Constitution of the Faculty Organization of
Delaware Technical & Community College
Stanton/Wilmington Campus
Article I
Name of Organization
Section I. The organization shall be known as the "Faculty
Organization of Delaware Technical and Community College, Stanton/Wilmington
Campus," hereafter referred to as "Faculty."
Article II
Purpose
Section I. To promote professional excellence.
Section II. To develop interdepartmental and intracollege
cooperation and understanding.
Section III. To provide a forum for discussion and
recommendations concerning the professional privileges, performance, evaluation
and academic freedom of faculty.
Section IV. To foster and encourage collegiality among all
members of the college community.
Article III
Membership
Section I. There shall be two membership designations: members and associate
members.
Section II. Members shall include all full-time Salary Plan A
employees.
Section III. (A) Associate members shall be comprised of other
educators directly involved in the educational process who are neither in
Salary Plan A nor hold formal administrative positions.
(B)
Associate members shall have all rights and privileges of the organization
except that they may not hold elective offices in the Senate.
Article IV
Officers and Qualifications
Section I. The officers shall consist of a Chairperson and a Vice Chairperson.
The Vice Chairperson shall be elected by the full membership in a general
election in even-numbered years. After serving for a term of two years, the
Vice Chairperson shall immediately become Chairperson and shall serve for a
term of two years. All officers must be members in good standing.
Section II. Installation of officers shall occur at the first
regular meeting after the general election.
Section III. A special meeting of the Faculty Organization for
the purpose of removal of officers can only be initiated by submission of a
petition to the Senate documenting reasons for the removal. This petition must
be signed by one third of the voting membership. An officer can be removed with
two thirds of the vote by secret balloting of the members present at this
special meeting.
Article V
Meetings
Section I. Regular meetings are to be held at least once an academic year.
Special meetings are subject to call by the Chairperson or upon written request
presented to the Chairperson by one third or more of the members in good
standing.
Article VI
Power of the Members
Section I. Votes taken in the Faculty meeting will be for approval of minutes,
referendums presented by the Faculty as detailed in Section II, amendments to
the constitution, approval of the budget, committee appointments, and motions
to adjourn the meetings.
Section II. The referendum procedure for reversing any decision
of the Faculty Senate shall be initiated by a petition signed by one-third of
the full membership in good standing of the Faculty, which shall then be
submitted to the Faculty Chairperson. The Chairperson will call a special
meeting of the Faculty within two weeks after submission of the petition to
vote on the issue presented in the petition. At this special meeting a majority
vote of those voting members present will be required to reverse a Senate
decision.
Article VII
Quorum
Section I. The quorum for a regular or special Faculty meeting
shall be one-third of the voting membership. In the event of a lack of quorum
an informational meeting will be held and committees appointed but no motions
shall be made or votes taken.
Article VIII
Faculty Senate
Section I. The function of the Faculty Senate shall be to represent the Faculty
for the purposes defined in Article II.
Section II. The Chairperson and Vice Chairperson of the Faculty
shall also serve in their respective positions in the Faculty Senate.
Section III. The Senate shall be comprised of the Chairperson,
the Vice Chairperson and ten Senators. Five Senators will be chosen from each
location, four from the Instructional Division and one from Student Services.
The method of selection will be by majority vote. Eligible members at both
locations will vote for all open positions. Persons working at both locations
will vote and/or represent the location of their primary office.
Section IV. The Senate shall have the power to veto any
committee selection or appointments made by the Chairperson.
Section V. Operational guidelines, bylaws, and the appointment
of standing committees shall be agreed upon by each successive Senate during
its first month of operation, but in all such cases, guidelines and bylaws
shall be limited by this constitution.
Section VI. In order to encourage the development of
collegiality, committees shall include representation by administrators,
students and staff when such participation is deemed appropriate to the purpose
of the committee.
Section VII. The quorum for a meeting of the Senate shall be
six members with no less than two Senators from any one location. In the event
of a lack of a quorum, an informational meeting may be held and committees
appointed, but no motions may be made nor votes taken.
Section VIII. The duties of the officers shall be as follows:
(A)
The Chairperson
(1) shall preside at all meetings of the Senate
(2) shall appoint committees as needed subject to the advice
and approval of the Senate
(3) shall be an ex officio member of all committees
(4) shall be responsible for all of the duties normally
associated with the Secretary including but not limited to delegating
responsibility for formulating and distributing an agenda and minutes of all
meetings and conducting correspondence
(5) may delegate any powers to the Vice Chairperson as is
deemed necessary
(6) shall establish a meeting calendar and when appropriate
call special meetings
(7) shall vote with the Senate in the event of a tie vote.
(B) The Vice Chairperson shall be considered the Chairperson
elect and shall assume all the responsibilities of Chairperson when so
delegated.
Section IX. (A) Elections shall be conducted by the election
committee which shall be composed of the Vice Chairperson and one
representative from each location.
(B) The election committee shall see to it that a slate of
candidates is presented to the faculty.
(C) Senators from both locations will be elected in
even-numbered years.
(D)
The candidates for Vice Chairperson must not be located at the same site as
the Chairperson.
(E) The Vice Chairperson will be elected in even-numbered
years.
(F) Each candidate for the Senate and for Vice Chairperson
shall be responsible for compiling and presenting to the election committee a
short statement which includes his/her reasons for running and other
background. Background statements shall not exceed one typed page. The election
committee will make all background statements available to the faculty at least
two weeks before the general election.
(G) A candidate may run for both a Senator position and the
Vice Chairperson position. If elected to both positions, the candidate will
serve as the Vice Chairperson and will no longer be eligible for the Senator
position. The open Senator position will be filled by the next eligible Senator
candidate.
(H) A special election may be called to elect a new Vice
Chairperson if there is a vacancy in the position. Such an election must be
held within one semester of such a vacancy.
(I)
Elections (special elections excepted) shall occur in April and
installation of officers and Senators shall occur at the first regular meeting
thereafter.
Article IX
Amendments to the Constitution
Section I. A petition to amend the Constitution or bylaws signed by ten percent
of the voting membership of the organization must be presented to the Faculty
Chairperson.
Section II. At the next regular meeting, the Chairperson shall
establish a review committee consisting of the Vice Chairperson and two
Senators, one from each location. It shall be the role of this committee to
review the proposed amendment and report to the Senate its findings as to its
impact on the organization.
Section III. Upon receipt of the committee's findings, a vote
of two-thirds of the Faculty Senate and after an intervening general election,
a vote of two-thirds of the new Senate shall be sufficient to send the proposed
amendments to the organization for ratification.
Section IV. The organization may ratify the proposed amendment
by a three-fourths vote of the voting membership
Article X
Ratification
Section I. This constitution may be ratified by a simple majority vote of those
Faculty voting in secret ballot.
KS/5/22/84
HMR/revised - 6/12/97
Kag/internet - 8/10/01
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