300.020 Faculty Bylaws of the University of Missouri-Kansas City

Min. 10-12-73; Amended Bd. Min. 11-18-77, 6-27-80, 11-19-82, 12-7-84, 6-6-08, 10-21-11, 6-14-13; Amended 4-10-15, Amended 6-17-16, Amended 2-6-20; Amended 11-17-22; Amended 4-20-23.

Purpose of the Governing Practices -- The University of Missouri-Kansas City("UMKC") Faculty will nurture the educational development of the student, the institution, and the community by transmitting knowledge, cultivating creativity, fostering leadership, sharing research, modeling civil discourse, and demonstrating critical engagement. The purpose of these Bylaws is to establish a body which represents the voice of the Faculty and to establish an effective vehicle for the needs and concerns of the Faculty to be presented for discussion and debate. These Bylaws assume that Faculty may participate in academic decision processes. The right of faculties to organize and to carry out the responsibilities and functions delegated to them by the Board is recognized in CRR 10.030.E.2.
Membership -- The "UMKC Faculty" or the "Faculty" shall consist of the President of the University, the Chancellor, and all academic appointees. An academic appointee is defined as one who has an academic title according to the University’s human resources department, unless (i) the academic title is one that is primarily held by students or (ii) the Faculty Senate (the “Faculty Senate” or “Senate”) determines that the position to which the title refers is one that is not engaged significantly in teaching, research, or clinical/professional practice or whose duties are not closely related to the University’s instructional and research functions. Any such determination shall be recorded in the Faculty Senate Standard Operating Procedures and the Faculty Senate meeting minutes.
1. Voting Faculty -- For purposes of campus- and University-wide elections, except with regard to issues specific to the promotion and tenure of tenured and tenure-track Faculty members (“T/TT Faculty Members”) and except with regard to the election of the campus-wide, at-large non-tenure track Faculty member to serve on Senate (as provided in Section E.1), those individuals eligible to vote (the “UMKC Voting Faculty” or the “Voting Faculty”) shall consist of the following:
  1. All full-time T/TTFaculty Members;
  2. all ranked, non-tenure track Faculty members (as defined in CRR 310.035) who are paid directly by UMKC;
  3. all full-time, unranked track Faculty members who (i) are paid directly by UMKC and (ii) have the academic title of "Instructor", "Clinical Instructor,” “Field Instructor” or “Lecturer” or have a title that is determined by the Faculty Senate to be equivalent to Instructor, Clinical Instructor, Field Instructor or Lecturer in terms of responsibilities and qualifications. Any such determination shall be recorded in the Faculty Senate Standard Operating Procedures and the Faculty Senate meeting minutes; and
  4. all Faculty members who are not paid directly by UMKC but who routinely oversee and participate in the instructional mission of the University to an extent comparable to a full-time Faculty member (“Additional Voting Faculty Members”); provided, however, that inclusion of such persons as Additional Voting Faculty Members must be recommended by the respective academic unit and approved by the Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC). To participate in a campus- or University-wide election or exercise any other right of Voting Faculty under these Bylaws, a person must be approved as an Additional Voting Faculty Member by the FSEC at least four weeks prior to the commencement of the election or the exercise of the right.
  The foregoing voting eligibility rules are not intended to define the eligibility of Faculty members to vote in academic unit elections on matters other than representation in the Faculty Senate. The eligibility of Faculty members to vote on academic unit matters, other than Senate representation, shall be determined by each unit. The eligibility of Faculty members to vote for the unit’s representation in the Faculty Senate is provided for in Section E.2.b. Campus- and University-wide voting on issues specific to the promotion and tenure of T/TT Faculty Members will be limited to the T/TT Faculty Members or some appropriate subset thereof. The election of the campus-wide, at-large non-tenure track faculty member to serve on Senate is governed by Section E.1.
2. Power -- The powers of the UMKC Voting Faculty include authority in all matters pertaining to education, research and service as granted to the Faculty by the Board of Curators. It shall have such other authority as is delegated to it by the President and/or the Chancellor. These powers are vested in the UMKC Senate unless limited by the University’s Collected Rules and Regulations.
