Faculty Senate

West Chester University

Contact Info:
Eleanor Brown, President
Email: ebrown@wcupa.edu


Procedures

Senate Assembly Agendae

The agenda for each meeting will be developed at the preceding Executive Committee meeting. All Senators are encouraged to communicate freely with the Executive Committee about the agenda.

Committee Assignments

Committee assignments are coordinated by the Executive Committee.
Standing committees are:

  • Communication
  • Curriculum and Research
  • Ethics
  • Faculty Welfare
  • Membership and Elections
  • Rules and Bylaws
  • Student Welfare

Proxy

It is important for each Senator to identify someone to proxy for her/him if the Senator will be absent. The Constitution says "In the case of short term or extended absence, the senator should name a proxy from the eligible faculty in the constituency represented and notify the President of the Senate." Each Senator should check with his/her constituency (school or at large) now to see who could fit these meetings into their schedule.

Nomination of Senators to Campus Committees

  1. The President will forward the request for nomination of Senators to campus committees to the Chairperson of the appropriate Standing Committee with a request to solicit the required number of Senators within a time frame.
  2. On receipt of the nomination(s) from the Chairperson (identified in 1), the President will forward the name(s) to the Executive Committee for recommendation. The final decision rests with the President.
  3. If no nominations are received from the Chairperson within the timeframe, the President will send a request to all Senators for selfnomination within a limited time frame. At the end of the time frame, the President will forward the name(s) to the Executive Committee for recommendation. The final decision rests with the President.
  4. In situations where the request for nomination does not fall clearly within the purview of any of the Standing Committees, the President will forward the request to all Senators (in a Full Assembly, if one is forthcoming soon; or via email) for selfnominations. On receipt of the nomination(s), the President will forward the name(s) to the Executive Committee for recommendation. The final decision rests with the President.

Charge to the Standing Committees

The Standing Committees will identify an agenda for the academic year in the first Full Assembly with input from all Senators present or their designated proxies. Motions from the floor and unfinished business from the previous academic year will take precedence in the tasks to be taken up by the appropriate Standing Committees.

The Standing Committees thereafter are required to meet regularly to collect necessary information, discuss and develop resolutions and reports for deliberation at the following Full Assembly. A report of the activities of the Standing Committees to the Executive Committee is expected two weeks before the last Full Assembly in that academic year.

Members of the Standing Committees are encouraged to contact on and off campus individuals for necessary input to facilitate their committee's work. However, members of the Standing Committee are expected to refrain from reaching or consolidating agreements on their own without prior sanction from the Full Assembly. Once the issue has been agreed upon at the Full Assembly, then the Standing Committee or its members may be requested to carry through the sentiments of the whole Senate. In this connection, the Standing Committee is more like a liaison, rather than a decisionmaking entity. The decisionmaking entity is the Full Assembly of the Senate unless specified otherwise.

Presentations by Nonmembers in Senate Deliberations

All requests for presentations, received by the President or any other Executive Committee liaison, will be forwarded to all members of the Executive Committee for approval. This will take place during the Executive Committee Meetings. In emergency situations, the approval will be sought through email. Keeping in view the time constraints in such situations, the President may make decisions based on the responses received rather than wait (after the deadline) for all possible responses.

Article V, Section I identifies nonmembers who have a standing invitation to participate. If information is available about the topic(s) such a nonmember is going to address, it will be shared with the Full Assembly.

Participation by Nonmembers in Senate Deliberations

While all faculty are invited to attend the Full Assembly, their participation in the proceedings will be limited to discussion. No voting rights are available to nonmembers of the Senate, unless they are serving as designated proxy to currently elected Senators. Given the limited duration of the Full Assembly meetings, the Senators and their designated proxy may be called upon more readily and frequently than nonmembers who are not serving as proxy to Senators.