Preamble
The mission of the School of Allied Health Professions in Shreveport is to advance health professions through excellence in education, research, and service. Accordingly, full-time Faculty of the School of Allied Health Professions in Shreveport seeks to attain that goal through creation of an environment where academic excellence may flourish. Because unified efforts of both Faculty and Administration are essential in this common endeavor, members of the Faculty have organized this Assembly with elected Delegates to serve as representatives. Delegates of the Assembly constitute an elected body designed to provide an active, informed faculty with a formal mechanism for input into academic processes and to promote communication between Faculty and Administration. Delegates to the Assembly will reflect faculty issues regarding ongoing and planned operations within the Health Sciences Center and will communicate these issues to the Administration.
The Bylaws of the Shreveport Faculty Delegate Assembly are subject to rules and regulations of the Board of Regents, Board of Supervisors, President of the LSU System, Chancellor of the Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, and Dean of the School of Allied Health Professions in Shreveport.
A. Membership:
- Assembly shall refer to the Faculty of the School of Allied Health Professions in Shreveport.
- Faculty shall refer to the members of the academic staff holding the rank of Professor, Professor of Clinical*, Associate Professor, Associate Professor of Clinical*, Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor of Clinical* or Instructor and whose performance is evaluated by the Promotions and Tenure Committee of the School of Allied Health.
- Adjunct and gratis faculty are not eligible for membership in the Assembly.
- Delegate shall refer to the members of the Assembly elected as representatives.
*Denotes program name
B. Officers:
Officers of the Assembly shall consist of the President, Vice-President and Secretary
- President of the Faculty Delegate Assembly shall:
- Direct the Delegates to meet;
- Attend all scheduled meetings of the Delegates and any other called meetings;
- Appoint a parliamentarian who shall attend meetings and maintain order;
- Prepare the agenda and preside at all meetings of the Delegates and the Assembly;
- Circulate the agenda for meetings prior to the meeting;
- Ensure that the agenda is posted in areas available to the faculty;
- Authenticate, by signature when necessary, all acts, orders, and proceedings of the Assembly;
- Announce the business before the Delegates and the Assembly;
- Preserve order and decorum;
- Decide all questions of order;
- Represent and stand for the Assembly;
- Serve as a liaison with the Administration of the School of Allied Health Professions and/or Health Sciences Center;
- Serve as the Assembly representative on the Administrative Council and Executive Committee/Dean’s Advisory Committee of the School of Allied Health Professions;
- Charter faculty committees with the Dean of the School of Allied Health Professions; and
- Maintain regular communication with faculty committees.
- Vice President of the Faculty Delegate Assembly shall:
- Attend all scheduled meetings of the Delegates and Executive Committee and any other called meeting;
- Preside over the meeting of the Delegates, the Assembly and fulfill other duties of the President in the absence of the President; and
- Perform other duties assigned by the President.
- Secretary of the Faculty Delegate Assembly shall:
- Attend all meetings;
- Keep a record of all proceedings;
- Read the minutes of the meetings;
- Distribute minutes of Delegates’ meetings to all faculty;
- Prepare a list of eligible members before each election;
- Maintain a roster of members of the Assembly;
- Perform other duties assigned by the President;
- Prepare an annual report prior to the election meeting of Delegates which shall include activities, recommendations, and findings, which shall be available to all Assembly members and shall be forwarded to the Dean’s office for archival. This report will include a listing of the Delegates and the names of individuals elected to begin 2-year terms of service; and
- Send out and maintain annual Administration and Program Director evaluations.
- Executive Committee of the Faculty Delegate Assembly is comprised of the President, Vice President, and Secretary and shall provide general supervision of the affairs of the Assembly between meetings and shall be subject to orders of the Assembly.
C. Meetings:
- Regular meetings of the Delegates shall be held monthly unless otherwise requested or altered by the President, the Executive Committee, or by a majority of the Delegates.
- Meetings shall be attended by all Delegates.
- Meetings of the Delegates shall be open to all members of the faculty.
- Two-thirds of the Delegates shall constitute a quorum.
- A majority vote of the Delegates shall initiate a closed session.
- Called meetings of the Assembly may be initiated either by a majority vote of the Assembly or a majority vote of the Delegates.