3. Meetings -- There shall be at least one general meeting of the UMKC Faculty per year (the "All Faculty Meeting"). The Chair of the Faculty Senate shall give notice of and shall preside at such meetings. The Faculty Senate shall report to the Faculty at such meetings and shall invite input and advice from the Faculty on issues of concern.
  1. Additional meetings of the UMKC Faculty may be called by the Chancellor or the Chair of the Senate, or upon the request of 20 percent of the Senate or upon the written request of 10 percent of the Voting Faculty.
  2. Within ten days of the notice of placing of an item on the Senate agenda, upon the request of a majority of the Senate or upon the written request of 10 percent of the Voting Faculty, the Chair of the Senate shall transfer the item from the Senate agenda to the agenda of an All-Faculty Meeting for discussion by the Faculty and action by the Voting Faculty.
Colleges, Schools, Conservatories, Libraries and Other Units
1. Definitions -- A school or conservatory (both of which are hereinafter referred to as a "School") is a unit which offers or supervises programs of study leading to baccalaureate or advanced degrees. A unit or combination of units offering courses which do not lead to a degree is not a School.
2. Schools -- UMKC's schools are: Henry W. Bloch School of Management; School of Science and Engineering; School of Dentistry; School of Education, Social Work, and Psychological Sciences; School of Graduate Studies; School of Humanities and Social Sciences; School of Law; School of Pharmacy; UMKC Conservatory; School of Medicine; and School of Nursing and Health Studies.
3. Libraries -- UMKC's Libraries include: Miller Nichols Library, Leon E. Bloch Law Library, andHealth Sciences Library.
Faculties of the Schools
1. Membership
  1. The Faculty of a School shall consist of the President of the University, the Chancellor, the Dean of the School, and all members of the UMKC Faculty who are assigned to the School. The Faculty of a School shall be primarily responsible for the quality of the School's undertakings. The voting Faculty of a School, for School-level elections, shall be defined by the School’s bylaws, subject to the requirement in Section E.2.b that all UMKC Voting Faculty assigned to the School shall be eligible to participate in the election of the School’s senators.
  2. Faculty whose work is divided between programs of two or more Schools (other than the School of Graduate Studies) may participate in deliberations of these Schools, but shall be a voting member of only the School in which they hold their primary appointment.
  3. The Faculty of the School of Graduate Studies consists of UMKC Faculty (Section 300.020.B) who hold graduate or doctoral appointments. Faculty of the School of Graduate Studies may vote and be elected to offices or committees in this School as well as to offices and committees of the School in which they hold their primary appointment.
2. Meetings -- At least four regular meetings of the Faculty of a School shall be called annually according to the procedures adopted by the School. A special meeting may be called at any time by the Chancellor or by the Dean of the School and must be called if requested by one-fourth of the membership of the Faculty of the School or as otherwise provided by the bylaws of the School. Written notification of any meeting of a School Faculty shall be communicated at least three days prior to the meeting to all members of the School Faculty except in the case of an emergency meeting in which case any action taken becomes an item for reconsideration on the agenda at the next regularly scheduled meeting of that School Faculty. Each School Faculty shall determine its own definition of a quorum of its membership and decide upon a procedure which enables the membership of that particular Faculty to carry out its business in a responsible as well as efficacious manner. Copies of the minutes of each meeting shall be made available to each Faculty member of the School and to the Chancellor.
3. Powers -- The Faculty of a School shall establish procedures and policies governing the work of the School.
  1. Bylaws -- Each School shall have a written set of bylaws prepared in such a manner as is determined by the Faculty of that School. These bylaws shall implement the provisions of this section of the UMKC Bylaws. A copy of these bylaws and any subsequent amendment thereto shall be filed with the Chancellor and the Chair-elect of the Senate. The bylaws shall not contain any provisions inconsistent with the UMKC Bylaws.
