Outdated - DO NOT PUBLISH:  Save for historical reference
New: https://www.wichita.edu/academics/facultysenate/documents/BylawsOfTheGeneralFacultyMeetings_4.29.19.pdf

 

University Governance

The traditional governance role of the Wichita State University faculty is conducted through General Faculty Meetings, the Faculty Senate, standing and ad hoc faculty committees, and the graduate faculty. The Senate may deliberate and take action on all matters related to the faculty. Recommendations of the Faculty Senate on substantive matters requiring University faculty action will be acted upon at General Faculty Meetings ( https://wichita.edu/senate/handbook/FSConstitution-rev-1-05.html ). Graduate academic affairs are the general responsibility of the Dean of the Graduate School, the Graduate Council, and the graduate faculty.

Bylaws of the General Faculty Meetings.

  1. Membership. Faculty eligible to vote at General Faculty Meetings are those who comprise the Faculty Senate electorate (https://wichita.edu/senate/handbook/FSConstitution-rev-1-05.html). This includes temporary, probationary, and tenured faculty members holding half-time or more appointments at the rank of instructor or higher whose primary duties are 50 percent or more teaching, librarianship, research, scholarship, and/or creative activities.
  2. Officers. The presiding officer at all General Faculty Meetings shall be the Vice President of the Faculty Senate. In the absence of the Vice President, the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate shall designate a presiding officer. The presiding officer shall appoint a secretary to take minutes of the proceedings and may appoint a parliamentarian. The presiding officer shall not participate in substantive debates of the General Faculty Meeting.

III. Scheduling. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee shall schedule all General Faculty Meetings by its own authority and shall control the agenda, except as noted below. The President of the Faculty Senate shall consult with the President of the University regarding the scheduling of General Faculty Meetings.

  1. Agenda. At least ten calendar days before a General Faculty Meeting, each eligible faculty member shall be furnished with the agenda of topics to be considered at the meeting, including a detailed statement of any proposals submitted for action. An individual faculty member may request that the Faculty Senate Executive Committee place a topic on the agenda for the next General Faculty Meeting. Upon the written request of twelve or more faculty members, representing at least three departments and two college/school/University Libraries, an item shall appear on the agenda for the next meeting. Such requests must be made to the Executive Committee at least twenty-one days in advance of the scheduled meeting.
  2. Quorum. A quorum is the majority of the eligible faculty electorate present at the convening of a General Faculty Meeting. For discussion or voting on items presented at a meeting as non-agenda items, a quorum of one-third of all eligible faculty members is required.
  3. Length of Meetings. No General Faculty Meeting shall last longer than ninety minutes, unless it is extended by a two-thirds vote of those present.

VII. Rules. The rules contained in Robert's Rules of Order shall apply, when they are not inconsistent with this document.

VIII. Minutes. The minutes of General Faculty Meetings will be sent to all eligible faculty members and posted on the Faculty Senate Web site (https://wichita.edu/senate/minutes.html).

Faculty Senate

The Faculty Senate serves as a forum for the major constituencies within the University. Rules of the Senate provide for meetings generally on the second and fourth Mondays of each month during the fall and spring semesters. Meetings are open to the University community except for executive sessions.