- Delegates shall meet with the Assembly at least once during the Fall and Spring semesters and report activities and recommendations to the Assembly.
- The regular meeting of the Assembly in the Spring shall be known as the annual meeting and shall be for the purpose of presenting a formal report to the Assembly summarizing the actions and recommendations of the Delegates since the last annual meeting.
- Programs not represented by Delegates to the Assembly shall be encouraged to send a nonvoting representative to each delegate meeting to facilitate communications.
D. Functions and Duties:
- Review, make recommendations for change, and support the overall goals and policies of the School of Allied Health Professions and the Health Sciences Center;
- Provide a forum for expression of faculty needs and concerns among the School of Allied Health programs and with the Health Sciences Center Faculty;
- Assist administration and faculty by counsel and suggestion in planning;
- Foster communication between the School of Allied Health Professions in Shreveport faculty and faculties of other schools within the Health Sciences Center and the administrations of the School of Allied Health Professions and the Health Sciences Center;
- Initiate and conduct activities that will foster the continuation and development of Allied Health programs; improve the quality of their services and contribute to the general wellbeing of the faculty; and
- Declare and support the principle of academic freedom for all faculty.
E. Elections:
- Delegates
- The Assembly shall elect six Delegates.
- One-half of the Delegates of the Assembly shall be elected each year.
- Members of the Assembly eligible for election as Delegates shall include all faculty of all ranks whose performance is rated by the Promotion and Tenure Committee of the School of Allied Health Profession. A list of eligible members of the Assembly shall be prepared by the Secretary of the Assembly prior to each election.
- Procedures for nomination and election of Delegates shall be administered by the Delegates.
- Nomination of the Delegates shall be held annually in the Summer. Each member of the Assembly shall receive a nomination alert via e-mail and may nominate one person. The place and deadline for the return of the nomination shall be stated in the e-mail and shall not be more than two weeks following the alert. Nominations received after the deadline shall not be considered unless there are not enough nominees to fill vacant positions.
- Each nominated member shall be notified within one week after the close of the nominations. The number of nominees on the ballot shall be limited to the first nine who submit the acceptance of the nomination in writing or e-mail.
- Election of Delegates shall be held in the Summer. Each member of the Assembly will receive an electronic ballot. The ballot shall list, in alphabetic order, names of the nominees. The ballots shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Assembly. The deadline for the return of the ballot shall be stated on the ballot and shall not be more than two weeks following distribution of ballots. Late votes will be considered invalid.
- Assembly members may each vote for three nominees. Ties shall be broken by lot.
- Delegates shall serve for two years or until their successor is elected. Term of service shall begin at the first Delegate meeting following the Summer elections.
- Delegates may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. A Delegate who has served more than half a term (more than 12 months) shall be considered to have served a full term.
- In the event that a Delegate resigns or forfeits his/her elected office, the Delegates shall then appoint an eligible member to complete the term.
- Officers
- Officers shall be elected by the Delegates and shall serve for one year or until their successors are elected. Term of office shall begin at the close of the meeting at which they are elected.
- No Delegate shall hold more than one office in the Faculty Delegate Assembly simultaneously and no Delegate shall be eligible to serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office. The President may not be re-elected to the office of President in consecutive terms.
- Delegates shall fill vacancies in the offices of Vice President and Secretary through elections. If the Presidency is vacated, the Vice President shall assume the duties of President. If any other office is vacated by resignation, removal, or death of an officer, it will be filled by approval of the remaining Delegates. By a majority vote, the remaining Delegates will fill officer vacancies. The President may participate in the process but does not have the power to be the sole determiner in the selection of replacement officers.
F. Parliamentary Authority:
- Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the Assembly, unless they conflict with the bylaws or any special rules of order the Assembly shall adopt.
- The bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds majority vote of the total votes cast by the membership of the Assembly. Voting shall be by electronic or written ballot, or a combination thereof. The decision on the type of ballot used shall be determined by the Delegates. Confidentiality will be maintained where deemed appropriate. The amendment must be submitted in writing for discussion at a regular meeting of the Delegates and approved before being submitted to the Assembly for voting.
- The Committee Addendum to Bylaws and any other addenda to the bylaws can be modified by consensus of the Delegates.
|