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History, Summary and Comparison (pdf) NORTHWESTERN UNIVERISTY SHARED GOVERNANCE
NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY SHARED GOVERNANCE Proposed: October 28, 2008
THE NORTHWESTERN FACULTY ASSEMBLY The Northwestern Faculty Assembly is established by and operates under the Statutes of Northwestern University. Article I: Authorization Section 1: Functions Section 2: Membership Section 3: Officers Section 4: Bylaws
BYLAWS OF THE FACULTY ASSEMBLY Article I: Functions The Faculty Assembly shall: Section 1: Discuss and deliberate upon matters of general University interest, including all teaching and research activities, and campus life. Section 2: It shall consider, make recommendations, and pass resolutions on any matters referred to it by the President of the University, the Board of Trustees, or the Faculty Senate. Article II: Membership Section 1: The membership of the Faculty Assembly consists of all full-time regular faculty members in both tenure track and non-tenure track positions. This includes clinical and lecturer faculty who hold the rank of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Clinical Professor, Clinical Associate Professor, Clinical Assistant Professor, Professor of Instruction, Distinguished Senior Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, or Lecturer, as well as administrators with a faculty appointment within the University in one of the ranks listed above. Section 2: While the Faculty Senate is the elected, representative body of the faculty, when the Faculty Assembly is convened with a quorum (10% of membership), it becomes the ultimate legislative body of the faculty at Northwestern University. Article III: Officers Section 2: The University President will represent the Faculty Assembly to the Board of Trustees or its Executive Committee. Section 1: The Executive Committee of the Faculty Assembly consists of the President of the University, the Provost, the Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs, the Chair of the Faculty Senate, the immediate past chair of the Faculty Senate, and the chair-elect of the Faculty Senate. Section 2: The Executive Committee will publish an agenda one month prior to the meeting of the Faculty Assembly. Section 3: The Executive Committee will be available to convene on an emergency basis in addition to regularly scheduled, quarterly meetings. Section 4: The Executive Committee shall appoint a faculty member to be the Faculty Assembly Secretary. Article V: Meetings Section 1: The University President will preside over meetings of the Faculty Assembly. The Faculty Senate Chair, in consultation with the Executive Committee, will establish its agenda and convene meetings at fixed dates at least twice a year. Section 2: Additional meetings can be called by petition of at least 100 members of the Faculty Assembly. The faculty must be given a minimum of two weeks notice for all such special meetings with agendas made available at least one week in advance. Section 3: There is no required quorum for the Faculty Assembly to meet. However a quorum consisting of 10% of the membership is necessary to pass resolutions. Only members present at the time of the vote are eligible to vote on any question or motion. In the absence of a quorum, discussion may occur at the discretion of the chair, but no action may be taken except adjournment to a specified future time. Faculty Assembly Members may attend via teleconference or video conference at a single location designated by the Faculty Assembly on the Chicago campus if pressing circumstances prohibit attendance in Evanston. Members of the NU-Q campus may also participate through teleconference or video conference from locations in Qatar. Faculty members participating by teleconference or video conference as described above will be considered present and in attendance for purposes of determining the existence of a quorum. Section 4: The Faculty Senate Chair in consultation with the Executive Committee shall determine the order of business in any meeting of the University Assembly. Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of the meetings except as the Faculty Assembly may prescribe. Section 5: All recommendations and resolutions made by the Faculty Assembly will be reported to the full faculty within a week following a meeting. Section 6: Additions to the agenda may be submitted not later than one week prior to the Faculty Assembly meeting with a petition of 75 signatures. Article VI: Amendments These bylaws may be amended at any meeting of the Faculty Assembly by two-thirds vote providing that at least 10% of the faculty is present and that notice of any proposed amendment has been sent to the membership at least one week in advance of the meeting. If 10% of the faculty is not present, the proposed amendment is sent to the Faculty Senate which is the elected representative body of the faculty as a whole. The bylaws will be considered amended if two thirds of the full membership of the Faculty Senate votes its approval.
Article I: Authorization Section 1: Functions Section 2: Membership Section 3: Presiding Officer Section 4: Bylaws
Section 1: The Faculty Senate shall consider, make recommendations, and pass resolutions concerning matters of general university interest including all educational and research endeavors, hiring policy, the tenure and promotion system, and campus life. It is the representative and elected body of the faculty. Section 2: The Faculty Senate will strive to protect academic freedom, the faculty appointment and promotion processes, the tenure system, and encourage excellence, equity, and diversity within the faculty, student body and university as a whole. Section 3: The Faculty Senate will consider and make recommendations concerning retired faculty, faculty salary and benefits policies, and improvement of the intellectual and social environment for faculty and students. Section 4: The Faculty Senate will consider and make recommendations concerning student life, including athletics, and co-curricular activities. Section 5: The Faculty Senate will represent the faculty in any revisions to the Faculty Handbook, and have a consultative role in developing criteria for reviewing senior university administrators. Section 7: When appropriate, the Faculty Senate will constitute a Committee on Cause for individual faculty members. Section 8: A University faculty committee appointed by the Provost will nominate candidates for honorary degrees (“the nominees”). These nominees will be transmitted to the Faculty Senate for confidential review and recommendation by a simple majority vote. A list of nominees will then be transmitted by the Faculty Senate through the Provost and President to the Board of Trustees with an indication of the Faculty Senate’s vote to recommend or not recommend each of the committee’s nominees. In the absence of a quorum of the Faculty Senate, the list of nominees will be forwarded directly to the Board of Trustees without indication of a vote by the Faculty Senate. In either event, the Board of Trustees shall have final authority over the selection of honorary degree candidates. Section 9: On its own initiative the Faculty Senate may submit recommendations and resolutions to the Board of Trustees, transmitted through the Provost and President, on any matter affecting the interests of the University. Section 10: The Faculty Senate will periodically solicit feedback from faculty on the functions of the University.
