Faculty/Staff > Faculty Senate > Faculty Senate Bylaws and Constitution

Faculty Senate Bylaws and Constitution

ARTICLE I: Name

The name of this organization shall be the Daytona State College Faculty Senate.

ARTICLE II: Mission & Goals

The mission of the Faculty Senate is to provide Daytona State College faculty with leadership, to monitor and champion faculty interests, to promote and guarantee an environment of open exchange of ideas and intellectual resources, and to provide a forum in which faculty have opportunities to discuss their academic profession and the community in which they work. Faculty Senate fulfills its mission by accomplishing the following goals: (A) To represent faculty related to faculty development, welfare, and morale, and (B) To study, discuss, and recommend institutional objectives, policies, and procedures.

ARTICLE III: Membership

Section A -- Full-time Faculty.
All Daytona State College full-time faculty are eligible members of the Faculty Senate.

Section B -- Adjunct Faculty.
Members of the adjunct faculty are non-voting members in the Faculty Senate and may submit meeting topics, in writing, to the President of the Faculty Senate for consideration as agenda items.

Section C -- Dues.
Voluntary dues of $10 per annum will be collected from each faculty member during the fall term.

ARTICLE IV: Officers 

Section A -- Officers.
The elected officers of the Faculty Senate shall be a President and a Vice President. The President of the Faculty Senate shall appoint a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Parliamentarian and a Historian.

Section B -- Terms of Office.
The officers shall be elected by the Faculty Senate during March and shall serve for twenty-four months beginning with the first faculty duty day of the Fall term following the March election.

Section C -- Qualifications.
The offices of the organization may be filled by any full-time faculty member who is tenured at the time of the election.

Section D -- Schedule for Election

1. In September, the Immediate-Past President shall appoint a nominating committee to conduct and supervise elections. No member of the nominating committee shall be a candidate for election.
2. In January, the nominating committee shall send notices to the faculty to inform them of the upcoming election and to request nominees.
3. In February, upon receiving the nominations, the nominating committee shall present a slate of candidates to the Faculty Senate, and shall compile a professional profile and statement of intent from each candidate to be distributed to the faculty.
4. No later than March 15, the election ballots shall be distributed to the faculty.
5. No later than March 30, election ballots shall be returned. The ballots shall be counted by the nominating committee (other than candidates) and the results communicated to the faculty of Daytona State either through the minutes or by special memo.
6. The election shall be determined by simple majority. If no candidate receives a simple majority, a run-off will be conducted between the top two candidates and shall be completed by April 15.

Section E -- Vacancy.
If the office of the President becomes vacant, the Vice President will become President for the remainder of the unexpired term. The President will fill officer vacancies through appointment.

Section F -- Duties.
The officers shall perform the duties as prescribed in these bylaws and by the parliamentary authority adopted by the Faculty Senate. These duties shall include, but not be limited to the following. 

 The President shall:

• Preside at the Faculty Senate Meetings.
• Appoint all standing and ad hoc committee members.
• Appoint members to other college committees as required.
• Appoint a Secretary, a Treasurer, a Parliamentarian and a Historian.
• Call meetings as needed.
• Serve as ex-officio member of all committees.
• Serve as a representative to the Planning Council.
• Serve as an advocate for faculty.
• Mediate in faculty disputes when appropriate.
• Submit a year-end report to the Faculty Senate.
• Prepare a list of meeting dates to be approved by the Faculty Senate.
• Prepare the agenda for each Faculty Senate meeting.
• Serve or appoint a representative to serve on appropriate statewide coalitions or commissions.

The Vice-President shall:

• Act in the President's absence.
• Assist the President in all his/her duties.

The Secretary shall:

• Be present at all Faculty Senate meetings and record the minutes.
• Distribute within seven working days the minutes of all Faculty Senate meetings to all faculty members.
• Distribute an Agenda which will include faculty items of business to be discussed at the next Faculty Senate meeting.
• Notify faculty of times and dates of scheduled and special meetings.
• Assist the President and the Vice-President/President-Elect in any clerical work needed.

The Treasurer shall:

• Maintain the Faculty Senate Treasury.
• Collect and deposit dues to the Faculty Senate account.
• Safeguard and distribute Faculty Senate funds as authorized by the Faculty Senate.
• Present a financial report at each regular meeting.

The Parliamentarian shall:

• Be present at all Faculty Senate meetings and shall advise members on the application of "Robert's Rules of Order."
• Advise members on the application of the Faculty Senate Constitution and Bylaws.

The Historian shall:

• Maintain the Faculty Senate historical file in a manner accessible to all faculty.
• Maintain and update the Faculty Senate website(s) to include minutes of all Faculty Senate meetings and all supporting documentation.

The Immediate Past-President shall:

• Chair the Nominating Committee
• Perform other duties as assigned by the President.

ARTICLE V: Planning Council Representatives

Section A -- Representatives.
Planning Council Representatives shall be elected by the faculty of the appropriate area and shall include the President of the Faculty Senate, as described in Section A, Article IV, as well as seven additional Faculty Senate members. The allocation of the seven additional Faculty Senate representatives shall be determined by the Nominating Committee in January of each year proportionate to the faculty members in each division. In the event that proportionate representation of each division is not practicable, the Nominating Committee shall combine divisions as appropriate for representation.

