By-Laws
ARTICLE I-NAME
Section 1. The name of this organization shall be the Longwood Faculty Senate.
ARTICLE II--PURPOSE AND RESPONSIBILITY
Section 1. The Faculty Senate has all the authority and responsibilities vested in it by the faculty of Longwood University. The functions of the Faculty Senate are to represent the faculty and exercise the delegated authority of the faculty in the consideration of all policies that affect the academic mission of the institution.
Section 2. The Senate may initiate legislation concerning educational policy. Under the final authority of the President and the Board of Visitors, the Senate shall have responsibility to advise and make recommendations on matters of curriculum, academic programs and policies; faculty development; and faculty status. The Senate may discuss, debate, and formulate positions on other matters it deems appropriate. Nothing herein shall limit the authority of the President or the authority of the Board of Visitors to act upon any matter relating to the University.
ARTICLE III-MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Elected Members. Each academic department shall elect a representative to serve on the Senate. Departments with at least 12 full-time faculty shall elect 2 representatives, hereinafter referred to as Senators. Departments with at least 24 full-time faculty shall elect 3 Senators. Senators shall have full floor and voting privileges on all matters before the Senate. Full-time faculty shall be understood to mean the number of current full-time faculty allotted to the department at the time of the election.
Section 2. Ex-Officio Members. The President of the University, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Administration and Finance, Vice President for Student Affairs, Academic Deans, Faculty Representative to the Board of Visitors, and a Student Representative chosen by the Student Government shall be ex-officio members and enjoy full floor privileges, including the making of motions, on all matters before the Senate.
Section 3. Each Senator shall serve a two-year term and any person who serves two consecutive terms must be out of the Senate for a year before serving another term. The Senate holds that individuals who serve one year or less of what would have been another person's term may still be elected to and serve two full consecutive terms in the Senate. Individuals who serve more than one year of a term may be elected to and serve only one additional term before sitting out of the Senate for a year.
Section 4. It shall be the responsibility of elected senators to serve as a liaison between the Senate and the members of their academic unit. In this capacity, senators:
- shall exercise their best judgment in the governance and decision making processes of the Senate;
- shall maintain an awareness of the interests and concerns of their constituents and submit relevant issues to the Senate Executive committee; and
- shall be fully responsible for keeping members of their academic unit informed of Senate actions and decisions and of relevant information provided at the Senate meetings.
Section5. Departments shall hold elections for the Senate during the first two weeks of the Spring semester for terms which begin on July 1.
ARTICLE IV -- OFFICERS
Section 1. The voting members of the Senate shall elect from their ranks a chair, vice chair, and three members who, along with the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, shall serve as the Executive Committee of the Senate. This Executive Committee must have at least one member from each of the three academic colleges. The chair and vice chair must be tenured faculty. The other members of the Executive Committee will preferably be tenured faculty.
Section 2. Each of the elected officers shall serve for a one-year term.
Section 3. Officers shall be elected at the last regularly scheduled meeting of the Senate in the spring semester from among those persons who will be voting members of the Senate beginning July 1.
ARTICLE V -- MEETINGS AND QUORUMS
Section 1. Regular meetings of the Senate shall be held monthly during the academic year, and special meetings may be called. The scheduling and calling of meetings shall be done by the Executive Committee of the Senate.
Section 2. The Executive Committee of the Senate shall be responsible for the development of the agenda for the Senate. Senate agenda shall be available to all faculty and interested parties 3 working days prior to Senate meetings.
Section 3. A quorum for a Senate meeting shall consist of at least 2/3 of the voting members. It shall take a 2/3 vote to take action on any item not on the published agenda.
Section 4. Senate meetings shall be open to all interested parties. Chairs of academic departments and executive officers of academic, administrative and service units who are not members of the Senate, and individuals serving on committees reporting to the Senate shall have the privilege of the floor on matters of direct concern to their units when such matters are before the Senate for consideration. Other individuals shall, whenever reasonable, be given an opportunity to address the Senate with their concerns.
