Bylaws of the Senate of the Faculty

ARTICLE I: TITLE
The name of the organization, as stated in the Constitution and Bylaws is "The Senate of the Faculty of the University of Mississippi". Hereinafter, the organization is designated "the Senate".

ARTICLE II: PURPOSE
The purpose of these Bylaws is to provide interpretations of the Constitution and to supply additional procedural rules to expedite the business of the organization.

ARTICLE III: ORGANIZATION
Section 1. Membership
(a) References to the colleges and schools in the Constitution include the colleges and schools in which Faculty are budgeted and thus do not include the Graduate School or General Studies.
(b) Senate representation will be based on a census of the full Faculty (listed by departmental affiliation) based on full-time equivalencies (FTE, as defined in the Constitution) prepared by the Office of Institutional Research, Effectiveness, and Planning and submitted to the Executive Committee of the Senate by March 1 of each year. Using this data to derive the statistical mean for department size and the standard deviation from this mean, the Executive Committee will determine Senate representation by department (or other electing unit) for the following academic year, and by April 1 will notify each department (or other electing unit) of the number of Senate seats allotted to that department or unit for the following year.

Election Cycle

Section 2. Term of Office
(a) The term of office shall begin with the organizational meeting in September.
(b) A Senator rotated off the Senate, as provided in Article III, Section 3, of the Constitution, will become eligible for a new term after one Legislative Year (September through August).
(c) In recognition that a member occasionally may have to miss a Senate meeting due to professional responsibilities or personal emergency, such an absence will be an excused absence when prior notice has been given to the Chair, Vice-Chair, or Secretary.

Section 3. Selection of Substitute Members of the Senate and Elected Committees
When a Senator or member of one of the committees specified in Section 7 resigns or becomes ineligible to continue in office, an alternate shall be elected by the department. The appointed alternate will be assigned to the committee(s) of the Senator who has resigned (both internal Senate and standing committees that the resigned Senator was a member of by virtue of his or her position as a Senator).

Section 4. Duties of Senate Officers
(a) Responsibilities of the Chair of the Senate

1. To preside over meetings of the Senate and over meetings of the Executive Committee;
2. To represent the Faculty at the meetings of the Council of Academic Administrators and at meetings of any administrative council or advisory body established by the Chancellor or any Vice-Chancellor to assist in administering the affairs of the University;
3. To confirm Faculty of their election to membership in the Senate and to invite them to decline membership if other commitments would interfere with their attendance at the scheduled meetings of the Senate;
4. With the concurrence of the Executive Committee, to prepare and distribute notices of meetings of the Senate with agendas. Such notices shall be distributed at least seven days prior to all regular meetings;
5. To send a memorandum to the Chancellor and Provost, not more than a week after each meeting, calling attention to any resolutions passed by the Senate and other matters of importance that arose;
6. To serve as the signatory officer of the Senate's account budgeted by the University and as custodian of any other Senate funds. To make or authorize all expenditures necessary for the conduct of the business of the Senate. To maintain adequate financial records, and to report to the Senate at the September meeting the state of the Senate's finances;
7. To supervise and co-ordinate the work of the Senate's various standing and ad hoc committees;
8. To preside over elections of the Senate officers for the coming Legislative Year at the May meeting of the Senate. These individuals will be the Chair Elect, Vice-Chair Elect, and Secretary Elect until the organizational meeting in September;
9. To determine membership of Senate Standing Committees;
10. To call an organizational meeting of the Senate for the coming Legislative Year to meet not later than the first week of September;
11. To remove from the Senate those representatives that have accumulated four absences and request a substitution from the relevant department head.
12. To make best efforts to participate, with the Vice-Chair, in no fewer than three meetings each academic year with the elected heads of the Associated Student Body, Graduate Student Council, and Staff Council.
13. To perform all other functions of a chair of an organization.

(b) The responsibilities of the Vice-Chair of the Senate are:

1. To preside over meetings of the Senate in the absence of the Chair;
2. To substitute for the Chair, when necessary, at meetings of the Council of Academic Administrators or other organizations or functions when the Chair would normally be present ex officio;
3. To monitor attendance at scheduled meetings of the Senate, to encourage future attendance of those members absent from consecutive meetings, and to recommend removal or resignations from those who encounter scheduling conflicts and become unable to attend Senate meetings.
4. To make best efforts to participate, with the Chair, in no fewer than three meetings each academic year with the elected heads of the Associated Student Body, Graduate Student Council, and Staff Council.

(c) The responsibilities of the Secretary of the Senate are:

1. To keep a record of attendance at Senate meetings, and also of members' absences, and whether advance notice was given of absences, all of which shall be included in the minutes;
2. To prepare the minutes of Senate meetings for duplication and distribution by the Chair to all members of the Faculty. The minutes are to be provided to the Chair within two weeks of the meeting. The Chair is to distribute the minutes at least a week before the subsequent meeting;
3. To serve as the co-signatory officer with the Chair of all Senate accounts;
4. To maintain an archive in the institutional repository and on the Senate website of the records of the Senate, including all monthly meeting agendas, minutes and the Chairs advisory memoranda to the Chancellor.

(d) Executive Committee of the Senate.
The Chairs of the Standing Committees designated by the Constitution together with the four officers of the Senate comprise the Executive Committee of the Senate.