  2. Curriculum and Degrees -- The Faculty of a School and/or department, together with the appropriate administrative officers, shall be responsible for recommending all academic courses and programs and for recommending candidates for degrees. The Faculty of each School, through its dean, shall file with the registrar a copy of its admission and retention standards, its degree requirements, and individual course additions and deletions. The registrar shall distribute copies of such standards, requirements and course additions and deletions to the Chancellor and the deans of the other Schools.
  3. Selection, Retention, Promotion and Tenure of Academic Faculty -- The Faculty of each School and/or department or other teaching unit shall establish criteria and specify procedures to be followed, as a general policy, in recommending the selection, retention and promotion of members of suchFaculty.
    (1) As a general policy all academic staff appointments to a School Faculty shall be made after the Dean of the School has received a written recommendation from a committee of an appropriate department committee or equivalent teaching unit. The Dean shall forward the recommendation of the committee with his/her own recommendation to the Chancellor.
    (2) The role of the School Faculties, committees, and administrative officers in the selection, retention, promotion, and tenure of Faculty members is governed by CRRs 310.035 and 320.035.
  4. Selection of Deans -- As a general policy, recommendations for the selection of deans in any School shall be made by the Chancellor after consultation with an appropriate committee which will include members of the Faculty of that School. This consultation procedure shall not abrogate the final responsibility and authority of the Chancellor to recommend a dean's appointment or replacement.
  5. Selection of Department Chairs, School Division Chairs and Directors -- As a general policy, the Dean shall recommend appointment or replacement of a department Chairperson, School division Chairperson or Director only after consultation with the Faculty of the department, subdivision or sub-unit concerned. This consultation procedure shall not abrogate the final responsibility and authority of the Dean to recommend the appointment or replacement of a department Chairperson, School division Chairperson, or Director.
  6. Evaluation of Academic and Professional Administrators -- The voting Faculty of each School shall participate in the regular evaluation of their academic and professional administrators. A School Faculty, by formal action at a regular meeting, or through its elected School Executive Committee or such other elected committee as is designated by the School in its bylaws, may report on matters of common concern through the Faculty Senate, Executive Committee, or directly to the Chancellor, and through him to the President of the University and the Board of Curators, and may make recommendations pertaining to any feature of the functioning of UMKC or the University.
  7. Budget Committee -- Each School shall have an elected budget committee composed of representative Faculty. The Budget Committee shall receive from the Dean in timely fashion all information regarding the budget process, shall share that information with the Faculty of the School, and shall advise the Dean regarding objectives and funding priorities as well as necessary allocations to achieve those objectives.
The UMKC Faculty Senate
1. Composition of the Senate -- The Senate shall consist of at least two elected Faculty representatives from Henry W. Bloch School of Management; School of Science and Engineering; School of Dentistry; School of Education, Social Work, and Psychological Sciences; School of Law; School of Pharmacy; UMKC Conservatory; School of Medicine; School of Nursing and Health Studies; and UMKC Libraries. For represented units whose number of Voting Faculty exceeds fifty members, an additional senator may be added for each increment of twenty-five Voting Faculty over a baseline of fifty Voting Faculty. Each represented unit and the Faculty Senate Executive Committee will review the respective unit's Voting Faculty numbers every three years and propose or invite an increase or decrease in number of senators as needed. The Faculty of a unit must make a formal request to the FSEC for consideration of additional senators. Currently seated senators or the Faculty Chairperson of the unit may make this request. The addition of senator positions beyond the minimum two senators will be determined jointly by the FSEC and the Senate. Additionally, there will be a campus-wide, at-large non-tenure track Faculty Senator (the “At-Large NTT Faculty Senator”) chosen through an election by non-tenure track Faculty members who qualify as Voting Faculty members under Section B.1. The At-Large NTT Faculty Senator must meet the officer eligibility requirements provided in Section E.5. The Senate may elect to accept as non-voting members representatives of major campus constituencies, such as the Staff Council, the Part-Time Faculty Association, and the Clinical Faculty serving at UMKC Clinical Affiliate Institutions.
