Faculty Senate Bylaws

FACULTY SENATE BYLAWS 

(as provided in the UNL Bylaws, revisions approved by the Faculty Senate on April 4, 2017 and approved by the Board of Regents on June 1, 2017) 

CHAPTER 3 

  • 3.1. Faculty Government 
    • 3.1.1. Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to establish a process by which the faculty may participate with the administration in the formulation of educational policy and governance as provided in Sections 2.12 and 2.12.1 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. 
    • 3.1.2. Organization. The powers of the faculty shall be exercised by the Faculty Senate and UNL Assembly established by this chapter. 
    • 3.1.3. UNL Assembly. There shall be established the UNL Assembly to provide a formal setting for discussion of UNL matters involving faculty and administrators. 
      • 3.1.3.1. Composition. The UNL Assembly shall comprise: (1) tenure and tenuretrack faculty members with an FTE of .50 or greater (2) non-tenure track faculty members including: Lecturers, Senior Lecturers, Professors of Practice, Research Professors, and Extension Educators holding .50 FTE or greater and having three successive academic years of paid faculty service. 
      • 3.1.3.2. Meetings of the Assembly. Meetings of the Assembly can be convened on seven days’ notice by the Chancellor, the President of the Faculty Senate, a petition by one hundred members of the Assembly, or a majority vote of the Faculty Senate. A meeting may be convened with three days’ notice, if called jointly by the Chancellor and the President of the Faculty Senate. Any call to a meeting must specify the issue or issues to be considered. 
      • 3.1.3.3. Procedures and Powers. The discussion at meetings of the Assembly shall be informational and deliberative. The Assembly has the following powers relating to matters covered under section 2.12.1 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents: 
        • A. It may refer the matter for consideration to the Faculty Senate, appropriate campus wide committees or administrators. 
        • B. It may order a referendum by mail ballot of all members of the Assembly. The adoption of a position by referendum by a simple majority of those members of the Assembly voting on that issue supersedes any action taken by the Faculty Senate. 
    • 3.1.4. UNL Faculty Senate. There shall be established a UNL Faculty Senate with the powers specified in section 2.12.1 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. 
      • 3.1.4.1. Composition. The UNL Faculty Senate shall comprise: Members of the Assembly elected for staggered terms of three years by constituencies described in 3.1.4.5(a). A candidate for election to the Faculty Senate must be a member of the constituency he/she seeks to represent, a member of the UNL Assembly and have at least three years’ service at UNL. 
      • 3.1.4.2. Participation by Non Members. Faculty and administrators who are not members of the Senate, the managerial/professional staff, the office/service staff, and students shall have the right to request the President of the Senate to place matters on the agenda of the Faculty Senate, and to participate in the resulting discussion. 
      • 3.1.4.3. Meetings. The Senate shall have nine regular monthly meetings during the academic year. The terms of elected members and officers commence and terminate at the last meeting of the academic year. Special meetings of the Faculty Senate may be called with seven days’ notice by the President of the Faculty Senate, the Chancellor, any ten elected members of the Senate or any fifty members of the Assembly. The President shall preside at all meetings. 
      • 3.1.4.4. Attendance. Elected members of the Senate who miss more than three meetings in a Senate year may be removed from membership of the Senate by action of the Secretary with the approval of the President. 
      • 3.1.4.5. Electoral Constituencies. Every other year at the February meeting, the Senate shall consider and act on a report, developed by the Secretary of the Senate, proposing the apportionment of Senate seats according to the following guidelines: 
        • A. Each department with five or more members of the Assembly shall have one seat, those with more than twenty-five shall have two seats and those over fifty shall have three seats. 
        • B. Colleges not subdivided into academic departments and each of the research and extension district and/or centers shall be treated as a single department. 
        • C. A department with four or fewer members shall be linked with one of closely related interests, after appropriate consultation with the departments in question. 
        • D. The faculty of a department with two or more seats shall decide whether separate constituencies should be established within the department and, if so, how they shall be constituted. 
        • E. No Assembly member may belong to more than one constituency. A member associated with more than one department shall vote in the department designated on the personnel action form as the home department. 
      • 3.1.4.6. Conduct of Elections. Beginning in the week following the February meeting the Secretary of the Senate shall conduct elections. Nominations from a particular electoral constituency must be made in writing by an Assembly member from that constituency with the consent of the nominee. The voting shall be by secret ballot. In order to be elected, a nominee must receive the votes of more than fifty percent of the persons voting. In the event no person receives this requisite number of votes, the Secretary shall hold a run-off election between the two nominees receiving the most votes in the first ballot. A tie in the second ballot shall be broken by lot. 
      • 3.1.4.7. Interim Elections. When an elected member ceases to serve in the Senate, the procedures for electing a replacement for the remainder of the term shall follow those in 3.1.4.6 and commence within fifteen days of the seat becoming vacant. 
      • 3.1.4.8. Election of Officers. At the last meeting of the year, the Senate shall elect from among its members a President-Elect who shall take office as President at the end of one year. The Senate shall also elect one of its members to serve as Secretary of the Senate for a term of one year. 
