In 2018, the Tampa Faculty Senate (FS) Constitution was amended so that every academic department would have one senator instead of multiple senators from each college, which could be from only one department. This was done to ensure that every academic department has a voice is the FS. That article (II.C) was carried over to the Constitution of the Faculty of the University of South Florida.
Senators
Senators elected by their departments serve 3-year terms. All members of the general
faculty are eligible for election to the Faculty Senate (unless otherwise indicated
in the Bylaws). Each spring, department elections are held for seats that will be
vacated at the end of the academic year. In addition, Council chairs are non-elected
senators.
To find out who your department’s senator is, a complete list is available at: https://www.usf.edu/faculty-senate/about/members.aspx.
The Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC) is a group of senate leaders that also meets monthly to handle the business of the senate. They also continue to meet over the summer semester. Membership consists of FS leadership and Council chairs. This group is often responsible for drafting motions or following up on issues brought up in the larger senate meetings. For more information, please see: https://www.usf.edu/faculty-senate/about/leadership.aspx.
Councils
Council membership is a great way to get involved in shared governance. The FS currently has 16 Standing Councils, each of which has representatives from each college who serve for 3-year terms.
The Councils webpage also has a link to the list of current vacancies and a link to the Council nomination/self-nomination form. These are reviewed by the Committee on Committees that proposes new members, which
are then approved by the FSEC and FS. If you have a question about any Council, feel free to reach out to the chair(s).
In coming months, we’ll post detailed information about the work the Councils are currently doing. In the meantime, here is a basic description of the job of each Council.
| Council | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
| Committee on Committees | Helps recommend interested faculty for council seats by ensuring they meet all requirements, reviews and amends council charges, and encourages faculty involvement in university governance. |
| Council on Educational Policies | Reviews academic policies and recommends possible improvements, and initiates and
recommends new policies, relevant to academic quality and environment. |
| Council on Faculty Issues | Examining or initiating policies relevant to personal welfare of the faculty, gathering and publicizing information on faculty needs and concerns, and developing and implement procedures for faculty evaluation of administrator performance. |
| Council on Racial Justice | Advising on matters that pertain to racial justice, racism, and anti-blackness and educational and research activities that focus in these areas. |
| Council on Technology for Instruction and Research | Setting priorities for the use of academic computing financial resources, providing planning for technology resources, formulating methods to encourage effective use of computing and other technologies, and protecting rights to intellectual property developed in these areas. |
| Faculty Council on Student Admissions | Make recommendations on policies and procedures regarding undergraduate admission, serve as a liaison for general faculty, make recommendation on admission matter, make initial admission decisions, and to serve as an appellate body. |
| General Education Council | Evaluate and approve courses for the liberal arts curriculum and development of future general education programs. |
| Graduate Council | Advise on principles, policies, and procedures affecting graduate education at USF. |
| Honors and Awards Council | Advise on the provision of various academic honors and awards granted by USF. |
| Intercampus Council | Advise on matters of interest to the faculty regarding collaboration and integration throughout USF. |
| Library Council | Review of implementation of University Library policies for purchasing materials, participate in periodic evaluation of the library, advocate for library, and develop faculty-wide awareness of the library. |
| Publications Council | Advise on recruiting suitable scholarly and creative works for publication and which
to support with subvention. Also, to serve as an advisory board to the United Press of Florida when subvented manuscripts are printed there. |
| Research Council | Advise on matters pertaining to policies and procedures intended to promote growth, excellence, and integrity in research and creative activity at USF. |
| Undergraduate Council | Advise on matters pertaining to undergraduate courses, curricula, programs, and degrees. They also address development of future undergraduate programs and the development, review, and updating of USF’s statement of academic goals and objectives. |
| USF Sarasota-Manatee Campus Faculty Council | Advise the USF Sarasota Manatee campus Regional Chancellor and Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs on matters of interest to the faculty on that campus. |
| USF St. Petersburg Campus Faculty Council | Advise the USF St. Petersburg campus Regional Chancellor and Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs on matters of interest to the faculty on that campus. |