Presidential Advisory Committee of Michigan Technological University

 

Proposal 24-05

(Voting unit:  Entire PAC]

Amendment to the By-Laws:  Redefinition of a Quorum and Senate Membership

Background:  Article I, paragraph A1 of the University Senate By-Laws defines a quorum as two-thirds of the full Senate membership.  Periodically, there have not been  sufficient Senators in attendance to meet this quorum.  In part, the lack of a quorum occurs because several representation units have not identified their Senators and Alternates while other units’ Senators or Alternates do not regularly attend University Senate meetings.  

Proposal:  To make it more likely that there will be quorums at University Senate meetings, the Presidential Advisory Committee proposes the following change to the By-Laws (strike-throughs indicate deletions and bold print indicates additions).

I . OPERATIONAL BYLAWS

  1. Quorum

1.  Two-thirds of the full all eligible Senators shall constitute a quorum and shall be required for the transaction of business in all cases to transact Senate business requiring action of all Senators.  Two-thirds of all eligible faculty Senators shall constitute a quorum to transact Senate business requiring action of faculty Senators only.  Two-thirds of all eligible professional staff Senators shall constitute a quorum to transact Senate business requiring action of professional staff Senators only.

2.   A quorum of eligible senators shall be required on any limited vote in the Senate. On a limited vote of the Senate a quorum of eligible senators shall mean two-thirds of them.

2.   Eligible Senators consist of current Senators and Alternates of eligible representation units and Senators At-Large.

3.   A representation unit will be eligible for Senate membership if it selects a Senator by the end of September of the academic year.  The Senate President will notify representation units in early September of the academic year if they have not selected their Senators.  If a representation unit does not select a Senator by the end of September, the unit will lose its eligibility for Senate membership for the remainder of that academic year.

4.   A representation unit will be eligible for Senate membership if its Senator or Alternate regularly attends Senate meetings.   The Senate President will notify the representation unit if its Senator or Alternate is absent from two consecutive meetings.  The unit will lose its eligibility for Senate membership for the remainder of the academic year if its Senator or Alternate is absent from four consecutive meetings.