Section 5. The Senate may, by a majority vote, choose to meet in private session for the purpose of discussion. Only voting members of the Senate or individuals invited to attend by a majority vote may be present during a private session.
ARTICLE VI -- REPORTING CHANNELS
Section 1. Recommendations passed by the Senate will be signed by the Chair of the Senate and forwarded within five working days to the Vice-President for Academic Affairs or other appropriate administrator for approval.
Recommendations approved by the administration will be implemented in a timely fashion; those requiring Board of Visitors action will, if approved by the President, be sent as soon as possible to the Board.
If a recommendation is not approved by the administration for implementation or not approved by the President for forwarding to the Board of Visitors, the appropriate administrator, within fifteen business days of receiving the recommendation, will provide reasons for the disapproval. The Senate will attempt to resolve any differences with the administration.
Section 2. The Senate shall report its work to the general faculty in a timely and appropriate manner. Senators must report to their departments.
Section 3. Senate committees shall report to the Senate for information and action purposes.
ARTICLE VII -- COMMITTEES
Section 1. Committees shall be elected by the Senate or appointed by the Executive Committee and reported to the Senate. The Executive Committee shall appoint all committee chairs. Committee and chair appointments made by the Executive Committee must be approved by the Senate. This section shall not apply to the Faculty Status Committee provided for in Article X.
Section 2. Committees shall include Senate and non-Senate members. All committee members shall have voting privileges in the conduct of committee business. The Executive Committee shall ensure that on standing Senate committees there be at least one member per each academic college. The Executive Committee shall try to ensure that on such committees there is no more than one member per academic department, unless there are good reasons to make exceptions.
Section 3. The Senate may establish standing committees.
Section 4. The Senate and/or the Executive Committee may establish ad hoc committees whose existence may not last for more than one year, unless their existence is extended by specific action of the Senate and/or Executive Committee.
Section 5. No one shall serve more than 6 consecutive years on standing committees of the Senate.
ARTICLE VIII -- EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE SENATE
Section 1. The Executive Committee of the Senate shall guide the work of the Senate. It shall develop the agenda for Senate meetings and have responsibility for making appointments to and overseeing the committee system.
Section 2. The full-time teaching faculty of the Executive Committee shall also serve as an advisory committee to the President of the University. This committee shall meet no fewer than four times per academic year. It shall report its work in this capacity to both the Senate and the general faculty in a timely and appropriate manner.
Section 3. The full-time teaching faculty of the Executive Committee shall also serve as an advisory committee to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Vice President for Academic Affairs shall keep the Executive Committee informed of the policy proposals that affect the academic mission of the institution while the proposals are under development.
Section 4. The Executive Committee of the Senate shall consist of the Officers of the Senate listed in Article IV, Section 1, of these By-Laws.
ARTICLE IX -- COMMITTEE ON EDUCATIONAL POLICY
Section 1. This committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on curriculum proposals, academic programs, degree requirements, academic rules and regulations, general education, the graduate program, and admissions policy.
Section 2. This committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and shall consist of the Chairs of the Curriculum Committees established by the each academic college and 8 faculty members including at least 2 Senators.
Section 3. The term of office on this committee shall be one year, but individuals may serve additional terms.
Section 4. The chair of this committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE X-- COMMITTEE ON FACULTY STATUS
Section 1. The purpose of the Faculty Status Committee shall be to act as a liaison and hearing committee between faculty members or between the faculty and administration, at the request of either, in matters affecting faculty status. The Faculty Status Committee shall report on the number of cases it has heard to the Senate and to a meeting of the general faculty at least once a year.
Section 2. The Committee shall conform to procedures as approved by the Senate and published in the Faculty Policies and Procedures Manual.
ARTICLE XI -- PROMOTION AND TENURE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Section 1. This committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on policies and procedures governing appointment, reappointment, rank, promotion, and tenure of faculty, and on policies and procedures governing faculty status appeals.
Section 2. This committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and shall consist of 6 faculty members including at least 2 Senators.
Section 3. The term of office for this committee shall be one year, but individuals may serve additional terms.
