(see Article II, Section 5 of the Constitution of the Faculty of California State University, Sacramento).

The role of faculty governance within a University is a major part of the collegial environment. The Faculty Senate is the recognized voice of the faculty and is charged with proposing and overseeing policy pertaining to the academic well-being of the institution. A faculty senator, or the designated alternate, duly elected by his/her department/unit is expected to discharge the duties and responsibilities attendant on that office and exercise its powers and prerogatives in person only. These duties and responsibilities are:

• 1. To be an informed member of the Faculty Senate;
• 2. To attend all meetings of the Faculty Senate or is unable to attend to advise the alternate;
• 3. To consult with and consider the opinions/interests of the department/unit being represented while engaging in Faculty Senate business;
• 4. To recognize and respect the duties and responsibilities of fellow Faculty Senators; and
• 5. To maintain a collegial and objective bearing during debate in the Faculty Senate.

1. Chair.

The Chair of the Faculty Senate shall be elected annually by and from the voting membership of the Faculty Senate. The Chair shall preside at meetings of the Faculty Senate. The term of office of the Chair shall be one year. The term shall begin at noon on the last day of the spring semester in which he/she is elected Chair and shall end at noon on the last day of the spring semester of the following year. The Chair may be re-elected.

2. Vice Chair.

The Vice Chair shall be elected annually by and from the voting membership of the Faculty Senate. In the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair shall preside at meetings of the Faculty Senate, and perform other duties of the Chair as delegated by the Chair. The term of office of the Vice Chair shall be one year. The term shall begin at noon on the last day of the spring semester in which he/she is elected Vice Chair and shall end at noon on the last day of the spring semester of the following year. The Vice Chair may be re-elected.

1. Standing Committee Chairs.

Each Chair of a Standing Committee, as specified in the Standing Committee's Charge, shall be elected annually by the Faculty Senate. Each Standing Committee Chair shall preside over his or her Standing Committee and shall also serve on the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate. The term of office of a Standing Committee Chair shall be one year. The term shall begin at noon on the last day of the spring semester in which he/she is elected Chair of the Standing Committee and shall end at noon on the last day of the spring semester of the following year. The Chair of the Standing Committee may be re-elected.

2. Elected At-large Members of the Executive Committee

In addition to the Chair and Vice Chair of the Senate and the Chairs of the Standing Committees, additional at-large voting members of the Executive Committee shall be elected annually by and from the voting membership of the Faculty Senate to maintain the Executive Committee membership at nine (9). The at-large elected members of the Executive Committee shall serve for a term of one year, beginning at noon on the last day of the spring semester in which they are elected to the Executive Committee and ending at noon on the last day of the spring semester of the following year. At-large Executive Committee members may be re-elected.

1. Parliamentarian

A parliamentarian shall be selected by the Executive Committee and approved by the Faculty Senate at the first meeting of the Faculty Senate during the fall semester of each academic year.

2. Recording Secretary.

The Recording Secretary of the Faculty Senate shall be the senior ranked staff member of the Faculty Senate office.

1. Order of Business

As provided in Article III, Section A. of these By-Laws, the newly constituted Faculty Senate shall first meet to nominate its officers, that is, the Chair, the Vice Chair, the Chairs of the Standing Committees and the at-large voting members of the Executive Committee. At the meeting to nominate, the order of business shall be:

1. nomination of candidates for office of Chair,
2. nomination of candidates for office of Vice Chair
3. nomination of candidates for office of Chair of the Standing Committees
4. nomination of candidates for at-large elected members of the Executive Committee

2. Nomination of Candidates for the Offices of Chair and Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate

Nominations of candidates for Chair and Vice Chair shall be made from the floor; nomination of oneself shall be permitted. If more than two nominations either to the office of Chair or the office of Vice Chair are made, the Senate shall immediately select from among the several nominees to the office, the two whose names shall be put to a vote in the subsequent election. The selection shall be made by secret ballot. Each Senator shall have one vote in relation to each office. Each of the two candidates selected shall receive more votes than any candidate not selected.

