SUBJECT: Amendments to Article V of the Bylaws

DESCRIPTION: The establishment of the proposed Faculty Senate necessitates several changes in Article V of the Bylaws, chief among which is the abolition of section 10 which provides for the University Council. There are three other in Article V which refer to the University Council which also require revision. The revisions are below. The new language is underscored.

SECTION 2

c. The General Faculty may review, revise, recall, and endorse actions of the University Council Faculty Senate. Recommendations on matters listed in Section 2.b. originating from the University Council Faculty Senate shall be distributed to members of the General Faculty at least seven days prior to the meeting of the General Faculty.

SECTION 5.

b. The Vice President is responsible to the President of the University and supervises and coordinates all academic programs. The duties of the Vice President include the appointments of Academic Deans, the evaluation of Academic Deans, the review of new academic programs, the review of academic policies, and the development of long-range plans for the academic areas. In addition, the Vice President will be involved in analytical studies concerning academic programs and in the development of special reports pertaining to academic programs. All faculty personnel records will be housed and maintained in the Office of the Vice President. The Vice President will chair various committees as determined by the President and the University Council.

SECTION 9

a. The Faculty Appeals Committee shall consist of all elected faculty representatives to the University Council five (5) faculty appointed by the Faculty Senate.; provided, however, that any member of such committee shall be disqualified from participating in a hearing in the case of No one shall be appointed who a member of the academic department of which the appellant he/she is a member. The member of the Committee senior in tenure shall serve as chairperson.

SECTION 10.

a. The University Council, as an agent of the General Faculty, shall formulate and recommend to the Board of Regents, through the President, policies for the University which shall be subject to final action by the Board of Regents. The University Council shall formulate policies on matters dealing with the total University, including academic and student matters; matters which affect more than one of the Major Academic Units and conflicts and overlapping jurisdiction among Major Academic Units. All new degrees and requirements common to all degrees must be approved by the University Council and recommended to the General Faculty. The University Council shall have the power to receive, review, remand, approve or disapprove recommendations from the University Standing Committees on all matters. The University Council shall initiate studies as it deemed necessary and refer matters to the University Standing Committees or other units of the University. The University Council shall inform all interested

persons of these policies and provide for their enforcement.

b. 1. Membership of the University Council shall be:

-- Five faculty members from the College of Arts and Sciences, each

elected by a different Division of the College;

-- One faculty member elected by the School of Law;

-- One faculty member elected by the School of Applied Studies;

-- One faculty member elected by the School of Nursing;

-- One faculty member elected by the School of Business;

-- One faculty member elected by the University Libraries;

-- The senior elected Faculty Representative to the Board of Regents;

-- The President of the University (ex-officio);

-- The Vice President for Academic Affairs (ex-officio);

-- The Vice President for Administration (ex-officio);

-- The Chief Student Affairs Officer (ex-officio);

-- The President of the Student Association (ex-officio).

Elected members serve two-year terms unless otherwise stipulated. All

elected and all ex-officio members are alike voting members of the Council.

2. Non-voting representatives to the University Council shall be:

(i) The Deans of the Major Academic Units;

(ii) Three students selected by the Student Association, and one

by the Student Bar Association;

(iii) The junior elected Faculty Representative to the Board

of Regents;

(iv) The Director of the University Library.

c. The Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson of the University Council shall be elected annually at the first meeting by the voting membership of the University Council from the elected members of the University Council. The Chairperson, or in his/her absence, the vice-chairperson, shall state each matter for discussion and submit the same to a vote after the discussion.

d. The Secretary of the University Council shall be elected annually at the first meeting by the voting members of the University Council. The Secretary of the University Council shall also receive, for information and faculty dispersal, copies of the minutes of all meetings held by the Board of Regents.

e. The Secretary shall prepare a written agenda which will be presented at least forty-eight hours before the meeting to each voting member of the University Council, each non-voting representative to the Council, Department Chairpersons, and any faculty member requesting an agenda. Notice of any pending matter within Section 2.b. shall be sent to all General Faculty at least forty-eight hours prior to the General Council meetings.

1. The agenda will consist of reports from the University Standing Committees,

and other matters brought by voting members of the University Council.

Any report of the Committees which shall have been circulated to all

members of, and all representatives to, the University Council shall be

deemed approved by the University Council without discussion, except that

the Secretary shall present any item which directly relates to matters

referred to in Article V., Section 2.b. for separate consideration. A voting

member of the University Council may request that any specific item be

discussed. Each member of the Council or Standing Committee desiring

action upon an item shall first inform the Secretary in writing of the nature

of the item with enough particularity to enable the Secretary to state clearly

the problem or action proposed; and, if deemed advisable by such member,

the Secretary shall see that every member is supplied with a detailed

statement of the facts.

2. Matters not on the agenda presented to the voting members by the Secretary

may be discussed but shall not be decided at the meeting if any voting

member present states on the record that he/she has insufficient information

upon which to base a decision.

f. The Council shall meet regularly once a month during the academic year. If there are no agenda items to be discussed, the meeting will be cancelled by the Secretary. The time is to be fixed at its first meeting, which may be changed by a majority vote at subsequent meetings. Other meetings may be called by the President or by the Secretary at any time and upon notice.

g. A majority of the voting members shall constitute a quorum.

h. The Secretary shall prepare minutes and send a copy to each member of, or representative to, the University Council, and to any faculty or staff member who requests to be on the mailing list, and through the Secretary of the Board of Regents to all members of the Board. The Secretary shall annually compile and deposit the Minutes of the University Council with the President of the University for preservation as part of the official permanent records of the University.

i. The action of the Council by the majority of those voting shall be binding, except in the following instances:

1. Action to the contrary by the General Faculty.

2. Action to the contrary by the Board of Regents.

3. The President shall not have concurred in the Council's action in the manner

hereinafter mentioned. The President, in view of his/her responsibility,

shall have the right to nonconcur in any action of the Council, but in

exercising this right, he/she shall always state the reasons for the records.

The nonconcurrence may be stated at any Council meeting, or in writing

signed by the President and delivered to the Secretary. The Secretary of the

University Council shall be charged with the duty of notifying all Council

members and the members of the Board of Regents through the Secretary

of the Board of Regents of any such nonconcurrence and the reasons

therefore. In the interim the status quo prevails; however, the Board of

Regents shall make the final determination and shall communicate its

disposal of the Council's action to the Secretary of the Council following the

first meeting of the Board of Regents after the President's nonconcurrence.

j. Recall and Challenge Procedures.

Any action of the University Council may be challenged by the petition of not less than twenty members of the General Faculty or 10% of the students currently enrolled or a combination of not less than 5% of each group. Such challenge must be presented as a signed written petition and presented to the President of the University who will bring it before the General Faculty for disposition.

Any School or College through its Dean may challenge any action by any other academic unit by placing the matter on the agenda of the University Council.

k. Authority of the Board of Regents.

The above and foregoing provisions do not supersede or dilute the authority of the Board of Regents. Action by the Board of Regents will control over any conflicting or contrary action taken under the above provisions.

Amendments to the University's Bylaws require two readings. The proposed amendments will be brought back to the Board of Regents for final approval at the enxt meeting

RECOMMENDATION: President Farley recommends approval of the proposed amendments to Article V of the bylaws as shown above.

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(date) Jerry B. Farley, President