Faculty Constitution

2010.1 Preamble

The University Faculty support the Wright State University mission to transform the lives of our students and the communities we serve by providing innovative, high quality programs, by conducting scholarly research, and by engaging in significant community service.

The chief purposes of Wright State University shall be the achievement of excellence in teaching, the achievement of substantial contributions to human knowledge, the achievement of major service to humanity, and the maintenance of a free and cosmopolitan environment for the work toward such achievements.

This Constitution is established in order that the University Faculty (as defined by Article II) may participate in the achievement of these purposes through shared governance and the principle of academic freedom.

2010.2 Article I. Authority

Subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees, the authority to establish, implement, and govern educational and academic policies of the University is vested in the University Faculty, as defined in the Code of Regulations promulgated by the Board of Trustees, within the constraints of any Collective Bargaining Agreement(s) between Wright State University and American Association of University Professors (AAUP-WSU) and all pertinent government regulations.

Section 1. Powers and Duties

  1. The University Faculty, in consultation with the University President and the University Provost, shall formulate codes of operating procedures governing all aspects of the academic program, admissions, academic standards, student affairs, faculty affairs not covered by the bargaining agreement, and other fields of university operation composed of academic and professional subject matter.  The University President shall present such recommended operating procedures to the Board of Trustees for their consideration, amendment, confirmation, or rejection.
  2. The University Faculty shall determine the curricula leading to all degrees and certification programs offered by the university and shall determine the content of all courses in such curricula.
  3. The University Faculty shall determine the requirements for each degree and certificate offered by the university.
  4. The University Faculty shall make recommendations to the University President or Provost and to the AAUP-WSU concerning the annual academic calendar of the university.
  5. The University Faculty shall nominate all students to whom degrees shall be granted.  Such nominations shall be submitted to the Board of Trustees through the University President.
  6. The University Faculty can:
    1. Initiate and consider policy proposals and express its judgment on those policy proposals submitted to it by the University President or officers of the various academic and administrative divisions of the university;
    2. Investigate, discuss, and make recommendations to any appropriate body within the university regarding any matter of interest to the university;
    3. Request information through appropriate channels from any member of the university.
    4. Conduct votes of confidence and no-confidence as referenced in Article IV.
  7. The powers and duties of the University Faculty are delegated to the Faculty Senate in Article 3, Section 2.

2010.3 Article II. University Faculty

Section 1. Membership

The University Faculty shall be comprised of persons who hold the following academic ranks within the university: university professor, professor, associate professor, assistant professor, senior lecturer, lecturer, instructor or clinical assistant professor and clinical instructor in the College of Health, Educaton, and Human 0Services or the Lake Campus.

  1. A member of the University Faculty shall be considered fully-affiliated with Wright State University if:
    1. The person is under full-time contract with the university requiring a majority of the member’s professional efforts; and
    2. The contractual obligation to Wright State University has first call on the person’s time and effort; or
    3. The person is on a tenure track or is fully-affiliated as defined by their contract.
  2. A member of the University Faculty who is not covered by Article II, Section 1.A shall be considered partially-affiliated with Wright State University if:
    1. The person’s rank includes an additional modifier such as:  voluntary, adjunct, research, visiting, acting, clinical (except as noted in Article II, Section 1), part-time, fellow; or
    2. The person’s professional activities cannot fulfill the criteria of Article II, Section 1.A., above; or
    3. The person is a m0ember of the School of Medicine or the School of Professional Psychology holding either an institutional faculty or auxiliary faculty designation.
  3. Both fully-affiliated and partially-affiliated members may attend and participate in faculty meetings; however, only fully-affiliated members may vote on issues before the faculty.
  4. In consultation with the Human Resources Department, the Faculty Office shall prepare annually a list of fully-affiliated faculty.  Final authority for determining the nature of the affiliation lies with the University President.

Section 2. Officers

The officers of the University Faculty shall be as follows:

  1. The Faculty President shall:
    1. Chair special meetings of the University Faculty;
    2. Chair all meetings of the Faculty Senate;
    3. Report to the Faculty Senate and also be the responsible correspondent to the university regarding all decisions made by the Executive Committee;
    4. Be the representative and spokesperson for the University Faculty, and the liaison and coordinator between the faculty and the administration and the Board of Trustees, the committees, the students, and the general faculty;
    5. Attend the meetings of appropriate committees of the Board of Trustees as an ex-officio member, and shall serve (or appoint a designee) on any other committee or council as directed by the Faculty Senate;
    6. Convene all committee chairs at the beginning of the academic year to review responsibilities and procedures;
    7. Serve as an ex-officio member and meet regularly with the Provost's Council and the Leadership Team at the invitation of the President or Provost;
    8. Chair the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate;
    9. Be responsible for the Faculty Office;
    10. Preside as Grand Marshal of commencement exercises, Freshman Convocation and University Convocation;
    11. Serve as a member and attend meetings of the Ohio Faculty Council and report to the Executive Committee;
    12. Meet regularly with the President and the Provost;
    13. Give the Faculty President Report at the Board of Trustees public meetings.
    14. Chair the Faculty Budget Priority Committee.
  2. The Faculty Vice President shall:
    1. Assume the duties of the Faculty President in his/her absence;
    2. Be a member of the Faculty Senate and the Faculty Senate Executive Committee;
    3. Co-chair the Undergraduate Academic Policies Committee;
    4. Serve as Marshal of the College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies during commencement exercises (in the event the Faculty Vice President is not available to serve, the Faculty President will designate a Senator holding Graduate Faculty status to serve as Marshal of the College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies during commencement exercises);
    5. Attend the meetings of appropriate committees of the Board of Trustees as an ex-officio member, and shall serve (or appoint a designee) on any other committee or council as directed by the Faculty Senate;
    6. Serve as an ex officio member of the Faculty Budget Priority Committee and Buildings and Grounds Committee of the Faculty Senate;
  3. The Secretary of Senate shall be the Assistant to the Faculty President.