The candidates for both the Chair and Vice Chair shall submit a one page description of qualifications and intentions to the Faculty Senate office for inclusion with the agenda for the election meeting.

3. Nominations for Candidates for the Office of Chair of a Standing Committee

Nominations of candidates for Chair of each Standing Committees may be made by a senator from the floor; by the current membership of the Standing Committee; or by a petition signed by ten (10) or more full-time faculty members and filed with the Faculty Senate office before the first meeting of the new Faculty Senate.

The candidates for Chair of each Standing Committees shall submit a one page description of qualifications and intentions to the Faculty Senate office for inclusion with the agenda for the election meeting.

4. Nominations for Candidates for the Office of At-large Members of the Executive Committee

When the Senate has finished nominating candidates for Chair, Vice Chair, and Chairs of the Standing Committees, it shall nominate candidates to become the at-large elected members of the Executive Committee. Nominations shall be made from the floor; nomination of oneself shall be permitted. Additional nominations to the at large elected members of the Executive Committee may be made at the meeting to elect the officers of the Senate.

1. Order of Business

As provided in Section III.A of these By-Laws, the newly constituted Faculty Senate shall elect its officers at a meeting called for the purpose. The order of business shall be as follows:

1. election of the Chair,
2. election of the Vice Chair,
3. election of the Chairs of the Standing Committees,
4. call for additional nominations of candidates to become the at-large elected members of the Executive Committee,
5. election of the at-large elected members of the Executive Committee.

2. Election of Chair and Vice Chair

The election of the Executive Officers of the Senate (Chair and Vice Chair) shall be by secret ballot. The candidate for each office who receives more votes than any other candidate for that office shall be elected.

3. Election of Chairs of the Standing Committees

The election of the Chairs of the Standing Committees of the Faculty Senate shall be by secret ballot. The candidate for each office who receives more votes than any other candidate for that office shall be elected.

4. Election of the At-large Elected Members of the Executive Committee

The manner of electing the at-large voting members of the Executive Committee shall be as follows:

1. If the number of candidates nominated is twice the number of at large positions available, the Faculty Senate shall reduce the number to twice the number of available positions by selecting , by secret ballot, from among the several nominees, a number equal to twice the number of available positions for a vote in the subsequent election. When making this selection, each representative may vote for twice the number of available positions. In case of ties, the number of nominees shall be increased to include the tied candidates. Each candidate selected shall have received more votes than any candidate not selected.
2. When the candidates have been selected, the Senate shall immediately elect, by secret ballot, from among those candidates the at-large elected members of the Executive Committee. Each representative may vote for each of the available at-large positions. Each of the at-large candidates elected shall have received more votes than any candidate not elected. In case of ties, the Senate shall immediately vote by secret ballot to break the tie. Each representative shall have one vote. The candidate(s) elected shall have received more votes than any candidate not elected.

A vacancy in the voting membership of the Executive Committee shall be filled by nomination and election at the first meeting of the Faculty Senate after the vacancy occurs. The nominee elected shall have received more votes than any candidate not elected.

If the office of Chair of the Faculty Senate becomes vacant, the Vice Chair shall assume the title and functions of the Chair. A new Vice Chair shall be elected at the first meeting of the Faculty Senate after the vacancy occurs. Any of the other elected members of the Executive Committee shall be eligible to be elected Vice Chair. If a Chair of a Standing Committee is elected Vice Chair, the Vice Chair of the Standing Committee shall execute the office of Chair of the Standing Committee until a successor can be elected as provided below. If an at-large member of the Executive Committee is elected Vice Chair, an election shall be held then and there to fill the vacated seat of the at-large member of the Executive Committee who has just been elected Vice Chair.

If the office of Vice Chair becomes vacant, the vacancy shall be filled by nomination and election at the first meeting of the Faculty Senate after the vacancy occurs. Any of the other elected members of the Executive Committee shall be eligible to be elected Vice Chair. If a Chair of a Standing Committee is elected Vice Chair, the Vice Chair of the Standing Committee shall execute the office of Chair of the Standing Committee until a successor can be elected as provided below. If an at-large member of the Executive Committee is elected Vice Chair, an election shall be held then and there to fill the vacated seat of the at-large member of the Executive Committee who has just been elected Vice Chair.