Section 4. The chair of this committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE XII -- COMMITTEE ON FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
Section 1. This committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on policies on sabbatical and other academic leaves and policies on faculty development.
Section 2. This committee shall make recommendations to the appropriate administrative offices on faculty sabbatical and other academic leaves and on faculty development and research grants.
Section 3. This committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and shall consist of 7 faculty members including at least 2 Senators.
Section 4. The term of office for this committee shall be one year, but individuals may serve additional terms.
Section 5. The chair of this committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE XIII - COMMITTEE ON FACULTY AWARDS
Section 1. This committee shall make recommendations to the Senate on policies on faculty awards.
Section 2. This committee shall make recommendations on faculty awards to the appropriate administrative offices.
Section 3. This committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and shall consist of 7 faculty members including at least 2 senators.
Section 4. The term of office for this committee shall be one year, but individuals may serve additional terms.
Section 5. The chair of this committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE XIV --COMMITTEE ON FINANCE AND PLANNING
Section 1. This committee shall serve as an information link between the faculty and administration on finance and budget.
Section 2. This committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and shall consist of 5 members including at least 2 Senators.
Section 3. The term of office for this committee shall be for one year, but individuals may serve additional terms.
Section 4. The chair of this committee shall be appointed by the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE XV -- THE GENERAL FACULTY AND ITS MEMBERS
Section 1. The general faculty shall meet at the start of each school year and shall meet at least one time during the spring semester in order to hear from the Senate and question the Senate. Other meetings may be called for social reasons, for reasons of sharing information, to hear a general faculty discussion of some matter, or to ask the Senate to consider some matter.
Section 2. Voting membership in general faculty meetings shall consist of all full-time teaching faculty, deans, librarians and A&P or professionals assigned to academic departments (such as an Artist-in-Residence). Full-time members of the teaching faculty who are given a reduced teaching load because of a part-time non-teaching assignment--including area coordinators and department chairs--maintain voting membership in these meetings. Members of the following groups shall be non-voting members in these meetings: all part-time faculty, professors emeriti, administrators with faculty rank other than academic deans, and a representative designated by the Student Government Association.
Section 3. Meetings of the general faculty may be called by the President of the University, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Executive Committee of the Senate, 40% of the voting membership of the Senate, or by petition to the Executive Committee by 40 members of the general faculty.
Section 4. The chair of the Senate shall preside at these meetings. The general faculty shall be empowered to amend or rescind any act of the Faculty Senate by a majority vote in a meeting with a 55% quorum.
Section 5. A quorum at each meeting shall normally be 40% of the voting membership. A quorum of 55% of the voting membership shall be necessary for amending the By-Laws or for amending or rescinding an act of the Faculty Senate.
ARTICLE XVI --FACULTY REPRESENTATIVE TO THE BOARD OF VISITORS
Section 1. The Faculty Representative to the Board of Visitors shall be a tenured member of the faculty who shall represent the faculty before the Board and shall also attend meetings of the general faculty, the Executive Committee when it meets with the President, and the Senate in order to hear faculty concerns.
Section 2. The member of the faculty shall be elected by the voting members of the general faculty at the spring meeting of that body. The term shall begin with the following academic year.
Section 3. The term of office shall be for two years, beginning with the academic year following election, with eligibility for re-election. Any person who serves two consecutive terms must be out of the position for a year before serving another term.
ARTICLE XVII --ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT
Section 1. The administration shall provide reasonable administrative support for the operation of the Senate and its committees, including the timely distribution of agenda, minutes, and reports to all interested parties.
Section 2. The Executive Committee shall work with administration on these matters.
ARTICLE XVIII -- PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
Section 1. For procedures not covered in these By-Laws, the most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall be the authority.
Section 2. The Executive Committee shall appoint a parliamentarian from the Senate.
ARTICLE XIX--AMENDMENTS
Section 1. These By-Laws may be amended by a 2/3 vote of the general faculty.
Section 2. The Senate and the general faculty must receive notice of such proposed amendments at least two weeks prior to any vote on the amendments.
Section 3. Amendments are subject to the approval of the Board of Visitors.