Constitution

To define and review the goals of this University;

To set requirements for degrees, determine when those requirements have been met, and authorize the granting of degrees;

To recommend priorities of educational programs offered by the University, priorities in the creation of new resident faculty positions, priorities for new physical plant development; and priorities for the utilization of existing facilities;

To make general policies relating to the development and utilization of the Library and other learning resources;

To determine general policies regarding the scheduling of classes and the academic calendar;

To establish general procedures and criteria governing faculty salary increases, promotions, tenure, dismissal, and course loads;

To elect a Faculty Board of Review which shall express its judgment on issues of academic freedom, tenure, dismissal, promotion, salary adjustment, the nature of conditions of work, and professional conduct;

To determine standards and procedures for the appointment of academic administrative officers and to participate in the search for and the selection of administrative officers above the school level, (the faculty members of each school having the right to participate in the search for and the selection of their own school administrative officers);

To establish guidelines for student admissions, academic probation, student conduct, and related student affairs;

To establish such standing committees and ad hoc committees as are deemed necessary for the business of the Faculty Senate;

To make decisions or recommendations on such matters of concern as the Faculty Senate may deem appropriate.

The enumeration of rights and responsibilities in this article shall not be construed to preclude the Faculty Senate from exercising any other authority granted to the faculty the Board of Trustees.

The Faculty Senate shall consist of the following members:

1. Administrators
   1. Chancellor
   2. Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
   3. Vice Chancellor for Advancement
   4. Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs
   5. Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance
2. Persons holding faculty rank in the following categories:
   1. Elected representatives of degree-granting schools and the Library
   2. Elected part-time faculty members*
      *Note: Part-time faculty include: adjuncts, part-time lecturers, part-time professorial faculty, and IUS full-time staff who also teach part-time.
3. Director/Associate Director of Academic Advising
4. Administrative Heads of degree-granting programs who do not hold faculty rank
5. Administrative Heads of degree-granting programs not elected as senators
6. Director of the Library (if not elected as a senator)
7. One staff council representative appointed by the Staff Council
8. President of the Student Government Association

Voting privileges shall be limited to persons designated in Article III, Section 1, Part B.

1. Any faculty or staff member may attend a meeting and, at the request of a senator, may address the Senate.
2. A student may attend a meeting as the guest of a senator and, at the request of a senator, may address the Senate.
3. Members of the community, members of the news media, and other interested persons may attend a meeting of the Senate by receiving a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will report all refusals to the Senate. Such guests may address the Senate by receiving a majority vote of the Senate.

The President of the Faculty Senate shall be the Presiding Officer of the Faculty Senate. In the President of the Faculty Senate's absence, the President of the Faculty Senate shall designate a member of the Senate to preside. If the President of the Faculty Senate or the designated substitute is unable to preside, the most senior member of the Executive Committee present at the meeting shall preside. Seniority will be determined by the date of appointment as a full-time resident faculty member.

1. A President of the Faculty Senate shall be elected each year by the Senate. The President of the Faculty Senate shall be a tenured member of the IUS Faculty who holds no more than six (6) hours per year reassigned time for other administrative or staff position for which reassigned time is provided. A faculty member need not be a member of the Senate to be eligible for election as President of the Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate endorses the principle that the President of the Faculty Senate shall be granted nine (9) hours per year reassigned time, shall be assigned secretarial assistance on a continuing basis and shall be assigned professional stenographic assistance during meetings of the Faculty Senate
2. The duties of the President of the Faculty Senate include the following:
   1. To convene and chair the Executive Committee
   2. To convene and chair the Nominating Committee
   3. To solicit regularly from each academic school, administrative office and administrative committee a list of significant policy actions that are being considered and forward that list to members of the Senate so that the members may decide what items properly deserve or require advance consideration by the Faculty Senate according to its responsibilities under Article II.
   4. To distribute both the agenda and information pursuant to it to the members of the Faculty Senate in advance of its meetings.
   5. To receive in advance of meetings of the Faculty Senate the reports by Faculty Senate Committees.
   6. To supervise the keeping of the minutes and their distribution to the members of the Senate and other resident faculty.
   7. To refer agenda items to committees of the Faculty Senate when necessary.
   8. To issue appropriate charges to committees of the Faculty Senate.
   9. To represent the Faculty Senate at ceremonial occasions.
   10. To represent the Faculty Senate at appropriate administrative meetings.
   11. To preside at Senate meetings
   12. To prepare annual report at the end of the academic year of all policy decisions and recommendations approved by the Faculty Senate.
   13. To submit individual policy decisions and recommendations approved by the Faculty Senate to the appropriate administrators and staff for their implementation or consideration