If the office of Chair of a Standing Committee becomes vacant, the office shall be executed by the Vice Chair of the Standing Committee until the Faculty Senate shall elect a successor as provided in Article II, Sections D.3 and E.3 of these Bylaws. The Vice Chair executing the office of Chair under this provision shall not serve as a voting member of the Executive Committee.

If several vacancies occur at once in the voting membership of the Executive Committee, the Faculty Senate shall fill those vacancies by nomination and election at the first meeting to be convened after the vacancies occur. Vacancies shall be filled in the following order: Chair of the Faculty Senate, Vice Chair, the at-large members of the Executive Committee. Vacancies among Chairs of the Standing Committees are filled by the Vice Chairs of the respective Standing Committees as described in Article II, Section F, of the Faculty Senate Bylaws.

Each year following the election of representatives during the spring semester, the Faculty Senate constituted by that election shall hold two meetings to nominate and elect its officers as provided in Article II.D of these Bylaws. At least two weeks shall elapse between the two meetings.

1. The Faculty Senate shall hold a meeting at least once every month during the academic year. The Senate may hold additional meetings from time to time at the call of the Chair of the Faculty Senate, on motion of the Faculty Senate, or at the request of the President via the Chair of the Faculty Senate. The Chair of the Faculty Senate shall not refuse or fail to give effect to the President's request for a meeting of the Faculty Senate.

2. Items shall be placed on an agenda at the request of the President of the University, or the Chair of the Faculty Senate, or the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, or the Faculty Senate itself.

3. The Faculty Senate shall adopt and publish in the Standing Rules of the Faculty Senate, its own rules of procedure for the conduct of its meetings. Such procedures may include distinguishing between agenda items that are ready either for action or for discussion only, with action to be taken at a subsequent meeting.

4. Votes in the Faculty Senate may be taken by voice, show of hands, by secret ballot, or by role call. The procedures for voting are provided in the Standing Rules of the Faculty Senate.

5. Every business meeting of the Faculty Senate shall be open. Individuals who are not members of the Faculty Senate may participate in the discussion at the discretion of the Chair.

6. Quorum

a. A quorum consists of a majority of the total number of elected voting senators or their alternates. For purposes of constituting a quorum, the Chair shall be considered a voting senator.

b. However, continuing absent members of the Senate shall not be counted as "voting senators" for purposes of calculating the number of senators who must be present to constitute a quorum. "Continuing absence" is herein defined as absence from two successive Faculty Senate Meetings by both an electing unit voting regular representative and her or his alternate. The designation of a member as continuously absent shall be applied at the beginning of the thrid meeting at which the previously absent member does not appear to answer the initial call of the roll. It shall be removed upon the next appearance of the electing unit's representative or alternate in the Senate.

c. Notwithstanding the provisions of 6.b., a quorum shall in all cases consist of no less than 40% of the total number of elected voting senators.

1. Membership

The nine (9) voting members of the Executive Committee shall be the Chair and Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate, the Chairs of the Standing Committees, and at-large members of the Executive Committee elected by and from the voting members of the Faculty Senate. The ex officio, non-voting members shall be the immediate past Chair of the Faculty Senate provided his/her term has expired at the end of the preceding academic year; one Statewide Academic Senator, selected by the delegation of Statewide Senators; the President of the Student Body, or his/her representative; the Academic Vice President; and the President of the University or his/her representative. The Chair of the Faculty Senate shall be the Chair of the Executive Committee.

2. Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the Executive Committee include the following:

a. Ordering the Senate Agenda

The Executive Committee shall meet at least one week prior to each Faculty Senate meeting to order and approve the agenda. It shall order the agenda so as to provide the Faculty Senate an opportunity to discuss and decide important issues in the time allotted for Senate meetings. It shall attempt to prepare an agenda that the Senate can clear in one of its meetings.

When appropriate the Executive Committee shall:

1) Establish the priority of first and second reading items on the agenda. Procedures for setting an agenda for a Faculty Senate meeting are specified in the Standing Rules of the Faculty Senate.

