USC Academic Senate - Documents
Academic Senate Bylaws
Bylaw
1: Parliamentary Procedure. When possible, Senate meetings will be
conducted collegially and informally as an academic body. At the request of any member at
any time, parliamentary procedure will be observed. The rules contained in Robert's
Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern the Academic Senate in all cases to which
they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the Constitution, Bylaws
and Standard Rules of the Academic Senate.
Bylaw
2: Registration of members with the Academic Senate office. Each school
or unit shall report to the Academic Senate office the names and academic titles of its
members in the Faculty Assembly: the members, officers, and terms, of the school faculty
council: and the names of its members of the Academic Senate. The President of the Faculty
Council of each school or unit, shall provide the Academic Senate office with this
information by July 1, and shall notify the Senate office of any changes.
Bylaw
3: Quorum. Except as otherwise provided for in the Constitution, 51% of the
voting members of the Academic Senate constitutes a quorum. At all Academic Senate
meetings, only members physically present at the time of the vote are eligible to vote on
any question or motion. Once established, the presence of a quorum is presumed to continue
until proven otherwise by a call to quorum which reveals the absence of a quorum. In the
absence of a quorum, discussion may occur at the discretion of the chair, but no action
shall be taken except adjournment to a specified future time.
Bylaw
4: Agenda. Matters for prospective inclusion in the main body of an agenda
for a forthcoming Academic Senate meeting must be provided to the Academic Senate
Executive Board in sufficient time to be placed on the Executive Board agenda and to be
discussed by the Board no later than one week prior to the Academic Senate
meeting. Matters which are not so submitted may be considered under “New
Business” on the Senate agenda.
Bylaw
5: Motions. Substantive motions from the floor (as distinct from procedural
motions such as for approval, disapproval, reference of pending matters, or adjournment)
shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Board (or alternatively, to the Academic
Senate office) at or before the time they are orally proposed to the Academic Senate.
Bylaw
6: Attendance. Attendance shall be taken at all Academic Senate
meetings. All present shall sign-in and identify themselves prior to attending.
Bylaw
7: Visitors. Meetings of the Academic Senate are presumed to be open.
However, a meeting can be closed by the Executive Board to include only members of
the University community (i.e., administrators, faculty, retired faculty, staff and
students) or to include only members of the Faculty Assembly, or to include only
members of the Academic Senate. If a meeting is closed, others may attend with the
permission of the Executive Board.
Bylaw
8: Executive Board. The Executive Board meets as needed. Meetings of the Executive
Board shall be governed by Standing Rules established by the Board. If an Academic Senator
is elected to serve as an officer or voting member of the Executive Board, that individual
shall not represent or be counted as a representative of a school or unit.
Bylaw
9: Executive Board meetings with the University President. At least once each
month, the Executive Board shall meet with the President of the University, with his or
her designate(s), or both.
Bylaw
10: Nominating Committee. The Nominating Committee consists of the President of the
Faculty, the Academic Vice President, and two other members of the current Executive
Board, together with four other Academic Senate members who are not a member of the
Executive Board. The method for choosing the Nominating Committee is prescribed in the
Standing Rules.
Bylaw
11: Nominations. The Nominating Committee shall present a slate of at least two
candidates for each office for which there will be an election (i.e., the Academic
Vice-President, the Administrative Vice-President, the Secretary General, and each
position of Member at large of the Executive Board.) The Nominating Committee may not
nominate any of its members. Additional nominations for an office are permissible with the
signed endorsement of a minimum of five supporting Academic Senate members and prior
agreement from the nominee that he/she will serve if elected. Nominations shall be
submitted in the manner, with the information, and within the deadlines, prescribed in the
standing rules.
Bylaw
12: Alternate Members. If an Academic Senate member is unable to attend an
Academic Senate meeting, the faculty council of a school or unit may elect an alternate
member. If an alternate member will be attending as a voting member in place of an
Academic Senator, the Senate office must be notified by a telephone call or in writing in
advance of the meeting.
Bylaw
13: Non-attendance by members. If an Academic Senate meeting member
resigns, or misses two meetings and no alternate member has been elected, the faculty
council of the school will be asked to elect an alternate member.
Bylaw
14: Elections. Elections will take place by mail ballot distributed to voting
members of the Academic Senate. The ballot will include the names of all who have been
properly nominated and who have agreed to run for office.
Each
Academic Senate voting member will cast one vote for each open seat on the ballot.
Election will be determined by simple plurality. Ties will be broken by a run-off ballot.
Tie-breaking elections may be conducted and reported early in the fall term if necessary.
Bylaw
15: Vacancies on the Executive Board and in Executive Offices. If the
President of the faculty resigns, or becomes unable to serve, the Academic Vice-President
shall assume the duties of the President. If the Academic Vice-President becomes
President, or resigns or becomes unable or ineligible to serve, the Executive Board shall
solicit suggestions, make nominations , and hold an election for Academic Vice-President
by mail ballot in accord with the Bylaws and standing rules.
In
the event that an executive officer other than the President or Academic Vice-President,
or an Executive Board Member at Large resigns or becomes unable or ineligible to serve and
there is less than one year remaining to serve in the term, the Executive Board shall
designate a replacement whose appointment must be submitted for approval by the Academic
Senate at its next meeting. If there is more than one year to serve in the term, the
Executive Board shall solicit suggestions, make two or more nominations, and hold an
election by mail ballot in accord to the Bylaws and standing rules.
Bylaw
16: Standing and special committees. In addition to the Executive Board, there
shall be standing committees of the Academic Senate as listed in the Standing Rules.
Additionally, the Academic Senate or the Executive Board may create such special
committees, task forces, and bodies as necessary.
Bylaw
17: Standing Rules. These Bylaws
authorize the creation of Standing Rules to govern procedures of the Academic Senate and
the Executive Board. The Standing Rules can be adopted by either majority vote of either
the Executive Board or the Academic Senate. The Standing Rules may be suspended or changed
by the majority vote of either the Executive Board or the Academic Senate. The Standing
Rules are to be followed so long as they are consistent with the Constitution and Bylaws.
Bylaw
18: Composition of the Committee on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities. The
chairman of the Committee on Faculty Rights and Responsibilities shall be limited to
tenured faculty, preferably at the full professor rank, in order to ensure the ability of
the Committee to deal with delicate problems at the University without undue fear of
retaliation.
At
least one member of the Committee should be appointed from a nontenure-eligible academic
position to ensure the representation of the rights and responsibilities of those without
the protection of speech granted to those with tenure.
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