By-Laws

Faculty Senate

By-Laws of the ETSU Faculty Senate

ARTICLE I: PROCEDURES OF THE SENATE

1.1 Meetings

The Faculty Senate shall hold at least one regularly scheduled meeting each full month during the fall and spring semesters.
Summer meetings and special meetings of the full Senate may be called by the Executive Committee or by the Senate president upon petition of at least one-fourth of the senators. Notification of summer or special meetings shall be made to all members of the Senate at least three (3) workdays prior to such meetings.
Except for closed meetings, all meetings of the Senate shall be open to anyone who wishes to attend. The Senate may go into closed meeting by approval of two-thirds (2/3) of the members present.
A majority of the elected membership of the Faculty Senate shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business of the Senate.

1.2 Conduct of Meetings

All business of the Faculty Senate shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order, revised edition.
The first Faculty Senate meeting of the academic year shall be the Faculty Senate Retreat.
Nonprocedural motions will be submitted to the Faculty Senate president via the form located on the Faculty Senate website. Motions will be placed on the agenda of the next meeting of the Senate as information/first reading items and then as action items at the subsequent Senate meeting.

1.3 Parliamentarian

A parliamentarian shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and confirmed by the Senate no later than the second meeting each year. The parliamentarian shall advise the Senate on all matters of parliamentary procedure. If the Parliamentarian vacates the office, the Executive Committee will appoint a new Parliamentarian who will be confirmed by the Senate at the next meeting of the full senate.

ARTICLE II: OFFICERS

The Faculty Senate officers shall be a President, a President-Elect, a Secretary, and a Past-President.

The President and President-Elect shall be elected for a single two (2)-year simultaneous term.
The Secretary will be elected annually from the membership of the Senate at the last spring meeting of the sitting Senate.
Individuals elected to serve as an officer of the Senate will begin their term at the Fall Faculty Senate Retreat in August.
The role of an officer in Faculty Senate requires a fall, spring, and summer commitment to execute the duties of their respective offices.
For the duration of their terms the President, President-Elect, and Past President become at-large senators; the affected colleges will replace those positions with a senator who represents the college.

2.1. President

2.1.1. The Faculty Senate president shall preside over all meetings of the Senate and the Executive Committee.

2.1.2. The Faculty Senate president represents the Faculty Senate on:

University Council
Academic Council
SACS Leadership Team
Budget Advisory & Strategic Planning Committee
Commencement Platform Party
Any ad hoc committees the University President or President-Elect may convene which require faculty representation
Tennessee University Faculty Senates (TUFS)
Formal external faculty bodies

If the current president cannot participate, the president may appoint another officer or member of the executive committee.

2.1.3. Compensation for Faculty Senate President

The Faculty Senate president shall receive three hours (or equivalent) of academic release time from their traditional load in each fall and spring semester they serve as president. Or, as an alternative, they may elect to receive extra compensation of no less than $3500 per semester. In addition, the President will receive a stipend of no less than $3500 each summer they serve.

2.2 President-Elect

2.2.1 The President-Elect shall:

Organize and coordinate the annual Faculty Senate retreat
Secure meeting space for Faculty Senate meetings
Substitute for the Secretary whenever needed
Compile and maintain all records of any financial transactions involving the Senate, including expense authorizations, reimbursements, and any other related transactions

2.2.2 In the absence of the president, the President-Elect shall preside at the meetings of the Senate and Executive Committee, shall assume all duties of that office, and shall serve in other capacities as the President may direct. The President-Elect may also preside at meetings of the Senate at which the president is present by direction of the President.

2.2.3 The President-Elect represents the Senate on:

Academic Council
Any ad hoc committees to which the Faculty Senate President may appoint them. If the current President-Elect cannot participate, the President may appoint another officer or member of the executive committee.

2.2.4 Compensation for the Faculty Senate President-Elect

The Faculty Senate President-Elect shall receive three hours of academic release (or equivalent) time from their traditional load in each fall and spring semester they serve as President-Elect. Or, as an alternative, they may elect to receive extra compensation equivalent to the cost of a three-credit overload payment each semester at the rate for the college in which they serve.

2.3 Secretary

2.3.1 The Secretary shall:

Keep and maintain the minutes of any regular or special meetings of the Senate
Keep the official attendance records of all meetings.
Prepare and maintain the official membership list of the Senate.
Maintain a permanent and public collection of all records of the Senate.
Obtain faculty census data at the beginning of each spring semester

2.3.2 Compensation for Faculty Senate Secretary

The Faculty Senate secretary shall receive three hours of academic release time (or equivalent) from their traditional load in each fall and spring semester they serve as secretary. Or, as an alternative, they may elect to receive extra compensation equivalent to the cost of a three-credit overload payment at the rate for the college in which they serve.

