FINAL DRAFT April 2004 Constitution of the Faculty Senate Chandler-Gilbert Community College PREAMBLE We hold that the governing of Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) is the joint responsibility of the college faculty, the administration, and the governing board. In order to promote the full participation of the faculty in the determination of educational policy and the execution of that policy, the adoption of this constitution establishing a faculty senate is hereby ordained. PURPOSES The primary functions of the Senate shall be: • to facilitate communication among faculty, • to serve as the executive representative of the faculty of the college to the local college or district   administrations and to the governing board with respect to academic and professional matters, • to select representatives to serve on administrative councils and on coordinating committees of the faculties   of the colleges of the district, and • to participate in the formation and implementation of education policies for the local college and district. ARTICLE I - DEFINITIONS Section 1. "Faculty" as used in this constitution means residential, board-approved members of academic departments/divisions engaged primarily in teaching, service and/or research. Section 2. "Faculty Association" as used in this constitution means those faculty members who have paid assessed dues prior to the MCCCD Faculty Association membership deadline each year. Section 3. "Faculty Senate" as used in this constitution, hereinafter referred to as "Senate," means elected representatives of the Faculty Association. Section 4. "President" as used in this constitution means the top elected officer of the Faculty Senate. ARTICLE II - ELIGIBILITY Section 1. All faculty upon paying annual dues shall be eligible to vote in the election of Senators. Section 2. All faculty upon paying annual dues shall be eligible, after one semester at CGCC, to be elected to the Senate. ARTICLE III - COMPOSITION Section 1. Departments/Divisions shall be allowed Senate representatives on the following basis: 0-10 faculty in a division equals one representative; 11-20 faculty in a division equals two representatives; 21-30 faculty in a division equals three representatives. Four faculty association members will be elected to serve as officers, and one additional office will be allocated to the Past President. ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS Section 1. The officers of the Senate shall include a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and the Past President. ARTICLE V - NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS Section 1. Officers At the first meeting in March each faculty member shall receive a form published and distributed by the President for the stated purpose of self-nomination. Completing and returning the signed form to the President within five (5) working days of distribution shall be a formal request for said faculty member's name to be placed on the ballot as a nominee. Self-nomination via the Maricopa electronic mail system will be acceptable, as long as the e-mail is sent from the nominee's Maricopa electronic mail account. If the number of vacancies exceeds the number of nominees, the President shall appoint a nominating committee to identify additional individuals sufficient to redress the discrepancy. The election of officers shall be held by April 1. For each office, the nominee receiving the highest number of votes will be elected. In the case of a tie, a run-off election shall be held. Section 2. Senators Each department/division shall elect its Senator(s) from its eligible membership. The election of Senators shall be held by April 20. Each department/division may select an alternate representative to serve whenever an elected Senator cannot attend meetings. ARTICLE VI - TERM OF OFFICE Section 1. Officers The term of office for all Officers shall be one year and shall begin immediately upon election. There shall be no limitation on the total number of terms that an Officer may hold an office. However, Officers may serve only two consecutive terms in the same office. Section 2. Senators Members of the Senate shall serve terms of two years. The terms shall be arranged so that one-half of the membership is elected annually. (A term of either one or two years for the Senators originally elected shall be determined by random selection during the first meeting.) There shall be no limitation on the total number of terms that Senators may serve. However, Senators may serve only two terms consecutively. The term of office shall begin at the first Faculty Senate meeting in May. ARTICLE VII - VACANCIES Section 1. Vacancies of an Officer shall be declared by the President upon direction of the Senate, or when an Officer has been absent three (3) consecutive times or four (4) total times during an academic year. The remaining term of the vacancy shall be filled by Presidential appointment with approval of a majority vote of the Senate. Section 2. Vacancies of Senators shall be declared by the President upon direction of the Senate, or when a Senator has been absent three (3) consecutive times or four (4) total times during an academic year. The remaining term of the vacancy shall be filled by division election with approval of a majority vote of the Senate. ARTICLE VIII - REMOVAL OF SENATORS/OFFICERS Section 1. An Officer can be removed after the petition of twenty-five percent (25%) or more of the Faculty Association members, followed by a two-thirds vote of all members of the Faculty Association. Before the vote, however, a special meeting will be held to hear the allegations against the Officer and his/her rebuttal. Section 2. A department/division can remove its Senator by a 2/3 vote of the Faculty Association members in that division. ARTICLE IX - OFFICERS - DUTIES Section 1. President. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Senate and all meetings of the Chandler-Gilbert Community College Executive Committee. The President shall appoint members to serve on all special Committees subject to the approval of a majority of the Senate and the President shall be a member, ex-officio, of all faculty committees. The President shall be a representative to the District Faculty Association Executive Council. The President shall have the right to call special meetings of the Executive Committee and of the Senate. The President shall be the official spokesperson for the Senate and shall meet regularly with the College President. The President may call a general faculty meeting at his or her discretion or as asked by a majority of the Senate. Section 2. Vice-President. The Vice-President shall perform such duties as may be assigned by the President or Executive Committee and preside in the absence of the President. The Vice-President shall be the second representative to the District Faculty Association Executive Council, as determined by the Residential Faculty Manual (RFP). The Vice-President shall assume the duties and office of the President if the President is unable to do so. Section 3. Secretary. The Secretary shall record, maintain and send out the minutes of the meetings of the Senate, be responsible for the correspondence files, and be in charge of communications between the Senate and any other person or organization. Section 4. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping all financial and membership records, collecting assessments and/or dues, paying expenses, making periodic financial reports, and submitting the district association dues. Section 5. At the first meeting in May the Senate will elect, from the current Senate, additional representatives to the District Faculty Association, if necessary, as determined by the Constitution of the District Faculty Association. ARTICLE X - EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Section 1. