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ConstitutionRatified by Faculty during
the Spring 2001 Faculty Senate Elections, April 9-23, 2001 Article I. The Organization of the Faculty
Section 1. All full-time classroom teaching faculty, full-time
professional librarians, fulltime bargaining unit professional
staff, Section 2. The Faculty is the ultimate authority in all matters within its jurisdiction; the Senate is its agent. The Faculty may, therefore, countermand a Senate decision or demand that the Senate take a specific action, consistent with procedures herein described. Article II. The Powers of the Faculty The Faculty of Kean University shall participate in the formulation of educational policy for the university and, as the Faculty's agent, the Faculty Senate shall act as the forum for the formulation of educational policies for the university. The Faculty through its agent, the Senate, is empowered by the Board of Trustees of Kean University to make decisions on the following matters of educational policy (listed in the Sections I – III of this article), subject to review and acceptance or rejection by the Board. Section 1. Academic Matters (a). Development, evaluation, and organization of academic programs and departments. (b). Establishment of instructional and academic standards including those for admission, retention and granting of degrees; awarding of scholarships and grading systems. (c). Encouragement and implementation of academic and instructional research. (d). Establishment of standards for the preservation of academic freedom. (e). Articulation of instructional programs with physical facilities, business services, and the long-range development of the university as a center of learning. (f). Assistance in development of the Library, the Instructional Resource Center,and in Academic Technologyand Computing. (g). Student life and discipline, including athletics, student government and counseling, without, however, in any way impeding or violating the autonomy and freedoms presently reserved to the Student Organization, Graduate Student Association, and the Council for Part-Time Students. Section 2. Personnel Matters (a). The initial responsibility for the appointment, retention and promotion of faculty shall reside in each department or unit. (b). In cooperation with various interested faculty, administrators and spokesperson for state authority, the Faculty Senate shall assist in the development of general personnel policies. (c). The Faculty shall participate in the processes involving appointment, retention, tenure, promotion, sabbaticals and research-grants. Personnel policies relating to all units of the university shall be considered. Procedures shall be evaluated and reviewed periodically. (d). Directly or through appropriate committees, the Faculty shall participate in the selection and appointment of the President, Vice Presidents, Deans, Directors and other officers of administration. Department Chairpersons shall be elected by the members of their respective departments. Section 3. In addition to considering matters on its own initiative, the Faculty Senate shall consider matters brought to its attention by the Board of Trustees, the President of the University, the Faculty, the Students and other appropriate individuals. Article III. Organization of the Faculty Senate Section 1. Membership, Elections, Calendar and Vacancies (a). The Faculty Senate shall be composed of thirty (30) faculty members chosen by the faculty, from its membership, for three-year terms; one-third of whom shall be elected each year and be called a class. (b). No later than twelve weeks before spring semester classes end, the Nominations Committee shall announce to the Faculty all pending vacancies on the Faculty Senate and on other elected committees of the University and shall invite from the Faculty nominations for those, vacancies. No later than nine weeks before spring semester classes end, the Nominations Committee shall submit to the Faculty a preliminary list of candidates for the University elections. For two weeks following this publication, additional nominations may be made by petition, each signed by five members of the Faculty and filed with the Nominations Committee or the clerical secretary of the Senate by its specified deadline. No later than six weeks before classes end, the Nominations Committee shall publish the final list of candidates for University elections (c). No later than four weeks before spring semester classes end, a mail ballot for Senate elections shall be mailed by an outside agency to the residencies of the Senate electorate. Ballots shall be returned to the agency and tabulated by it according to dates established by the Elections Committee. The Elections Committee shall publicly inform the electorate of the results within one week of receiving the results from the outside agency administering the elections. (d). Election rules not explicitly defined by the Constitution are to be determined by the most recent Manual for the Faculty Senate Nominations and Elections Committees. Election rules not explicitly defined by that procedures document shall be determined by the Elections Committee. (e). The official year for the Senate, its members, officers, and all committees, for all terms and appointments to ad hoc and standing Senate Committees, unless otherwise provided for, shall be from annual organizational meeting to annual organizational meeting, which shall be held within the two weeks preceding each Spring Commencement. Newly elected Senators shall take office at the organizational meeting of the Senate (the last scheduled meeting, after all business for that academic year is concluded). (f). Vacancies in the Senate shall be filled by appointment made by the Chairperson of the Senate from the list of