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CONSTITUTION OF THE FACULTY SENATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TULSA

As approved February 3, 1993
and Amended November 7, 1996 and December 13, 2006

PREAMBLE

We the faculty of The University of Tulsa, in order to provide a forum in which the elected representatives of the faculty may, without restraint, freely express our thoughts on issues of specific and general concern to the members of the academic community, hereby establish this Constitution creating a Faculty Senate. While the Senate shall be the final judge of its own membership, we must, in our goal to provide an effective and united voice of the faculty, include in this body only those whose duties involve teaching and research. We would then hope to join with representatives of the University administration and Student Senate in a separate, properly constituted forum to discuss shared concerns that will promote the general welfare of The University of Tulsa.

ARTICLE I - MEMBERSHIP

A. The Faculty Senate shall consist of at least 32 Faculty Senators who are full-time resident faculty members, chosen in accordance with Sections B and C below, the Provost and President of the University, the Collegiate Deans and the Dean of the Graduate School.

B. Each faculty senator must meet the definition of a full-time resident faculty member contained in Section I-D of The University of Tulsa's 1996 Statement on Academic Freedom and Responsibility, Tenure, and Rank or its successor documents. Only faculty members who will have completed at least one year of continuous service at The University of Tulsa prior to the beginning of their terms shall be eligible to be elected to membership in the Senate.

  1. Elections shall be held by April 15 of each year. Each College will report the names of newly elected senators to the President of the Faculty Senate by April 15.
  2. In the initial year, the Colleges shall report the names of newly elected Senators to the University President.
  3. The Faculty Senate shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of its members.

C. There shall be a minimum of 32 elected faculty senators. Additional members will be added as needed to comply with Section C.2 of this article.

  1. Each undergraduate College and the College of Law shall be entitled to at least four faculty senators plus a number of additional faculty senators that reflects as nearly as possible the proportions of each College's full-time teaching and research faculty.
  2. The additional senators representing each College will be apportioned according to the following procedure:
    1. Determine the number of full-time resident faculty members in each College unit eligible for membership as determined by the Faculty Senate and calculate each College's proportion of the total full-time university faculty.
    2. Multiply the proportion of full-time resident faculty times 16 and round that number to the nearest whole number.
  3. If the total number of senators calculated according to C.1 and C.2.b is less than 32, add one senator to the College whose membership fraction is less than but nearest to .5 without exceeding 32.

D. Terms of Membership:

  1. The terms of the faculty members shall be three years, with each College electing annually one-third (or as near thereto as possible) of the members to which it is entitled. The terms of office shall begin June 1.
  2. A College shall initially elect one-third of its senators for a one year term, one-third for a two year term, and one-third for a full three year term.

E. Vacancies:

  1. Each year, each college shall elect at least one standing alternate. The term of the standing alternate(s) shall be one year and begin June 1.
  2. A Senate vacancy will be filled by the first standing alternate of the respective college. If called, the standing alternate will serve until the next regularly scheduled election.
  3. An additional vacancy from the same college will be filled by the second standing alternate of that college. If a second standing alternate has not been elected, the vacancy shall be filled by a new member elected, with all deliberate speed, according to the procedures of the appropriate College. Further vacancies will be filled in the same manner.

ARTICLE II - JURISDICTION AND POWERS

A. The Faculty Senate is authorized to consider any subject pertaining to the interests of the faculty and may make recommendations to the appropriate administrative officers on such matters as:

  1. University-wide curricular matters including the creation and retention of undergraduate and graduate programs.
  2. Policies related to teaching and other scholarly activities.
  3. Issues relating to the development and delivery of academic support services including, but not limited to, the bookstore, libraries, and computing services.
  4. Standards for admission and retention of all students, the requirements for the granting of academic degrees, and aspects of student life that relate directly to the educational process.
  5. All matters relating to University planning, including financial resource planning and allocation, the establishment of budgets, and the monitoring of internal allocation mechanisms.
  6. Selection and evaluation of the principal administrative officers having University-wide responsibilities, as well as the creation or abolition of such offices.
  7. Policies relating to faculty benefits, including salaries, insurance, retirement, sabbaticals, and leaves.
  8. The structure of the University as it relates to the delivery of educational and athletic services.
  9. Matters relating to the health and safety of all employees as well as matters relating to affirmative action and equal employment opportunity.
  10. The granting of honorary degrees.

