Section One - The Faculty Senate membership shall total the number of senators elected to direct-elect committees plus at-large senators. Faculty eligible are the full-time tenured, tenure-track, and non-tenure track faculty, who shall be elected by the faculty in the manner provided below.

     Section Two - University of Houston faculty members who meet the eligibility criteria described in the bylaws may serve as members of the Faculty Senate, except those with the administrative rank of Dean or above.

     Section Three - The unit by which representation shall be determined is the college, and not subdivisions thereof.  Allocation of Senate seats by college is based generally upon proportion of the total full-time eligible faculty across all colleges.
      Membership of Undergraduate, Research and Scholarship, and Graduate and Professional Studies Standing Committees are described below in the bylaws.
      Members of a college who are eligible for Faculty Senate membership are eligible to vote in elections for senatorial positions. Elections must be by secret ballot.

     Section Four - The Senate shall reapportion itself immediately before the 2011 unification, and each fourth year thereafter. Reapportionment of at-large seats shall be made in the proportion to the number of eligible faculty in each college. Each college, including the Libraries, Hobby School, and Honors College, shall be entitled to at least one member. Librarians are counted in the same manner as other faculty. The number of at-large seats shall be determined by the Faculty Governance Committee and based upon the workload of the committee and in consultation with the Executive Committee. The method of apportionment of Senate seats across the colleges for the direct-elect committees shall be governed by the committees’ respective by-laws.

     If a new college is established, the Senate shall make provision for its representation at the next following election by one senator. If a college is discontinued, it shall cease to be represented. If a college is divided, its representatives shall be divided among the newly created colleges. If two colleges are merged, the successor college shall have the same representation as was previously held by the two separate entities. The apportionment of senators shall not be affected by the creation, division, merger, or termination of colleges until the next apportionment provided for in this article.

     Section Five - Elections to the Senate shall be for a term of three years.

     Section Six - Regular elections for a Senate seat shall be held a minimum of three months prior to the start of the new term. The Faculty Governance Committee will run each college election and shall certify the results of such elections to the secretary of the Faculty Senate.
     Special elections to fill unexpired Senate terms shall be held within 60 days after a senator has resigned or has been elected to the role of president-elect. The months of June, July, and August shall not be used in computing the 60-day period. Unexpired terms exceeding three months may be filled only by election. Unexpired terms of less than three months may be filled temporarily by an individual appointed by either the dean of the college or a college governance organization, at the end of which time a successor will be elected.
     So as to avoid prolonged lapses in representation, a senator who goes on leave and is absent from academic duties, or is for any other reason away from the university, for a period exceeding the summer plus one long (i.e. Fall or Spring) semester shall relinquish his/her senatorial position and a special election shall be held to select a replacement. When the absence does not exceed the summer plus one long semester, the senatorial position may, and for periods of more than two months should, be filled temporarily by an individual appointed by either the dean of the college or a college governance organization.
     If a senator-elect declines service, the Faculty Governance Committee may, at its discretion, select the candidate with the next highest number of votes to fill the seat.

     Section Seven - Members of the Senate shall be eligible for reelection unless currently serving as president or president-elect.

     Section Eight - If a college loses a seat due to reapportionment, seated Senators may complete their terms, but the seat will not be filled at the end of the said term. In order that one-third of the Senate seats, or the nearest fraction thereto, are subject to election each year, terms of less than three years may be utilized as part of a reapportionment.

     Section Nine - In order to promote effective representation for all colleges, members shall be regular in their attendance at meetings of the Faculty Senate. Members who are not actively participating in the business of the Senate or its committees during their term may be removed from the Senate at the discretion of the Executive Committee. The exception is noted in Section Six of Article One.

     Section One--The Senate shall have a president, a president-elect, and a secretary. The duties of these officers may be provided for in the bylaws. The bylaws may provide for other officers. The president or president-elect shall not serve while holding the position of associate/assistant dean.

      Section Two--One or more deputies may be appointed by the secretary of the Faculty Senate to assist in the discharge of the duties as secretary of the Senate. Such deputies need not be members of the Senate or the faculty.

