Amended 3/12/24
PREAMBLE
The General Faculty of The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center has adopted the following Charter, within the structure of the University, to assist with the orderly conduct and governance of its affairs, protecting the rights and jurisdictions of individual colleges and their respective faculties; to ensure due process; to provide a forum for the discussion of faculty concerns; and to support collaboration in achieving the goals and purposes of the Health Sciences Center (HSC).
This Charter is not intended to abridge the rights and privileges of any member or sub‑group of the General Faculty (i.e., department or college faculty groups) to determine matters of their rightful jurisdiction, academic freedom, and responsibility.
ARTICLE I
NAME
The name of this organization shall be: "The General Faculty of The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center."
ARTICLE II
PURPOSE
The purpose of this organization shall be:
- To help define and protect the rights of faculty members;
- To support the faculty in implementing the University functions of teaching, research and creative/scholarly activity, and professional and University service and public outreach; and
- To develop, recommend, and implement policies for the Health Sciences Center and the University in matters relating to teaching, research and creative/scholarly activity, and professional and University service and public outreach in any matters affecting the welfare of the Health Sciences Center; and
- To promote collaborative effort within and among faculty, professions, and colleges while respecting the rights and jurisdictions of the individual colleges in the Health Sciences Center.
ARTICLE III
MEMBERS
Section I. Members
The membership of the General Faculty of the Health Sciences Center shall be composed of all General Faculty members as defined in the HSC Faculty Handbook.
Section 2. Voting Rights
All members of the General Faculty shall have full voting rights unless otherwise stated in this Charter.
Section 3. Proxy
No votes shall be cast by proxy.
ARTICLE IV
POWERS
Section 1.Governance Powers
The governance of the Faculty of the Health Sciences Center is vested in the General Faculty of the Health Sciences Center, subject to the provisions of Article III, Section 1 above.
Section 2. Exercise of Powers
These governance powers shall be exercised either by the General Faculty or by the Faculty Senate (see Article Vll, Section 5).
Section 3. Accountability of Senate
The Faculty Senate shall be accountable to the General Faculty, and none of the Senate’s acts shall conflict with actions taken by the General Faculty.
ARTICLE V
OFFICERS
Section 1. Officers
The Officers of the General Faculty shall be the Officers of the Faculty Senate: Chair, Chair‑Elect, Secretary, and Secretary‑Elect. These Officers constitute the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate.
The Executive Committee officers shall perform the duties prescribed by this Charter, by the parliamentary authority adopted by the General Faculty, and any other activities necessary to achieve the purposes of the General Faculty of the Health Sciences Center.
There may be liaisons from the General Faculty as needed and as approved by a simple majority vote of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and filled by the designated body. The duties of liaisons will be defined upon the formation of the position.
Section 2. Election of Officers
The Chair-Elect and Secretary-Elect shall be elected yearly from the Faculty Senate by a simple majority vote of the Faculty Senate with voting by means designated by the current Chair and tabulation of ballots by a Chair designee. In the subsequent year, the Chair-Elect and Secretary-Elect shall serve out the offices of Chair and Secretary, respectively. The duration of an office shall be one year.
Section 3. Eligibility
No member shall hold more than one office at a time. No member shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office.
- A vacancy in the office of Chair shall be filled by the Chair-Elect. If that is not possible, a candidate to fill the vacancy shall be nominated by the Committee on Committees and approved by a simple majority vote of the Faculty Senate with voting by means as designated by the Chair and tabulation of ballots by a Chair designee.
- A vacancy in the office of Secretary shall be filled by the Secretary-Elect. If that is not possible, a candidate to fill the vacancy shall be nominated by the Committee on Committees and approved by a simple majority vote of the Faculty Senate with voting by means as designated by the Chair and tabulation of ballots by a Chair designee.
- A vacancy in the office of Chair-Elect or Secretary-Elect shall be filled by a candidate nominated by the Committee on Committees and approved by a simple majority vote of the Faculty Senate with voting by means as designated by the Chair and tabulation of ballots by a Chair designee.
- Any Chair-Elect or Secretary-Elect who fills a vacancy shall serve the remainder of the outgoing officer’s current term and then serve the next full term.