1. Parliamentarian shall be elected each year by the Senate from its membership.

1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the President of the Faculty Senate and two other tenured faculty members elected by the Faculty Senate. With the exception of the President of the Faculty Senate, only elected members of the Faculty Senate shall be eligible for membership on the Executive Committee. If elected, the members of the Executive Committee may serve two consecutive one-year terms.
2. The duties of the Executive Committee shall include the following:
   1. To receive agenda suggestions from any member of the faculty, administration, staff, or student body.
   2. To prepare the agenda of the Faculty Senate.
   3. To ensure that background material on agenda items is available prior to Senate meetings.
   4. To prepare the minutes of the Faculty Senate if requested by the President of the Faculty Senate.
   5. To alert the Senate members to issues that may be brought before them at future Senate meetings.
   6. To prepare a recommended schedule of regular Senate meetings for presentation at the first meeting of the academic year.
   7. To call special meetings of the Senate when needed.
   8. To be available for consultation with the Chancellor or Executive Vice Chancellor when matters affecting the faculty are being discussed and/or decided upon in the interim between Senate meetings.
   9. To review annually the list of Faculty Senate committees and, if so requested, the list of administrative committees, and recommend any needed changes in the nature or composition of those committees or the formation of new committees.

1. The Nominating Committee shall consist of the President of the Faculty Senate and two other members elected by the Faculty Senate. Only elected members of the Faculty Senate shall be eligible for membership on the Nominating Committee.
2. The duties of the Nominating committee shall include the following:
   1. To nominate a candidate or candidates for the position of Parliamentarian.
   2. To recommend the number of members to be assigned to each Faculty Senate Committee not constituted by school or library representation.
   3. To nominate faculty for all Senate committees except those committees whose members are selected by their respective schools or the library.
   4. To nominate chairpersons for those Faculty Senate committees specified in the By-Laws.
   5. To nominate faculty, when requested, for other University committees.
   6. To nominate members and alternates for the Faculty Board of Review.
   7. To nominate faculty, as needed, to serve as representatives of the Faculty Senate.
   8. To nominate a member of the Faculty Senate to represent the Faculty Senate in the search for and the selection of administrative officers above the school level.
   9. To solicit from the Student Government Association nominees for the student positions on Faculty Senate committees.

1. The Faculty Board of Review shall consist of five members. The Board shall include at least one professor, one associate professor, and one assistant professor. There shall be no more than two members from each of these ranks.
2. The members shall hold office for a term of one year, but they shall complete the review of any case they have begun to consider. There shall be no restriction on the number of terms a person may serve, although consecutive terms are not permitted.
3. A member of the Faculty Board of Review shall be disqualified in a particular case if the member is involved, or if a member of the same school or the library is involved, or if the member feels unable to render an impartial judgment.
4. Whenever a disqualification creates a vacancy for a particular case pending before the Board, the alternate ranked highest by the procedures set forth in Article VIII, Section 5, whose assignment will meet the requirements of Parts A and C of this Article shall be assigned to that case. If there are no such alternates, then a substitute member shall be elected by the elected members of the Senate.
5. Whenever a vacancy occurs on the Faculty Board of Review, the alternate ranked highest by the procedures set forth in Article VIII, Section 5, whose appointment to membership will satisfy the requirements of Parts A and C of this article shall become a member. If there are no such alternates, then a replacement for the vacating member shall be elected by the elected members of the Senate.
6. There is no restriction on the kind of complaint which may be submitted by an aggrieved faculty member. However, the Faculty Board of Review shall, in general, restrict its review to procedural grievances involving university decisions or actions which significantly violate or ignore duly established procedures, including grievances regarding promotion, tenure, and reappointment. The Faculty Board of Review, however, is the sole arbiter of the merits of any case, and shall within ten working days of receiving it either dismiss it or begin the review process.
7. Procedures of the Faculty Board of Review shall be specified in the By-Laws.