Section 3. Qualifications and Elections

  1. Faculty President
    1. Qualifications
      1. The Faculty President shall meet the qualifications required for Faculty Senators and;
      2. Have tenure or otherwise have met any equivalent probationary requirements of their appointment; and
      3. Have a minimum of seven years of continuous service on the University Faculty; and
      4. Have served on the Faculty Senate or as a member of a standing Senate committee.
    2. Election of the Faculty President
      1. The Faculty Senate shall adopt procedures governing the conduct of the election (posted on the Faculty Senate website ), the filling of a vacancy, and a procedure for recall. These procedures may be modified by the Faculty Senate.
      2. The Executive Committee shall solicit nominations, including self-nominated candidates, for the office and submit their names to the Office of the Faculty President. The Executive Committee shall confirm the willingness of each nominee to run and, if elected, to serve.
      3. The Secretary of the University Faculty, who is also the Secretary of the Faculty Senate, working with the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, shall conduct an election with a ballot distributed electronically to all fully-affiliated faculty. If no nominee receives a majority of the votes cast on the first ballot, a run-off election will be held to decide between the candidates receiving the highest number of votes on the first ballot. The results of the election will be announced electronically.
      4. The Faculty President-Elect will assume the office of the Faculty President at the final Senate Meeting of the academic year in which the election is held
      5. If the President is unable to serve, the Vice President shall complete the President’s term. If the Vice President is unable to serve, the succession shall be determined by the Executive Committee. The Parliamentarian will convene the Executive Committee as soon as possible to select a Faculty President from current qualified members of the Faculty Senate. The Parliamentarian shall chair the Executive Committee until a Faculty President has been selected by a majority of the Executive Committee.
    3. Term of Office
      The Faculty President is elected for a two year term and may serve no more than two such terms consecutively, using the method described in Article II.A.2.e above.
  2. Vice President
    1. Qualifications
      1. The Vice President must meet the qualifications required for Faculty President; and
      2. Shall not also simultaneously hold the office of Faculty President.
    2. Election of the Faculty Vice-President
      1. The Faculty Senate shall adopt procedures governing the conduct of the election (posted on the Faculty Senate website), the filling of a vacancy, and a procedure for recall. These procedures may be modified by the Faculty Senate.
      2. The Executive Committee shall solicit nominations, including self-nominated candidates, for the office and submit their names to the Office of the Faculty President. The Executive Committee shall confirm the willingness of each nominee to run and, if elected, to serve.
      3. The Secretary of the University Faculty, who is also the Secretary of the Faculty Senate, working with the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, shall conduct an election with a ballot distributed electronically to all fully-affiliated faculty. If no nominee receives a majority of the votes cast on the first ballot, a run-off election will be held to decide between the candidates receiving the highest number of votes on the first ballot. The results of the election will be announced electronically.
      4. The Faculty Vice-President-Elect will assume the office of the Faculty Vice-President at the final Senate Meeting of the academic year in which the election is held.  If the Vice President is unable to serve, a special election shall be held to fill the remainder of the term.
    3. Term of Office
      The Faculty Vice-President is elected for a two year term and may serve no more than two such terms consecutively, using the method described in Article II.A.2.e above.
  3. Faculty Senators
    1. Qualifications
      1. Senators shall be fully-affiliated members of the University Faculty; elected from mutually exclusive constituencies as described in Article III, Section 4.A.
      2. Senators shall hold the rank of university professor, professor, associate professor, assistant professor, senior lecturer, lecturer, instructor, or clinical assistant professor and clinical instructor in the College of Health, Education, and Human Services or the Lake Campus. A Senator shall have been a fully-affiliated member of the University Faculty, as defined in Article II, Section 1 Membership, for a minimum of two academic years. Chairs, but not deans, assistant deans, or associate deans, are eligible for election to the Faculty Senate.
    2. Election of Senators: All elections shall be conducted prior to the last regularly scheduled Faculty Senate meeting of each year using the following guidelines:
      1. See the table at the bottom of this section for timelines.
      2. A plurality of votes is necessary for constituency elections. Should a tie exist, a run-off election shall be held to determine a winner.
      3. The Faculty Senate shall adopt regulations governing the conduct of elections, the filling of vacancies, and the recall of representatives from constituencies.
      4. The Executive Committee will appoint a replacement for any vacancy. The replacement must come from the same constituency as the original representative and will serve until the next election. Runners-up in descending order are contacted for willingness to serve; if no replacements are appointed in this manner, volunteers are sought.
    3. Terms of Office: Senators are elected for two-year terms with approximately one-half of the representatives in each constituency being elected each year. Prior to each election, the constituencies will be advised by the Faculty Senate Secretary of the number of Senators each constituency is entitled to elect.
  4. Electronic voting. Electronic voting shall be used for all elections and ballot measures, or other measures determined by the Executive Committee. Procedures for collecting, and reporting electronic votes shall be uniform across all elections and ballot measures. Reporting of all ballot initiatives and elections must include the winner, but shall not include the vote tally. Results shall be communicated in a timely fashion to all eligible voters, and announced on the Faculty Senate webpage.
Table Data for Section 3-C-2-a
Occasion Event

Third week of Spring Semester

Faculty Office secures the list of eligible faculty from Human Resources.

Fourth week of Spring Semester

Faculty President determines what Senate seats need to be filled

Fifth week of Spring Semester

Faculty Office contacts eligible faculty, informing them of eligibility and soliciting candidate nominations, including self-nominations.