- If the Committee on Committees recommends more than one candidate for a position, the candidate will be selected by a simple majority vote of the Faculty Senate.
ARTICLE VI
MEETINGS OF THE GENERAL FACULTY
Section 1. Meetings
The General Faculty shall meet at least twice yearly, usually in October and April.
Section 2. Annual Meeting
The meeting in April shall be known as the Annual Meeting and shall be for the purpose of receiving reports of Officers and Committees, for communicating a report of significant yearly Faculty Senate activities, and for any other business that may arise.
Section 3. Special Meetings
- Special meetings of the General Faculty may be called by the Chair of the Faculty Senate, by the Senior Vice President and Provost of the Health Sciences Center, or by written petition of a total of thirty (30) General Faculty of whom no more than fifteen (15) belong to any one college.
- The purpose of the meeting shall be stated in the call.
- Every General Faculty member shall be notified.
- Except in cases of emergency, at least seven (7) calendar days’ notice shall be given, and the meeting shall be called within thirty (30) calendar days of the presentation of a petition.
Section 4. General Faculty Quorum
Sixty (60) members of the General Faculty of the Health Sciences Center, representing three or more Colleges, provided no more than thirty (30) of the quorum number are from any one college, constitute a quorum for the General Faculty.
ARTICLE VII
THE FACULTY SENATE
Section 1. Members
Section 2.Election
- Representatives of the Faculty Senate shall be elected by and from each College of the Health Sciences Center. They shall be elected by written ballot for a three (3) year term.
- Prior to April 1, each College shall elect its new representatives to fill out-going Senate positions and inform the Chair of the Faculty Senate.
- Except for the Graduate College, Senators shall represent that College in which they hold their primary appointment.Members with joint or multiple appointments shall declare, at the beginning of each academic year, the College in which they will vote during that year.
- The Senate representatives shall assume their office on July 1.
- Each College shall elect one or more alternates to serve in case of the absence or disability of a Senator.The number of alternates elected from each college shall be one‑half of the number of Senators elected to represent that College rounded to the next highest whole number.They shall be elected by ballot for a one‑year term.The alternate for the Graduate College shall be elected to a one-year term from the membership of the Graduate Council.
Section 3.Replacement of Faculty Senate Members
- The Faculty
of each College may establish procedures for the recall of any Senator of that
College. However, in no case can a
Senator be recalled without a simple majority vote of the General Faculty
members of that College.
- Should a Senator be unable to fulfill the duties of that office for any reason, that name may be removed from the rolls upon written request to the Faculty Senate Secretary from that Senator or from the Faculty of the represented College.
- In the event of the removal of a Senator from the rolls for any reason, the faculty of the removed Senator’s College shall select an Alternate to fill that position for the remainder of the Faculty Senate term.
- In the event there is no alternate to complete the unexpired term, the Faculty of the College will be asked to fill the vacancy.The procedure by which the vacancy is filled is determined by each College.
Section 4.Officers
The Officers of the Faculty Senate shall be: Chair, Chair-Elect, Secretary, and Secretary-Elect. These Officers constitute the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate.
There may be liaisons from the General Faculty as needed and as approved by a simple majority vote of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee and filled by the designated body. The duties of liaisons will be defined upon the formation of the position.
Section 5.Powers
- The Faculty Senate shall exercise the governance of powers of the General Faculty of the Health Sciences Center as delegated by the General Faculty.
- The Faculty Senate shall conduct the affairs of the General Faculty between the latter's meetings, make recommendations to the General Faculty, and perform such other duties as are specified in the Charter and Operating Procedures or Bylaws, and/or are necessary to achieve the objectives of the General Faculty.
- Any member of the General Faculty may bring matters relating to the governance before the General Faculty or the Faculty Senate by written request.
- The Faculty Senate shall determine its own rules, procedures, times and place of meetings, and regulations governing its internal affairs.
- The Faculty Senate shall publish a Charter as well as Operating Procedures.
Section 6.Meetings
- The Faculty Senate shall generally meet at least nine (9) times a year and at other times as necessary.
