The University Senate, a body representative of the University
faculties, student bodies,
University staff, and administrative officers, shall be a consultative
and recommending body
dealing with all matters which concern the University as a whole.
Its agenda may be drawn from
matters brought to it by the President, by the Board of Trustees, by
the separate faculties, by the
University Faculty, by student governments, by the University staff
and by members of the Senate
or committees thereof. The Senate may make recommendations to
the University Faculty, the
several faculties, or any other component of the University.
The Senate shall report regularly to
the several faculties, to other constituencies of the University, to
the University Faculty , and
through the President to the Board of Trustees.
Proposed New Constitution
Drew University Senate
I AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY
The University Senate shall consult with faculty, students, and staff
and make recommendations
on “all matters which concern the University as a whole.” The University
Senate reports directly
to the President of the University.
A. The
University Senate shall review and make recommendations on matters of
concern brought to it by the President, the
Trustees, the faculty, the students, or
the staff. The Senate shall be available
for consultation with all committees of the
Board of Trustees as requested.
B. At the
request of the President, the University Senate shall nominate persons
to
serve on consultative committees concerning
appointments to major University
administrative posts.
C. Whenever
it may become necessary to elect a new President of the University,
the University Senate shall designate a committee
representative of all University
constituencies to consult with the Board of
Trustees in the selection of a President.
D. The
University Senate shall be vested with the authority to discuss and express
its view on any matter of general University
interest, and to make
recommendations concerning any such matter
to the President of the University
and through him to the Board of Trustees.
University Senators are expected to
ensure that their constituencies are informed
about the activities of the Senate.
E. The
University Senate shall be involved in discussions on and shall be kept
informed of the long-range planning activities,
budgetary issues, and fund-raising
programs of the University.
F. If the
University faces a condition of financial exigency, as determined by the
Board of Trustees in consultation with the
Revenue and Resource Committee
and the Expense and Allocation Committee,
the Senate shall designate
establish a committee representative of all
University constituencies, as specified
in III.C.1., to participate in reaching that
determination consult with the
President in the preparation of a plan to
meet the financial exigency.
II ORGANIZATION
A. Chair of the University Senate:
The Senate shall be presided over by a faculty member, elected at the May
meeting
from the incoming
Senate membership for a two-year term.
The Chair shall not serve two consecutive terms.
The Chair shall have the power to make or break a tie.
B. Secretary of the University Senate:
The Senate shall have a Secretary, elected at the May meeting from the
incoming
Senate membership
for a one-year term.
The Secretary may serve consecutive terms.
The Secretary shall be responsible for taking the minutes of Senate meetings
and
having them
issued in a timely manner.
C. Members:
1. Elected members (voting privileges):
4 CLA faculty (one from each division)
1 Theology School faculty
1 Graduate School faculty
1 Library faculty
2 US/A representatives
3 CLA students (one with voice but no vote)
1 Theology School student
1 Graduate School student
2. Permanent members (non-voting):
President of the University
3 Academic Deans
Dean of Student Life
D. Election and Term of Office:
Members shall ordinarily be elected by their constituencies for two-year
terms.
These elections
shall take place in the spring semester prior to the May Senate
meeting and
members will assume office on June 1. Membership terms shall be
staggered wherever
possible. The Steering Committee shall be charged with
indicating to
each constituency the terms of the offices to be elected and shall be
empowered to
effect the transition to this Constitution by setting the initial terms
of offices.
Members of the Senate may serve consecutive terms.
E. Special Elections:
In the event of a vacancy among the elected representatives to the Senate,
a
replacement
to fill out the term shall be elected at the next regularly scheduled
meeting of the
appropriate body or as provided by the appropriate governance
procedures.
F. Procedures:
Senate meetings shall be conducted in accordance with Roberts Rules of
Order. A
quorum shall
consist of eight seven voting members. The chair shall have
the
power to make
or break a tie. The agenda or notice of a meeting and copies of
proposals and
documents requiring action shall be circulated at least seventy-two
hours prior
to a meeting. These items shall be distributed to members and to
chairs of all
standing and advisory committees of the Senate. Following Senate
approval, minutes
shall be circulated to all members of the University community.
G. Meetings:
The Senate shall meet at least twice during each semester, but special
meetings
may be held
at the call of the Chair of the Senate, the President, or on request of
20 percent of
the membership of the Senate. By September 30 of each year, the
Chair of the
Senate will publicize a calendar of at least four meetings scheduled
during the academic
year.
III COMMITTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY SENATE
A. Standing Committees of the Senate
The Standing Committees of the University Senate shall be the Steering
Committee, the
Governance Committee, and the Committee on Student Affairs.
The terms of
office for members of committees shall be two years and for chairs one
year.
The Steering Committee shall stagger the terms
of committee membership in order to
maintain continuity. In the election
of chairs, previous service on the committee shall be
considered
If, in the Senate’s
judgement, it becomes necessary to establish new committees, the
Senate shall have the full power and authority
to do so.
