Bylaws of the General Faculty

In accordance with Article IV, Section 2, of the Charter of the General Faculty and the Faculty Senate of the Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, the following Bylaws for the operation of the General Faculty were adopted on August 26, 1986. The Charter document has been amended to the Charter of the General Faculty and the Faculty Senate, Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences (OSU-CHS). The College of Osteopathic Medicine and the graduate programs are functional academic units of the Center for Health Sciences.

• Article I

  Membership

  In accordance with the Charter, Article III, Section I, membership in the General Faculty shall be composed of full time and part time faculty members with the rank of instructor or above. Complete, current records of membership indicating voting rights shall be kept by the Secretary of the Faculty Senate.

• Article II

  Meetings

  Individual notices of regular meetings specified in the Charter, Article VI, Section 1, shall be sent by the Secretary to members of the General Faculty.

  
  The regular meetings shall be held at least once each semester.

  
  The agenda for these meetings will include the items described in the Charter, Article VI, Section 1. The final agenda will be established by the Faculty Senate, in consultation with the Chief Academic Officer of CHS, and submitted to the General Faculty membership at least three (3) working days prior to the scheduled meeting.

  
  The Chief Academic Officer of CHS or a designee of the Chief Academic Officer presides at all meetings of the General Faculty. In their absence, the President of the Faculty Senate shall preside.

• Article III

  Nomination and Election Procedures

  Nomination of President-elect and Faculty Senate Members:

  1. At least sixty (60) days prior to election, the Chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee shall distribute to each voting member of the General Faculty the following:
     1. A description of each vacancy.
     2. A statement concerning the nomination and election procedure for Faculty Senate positions.
  2. Faculty members nominated for election to the Faculty Senate shall be certified as eligible by the Faculty Affairs Committee in accordance with Article VII, Sections 1 and 2, of the Charter.
  3. To be nominated for a position as President-elect or a member on the Faculty Senate, a petition shall be submitted by an eligible faculty member or his or her sponsor with support of three (3) voting members of the General Faculty and an accompanying affirmation by the candidate indicating willingness to serve if elected. These materials shall be provided to the Chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee at least thirty (30) days prior to election. If no candidates are nominated for a vacancy, the Faculty Affairs Committee shall make a nomination or nominations to provide at least one (1) candidate for each vacancy to be filled. There shall be no nomination of a candidate for President-elect when a vacancy in the office of the President has been filled by the President-elect and a new President-elect has been elected as provided in Bylaws III, paragraph E, 2, of the Bylaws of the General Faculty.

  Election Procedure:

  1. If more than two (2) candidates are nominated for a position, a primary election shall be conducted. A voting period of at least one (1) week in duration shall be set by the Faculty Affairs Committee. The voting instructions shall indicate dates of the voting period and, if a mail ballot is used, the name of the individual to whom the completed mail ballots are to be returned. This individual shall be responsible for the security of the mail ballots. The names of the two (2) candidates who receive the most votes from the ballot shall be placed on the general election ballot.
  2. The Chair of the Faculty Affairs Committee shall distribute to each voting member of the General Faculty a list of nominees for all positions to be filled.
  3. The general election shall be conducted by the Faculty Affairs
     Committee at the Spring Meeting of the General Faculty.
  4. The Faculty Affairs Committee shall determine the vote count, resolve tie votes by reballot, and certify the results to the Secretary of the Faculty Senate. Challenges of nominations or elections shall be presented to the Secretary of the Faculty Senate within seven (7) days after publication of results and shall be decided by secret vote of the Faculty Senate. The decision of the Faculty Senate will be final.

  Assumption of Office:

  Newly elected officers and Faculty Senate members shall assume their duties on or before June 1, which shall be the beginning of the Faculty Senate year.

  Vacancies:

  1. Definition of vacancy:
     1. A vacancy shall exist when a Faculty Senate member is elected President-elect of the General Faculty, or when a Faculty Senate member
        1. dies
        2. retires
        3. resigns from office or from the Center
        4. goes on leave for a semester or more, or
        5. has excessive absences from Faculty Senate meetings as described in Article III A. of the Bylaws of the Faculty Senate.
  2. Procedure for Filling Vacancies:
     1. Officer vacancies: A vacancy in the office of President shall be filled by the President-elect, who shall serve out the term of the incumbent President, and succeed to his own regular term as President of the Faculty Senate the following Faculty Senate year. A vacancy in the office of President-elect shall be filled by an election of the General Faculty. A person elected President-elect in a special election shall serve out the term of the President-elect he/she replaced, serve out his/her regular term as President-elect, and then shall succeed as President.  A vacancy shall be filled not later than sixty (60) days following the date of the occurrence of the vacancy.
     2. Faculty Senate vacancies: The President of the Faculty Senate, in consultation with members of the Faculty Affairs Committee, shall make interim appointments effective until the next annual election. At the next annual election a member shall be elected to complete each unexpired term.

  Other Special Elections:

  Special elections to fill vacancies shall be conducted within ninety (90) days when

  1. more than two (2) vacancies exist in the membership of the Faculty Senate, or
  2. a prior election has been voided by the Faculty Senate. 

  Special elections shall follow, as far as possible, the same nomination and election procedures used for the annual election.

• Article IV

  Effect of Faculty Senate Action

  Unless annulled by subsequent action of the General Faculty, a decision of the Faculty Senate shall have the effect of representing the will of the General Faculty.

• Article V

  Amendment of Bylaws

  These Bylaws may be amended with the following procedure:

  1. Amendments to the Bylaws may be proposed by any committee or member of the General Faculty and shall be submitted to the Faculty Senate for review and approval.
  2. Amendments approved by the Faculty Senate shall be submitted to members of the General Faculty at least fifteen (15) days prior to a vote of the General Faculty.
  3. Amendments must be approved by a majority vote of the General Faculty voting in a manner approved by the Faculty Senate.

  Amendments to these Bylaws shall be effective immediately after approval by the General Faculty.

   

  Amendment History

  • Amended by the General Faculty on May 10, 1994
  • Amended by the General Faculty on May 18, 1995
  • Amended by the General Faculty on May 14, 1997
  • Amended by the General Faculty on May 15, 2003
  • Amended by the General Faculty on May 13, 2009
  • Amended by the General Faculty on May 11, 2017
  • Amended by the General Faculty on May 31, 2020
  • Amended by the General Faculty on May 31, 2022