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Old Dominion University Faculty Senate Constitution
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Old Dominion University Faculty Senate Constitution

  1. Name
    The name of this body shall be the Faculty Senate of Old Dominion University.

  2. Purpose
    The faculty of the university, by virtue of their particular competence, are essential participants in the development and implementation of academic policy. The Faculty Senate is a representative body of the faculty, deriving its authority from the faculty of the university. As such, it shall exercise the authority of the faculty with respect to policy on academic matters and the professional affairs of faculty, and perform such other functions as are delegated to it by the faculty of the university. Specifically, the Faculty Senate shall represent the faculty of the university in recommending policies to the president and other appropriate individuals and bodies on admissions and registration, curriculum, academic freedom and tenure, faculty status, academic standards, and related matters.

  3. Membership

    1. Faculty Forum
      All faculty under full-time teaching and research contracts and all professional librarians of Old Dominion University are members of the Faculty Forum. All faculty senators shall attend meetings of the Faculty Forum as part of their duties. Meetings may be called by the chair of the Faculty Senate, a majority vote of the Faculty Senate, or by petition of at least 10 percent of the forum membership. The chair of the Faculty Senate shall preside at meetings of the forum.

    2. Faculty Senate

      1. All members of the Faculty Forum are eligible to serve in the Faculty Senate.

        1. Excluded from the census of the Faculty Senate districts and, therefore, from Faculty Senate membership are those employees designated as teaching and research administrators or professional faculty. This includes all who hold academic ranks in the offices of the President, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and other Senior Vice Presidents. Academic Deans, Associate and Assistant Deans (whether full or part time) and their equivalents in the Professional Librarians area are also excluded.

        2. All department chairs are eligible for membership and, thus, will be included in the Faculty Senate census.

      2. The Faculty Senate shall consist of one senator from each academic department and one senator representing research faculty not affiliated with an academic department.For purposes of apportionment, the library shall be considered an academic department.

                   In addition to the members provided for in the preceding paragraph, one senator shall be elected by the Old Dominion University Emeriti Faculty Organization, from among its members, to represent that body on the Faculty Senate. The Emeriti Faculty Organization shall be entitled to one senator and no more.

        1. At its discretion, the Faculty Senate may invite other members of the university community to participate in its meetings as nonvoting members.

        2. The term of office of faculty senators shall be two years beginning the first day following commencement.

        3. Elections shall be held each spring and at least two months before commencement. Senators from the Colleges of Arts and Letters, Business, and Education and Professional Studies shall be elected in odd-numbered years. Senators from the Colleges of Engineering and Technology, Health Sciences, Sciences, research faculty not affiliated with an academic department, and the Library shall be elected in even-numbered years. Elections shall be conducted by each department independently and validated by Senate Committee H.

        4. Vacancies shall be filled promptly through election by the original constituency.

  4. Officers and Duties

    1. The officers of the Faculty Senate shall be the chair, the vice chair, the secretary, and such other officers as the Faculty Senate deems necessary, to be elected by the Faculty Senate at its organizational meeting.

    2. The chair of the Faculty Senate shall preside at all meetings of the Executive Committee, the Faculty Senate, and the Faculty Forum.

    3. The vice chair of the Faculty Senate shall perform the duties of the chair in the chair's absence.

    4. The secretary shall prepare and distribute to the Faculty Senate the agenda and minutes of all meetings of the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Forum. The secretary shall have published in an appropriate publication a report to the faculty of the business conducted in each meeting of the Senate as soon as possible following such meeting.

  5. Meetings

    1. Faculty Senate meetings shall be scheduled at least twice each term and at the call of the Executive Committee.

    2. A meeting of the Faculty Senate shall be called by the Executive Committee upon petition of at least ten senators.

    3. The meetings of the Faculty Senate shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order Revised, latest edition.

    4. A quorum of the Faculty Senate during the fall and spring terms shall consist of 50 percent of the Senators. A quorum of the Faculty Senate during the summer term shall consist of 25 percent of the Senate body or 11 Senators.

  6. Executive Committee
    The officers plus four faculty senators elected by the Faculty Senate will constitute the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, and their terms will be two calendar years beginning the first day after commencement.

  7. Faculty Senate Committees
    In addition to the Executive Committee, the Faculty Senate shall provide in its bylaws for such standing and ad hoc committees as are required for the senate to carry out its responsibilities. The Faculty Senate shall invite representatives of the student government and administrators to serve on its standing committees concerned with policies directly affecting the quality of instruction. In such cases at least two-thirds of the membership of each committee shall be members of the Faculty Forum.

  8. Joint Committees

    1. In areas of joint interest the Faculty Senate is empowered to participate with the student government, or other organizations through joint committees, or joint meetings, to the end of preparing joint recommendations. Such recommendations are subject to the approval of the Faculty Senate unless the senate expressly empowers such committees, or joint meetings, to act without such approval.

    2. Joint committees are not to assume responsibility for areas of concern beyond those assigned them, except by prior approval of the Faculty Senate.

  9. Referral of Faculty Senate Actions to the Faculty Forum
    Upon petition of at least 10 percent of the membership of the Faculty Forum to the chair of the senate, any action of the Faculty Senate will be submitted within 30 days to a referendum of the forum. The result of this referendum shall be binding on the Faculty Senate.

  10. Representation of Faculty in Other Bodies
    The formal representation of the faculty, or a part of it, can be legitimately accomplished only through consultation with the faculty group being represented or their elected representatives

  11. Amendments
    This constitution may be amended by a majority of ballots cast in a referendum of the entire membership of the Faculty Forum, providing the proposed amendment and nature of the referendum are provided the members of the Faculty Forum at least two weeks prior to the referendum. Amendments must be proposed by two-thirds vote of the Faculty Senate or by petition of 10 percent of the forum membership to become the subject of a referendum conducted by the Faculty Senate.

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Maintained by: Judy Bowman Updated: 12/21/05 | © 2006 Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529 | Privacy