2.4 Past-President

2.4.1 The Past-President represents the Faculty Senate on:

University Council
Academic Council
Budget Advisory and Strategic Planning Committee

If the current Past-President cannot participate, the President may appoint another officer, member of the executive committee, or a previous Past-President who is currently serving on the Faculty Senate.

2.4.2 Compensation for the Past-President.

The immediate past president shall receive three hours of academic release time (or equivalent) from their traditional load in each fall and spring semester they serve as past president. Or, as an alternative, they may elect to receive extra compensation equivalent to the cost of a three-credit overload payment at the rate for the college in which they serve.

2.5 Vacancies

2.5.1 President

If the President vacates the office, the President-Elect of the Faculty Senate will become the President and fulfill the remainder of the President’s term. In a circumstance in which the President and President-Elect vacate their offices at the same time, the Secretary will serve as the President Pro-Tempore, and a special election of the Faculty Senate will be held within two scheduled meetings to elect a new President from the current Senate membership to serve the remainder of the term.

2.5.2 President-Elect

If the President-Elect vacates the office, a special election of the Faculty Senate will be held within two scheduled meetings to elect a new President-Elect from the current Senate membership to serve the remainder of the term.

2.5.3 Secretary

If the Secretary vacates the office, the Executive Committee will appoint an interim replacement. A special election of the Faculty Senate will be held within two scheduled meetings to elect a new Secretary from the current Senate membership to serve the remainder of the term.

2.5.4 Past-President

If the Past-President vacates the office, the Executive Committee will appoint an interim replacement; a replacement for the Past-President will be affirmed by the Senate no later than two meetings after the interim is appointed. Due to various University-level committee responsibilities of the Past President, consideration should be given to filling the position with a former Past President of the Faculty Senate.
Since the Past President is an at-large member of the Faculty Senate, it is possible to recruit a former Past President of the Senate who is not currently serving on the Senate. If no suitable candidate is available, a senior or past member of the Executive Committee should be considered.

2.5.5 When a President, President-Elect, or Past-President is replaced with a sitting Faculty Senate member, a special election of the college that Senator represents will be held to fill the vacant Senate seat due to these officers moving to at-large representation.

2.6 Removal from Office

Any officer of the Faculty Senate may be removed from office by vote of two-thirds of the membership of the Faculty Senate. Upon removal of an officer, a replacement will be secured in accordance with Sections 2.5 of this Article.

Article III: MEMBERSHIP

3.1 Eligibility

Full time faculty in tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure track appointments as defined in the Definition of Faculty policy are eligible to serve on faculty Senate.

3.2 Term of Office

The term of office for an elected member of the Senate shall be three (3) years with the exception that the term of the president shall be extended automatically for up to three (3) years to ensure uninterrupted progression into the office of past president. At the end of this extended term of office, the affected school, college, or academic unit shall elect a senator to complete any remaining years of the normal term.

3.3 Representation

Each college, school, or equivalent academic unit, including the University Libraries, with at least five of its own faculty shall be entitled to elect senators. The number of senators eligible shall be determined from the records of the Office of the Provost based on a three- year rolling average at the beginning of each spring semester.

A college, school, or equivalent academic unit shall be entitled to senators as follows: 5-10 faculty members -1 senator; 11-20 faculty members – 2 senators; 21+ faculty – 3 senators.
A college, school, or equivalent academic unit is entitled to one additional representative for every twenty-five (25) faculty members.
In the event of a shift of departments or faculty from one college to another, the Senate, with a simple majority vote of the body, can reassess the representation to reflect the new distribution of faculty by college.
Any college, school, or equivalent academic unit with a minimum of five faculty members organized after the adoption of the Faculty Senate Constitution shall attain Senate representation in the first Senate election following its organization.
If a college, school, or academic unit loses faculty so as to affect Senate representation, the first position to become vacant will not be filled. By two-thirds vote of those present at any regularly scheduled meeting, the Senate may grant senatorial representation to divisions or academic units not covered in this section.

3.4 Elections

Each year, all Senators will be notified of forthcoming vacancies by the Elections Committee. Faculty shall be informed of vacancies by their senators in advance of the election.
Present senators from each college/school/unit will serve as election officials.
Elections to the Faculty Senate shall be concluded annually by the end of March
When a vacancy occurs from a senator’s resigning in mid-term, the president will inform the remaining senators from the relevant college. That college will choose how to select a replacement as defined by the college election procedures to begin serving as soon as possible.

