Charter of Faculty Governance

The Faculty of Fayetteville State University, in concert with the Chancellor, adopts and implements this Charter of Faculty Governance in accordance with the Bylaws of the Faculty Senate. As such, this Charter establishes the general faculty as an organized, deliberative assembly and the Faculty Senate as its representative board.

Article I: Authority

Section 1 – Name

The name of the Faculty Governance organization at Fayetteville State University shall be the Faculty Senate of Fayetteville State University hereinafter called the Faculty Senate.

Section 2 – Purposes

The general purpose of the Faculty Senate is to fulfill the requirements set out in Section 502 D (2) of the Code of the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina (The Code) that allows for an elected, deliberative body of the faculty.

Article II: Definitions

Section 1 – Faculty Member

Fayetteville State University (FSU) defines “full-time faculty” as personnel (tenured and tenure track) who hold an academic rank and whose assignments include instruction, research, and public service. The definition also encompasses personnel on fixed-term contracts whose primary duties include teaching and service. FSU further defines “part-time faculty” as personnel hired to teach classes, as needed, on a semester basis. Administrative/executive employees (i.e., chairs, deans, and above) may hold faculty rank but are not classified as “faculty” since their budgeted lines are administrative. For purposes of this definition, “faculty” shall not apply to post-doctoral fellows and graduate assistants.  FSU has set the percentage of full-time faculty in all academic programs at 50 percent or more.

Section 2 – Senator

Any tenured or tenure-track faculty member is eligible to be a Senator except the following administrators:

1. The Chancellor
2. The Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs (hereinafter referred to as “Provost”)
3. Those faculty in which Provost or Vice Chancellor is part of their title
4. Those faculty in which Dean is part of their title
5. Those faculty in which Department Chair is part of their title
6. Any of the above who are serving on an interim basis

For purposes of senate membership eligibility, assistant department chairs and school assistant deans are not considered as administrators and can be regular members of the Senate.

Section 3 – Department/School

Department/School as used in this document refers to an academic unit in which the chair or associate dean reports directly to an academic Dean.

Article III: Members

Section 1 – Senatorial Representation

By amending the Bylaws, the Faculty Senate may choose to enact criteria as to the minimum or maximum number of faculty of any given rank or status. Additionally, the Bylaws may be amended as needed to change the ratio of Senators to faculty to ensure that the Senate remains at a size that is representative of the general faculty and can work together effectively.

Section 2 – Ex Officio Members

The ex officio members of the Faculty Senate shall be nonvoting and shall consist of the Chancellor, the Provost, all Vice Chancellors, all Deans, the immediate Past Chair of the Faculty Senate and the Chair of the Staff Senate. Undergraduate and graduate student representatives shall also be included as ex officio, nonvoting members. The number and method of choosing such student representatives shall be specified in the Bylaws.

Section 3 – Elections and Terms of Office

Any faculty member eligible to be elected under Article II, Section 2, may serve a three-year term as Senator from his or her department or school.

1. Senators shall be elected at a department or school meeting.
2. Senators shall be elected for a three-year term.
3. No Senator may be elected to serve more than two consecutive terms. A faculty wishing to serve more than two terms should allow a minimum of one year out of office prior to seeking re-election.
4. A Senator who has been duly elected shall serve the full term unless removed or recalled from office.
5. Should a department or school’s Senate seat become vacant for any reason, that department or school shall hold a special election to fill that seat. If the remaining term for that seat is less than one year, this shall not count as a full term.
6. Elections of Senators by department or school shall be held each calendar year during the month of March. The results of these elections shall be reported to the Secretary of the Senate not later than the first week of April of the same calendar year.
7. One member shall be elected by the faculty of each academic department, school or unit, regardless of the number of faculty members. One additional member shall be elected for each six full-time faculty equivalents in a department or school.
8. A department or school, by two-thirds vote of its total voting membership, may recall any one or more of its Senators for good cause shown. In such a case, a special election shall be held as provided for in Article III, Section 3 (e).
9. Newly elected Senators will assume office in August of that year.