Seventh week of Spring Semester

Faculty return nominating forms to the Faculty Office, which contacts nominees to secure approval of their candidacy.

Eighth and Ninth week of Spring Semester

Ballots distributed; elections held.

Tenth and Eleventh week of Spring Semester

Time allocated for possible run-offs.

Twelfth and Thirteenth week of Spring Semester

Faculty Office announces election results

Note: There shall be at least one candidate per constituency for each open Senate seat. If there are not the required number of candidates, the Faculty President will inform the constituency Executive Committee representative there is such a lack, seeking his/her help in securing the minimum number of required candidates.

2010.4 Article III. Faculty Senate

Section 1. Authority

  1. The business of the faculty is addressed through the Faculty Senate, which shall meet at least eight times a year:  September, October, November, December, January, February, March, and April.
  2. The Faculty Senate shall have and exercise such authority as may be delegated to it by the University Faculty as limited by Article I regarding collective bargaining agreements.  No provisions of this constitution shall abridge the right of any member of the University Faculty to communicate that member’s views in full to the Faculty Senate, to the University President, or to the Board of Trustees through the University President.
  3. All motions approved by the Faculty Senate shall be transmitted by the Faculty President to the University President and the University Provost.
  4. Special meetings of the University Faculty can be called by the Faculty President to address specific Senate decisions.  The Faculty President must call a meeting upon receipt of a petition signed by fifty fully-affiliated members of the University Faculty.  A call for a special meeting shall specify the time and objectives thereof, and no business other than that specified in the call shall be transacted at such meeting unless otherwise agreed upon by a two-thirds majority of all present and voting members of the University Faculty.  A quorum of one-hundred faculty members must be present for business to be conducted at this meeting.

Section 2. Powers and Duties

  1. The powers and duties of the University Faculty, as described in Article I, Section 1, are hereby delegated to the Faculty Senate.  In the discharge of its duties, the Faculty Senate can form such committees, councils, etc., as it deems necessary.  By regulation adopted by the Faculty Senate, such committees may involve persons from outside Faculty Senate and the University Faculty.  The authority of such committees, councils, etc., shall not exceed the authority of the Faculty Senate, and such committees/councils, etc., shall remain accountable to the Faculty Senate.

Section 3. Composition

  1. The total voting membership of the Faculty Senate shall be the sum of items 1. and 2. following:
    1. Elected faculty; one (1) from each constituency for every 30 fully-affiliated faculty or fraction thereof;
    2. The Faculty President and Faculty Vice President.
  2. The University President and the University Provost shall be ex-officio, non-voting members.

Section 4. Constituencies

  1. The constituencies of Faculty Senate will be as follows:
    • Raj Soin College of Business
    • College of Health, Education, and Human Services
    • College of Engineering and Computer Science
    • College of Liberal Arts
    • College of Science and Mathematics
    • Lake Campus
    • Boonshoft School of Medicine
  2. Only fully-affiliated members of the University Faculty may vote for representatives from their constituency.  No person shall vote in or be considered a member of more than one constituency at each election.  The Faculty Senate Secretary shall maintain lists of fully-affiliated faculty in each constituency with assistance from the Human Resources department.  The Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, in consultation with the appropriate departments, shall assign a faculty member to a constituency in cases where there is doubt.

Section 5. Officers and General Duties

  1. The Faculty President or Faculty Vice President or the Faculty President’s designee from the Executive Committee presides at Senate meetings, Executive Committee meetings and special meetings.
  2. The Faculty President shall transmit all Senate actions to the appropriate persons, including the University President and the University Provost.
  3. The Secretary of the Faculty, who is not eligible to be a member of the Faculty Senate, shall be the Assistant to the Faculty President.  The Secretary shall be responsible for creating the minutes of Faculty Senate meetings within seven business days after the meeting.  The Office of the Faculty President will be responsible for distributing the minutes of Faculty Senate meetings to members of Faculty Senate and the University Faculty within ten business days after each meeting.
  4. The University Parliamentarian shall be appointed annually by the Faculty President.  The Parliamentarian shall not be a member of the Faculty Senate.  That same person shall also serve as Parliamentarian to special meetings of the University Faculty.
  5. The Faculty Senate can elect such other officers from its membership as are deemed necessary to discharge the duties of the Faculty Senate.

Section 6. Conduct of Meetings

  1. All meetings of the Faculty Senate shall be conducted in accordance with the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, insofar as it is consistent with this Constitution.
  2. The draft agenda for each meeting of the Faculty Senate will be prepared by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate and distributed to members of the Faculty Senate and the University at least four business days prior to the meeting.  The order of business shall be: (1) Call to Order; (2) Approval of Minutes; (3) Report of the University President or University Provost; (4) Senate Executive Committee Report; (5) Curricular Items for Final Approval; (6) Old Business; (7) New Business; (8) Written Committee Reports including attendance roll and a report on Board of Trustees committee meetings; (9) Council Reports; (10) Announcements (11) Adjournment. Items of new business will not be voted on until they appear on the agenda as old business, which normally will be at the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Faculty Senate.  Exceptions to this rule can be made by a two-thirds majority of Faculty Senate members present and voting, when an immediate vote is needed.  Curricular items unanimously approved by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee can be added to the Curricular Items for Final Approval section of the agenda and will be treated as Old Business for immediate consideration. Curricular items without unanimous Executive Committee approval will be added to the New Business section of the agenda or an agenda addendum as appropriate. Following a successful motion of the Faculty Senate, such items will then appear under the Curricular Items for Final Approval section of the next Faculty Senate agenda (rather than Old Business). Resolutions and approval of minutes placed on the agenda by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee for a Senate meeting will be treated as if they have already been moved and seconded for consideration by the Faculty Senate such that discussion of such items can begin immediately at the discretion of the meeting's chair.