      Section Three--If the Office of the President becomes vacant, the president-elect shall become president. If the office of president-elect or secretary becomes vacant, a new election shall be held to determine the successor.

      Section One--The Executive Committee shall consist of the president-elect, the president, the immediate past-president, and the secretary of the Faculty Senate, two members elected by the Senate, the chair of the Faculty Governance Committee, and the chairs of Senate standing committees. The president of the Faculty Senate shall act as presiding officer of the Executive Committee, and the secretary of the Faculty Senate shall act as the secretary of the Executive Committee. Members of the Executive Committee shall serve one-year terms. All members of the executive committee including the president and president-elect will serve in their roles from August 1 of the year of election through July 31 of the following year.
     To coordinate the efforts of the shared governance structure and increase its effectiveness, the Executive Committee may invite the heads of other governance organizations to serve on it as non-voting ex-officio members.

      Section Two--The Executive Committee shall direct the activities of the Faculty Senate. The president of the Senate shall appoint committees with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall prepare the agenda for the meeting of the Senate and shall propose to the Senate appropriate committee structure and other devices to carry out the business of the Senate.

     Section Three--The Faculty Senate may at its discretion, by a majority of those present and voting, empower the Executive Committee or any other committee of the Senate, to act for it in any particular matter, or any well-defined class of matters. Such power may be rescinded at any time.

     Section Four--The president of the Faculty Senate shall be responsible for communicating the actions of the Senate to the appropriate administrative authorities of the university. Prior to such communication, however, the Executive Committee shall be empowered to refer back to the Senate any action for further consideration at the next or subsequent meeting as the Senate may determine provided the same matter shall not be referred back hereunder a second time.
      The president of the Faculty Senate shall be responsible for making a report on the activities of the Executive Committee at Faculty Senate meetings.

     Section Five--If an at-large member of the Senate Executive Committee resigns, the Executive Committee may fill the vacancy by the appointment of a member of the Faculty Senate 

     Section Six—In the spirit of shared governance and to increase its effectiveness, the Executive Committee shall meet with the Chancellor/President, the Senior Vice Chancellor/Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, the Executive Vice Chancellor/Executive Vice President for Administration and Finance, and other senior administrators on a regular basis. The Executive Committee shall prepare the agenda for these meetings.

     Section One--The Faculty Governance Committee shall consist of the president of the Senate, the president-elect of the Senate, the immediate past-president of the Senate, and twelve members elected by the Senate. No more than two members of the committee, excluding the ex officio members, shall come from any one college. The immediate past-president will serve as chair of the committee. If the immediate past-president is unwilling or unable to serve, the Senate shall elect an additional member to the committee, and the committee members will select their own chair from among the elected members of the committee. If a member of the committee resigns, the Senate Executive Committee may fill the vacancy by appointment of a member of the Faculty Senate.

     Section Two—The committee is charged with the responsibility of regularly reviewing faculty governance within the University and making recommendations on improvements when needed. The committee will also oversee the updating of the Faculty Handbook.

     Section Three—No later than June 1 of each year, the Senate shall have completed the appointment of faculty members to the University standing committees and shall forward the names of appointees to the appropriate administrators.

     Section Four--The committee shall notify the Senate of nominations of faculty members to serve on committees or similar groups other than University standing committees. The committee shall nominate to the spring Assembly of the Faculty names for positions to be filled on the Faculty Grievance Committee. (For composition of membership, see Bylaw Seven.) Additional nominations may be made from the floor at the spring assembly. The committee shall promptly proceed to conduct a campus-wide election, and then to publicize the results. If a vacancy occurs on the Grievance Committee, the Faculty Governance Committee shall appoint a replacement for the portion of the term remaining until the next scheduled election.

     Section Five--Except as provided elsewhere, the Faculty Governance Committee shall oversee the election of all Faculty Senate members and its officers. At the February meeting of the Senate, the committee shall present two nominations for the positions of president-elect and secretary, and four nominations for the two at-large positions on the executive committee. The committee shall also present fourteen nominees to fill the twelve elective positions on the Faculty Governance Committee. Following the presentation of the slate, the chair of the committee shall call for additional nominations to be made from the floor. Senators whose term of office is about to expire and who have not been re-elected to an additional term by May 31st are eligible for election to the Faculty Governance Committee and as president-elect, but not the other positions. The election shall take place via electronic balloting after completion of the slate and prior to the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Senate.