Section 4 – Voting

Each member of the Senate shall be entitled to one vote on all matters decided by the Faculty Senate. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted.

Article IV: Officers and Duties

Section 1 – Duties of Officers

The Officers of the Faculty Senate shall consist of a Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Parliamentarian.

1. The Chair should preside over the meetings of the Faculty Senate and may be asked to preside over a general faculty meeting. However, the Chancellor of the University shall have the right to preside over meetings of these bodies and all other meetings of deliberative bodies of the faculty of this University pursuant to those rights and duties given that office under Section 502 D (2) of The Code. The Chair is the elected representative of the faculty. In this capacity, it shall be the responsibility of the Chair to carry out the general purposes of the Faculty Senate. The Chair shall also serve as one of the delegates to the UNC Faculty Assembly.
2. In the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair shall perform the Chair’s duties. In the event that the office of Chair becomes vacant, the Vice Chair shall assume that office and shall have the authority to appoint a temporary Vice Chair until the election of officers.
3. The Secretary shall be responsible for recording the minutes of each Faculty Senate meeting, providing copies of the minutes to each member of the Senate by the next meeting (see Article V, Section 6) and maintaining a permanent file of the minutes for public inspection. The Secretary shall also maintain a list of the current membership of the Faculty Senate, certify the presence of a quorum at the beginning of each meeting, obtain a list of the full-time faculty at Fayetteville State University in preparation for meetings of the general faculty, certify the presence of a quorum at such meetings, and perform any other necessary duties at those meetings.
4. The Parliamentarian shall be responsible for advising the presiding officer on points of parliamentary procedure, calling for a point of order if proper procedure is not being followed, giving advice to any member who may request it during a meeting. The Parliamentarian shall also ensure that the procedures being followed by the Faculty Senate and its committees comply with the North Carolina Open Meetings Act.
5. In the event of the absence of an officer for a meeting, the Chair shall have the authority to appoint a temporary officer to serve.

Section 2 – Qualifications of Officers

1. The Chair and Vice Chair must be qualified to be Senators as specified in Article II, Section 2. In addition, they must be tenured faculty.
2. The Faculty Senate elects the Secretary and Parliamentarian from its membership. If these officers cease to be Senators during their terms in office, their terms in office cease as well. The Secretary and Parliamentarian must be tenure-track faculty.

Section 3 – Election of Officers

1. Officers shall serve terms of three years not to exceed two consecutive three-year terms.
2. The election of officers shall be held annually for a three-year staggered term. If the positions of the Chair and the Vice Chair are both being vacated at the time of their election, the new Vice Chair shall be elected to a one-year term. If the positions of the Parliamentarian and the Secretary are both being vacated at the time of their election, the Secretary shall be elected to a one-year term.
3. The election of the Chair and Vice Chair shall take place at a meeting of the Faculty Senate that occurs in April.

Article V: Meetings

Because the Faculty Senate and its committees are public bodies under North Carolina law, all meetings of the Faculty Senate and its committees are public, and the conduct of such meetings shall comply with the North Carolina Open Meetings Law.

Section 1 – Regular Meetings

Regular meetings shall be held once each month from August through April of each academic year. If necessary, a regular meeting may also be held in May.

Section 2 – Adjourned Meetings

In the event the Senate is not able to conclude its business at a regular meeting, the adjourned meeting may be ordered by the Senate, scheduled before and in addition to the next regularly scheduled meeting. At the beginning of the adjourned meeting, the minutes of the regular meeting are read and approved, but the business of the adjourned meeting begins at the point of the agenda where the regular meeting ended with no additional agenda prepared for the adjourned meeting. To comply with the Open Meetings Act, the time and place of the adjourned meeting must be announced during the regular meeting, and noted in the minutes, with the exception of certain autonomous committees whose business includes confidentiality.