1. All Faculty Senate committees shall be listed and described in the By-Laws.
2. Selection of committee members shall conform to the dual principles of rotation of membership and carryover of information through staggered membership terms. Faculty members may not serve more than two consecutive terms on the same committee. (See exception, Article V, Section 1A)
3. All Faculty Senate committees shall be chaired by a member of the full- time faculty.
4. Ex-officio members of the Faculty Senate committees shall be voting members.
5. Student members shall be non-voting members of committees.
6. With a vote of two-thirds of the Faculty Senate, new Faculty Senate committees may be established, current Faculty Senate committees may be terminated, or committee descriptions may be revised.

1. Schools and the library will be allotted one senator and one additional senator for each eight resident faculty members in their school or in the library.
2. At least half of each school’s or the library’s elected senators must hold the rank of associate professor or higher. The number of senators to which each school and the library is entitled is determined by the number of resident faculty at the time of election. For the purpose of determining the number, two half-time positions sharing the responsibilities of a full-time position shall constitute the equivalent of one resident faculty member.

Part-time faculty shall be entitled to two representatives. These shall be elected by the part-time faculty.

The persons eligible to vote for school or library senators shall be the resident faculty, consisting of professors, associate professors, assistant professors, instructors, and part-time faculty. Administrators who have been granted tenure by a school or the library, but who are not automatically members of the Senate, shall be considered as resident faculty within a school or the library. With the exception of those persons who are automatically members of the Senate, all those eligible to vote shall also be eligible for election. All current faculty members who are part-time faculty are eligible to vote for, and to be elected as, part-time faculty representatives to the Faculty Senate.

By the thirteenth week of the fall semester, the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs shall certify to the President of the Faculty Senate the number of resident faculty in each of the schools and the library to determine representation in the Faculty Senate. By the fourteenth week of the fall semester, the President of the Faculty Senate shall notify the administrative head of each school and the library with Senate representation as to the number of senators to which that school and the library are entitled.

1. Each school and the library shall approve an official procedure for its own nominations and election, consistent with the following provisions. Before the fourth week of the spring semester, the administrative head of academic schools and the library shall call and supervise the election of senators. The election of senators from the adjunct faculty shall be supervised by the President of the Faculty Senate.
   
   Election shall be by secret ballot and consistent with the provisions stated in Article VI, Section 1, Part C.
2. Before the fourth week of the spring semester, the President of the Faculty Senate shall elicit nominations from the members of the faculty who are part- time faculty and shall conduct the election of the two part-time faculty senators by secreted ballot in accordance with the principles set forth in Article VI, Section 2 and Article VII, Section 1.
3. By the fourth week of the spring semester, each school dean and library director shall send the names of the elected senators to the President of the Faculty Senate. By the fifth week of the spring semester, after ascertaining that the requirements of Article VI have been met, the President of the Faculty Senate shall send a list of the members of the new Senate to the Chancellor and to each member of the new Senate.
4. Vacancies shall be filled by special election called by the school dean or the library’s director or, in the case of a part-time faculty, by the President of the Faculty Senate. In the fall or spring semester, a special election must be called no later than one month after a vacancy occurs. When vacancies occur in the summer, a special election must be called during the first two weeks of the fall semester.

