Faculty Senate

2023–24 Faculty Senate Chair message

Welcome to the Faculty Senate. I’m honored to serve as your Chair of Faculty Senate for the 2023–2024 academic year.  

For those of you who are new to Senate, I would like to start by providing a little bit from the Constitution of the Faculty – Missouri State University.

 

PREAMBLE:

“ In order to promote the general welfare of Missouri State University, to effect communication within the faculty  of the university as well as between the faculty and the administration, the staff, the students, the alumni, and the Board of Governors; and in order to provide a means of collective action of the faculty in dealing with matters of concern to the Faculty, including matters of curriculum, this Constitution of the Faculty governance is affirmed.”

 ART I CREATION OF THE FACULTY SENATE

The faculty of Missouri State University acknowledge and accept the responsibility and authority for shared governance delegated to it by the Bylaws of the Board of Governors. Faculty governance at Missouri State University shall be defined to include the creation of the Faculty Senate.

ART II PURPOSE OF THE FACULTY SENATE

The purpose of the Faculty Senate shall be to provide a forum for discussing matters of concern to the Faculty and to inform all segments of the academic community of the Faculty Senate's concerns, findings, and actions.

ART III POWERS OF THE FACULTY SENATE

The Faculty Senate shall have the power to establish policy in the areas of authority assigned to the faculty in the Bylaws of the Board of Governors and for such other areas or problems as may be assigned to it by the president of the university or the Board of Governors. Shared governance, as delegated by the Board in the Faculty Handbook, recognizes the essential interdependence of governing boards, administration, faculty, staff, and students. This shared governance is indispensable to the development of educated persons.

I invite everyone to familiarize yourself with OUR Constitution.

This year will be a busy one, we will be reviewing curricular changes, discussing the changes occurring in our university, learning how to effectively use a new LMS systems, conducting and reviewing reports, and most importantly representing the will of the faculty to the administration and Board of Governors. Our senate consists of voting representatives from every department and schools and the various ranks of faculty on campus. The Faculty Senate is led by the Executive Committee, which consists of the Chair, Chair-elect, Secretary of the Faculty, past-Chair, and the Senate Parliamentarian. Finally, we also have non-voting members representing student groups and university staff.

Please help share the word that in January, The Faculty Senate decided that for the 2023–2024 year — we will NOT change the membership of the Faculty Senate. Lots of changes will be occurring this summer, but your membership to the Faculty Senate will not.  This year, one of the biggest challenges we have is determining fair and equitable representation in the Faculty Senate for all faculty regardless of the classifications of new schools, departments or somewhere in-between.  Challenges are meant to be overcome, and we will figure this out.

We meet monthly, normally at 3:30 PM on the second Thursday of the month (except when that falls on a holiday or during finals week). Carry-over meetings are normally scheduled for the following Tuesday, if necessary. We usually meet in the Traywick Parliamentary Room in Plaster Student Union, but we occasionally meet in other campus locations. Please refer to the Faculty Senate calendar on the Faculty Senate web site for additional meeting information.

Senate meetings are conducted using Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised, as well as some special rules of order described in our Bylaws. Every Senator has four parliamentary rights: the right to attend meetings, the right to debate, the right to make motions, and the right to vote on matters before the assembly. Delegates may not vote; however, they do retain the other rights of membership.

Like my predecessors, I believe strongly in the power of shared governance and that an engaged, active Senate is good for both faculty and the university. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions or issues you believe the Senate should consider.

I look forward to visiting with each of you. My office is out at the Bond Center on Kansas Expressway; however, I am frequently on campus. Please, do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to visit, have coffee, go to lunch etc.,

Respectfully,

Beth

Faculty Senate Executive Committee

2023–2024

Chair – Elizabeth Walker
Chair-Elect – Scott Zimmerman
Secretary of the Faculty – Melinda Novik
Parliamentarian – Michael Hudson
Past Chair – Michael Hudson

Faculty Senate Office

Sandra Johnson, CAP
Administrative Specialist III
Office: LIB 201D
Phone: 836-5257