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This organization shall be entitled "The Faculty Senate of the Mississippi University for Women." Hereinafter the organization is designated "the Senate."
The purpose of the Senate is to represent the MUW faculty by acting as follows:
A. The Senate will advise and make recommendations to the President of the University regarding policies, practices, and procedures in areas involving the faculty and the academic program. Presidential decisions on Senate recommendations shall be communicated to the Senate.
B. The Senate will act as a liaison among the teaching faculty, the academic administration, and the President of the University.
C. The Senate will contribute to the overall effectiveness of Mississippi University for Women by effecting harmony and unity of purpose among the various Divisions of the University.
A. Senators will be elected from and by full-time members of the faculty of each College and of the University library. (Hereinafter the term "College" refers to the Colleges and the library.) Full-time teaching is defined for senators as teaching at least 9 contract hours per semester or the academic or clinical equivalent. Administrative responsibility is not to be considered an academic or clinical equivalent for purposes of Senate membership eligibility.
B. Academic units may determine any additional experience requirements for faculty who meet the eligibility criteria listed in Section 1 A.
Representation for each College is as follows: one senator per 10 faculty members or any part thereof. Each College is guaranteed one senator. It is a requirement of each College to implement appropriate membership rotation throughout the departments. The Chief Academic Officer will determine the number of full-time teaching faculty prior to each election.
A. A meeting of the full-time faculty in each College will be held by April 15 of each year to elect senators to fill any existing vacancy.
B. Ballots will be collected and counted by the current College senator(s).
C. Within 3 working days after the election the results will be reported to the newly elected Senate member, the College Dean, the Chair of the Faculty Senate, and the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
D. In case of a senator's resignation, death, or absence from the campus for more than one semester, a special election will be held by the College to fill the vacancy.
A. A Senate term is 3 years.
B. A senator elected to fill out an unexpired term will serve only to the end of the unexpired term.
C. A senator may be re-elected for a consecutive term.
D. A senator who serves two consecutive terms shall become eligible for re-election only after an interval of one year.
E.The term of office begins with the last regular meeting of the academic year and continues for 3 years. During the final meeting of the year, business will proceed as follows: On business other than election of officers, retiring senators retain voting privilege and new senators do not vote. After incoming senators are installed, the membership for the upcoming year will elect officers for the year.
F. Withdrawal from the Senate will occur under the following conditions:
A. Officers of the Senate are President, Vice-President, and Secretary.
B. Election of officers will be held annually at the last meeting of the academic year by secret majority vote of the membership for the upcoming year.
C. Each of the three officers will be elected from different Colleges.
A.An officer's term is one year.
B. An officer may serve 3 consecutive terms.
C. The President and Vice-President must have served on the Senate for at least one year prior to election as officers.
D. Should the President become unable or ineligible to complete a term, the Vice-President will become President and a special election will be held to elect a new Vice-President.
E. Should the Vice-President become unable or ineligible to complete a term, a special election will be held to elect a new Vice-President.
The officers of the Senate constitute the Faculty Executive Committee. The Faculty Executive Committee will meet at the request of the President to discuss agenda or other matters which arise between regularly scheduled Senate meetings. Normally, the Faculty Executive Committee will review and approve applications for Faculty Development Funds authorized by PS#1310. In the event that a member of the Faculty Executive Committee is applying for any of these funds, the Senate must approve the application.
The Senate will meet at least once a month during the school year. The schedule of monthly meetings will be established at the beginning of each academic year. Special sessions may be called at the discretion of the President or at the request of the President of the University.
A. For purposes of conducting business on which a vote is required, quorum is defined as 3/4 of the elected Senate membership.
B. Only Senate members vote on business before the Senate.
C. A senator unable to attend a meeting may appoint a proxy from the Division. The proxy will have voting rights.
D. Any member of the faculty has a standing invitation to attend the Senate meetings but does not have the privilege of the floor or of voting.
E. The President or a member of the Senate may invite to a meeting persons whose presence is deemed necessary for the discussion of an agenda item. These persons have the privilege of the floor, but not of voting.
F. The Senate may exercise the right to conduct a closed session. The concurrence of 2/3 of the members present is required.
Matters may be referred to the Senate by the University President, a Senate member, a faculty member, or an administrative staff member. Referrals must be made in writing and submitted to the President before the agenda is prepared.
The Executive Committee determines the order in which items of business are to be presented to the Senate. At least 10 days before a scheduled monthly meeting, the Executive committee will meet to prepare the agenda. Matters arising after this time may be included in the agenda at the discretion of the Executive Committee. If time does not permit discussion of an agenda item, the item will automatically be placed first on the agenda for the next regular meeting.
At the University President’s annual spring budget hearings, the Senate President will submit a budget request for funds for secretarial assistance, office supplies, travel, and facilities for the Senate to perform its functions.
A proposed amendment will be submitted in writing to the Senate at an official meeting held prior to the date on which the vote on the amendment shall be taken.
A proposed amendment approved by a 2/3 vote of the total Faculty Senate will be submitted to the general faculty for ratification by a simple majority vote. Following such ratification it will be submitted to the chief academic officer and to the President of the University for approval.
The purpose of this committee is to call for, review, and select funding proposals from faculty to attend and present papers at conferences. The funds provided by the University are described in the Policy Statement handbook under PS#1310 (Fund A - General Fund). Grant sizes vary with a maximum of $350 to any one applicant in a fiscal year. Criteria considered by the committee are whether an applicant is presenting a paper or serving as an officer of the organization. Consideration is also given to the significance of the presentation, the importance of attending, and the potential value of the conference to the University.
The purpose of this committee is to support and evaluate the Faculty Evaluation process. Duties may include collecting data regarding the process in each Division and forwarding recommendations to the Senate as needed.
The purpose of this committee is to support the library’s abilities to provide services and materials by keeping abreast of new information systems, programs, and technologies and communicating these innovations to faculty in order that they may express their needs, concerns, and issues to the committee.
The purpose of this committee is to be responsible for the organization of the annual faculty party. Duties may include deciding on time and location, arranging catering and entertainment, and sending invitations. The committee will also organize other social events proposed by the Senate.
The purpose of this committee is to address issues identified by faculty members concerning faculty or university services, working conditions, University housing, or other issues relating to the well-being of faculty members.
The purpose of this award is to recognize the four-year social organization with the highest academic average among its total membership. The committee will select the recipient based on GPAs from the fall semester.
PROCEDURE:The purpose of this committee is to deal with any issues brought before the Senate which is not the specific responsibility of any other committee.