    Items of business not reviewed by the Executive Committee may be added, with permission from the Faculty President, to an Agenda Addendum to be distributed by the Friday before each Faculty Senate meeting.  Items of business on the Agenda Addendum may be brought before the Faculty Senate as New Business with a successful motion from the floor.   Agenda Addendum items not brought forward may appear as New Business at the next Faculty Senate meeting pending Executive Committee approval.
  3. The Faculty Senate shall conduct at least eight meetings annually.  Meetings can be held with any number of Senators of the Faculty Senate present; however, a quorum for transacting business shall be a majority of the voting membership of the Faculty Senate.   A request for a roll call vote must have the assent of no fewer than one fifth of those Senators present.
    1. Members who are unable to attend a Faculty Senate meeting may designate a replacement from their constituency who is a fully-affiliated faculty member.  The replacement may participate in discussions but may not make motions or vote on issues before the Faculty Senate.
    2. Members who do not attend or designate a replacement for three Faculty Senate meetings during any given academic year will be considered to have vacated their position.  The Executive Committee may declare a vacancy and either appoint a runner-up or order a new election within 30 calendar days to elect a replacement to represent that constituency for the rest of the original occupant’s term.
  4. Virtual meetings of the Faculty Senate shall be allowed as an alternative option to in-person, as determined by the Executive Committee. Notice of a meeting in electronic form shall be announced by the Faculty Office by the Tuesday prior to the start of the meeting. Faculty Senators may request to attend in-person Faculty Senate meetings via a virtual connection. Faculty Senators who are unavailable to attend a Faculty Senate meeting should designate a substitute as outlined in Article III Section 6.C. Exceptions and other requests for remote attendance may be granted by the Executive Committee on a case-by-case basis. All requests for remote attendance should be submitted to the Executive Committee prior to its meeting to set the agenda for the corresponding Faculty Senate meeting. Virtual meetings and attendance must make use of the WSU CaTS supported conferencing software that provides authentication using official WSU account credentials.
  5. Any university faculty, staff, or student may attend meetings of the Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate may regulate the attendance of other persons.  Participation in the deliberations of the Faculty Senate by persons who are not members of the Faculty Senate is allowed if approved by a majority of the members present and voting, or if requested by the presiding officer.
  6. At the final Faculty Senate meeting of the academic year or prior to the end of finals week of Spring Semester in the event of a meeting cancellation, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee shall propose a schedule of meetings for the next thirteen-month period, and the Faculty Senate shall accept, such a schedule.
  7. In addition to regularly scheduled meetings of the Faculty Senate, a special meeting may be called by the Faculty President.  The Faculty President shall call a special meeting of the Faculty Senate upon submission of a petition signed by at least fifty fully-affiliated members of the University Faculty, or upon majority vote of or petition by a majority of the Faculty Senate.
  8. At each Faculty Senate meeting, the University Provost will report to the faculty steps taken in response to Faculty Senate actions.
  9. Within the confines of the CBA between AAUP-WSU and the WSU Administration and the traditional nine-month contract for most faculty academic appointments, summer meetings are only permissible under emergency and crisis conditions determined by the univeristy or Faculty Senate Emergency and Crisis Committee. A summer meeting under such conditions shall be called by the Faculty President, communicated to all fully affiliated faculty with the need for such a meeting.

Section 7. Executive Committee

  1. The Executive Committee shall consist of the following persons:
    1. The Faculty President.
    2. The Faculty Vice President.
    3. One representative of the elected members of the Faculty Senate from each constituency, chosen through a college election, immediately following the conclusion of the general Senate election, conducted by the Faculty Senate Secretary of the fully-affiliated faculty of each constituency.  If chosen in first term as senator, the Senator elected to EC membership would carry over to second year, if selected for EC membership in second term there would be no carry over to a new term even in the event of reelection unless the constituency only has one representative
  2. The chair of the Executive Committee shall be the Faculty President.
  3. The Executive Committee meets before each Faculty Senate meeting and shall:
    1. Charge all standing and administrative committees and councils.
    2. Advise the Faculty Senate on the establishment or elimination of committees.
    3. Appoint or remove the members of standing and special committees, and the chairs of such committees, subject to ratification by the Faculty Senate.  The Executive Committee shall request the name of a representative and an alternate from Student Government for each of the standing committees, as appropriate.
    4. Appoint members of the Tenure Removal Committee as needed for tenured faculty not covered by the Bargaining Unit. Members of this committee will be tenure-line faculty holding the rank of professor.
    5. Conduct annual reviews of the structure of the constituencies and adjust the number of Faculty Senate representatives to meet the requirements of Article III, Section 3.A.1.
    6. Elect the second representative to the Ohio Faculty Council (OFC) and an alternate member. The second representative to the OFC should be an elected representative of the faculty, but the alternate member, at the discretion of the Executive Committee, is not required to be a Faculty Senator.
    7. Prepare and approve the agendas for Faculty Senate.
    8. Create ad-hoc committees to address special topics outside the scope of the Faculty Senate standing committees.
  4. The executive committee may meet at the discretion of the Faculty President in order to provide counsel to the Faculty President and/or Faculty Vice President as well as to address any pertinent development deemed of importance to the University faculty.
  5. Members of the Executive Committee shall:
    1. Communicate with their college or school’s constituency.
    2. Serve as Marshal for their college or school (or find an alternate from their constituency) for all commencements.