Section 5. Committees
Standing Committees of the Senate may be authorized by the Constitution or the Bylaws. Special (or ad hoc) Committees may be established by resolution of the Senate and shall be automatically terminated at the regular September meeting of the Senate unless continued by resolution of the Senate.
(a) The following standing committees are authorized:

1. Executive Committee
2. Committee on Academic Instructional Affairs whose responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, such matters as teacher evaluation, curriculum and new instructional formats;
3. Committee on Academic Conduct whose responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, such matters as academic discipline, academic freedom and intellectual property issues;
4. Committee on Finance & Benefits whose responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, such matters as Faculty compensation, fringe benefits and the budget, financial and organizational information of this and other universities, developing expertise in analyzing and building university budgets, and making reports to the Senate and Faculty on these matters, and making recommendations to the Senate on these matters;
5. Committee on Development & Planning whose responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, the long term goals of the University especially as they relate to strategic and facilities planning;
6. Committee on Governance whose responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, matters of policies, procedures, and practices by which the Faculty establishes and governs academic policy of the University and other matters within the purview of Faculty governance in a university setting. Additionally, this committee will review governance items at the local, state, and federal level which may have an impact upon Faculty at the University;
7. Committee on Research & Creative Achievement whose responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, such matters as relate to the research & creative infrastructure of the University including grants, graduate assistantships, and funding for the research & creative mission of the University;
8. Committee on University Services whose responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, non-academic goods and services that are, or may be, provided by the University to its community.

(b) Selection of Members to the Senate's Standing Committees:

1. Members are selected as provided by the Constitution (Executive Committee), or by appointment;
2. The tenure of each appointed committee member continues for the duration of that member's term or terms as Senator;
3. At or prior to the organizational meeting of the Senate in September, new members will be given opportunity to submit written committee assignment preferences. The Chair, as far as possible, and consistent with maintaining a reasonable balance in numbers on each committee, will take these preferences into consideration in making the appointments to Standing Committees;
4. Each Standing Committee shall elect its own chair for the year at the first organizational meeting in September. Whenever a Standing Committee is without a chair, the Chair of the Senate shall appoint a convener. Promptly after this appointment, the convener shall call a Standing Committee meeting for the election of a new chair.

(c) Each of the Standing Committees shall have not less than five members.
(d) All Standing Committees shall meet at the call of one or more members of the Standing Committee, and not less than twice each semester.
(e) Each Standing Committee chair shall provide a summary report of the Standing Committee activities at every regular meeting of the Senate.

Section 6. Meetings of the Senate
(a) The regular monthly meeting of the Senate shall be held on the second Tuesday of each month, and will begin at 6:00 p.m. and will end at or before 9:00 p.m, provided classes are in session on that day and no other conflict is apparent to the Executive Committee when scheduled. In the summer the Executive Committee shall establish a calendar of regular monthly meetings of the Senate for the next twelve months, setting alternate meeting dates and times for those months in which classes are not in session on the second Tuesday. There shall be no regular meeting of the Senate in June, July, or August but the Executive Committee shall meet during those months. If circumstances necessitate rescheduling a regular monthly meeting of the Senate, this must be approved by a simple majority vote of the Executive Committee at least 7 days prior to the scheduled meeting date barring emergency or force majeure.
(b) The duration of a regular monthly meeting may be extended beyond 9:00 p.m. only by a motion approved by at least two-thirds of the Senators present and voting.
(c) Regular meetings of the Senate will be held as prescribed by the Constitution.
(d) Regular meetings of the Senate are open to visitors, except that the Senate may, for any meeting, upon a motion approved by a three-fifths vote of all Senators present, go into executive session for discussion of a "personnel" matter, or any other matter allowable under the pertinent sections of the State's Open Meetings Law (Sec. 25-41-1 et seq., Mississippi Code Annotated, 1972).
(e) A visitor may only address the Senate if invited to do so by the Chair; and, unless    the visitor is making a presentation to the Senate, a Senator may only address a visitor through the Chair.
(f) To facilitate the purpose and functions of the Senate, the Chancellor of the University shall be invited to address the Senate annually, and the Chair shall request that the Chancellor review the disposition of the Senate's recommendations of the past year during the address.

Section 7. Quorum
A Quorum shall consist of a majority of the membership of the Faculty Senate. The Senate may meet in the absence of a quorum, but no actions or votes may be taken without a quorum being present.

Section 8. Agenda Procedures
(a) A new motion or resolution for the consideration of the Senate must be submitted in writing. Motions or resolutions that are not amendments to the Constitution or Bylaws can be placed on the agenda of the Senate as follows:

1. By presenting the written motion or resolution to a meeting of the Senate for placement on the agenda of the next regular monthly meeting;
2. By distributing the written motion or resolution to the membership of the Senate at least one week prior to the next regular monthly meeting, in which case it will be placed on the agenda of that meeting;
3. By presenting the written motion or resolution at a meeting of the Senate together with a written motion for suspension of the rules and immediate consideration. The motion to suspend the rules must be approved by a three-fourths vote of all Senators present and voting;
4. By giving the written motion or resolution to the Executive Committee not less than one week prior to the next meeting.

(b) Motions concerning matters on the agenda may be made orally from the floor but must be reduced to writing and delivered to the Secretary before the vote will be taken on them, if either the Chair or one or more members so request.
(c) Any amendment to the Constitution or Bylaws must be moved at a meeting of the Senate and cannot be brought to a vote until the next meeting of the Senate.

ARTICLE IV: AMENDMENTS
These Bylaws may be amended by placing a motion on the Senate's agenda as provided for in Article III, Section 9c. When the motion to amend is considered, the Senate may adopt the motion originally presented, or an amended motion, or reject the motion.

Revised November 1, 1975; April 12, 1978; 1981; July 1990; August 1990; April 1991; February 1992; March 1992; April 1995; March 1997; December 9, 1998; February 11, 1999; April 29, 1999; April 13, 2000; April 12, 2001; October 2004, November 2007, May 2016, August 2018.