Section B -- Term of Office.
The representatives shall be elected by the Faculty Senate during March and will serve for twelve months, commencing with the first Planning Council meeting of the following fiscal year.

Section C -- Succession.
Representatives may serve no more than two consecutive terms. In case of a vacancy the nominating committee shall solicit nominations from the faculty of the appropriate area. The slate shall be voted on by secret ballot at the next regular meeting, by mail or electronically, and the person newly elected shall serve the remaining term.

ARTICLE VI: College Wide Promotion and Tenure Committee

Section A -- Representatives.

• Promotion and Tenure Committee Faculty Representatives shall be elected by September 30 of each year. Candidates must be tenured faculty members. Faculty Representatives are not eligible to serve if they are applying for promotion or tenure during their elected term. College-Wide Promotion and Tenure Committee Representatives may not serve on departmental promotion and tenure committees.

Section B -- Term of Office.

• Representatives shall serve for twenty-four months, beginning in October following their election.

Section C -- Succession.

• Representatives may serve no more than two consecutive terms. In case of a vacancy the nominating committee shall solicit nominations from the faculty of the appropriate area.  The slate will be voted on by secret ballot at the next regular meeting, by mail or electronically, and the person newly elected shall serve the remaining term.

ARTICLE VII: Impeachment

Any member may initiate an officer's or representative's removal by the following procedure.

• Petition Nominating Committee with signatures of one third (1/3) of all voting members.
• Petition should state reason for removal.
• Nominating Committee shall then notify officers and call for removal vote within fourteen days of the filing of the petition.
• Membership shall be notified at least one week prior to removal vote.
• The petition's stated grievances shall be made public and the officer or representative charged shall be allowed to respond to the charges of the petition.
• Removal from office shall require a majority vote of all voting members.

ARTICLE VIII: Appointed Committees of the Faculty Senate

Section A -- Standing and Ad Hoc Committees.
All Standing Committees shall be appointed annually in September by the Faculty Senate President.  They shall include a Nominating and Elections Committee, a Bylaws Committee and committees to mirror the Planning Council Committees, Ad Hoc Committees may be established as needed.

Section B -- Role of Committees.
The role of all Faculty Senate Committees shall be to work on behalf of the Faculty. The committee will research issues proposed by the Faculty at Faculty Senate meetings and submit all proposals to Faculty for approval.  The chair of each committee mirroring Planning Council Committees shall be responsible for insuring attendance at the associated Planning Council Committee meetings.

Section C -- Operating Procedures.

Chairs
The Faculty Senate President shall appoint each committee chairperson.

Duties
Each committee shall prepare a plan of action for the new year.  The chairperson of each committee shall present a written annual report to the Faculty Senate summarizing the results of the committee's work. Progress reports and recommendations or action shall be e-mailed to the Faculty Senate President at least four (4) working days before each Faculty Senate meeting.

Procedures
During Faculty Senate meetings, faculty shall direct committees to research items of concern. At subsequent Faculty Senate meetings, the committee chairs shall present written recommendations for faculty discussion. At the following regular meeting, those recommendations shall be subjected to a vote, and all faculty shall be expected to abide by the majority vote whether they are present at the meeting or not. Items requiring administrative action shall then be presented to the College Administration by the Faculty Senate officers and committee chairs. Committees shall not be authorized to negotiate directly with administration and the administration is advised that any drafts originating at the committee level may not carry a faculty mandate.

ARTICLE IX: Meetings

Section A -- Schedule.
A calendar of Faculty Senate Meetings shall be determined at the first meeting during the August planning session. The day and time of regular meetings of the Faculty Senate shall be decided by the members.

Section B -- Called Meetings.
A special meeting may be called by the Faculty Senate President or by the Vice-President, as long as all members are notified in writing at least one week before a called meeting. Upon written request of at least one-fifth of the membership, a special meeting may be called by the Faculty Senate President or by the Vice-President. All members must be notified in writing at least one week prior to a called meeting.

Section C -- Agenda.
Meeting agendas should conform with the following format:

• Call to Order
• Routine Business

Approval of Minutes
Updates and Announcements

• Reports of:

Standing Committees
Ad Hoc Committees

• Report by Faculty Senate President
• Other reports
• Unfinished Business Arising from Previous Meeting
• New Business
• Public Comments
• Adjournment

ARTICLE X: Quorum and Voting

Section A -- Quorum.
A quorum shall be the members present at the meeting or represented by mail (including electronic mail originating from official college servers or systems) or ballot (including electronic ballot) during the time frame defined in prior notice of the virtual meeting.

Section B -- Vote.
A simple majority vote of the quorum shall constitute a majority.

Section C -- Member's Vote.
Each voting member of the Faculty Senate shall have one vote.

ARTICLE XI: Parliamentary Authority

"Robert's Rules of Order" (current edition) shall govern the Faculty Senate in all instances in which they are applicable, except when they are inconsistent with these bylaws or with the policies and procedures of the College, the Board of Trustees, or the State of Florida. Special rules of order may be adopted by the Faculty Senate.

ARTICLE XII: Bylaws

Section A -- Amendment.
The Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting of the Faculty Senate by two-thirds vote of those voting, provided that the amendment has been submitted previously to all Faculty Senate members thirty days before the vote.

Section B -- Review.
The Bylaws may be reviewed annually by the Faculty Senate.

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