Faculty Bylaws

Bylaws of the Faculty of the State University of New York, College at Geneseo

(As Amended November 2017)

Article I: Elections

Section 1: Elective Officers

a. Eligibility of Members:

1. Members of the teaching Faculty shall be eligible for election to an elective office of the Faculty and are eligible to be Chair of any of the Standing Committees of the Faculty or Standing Committees of the College Senate.

2. Members of the professional Faculty shall be eligible for election to the elected office(s) of Treasurer and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisor, and are eligible to be Chair of the Student Affairs Standing Committee of the College Senate.

b. Vacancies:

1. Vacancies occurring in the Senate departmental membership shall be filled by election from the department in which the vacancy occurred.

2. A vacancy occurring in the professional membership of the College Senate shall be filled by appointment by the President of the College.

3. All vacancies in the Senator-at-Large membership shall be filled by appointment by the Executive Committee with approval by the College Senate. The appointee shall serve the remainder of the academic year.

Section 2: Elective Procedures

a. Presentation of the Slate of Officers

1. At least one month before the start of the annual election, the Committee on Nominations and Elections shall present a slate of nominees for Presiding Officer of the Faculty, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, and Senators-at-Large.

2. The Presiding Officer of the Faculty shall call a general meeting of the Faculty at which time the report of the Committee on Nominations and Elections shall be presented; a nominee must have consented to run for office before his/her name is added to the slate.

3. The slate of nominees shall be published in the College Senate Bulletin by the Secretary of the Senate at least one week before the start of the annual election.

b. Time of Election

1. General elections shall take place annually, completing no later than April 20.

2. The time of election shall be determined by the Committee on Nominations and Elections in concurrence with applicable provisions of the Constitution and the Bylaws of the Faculty.

c. Balloting

1. Voting in elections shall be by secret ballot.

2. The preparation and distribution of the ballots shall be the responsibility of the Committee on Nominations and Elections.

3. The procedure of counting ballots and announcing the results of the elections shall be determined by the Executive Committee of the College Senate.

d. Eligibility to Vote for Senate Office, Senators-at-Large and Committee Representatives

1. All members of the Faculty shall be eligible to vote in the election of officers of the faculty.

2. Only members of the teaching Faculty shall be eligible to vote in the election of Senators-at-Large and in the election of teaching faculty to the Committee on Nominations, the Committee on Faculty Personnel, the Committee on Professional Leave Review and the General Education Committee.

e. Special Situations

1. In all elections for multiple positions from a single pool of candidates, the positions will be filled in order of number of votes received. (Due to the staffing requirements of that committee, candidates in the pool may become ineligible as positions are filled.)

2. In the event a position cannot be filled because of a tie of eligible candidates, a run-off election will be held among those candidates involved in the tie.

3. The Chair of the Senate shall keep a record of the results of elections such that if any elected representative cannot fulfill the term of her/his position, the person receiving the next highest vote total in that election can be asked to serve the remainder of that term. This paragraph shall not apply for officers of the faculty.

Section 3: Election of Senators

a. Senators representing Departments shall be elected by a method selected by the department. This election shall take place after the election of at-large Senators and not later than May 1.

b. Professional Senators shall be elected in the Spring by a method recommended by the Administration, in consultation with the Executive Committee. The election process shall take place after the election of at-Large Senators and not later than May 30.

Section 4: Taking Office

A member elected to office shall take office on the June 1 immediately following his/her election.  Committee assignments will be confirmed at the first Senate meeting in the fall semester.

Article II: Quorum

Section 1

The quorum requirement for voting in the College Senate shall be a majority of the Senate membership.

Section 2

The quorum requirement for voting in the Executive Committee shall be two-thirds of the Committee membership.

Section 3

The quorum requirement for the Faculty voting shall be one-third of the Faculty membership. This quorum requirement shall apply to matters pertaining to the Faculty budget; constitutional or by-law amendments; election of officers of the Faculty, University Faculty Senator, and Senators-at-Large. For referenda, the quorum requirement shall be one-third of the Faculty and one-fifth of the Students.

Section 4

Electronic Voting.  In cases where electronic voting is permitted, a quorum for an electronic vote shall be achieved when the number of votes cast meets or exceeds the number of members required for a quorum in an in-person meeting.

Article III: Conduct of Business

Section 1

The business of the Senate shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and By-Laws of the Faculty.

Section 2

All conduct of business in the College Senate, not otherwise provided for in the Constitution and By-Laws of the Faculty, shall be in accordance with Rules of Order, Revised by Roberts.

Section 3

The Chair of the Executive Committee of the College Senate shall appoint a qualified member of the Faculty to act as Parliamentarian. The Parliamentarian is a nonvoting member of the College Senate unless the individual is also a senator or officer.

Section 4

Any vote in the College Senate, or in the Standing Committees of the Faculty or the College Senate, shall be by secret ballot if requested by at least one member.

