Section 1. Functions
The Faculty Senate is the representative assembly of the faculty. It represents the faculty of Clemson University in its relationship with the university administration; recommends new policies or changes in existing policies to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs; and promotes the welfare of the faculty and of itsindividual members. Specifically, the Faculty Senate acts:
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To review and recommend academic policies, procedures, and practices at the university level;
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To preserve collective and individual faculty prerogatives as they are set forth in established university policies and procedures;
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To make recommendations on matters affecting faculty welfare;
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To provide good offices for the redress of faculty grievances;
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To articulate and promulgate faculty positions on issues of general concern within the university;
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To maintain liaison with the faculties of other colleges and universities on matters of common concern.
The President of the Faculty Senate shall report annually at the meeting of the faculty held prior to Spring Commencement. To keep the faculty adequately informed, special reports shall be made as necessary.
Section 2. Membership
Members of the Faculty Senate shall be elected by the faculty, voting by colleges in accordance with policies and procedures set forth in the bylaws of the several collegiate faculties. These bylaws may also establish provisions for the recall of faculty senators from the college, with the exception of those holding elected Senate office. Senate terms shall be three years except as otherwise provided. For the allocation of Senate seats and all other provisions of this article, the librarians shall be considered as a faculty representing a college.
Any member of the Faculty may be eligible for membership on the Faculty Senate, except department chairs, school directors, deans, the provost, vice provosts, vice presidents, the president, and others with primarily administrative duties.
Elections shall be held in March of each year, with terms of office to begin with the April meeting of the Senate. The election of members of the Faculty Senate shall be by secret ballot.
When a new college is officially established it shall be entitled to representation in the Faculty Senate as soon as an election can be held. A new college shall have one member in the Faculty Senate until the next allocation of seats. Whenever a new college is established, the next allocation of seats shall be obtained in the February following official establishment.
Vacancies created on the Faculty Senate for any cause shall be filled for the unexpired terms by supplementary elections within the colleges concerned as soon as such vacancies occur. Senators absent for the summer or for other temporary leaves such as sabbaticals, or appointed to temporary or interim administrative positions, shall request leaves of absence from the Senate and shall be replaced during their absences by substitutes elected by the Collegiate Faculty.
Each college, except the Library, shall elect two alternates on a yearly basis; the Library shall elect one. Alternates may twice succeed themselves. An alternate shall have the status of a full member at any Senate meeting attended in place of a regular member.
With the exception of those Senators who have served one year or less, members of the Faculty Senate may not succeed themselves.
As a rule, there shall be 35 members of the Faculty Senate. Emeritus faculty are excluded from the Faculty count for the purpose of Senate seat allocation. Senate seats shall be allocated according to the ratio of the number of members of the Faculty in a college to the total number of members of the Faculty in the university. Each college shall have as many seats as are in the nearest whole number when its ratio is multiplied by thirty-five, provided each college has at least one representative. For the purposes of this calculation, the Library is considered a college.
If the total number of seats allocated thus far is less than 35, the remaining seats are allocated to the colleges with the larger fractions until there is a total of thirty-five members. If this formula produces an exact tie for a seat, each college involved shall be awarded a seat.
The President of the Faculty Senate shall obtain a new allocation from the Chairperson of the Faculty during February of every odd-numbered year after the most recent allocation. This allocation shall be given to the dean of each college in time for the March election and shall control the numbers elected to the Faculty Senate at that time. If one or more members are gained, the collegiate faculty may designate new seats to have terms of less than three years in order to balance the terms within the college delegation. If one member is lost in the new allocation, one fewer member shall be elected to the Faculty Senate at that election. If the new allocation results in the loss of one or more members whose terms have not expired, the membership of the Senate shall be temporarily enlarged to accommodate the new allocation. New allocations shall be based on the number of members of the Faculty at the beginning of the fall semester.
Section 3. Officers
The officers of the Faculty Senate shall be the President, the Vice President, who shall be the President-Elect, and the Secretary. The Vice President and the Secretary shall be elected at the regular meeting in March of each year. The term of a Senator shall be extended one time, if necessary, to permit him or her to initiate or complete his or her service as an officer. Should such an extension of term be necessary, his or her successor will serve a three-year term which will commence at the completion of the officer’s term. The advisory committee shall submit to the Senate no less than two nominees for each elective office. Election of officers shall be by secret ballot, with a simple majority required for election.
In order to recall an officer of the Faculty Senate, a petition signed by not less than two-thirds of the elected members of the Senate shall be required. If an office is vacated by recall, resignation, or other cause, the Faculty Senate shall elect at the next regular meeting a successor for the unexpired term.
The retiring officers shall serve at the April meeting through the completion of Unfinished Business. The retiring president shall give the Senate report at the subsequent meeting of the Faculty.
