The University Senate is comprised of 94 elected faculty senators and a large number of ex officio members. All members of Senate are expected to serve as contributing members, although there are specific expectations for elected faculty members.
- Attend meetings of Senate.
- Contact the Senate Council office in advance if you cannot attend a meeting.
- Arrive 5 - 10 minutes early to sign in and pick up your voting device.
- Review all agendas in advance of the meeting.
- It is a good rule of thumb to consider that each Senate meeting requires at least a similar amount of preparation time as does the transaction of the business itself. Expect to spend about an hour reviewing the agenda prior to the meeting.
- Senators are not obligated to wait until a Senate meeting to ask questions. Senators are encouraged to contact the Senate Council office, a committee chair, or the Senate Council Chair if there is something about a meeting agenda that is confusing or unclear.
- Be mindful of the ramifications of Senate actions on your department and college.
- Some Senate actions have such broad impact that they are brought to the Senate twice, specifically to give senators an opportunity to seek advice and input from colleagues.
- Some senators take notes during Senate meetings so they can send colleagues a meeting synopsis. Other senators report on Senate activities at departmental and college meetings. Sharing information helps ensure that faculty are well informed about Senate-related activities.
- Remain for the duration of the meeting.
- Although not all agenda items are of interest to every senator, a majority of senators must be present to vote and conduct business. If you leave and Senate loses quorum before all action items are voted upon, the remaining items will again be presented to Senate, in their entirety, at the next Senate meeting.
- Serve on at least one Senate committee.
- On average, service on one committee can take up to an additional four hours per month, depending upon the workload of the committee.
- Review all agendas in advance of the meeting.