Section 8. Standing and Administrative Committees of the Faculty Senate

  1. The standing committees of the Faculty Senate are
    1. the Buildings and Grounds Committee,
    2. the Core Oversight Committee,
    3. the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and Social Justice Committee,
    4. the Emergency and Crisis Committee,
    5. the Faculty Budget Priorities Committee,
    6. the Graduate Academic Policies Committee,
    7. the Graduate Curriculum Committee,
    8. the Graduate Student Affairs Committee,
    9. the International Education Advisory Committee,
    10. the Information Technology Committee,
    11. the Scholarship and Sponsored Research Committee,
    12. the Undergraduate Academic Policies Committee,
    13. the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee,and
    14. the Undergraduate Student Success Committee.
  2. Committee responsibilities include meeting at least once per term, keeping minutes and attendance, providing Faculty Senate Executive Committee with a copy of meeting minutes within seven business days of meetings, and submitting other reports to the Faculty Senate as requested.  Committees must meet face to face at least once per term.  Otherwise, routine committee business may be conducted either by e-mail or through a secure web page.  At the discretion of the committee chair or at the request of a majority of committee members, the committee will meet face to face to conduct business.  Electronic votes shall be treated as roll call votes and sufficient members must vote on each item of business to constitute a quorum of the committee.  Members shall be given five (5) business days in which to cast a vote. The committee chair shall maintain a record of each vote cast.
  3. Description of Standing Committees
    1. Building and Grounds Committee
      1. Building and Grounds Committee Charge:  The Committee shall study and recommend action to Faculty Senate on issues relating to the status of instructional space, campus physical planning, building priorities, space allocation and campus beautification.  The Committee will participate in the development of plans related to major campus renovation projects and construction of new facilities, review the proposed list of capital projects, request faculty input, recommend modifications to the plan and issue an annual report to the Faculty Senate before the capital plan is presented to the Board of Trustees.  The Committee shall monitor the status of the instructional space and issue an annual report to Faculty Senate.  The chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee shall attend the Board of Trustee’s Buildings and Grounds Committee meetings to report faculty concerns and to share Board of Trustee concerns with faculty.
      2. Building and Grounds Committee Membership: The Committee shall consist of a faculty representative and an alternate from each college and school with Faculty Senate constituency representation. The Building and Grounds Committee shall include a voting representative from the University Libraries and from the Staff Senate. Ex-officio, non-voting members of this committee shall be the Faculty Vice-President, University Registrar, the Associate Vice-President for Facilities Planning and Development, the Director of Computing and Telecommunications (CATS), the Director of the Physical Plant (or designee), and a student member appointed by Student Government.
      3. Building and Grounds Subcommittees
        1. Parking Services and Traffic Appeals Subcommittee
          1. Parking Services and Traffic Appeals Subcommittee Charge:  The Subcommittee shall:
            • Study and make recommendations on the impact of new building projects and the planning process on parking;
            • Study, plan, and recommend improvements to the existing parking system to improve space location and allocation and to alleviate congestion;
            • Study and make recommendations on means to allocate space for special requirements;
            • Recommend parking fees for faculty, staff and students;
            • Receive and process complaints about parking;
            • Receive and process appeals of parking and traffic violations;
            • Report to the Building and Grounds Committee.
          2. Parking Services and Traffic Appeals Subcommittee Membership:  The Subcommittee shall be composed of the chair and two (2) faculty members of the Building & Grounds Committee, one (1) member from classified staff and one (1) member from unclassified staff, one (1) student representing residential students and one (1) student representing commuter students (selected by Student Government).  Ex-officio members shall include the Director or other representative from Parking Services and one (1) member from Disability Services.
    2. Core Oversight Committee
      1. Core Oversight Committee Charge: The Committee shall ensure the integrity of the Wright State Core and oversee all assessment activities related to the Wright State Core and shall report to the Faculty Senate at least once per year. The Committee shall have the responsibility for the following:
        1. Taking part in regular assessment of all courses within the Wright State Core, including Wright Core courses tagged with Integrated Writing, Multicultural Competence and Service Learning attributes to ensure the learning goals and objectives associated with the course attributes are satisfied.
        2. Recommending modifications to courses with the General Education, Integrated Writing, Multicultural Competence or Service Learning attributes that fail to measure learning goals and objectives associated with the course's attribute(s) or removal of the course's attributes to the UCC, UAPC, or the Faculty Senate itself as appropriate. 
        3. Communicating regularly with the University Assurance of Learning Committe/
      2. Core Oversight Committee Membership: One (1) faculty representative from each degree-granting undergraduate college, including the Lake Campus. Colleges may name an alternate faculty representative who has voting privileges when the regular member is absent. The Program Director or designated faculty representative associated with any Faculty Senate-approved course attribute, the University Provost or designee the CTL Faculty Director or faculty-ranked designee, and one (1) undergraduate student representative (selected by Student Government) will serve as ex-officio, non-voting members. Past chairs of UCRC may be asked to represent the Faculty Senate on the University Assurance of Learning Committee.
  4. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and Social Justice Committee
    1. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and Social Justice
      Committee Charge: The Committee Shall:
      • focus on enhancing and supporting campus-wide efforts surrounding diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice through collaborations and initiatives.
      • review and make recommendations to the Faculty Senate regarding DEI and Social Justice issues in the areas of:
        • Academics
        • Faculty Recruitment, Retention, and Development
        • Demographic Data
        • Annual Collection, Organization, and Distribution of Data
      • provide an annual update on data, collaborations, and initiatives to the Faculty Senate.

