FACULTY SENATE ELECTION RULES

GENERAL RULES: 

1.  For purposes of representation on the Faculty Senate, the faculty is divided into nine divisions: the W. Frank Barton School of Business; the Colleges of Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, and Health Professions; the divisions of Humanities, Math/Natural Sciences, and Social Sciences in the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; and the Universities Libraries.

2.  The Faculty Senate shall be composed of elected members of the teaching/research faculty, department chairs, and university libraries from the nine divisions.  Each Senate division is allotted one Senator for every twelve faculty members, rounding up to the nearest integer.   Faculty members are defined as those individuals meeting each of the following The teaching/research faculty is defined as all full-time (1.0 EFT) university personnel who are tenured, temporary, probationary or instructors with faculty status at least 50 percent of whose University duties include  teaching, research, and/or library service.   Eligible members of the faculty also serve as the electorate.  Administrators are ineligible for the Faculty Senate electorate.   Administrators, include those persons holding the title of President; Provost, Associate Provost, Vice President; Associate Vice President; Assistant Vice President; Dean; Associate Dean; Assistant Dean; Directors of all non-academic programs including but not limited to  the Director of the Computer Center, Director of the  Office of Institutional Research, Director of Physical Plant, the Registrar, and Director of Cooperative Education.
            a. faculty status of tenured, temporary, probationary or instructor with faculty status
             b. holding half-time e.f.t. or more appointments           
            c.  having primary duties that are 50 percent or more teaching, research, and./or library service.
This definition also determines eligibility for election to the Faculty Senate  (2a --rev. 07)

3.  The faculty of each Senate division shall determine how their seats on the Faculty Senate are to be allocated.

4.  Prior to the elections, the number of senators allotted to each Senate division will be determined by the Rules Committee. If a Senate division gains or loses one or more seats, the Rules Committee will notify the current senators from that division, who will be responsible for organizing a meeting of the appropriate faculty for the purpose of determining the new allocation of seats.

5.  The intent of the Senate Constitution is that approximately one-half of the senators will be elected each year.  To maintain that pattern, the Rules Committee may choose to postpone for one year a change in the number of seats allotted to a division.

6.  Nominations and elections will be conducted in the following sequence:
            a.  Senate seats elected at-large by the entire faculty
            b.  Senate seats elected at-large within a college/school/University Libraries or division
            c.  Senate seats elected by a division

NOMINATION PROCESS 

1.  For each part of the election sequence, nomination forms ballots will be distributed by the Vice President of the Senate to eligible faculty voters.  Distributed along with nomination ballots will be a statement of the requirements for nomination and election for that position, These nomination forms will contain the deadline for returning nominations, and a list of faculty senators who are thus ineligible for the position because of their continuing service to the Faculty Senate.  In addition,  the nomination forms will contain  links to the Election Rules and attendance records of the sitting senators. a copy of these rules and the attendance record of the sitting senators will be distributed with the nomination ballots for the at-large Senate seats.

2.  Nominations received after the deadline stated on the nomination form ballot will not be considered.

3.  The Vice President will determine the eligibility of nominees and endeavor to determine nominees willingness to serve before placing then on an election ballot.

4.  Six nominations are required to place a nominee on the Faculty Senate campus-wide at-large ballot.

5.  For other nominations ballots, including college/school/University Libraries at-large positions, the Vice President will place on the election ballot those individuals who received the greatest  number of nominations.  The number of individuals placed on the ballot should be no more than twice the number of open positions, accept that in the case of ties in the number of nominations received those names may be added.   

6.  The Vice President will endeavor to determine nominees' willingness to serve before placing them on an election ballot.

ELECTION PROCESS

1. Once the nominees have been selected, election ballots will be distributed to eligible faculty.  Nominees will be listed on the ballot in alphabetical order, and the ballot will show the deadline for return.

2.  Ballots received after the deadline stated on the election ballot will not be counted.

3.  The Vice President will count the votes and determine the winners.  A plurality is sufficient for election.

4.  In case of tie votes, a run-off election will be held if requested by one or more of the nominees who are tied.  If agreeable to all tied nominees, other methods of breaking the tie may be used; random choice (a coin flip, for example), nominee(s) withdrawal, or any other process agreeable to the nominees and the Rules Committee.

5. The names of those elected to the Faculty Senate will be submitted to Inside WSU and the Sunflower