- The Faculty Senate shall report significant Faculty Senate activities to the General Faculty in the spring Annual Meeting of the General Faculty.
Section 7.HCS Faculty Senate Quorum
A simple majority of the members of the Faculty Senate constitutes a quorum for the HSC Faculty Senate.
ARTICLE VIII
COMMITTEES
Section 1.Standing and Special Committees
Standing or special committees of the General Faculty and/or Faculty Senate shall be established as deemed necessary to facilitate faculty governance.
Section 2.Committee Membership
- The Chair of the Faculty Senate shall be an ex‑officio member of any and all standing and special committees without voting privileges.
- All members of the General Faculty are eligible to serve on special or standing committees, provided that the membership is proportional among the Colleges in roughly the same ratio as College representation in the Faculty Senate.
- The Health Sciences Center Student Association may be invited to nominate a student to serve on selected Faculty Senate Committees.
ARTICLE IX
LIAISON WITH THE HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT AND PROVOST
Section 1.Function
The Faculty Senate shall serve as an advisory body to the Senior Vice President and Provost of the Health Sciences Center and to other administrative officers of the University in relation to matters of interest and importance to the General Faculty.
Section 2.Faculty Assistance to Administration
At the beginning of each academic year, the Faculty Senate shall provide to the Senior Vice President and Provost of the Health Sciences Center a list of nominees who are willing and able to serve during the ensuing year on the Health Sciences Center committees or councils. The Senior Vice President and Provost shall recommend the nominations to the President of the University, who shall make the appointments.
Section 3. State of the Health Sciences Center Message
At the first meeting of the General Faculty each academic year, the President of the University and the Senior Vice President and Provost of the Health Sciences Center, shall be invited to present to the General Faculty of the Health Sciences Center a statement on the State of the Health Sciences Center and their recommendations for furthering the progress of the Health Sciences Center.
Section 4.Disposition of Requests for Action
Requests from the Faculty Senate for action by the Administration or by the University’s Board of Regents shall be directed to the Senior Vice President and Provost of the Health Sciences Center, who will then forward these requests to the President of the University. The Senior Vice President and Provost of the Health Sciences Center shall, within thirty (30) calendar days, report verbally or in writing to the Faculty Senate the disposition of any request for action or information received. The reports shall include the rationale for actions taken or not taken.
ARTICLE X
INTER-SENATE LIAISON COMMITTEE
Section 1.Purpose
The purpose of the Senate Liaison Committee shall be to routinely facilitate the exchange of information between the OUHSC Faculty, Staff, and Student Senates; the University President; and the Norman Campus Faculty Senate.
Section 2.Composition
The Senate Liaison Committee shall be composed of the Chair, Chair‑Elect, and the Secretary of the Faculty Senate.
Section 3.Meetings
ARTICLE XI
PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised, shall govern the General Faculty and the Faculty Senate in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with this Charter and any special rules of order which the General Faculty may adopt.
ARTICLE XII
AMENDMENT OF THE CHARTER
Section 1.Amending
The Charter may be amended from time to time as follows:
- (a)
Amendments of this Charter and ensuing Rules and Operating
Procedures may be proposed at any regular or special meetings of the Faculty
Senate
- (b)
Amendments must be approved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of
the Faculty Senate with voting by means designated by the Chair.
- (c)
Amendments shall be submitted to each Faculty Senate
member for vote at least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to tabulation of
ballots by a Chair designee.
Section 2.Effective Date
Amendments shall be effective immediately upon approval by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Faculty Senate of the Health Sciences Center.
ARTICLE XIII
ADOPTION
This Charter shall be effective once approved by a majority of the General Faculty in each of the Colleges of the Health Sciences Center and approved by the Board of Regents, signed by the President of the Board and sealed by the Executive Secretary of the Board of Regents.
(This Charter was approved by the Faculty Senate 7/12/74, the General Faculty 7/25/74, and the University Regents 7/26/74.Updated 6/25/84.Approved by the Faculty Senate 9/5/02 and the University Regents 12/3/02.Revised 11/30/05. Revised and approved by the Faculty Senate 2/24/23 and the University Regents 3/12/24.)