nominees in the most recent election of Senators. The candidate who stood #11 in the voting on that list shall be appointed to the first vacancy, #12 to the second and so on. A Senator so appointed shall serve for the unexpired term of his or her predecessor. Where a vacancy exists, and there are no remaining candidates for that seat from the most recent election the seat will remain vacant until the next spring, at which time, the additional Senator(s) will be elected for the remainder of the vacant term. (g). A Senator shall not be elected or appointed to more than two consecutive three-year terms. Upon election or appointment to two consecutive terms, a senator will only be eligible to rerun after taking a one year absence from the senate. (h). In addition to the above organization of the Senate, the Chairperson of the Senate shall invite the heads of each of the three student bodies to send two students as observers to the Faculty Senate. Section 2. Officers of the Senate (a). At the beginning of each annual organizational meeting (immediately after the seating of the new Senators), the Senate shall elect by secret ballot one of its members Chairperson, one Vice-Chairperson, one Secretary, and one Senate Representative to the Board of Trustees, to serve until the election of officers at the next annual organizational meeting. Officers shall not serve more than three consecutive one-year terms in any given office. (b). Chairperson The Chairperson shall call and conduct meetings of the Faculty Senate and its Executive Committee, shall provide agenda for these meetings, and shall perform all of the duties commonly associated with executive leadership, within the jurisdiction and the declared policies of the Faculty Senate. The Chairperson shall submit an annual report of Senate activities to the Faculty. The Chairperson shall be responsible for the selection of all Senate committees not elected by the faculty at large. The Chairperson of the Senate shall preside over Faculty meetings called to consider matters referred to the Faculty by the Senate. (c). Vice-Chairperson The Vice-Chairperson of the Faculty Senate shall perform all duties of the Chairperson in the absence or incapacity of the Chairperson, and shall also be Chairperson of the Elections Committee. The Vice-Chairperson shall also keep the official list of Senate members, elected committee members and appointed standing committee members, and accurate records of the annual Senate elections. (d.). Secretary The Secretary of the Faculty Senate shall (1) keep minutes of all regular, special and Executive Committee meetings and distribute these minutes; (2) perform such other secretarial duties as the Senate requires. (e). Senate Representative to the Board of Trustees The Senate Representative to the Board of Trustees shall attend all public meetings of the Board and shall provide a written summary of the Board's actions that shall be distributed to the full Senate and included with the Senate minutes. (f). The Senate may designate additional officers as the need arises. Section 3. The Executive Committee of the Senate (a). There shall be an Executive Committee of thirteen members, three from each of the three classes of the Senate; The Senate Representative to the Board of Trustees; and the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and the Secretary of the Senate, who shall also be the Officers of the Executive Committee. (b). Each class shall choose, in a caucus called for the purpose, three of its members to serve on the Executive Committee for one year. No one may serve as an elected class representative to the executive committee for more than three consecutive years. (c). The Executive Committee, responsible at all times to the Faculty Senate, shall meet on the call of its Chairperson and conduct the urgent business of the Faculty Senate when the fall and spring semesters are not in session. Agendas and minutes for these meetings shall be distributed to the full Senate on a timely basis. (d). The Senate Executive Committee shall set the agenda for all Executive Committee and full Senate sessions. The Senate Chairperson shall assume chief responsibility for scheduling agenda items. All members of the Faculty may propose to the Executive Committee items for Senate consideration. Section 4. Meetings; Procedures (a). The Faculty Senate shall meet at least monthly during the academic year and may be called to special meetings by its Chairperson. On the request of one-third of the Senate, the Chairperson must call a special meeting. (b). Robert's Rules of Order, most recent edition, shall be the authority for the manner in which Senate meetings are conducted. (c). The Faculty Senate by a two-thirds majority of the full Senate may vote to refer any pending business to the Faculty for its consideration. Such consideration shall be by referendum, the result of which shall have the same effect as passage of the designated item by the Senate. (d). The Faculty may countermand a Senate action or initiate a new action. The procedure shall be as follows: A formal petition, signed by at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the Faculty should be presented to the Senate during any of its meetings. The Senate shall decide the matter no later than its third regular meeting following presentation of the petition and subsequent to the validation of the petition by the Elections Committee. Should the Senate's decision be adverse to the position taken in the petition, the matter shall be settled by direct vote of the Faculty in a referendum consistent with procedures outlined in Article III, Section 4. (c). The referendum shall be preceded by a discussion of the issue by the Faculty in an open Faculty meeting chaired by the Chairperson of the Senate, to be held no later than one month after