Rules on Senator Absences
Senator Absences
The Faculty Senate office has received several inquiries regarding the rules on absences from the Faculty Senate meetings. In general, we expect that all Senators will attend and participate in all Faculty Senate meetings. However, we understand that occasionally circumstances may arise that prevent a Senator from attending. The current Bylaws speak to this topic.
Section D.1.b states that an alternate with full privileges may replace a Senator for an entire semester if the representative is unable to attend (e.g., sabbatical).
Section D.2.a and D.2.b state that a Senator may be considered for removal if he or she has missed three consecutive meetings without provision for temporary replacement (see above).
There is no provision in the bylaws for a fully privileged replacement for less than one semester. However, Senators who know they will be absent for a particular meeting may ask a unit colleague to attend as a guest without voting or regular speaking privileges. This guest may then report back to the absent Senator about the issues, discussions, and votes.
- If a Senator is unable to attend for a full semester (e.g., has a teaching conflict), he or she is responsible for informing the Faculty Senate Secretary prior to the start of the semester. In this case, the Faculty Senate Secretary will arrange for an alternate to serve out the semester.
Please contact the Faculty Senate office if you have further questions or a particular circumstance you wish to discuss.
Faculty Senate
(p) 330-672-2361
(f) 330-672-7127
revised 11/1/2017