     Section One--All faculty members at the University of Houston shall be encouraged to attend the Assembly of the Faculty.

     Section Two--Assemblies of the Faculty shall be held at least once each fall and spring semester at the call of the president of the Faculty Senate.  Additional assemblies shall be called by the president of the Senate upon petition by twenty members of the Senate or 25 faculty members, or by action of the Executive Committee.

     Section Three--One of the purposes of the Assemblies of the Faculty shall be to report to the faculty the actions of the Senate since the last Assembly of the Faculty. The Executive Committee of the Senate shall prepare the agenda for the Assembly of the Faculty. The agenda shall provide for the introduction of business at the meeting by any faculty member. The president of the Faculty Senate or the person discharging the duties of the president shall act as the chair of the Assembly of the Faculty. The secretary of the Faculty Senate shall act as secretary of the Assembly of the Faculty.

     Section Four--The quorum for meetings of the Assembly of the Faculty shall consist of forty percent of voting eligible faculty.

     Section One--The Senate shall meet at least once a month during the regular nine-month school year.

     Section Two--The first regular meeting will be held in September, after the beginning of the fall semester.

     Section Three--Prior to the October meeting, the Executive Committee shall present a calendar of regular meetings for the remainder of the academic year. The Executive Committee, with due notice, may either alter the calendar of regular meetings or call special meetings. Upon the written petition of at least 20 senators, a special meeting must be called.

     Section Four-- Forty percent of the members of the Senate shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

     Section Five--All meetings shall be conducted according to parliamentary laws as set forth in the latest edition of Roberts' Rules of Order, except where a contrary rule is provided by this constitution, or by the bylaws, or by any standing rules.

     Section Six--Any faculty member may petition the Executive Committee to be permitted to address the Faculty Senate in regard to any matter within the Senate's competence. Such appearance shall be subject to limitations of time as provided by the Senate, but permission hereunder shall be granted as freely as the due conduct of the Senate's business shall permit.

     Section Seven--Except where the constitution or bylaws provide otherwise, all elections and matters voted upon shall be determined by a majority of those voting.

     Section Eight--Written or electronic ballots shall be used for elections. Other matters will be determined by a show of hands unless written ballots are requested by at least 10 members of the Senate.

    Section Nine--Voting privileges for president, president-elect and immediate past-president are different from other senators and follow certain principles.

• The president, president-elect and immediate past-president may not vote on any general senate matters; however by virtue of being the chair of the senate, the president may vote to break a tied vote in faculty senate meetings, and the immediate past-president may vote to break a tied vote in the Faculty Governance Committee.
• The president-elect and immediate past-president retain their voting privileges on matters within the executive committee; however, by virtue of being the chair of the executive committee, the president may vote in the executive committee to break a tied vote.

     Section One--The Senate may adopt or amend bylaws as follows:

     (1) At a regular meeting of the Faculty Senate by a majority vote provided, however, that notice of such bylaw or amendment to a bylaw must have been given a reading in the exact form in which it is finally adopted at the previous regular meeting,

     (2) If the proposed bylaw, having been read at the previous meeting, is amended by a majority vote of the Senate subsequent to its reading, it may be adopted by a two-thirds vote of those present, or

     (3) By a written or electronic two-thirds vote of the total membership of the Senate.

     Section One--This constitution may be amended only as follows:

     (1) At a regular meeting of the Faculty Senate by a two-thirds vote of the members present provided, however, that notice of such amendment must have been given by a reading of the amendment, in the exact form in which it is finally adopted, at the previous regular meetings,

     (2) By a written or electronic two-thirds vote of the total membership of the Senate, or

     (3) By a three-fourths vote of those members present at an Assembly of the Faculty provided, however, that notice of such amendment must have been given by a reading of the amendment, in the exact form in which it is finally adopted, at a meeting of the Assembly of the Faculty at least 30 days previously.