Charter

Charter

Section I – Responsibilities of the Academic Senate
Section II – Membership of the Academic Senate
Section III – Election of Members
Section IV – Meetings of the Academic Senate
Section V – Rules of Order
Section VI – Officers and Executive Committee
Section VII – Term Limits for Officers
Section VIII – Academic Senate Committees
Section IX – College-Wide Committees
Section X – Selection and Review of Academic Officers
Section XI – Voting Rights of Lecturers, Promotion to Full Professor
Section XII – Presidential Search Committees
Section XIII – Amending the Academic Senate Charter

Section I – Responsibilities of the Academic Senate

The Academic Senate shall be responsible, subject to the Board of Trustees of the City University of New York, for the formulation of policy relating to the admission and retention of students, curriculum, granting of degrees, Campus Life, and the nomination of Academic (full) Deans (as outlined in Section X).  The Academic Senate shall also be responsible for and shall establish rules governing the use of the College name by organizations and clubs.  It shall make its own bylaws consistent with the Bylaws of the Board of Trustees, and conduct the educational affairs customarily cared for by a college faculty.

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Section II – Membership of the Academic Senate

The Academic Senate shall be a representative body of 60 Senators and 60 Alternates elected by faculty and students, and of those ex officio non­voting members designated in Section II, paragraph F of this Charter.  For the purpose of this Charter, the faculty is defined as all full-time Queens College persons in the titles of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Instructor, and Lecturer; students are defined as all Queens College undergraduate and graduate students.

The 60 Senators shall be apportioned as follows:

  1. Faculty – 40
    1. Each academic department shall elect one (1) Senator.
    2. The balance of the 40 faculty Senator seats shall be divided as follows:
      1. One (1) faculty Senator elected at large from the School of the Arts.
      2. One (1) faculty Senator elected at large from the School of the Social Sciences.
      3. One (1) faculty Senator elected at large from the School of Mathematics and the Natural Sciences.
      4. One (1) faculty Senator elected at-large from the School of Education.
      5. The remaining faculty Senators shall be elected at large, College-wide with one seat open for a member of the adjunct faculty of Queens College. If no adjunct faculty member runs for the seat, it will be filled by a member of the full time faculty.
  2. Students -20 Students seeking office are subject to academic standards and requirements as set by CUNY Board of Trustees.
    1. Undergraduate – Ten (10)
      1. Three (3) undergraduate student Senators shall be elected by undergraduate students from each of the following groups:
        1. Lower sophomore, upper freshman, and lower freshman classes;
        2. Lower junior and upper sophomore classes;
        3. Upper senior, lower senior, and upper junior classes.
      2. One (1) SEEK student Senator shall be elected at large by SEEK students.
    2. At-Large Ten (10)
      1. Ten (10) student Senators shall be elected at large, College-wide, from the 4 schools of the College.
  3. Alternates may vote and be counted as part of the quorum when properly seated.
  4. Faculty Senators and Alternates shall serve a term of two (2) years.
    1. Half of the faculty Senators and Alternates shall be elected each year.
  5. Student Senators and Alternates shall serve a term of one (1) year.
  6. 1.    Ex officio nonvoting membership shall be extended to:
    1. chairpersons of Academic Senate committees, the Parliamentarian of the Academic Senate, and the Ombudsman;
    2. the College President, Provost, Vice-Presidents, Deans, Business Manager, and Registrar;
    3. the President of the Student Association
    4. the President of the Queens College Alumni Association;
    5. the chairperson of the Queens College chapter of the Professional Staff Congress;
    6. the Chief Librarian;
    7. or a designee of any of the preceding.

    2.    These members shall have the privilege of the floor, the right to make motions, participate in debate, and all other privileges of membership in the Academic Senate, with the exception of voting or being an officer of the Academic Senate.

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Section III – Election of Members

A. Election of Senators and Alternates shall take place during the spring semester.

B. 1.     All full-time faculty members of academic departments may vote in departmental elections to fill departmental Academic Senate seats.

2.     All full-time faculty within an academic school may vote to fill their faculty school wide Academic Senate seats.

3.     All full-time faculty of Queens College may vote to fill College-wide at large Academic Senate seats.

C. The certification of class standing and faculty status shall be made by the Registrar and the Provost, respectively, or their designees.

D. 1.     A vote to recall a Senator may be initiated by a petition signed by persons to the Senator’s constituency.  The number of valid signatures on such a petition must be not less than one-fourth of the total number of ballots cast in the Senator’s category in the election at which the Senator was elected.

2.     If a majority of the ballots at the recall election are cast against the Senator, his/her seat shall be declared vacant, and a special election shall be held to fill the unexpired portion of his/her term.

3.     The cost of a recall vote and special election shall be borne by those initiating the successful recall petition.

4.     The Executive Committee shall be responsible for determining the validity of the petition, as well as resolving other questions relating to both elections.