1. The Steering Committee:
a. This committee shall consist of the following senators:
The President of the University
The Chair of the Senate
The Secretary of the Senate
One Faculty Member
One CLA Student
One Graduate/Theological Student (to alternate)
One Library Faculty/US/A Representative (to alternate)
b. This committee shall schedule, arrange, and order all meetings
of the
Senate, receiving
and scheduling all agenda requests and bringing to the
Senate such additional matters as it deems necessary. It shall be
responsible for the organization of the Senate and its committees and shall
propose to the Senate at its May meeting nominations for all Senate offices
including chairs, reporters, and members of the standing committees
(including the variable membership of the Senate itself); and shall nominate
persons to fill offices that are vacated. It shall coordinate with
the
committee chairs in order to assure proper consideration of issues before
the Senate and appropriate reporting of meetings and recommendations
from the committees. The committee shall also meet with the Honorary
Degrees Committee of the Board of Trustees to consider nominations for
honorary degrees, as provided for by the bylaws of the University.
2. The Governance Committee
a. This committee shall consist of:
Three faculty (at least one of whom shall be from the College
have membership on the CLA faculty and at least one of whom
shall have membership on the Theological School faculty)
Two students (at least one of whom shall be from
the College)
One US/A representative
One senior administrator
At least a majority of this membership of this committee shall be members
of the Senate.
b. This committee shall consider proposals and recommendations having
to do with the
organization, structure and governance of the University. It
shall, in the
name of the Senate, transmit to the President and the Board of
Trustees names
of the individuals it recommends as possible members of
the board.
Interested members of the Drew community shall be invited to
meetings of
this committee not involving the nomination of members to the
Board of Trustees.
3. The Committee on Student Affairs
a. This committee shall consist of:
Four CLA students
Two Theological students
Two Graduate students
One advisor, from the teaching faculty, ex officio
All student senators shall serve on this committee. The remaining
membership shall be chosen by the appropriate student bodies by the end
of
the spring semester. A student must chair this committee; and the
reporter
must be an elected member of the Senate. This committee shall submit
nominations for its faculty advisor to the Steering Committee which shall
submit the nomination to the full Senate for its action during the May
meeting.
b. This committee shall consider all proposals and recommendations,
by or
to the Senate,
having to do with any issue which affects students. This
committee shall
serve as a forum through which the student bodies of the
several schools
can communicate and collaborate on issues of common
interest.
B. Advisory Committees
Historically,
several committees have contributed valuable advice and information to
administrative officials and the University
through the Senate. Membership on these
committees shall be determined by the advisory
committee itself, which shall report its
membership to the chair of the Senate by September
15. However, if there is not
appropriate representation of the faculties,
student bodies, administration, and the US/A,
the Senate may recommend a restructuring of
the committee. The chair of each
committee shall be responsible for reporting
its activities to the Senate on an annual basis.
The current Advisory Committees are:
1. Presidential Planning Committee (PPC)
2. Finance Committees
a. Revenue and Resource Committee
b. Expense and Allocation Committee
3. Joint Affirmative Action
4. Sexual Harassment Committee
5. Social Responsibility Committee
6. Library Committee
7. Academic Computing Advisory Committee (ACAC)
8. Space Allocation Committee
9. Public Safety Committee
10. Multicultural Awareness Committee
C. Ad Hoc Committees
Ad hoc committees
may be appointed established as necessary and shall report to the
University via the Senate.
1. The Committee on University Financial Exigency
a. This committee shall consist of:
4 CLA Faculty (at least two of whom shall be concurrently serving on the
university budget
committees)
2 Graduate School Faculty (at least one of whom shall be concurrently serving
on
one of the university
budget committees)
2 Theological School Faculty (at least one of whom shall be concurrently
serving
on one of the
university budget committees)
1 Library Faculty
2 US/A Representives (at least one of whom shall be concurrently serving
on one
of the university
budget committees)
1 CLA Student (also serving on one of the university budget committees)
1 Theology Theological Student or Graduate School Student (also serving
on
one of the university
budget committees)
1 Graduate School Student (also serving on one of the university budget
committees)
Ex Officio:
3 Academic Deans
Chief Financial Officer of the University (non-voting)
Members of this committee shall be selected by their constituencies.
b. This committee shall be constituted established by the Senate when
the Board of Trustees
declares a condition of financial exigency. exists or is imminent.
As mandated in Article XII
of the Faculty Personnel Policy, this committee shall participate in
the decision to
determine whether a condition of financial exists, and shall consult
with the President to
develop a plan to meet the financial exigency. In accordance
with Article XII of the Faculty
Personnel Policy, this committee shall consult with the President in
preparing a plan to
meet the financial exigency.
IV AMENDMENTS AND MODE OF ADOPTION
The Senate was created in 1960 1968. Amended constitutions were
approved in 1980 and in
1987.
Amendments to a current constitution or a completely revised constitution
must be passed by a
2/3 vote of the membership of the Senate. Thereafter the amendment
shall be submitted to the
constituent bodies of the Senate prior to transmission by the President
to the Board of Trustees
for final approval. This new version will be submitted to the
following for endorsement and
adoption:
Endorsed by:
the faculty of the College on _________________________________;
the faculty of the Theological School on ________________________;
the faculty of the Graduate School on__________________________ ;
the faculty of the Library on__________________________________;
the College Student Government on____________________________;
the Theology School Student Government on ____________________;
the Graduate School Student Government on_____________________;
the University Staff (US/A) on ________________________________;
and adopted by the Board of Trustees on________________________
December, 1999