BYLAWS
OF THE FACULTY SENATE
Article
I Membership
Section
1.
The membership of the George
Mason Faculty Senate shall be as prescribed by
the Charter adopted April 3,1974 by the General Faculty of George Mason
University, clarified by the General Faculty May 21,1975 and amended March 22,
1976, December 15, 1987, April 12, 1989, and March 30, 1994.
Section
2.
a. The manner by which academic
units entitled to representation in the Faculty Senate elect their senators
shall be determined by the faculty of those units.
b. The presiding officer of each
collegiate unit shall certify by May 15 to the Chair of the Faculty Senate names
of the Senators chosen. Terms of Senators shall begin at the opening of the
first Senate meeting of the academic year.
c. Current records of the
membership of the Senate shall be maintained by the Secretary for use by the
Chair of the Senate and the Parliamentarian.
ARTICLE
II Officers
Section
1.
a. The Chair of the Faculty
Senate shall be elected from among the elected membership of the Senate at the
May meeting. Nominations shall be made from the floor. Except when a motion to
cast a unanimous ballot is passed, voting for the Chair shall be by secret
ballot. In the event that no candidate for this office receives a majority of
the votes cast, a run-off vote will be held between the two candidates who
received the most votes.
b. The term of the chair shall
commence at the conclusion of the meeting at which he or she is elected.
c. The Senate shall elect from
its own number a Secretary at the meeting in September. Nominations for this
position shall be presented by the Committee on Nominations; however,
additional nominations may be made from the floor. Except when a motion to cast
a unanimous ballot is passed, voting for this office shall be by secret ballot.
In the event that no candidate for this office receives a majority of the votes
cast, a run-off vote will be held between the two candidates who received the
most votes.
d. The Chair shall appoint a
member of the Senate to serve when needed as Chair pro tem and other members to
be Parliamentarian and Sergeant at Arms, to serve for terms of one year
commencing with the first meeting after their appointment.
e. No elected officer shall
serve in the same office for more than three consecutive terms.
Section 2.
a. The Chair of the Senate shall
be the presiding officer. The Chair pro tempore shall be the presiding officer
in the absence of the Chair.
b. The Secretary of the Senate
shall maintain the records of the Senate, and shall give appropriate
notification to officers of the University, Committee Chairs, and other
individuals concerning Senate actions. In consultation with the Chair of the
Senate, the Secretary shall prepare at least annually an appendix to the
bylaws, which shall include lists of officers and standing committees of the
Faculty Senate and of University Faculty Standing Committees, which report to
the Senate, a summary of actions of the Faculty Senate pertaining to the
organization and operation of the Faculty Senate, and summaries of the role of
standing committees of the Senate. The appendix may include other information
of continuing importance in the discretion of the Secretary and the Chair of
the Senate.
c. The Sergeant-at Arms shall
supervise balloting and assist the Chair in expediting the meetings of the
Senate.
d. The Parliamentarian shall
assist the Chair in the interpretation of the rules of order.
ARTICLE
III Responsibilities of the Senate
The responsibilities of the
George Mason Faculty Senate shall be as prescribed by the Charter adopted by
the General Faculty.
ARTICLE
IV Meetings of the Senate
Section
1.
a. Meetings of the Senate shall
be conducted according to Robert's Rules of Order (revised) except as the rules
and procedures prescribed therein have been or shall be modified by adoption of
these or of future bylaws or standing rules.
b. The presiding officer of all
meetings of the Senate shall be the Chair of the Senate or the Chair pro tem.
c. The quorum for Senate
meetings shall consist of a majority of the elected membership. However, the
quorum for authorizing conferral of degrees and for considering other matters
related thereto shall be a minimum 20 percent of the whole Senate membership.
Section
2.
a. Meetings shall be open to all
members of the University community.
b. All persons in attendance in
a non-voting capacity shall be seated in a clearly delineated area so that they
may not inadvertently influence a voice vote.
Section
3.
Any person recognized by the
Chair may participate in the discussion of any item of business brought forth
upon the floor, but only members of the Senate may make and second motions, and
vote.
Section 4. To the extent permitted by law, the
Senate may go into closed session by majority vote of those present and
eligible to vote. Only members of the Senate may be present during a closed
session.
Section
5.
a. The Chair and the Secretary
of the Senate shall jointly prepare the agenda for each meeting and distribute
it seven days before the meeting to all members of the Senate.
b. Any member of the General
Faculty may submit items of business for inclusion on the agenda. All items
submitted which are consistent with the responsibilities of the Senate as
defined in Article III are to be placed on the agenda. Members of the General
Faculty who are not Senators may submit items for discussion only, but motions
on those subjects may be made by Senators.
c. Explanatory or background
information on all agenda items shall be prepared by the sponsor of the item
and shall be attached to the agenda.
Section
6.
Meetings of the Senate shall be
convened on at least one Wednesday afternoon of each month of the academic
year, beginning in September.
Section
7.
a. On his or her own initiative
the Chair may call a special meeting of the Senate. In response to any petition
signed by 20 percent of the elected members of the Senate, the Chair must call
a special meeting to be convened within six instructional days.
b. The written call to the
special meeting shall include a statement of the purpose of the meeting and
shall be distributed at least four instructional days before the meeting to all
members of the Senate.
c. Only that business stipulated
in the call to the special meeting may be transacted.