E. The Academic Senate may adopt bylaws regarding the removal from office of habitually absent Senators.

Section IV – Meetings of the Academic Senate

  1. The first meeting of a new Academic Senate shall take place no later than June 1st, if possible, at which time it succeeds the preceding Academic Senate.
  2. This first meeting shall be convened by the Holder of the Chair of the Elections Committee, who shall serve as Holder of the Chair pro tempore, until a permanent Holder of the Chair is elected.
  3. The Academic Senate shall meet regularly on the second Thursday of each month from October through May.  The January meeting of the Academic Senate shall be optional at the discretion of the Academic Senate’s Executive Committee.
  4. Regular meetings of the Academic Senate shall be open to all members of the Queens College community, and all shall have the right to speak on the floor.
  5. The Academic Senate may hold special meetings in accordance with its Bylaws.
  6. The Academic Senate shall be free to hold executive sessions, without any nonmembers present, save such as may be invited.

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Section V – Rules of Order

  1. The business of the Academic Senate shall be conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order Revised (latest edition) unless, a quorum being present, a 2/3 majority of members present and voting deems otherwise.
  2. A quorum shall consist of one more than one-half of the voting membership.

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Section VI – Officers and Executive Committee

  1. The Academic Senate shall elect annually from its elected voting membership its Holder of the Chair, Deputy Holder of the Chair, Secretary, and such other officers as it deems necessary.  A Recording Secretary, not necessarily a member of the Academic Senate, may be appointed by the Holder of the Chair.
  2. T here shall be a nine-member Executive Committee of the Academic Senate which will be responsible for preparing an agenda for all meetings and for carrying on the business of the Academic Senate between regular meetings.  It shall have such other duties as will be assigned to it by the members of the Academic Senate.  The officers of the Academic Senate shall be members of the Executive Committee, with the remainder of the positions filled by election by the Academic Senate so that there shall be three (3) student members.

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Section VII – Term Limits for Officers

Officers of the Academic Senate may serve no more than four (4) consecutive years in any one (1) office.

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Section VIII – Academic Senate Committees

The Academic Senate shall create such standing, ad hoc, and special committees as it shall deem necessary.

  1. Committee membership shall be open to all members of the instructional staff and to all students who have a cumulative index of at least 2.0 and are not on probation.
  2. All committee members shall be elected by the Academic Senate in accordance with its Bylaws.
  3. Committees normally shall be composed of an equal number of members of the instructional staff and students, except when otherwise considered appropriate because of the nature of the problem to which the committee will address itself.  All committees shall report to the Academic Senate at least once each year.
  4. Each committee shall elect from among its membership a Holder of the Chair or Co-holders of the Chair.
  5. When feasible, appointments to all Senate committees shall be for a period of two years, on a rotating basis.
  6. A person may not serve as a voting member on more than two Academic Senate Committees, of which only one can be a standing committee.

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Section IX – College-Wide Committees

The Academic Senate shall create such College-wide committees as it deems necessary.

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Section X – Selection and Review of Academic Officers