  1. In order that the Senate maintain close ties with the units, it is recommended that one representative from each unit be the Faculty Chairperson of the unit or member of its executive body.
  2. All members of the UMKC Voting Faculty are eligible to be members of the Faculty Senate. No one who is not a member of the UMKC Voting Faculty may be a member of the Faculty Senate.
  3. Officers of the Senate including elected representatives of the Intercampus Faculty Cabinet ("IFC") shall be members of the Senate.
2. Terms of Office and Elections
  1. Senate members representing a unit shall be elected by the represented unit in time to take office at the first Senate meeting in the fall semester.
  2. All members of a represented unit who are members of the UMKC Voting Faculty (as defined in Section B.1) shall be eligible to participate in the election of the unit’s senators.
  3. Senate members elected to represent their units shall serve two-year terms, except for representatives who serve by virtue of their membership on a unit executive body; they may serve a term that coincides with their role on the unit executive body.
  4. Should a Senate member elected to represent a unit be unable to complete his/her term, that vacancy shall be filled by an election by that unit as soon as possible.
  5. Senate members elected to represent their units may succeed themselves without restriction.
  6. Senate officers (including the IFC representatives) shall be elected by the Voting Faculty by secret ballot. This election shall take place in the spring semester preceding the academic year in which their term is to begin.
  7. Senate officers are limited to two consecutive terms.
  8. Should a Senate officer be unable to complete his/her term, the filling of the vacancy shall be governed by Section E.5.d and E.5.e.
3. Powers -- The power of the UMKC Voting Faculty, as defined in Section B.2, shall be delegated to the Faculty Senate. The Senate may make recommendations pertaining to any feature of the functioning of the University to the Chancellor, and through the Chancellor to the President and/or the Board of Curators.
  1. The Senate, in cooperation with the administration, shall provide for Faculty participation in the regular evaluation of those campus-wide officers of the administration included in the Academic Tenure Regulations.
  2. The Senate, by formal action at an All-Faculty Meeting, or at a Senate meeting, may report to the Chancellor on matters of common concern, and through the Chancellor or through the Intercampus Faculty Cabinet to the President of the University and the Board of Curators, and may make recommendations pertaining to any feature of the functioning of UMKC or the University.
  3. The Senate shall serve as a liaison between the Faculty and the Chancellor and the campus’ administrative officers. The Senate shall serve as a liaison between the Faculty and the Intercampus Faculty Cabinet. The Senate shall serve as a liaison between the Faculty and the Student Government Association and the Intercampus Student Council.
4. Meetings
  1. The meeting schedule for each semester shall be set by the Chair of the Senate; however, additional meetings may be called by the Chair, at the request of the Chancellor, or at the request of 20 percent of the Senate or 10 percent of the Voting Faculty.
  2. Any Voting Faculty member may appear before the Senate to express his/her concerns by sending a written request to the Senate Chair-elect, who shall thereupon notify the Faculty member of the time and place of the next meeting and invite him/her to attend.
5. Officers of the Faculty Senate -- Individuals eligible to run for Senate officer positions shall consist of all members of the Voting Faculty who both (i) fall within the categories described in Section B.1.a or B.1.b and (ii) have at least six years as members of the Voting Faculty at UMKC. Elected officers shall be the Chair-elect, Chair, Past-Chair, the two IFC representatives, and the At-Large NTT Faculty Senator, who collectively shall comprise the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. Each year, a Chair-elect will be elected for a three-year term in a manner consistent with these Bylaws. Each position will advance; the previous Chair-elect becomes Chair, and the previous Chair becomes the Past-Chair. The formal date of advancement shall be August 1. People elected as officers of the Senate, upon election, if not already members of the Senate, shall be eligible to participate in the deliberations of the Senate. Elections and terms for IFC members shall comply with CRR 20.100.B.