Any faculty member who suspects election irregularities may petition the Executive Committee to review the case. If the evidence so warrants, the Executive Committee may require the school or the library to hold another election.

Senators shall be elected to service for two-year, staggered terms beginning the first day after the end of the spring semester; however, they shall elect officers and committee members prior to that day. Those senators elected by a special election to fill vacancies shall serve only the unexpired term of office. There shall be no restrictions on the number of times a person may be re-elected.

To initiate the staggered terms, during the first year the senate terms are lengthened, the schools or the library should elect half, or as close as possible, of their faculty representative to serve full, two-year terms and the remaining faculty representatives to serve one-year terms.

A school or the library may at any time, by a two-thirds vote of the respective faculty, recall any of its senators. Such a recall must be discussed at a school or library meeting, and then voted upon at a subsequent meeting no less than one week later. Vacancies so created will be filled by special election.

1. The President of the Faculty Senate shall be elected before any other officers or members of the supporting bodies. The President of the Faculty Senate shall be chosen by the newly-elected Senate by the seventh week of the spring semester. Votes will be cast by secret ballot. To be elected President of the Faculty Senate, a nominee must receive a majority of votes cast.
   
   
2. In the event that the President of the Faculty Senate is unable to complete the term of office, the vacancy shall be filled in the following manner. If the remaining term of office is less than one semester, the senior member of the Executive Committee shall service as President of the Faculty Senate for the remainder of their term of office.
   
   Seniority will be determined by the date of appointment as a full-time resident faculty member. If the remaining term of office is at least one semester, a new President of the Faculty Senate shall be elected in accordance with the procedures described in paragraph A. The election of the President of the Faculty Senate shall take place within two weeks after the vacancy occurs. A special meeting of the Senate may be called for this purpose. The senior member of the Executive Committee shall serve as Acting President of the Faculty Senate until the vacancy is filled.

By week ten of the spring semester, the Senate shall elect the two other members of the Executive Committee. Votes will be cast by secret ballot, and the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected. Each senator may vote for two candidates.

In the event of a vacancy on the Executive Committee a new member shall be elected at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Senate.

By week ten of the spring semester, the Senate shall elect two persons who, together with the President of the Faculty Senate, shall constitute the Nominating Committee. Votes will be cast by secret ballot and the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected. Each senator may vote for two candidates.

In the event of a vacancy on the Nominating Committee a new member shall be elected at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Senate.

The Parliamentarian shall be elected by the new Senate no later than week ten of the Spring semester. Nominations for the office of parliamentarian shall be presented by the newly elected Nominating Committee, with other nominations from senators permitted. Votes shall be cast by secret ballot, and the candidate receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected.

The members of the Faculty Board of Review shall be elected by the members of the Faculty Senate by secret ballot. The alternates to the Faculty Board of Review will also be elected by secret ballot.

The members shall be elected in accordance with the requirements of Article V, Section 3, part A. The newly elected Nominating Committee shall submit nominations from the full-time teaching faculty, and other nominations may be made. Each elected senator shall be entitled to vote by secret ballot for five members. The candidates receiving the highest number of votes in each professorial rank shall be elected. Of the remaining candidates, the two with the highest number of votes shall be elected.

Five alternates shall be elected after the election of the members. The procedures for electing the alternates shall be the same as those for electing the members. The elected alternate who receives the highest number of votes shall be designated the first ranking alternate, and the other elected alternates shall be designated the second, third, fourth, and fifth ranking alternates according to the number of votes each receives.

The members and alternates shall be notified by the Faculty Senate President within five working days of their election. Upon notification the member with most senior academic rank shall, again within five working days, convene the Board to elect a chairperson.

Members of the standing committees of the Senate, other than those with school or library representation, as well as other representatives of the Senate shall be elected by the newly elected Senate members from a slate submitted by the Nominating Committee.