Article II: Membership Section 2: Faculty Senate members will serve for three years, with the exception of the immediate past chair who may at his or her discretion serve as ex officio member for a fourth year. Section 3: Each year one third of the members will be chosen in elections supervised by the Faculty Senate in conjunction with the appropriate academic departments. Elections for the following academic year must be completed before the end of the spring quarter. Section 4: If an elected member misses three consecutive meetings without notice the Executive Committee may request that the member’s department replace that member with a temporary appointment to serve out the remainder of the academic year while organizing an election for the member’s replacement. Section 5: If an elected member must miss up to a year of service due to professional or personal reasons, the Executive Committee has the discretion to request that the member’s department appoint a one-year replacement. Section 6: Except under pressing personal and professional circumstances, all members of the Faculty Senate are expected to serve on one of the Faculty Senate’s Standing Committees. Section 7: Faculty Senate members may be elected for two consecutive terms. After a two year absence they may be re-elected to serve again. Article III: The Executive Committee Section 1: The Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate shall be composed of the Chair, Immediate Past Chair, the Chair Elect (who also serves as Vice-Chair), and the Chairs of the Standing Committees. Section 2: The Chair Elect must be selected from Faculty Senate members who are serving in the first year of their elected term. Section 3: The Chair Elect and the Chairs of the Standing Committees must be selected at the last regular Faculty Senate Meeting in the spring quarter. Section 4: The Executive Committee will serve as a Committee on Committees to take chair nominations from the Standing Committees and present them to the Faculty Senate for confirmation. Section 5: When directed by the Faculty Senate, the Executive Committee may propose meeting with the Broad of Trustees or its Executive Committee to discuss matters relevant to the well being of the University. Section 6: A simple majority of the Executive committee may request a meeting of the executive committee, which consists of the chair, chair-elect, past chair, and the chairs of the standing committees of the Faculty Senate. Article IV: Meetings Section 1: The Faculty Senate shall hold meetings on a fixed schedule from October through June. Special meetings of the Faculty Senate can be called for by the Executive Committee or by petition of one third of the Faculty Senate. The schedule for the regular meetings must be communicated to the Faculty Senate by September first. Section 2: The agenda for the meetings must be conveyed to the Faculty Senate five business days before the regularly scheduled meetings. The agenda for special meetings must be sent to the Faculty Senate at least one day in advance of the meetings. Section 3: The order of business in any meeting of the Faculty Senate shall be determined by the Chair in consultation with the Executive Committee. Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of the meetings except as the Faculty Senate may prescribe. Section 4: Fifty one percent of the elected members of the Faculty Senate constitute a quorum. Only members present at the time of the vote are eligible to vote on any question or motion. In the absence of a quorum, discussion may occur at the discretion of the chair, but no action may be taken except adjournment to a specified future time. Faculty Senate Members may attend via teleconference or video conference at a single location designated by the Faculty Senate on the Chicago campus if pressing circumstances prohibit attendance in Evanston. Members of the NU-Q campus may also participate through teleconference or video conference from locations in Qatar. Faculty members participating by teleconference or video conference as described above will be considered present and in attendance for purposes of determining the existence of a quorum. Section 5: All resolutions of the Faculty Senate must be promptly communicated to the membership of the Faculty Assembly. Article V: Committees Besides the Executive Committee, there are three categories of faculty committees that are essential for the Faculty Senate to fulfill its functions in Article I. They are Faculty Senate Standing Committees, University Standing Committees, and Special Faculty Committees. Section 1: Faculty Senate Standing Committees 2. Committee chairs are elected by the Faculty Senate on nomination from the Executive Committee. Before the last regularly scheduled Faculty Senate meeting of the year, current chairs should recommend chairs for the next academic year. Chairs must be members of the Faculty Senate when nominated. 3. Committee chairs will serve a one-year term that is renewable. 4. Committee chairs are to: 5. Committees may establish attendance policies that authorize the chair to terminate committee membership. 6. Standing committees may have appropriate university administrators serve as ex-officio members of committees. Section 2: University Standing Committees 2. The Faculty Senate, through its Executive Committee, shall have a consultative role in the recruitment of faculty members for the key University Standing Committees identified in the Standing Rules of the Faculty Senate. 3. These key University Standing Committees shall make an annual report, excluding confidential information, to the Faculty Senate when requested to do so by the Faculty Senate. Section 3: Special Faculty Committees 2. The Faculty Senate must approve the formation and duration of all special committees recommended by the Executive Committee. Article VI: Bylaws Section 1: The Faculty Senate shall adopt bylaws that it deems necessary to conduct its business, including rules regarding the conduct of elections. Section 2: The bylaws may be adopted or amended by a two thirds vote of the full membership of the Faculty Senate provided that the proposed bylaws or amendments were submitted in writing to the Faculty Senate at a prior meeting. Article VII: Standing Rules Section 1: Standing Rules can be adopted by majority vote of the Faculty Senate to establish governance procedures and content areas with respect to matters that are too specific to be described in the Bylaws. Section 2: The Standing Rules may be suspended or changed by a majority vote of the Faculty Senate. Section 3: The Standing Rules must be consistent with the University’s Statutes and the Faculty Senate’s Bylaws.
Article VIII: Transition The General Faculty Committee shall have the authority to provide for all procedures needed to implement the transition from the previous governance structure to the new governance structure described in these new Statutes and Bylaws.
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