Section 3 – Special Meetings

Special (or called) meetings may be called at the discretion of any of the following: 1) the Chair of the Faculty Senate, 2) the Chancellor, 3) the members of the Faculty Senate during a regularly scheduled meeting, or 4) members of the Faculty Senate (at least 25%) outside a regularly scheduled meeting. Agenda items to be discussed at such a meeting are restricted to those mentioned in the written request for the called meeting.

Section 4 – Quorum

A quorum for conducting official business of the Faculty Senate shall consist of a majority of the members of the Senate.

Section 5 – Notice and Agenda

No meeting shall be called unless written notice of such meeting shall have been mailed or delivered to each Senator not fewer than three (3) nor more than thirty (30) working days prior to the meeting date, unless such notice requirement has been waived. The Executive Committee in preparing the agenda for all Faculty Senate meetings shall consider the concerns of the faculty, staff, students, and administration. This Committee shall also be free to suggest resource persons who may be invited to come and inform the Faculty Senate on a specific subject.

Section 6 – Minutes

Written minutes of all actions taken by the Faculty Senate during any meeting shall be provided to all Senators and faculty. All previous records that exist in electronic form shall be made available electronically to the general public on the website.

Article VI: The Faculty Handbook

The Faculty Senate is responsible for maintaining and reviewing the Faculty Handbook on a regular basis to reflect the latest policy changes. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee shall conduct a review of the Faculty Handbook by the end of March each academic year. Any recommended policy or procedural changes that arise from this review shall be submitted to the Administration in accordance with Fayetteville State University’s Policy on Policies and Rules and submitted to the Faculty Senate for approval at the last scheduled meeting of that academic year.

Article VII: Committees

The Faculty Senate may establish standing and ad-hoc committees and general criteria for membership in these committees in its Bylaws. The Senate shall also be responsible for the conduct of annual elections by the faculty at large for delegates to the UNC Faculty Assembly, as well as members of Fayetteville State University’s autonomous committees.

Article VIII: Senate Resources

Resources necessary for the conduct of the affairs of the Faculty Senate shall be made available through the office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. The Senate shall annually prepare and submit its operating budget to the Chancellor through the Provost.

Article IX: Review of Senate Actions

Section 1 – General Faculty Review

The general faculty may review the actions of the Faculty Senate as follows:

1. The Faculty Senate shall promptly distribute after its meetings, a written report of its actions and recommendations.
2. Non-Senators are invited to attend meetings of the Faculty Senate and have a voice, but they may not vote on matters brought before the Faculty Senate.
3. The Faculty, by a written petition signed by at least one-third (1/3) of the total faculty members as defined in Article II, Section 1, and presented to the Chancellor, shall require presentation and discussion of any action of the Faculty Senate at either a special called meeting or the next regular discussion, in an open meeting, a vote by secret ballot administered and with a majority vote of the total faculty members in order to reconsider any Faculty Senate action.

Section 2 – Chancellor’s Review

When the Chancellor rejects recommendations of the Faculty Senate, the Chair of the Senate shall be notified in writing by the Chancellor of any such action and the reasons for such action within two (2) weeks of the decision.

Article X: Amendment Procedure

This Charter of Faculty Governance may be amended as follows:

1. After formulation, an Amendment proposal, approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the entire membership of the Faculty Senate may be presented by the Chair of the Faculty Senate for consideration.
2. To become effective, the Amendment, including each and every provision thereof, must be passed by a two thirds (2/3) vote of the total faculty as defined in Article II, Section 1, voting in either a General Faculty Meeting or in meetings of their respective Schools or Colleges.

Article XI: Ratification and Implementation

This Charter of Faculty Governance shall become effective as follows:

1. This Document shall be presented to all members of the faculty as defined in Article II, Section I for consideration. When all of its provisions have been approved by a majority of faculty members, it shall then be presented to the Chancellor, and when it is thereby approved, this Charter shall become ratified and effective.
2. Upon ratifications, this Charter shall be implemented by giving proper notice to the General Faculty, setting up the elections machinery and immediately proceeding to the election of Senators who shall, upon having been elected, meet and organize themselves to commence operations as herein provided.