UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND

FACULTY SENATE

Bill #01-02--21

Constitution, By-Laws and University Manual Committee

Report #2001-02-2

Constitution Article VII

March 8, 2002

Article VII Amendment of the Constitution of the Faculty Senate

Recent events demonstrate the desirability of a method for modifying the Faculty Senate Constitution without a referendum to be conducted whenever a change in title of an ex officio member of the Faculty Senate is proposed. The changes to the Amendment Article of the Faculty Senate Constitution recommended in this report are intended to facilitate such modifications while at the same time preserving strong faculty control over the Faculty Senate Constitution.

Thus, the CBUM Committee recommends that, in conjunction with the referendums approved recently, a referendum on the following changes to Article VII of the Faculty Senate Constitution be conducted:

A. Add to the beginning of VII/1:

"Except as provided in VII/3, . . . "

VII, paragraph 1, would read (Change in boldface)

1. Except as provided in VII/3, amendments shall be proposed to the General Faculty by a majority of the total voting membership of the Senate, and ratified by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the General Faculty voting on the question, excluding abstentions, as determined by a mail ballot conducted by the Executive Committee and by three tellers appointed by the President of the University.

B. Add three new paragraphs, VII 3-5:

3. Proposals for changing titles of ex officio members of the Faculty Senate shall be submitted to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. If in the judgment of the Committee, a title change is of a nature such that incorporating it into the Membership Article (III) of this Constitution does not require a referendum, the Committee shall report this finding to the Faculty Senate, together with a recommendation for an appropriate change of the Membership Article. Unless specified otherwise in the recommendation, the change shall become effective upon a two-thirds majority vote of the senators present and eligible to vote. The recommendation may not be voted upon at the meeting at which it is first moved

4. Any member of the Senate may challenge a finding of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee that a change of the title of an ex officio member of the Faculty Senate can be incorporated into the Faculty Senate Constitution without a referendum. Such a challenge may be presented only prior to the actual vote on the change. If the challenge is upheld by a majority of the senators present and eligible to vote, the title change shall be submitted to the referendum process as outlined in Article VII, 1 and 2, of this Constitution.

5. Changes to the Faculty Senate membership can be made only in accordance with the referendum process as outlined in Article VII, 1 and 2, of this Constitution.