  1. Academic School Deans shall be nominated in the following manner:
    1. The Academic Senate will elect a Search Committee consisting of four (4) full-time faculty members and four (4) students who are members of or majors in the departments or schools to be included within the constituency for which the dean being sought will be responsible.  Students elected to Academic Senate Search Committees as representatives from the School of Education may be either co-majors in Elementary and Early Childhood Education or [minors] majors in Secondary Education and Youth Services, or be matriculated in a graduate program in the School. The Provost may appoint one (1) additional member to the Search Committee.
    2. The Committee shall submit to the President a confidential list of three to five candidates from which the President shall nominate one to the Board of Trustees for approval.  In the event the President rejects all the Search Committee’s choices, the Committee will submit another list of names to the President for his or her consideration.  This procedure shall be followed until a dean is selected.
    3. The Search Committee shall follow procedures consistent with Affirmative Action guidelines and shall hear nominations from any member of the campus community for the position of dean and shall consider for candidacy any person with distinction within his or her chosen field of study and with demonstrated administrative skill.
  2. Review of Dean’s qualifications:
    1. As needed or upon request, a Committee (the composition of which shall correspond to the composition of the Search Committee) shall be elected by the Academic Senate to review the Dean’s performance through confidential consultations with departmental chairpeople, program directors, and other persons who are in a position to comment knowledgeably on the Dean’s performance.  The Review Committee will then make a confidential report to the President including a recommendation for or against continued appointment.  Investigations of the Review Committee shall be conducted with the strictest confidentiality.  The findings of the Review Committee shall be reported to the President no later than 60 days after the appointment of the committee.
    2. The term “Dean” in the above section refers to all [full] Academic School Deans.
  3. Provost Search:
    1. The Academic Senate shall elect (4) faculty members, one from each school, and four (4) students and transmit their names to the President for consideration as members of the Provost Search Committee.  The President shall either choose at least two faculty and two students from the list submitted by the Senate or seek more nominations from the Senate which will be sent to the President by end of the next Senate Meeting.  If no nominations are sent to the President by the Senate at its next meeting or the President declines to appoint any of the nominations that are sent, the President may fill the search committee without such nominations. The President shall determine the size and appoint the rest of the Provost Search Committee.
    2. The Committee shall submit to the President a confidential list of three to five candidates from which the President shall nominate one to the Board of Trustees for approval.  In the event the President rejects all the Search Committee’s choices the Committee will submit another list of names to the President for his or her consideration.  This procedure shall be followed until a Provost is selected or the President selects a new Search Committee following the procedure set forth in paragraph 1 above.
  4. The Search Committee shall follow procedures consistent with Affirmative Action guidelines and shall hear nominations from any member of the campus community for the position of Provost and shall consider for candidacy any person with distinction within his or her chosen field of study and with demonstrated administrative skill.
  5. Review of the Provost’s qualifications:
    1. As needed or upon request, a Committee (the composition of which shall correspond to the composition of a Provost’s Search Committee) shall  be appointed as described in paragraph C above to review the Provost’s performance through confidential consultations with departmental chairpeople, program directors, and other persons who are in a position to comment knowledgeably on the Provost’s performance.  The Review Committee will then make a confidential report to the President including a recommendation for or against continued appointment.  Investigations of the Review Committee shall be conducted with the strictest confidentiality.  The findings of the Review Committee shall be reported to the President no later than 60 days after the appointment of the committee.
  6. Chief Librarian Search:
    1. The Academic Senate shall elect four (4) full-time faculty, including two (2) librarians, one (1) Graduate School of Library and Information Studies member, one (1) other faculty member, and two (2) students to serve on the Search Committee. The President may appoint up to 5 additional members to the Committee.
    2. The Committee shall submit to the President a confidential list of three to five candidates from which the President shall nominate one to the Board of Trustees for approval.  In the event the President rejects all the Search Committee’s choices, the Committee will submit another list of names to the President for his or her consideration.  This procedure shall be followed until a Chief Librarian is selected or the President selects a new Search Committee following the procedure set forth in paragraph 1 above.
    3. The Search Committee shall follow procedures consistent with Affirmative Action guidelines and shall hear nominations from any member of the campus community for the position of Chief Librarian and shall consider for candidacy any person with distinction within his or her chosen field of study and with demonstrated administrative skill.
  7. Review of the Chief Librarian:As needed or upon request, a Committee (the composition of which shall correspond to the composition of a Chief Librarian’s Search Committee) shall be elected by the Academic Senate to review the Chief Librarian’s performance through confidential consultations with departmental chairpeople, program directors, and other persons who are in a position to comment knowledgeably on the Chief Librarian’s performance.  The Review Committee will then make a confidential report to the President including a recommendation for or against continued appointment.  Investigations of the Review Committee shall be conducted with the strictest confidentiality.  The findings of the Review Committee shall be reported to the President no later than 60 days after the appointment of the committee.
  8. The Academic Senate shall add one member of the non-teaching Instructional Staff to each search and review committee established under this Section.

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Section XI – Voting Rights of Lecturers, Promotion to Full Professor

  1. In addition to those faculty members authorized by the Bylaws of the City University of New York to vote in departmental elections for chair and for members of the departmental Personnel and Budget Committee, those lecturers who hold Certificates of Continuous Employment shall be entitled to vote. Lecturers who hold a Certificate of Continuous Employment shall also be entitled to stand for election to departmental Personnel and Budget Committees and serve on them subject to the same limits that apply to non-tenured Assistant Professors.
  2. Nominations for promotion to Professor shall be forwarded to the College Committee on Personnel and Budget by the chairperson of the department together with the recommendation of the departmental Committee on Personnel and Budget.

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Section XII – Presidential Search Committees

Representatives of the Queens College faculty on Presidential Search Committees shall be elected as follows:

Faculty representatives, of a number to be designated by the Board of Trustees, shall be nominated either by the College Personnel and Budget Committee or by advance, written nomination ballot. Election of the faculty members to the Search Committee shall be by majority vote of the faculty representatives of the Academic Senate. The students will have no vote on faculty representatives.

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Section XIII – Amending the Academic Senate Charter

Proposed amendments to the Queens College Academic Senate Charter shall take the form of a resolution, directed to the Board of Trustees, requesting such amendment be enacted. The resolution shall be by a 2/3 majority vote, a quorum being present at a meeting no less than seven (7) calendar days following the written announcement of said proposed amendment.

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