees, then the faculty members of that committee shall
elect from among themselves a representative); elected representative from the
Duluth faculty eligible to vote in Senate elections; Faculty Legislative
Liaison
- Finance and Planning--Controller's Organization;
Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost (one from Institutional
Research and Reporting, one from the Office of Budget and Finance, and one other designated by the Executive Vice President and Provost); Office of
the Vice President for University Services; Chair (or his/her designee) of the
Academic Health Center Finance and Planning Subcommittee
- Information
Technologies--Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost (two
representatives, including the chief information officer); University Librarian
(or his or her designee), Twin Cities Campus; Chair (or his/her designee) of
the Library Committee
- Library--Office of the Executive
Vice President and Provost; University Librarian, Twin Cities campus; Director
of Library Services, Crookston campus; Director of Libraries, Duluth campus;
Library Director, Morris campus; Director of the Law Library, Twin Cities
Campus; Chair (or his/her designee) of the Information Technologies
Committee
- Research--Office of the Executive Vice
President and Provost (two representatives, including the Director of
Agricultural Experiment Stations); Office of the Treasurer; Office of the Senior
Vice President for Health Sciences; Vice President for Research; University
Librarian (his or her designee); Director of
Compliance
- Senate Consultative--Vice chair of the
University Senate (voting); Chairs of the Finance and Planning and Educational
Policy Committees; elected representative from the Duluth faculty eligible to
vote in Senate elections; Chair of the Student Senate
- Social
Concerns--Office of the Vice President for Campus Life; Office of Budget and
Finance (Asset Management); Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost
(Office of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative
Action)
- Student Academic Integrity--Office of the Executive Vice
President and Provost (two representatives, including the Academic Integrity
Officer)
- Student Affairs--Office of the Vice President for
Campus Life
- Student Consultative--Student Member of the
Educational Policy Committee, Student Member of the Finance and Planning
Committee, and Student Member of the Student Affairs Committee. (All are chosen
at the discretion of the Student Senate Consultative Committee)
- Tenure--Chair, Committee on Faculty Affairs; Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost; Office of the Vice President for Human Resources
3.
Terms of Membership, Chairing of Committees, and Removal of Members for
Absences
Non-student appointments to committees of the Senate 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. Faculty/academic administrative or professional who hold a University position carrying as any part of its title president, vice president, chancellor, provost, executive director, counsel, non-faculty attorney, or chief of staff at a collegiate or central administrative level may not serve as a voting member of a Senate committee, nor may anyone who is a dean, except ex officio. Individuals with less than one-third-time appointments as assistant or associate deans may serve as voting members of Senate committees. 1
Student appointments to committees of
the Senate shall be made for terms of one year. Student members of committees
must be registered for at least six credits for each semester in the academic
year. University College students must be registered for at least one course in
each major term in the academic year. Graduate students who have completed
course work and are not required to maintain continuous registration during
interim periods of study in preparation for written and oral examinations must
be certified by the individual department director of graduate studies.
No non-student member is eligible to serve more than
two consecutive full three-year terms on any one committee. No student member
is eligible to serve more than four consecutive one-year terms on any one
committee. No committee member is eligible to serve on more than two committees
of the Senate at a time. These rotation procedures and limitations do not apply
to ex officio representatives.
Notwithstanding the preceding provisions,
faculty, academic professionals, and civil service staff appointed to the
four-year terms of membership on the Finance and Planning Committee shall be
eligible to serve two consecutive four-year terms, for a total of eight
years.
Except where specified, the chair of each committee of the Senate
is appointed from the committee membership by whoever appoints the members of
the committee. Chair appointments are for one-year terms, but chairs may be
reappointed. An individual may chair only one committee of the Senate at a
time. Terms of committee service begin July 1 and terminate June 30.
A
member of a committee of the Senate shall be said to have been absent if the
member does not attend a meeting for which notification was given. A
non-student member of a committee of the Senate shall forfeit membership if
absent for three consecutive meetings of the committee unless excused by
majority vote of the committee. A student member of a committee of the Senate
shall forfeit membership if absent for two meetings of the committee unless
excused by majority vote of the committee. Summer meetings of a committee do
not count in tallying consecutive absences from meetings. A member whose
membership has been forfeited may appeal to the appropriate appointing authority
for reinstatement.
In those instances when a committee member from
Crookston, Morris, or Duluth makes arrangements to attend a meeting by
teleconference or other technological means, and the necessary technology fails
to work, that committee member will not be considered to be absent from the
meeting.
4. Leave Policy
If a committee member plans to be
on leave from the University or is, for any reason, absent from the University
for more than one year, a new committee member shall be appointed to complete
the term remaining. Members on leave for one year or less during the first two
years of a three-year term shall be replaced by temporary appointment. Members
absent in the final year of a term shall be replaced for the term remaining.
Replacement procedures shall follow appointment procedures.
5.
Committee Support and Service
Staff support shall be funded by the
Senate through funds administered by the Senate Budget Subcommittee. Staff
support and services are interpreted as financial and employee assistance in
research, data collection, record-keeping, and all aspects of secretarial
services. A staff support person shall not be considered an ex officio
member.
6. Support of University Governance
Department
chairs, deans, and faculties should recognize a faculty/academic professional
member's participation in University governance as an important and integral
part of the individual's work load and supply necessary assistance and support
for these activities.
Similarly, faculty and administration should
recognize student participation in University governance as an important and
integral part of the participant's total University experience.
Central
administration should fund released time for the faculty chairs of the
Consultative, Judicial, Educational Policy, Finance and Planning, and Faculty
Affairs Committees and initially it should be equivalent to one course of
teaching each year (except for the Consultative Committee, which is currently by
arrangement). If the chair is a student, the student should receive
compensation.
7. Procedures for Committees of the
Senate
- Parliamentary authority for committees of the Senate
shall be Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, provided these
Rules are not in conflict with the Senate Constitution or
Bylaws.
- A quorum shall be a majority of the
members.
- Ex officio representation is representation because of,
or by virtue of, a specified office. Ex officio members of committees of the
Senate are appointed by the administrative office which they represent. An ex
officio member is accorded rights of full participation except voting privileges
unless otherwise indicated.
- Committee members may participate and vote
in committee meetings through an electronic connection.
- The chair or a
committee member who voted on the prevailing side, was absent, abstained, or did
not vote may move, by electronic communication, that an action taken by the
committee be reconsidered. The motion to reconsider, including a proposed
disposition, must be made to or by the chair within two business days after the
meeting was adjourned. Committee members must vote, by electronic
communication, within two business days from the time the motion to reconsider
was distributed. The number of votes cast on the motion must meet or exceed the
requirement for a quorum; if that number is achieved, a two-thirds majority of
those voting is needed for approval of the motion to reconsider.
[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.
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