  1. The Chair is the presiding officer of the Senate. It shall be the responsibility of the Chair to set the meeting schedule of the Senate and of the All-Faculty Meetings. The Chair shall be responsible for setting the agenda for both the Senate meetings and the All-Faculty Meetings, and for their distribution to all members of the voting Faculty. The agenda shall be set after consultation with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. The Chair shall serve on the IFC during his/her term in office.
  2. The Past-Chair shall preside in the absence of the Chair, shall serve as the parliamentarian of the Senate, and shall be the chair of Faculty Elections and the votes of the Voting Faculty.
  3. The Chair-elect shall serve as secretary, and record the minutes of the general All-Faculty Meetings and the Senate meetings, and make the minutes available to the Faculty through the Senate website. The Chair-elect shall excuse absences of Senate members and shall maintain attendance records.
  4. Should a Chair resign, that office will be assumed by the Chair-elect for the remainder of the term. Should the Chair-elect resign, a new special election will be held to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term. Should the Past-Chair resign, the Senate will elect a senator to fill the role and duties of the Past-Chair for the remainder of the term. In the case of a Chair resignation, the Chair-elect will serve out the remainder of the resigning Chair’s term for that year, and then serve the next year as the Chair as if normal progression had occurred.
  5. In the case of an IFC vacancy, the Senate shall determine at a regular meeting whether to fill the vacancy temporarily or for the duration of the unexpired term. For a temporary replacement, the Senate shall elect a current or prior Senate member to fill the vacancy. For replacements for the unexpired term, nominations will be requested among current or prior Senate members, and a ballot containing the names of nominees will be sent to all members of the Voting Faculty. The person getting the highest number of votes will assume the office for the duration of the unexpired term. Should that person be unable to serve, the person with the next highest number of votes in that election will assume the office. In urgent cases, so as to provide full representation at IFC, the Faculty Senate Executive Committee may appoint a current senator to attend IFC meetings until the Senate can address the vacancy at its next regular or special meeting.
  6. Faculty Senate Executive Committee members shall not serve more than two consecutive terms of office.
6. Committees
  1. The FSEC shall consist of all campus-wide elected members of the Senate (including the At-Large NTT Faculty Senator).
  2. The Senate may establish standing committees as deemed necessary, in accordance with the Senate Standard Operating Procedures. They will report to the Senate, and through the Senate to the Faculty at All-Faculty meetings.
  3. The Senate may establish ad hoc committees as deemed necessary. They will report to the Senate, and through the Senate to the Faculty at All-Faculty meetings.
  4. When committee nomination requests are received from the campus administration or from the Student Government Association, the Senate will designate nominees if it deems such action to be appropriate, following all applicable Collected Rules and Regulations. The Senate shall report at the next All-Faculty Meeting all requests and actions taken.
  5. Each committee shall annually submit a written review of its actions which will be made available to the Faculty through the Faculty Senate website.
7. Operations: Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)
  1. The Faculty Senate shall have a written document of standard operating procedures (the “Standard Operating Procedures” or “SOP”).
  2. The procedures articulated in the SOP shall be consistent with these Bylaws.
  3. The FSEC shall be responsible for proposing the initial SOP and any amendments to the SOP to the Faculty Senate.
  4. The Faculty Senate shall adopt the SOP by majority vote.
  5. The Faculty Senate shall adopt any amendments to the SOP by majority vote.
  6. The FSEC shall ensure that the SOP be available on the Faculty Senate website.
Bylaws and Amending Procedures
1. These Bylaws are subordinate to all bylaws, rules, regulations and policies established by the University or adopted by The Curators of the University of Missouri.
2. Ratification of amendments
  1. Amendments must have two readings in the Senate and be passed by secret ballot after the second reading.
  2. Amendments, passed by the Senate, must be circulated to the voting Faculty for an electronic election with two weeks allowed for voting.
  3. Amendments are approved by a majority of the faculty who vote, as defined in B.1 of these bylaws.
3. These Bylaws and amendments thereto become effective upon ratification by the Board of Curators.

300.020 Faculty Bylaws of the University of Missouri-Kansas City

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