B. The Faculty Senate shall have the authority to request administrative action on any issue of specific or general concern to the members of the academic community. All requests for administrative action made by the Faculty Senate shall be subject to:

  1. Approval by the President of the University.
  2. Approval by the Board of Trustees when the action is of such a nature as to require that approval by law and/or the University Charter and Bylaws.
  3. When the administrative action requested by the Faculty Senate does not receive approval, a record of the disapproval shall be returned to the Faculty Senate within thirty days; this record of disapproval and the subsequent disposition of the action shall become a part of the records of the Faculty Senate.

ARTICLE III - MEETINGS

A. The Faculty Senate shall hold regularly scheduled meetings; however, no regularly scheduled meetings will be held in June, July, or December.

B. In the initial year, the University President or a designate shall call the first meeting and preside until a Faculty Senate President is elected.

C. The Senate may be called to additional meetings by the President of the University, the President of the Senate, or by petition from:

  1. Half of its members; or
  2. Half of the full-time Faculty members of any College in the University; or
  3. Twenty percent of the full-time Faculty members of the University.

D. The Student Senate, by a two-thirds vote, may request a joint Student Senate-Faculty Senate meeting chaired by the President of the Faculty Senate.

E. All regularly scheduled meetings of the Senate shall be open to all University resident faculty members, who shall be notified of meeting times and places. The Vice President shall also apprise faculty members, in writing, of agendas in advance of these meetings.

ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS

A. The President of the Faculty Senate shall be a member of the Faculty Senate, elected to the office for a one-year term. The President will discharge customary duties of the presiding officer and other functions as provided for in the Constitution and Bylaws, or at the direction of the Senate.

  1. Nominations for the Presidency can only be made from the floor by Faculty Senators. The President shall be elected by majority vote of the Faculty Senators present at the April meeting.
  2. The President shall establish the agenda of the regular meetings of the Faculty Senate.
  3. The President shall immediately inform, in writing, the President of the University of all requests for administrative action taken by the Faculty Senate.
  4. Service as President of the Senate shall be considered as a significant contribution to University service with commensurate stipend of one month summer salary.

B. Nominations for the Vice President of the Faculty Senate can only be made from the floor by Faculty Senators. The Vice President shall be elected by majority vote of the Faculty Senators present at the April meeting and will take office effective June 1. The Vice President shall serve as presiding officer in the absence of the President and shall have the following additional duties:

  1. Recording and preserving the minutes of the meetings of the Faculty Senate.
  2. Notifying members and faculty of meeting times and agenda.
  3. Preparing and distributing to all members of the University faculty, administrative staff, and appropriate student bodies, a monthly report of the actions taken by the Faculty Senate.
  4. Service as Vice President of the Senate shall be considered as a significant contribution to University service with commensurate stipend of one month summer salary.

C. Vacancies:

  1. If the office of the President of the Faculty Senate becomes vacant, the Vice President shall assume that office.
  2. In the event of a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the Faculty Senate, at its next meeting, shall elect a successor.
  3. Should both offices become vacant, the President of the University shall call a special session of the Faculty Senate for the election of these officers.

ARTICLE V - ORGANIZATION AND PROCEDURE

A. The Faculty Senate shall determine its own organization and rules of procedure.

B. Those rules contained in the latest edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern in all matters for which they are applicable and consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws of the Faculty Senate.

C. The Faculty Senate is granted the authority to create committees which may include faculty, students, administrators, and/or staff, as appropriate.

ARTICLE VI - AMENDMENT

A. A proposal for amending this document may originate:

  1. Through a petition submitted to the President of the Faculty Senate, signed by twenty-five percent of the full-time faculty members of the University, or
  2. Through a majority action of the Senate membership.

B. Notification and discussion of proposed amendments:

  1. The President of the Faculty Senate shall call and conduct a meeting with all interested faculty to discuss the proposed amendment within thirty days from receipt of the proposed amendment.
  2. During this time period the Vice President shall distribute the proposed amendment to the faculty and notify them of the time and place for discussing the proposed amendment.

C. Ratification of the proposed amendment.

  1. The Faculty Senate shall conduct a ballot of all resident faculty within thirty days of the meeting specified in B.1.
  2. The proposed amendment must secure the approval of sixty percent of those voting.
  3. The amendment will be in effect upon the concurrence of the President of the University and the Board of Trustees.

ARTICLE VII - ENACTMENT

This Faculty Senate Constitution is presented as an amendment to the existing Constitution of the University Senate in the form of a substitute motion. Under the latter document, the required amending procedure is as follows:

  1. Majority action of the University Senate.
  2. A two-thirds majority of those full-time faculty members voting on the issue.
  3. Concurrence of the President of the University and the Board of Trustees.

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