the Senate's adverse decision. The referendum shall be held no later than one week after this meeting. The wording of the question to be voted on shall be agreed to by the Elections Committee and an equal number of representatives of the petitioners, and shall be so worded that a definite YES or NO vote on it can be registered. (d). This paragraph shall not apply to actions which would otherwise be unconstitutional; provisions for amendments of the Senate constitution in Article IV of this document being therein controlling. (e). A majority of the members shall be present for any meeting of the Senate or of its Executive Committee, to be considered an official meeting. Approval by a majority shall be necessary for any action to be binding unless otherwise stipulated. (f). A Senator who is absent from Senate meetings in one semester for either three consecutive regular meetings, or a total of five regular meetings, shall be considered as having resigned from the position unless a reason is presented to and accepted by the Executive Committee. Section 5. Committees of the Faculty (a). It shall be the responsibility of the Faculty Senate to establish such committees as will advance, broaden and strengthen the role of the Faculty in the formulation of educational policies. (b). The Faculty Senate shall establish the following standing appointed Faculty Senate committees: Academic Standards Committee; Admissions Committee; Student Retention Committee; Academic Technology and Multimedia Committee; Research Committee; Graduate College Committee; Nominations Committee; Elections Committee; Campus Culture Committee. The Senate shall also establish ad hoc committees as necessary. All Senate committees act in an advisory capacity to the Senate and shall take as their central charge the formulation of University policies and actions to be recommended for Senate approval. The Senate shall establish specific standing and ad hoc charges to the committees. The Senate Chairperson, with due notice to the Senate as a whole, may also issue ad hoc and special charges to all Senate Committees. The following committees are standing committees of the Faculty Senate with elected membership: University Curriculum Committee, College Curriculum Committees, General Education Committee, Distance Learning Curriculum Committee, and Writing Emphasis Committee. (c). Faculty committees shall be responsible to the Senate and shall submit interim and annual reports of their activities to the Senate Chairperson. Committee charges shall be reviewed and renewed in a periodic and timely fashion by the Faculty Senate. (d). Membership on standing (e). The Chairperson of the Faculty Senate will make all appointments to ad-hoc committees of the Senate and to other University committees where Senate appointments are sought. In making these appointments, the Chairperson shall engage in the widest consultation deemed practicable. Nothing in this section shall diminish the Senate's role in determining when and what ad-hoc committees should be formed or their size and composition by category. (f). Nominations Committee Annually, during the month of June, the Chairperson of the Faculty Senate shall appoint a Nominations Committee consisting of two Senate members and three other Faculty members. It shall be the responsibility of the Committee to submit to the Faculty a list of candidates for the Senate as prescribed in Article III, Section 1., (b). It shall also be the responsibility of the a Nominations Committee to submit lists of candidates for those Faculty committees having members elected by the Faculty as prescribed in Article III, Section 1., (c). (g). Elections Committee Annually, during the month of June, the Chairperson of the Senate shall appoint an Elections Committee, consisting of the Vice-Chairperson of the Senate, the Chairperson of the Nominating Committee, and one other Faculty member, not a Senator, which shall be responsible for conducting all elections participated in by the faculty. The Elections Committee shall determine the electorates for all Senate elections consistent with the Senate Constitution, Senate policy, and Letters of Agreement. (h). Policies governing nomination and election to the Senate and to its committees which are not covered by the Constitution shall be determined by the Senate in a manner consistent with the Constitution. Article IV. Amendments Section 1. The text of a proposed amendment to this constitution shall be submitted in writing to the members of the Faculty Senate in the call to the meeting at which the amendment is to be considered. If approved by the Senate by a two-thirds vote, the proposed amendment shall be submitted to the Faculty for its consideration. Section 2. An amendment may also be proposed by petition signed by thirty percent (30%) of the current Faculty. The Elections Committee, within thirty days of submission of the petition, shall certify the signatures and, if the appropriate number of signatures are present, notify the Senate Chairperson. The Chairperson shall then refer the matter for referendum to the Faculty in a manner consistent with procedures in Section 3. of this Article. Section 3. Not less than three weeks nor more than six weeks following Faculty Senate approval of the amendment or Elections Committee certification of a petition to amend, a meeting of the Faculty shall be called at a time and a place designated by the Chairperson of the Senate to consider the amendment. After completing this process, the amendment must be voted approved or disapproved by the Faculty during the annual Spring Elections. Voting shall be by a YES/NO referendum on the annual Spring Election ballots. Approval by two-thirds of those voting shall be necessary for adoption of the amendment. |
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