2) Identify information pertinent to the Senate's consideration of agenda items and attach it to the agenda distributed to senators.

3) Identify proponents and opponents of specific agenda items and allocate time for their presentations.

The Executive Committee may also:

1) recommend that the Faculty Senate take specific action on an item.

2) recommend clarifying language or amendments or both to items to be placed before the Faculty Senate for action.

3) refer an item to a Faculty Senate Committee or other agency.

b. Receiving Reports

The Executive Committee shall receive reports and recommendations from Faculty Senate Committees. I may place such reports and recommendations on the Faculty Senate agenda either as items for action or items for information.

When appropriate, the Executive Committee may:

1) Recommend clarifying language or amendments to the recommendations of Faculty Senate committees or both.

2) Endorse the recommendation of a Faculty Senate committee for Faculty Senate action.

3) Refer the reports and recommendations to Faculty Senate Committees to other Faculty Senate committee(s) or other agencies.

c. Planning

The Executive Committee shall meet prior to the beginning of each academic year for the purpose of:

1) Reviewing the actions taken in the previous year and identifying items carried over from it that require discussion and action in the coming year.

2) Identifying the critical issues to be discussed and acted on by both the FAculty Senate and its Standing Committees in the coming year.

3) Setting tentative agendas for the Faculty Senate and its Standing Committees.

4) Planning the program for the annual Faculty Senate Retreat.

5) Planning and implementing an orientation program for new members of the Faculty Senate.

d. Reporting to the Faculty Senate

1) The Executive Committee shall provide the Faculty Senate with a list current to the moment of items being considered by the Faculty Senate's Standing Committees, a brief description of the reports and recommendations or policies to be produced by each Committee, and an estimate of the date by which each Committee may be expected to act on each of these items.

2) The Executive Committee shall provide the Faculty Senate with a current listing of the Senate's recommendations to the President of the University and the action taken by the President of the University on each of these recommendations.

3. Meetings



The Executive Committtee shall normally meet in open or public session. It may meet in a session closed to the public to discuss and act on personnel matters not subject to public disclosure. The motion to close its meeting to the public shall be in order during an open meeting of the Committee. The Committee shall return to open session immediately upon disposing of the agenda item or items taken up in closed session. In no case of a current employee or staff member of the Senate shall the Committee close its session to the party or parties or their representatives whose status for conduct may be the subject of discussion in closed session.

a. Regular Meetings

The Chair of the Faculty Senate shall call a regular meeting of the Executive Committee at least one week prior to each scheduled meeting of the Faculty Senate to order the agenda for that meeting. Other meetings of the Executive Committee shall be called as necessary.

b. Executive sessions

1) The Executive Committee may hold executive sessions to discuss and act upon personnel matters relating to the staff of the Faculty Senate.

2) Under circumstances that permit no delay, the Executive Committee may constitute itself as, or become part of, a search committee for the purposes of filling, on an interim basis, a vacancy in the University administration. Such a purpose is initiated at the request of the President.

3) The President may consult with the Executive Committee in executive session about personnel matters related to the central administrative staff.

4) The subject of any executive session of the Executive Committee shall be reported in the minutes of the Executive Committee.

c. Quorum

For all meetings of the Executive Committee, a majority of the voting members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum.

4. Powers



The Executive Committee shall have powers to:

a. Take action on behalf of the Faculty Senate when time does not permit the Faculty Senate to act. Such actions shall be reported to the Faculty Senate on a Faculty Senate agenda as soon as possible after the Executive Committee has acted.

b. Advise the President about the interpretation of University policy. The Executive Committee shall report the substance of its advice to the Faculty Senate on a Faculty Senate agenda as soon as possible.

c. Propose clarifying statements of University policy to the Faculty Senate.

d. Create ad hoc committees as necessary.

e. Nominate faculty for consideration by the Faculty Senate to fill vacancies that occur in the membership of Faculty Senate committees after the Committee on Committees has made its nominations for the year.

f. Nominate faculty for consideration by the Faculty Senate for recommendation to the President for appointment to institutional task forces, advisory committees, and auxiliary organizations.

