The name of the organization is the St. Bonaventure University Graduate
Council, hereinafter referred to as the Council.
Section 1.
Graduate Faculty consist of full-time faculty who have been
nominated
by their Program Director (or Department Chair), recommended by their
respective Dean and
approved by the Council. Visiting faculty are not
considered Graduate Faculty from the standpoint of voting rights.
Graduate Faculty (excluding ex officio members) are eligible to
vote in
the election of their school’s representatives to the Council; to vote on
matters which come up for decision to the Graduate Faculty as a whole,
and to run for election to the Council.
Section 1.
The Council has the authority to legislate policy on academic matters concerning
the
Section 2.
The Council also has the authority to approve proposals for the
establishment of new graduate programs or the modification or
discontinuance of existing graduate programs. The Graduate Dean shall
forward program proposals approved by the Council to the President, for
Section 3.
Legislation passed by the Council or a program proposal approved
by the Council, may be returned to the Council by the President one time
without action, should there be an obvious need for clarification and/or
amendment. Once appropriate clarification and/or amendment has been made, the
legislation or program proposal shall be reconsidered by the Council and if
reapproved, returned to the President, for action.
Section 4.
Should the President veto legislation or a program proposal, the
President must communicate to the Council, in writing, the reason or
reasons for such veto.
Section 5.
Should the President veto or otherwise fail to act on
legislation or a program proposal, the matter must then be reconsidered by the
Council no later than at its next regularly scheduled meeting.
If upon reconsideration, two-thirds of the Council vote in favor of the
legislation or program proposal, the
President may withdraw the veto, thereby approving the legislation or program proposal. Otherwise, the President must refer the matter to the Board of Trustees for action at its
next scheduled meeting.
Article IV.
Membership on the Council
Section 1.
The Graduate Dean is a non-voting, ex officio member of the Council.
Section
2.
The Graduate Dean shall determine
the appropriate number of faculty seats
allocated to each school that offers a graduate program (or programs) prior to each election of faculty representatives. The number
of faculty seats allocated to each school will generally be based on the proportion of student headcount enrollment in graduate courses offered in
the school as compared to overall student headcount enrollment in all graduate courses offered
at the University. In all cases,
however, each school must be allocated at least one faculty seat on the Council, and in no case should any school
have a majority of the total faculty seats on the Council.
Faculty representatives on the Council are elected by the Graduate Faculty of their school. The length of term of an elected faculty
representative to the Council is two years. Faculty representatives
on the Council are voting members.
Procedures governing the election of faculty representatives to the Council are stated in the bylaws.
Section
2. Section
4.
One graduate student from among the current recipients of all graduate
assistantships, shall annually be elected as the student representative
to the Council. The student representative to the Council is a voting member. Procedures governing the election of the student representative
to the Council are stated in the bylaws.
Section 5.
A
faculty representative on the Council shall be elected by majority vote of the
Council to the position of Council Chair,
hereinafter referred to as the Chair. The election shall take place at the last meeting of an
academic year which coincides with the end of the current Chair’s term. The length
of term of an elected Chair is two years. The Chair may be reelected for
an indefinite number of terms.
Section 6.
A faculty representative on the Council shall be elected by majority vote
of the Council to the position of Council Vice Chair, hereinafter referred to as
the Vice Chair. The election shall take place at the first meeting of each
academic year. The length of term of an elected Vice Chair is one year. The Vice
Chair may be reelected for an indefinite number of terms.
Section 1.
The Graduate Dean shall see to it that all administrative deadlines are adhered to as indicated in the University Calendar & Due Dates.
Section 2.
The
Graduate Dean is responsible for forwarding legislation or approved
program proposals to the President for action.
Section 3.
The Graduate Dean shall see to it that
all Council decisions approved by the President are appropriately communicated to the Council, Deans of
Schools, and if applicable, to the Registrar’s Office.
Section 4.
The Chair is responsible for conducting meetings of the Council, for
fielding all agenda items, for posting the Council
agenda three (3) days prior to Council meetings, for scheduling votes by the Council as
indicated in Article III,
Section 5 and for ensuring that the “one third of
the members of the Graduate Faculty” requirement (as indicated in Section 7 of this Article) has been met.
Section 5.
In
the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair is responsible for performing the
duties of the Chair.
Section 6.
Council members are responsible for submitting agenda items to the Chair no later than four (4) days prior to Council
meetings.
Section 7.
One-third of the members of the Graduate Faculty can require the
Council to put an item and/or motion on the agenda of a meeting of the
Council.
Such an
addition to a meeting’s agenda, must be received by the Chair no later than four (4) days prior to the Council meeting.
Section 1.
The Council shall hold meetings at least once a month from September through April. Minutes of meetings shall be recorded.
Section 2.
Other meetings of the Council may be called at any time by the Chair or in the absence of the Chair, the Vice Chair.
Section 3.
Meetings of the Council shall be open to members of all segments of the
University community under such rules and regulations as the Bylaws
and the Council may establish.
Section 4.
A majority of voting representatives
shall constitute a quorum.
Section 5.
The meetings shall be
conducted according to Robert’s Rules of Order.
Section 1.
Permanent Committees
of the Council may be established through the Bylaws. Ad hoc committees
may be appointed at any time.
Section 1.
A petition for a
constitutional amendment or a referendum, including a referendum to review a Council action, must be signed by two-thirds of
the elected members of the Council or by one-third of the members of
the Graduate Faculty, and then be presented to the Graduate Dean.
Section 2.
Within two weeks
after receiving the petition, the Graduate Dean shall distribute a written copy of the proposed amendment or
referendum to the Graduate Faculty.
Included with the proposed amendment or referendum is to be a ballot, on which either “yes” or
“no” is to be checked. This
ballot is to be returned to the Graduate Dean within two weeks.
Section 3.
Those proposing the amendment or
referendum have the right to call for a meeting of the Graduate Faculty, instead of the mail ballot.
In such a case the Graduate Dean, after distributing a copy of the amendment or
referendum, will call the meeting within four weeks after receiving the
petition. At the meeting,
the amendment or referendum will be voted on by the written ballot.
With regard to both
the mail ballot and the meeting with the written
ballot, the amendment or referendum must gain two-thirds of the votes cast in order to be passed.
The amendment or referendum is then subject to the approval of the President.
Section 1.
Bylaws are hereby incorporated as part
of the Constitution.
Section 2.
Bylaws
(or changes therein) become effective after being approved by a two thirds majority vote of the elected members of the Council.