Section 5

In cases of necessity, the Standing Committees of the Faculty, the College Senate, or the College shall have the authority to meet during the months of June, July and August and shall recommend any necessary policy. Any policy so recommended by a Standing Committee of the Senate or of the Faculty, or of the College shall not become effective until it receives approval by the College Senate.

Article IV: Removal

Section 1

The elected officers of the Faculty can be removed for cause upon a two-thirds majority in an open ballot vote of the College Senate. Vote for removal shall take place only after specific charges in writing have been given to the Office charged and that Officer has been given an opportunity to make a defense. A vote for removal may be reversed by a majority vote of the Faculty.

Article V: Consultation

Section 1: Consultation

The Faculty shall be consulted in each instance in which it is called for in the Policies of the Board of Trustees in accordance with the procedures stated below.

Section 2: Chief Administrative Officer

The Chief Administrative Officer shall be chosen according to the most recent Guidelines for Selection of State-operated Campus Presidents from the SUNY Board of Trustees. Where these guidelines as pertaining to involvement of the Faculty require interpretation or action, the committee charged to do so will consist of the University Faculty Senator, those faculty holding Distinguished ranks and the College Senate Chair, who will serve as convener.

Section 3: College Administrative Officers

a. The Distinguished Academy of Geneseo shall comprise the Presiding Officer of the Faculty, the University Faculty Senator, Distinguished Professors, Distinguished Teaching Professors and Distinguished Service Professors. The Presiding Officer shall be convener of the Distinguished Academy.

b. The President of the College shall consult with a search committee prior to the selection of a Provost or Vice President of the College, excepting interim appointments. Each such search committee shall include members as described below, as well as other members as named by the President.

1. The committee chair shall be appointed by the President of the College after consultation with the Distinguished Academy of Geneseo. No individual shall be contacted concerning the chair position until after they have been the subject of such consultation. In the case of a Provost search, the search committee chair shall be a member of the teaching faculty.

2. The committee shall include at least four members of the teaching faculty. In the case of a Provost search, teaching faculty shall make up a majority of the search committee. Teaching faculty members of the search committee will be selected from a list of nominees who are willing to serve and who have been reviewed by the Distinguished Academy of Geneseo. The list of nominees transmitted to the President must contain at least three times the number of teaching faculty to be appointed and should be diverse in terms of rank, discipline, and other appropriate considerations. Self-nominations for the list will be accepted by the Presiding Officer prior to the time at which the Distinguished Academy makes its evaluation of nominees. Notification shall be provided so that members of the teaching faculty have at least one week's opportunity to self-nominate.

3. The committee shall include at least two professional faculty members, at least one of whom shall be from the same unit as the position being searched for. These faculty members will be selected from a list of at least six willing nominees determined at a meeting of the professional faculty convened by the Presiding Officer of the Faculty. There will be minimum of one week notice for this meeting, and quorum for this meeting is 15% of full-time professional faculty. Self-nominations to be considered for the list will be accepted by the Presiding Officer prior to the meeting. An individual need not be present at the meeting to be included in the list.

4. The committee shall include at least two students, selected from a list of willing students provided by the Executive Committee of the Student Association. This list must have at least four times the number of students to be appointed.

Section 4: Chair of Department and Academic Deans

The President shall consult with the departmental, division or school committee prior to the selection of a department chair or a dean of a division or school.

a. Membership of the Faculty Committee

1. The Faculty Committee shall be selected by the members of the department, division, or school.

2. The size of the committee, and the decision to include persons who are not faculty members in the department (division or school) on the committee, rests with the department (division or school) in question. This does not preclude the CAO from seeking the advice of other members of the faculty or other professionals who are off campus.

b. Procedures of the Faculty Committee

1. Committee shall recommend to the President whether or not the search should be restricted to candidates within the department, division, or school.

2. The Committee shall be cognizant of and operate in accordance with Affirmative Action procedures.

3. The Committee shall suggest names of candidates for the office in question.

4. The Committee shall examine the credentials of all applicants.

5. The Committee shall suggest names of candidates to be interviewed.

6. The Committee shall interview all candidates invited to campus.

7. The Committee shall collect impressions and opinions from other faculty and students who have interviewed the candidates.

8. The Committee shall submit to the President a ranked recommendation concerning the candidates favorably received.

Section 5: Teaching Faculty

The President shall consult with the departmental, division, or school committee (in addition to his/her consultation with the department chairperson or dean) prior to the appointment of a member of the teaching faculty. Procedures of the Faculty Committee :

a. The Committee shall be cognizant of and operate in accordance with Affirmative Action procedures.

b. The Committee shall examine the credentials of all applicants.

c. The Committee and the department chairperson (or dean) shall recommend which candidates are to be interviewed.

d. The Committee shall interview all candidates invited to campus.

e. The Committee shall collect impressions and opinions from other faculty and students who have interviewed the candidates.

f. The Committee shall submit to the Provost a recommendation concerning the candidates favorably received.