      • 3.1.4.9. Executive Committee Composition. The Executive Committee of the Senate shall be composed of the President, President-Elect, Immediate Past President, the Secretary and nine ordinary members. The ordinary members, who serve staggered terms of three years, must be members of the Senate at the time of their election. They shall be elected by the members of the Senate at the last April meeting. Any member of the Executive Committee whose term as an elected member of the Senate has expired shall become an ex officio voting member of the Senate until the term on the Executive Committee expires. No more than four members of the Executive Committee can be from one college or IANR. At least one member must be an Extension Educator, at least one member must be a non-tenure track faculty member other than an Extension Educator, and at least one member must be a tenure track/tenured faculty member, if qualified nominees are available. 
      • 3.1.4.10. Duties of the President. 
        • A. The President shall be the chief representative of UNL Assembly to the Campus and System Administrations, the Board of Regents and the State. 
        • B. The duties of the President in addition to those specified in sections 3.1.3.2, 3.1.3.3, and 3.1.6 shall include: 
          • 1) Serving as the chair of all meetings of the Executive Committee. 
          • 2) Arranging the agendas for the Senate in consultation with the Chancellor, Vice Chancellors and the Executive Committee. 
          • 3) Ensuring that motions of the Senate that require response are brought promptly to the attention of the appropriate administrators or committees, and that the responses are reported back to the Senate as expeditiously as possible. 
          • 4) Dealing with any matter of importance to the Faculty. The President may delegate duties to the officers or other suitable faculty members, and may establish ad hoc committees in consultation with the Executive Committee. 
        • C. In the absence of the President, the President-Elect shall assume the duties of the President. 
      • 3.1.4.11. Duties of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall act for the faculty between meetings of the Senate and the Assembly. The Executive Committee shall meet with the Chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln at least twice per month, except that one of these meetings may be waived by mutual consent if the Chancellor appears and answers questions at the regular meeting of the Senate for that month. The Executive Committee shall advise and otherwise assist the Chancellor in carrying out all the duties and administrative functions specified in Section 2.8.1 and 2.8.2 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. The Executive Committee shall report to the Senate about such meetings and receive instructions from the Senate concerning the position of the faculty relating to the operations of the University. 
        • A. The Executive Committee shall also meet with the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at least monthly, and shall advise and otherwise assist the Executive Vice Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer in carrying out the duties and functions specified in Section 1.5.1 of the Bylaws of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Executive Committee shall meet with the Vice Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at least monthly, and shall advise and otherwise assist the Vice Chancellor in carrying out the duties and functions specified in these Bylaws of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, particularly with regard to academic matters, items affecting the relationship of IANR with other academic units, and concerns affecting academic personnel within the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources. 
      • 3.1.5. Academic Rights and Responsibilities Committee. The Academic Rights and Responsibilities Committee (ARRC) and its responsibilities are created by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Faculty Senate as required by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents Bylaws and are approved by the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. The ARRC has significant responsibility in ensuring that faculty members and administrators are appropriately apprised of rights, responsibilities, principles and procedures pertaining to matters of professional relationships. 
        • 3.1.5.1. The ARRC has primary responsibility to ensure and to arrange an appropriate investigation or hearing when concerns or problems arise between a faculty member and the university and/or when problems related to academic freedom and tenure, professional conduct, and other grievances occur in the professional relationships among faculty members and others in the University community, as stated in the ARRC Syllabus and the Bylaws of the Board of Regents. 
        • 3.1.5.2. Other Responsibilities of the ARRC. 
          • A. To determine whether and to what extent recommendations of Special Committees convened by the Chair of the ARRC to hear particular cases have been acted upon, and to report on the status of ARRC cases to the President of the Faculty Senate; 
          • B. To provide for an effective process in representing the academic rights and responsibilities of the faculty including, but not limited, to those related to suspension in anticipation of dismissal and cancellation of presentations by properly invited speakers; To act with respect to matters of general policies concerning academic freedom and tenure; 
          • C. To recommend actions to appropriate bodies in order to ensure academic rights and responsibilities of faculty members; 
          • D. To communicate to all members of the University community appropriate channels for conveying and dealing with concerns about actual or perceived violations of faculty rights and responsibilities; 
          • E. To propose to the Faculty Senate changes in operating procedures and guidelines for each of the Special Committees in accord with relevant provisions of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents; 
          • F. To submit committee minutes and make an annual report to the Faculty Senate, while maintaining confidentiality concerning individual cases. 
      • 3.1.6. Senate and Other Campus-Wide Standing Committees. The Senate shall publish annually a Syllabus of Senate and other campus-wide standing committees. The Faculty Senate shall have power to modify the number and charges of Senate Committees at any time. The President of the Senate shall appoint a member of the Senate as a non-voting member to every standing, campus-wide committee that lacks a representative from the Senate. 
      • 3.1.7. Amendments. In addition to the provisions of Chapter VII of these UNL Bylaws, any amendments to this chapter on Faculty Governance must be approved by a majority of the members of the Assembly voting in a mail ballot ordered either by the Assembly in accord with Section 3.1.3.2 above or by a two-thirds majority of those voting in a vote of the Senate.

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