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the officers of the Senate. It shall act as a steering committee for the Senate by preparing the priority agenda for the Senate meetings and recommending actions to the Senate. ARTICLE XI - MEETINGS Section 1. The Senate shall meet at least once monthly during the academic year or more often at the call of the President or by request of the Executive Committee. Section 2. Senate meetings shall be open to the faculty only. However, the President or Senate members may invite non-faculty association members in for official business with the approval of a majority of the Senate. Section 3. Faculty are encouraged to participate at any time, as non-voting members. ARTICLE XII - QUORUM Section 1. A simple majority of the elected Senate shall be considered a quorum. ARTICLE XIII - VOTING Section 1. The President of the Senate can vote only to break a tie vote among the Senators. Section 2. A voting record of each Senator shall be kept for every matter requiring a vote in the Senate. The voting record should be reflected in the Senate meeting minutes. ARTICLE XIV - PROCEDURES Section 1. In all matters of internal functioning, not otherwise covered by the Constitution, the Senate shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order. ARTICLE XV - EXECUTIVE SESSIONS Section 1. By unanimous vote of the Senators present, the Senate may resolve itself into an executive session where only Senators may be present. Section 2. In executive session, no record shall be kept of debate, except that which is ordered by the Senate, and no Senator shall reveal the nature of the executive proceedings to any person without the permission of the Senate. Section 3. No recommendations either to the administration or to the MCCD Governing Board members shall be enacted during executive sessions, except personnel matters. ARTICLE XVI - COMMITTEES Section 1. There shall be no standing committees of the Senate other than the Executive Committee. Section 2. Special Committees Special committees may be established by majority approval of the Senate. The size, purpose and membership of special committees shall be determined and/or modified by the Senate. Special committees shall exist for no more than one year unless reaffirmed by vote of each succeeding Senate and the membership of special committees must be reconfirmed or modified by the Senate prior to October 1 of each academic year. Membership on special committees is not limited to members of the Senate. All members of these committees are voting members. The chair of each special committee shall be appointed by the President of the Senate subject to the approval of the Senate membership. Vacancies in special committees shall be filled by the President of the Senate subject to the approval of the Senate membership. Special committees shall report and be responsible to the Senate. ARTICLE XVII - AGENDA Section 1. Any member of the Senate, any faculty member (by securing a Senator to sponsor it), or ten percent (10%) of the Faculty Association members may place an item on the agenda of the Senate by signed written notice to the President of the Senate. The Vice-President shall provide faculty with an agenda one week in advance of all meetings except executive sessions. ARTICLE XVIII - PRIVILEGES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Section 1. The Senate shall of its own determination concern itself with any academic and professional matters which it deems important to the welfare of the college or to the enlightened self-interest of the faculty. Section 2. The Senate shall advocate and support faculty rights in exercising its primary responsibilities for such matters as curriculum, subject matter and methods of instruction, faculty status (including appointments, evaluations, and dismissals), and those aspects of student life that relate to the educational process. Section 3. The Senate, on behalf of the faculty, shall actively participate, directly or through its representatives, in the determination of policies and procedures governing salary increases, fringe benefits, sabbaticals, and general conditions of employment. Section 4. The Senate shall, on behalf of the faculty, participate in the selection and reassignment of administrators of the college, bringing its recommendations to the attention of the Chancellor and the Governing Board of the District. Section 5. The Senate shall work jointly with administration officials on the appointment of faculty to administrative committees and to extra-curricular responsibilities. Section 6. The Senate shall accept, represent, sponsor or defend any action or grievance, or negotiate on behalf of any members of the faculty who have paid their assessed membership dues prior to the MCCCD Faculty Association membership deadline of each year. ARTICLE XIX - REFERENDUM Section 1. The Senate or twenty-five percent (25%) of the faculty may request the administrative head of the college to call a general faculty meeting for consideration of matters of general faculty interest. Section 2. The Senate may request the advice of the CGCC Faculty Association membership through written ballots or other communication. Section 3. On petition of twenty-five percent (25%) of the total CGCC Faculty Association membership or on demand of one-third of the Senators, any matter considered by the Senate must be referred to the CGCC Faculty Association membership for a vote by secret ballot. Section 4. A CGCC Faculty Association meeting shall be called by the President upon presentation to him or her of a petition signed by twenty-five percent (25%) of the CGCC Faculty Association membership. The President shall call the meeting within three working days of the receipt of the petition. Section 5. The procedure for voting on any action other than an election shall be determined by the Executive Committee with approval of the Senate. ARTICLE XX - RECOMMENDATIONS Section 1. Recommendations of the Senate shall be forwarded through regularly established administrative channels or through district faculty representatives. However, the Senate may, after consultation with the faculty and administration, present its views and recommendations directly to the Governing Board. ARTICLE XXI - AMENDMENTS Section 1. This Constitution may be amended through the following procedure: By the end of January, a proposed amendment must be delivered to the President of the Senate in writing. Copies will be made available to each Senator for its first reading at the February meeting, and copies will also be distributed to all Faculty Association members. A second reading will take place at the March meeting followed by a vote by the Senate. A proposal shall require a two-thirds vote of those Senators present at any general or special Senate meeting called for that purpose to advance the proposal to a Faculty Association membership vote. An approved proposal shall be submitted to the members of the CGCC Faculty Association by written ballot and receive approval of a majority of the membership voting. ARTICLE XXII - RATIFICATION Section 1. This Constitution shall become effective by a majority vote of the Faculty Association by secret ballot in meeting or by written ballot submitted to the Faculty Association, or an e-mail submitted from the Maricopa electronic mail system will be acceptable, as long as the e-mail is sent from his/her individual account.

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