Committee Primer
University Committee service is extremely important for the life of the institution, since it is one of the principal means by which faculty influence the University’s policies and decisions.
As appropriate, committees may initiate business themselves or may be charged by other relevant entities or the incoming Faculty Senate President to consider an issue. The University President, Provost, Deans Council, Council of Chairs, Student Government, may refer any matter to an appropriate committee or to a college or school faculty or administrator for consideration. Committees may at times call on other University entities (administrators, etc.) for input. Some committees may have staff and/or student representation as well as administrative advisors. Administrative advisers shall not have a vote unless otherwise indicated in the committee’s composition.
Descriptions of the Standing Faculty Committees can be accessed from the main web page of the Faculty Senate. This list is updated whenever a change is reported to the Faculty Senate Secretary. It is therefore recommended to use that link for any communication with the committee. Any changes should be reported to the Faculty Senate Secretary via: faculty.senate@utrgv.edu.
All committees have different functions and compositions. The committee chairs should familiarize themselves with both and be aware of term limits, membership, etc. to ensure that all rules are followed. Committee functions and compositions can be found on the Faculty Senate web page and, if available, on each standing committee’s web page.
Terms of Service
Terms of service for voting faculty members on standing committees shall be three years, commencing on the first class day of the fall semester; with one-third of the faculty appointed or elected each year. Faculty members are eligible for immediate reappointment or re-election to a new term, unless they have just served six or more consecutive years, in which case they must be off the committee for at least one year before serving on that same committee again.
The Faculty Senate Secretary coordinates the initial meeting of the academic year for all standing committees to be held at the beginning of the fall semester (usually the second Monday in September). Immediately following the initial meeting of the committees in September, the Faculty Senate President will convene all committee chairs for an introductory meeting.
The committee chair may choose to arrange for a different time and place to meet, which should, however, be within three weeks of the statutory time set by the Faculty Senate Secretary. At the first meeting, each committee will elect a chair (if one was not elected the previous academic year), a chair elect, or a vice chair. If the committee opts for a vice chair, then the chair elect shall be elected in the spring semester, no later than the last Friday in February. Election results should be reported to the Faculty Senate Secretary, so the web pages and office records can be updated. Also, chairs shall submit minutes of their committee’s meetings to the Faculty Senate Secretary and be posted on their respective web pages.
Faculty members whose terms of service extend through the following year or who are eligible for reappointment to the committee are eligible to be elected as chair elect. A chair elect whose term of service would not otherwise extend through the following academic year will be reappointed for an additional year. A faculty member shall serve no more than three consecutive years as chair on committees with three-year terms and no more than five consecutive years on committees with five-year terms. Individuals on phased retirement or modified service shall not be eligible to serve on standing committees.
Reporting
At its first meeting, each committee shall plan a schedule for future meetings. The committee will begin its work by having each member receive a copy of the committee’s function and the annual report from the previous year, which is posted on the committee’s web page.
Reports, proposals, and/or issues any committee would like considered by the Faculty Senate during the academic year should be forwarded to the Faculty Senate Secretary and the Faculty Senate President with a clear request and rationale. The Faculty Senate Secretary will then prepare the proper paperwork to go forward. Each committee shall keep the Faculty Senate informed of its ongoing activities by including the Faculty Senate Secretary and President on its mailing list. These documents may be made available for examination by members of the Faculty Senate.
Toward the end of the academic year, the Faculty Senate Secretary will request an annual report from each committee chair to be completed before the end of the spring session. The President and President-elect of the Faculty Senate will review the annual reports and forward any action items to the respective incoming committee chairs and to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC) for consideration. Resulting proposals from the standing committees will be reviewed by the FCEC and, upon its recommendation, considered by the Faculty Senate at-large.
The General Faculty Rules and Governance Committee shall be responsible to the General Faculty.