    2. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI), and Social Justice Committee voting membership: One (1) faculty representative from each degree-granting college, including the Lake Campus; the Vice President for Inclusive Excellence or their designee; and one (1) representative each from analogous committees of the University Staff Senate and of the University Student Government. Ex-officio non-voting members may be added as determined by the committee.
  5. Emergency and Crisis Committee
    An Emergency and Crisis Comimttee shall be established as a standing committee to be annually populated, but only activated for timely representation in response to emergency situations.
    The determination of an emergency that would activate the committee shall be made by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee, who may consult area health and emergency experts. The Executive Committee shall decide independent of, but possibly in consultation with, university administration in response to university declarations of emergency.
    Upon activation, the committee shall consult faculty and non-faculty experts relevant to the type of crisis in question.
    The mandate of the committee is to provide faculty representation and rapid response concerning policies and contingencies affecting faculty, students, or classes, including summer and online aspects.
  6. Faculty Budget Priorities Committee
    1. Faculty Budget Priorities Committee Charge: The Committee will be responsible for:
      • Requesting information from the university budget director and the university administration regarding university income and expenditures and all other items of budgetary concern, including projected and actual budget reports.
      • Examining all fiscal affairs of the university.
      • Recommending fiscal priorities to the Faculty Senate and university administration.
      • The chair of the Budget Priority Committee shall attend the Board of Trustee’s Finance and Audit Committee meetings.
    2. Faculty Budget Priorities Committee Membership: The Committee shall be comprised of the Faculty President, Faculty Vice President, and one (1) faculty member from each college or school with Faculty Senate constituency representation selected by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.
  7. Graduate Academic Policies Committee
    1. Graduate Academic Policies Committee charge: The Committee shall study policy areas and make recommendations affecting graduate admissions, curriculum, and academic standards.
    2. Graduate Academic Policies Committee membership: One (1) graduate faculty representative from each college with a graduate program. A faculty representative may designate an alternate faculty representative who has voting privileges when the regular member is absent. The Dean of College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies or designee, the University Registrar or designee, and one (1) graduate student representative (selected by the Graduate Student Assembly) will serve as ex-officio, non-voting members.
  8. Graduate Curriculum Committee

    1. Graduate Curriculum Committee charge: The committee shall have oversight over all graduate curricular items related to course and programs of study including proposals for new courses, new programs, and program revisions.

    2. Graduate Curriculum Committee membership: One (1) graduate faculty representative from each college with a graduate program. A faculty representative may designate an alternate faculty representative who has voting privileges when the regular member is absent. The Dean of the College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies or designee, the University Registrar or designee, one (1) graduate student representative (selected by the Graduate Student Assembly) will serve as ex-officio, non-voting members.

  9. Graduate Student Affairs Committee
    1. Graduate Student Affairs Committee charge: The committee shall select awardees for university-wide graduate student scholarships and other prizes. It shall advise graduate student organizations. The committee may initiate study of issues regarding improvement of any aspect of graduate education or specific concerns, including recruiting and enrolling students, and make recommendations to the Faculty Senate. It shall also act as an appellate body for students' petitions for exceptions to University and College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies regulations and hear appeals of admission petitions.
    2. Graduate Student Affairs Committee membership: One (1) graduate faculty representative from each college with a graduate program. A faculty representative may designate an alternate faculty representative who has voting privileges when the regular member is absent. The Dean of the College of Graduate Programs and Honors Studies or designee, the University Registrar or designee, and one (1) graduate student representative (selected by the Graduate Student Assembly) will serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member.
  10. International Education Advisory Committee:

    The International Education Advisory Committee shall have oversight of all issues affecting international education at Wright State including but not limited to international programs, collaborations, student services recruiting and admissions. The committee shall have responsibility for the following:
    • Review and recommend policies and practices governing the development, implementation, and modification of international programs to ensure they meet Wright State's academic standards. Make recommendations regarding the creation and revision of these policies to the Undergraduate or Graduate Policies Committees through the Faculty Senate.
    • Evaluate all draft proposals for international program development implementation, and modification to determine they in all cases follow Senate-approved guidelines. Make recommendations based on this review to the Faculty Senate and to relevant Senate committees.
    • Periodically review the university's international agreements and activities to ensure that these agreements and activities meet academic program needs, capacity and strategic planning, and that the university's recruiting efforts reflect strategic planning for international student growth and are coordinated with other recruiting efforts university-wide.
    • Periodically review the implementation of admissions policies for international students to ensure that admissions policies are appropriate and are upheld.
    • Periodically review academic policies to ensure that they neither advantage nor disadvantage international students relative to Wright State's domestic students.

      The committee may delegate tasks to three sub-committees, which shall each be chaired by a member of IEAC: the International Student Services Committee, the International Program Collaboration Committee and the International Recruiting and Outreach Committee, which shall make recommendations to the International Education Advisory Committee. The International Education Advisory Committee shall appoint the membership of the sub-committees with the consent of the Faculty Senate.