Section 4. Meetings
The date and time of the regular monthly meetings of the Faculty Senate shall be determined by the advisory committee. The schedule of the meetings for the year shall be announced not later than the first day of May through appropriate communications. With the approval of a majority of the advisory committee, special meetings of the Faculty Senate may be called at any time by the President of the Faculty Senate.
Except for executive sessions, all meetings of the Faculty Senate shall be open to any member of the faculty. Any member of the faculty may present any problem or suggestion to the Senate for the Senate's consideration, provided the faculty member notifies the President of the Faculty Senate at least one week prior to the Senate meeting. Visitors may be invited by a member of the advisory committee to participate in any specific discussion.
Two-thirds of the membership of the Faculty Senate shall be the quorum for the transaction of all business.
Section 5. Committees
The chairperson and at least a majority of the members of all committees of the Faculty Senate shall be members of that body, and any other members shall be members of the faculty. The basic functions of such committees shall be to consider matters pertaining to faculty concerns and to make recommendations to the Senate. Committees may act on their own initiatives or on instruction from the Senate or its presiding officer. The committees, through the Faculty Senate, may be requested by the faculty, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, or the President to consider and report on any matter of faculty concern.
The standing committees of the Faculty Senate shall be as follows:
The Executive Committee: shall consist of the Officers of the Faculty Senate and the chairpersons of the standing committees and the Finance Committee. The President of the Faculty Senate shall be chair of this committee.
The Advisory Committee: shall be composed of the officers of the Faculty Senate, a Senator from the library, two
members from each college elected by the delegation of that college prior to the April meeting, and also the immediate Past President of the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Representative to the Board of Trustees (both of
whom shall serve in a non-voting capacity and be excluded from serving on grievance hearings). The President of
the Faculty Senate shall be the Chair of this committee. It shall be the function of this committee to advise the
President of the Faculty Senate and to serve as the nominating committee for the Faculty Senate. In no case shall
nominations by the advisory committee preclude nominations from the Senate floor. The advisory committee shall
appoint the members of the other standing committees and any special committees and shall designate the
chairpersons thereof. The chairpersons of the standing committees shall as a rule be from different colleges. The
advisory committee also hears grievances brought under Faculty Grievance Procedure I.
The Welfare Committee: shall make recommendations concerning such policies as relate to: work loads; extra-curricular assignments; summer employment; non-university employment; salaries; leaves of absence; sabbatical leaves; professional travel; retirement; and such other policies as affect faculty welfare and morale.
The Scholastic Policies Committee: shall be concerned with all policies of an academic nature which pertain to students. Such policies include recruitment; admissions; transfer credit; class standing requirements; academic honors policies; graduation requirements; class attendance regulations; student counseling and placement; and other related policies.
The Research Committee: shall study and make recommendation on policies, procedures, and practices primarily related to research.
The Policy Committee: shall concern itself with general university policies, particularly as they relate to the Faculty. Such policies include those which pertain to: academic freedom and responsibility; faculty professional ethics; the appointment, tenure, and promotion of faculty; and faculty participation in university governance. Other matters of particular faculty interest, which are not within the purview of the other standing committees and which are not of such a specialized nature as to justify ad hoc committees, would normally be referred to the Policy Committee.
Section 6. Rules of Order
The Faculty Senate shall conduct all parliamentary procedures in accordance with the most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order. A parliamentarian shall be appointed by the President of the Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate shall be empowered to develop those procedural bylaws which facilitate the achievement of its purposes.
Section 7. Permanent Committees
Permanent committees, in addition to the standing committees provided for in the Constitution, may be created for purposes which extend beyond those normally associated with ad hoc committees. The permanent committees of the Faculty Senate and their duties are:
The Finance Committee: investigates and reports to the Faculty Senate relevant financial matters of the university.
Section 8. Boards
The Grievance Board.
The Grievance Board consists of members elected by the members of the Faculty Senate from a pool of nominees named by the Executive and Advisory Committees of the Faculty Senate in a joint meeting, and from nominations made from the floor at the Senate election meeting. The Senate shall hold an election each January to replace Grievance Board members whose terms have expired and to fill positions that have become vacant during the previous calendar year. If necessary, the Faculty Senate Advisory Committee may make interim appointments to ensure a sufficient number of members on the Grievance Board. The Faculty Senate Advisory Committee shall appoint the Chair of the Grievance Board.
Members of the Grievance Board must be tenured regular faculty at the time of their election, and shall be members, alternates, or former members of the Faculty Senate. These Grievance Board members shall consist of a representative from the Library and two representatives from each college with two-year terms of service. The Board, through selected hearing panels, hears grievances brought to it in accordance with the faculty grievance procedure.