3.5 Participation

Faculty Senators are expected to attend all bi-weekly meetings of the Senate.
Those Senators serving on the Executive Committee are also expected to attend the bi- weekly meetings of the Executive Committee on those weeks that the full Senate does not meet.
Senators who miss a meeting shall notify the Secretary of the reason for failure to attend.
After a Senator misses two meetings in a single semester, the Secretary will send an electronic notification to the Senator. The same will apply to members of the Executive Committee who miss two of the bi-weekly meetings of the Executive Committee (irrespective of attendance at the meetings of the full Senate).
After a third absence, the secretary will send a notification to the Senator and the Senator’s attendance will be reviewed by the Executive Committee, the results of which will be communicated to the Senator.
The Executive Committee will consider the reasons for absenteeism and the review may result in the following:
1. No action taken or
2. A letter notifying the Senator’s Dean of failure to meet obligations and/or
3. A request from the executive committee for resignation or formal leave of absence by the absent Senator and/or
4. The Executive Committee declaring the absent Senator’s seat vacant and initiating the process for filling a vacant seat.

3.6 Leaves of Absence

When necessary, a senator may request an official leave of absence from their Senate duties. Request for a leave of absence must be submitted according to the following procedure:

A letter requesting a leave of absence which outlines the reasons for the request and the anticipated length of the leave of absence shall be sent to the president of the Faculty Senate for transmission to the Executive Committee;
The Executive Committee shall, by majority vote, either accept or deny the request for leave of absence;
In the event that the request for leave of absence is accepted, the President of the Faculty Senate shall instruct the affected school, college or academic unit to select a temporary replacement Senator.
The temporary replacement senator shall occupy the seat of the requesting senator until the requesting senator notifies the president of the Faculty Senate in writing that they wish to resume the duties of senator.
The maximum length of a leave of absence shall be an academic year.

3.7 Faculty Senate Selection of Faculty Trustee

This shall be the process by which the Faculty representative to the ETSU Board of Trustees (the Board) will be determined:

In those years that the faculty trustee position on the Board is open according to HB2578, the floor will open for nominations at the last scheduled Faculty Senate meeting of the fall semester and close on January 31.
1. Any interested faculty shall submit a statement of qualifications to the President of the Senate during the nomination period.
2. The President of Faculty Senate shall forward all statements of qualifications to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee which will review the eligibility of each candidate by no later than the scheduled meeting of the Senate at which the ballot is created.
3. The date of the faculty trustee election may be modified by the Faculty Senate to allow for selection of a Board representative prior to the first annual meeting of the Board.
To be eligible for consideration, the potential nominee must have been a fulltime faculty member for at least six (6) years and demonstrate satisfactory involvement in university-wide shared governance.
A ballot of no more than three (3) and no fewer than two (2) nominees will be created in a Faculty Senate meeting by the end of February.
A position on the ballot is secured by being among the top three in a vote by a quorum of the faculty Senate.
1. There will be up to three (3) rounds of voting.
2. Each Senator may vote only once in each round.
3. The top vote-getter in each round earns a position on the ballot. In the event of a tie in any round a coin-toss will break the tie.
4. Once a person is placed on the ballot, they may not be considered in subsequent nominee ballot voting.
5. The Faculty Senate shall vote again until at least two (2) and no more than three (3) nominees are on the ballot.
The final ballot will be presented to the Faculty of ETSU for a vote in March.
The faculty trustee will be determined by a plurality (person who gets the most votes) in a vote of the faculty. In the event of a tie, a run-off will be held. The person receiving the second most votes will be considered the alternate.
If the newly elected faculty trustee is not currently a member of the Senate, they become an at-large member of the Senate at the beginning of their term and must remain a member in good standing for the duration of their term. Upon election to the ETSU Board of Trustees, the faculty trustee will become an ex-officio member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and will be expected to fulfill the following duties of an Executive Committee member:
1. Attend all scheduled meetings of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee
2. Attend all scheduled meetings of the Faculty Senate
3. Attend all monthly meetings of the Executive Committee and university administration
4. Although the term for Faculty Trustee ends on June 30th of the year the term expires, the former Faculty Trustee will remain on the Faculty Senate and on the Executive Committee through the last Faculty Senate meeting of that academic year in August.
In the event that the faculty trustee is unable to serve, the alternate will fill the remainder of the term.
1. If both the elected faculty trustee and the alternate are unable to serve, the Past President will step in to serve as the faculty trustee until a new faculty trustee can be elected to fill the remainder of the term. Should the Past President also be unable to serve in this capacity, the Executive Committee will appoint a faculty member to serve as faculty trustee until a faculty trustee can be elected to fill the remainder of the term.
2. Any out of cycle election will follow the process outlined above but in a time frame to be determined by the Faculty Senate.
The faculty member elected to the ETSU Board of Trustees shall have the term of service limited to two consecutive terms of two years each if they are nominated and elected. Thereafter, the faculty member would become eligible to seek another term only after having remained off the Board for one term.

ARTICLE IV: COMMITTEES

The Faculty Senate shall establish standing committees to study and make reports on matters of concern to the University faculty. Standing committees created by the Senate become committees of the Senate, receive their authority from the Senate, and shall report their findings and make their recommendations to the Senate.