      International Education Advisory Committee membership: One (1) faculty representative from each degree-granting college, including the Lake Campus. The committee chair shall represent his/her college. A senior staff member from the University Center for International Education shall have non-voting membership.
  11. Information Technology Committee
    1. Information Technology Committee Charge: The Information Technology Committee shall study policies, consider requests for changes, and recommend appropriate action to the Faculty Senate concerning information technology issues. The Information Technology Committee shall review requests and make recommendations to CATS on all issues affecting academic and research computing and technology policies.
    2. Information Technology Committee Membership: The Committee shall be composed of one (1) faculty member from each college or school with Faculty Senate constituency representation, and one (1) voting representative from the Staff Senate. The University Librarian, the Director of Computing and Telecommunications Services (CATS), the CTL Faculty Director or faculty-ranked designee, the University Registrar, one (1) undergraduate student, and one (1) graduate student selected by Student Government shall serve as ex-officio, non-voting members.
  12. Scholarship and Sponsored Research Committee
    1. Scholarship and Sponsored Research Committee charge: The committee shall have oversight over research activities on campus. Its responsibilities shall include but not be limited to the following:
      • review expenditures and make recommendations for budget allocations;
      • review policies and procedures for encouragement of research across the university;
      • recommend revisions to policies where appropriate; and
      • recommend allocations of research investments.The committee may form subcommittees to address specialized needs, including for example: doctoral programs, budget priorities, institutional review boards, intellectual property, and technology commercialization. The committee shall report to the Faculty Senate at least twice during the academic year.
    2. Scholarship and Sponsored Research Committee membership: The membership shall be comprised of one (1) faculty representative from each college or school with Faculty Senate constituency representation. The faculty representative may name an alternate faculty representative when the regular member is absent. The Vice President for Research or designee will serve as an ex-officio, non-voting member.
  13. Undergraduate Academic Policies Committee
    1. Undergraduate Academic Policies Committee Charge: The committee shall study policy areas and make recommendations affecting undergraduate admissions, undergraduate curriculum, general education, and undergraduate academic standards. The committee shall have the responsibility for recommending to the Faculty Senate the following:
      The committee may initiate study of issues regarding improvement of any aspect of undergraduate education or specific undergraduate curriculum concerns, including issues pertaining to identifying, recruiting and enrolling students at Wright State University and make recommendations to the Faculty Senate.
      • University and college admission criteria.
      • University remediation and placement criteria.
      • Wright State Core (general education), Writing Across the Curriculum, Multicultural Competence, Service Learning and University Honors requirements and policies.
      • University-wide undergraduate academic requirements, programs, and policies. 
      • Approval of changes in college academic requirements
    2. Undergraduate Academic Policies Committee membership: One (1) faculty representative from each degree-granting undergraduate college, including the Lake Campus. A faculty representative may designate an alternate faculty representative who has voting privileges when the regular member is absent. The Program Director or designated faculty representative associated with any Faculty university-wide program, the University Provost or designee-and one (1) undergraduate student representative (selected by Student Government) will serve as ex-officio, non-voting members.
  14. Undergraduate Curriculum Committee

    Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Charge: The committee shall have oversight of all undergraduate curricular items related to courses and programs of study including bachelor degrees, associate degrees, majors, minors and certificate programs. The committee shall have the responsibility for the following:
    • Approval of changes (additions, modifications, deletions) for all undergraduate courses including addition or deletion of course attributes (i.e. Wright State Core, Integrated Writing, Multicultural Competence and Service Learning).
    • Approval of modifications to undergraduate programs.
    • Keeping abreast of developments in educational pedagogy and facilitating faculty/program adoption of same
    • Recommending new programs or program deletions to the Faculty Senate.
    • Mediation of undergraduate curricular disputes between academic units.

      Undergraduate Curriculum Committee membership: One (1) faculty representative from each degree-granting undergraduate college, including the Lake Campus. A faculty representative may designate an alternate faculty representative who has voting privileges when the regular member is absent. The University Provost or designee, the University Registrar or designee and one (1) undergraduate student representative (selected by Student Government) will serve as ex-officio, non-voting members.
  15. Undergraduate Student Success Committee.

    Undergraduate Student Success Committee Charge: The Committee shall plan, develop, and provide ongoing evaluation, and policy recommendations designed to improve the effectiveness of campus programs and resources, as well as other aspects of the undergraduate student experience. This includes, but is not limited to, long-term oversight of undergraduate student outcomes and remediation strategies for undergraduate students.

    Undergraduate Student Success Committee Membership: One faculty member from each undergraduate college (appointed by the Faculty Senate) and up to three University College faculty/staff directly involved with the first-year experience (appointed by the Dean of University College). A faculty representative may designate an alternate faculty representative who has voting privileges when the regular member is absent. Committee members shall serve two-year staggered terms. Ex-officio members shall include a representative from Student Government Association and a representative from the University Undergraduate Academic Adviser Committee.
  16. The administrative committees of the Faculty Senate are the Academic Integrity Hearing Panel, the Commencement Committee, the Honors Committee, the Judicial Review Panel, the University Appeals Panel, the Undergraduate Student Petitions Committee, Graduate Faculty Membership Committee, and the Woods Conservatory Committee.  Charges for these committees shall be posted to the Faculty Senate website.
    1. Chairs and faculty representatives of all committees shall be appointed by the Executive Committee of Faculty Senate. Faculty requests for committee appointments shall be solicited during spring semester via the Faculty Office. Committee appointments are for a one-year period unless otherwise stated.
    2. Attendance requirements for committee members will be the same as for Faculty Senate Representatives with vacancies being filled consistent with provisions of Article III, Section 6.C.2.  Committee members may designate a substitute when they cannot attend a committee meeting.  The substitute does not have voting rights.
    3. The committees shall include the Faculty President as an ex-officio, non-voting member.
    4. The Faculty Office will maintain the respective committee charges and policies.
    5. Other committees can be established or abolished by action of the Faculty Senate.
  17. Administrative Committee Responsibilities
    1. Meet at least once per semester during the academic year.
    2. Keep minutes and attendance.
    3. Prepare an agenda that includes approval of minutes.
    4. Provide Faculty Senate Executive Committee with a copy of meeting minutes within seven business days of meetings.
    5. Provide a final report to the Faculty Senate at the last official meeting that summarizes what the committee accomplished and what issues should be taken up the next academic year.  These issues will be on the agenda of the first meeting of the committee the next academic year.
    6. Submit other reports to the Faculty Senate as requested.
    7. All changes to charges and policies must be approved by Faculty Senate.

