from Senate Bylaws (Article IV, Section A)

Executive Committee

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.