I. Purpose

The purpose of this organization is to cultivate cooperation and understanding among faculty, to make recommendations to the President of Amarillo College on policies that affect instruction and general faculty welfare, to make recommendations on general policy, and to offer a line of communication with other constituencies of Amarillo College. The Senate functions to promote quality instruction, professional integrity, and other contributions to the college as a whole.

Excerpted from Board Policy Manual BGC.  For full description, see the following webpage:

https://www.actx.edu/president/bgc-administrative-organization-plan

II. Members of the Faculty Senate

1. One member elected from full-time faculty of each division according to C
2. One member elected from full-time faculty not represented by an academic division according to C
3. Senate representation will be determined by the number of full-time faculty: 1-18 = 1 ; 19-30 = 2 ; 31-42 = 3 ; 43-54 = 4 ; 55-66 = 5.

III. Responsibilities of Faculty Senate

1. The Faculty Senate shall elect its own officers: President, Vice President / President-elect, Secretary, and Parliamentarian.
2. The Faculty Senate shall act as a Professional Standards and Relations Committee and as a Salary Committee.
3. The Faculty Senate shall meet as often as it deems necessary, but at least once each semester for general faculty business. At least once per semester, it will meet with the college president.
4. The Faculty Senate may appoint ad hoc committees as needed. These committees may consist of faculty not on the Senate (For example: Election Committee, Nominating Committee, etc.).
5. The Faculty Senate shall make its own bylaws, have the right to expel a member for excessive absences, and hold a special election to fill this vacancy.

IV. Terms and Elections for Faculty Senate

1. The term for Senators shall be three years, with approximately one-third the Senate members completing their terms each year.
2. A Senator may serve no more than one consecutive three year term. A person may be re-elected after being off the Senate for at least one year.
3. Nominations shall be made through a nominating ballot sent to each faculty member in the area for which an election is appropriate. Elections shall be conducted in the spring semester or as vacancies occur. Terms for new Senators shall begin at the conclusion of the May transitional meeting.
4. A faculty member may be elected to fulfill a vacancy and will serve the duration of the unexpired term. The replacement Senator may be re-elected for a new consecutive three-year term if he or she has served less than 50% of the unexpired term.
5. Whenever any reorganization of programs, departments, divisions, or other service areas affects representation of the Faculty Senate, the Senate officers, acting in concert, shall be empowered to remedy the imbalance temporarily through whatever means are acceptable to the Senate as a whole. The remedy adopted shall prevail until the next general election.

V. Meetings and Reports

1. All Senate meetings, except those where the Senate is acting as the Professional Standards and Relations Committee, shall be open to all faculty members and student association representatives. Notices of Senate meetings must be posted.
2. A quorum for the Faculty Senate shall constitute a majority (50% +1) of the membership.
3. Minutes and reports of the Senate shall be distributed to all full-time faculty members

VI. Votes and Amendments

1. Faculty Senate voting shall be carried by a majority of members present.
2. Amendments to the Faculty Senate Constitution must be ratified by two-thirds of the full-time faculty who vote in a ballot election.

Updated:  Fall 2018