2010.5 Article IV. Amendments

  1. This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds affirmative vote of those responding with a total vote of at least 100 of the University Faculty conducted either by e-mail or through a secure web page.
  2. Amendments can be initiated by the Faculty Senate, or by submission to the Executive Committee of a petition signed by at least fifty fully-affiliated members of the University Faculty.
  3. The University Faculty will be given the opportunity to meet and discuss an amendment at least 20 business days prior to a faculty vote thereon.  Copies of the proposed amendment shall be distributed to all members of the University Faculty at least ten (10) business days in advance of the meeting.  Modifications to the wording of an amendment can be made by majority vote of the University Faculty present at the meeting.   A quorum of one hundred (100) faculty members must be present for such actions to be taken.
  4. At least ten (10) business days prior to a faculty vote on any amendment, all members of the University Faculty will have access to a web page that posts the proposed amendment and summarizes the discussion of the University Faculty meeting. No changes in the wording of any amendment can occur after it is posted.
  5. Voting on any amendment will occur over a time period of three (3) consecutive business days.
  6. The Executive Committee will oversee the voting process to insure that each member of the University Faculty has the opportunity to vote and that no one is able to vote more than once.

2010.6 Article V. Quadrennial Review

This Constitution shall be reviewed at least every four years by an ad hoc committee nominated by the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate.  The committee shall submit a report with recommendations to Executive Committee.  The Faculty Senate shall appoint such a committee at least every fourth year, starting in the year 2025.

2010.7 Article VI. Procedures for Votes of Confidence / No-Confidence

On rare occasions, in the course of university business, the faculty may wish to express or record its opinion regarding their administration. These votes are generally described as votes of confidence/no confidence. A vote of confidence/no confidence is a statement of the sense of the faculty and not a personnel recommendation. The vote is not binding but is reported to the President and/or Provost and to the appropriate vice president; or to the Board of Trustees when the administrator is the President of the university.

There are two procedures for calling votes of confidence.

1. Procedure One. A Faculty Senator may call for a special meeting of the University Faculty regarding a vote of confidence/no-confidence. If such a motion is adopted by the Faculty Senate, a meeting shall be called within 3 weeks. The Faculty Senator who made the motion will articulate, in writing, the concerns of the faculty, presenting this to the Faculty Senate Executive Committee in the form of a petition.

The Faculty President will notify the administrator of the call for a special meeting of the University Faculty. The administrator will be invited to provide a written rebuttal within ten business days of the notification.

At the special meeting of the University Faculty, the Faculty President will preside, with the assistance of the Parliamentarian. Both a representative of the petitioner and the administrator will be invited to speak. At the discretion of the EC, each will take questions for an agreed upon time.

Voting shall follow procedures outlined in Sections E-H of Procedure 2.

2. Procedure 2.

A.) Any member(s) of the University Faculty, as defined by the Faculty Constitution, may call for a vote of confidence/no confidence in an administrator at the college level or above by presenting a petition by signature to the Faculty Senate Office. The petition to conduct a vote of confidence/no confidence shall contain a statement of reasons for calling for the vote. In order for a vote to occur, the petition presented must be signed by at least ten percent (10%) of the full-time faculty members of the college, or comparable body, for which the named administrator is responsible. In cases of academic administrators with university-wide responsibilities who do not have responsibilities for a college, or comparable body, the petition must be signed by at least the number of University Faculty required to call a special meeting of the University Faculty as stipulated by the Faculty Constitution.

B.) Each signatory shall sign a separate copy of the petition so that each person submitting a petition has no knowledge of those who sign before or after them. Only full-time faculty members from the college, or comparable body, led by the administrator in question, or, in the case of academic administrators with university-wide responsibilities, full-time members of the University Faculty, as appropriate, are eligible to sign a petition.

C.) The Faculty Senate Office will verify the signatures, reporting to the Faculty President who will certify that conditions in (Procedure 2.A.) and (Procedure 2.B.) have been met. The Faculty Senate Office will then notify the Parliamentarian and Senate Executive Committee, which, at its next scheduled meeting, will review the petition and coordinate any separate petitions into a single motion. The Executive Committee may, at its discretion, invite the petitioner(s) to facilitate this process.

The Faculty Senate Executive Committee will then notify the administrator involved, and the faculty governance body most appropriate for that administrator (e.g. the Faculty Senate, or a College steering committee) that a vote of confidence/no confidence has been called for and will be scheduled. A copy of the petition shall be attached to the notification. The administrator involved will be invited to provide a written rebuttal within ten (10) business days of notification.

D.) Upon receipt of the rebuttal, or in the absence of a rebuttal, or upon the passage of ten (10) business days following the provision of notification to the administrator and appropriate faculty governance body, the Faculty Senate Office shall distribute a ballot containing the full text of the complaint and rebuttal, if any, to all eligible faculty voters in the appropriate constituency. Using the ballot, eligible faculty may vote “confidence” or “no confidence” in the administrator.

E.) The vote will follow the normal procedures for a Faculty Senate ballot.

F.) The ballot will remain open for ten (10) business days from the date of distribution to the eligible faculty.

G.) Within five (5) business days after the completion of the balloting, the Faculty Senate Office will present the report of the vote to the University Parliamentarian and the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.

H.) The Faculty Senate Office shall provide a written report to the administrator, their immediate supervisor(s) (e.g. Dean, Provost, President, Board of Trustees, Chancellor), the appropriate faculty governance body, and other interested parties as appropriate. The report of the vote shall include the number of faculty who were eligible to vote; the total number of faculty who voted; the total number of faculty who voted confidence in the administrator; the total number of faculty who voted no confidence in the administrator.

I.) A vote of confidence/no confidence may be taken with respect to an administrator no more than once every thirteen (13) months.

J.) Regardless of the outcome of the vote, the direct supervisor shall be invited to meet in executive session with the college, or comparable body, executive committee or the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate, as appropriate, to discuss the reasons for the vote and the results of the vote. The direct supervisor may request additional information from the appropriate committee. Furthermore, after meeting with the affected administrator, the direct supervisor shall be invited to inform and, if desired, meet again in executive session with the appropriate faculty governance committee to discuss the results of that meeting.