The Faculty Senate shall conduct its elections for officers and positions via electronic voting. By week five, the current Nominating Committee will nominate at least one candidate for President of the Faculty Senate for the following year and send an email ballot to voting senators of the new Senate. The new senators will have three working days to nominate other candidates. After the three-day period, all nominees shall be presented to the new Senate members via email ballot. For a nomination to be valid, nominees must send the Secretary an email declaring their willingness to serve if elected. Then, senators will have five working days to vote for President. In case of a tie, the Secretary will conduct additional ballots. The candidate who receives the most votes will be elected.

For other officers, the Nominating Committee will send nominations to voting members of the Senate two weeks before an election. Members of the Senate have three working days to nominate other candidates for officers (Executive Committee and Nominating Committee) after receiving the initial nominations. After the three-day period, senators shall have five working days to vote by email ballot circulated by the Secretary. Tabulated results of the election shall be certified and announced by the Secretary. Further, the Nominating Committee will propose a slate of committee chairs and candidates for committee members not elected by schools and the library. The Senate will vote for those committees within five working days. In the event that any chair or slate does not receive a majority vote, the Nominating Committee will have three working days to nominate a second chair or slate of candidates. Senators will have five working days to vote electronically on the new chair or slate. This process will continue until all chairs or slates receive a majority vote.

During the academic year, the Faculty Senate normally shall meet once every month and in any case no fewer than three times each semester. A schedule will be established at the first meeting of the school year.

Special meetings to handle urgent matters may be called by the Chancellor on his or her own volition, at the request of the Executive Committee, or at the request of one- third of the Faculty Senate.

During the summer sessions, only special meetings will be held.

Whenever a senator expects to be absent, the senator shall designate an eligible member of the same school or the library to attend as an alternate. Alternates shall have the same privileges as the regular senators.

By a two-thirds vote, the Senate may decide that a meeting should be confined to the members enumerated in Article III, Section 1, Parts A, B, C, D, E and F. That session or portion thereof shall be closed to all others, except those who might specifically be invited.

A quorum of the Faculty Senate shall consist of two-thirds of the voting members.

1. All decisions pertaining to the enumerated rights and responsibilities of the Faculty Senate shall be by majority vote.
2. When the Chancellor cannot or will not implement a decision of the Faculty Senate, the Chancellor shall provide an explanation at the next scheduled meeting of the Faculty Senate. Upon request of a majority of the Faculty Senate, a written explanation shall be mailed to all members of the resident faculty.
3. When so requested by a majority vote of the Senate, the Chancellor shall call a general faculty meeting.

Upon petition of one-third of the resident faculty, the Chancellor shall call a general faculty meeting for the purpose of discussing the possible rejection of an action of the Faculty Senate. The formal rejection of an action of the Faculty Senate shall require a majority vote of all resident faculty by secret ballot.

Amendments may be proposed by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, a majority of the Faculty Senate, or a majority of the members in each of at least three of the academic schools or the library.

1. Any proposed constitutional amendment is to be printed in the agendas of two successive Faculty Senate meetings of the same Senate. Time is to be allotted at both meetings for discussing the proposed change. Prior to submitting the proposed amendment to the full faculty for their vote, the proposed amendment and approved modifications must receive approval by a majority of all members voting at the second Faculty Senate meeting.
2. Within one week after Senate approval, the President of the Faculty Senate will distribute a copy of the proposal as approved by the Senate to all eligible voters. Persons eligible to vote on amendments shall be the same as those eligible to vote for senators.
3. No later than two weeks after the circulation of the proposed amendments a general faculty meeting shall be held for discussion of the amendment.
4. Within one week after the general faculty meeting, the President of the Faculty Senate shall distribute a ballot to those eligible to vote.
5. The ballots must be returned to the President of the Faculty Senate within one week of distribution.
6. Adoption shall require the support of two-thirds of those voting. The amendment shall be in effect immediately after the announcement by the Executive Committee that the required number of votes for adoption have been obtained.
7. The deadlines indicated in this section shall not include vacation periods or summer sessions.