New Faculty Senator OrientationMay 9, 2012

Welcome Senators!David Zeh

Faculty Senate ChairChair and Professor of Biology

The Faculty Senate

• UNR Faculty Senate – elected body of 30-33 faculty members,

representing all major units (colleges and administrative units)

• Faculty Senate Bylaws provide for operation of Senate • Leader of Senate is the Chair – elected from Senate– serves one year as Chair-Elect, one year as Chair,

and final year as ex-officio Past Chair

Shared Governance• What is shared governance?

– set of practices under which college faculty and staff participate in significant decisions concerning operation of their institutions

– academic decision-making should be largely independent of short-term managerial and political considerations

– faculty and professional staff are in best position to shape and implement curriculum and research policy, and to select academic colleagues and judge their work

– the perspective of all front-line personnel is invaluable in making sound decisions about allocating resources, setting goals, choosing top officers and guiding student life

• Effective Senate is focused on long-term interests of university, not short-term interests of individual faculty

• Faculty Senate needs good working relationships with administration to be effective, but also must be independent of it

• Faculty Senate most effective when its recommendations are clear and reasonable, with policy alternatives considering both pros and cons

NSHE: Nevada System of Higher Education

• Nine faculty senates in the system: – CSN, GBC, DRI, NSC, TMCC, SA, WNC,

UNLV, UNR

• 13 Regents

• Senate chairs advise Regents

Faculty Senate Chair

• Official spokesperson for Senate and UNR Faculty at large

• Expected to support all senate actions and represent interests of entire faculty

• Expected to advocate for shared governance, with attention to both Code and Bylaws

• Serves on President’s Council• Meets regularly with Provost • Represents faculty before Regents and

Chancellor’s Office • Oversees faculty grievance process

Faculty Senate Executive Board

The Chair is advised by the Executive Board, consisting of

– Chair-Elect who serves as vice-chair

– Parliamentarian, elected annually

– Two at-large members, elected annually

– Immediate Past Chair and Senate Manager serve on Executive Board as ex-officio members

What Do Senators Do?

Senator’s Responsibilities

• Attend all regularly scheduled and special senate meetings. If you are unable to attend a meeting, assign a proxy.

• Familiarize yourself with the Faculty Senate Bylaws, UNR Bylaws, and NSHE Code.

• Be prepared for the Senate meetings ahead of time. Review the agenda, and read all reports and informational items.

• Report on the business of the senate to your constituents, and ask them for input on action items.

More Responsibilities

• Send your ideas for senate agenda topics to Executive Board• When retiring or resigning from

senate, assist your unit in its election to fill vacancy• Speak up in senate meetings!

– your opinions and input are important

Robert’s Rules of Order

• Parliamentarian advises Chair on procedural matters• Faculty Senate tradition – conduct informal and more relaxed meetings

than suggested by Robert’s Rules of Order• When necessary, Chair will invoke version of

rules of debate – Chair will announce rules prior to opening

floor to discussion

Committees

• Senate charges standing and ad-hoc committees annually– committees advise Senate on issues of concern

• Executive Board selects chair and members from

faculty at large• Executive Board oversees committees, and

reviews all committee reports and recommendations before they come to Senate

Current Standing Committees

• Academic Standards• Administrative Faculty Personnel Policies &

Procedures• Bylaws & Code• Campus Affairs• Executive Board Nominating• Salary & Benefits• Research and Grants

Committee Reports

• After review by Executive Board, committee reports are presented to Senate by committee’s chair

• Committee reports contain both general findings and specific recommendations – available at least a week ahead of Senate meeting

• Committee’s report is first accepted by the Senate, if the Senate believes the committee has completed its charges– implies neither endorsement nor approval of its

recommendations, but indicates committee did its job• Senate may then choose to approve, amend, or reject

specific recommendations – once approved, these generally become Requests for

Action (RFAs), and are sent to President

The Agenda• Executive Board sets Agenda in response to

events, requests, and reports• Agenda sent to Senators at least five days ahead of

meeting• Agenda may be modified during meeting by Chair,

with unanimous consent• Agenda is not a precise timetable, and we may run

over when the Chair thinks it necessary to let people have their say

Normal Order of Business• Chair convenes meeting once quorum is met• Roll, introductions• Consent Agenda – including minutes and UAM changes • Committee liaisons are sometimes asked to report• Chair reports• Visitors• Presentation of reports and items for information or action• New business• Chair adjourns the meeting — motion not needed

Quorum, et cetera• According to Faculty Senate Bylaws, a quorum is

more than one-half the senate representation– meetings will convene only when a quorum is

present – once quorum is established, it remains, regardless

of number of senators who leave meeting• Senate meetings are long, and sometimes run over

time – please remain patient, and respect importance of

Senate’s business

Do you have the floor?• If you wish to speak, raise your hand to be recognized by

Chair– Chair-Elect assists Chair by keeping track of who has

raised their hand and in what order, so you don’t have to keep your hand up

• Chair may sometimes invoke a two-minute rule for questions or comments– gives everyone a chance to speak without going too far off

schedule• Please keep side conversations to a minimum• Visitors may speak to Senate, time permitting, once all

Senators have had a chance to speak – they must first be recognized by the Chair

Motions and Votes• Senator (other than Chair) must make a motion to bring most

matters to a vote – motion must be seconded by another senator

• Seconded motion is discussed before being voted on• A seconded motion must be voted on or withdrawn before

another motion may be considered, unless a “friendly amendment” is accepted

• Action items may be tabled until a later meeting, if so moved, seconded, and approved

• A straw poll or straw vote is not a motion – it is a method by which Chair can ascertain whether there is

consensus on a topic

Voting• Each senator entitled to one vote and may vote as proxy for

one other senator from same major unit • Senators may always abstain, and should do so in presence

of any conflict of interest• The Chair may not vote except to break a tie • The Chair-elect, Past Chair, and the Senate Manager may not

vote• The senate usually votes by voice, but the Chair may ask for

a show of hands • Some votes – e.g., elections of senate officers – are

conducted by secret ballot • Most votes only require a simple majority of those voting to

pass