1. Membership

The Committee on Committees shall be composed of the Chair and Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate, the other seven (7) voting members of the Executive Committee, the senior representative to the Faculty Senate from the Library electing unit, the senior representative to the Faculty Senate from the Student Services electing unit, and one representative from an electing unit within each school elected by the incumbent Faculty Senate.

2. Nomination and election of school representatives

At one of its meetings, the Faculty Senate shall nominate and elect by secret ballot the representative of each of the seven (7) colleges to the Committee on Committees. Nominations shall be made from the floor; nomination of oneself shall be permitted. No one who is not then a representative of an electing unit from within one of the colleges shall be eligible to be nominated to be the representative of that college. Every representative may vote for one nominee from every college. If none of the candidates from a college receives a majority of the votes cast, the Faculty Senate shall immediately decide by secret ballot which of the two candidates who have received the most votes shall become the college's representative. As between the two candidates, the candidate who receives the most votes shall be elected.

3. Meetings

Each spring, the Chair of the Faculty Senate shall convene an initial meeting of the Committee on Committees. At a subsequent meeting, the Committee on Committees shall nominate to the Senate, candidates to be appointed members of the standing committees of the Senate to serve during the following academic year.

4. Charge

Having considered the results of an annual survey of the faculty members' interest in serving on any one or more of appointed standing committees, the Committee on Committees shall make a recommendation to the Faculty Senate specifying who the members of the Faculty Senate's standing committees shall be during the following academic year. Between the annual deliberations of the Committee on Committees, the Executive Committee shall nominate candidates to fill the vacancies that occur in the membership of the standing committees.

The Faculty Senate may create standing and ad hoc committees as it deems necessary. Every committee created by the Faculty Senate shall be a committee of the Faculty Senate and shall report to the Faculty Senate by way of the Executive Committee. Faculty Senate committees shall recommend policy and the interpretation of policy to the Faculty Senate by way of the Executive Committee, and perform such administrative functions as are identified in their charge.

The Executive Committee may specify in the charge of any standing committee created by it that the Chair of that standing committee shall be a voting member of the Senate and its Executive Committee to be selected as provided in Article II, Sections B.1, D.3 and E.3 of these Bylaws.

CSU Academic Senate representatives from CSU, Sacramento shall be elected by the faculty. The number of CSU Academic Senate representatives from CSU, Sacramento shall be determined by the apportionment procedure described in The Constitution of the Academic Senate, The California State University, Article II, Section 1.a. Each year in which such an election is held, the election results shall be certified to a designated officer of the CSU Academic Senate by the Chair of the local Senate on or before May 15. Representatives elected shall take office on or before June 15.

Representatives shall serve a term of three (3) years, to be established on a staggered basis so that no more than one representative shall be elected each in a year. Representatives shall be eligible for reelection.

1. The nomination and election of every representative to the CSU Academic Senate shall be by and from those members of the faculty who are members of an electing unit as defined by the Constitution (Article I. Section 5.B.1 and 2) and are eligible to vote for the representative of an electing unit, as defined by the Constitution (Article I, Section 6). To become a candidate, an eligible member of the faculty must submit to the Chair of the Faculty Senate a nominating petition signed by ten (10) members of the faculty eligible to elect a representative to the CSU Senate. If three (3) or more members of the faculty become candidates, an election shall be held to choose no more than two of them to contest the office subsequently. If one of the three (3) or more candidates receives a majority of the votes cast in the election to choose two candidates that person shall be declared elected without further contest. If no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, the two candidates who receive the most votes shall contest the office in a second election. The candidate receiving the most votes in the second election shall be elected representative to the CSU Academic Senate.

2. The alternate representative to the CSU Academic Senate shall be the Chair of the Faculty Senate of CSU Sacramento. If the Chair cannot serve, the Executive Committee shall designate an alternate.

3. If an incumbent shall vacate the office of representative to the CSU Academic Senate before his/her term expires, a successor shall be elected as provided in Article V, Section C.1 of these Bylaws.

(see Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution of the Faculty Senate of California State University, Sacramento).