4.1 Standing Committees

Except for the Executive Committee, the size of standing committees shall be determined by the Senate.
The chair of each committee, except for the Executive Committee, shall be appointed by the executive committee no later than the second meeting of each year.

4.1.1 Executive Committee

4.1.1.1 Members

The Officers
Six at-large members elected at the first meeting of each year. The role of at- large members requires a fall, spring, and summer commitment.
Faculty member of the Board of Trustees. The Trustee will serve the duration of their term.

4.1.1.2 The Executive Committee duties shall be as follows:

To consider and to act on urgent matters of immediate general interest to the University which cannot wait for action by the Senate in regular session. Such actions of the Executive Committee shall be reported to the Senate at next meeting and shall be subject to ratification by a majority vote of the Senate.
To appoint chairs of the Senate standing committees no later than the second Senate meeting of each year.
To approve the chair of the Tenure and Promotion Appeals Committee.
To propose such ad hoc committees of the Senate as may be needed.
To refer matters to the proper committees of the Senate.
To attend regularly scheduled meetings with members of the senior administration.
To meet at least five (5) workdays in advance of regular Senate meeting for preparing an agenda and making assignments to those who are to report to the Senate at the next meeting. A copy of the agenda will be sent to each member of the Senate at least three (3) workdays before the Senate convenes.
To act on requests for leave of absence from the Senate.
To address attendance issues as outlined in the section on Participation
To meet as needed during the summer to continue operations and plan for future activities of the Faculty Senate.

4.1.1.3 Vacancies

If an At-large member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee vacates the position, the full senate will conduct a special election at the next meeting of the full senate for an at-large member who will fulfill the remainder of the term.

4.1.2 Committee on Faculty Concerns and Grievances

The Committee on Faculty Concerns and Grievances may initiate recommendations and shall continuously review and evaluate University policies including but not restricted to such things as:

Academic freedom and responsibility;
Faculty salaries and other benefits;
Criteria for determining annual salary increments;
All faculty personnel policies including appointments, promotion, tenure, dismissal, resignation and leaves of absence.

The Committee shall also act as an appeals body to hear grievances filed by individual faculty members. The committee is charged with developing procedures for this purpose, subject to approval by the Senate.

The Committee shall also act as a consulting body to hear grievances filed by individual faculty members, at such point in time as a grievance may reach the desk of the President of the University.

4.1.3 Committee on Faculty Senate Elections and Governance

The Committee on Faculty Senate Elections is comprised of one member from each college/unit. The chair shall serve as the representative from their college.
The Committee is charged with these responsibilities:
1. Coordinating elections to the Senate;
2. Conducting the annual election of Faculty Senate officers and of the elected members of the Executive Committee
3. Supervising the conduct of said elections;
4. Ruling on the eligibility of nominees and voters;
5. Supervising the process for initiating and ratifying amendments of the Constitution and Bylaws.

4.1.4 Committee on the Faculty Handbook

Committee Leadership and Composition: The Committee on Faculty Handbook shall be chaired by a senator appointed by the Executive Committee. The committee will have a minimum of three and no more than five senators.
Duties of the Committee: The committee shall be responsible for oversight and disposition of any and all approved revisions to the faculty handbook. Each year, between the last meeting of the spring semester and the first meeting of the fall semester, the committee shall be responsible for verifying all links are active and accurate and that any new information is updated. The committee will also notify the faculty Senate of any changes to the handbook.

4.2 Ad Hoc Committees

The Senate shall, from time to time, establish temporary committees to study and make reports on matters of special concern to the University faculty and/or community. Ad hoc committees created by the Senate become committees of the Senate, receive their authority from the Senate, and shall report their findings and make their recommendations to the Senate.
Ad hoc committees shall be constituted for periods of one calendar year and are renewable upon a 2/3 vote of the senators present.

4.3 University Standing Committee Membership

A Faculty Senate member appointed to a University (i.e., non-Faculty Senate] standing committee serves a three-year term on that committee,
At the point a senator serving on a standing university committee as a representative of Faculty Senate is no longer on Faculty Senate, they will cease to serve as the Faculty Senate representative on that committee and the Senate shall appoint or elect a new representative.
Senators serving as Faculty Senate representatives on standing university committees should report on the activities of those standing committees to the senate.

ARTICLE V: AMENDMENT PROCEDURE

5.1 Initiation

The By-Laws may be altered by a procedure begun in either of the following ways: by a petition signed by one-fifth (1/5) of the full-time faculty members; or through a proposal supported by one-third (1/3) of the Faculty Senate members.

5.2 Ratification

Any amendments shall be ratified by a 2/3 majority of faculty senators voting in an official Senate meeting following the process for motions as noted in the Procedures of the Senate.