Below are descriptions of official policies established in the University Senate Rules, available HERE in their entirety.
The Senate Council election process begins late in the fall semester, in accordance with the requirements in Senate Rules 1.3.1.2.1.
Eligibility to Nominate
To be eligible to nominate, the person must be an elected Faculty Senator, including faculty who were elected to and are currently members of the University Senate Council. This group may include a Senate Council Chair whose Senate term and maybe Senate Council term as one of the nine elected Senate Council faculty members have ended and past Senate Council Chair. The two faculty trustees and the past Senate Council Chair are eligible to nominate because they are elected faculty with voting status in the Senate.
Eligibility to Vote
To be eligible to vote, the person must be an elected Faculty Senator, including faculty who were elected to and are currently members of the University Senate Council. This group may include a Senate Council Chair whose Senate term and maybe Senate Council term as one of the nine elected Senate Council faculty members have ended and past Senate Council Chair. The two faculty trustees and the past Senate Council Chair are eligible to nominate because they are elected faculty with voting status in the Senate.
Eligibility to Run
To be eligible to run, the person must be an elected faculty member to the University Senate whose Senate term has not expired at the time of election. However, persons who are currently serving on the Senate Council are excluded unless the person has served as a replacement for no more than one year. Also, a person's eligibility to run and/or serve may be limited by the distribution requirement that no more than three of the elected nine faculty members of Senate Council may be from a single college. Click here for the Senate Rules on SC election eligibilities.
Terms
Elected faculty representatives in the Senate Council shall serve for three (3) years commencing on January 1 following their election and continuing until expiration of their terms or until their successors are elected and certified.
Election
Elections shall be conducted by electronic secret ballot or paper secret ballot if electronic election is not feasible. Three (3) elected faculty representatives in the University Senate shall be elected annually during the fall semester to serve on the Senate Council. The Chair of the Senate Rules and Elections Committee or that person’s designee shall shall remind the voters that election to the Senate Council confers eligibility for election to Senate Council Chair the following year.
Nominating Round
In the nominating round, elected Faculty Senators may nominate up to three (3) eligible Senators from the roster of the eligible persons as certified by the election official. The name of the eligible Faculty Senators who have been nominated and have indicated to the election official their willingness to serve will appear on the ballot.
If ten (10) or fewer total nominees are willing to serve, and there are no more than twice the number of names from any one college as could potentially be elected from that college, elections shall proceed directly to the Final Voting Round. Otherwise, elections shall include a Preliminary Voting Round
If three (3) or fewer total nominees are willing to serve, additional solicitations shall be made in an effort to increase the number of nominees.
Preliminary Voting Round
On this first ballot, elected Faculty Senators may rank order up to three (3) candidates from the list of eligible persons as certified by the election official. Rank orders will be used to resolve ties. The six (6) candidates with the largest number of total votes, including those ranking the candidate first, second, or third shall become candidates in the Final Voting Round, except that there must not be more than twice the number of names from any one college as could potentially be elected from that college.
Ties will be resolved as follows:
- The higher ranking goes to the candidate with the larger number of first-choice votes;
- If there are still ties, the higher ranking goes to the candidate with the larger number of second-choice votes;
- If there are still ties, the higher ranking goes to the candidate with the larger number of third-choice votes;
- If there are still ties, the ranking will be determined by random draw.
Final Voting Round
On this final ballot, elected Faculty Senators may rank order up to three (3) candidates from the list of the eligible persons as certified by the election official. The candidates will then be ranked according to the procedure described in the preliminary voting round. The three (3) candidates with the highest rank shall be elected except that no more than three (3) of the nine elected faculty members of the Senate Council shall be from any one college.
The three highest-ranked candidates under subsection (b) above are elected.
The remaining three candidates will be considered in the order so ranked in case of future vacancies on the Senate Council.
Vacancies
Upon resignation of any elected faculty representative in the Senate Council or when such a member is no longer eligible to be a Senator, a vacancy shall be declared by the Chair of the Senate Council. A vacancy on the Senate Council shall be filled by the eligible candidate who at the most recent Senate Council election ranked the highest without being elected and who is eligible and willing to serve.
If the above procedure still does not fill the vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled with an eligible and willing elected Faculty Senator nominated by the Senate Council Chair and approved by the majority of the voting faculty representatives of the Senate Council.
The term of such appointments shall be for the remainder of the unexpired term of the vacating Senate Council member.
Specific Eligibility for Membership from Senate Rules 1.3.1.2.1.1 ("University Senate Council," "Composition," "Eligibility for Membership")
"Any elected faculty member of the Senate (or person appointed to replace an elected member) whose term of office has not expired at the time of the election shall be eligible for election to the Senate Council, except that no more than three (3) of the elected members of the Senate Council shall be from any one college. If an elected faculty representative in the Senate has become ineligible and a replacement has been made, only the person who has replaced the ineligible representative shall be eligible for election to the Senate Council. Senate Council members are not eligible to succeed themselves until a lapse of one year from the expiration of their Senate Council membership (including service as Chair or Vice Chair), except that members who are filling a vacancy and who have served no more than one year, if otherwise eligible, may be eligible for election. The duration of the term of membership on the Senate Council shall not be affected by the member's term on the University Senate."