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Faculty Assembly

Restructuring the Constitution of Faculty Organizations and Senate

The University Faculty Senate will be reevaluating the Constitution of Faculty Organizations with respect to problems identified during the recent LCME visit, and to recommendations of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the American Association of University Professors. The MSCHE will be revisiting its accreditation of USU relatively soon, and both the USU Senate and Administration sense that changes should be made now and over the next few years to bring the structure of the USU Constitution and Senate into compliance with their recommendations. Documents collected to guide the Senate in these changes are available here.

Shared Governance

The University Faculty Assembly is a forum through which information may be diseminated and exchanged, and the University and School policies discussed and deliberated. The Assembly functions primarily through the Faculty Senate, which meets monthly and reports to the Assembly at least three times each year.

The Senate is a representative body that provides the Faculty a mechanism to participate in the governance of the University. The Senate has the unique position of formulating issues of concern to the Faculty and has the responsibility to convey these to the University Administration.

The Senate is advisory to the USU President. The Senate may pass resolutions and recommendations on issues concerning, but not limited to, education, research, and the welfare of the Faculty. The Senate understands that the USU President to consider any recommendations it makes.

The Senate is composed of military and civilian faculty with appointments in basic and clinical departments of the School of Medicine and Graduate School of Nursing.

Senators are expected to represent the voice of the Faculty. Each senator will be designated to represent at least one Department at USU, and will be responsible for communicating with those departments, and for seeking for the Senate their opinion on matters concerning the Faculty.

The Senate functions through five standing Committees: Education, Research, Comparability & Welfare, Constitution, and Nominations and Elections. The Chair of each Sub-committee must be a Senator, but committee membership is open to all USU Faculty. Each Senator serves at least on one of Senate Committees.

Ad hoc committees and specific task forces may be appointed by standing Committees, by the Senate, or at the request of the Administration. Serving in the Senate or on any of its Sub-committees offers the Faculty the opportunity to shape the future of USU.

Details about the Senate can be found in the Constitution of Faculty Organizations posted on the Senate website.

Current Activities

Results of 2008 Elections

Events and Information, Committee meetings

Education-Day-2008.pdf

Contact Information, Senate email listservers

Comparability and Welfare

Promotion, Tenure, Academic Freedom

Results of 2007 Elections

Results of 2006 Elections

Other Information

Faculty Senate Page

Email addresses and phone numbers of members of the senate can be found here.