2018-2019 Legislative Actions

The Faculty Senate adopted the following motion from Non-Tenure Eligible Committee on April 10, 2019:

Whereas Northwestern should be an academic community in which all faculty are provided with institutional support to thrive, and

Whereas an integrated view of the University is needed to support all faculty, create an equitable climate, and achieve transparent decision making,

Be it resolved that the Faculty Senate fully endorses the petition for an NTE Associate Dean position in WCAS and emphasizes the need to address the concerns of NTE faculty across all schools,

 And that the Faculty Senate recommends that the Office of the Provost create a position at the rank of assistant provost or above to oversee non-tenure-line faculty affairs university-wide.

The Governance Committee presented the following proposed changes to the Faculty Senate Bylaws for a second reading on February 13, 2019, which were subsequently passed by in-person and electronic vote.

Amend the Faculty Senate Bylaws to add a new Article III, Section 8:

The Faculty Senate may remove the President of the Faculty Senate if two-thirds of all Senators vote in favor of a motion of no confidence, providing that the motion was made at the previous meeting.  A motion for a vote of no confidence can be brought on the basis of unethical or unprofessional behavior or the inability of the President to complete the duties of office. The motion is brought forward either by a simple majority of the Executive Committee placing a vote of no confidence on the agenda of a Senate meeting or as a motion from the floor during “New Business” at a Senate meeting.

The Past-President shall preside over debate of the motion of no confidence. Voting shall be by secret ballot, and the counting of those ballots shall be done by the Parliamentarian.  Senators not present at the meeting will be given 48 hours to submit their vote electronically to the Parliamentarian assuming that the votes of those Senators are needed to determine the outcome.  If the two-thirds vote is achieved, the President shall be immediately replaced by the President-Elect.  Nominations for a new President-Elect shall be made at the next Senate meeting with voting at the subsequent meeting following the general procedures outlined for selecting a President-Elect in Article III, Section 3.  If a President-Elect replaces a President following a vote of no confidence, that person will complete both the remainder of the current term and the following one-year term.

Amend Article III, Section 3 to add the language in italics:

The President Elect must be selected at the last regular Faculty Senate meeting in the Spring quarter. The Executive Committee shall function as a nominations committee, securing one or more nominations to bring to the Senate at the penultimate regular Faculty Senate meeting in the Spring quarter. Nominations may also come directly from the floor in the penultimate regular Faculty Senate meeting. Candidate(s) should be given the opportunity to address the Senate, either in person and/or in writing, before the vote at the last regular Faculty Senate meeting. Voting shall be conducted by secret ballot. If there are three or more candidates, rank-choice voting shall be used. If no candidate wins an absolute majority of first place votes, the candidate with the fewest first choice votes would be removed from consideration and those votes would be reallocated to the voters’ second choice candidates.

Amend Article III, Section 7 to add the language in italics:

In the event of a vacancy in the position of President, the President Elect will serve as President for the remainder of that academic year and for the academic year in which they would have normally served. In the event of a vacancy in the position of President Elect, the Senate shall begin selection of a new President Elect at its next regularly scheduled meeting (pursuant to the process outlined in Article III, section 3), or if no such meeting is scheduled before six weeks will pass, at a special meeting of the Senate announced no less than three weeks prior to such meeting. In the event of a vacancy in the position of Immediate Past President, the most recently serving past President of the Faculty Senate shall serve as Past President for the remainder of the term. In the event of a vacancy in a chair of a Standing Committee, the Executive Committee will act in accordance with Section 4 above, at the time of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Senate.

The Faculty Senate passed the following resolution from the Executive Committee on January 16, 2019.

Resolution on official scholarly status at the University:

Whereas having an official status at Northwestern University—including tenure-eligible, non-tenure-eligible, emeritus/a, and visiting scholar positions—confers professional standing on the recipient and reflects on the integrity and reputation of the University, and

Whereas a resolute concern for academic freedom obligates the University to defend a community member’s ability to express controversial, unpopular, or objectionable ideas, under the condition that the scholarship supporting those ideas has not been found to be in violation of the University’s established policies of academic integrity,

Be it resolved that all departments, programs, and other units that are empowered to extend some official status to a scholar or researcher are called upon to do so in accordance with deliberate procedures that ensure an appropriate degree of due diligence has been exercised.

The Governance Committee presented the following proposed changes to the Faculty Senate Bylaws for first reading on January 16, 2019:

Amend the Faculty Senate Bylaws to add a new Article III, Section 8:

The Faculty Senate may remove the President of the Faculty Senate if two-thirds of all Senators vote in favor of a motion of no confidence, providing that the motion was made at the previous meeting.  A motion for a vote of no confidence can be brought on the basis of unethical or unprofessional behavior or the inability of the President to complete the duties of office. The motion is brought forward either by a simple majority of the Executive Committee placing a vote of no confidence on the agenda of a Senate meeting or as a motion from the floor during “New Business” at a Senate meeting.

The Past-President shall preside over debate of the motion of no confidence. Voting shall be by secret ballot, and the counting of those ballots shall be done by the Parliamentarian.  Senators not present at the meeting will be given 48 hours to submit their vote electronically to the Parliamentarian assuming that the votes of those Senators are needed to determine the outcome.  If the two-thirds vote is achieved, the President shall be immediately replaced by the President-Elect.  Nominations for a new President-Elect shall be made at the next Senate meeting with voting at the subsequent meeting following the general procedures outlined for selecting a President-Elect in Article III, Section 3.  If a President-Elect replaces a President following a vote of no confidence, that person will complete both the remainder of the current term and the following one-year term.

Amend Article III, Section 3 to add the language in italics:

The President Elect must be selected at the last regular Faculty Senate meeting in the Spring quarter. The Executive Committee shall function as a nominations committee, securing one or more nominations to bring to the Senate at the penultimate regular Faculty Senate meeting in the Spring quarter. Nominations may also come directly from the floor in the penultimate regular Faculty Senate meeting. Candidate(s) should be given the opportunity to address the Senate, either in person and/or in writing, before the vote at the last regular Faculty Senate meeting. Voting shall be conducted by secret ballot. If there are three or more candidates, rank-choice voting shall be used. If no candidate wins an absolute majority of first place votes, the candidate with the fewest first choice votes would be removed from consideration and those votes would be reallocated to the voters’ second choice candidates.

Amend Article III, Section 7 to add the language in italics:

In the event of a vacancy in the position of President, the President Elect will serve as President for the remainder of that academic year and for the academic year in which they would have normally served. In the event of a vacancy in the position of President Elect, the Senate shall begin selection of a new President Elect at its next regularly scheduled meeting (pursuant to the process outlined in Article III, section 3), or if no such meeting is scheduled before six weeks will pass, at a special meeting of the Senate announced no less than three weeks prior to such meeting. In the event of a vacancy in the position of Immediate Past President, the most recently serving past President of the Faculty Senate shall serve as Past President for the remainder of the term. In the event of a vacancy in a chair of a Standing Committee, the Executive Committee will act in accordance with Section 4 above, at the time of the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Senate.