Section
8.
a. Voting shall be by voice vote
upon a call by the presiding officer for the "ayes" and
"nays," or by division of the house upon a call from the floor,
except that any member may request that a secret ballot be taken. When such a
ballot is requested, the Secretary of the Senate shall be responsible for
preparing, distributing, and counting the ballots with the assistance of the
Sergeant-at-Arms.
b. Absentee and proxy ballots
shall not be allowed.
c. All motions to recommend
alterations to existing University-wide graduation requirements shall be read
and debated at two successive regular meetings of the Senate held in the same
academic year. A meeting of the Senate called solely to complete the agenda of
a previous meeting shall not count as a "successive" meeting within
the meaning of this bylaw.
Section
9.
Items of new business not
appearing on the agenda may be introduced from the floor by any member of the
Senate after consideration of all agenda items has been completed, but
disposition of any item introduced without prior notice and information may be
carried over to the next regular meeting of the Senate if five members support
a motion to carry it over. A motion carried over under this provision shall
appear on the agenda of the next regular meeting as an item of old business and
shall be supported by background information as provided in Section 5 of this
Article.
Section
10.
a. The Secretary of the Senate
shall prepare the minutes of all meetings of the Senate. The minutes shall be
distributed to the members of the Senate, appropriate officers of the
University, the general faculty of the University, one copy to the Board of
Visitors of the University, and one copy to the Student Government.
b. One copy of the agenda and
one copy of the minutes of every meeting shall be preserved as part of the
permanent archives of the University. These shall be kept in custody of the
University Library and shall be available for inspection by any member of the
University community.
ARTICLE
V Committees of The Senate
Section
l.
a. "Standing
Committees" shall be those permanent committees whose respective charges
shall be established by the Senate and whose members, except for designated
ex-officio members, are elected by the Senate.
b. Except as may be otherwise
specified, the usual term of election to any standing committee shall be for
two years.
c. "Ad Hoc Committees"
shall be those established by the Senate for consideration of special or
transient issues. If no time limit is specified, the committee is deemed to
serve until it issues a final report or until the Senate acts to dissolve it.
d. Unless otherwise authorized
by a majority vote of the Senate, standing or ad hoc committees shall issue
formal reports only to the Senate.
e. It shall be a duty of the
Secretary of the Senate to prepare and maintain an accurate list of all
committees of the Senate together with their charges and composition, which
shall be open for inspection to all members of the University community.
Section
2.
a. Nominations for elected
Senate positions to all standing committees except to the Committee on
Nominations shall be prepared by the Committee on Nominations. The Committee on
Nominations shall nominate one person for each available position. It shall
take into account factors such as willingness to serve, previous senate and
committee experience, and the need to develop future senate leadership. Its
nominations shall be circulated by the Committee on Nominations to the Senate
in written form with the agenda for the first meeting in September. Members of
the Senate with the permission of prospective nominees may make further
nominations from the floor at the scheduled September meeting at which time the
elections will be held.
b. Committee vacancies with
unexpired terms shall be filled for the remainder of the term by special
elections at the first scheduled meeting of the Senate after such vacancies
occur. The Committee on Nominations shall make one nomination for each
available position except for vacancies in its own membership, but in all
instances nominations may be made from the floor.
c. All elections shall be by a
majority of those Senators present and voting. In the event of a tie vote for
an office or for the last positions on an elected committee, a run-off vote
will be held among those candidates who receive the tie vote.
Section
3.
a. Whenever the Senate shall
determine by its vote that the creation of an ad hoc committee or of a new
standing committee is a matter of urgent necessity, nominations shall be made
from the floor following that determination. Election procedures shall be as in
Section 2c of this Article.
b. In the absence of an urgent
necessity determined under Paragraph (a) of this section, the Committee on
Nominations shall prepare a slate for distribution with the agenda of the next
meeting of the Senate. At that meeting nominations may be made from the floor
and the election shall be held according to the procedures prescribed in
Section 2c of this Article.
Section
4.
Except as otherwise specifically
provided, each Senate Committee shall elect its Chair from among its own
membership. Each committee shall have a plurality of members present for a
quorum. Each committee shall maintain written records of its activities. At the
conclusion of each academic year these records shall become part of the
permanent archives of the University as stipulated in Article IV, Section 10,
paragraph b.
Section
5.
Any Senate committee may be
required by majority vote of the Senate to report to it at a specified later
meeting any matter referred by action of the Senate to the charge of that
committee. Upon receipt of its report, the committee may be discharged of
further responsibility for the matter by majority vote of the Senate.
ARTICLE
VI Effective Date and Amendment
Section
1.
All motions to amend these
bylaws shall be read and debated at two successive regular meetings of the George
Mason Faculty Senate held in the same academic year. Following the second
debate, a vote on the motion to amend shall be taken. A two thirds majority of
the voting members of the Senate present and voting shall be required for
passage of such an amendment. A meeting of the Senate called solely to complete
the agenda of a previous meeting shall not count as "successive"
meeting within the meaning of this bylaw.
Section
2.
Amendments to these bylaws shall
take effect on the date contained therein, if such a date is provided;
Otherwise they shall take effect immediately upon their passage.
As revised - February 17, 2010