Sec. 4.01. The University Senate (revised July 2023)
The University Senate shall consist of all members of the tenured or tenure-track professorial staff, the executive officers of the University, the deans of the schools and colleges, such members of the research, clinical, lecturer, archival, curatorial, and librarian staff as may be designated in accordance with standards and procedures approved by the Senate Assembly, and such other major officers as may be designated by the Board of Regents from time to time. The chair of the assembly shall preside at meetings of the University Senate. In the absence of the chair, the vice chair of the assembly shall preside. The senate is authorized to consider any subject pertaining to the interests of the University, and to make recommendations to the Board of Regents in regard thereto. Decisions of the University Senate with respect to matters within its jurisdiction shall constitute the binding action of the University faculties. Jurisdiction over academic policies shall reside in the faculties of the various schools and colleges, but insofar as actions by the several faculties affect University policy as a whole, or schools and colleges other than the one in which they originate, they shall be brought before the University Senate.
Sec. 4.02. Rules of the Senate
The University Senate may adopt rules concerning its own government and procedure and concerning its officers and committees.
Sec. 4.03. Senate Assembly Composition (revised July 2023)
There shall be a Senate Assembly which shall consist of seventy-seven senate members apportioned among the various schools and colleges according to the number of senate members in each school or college. However, no Senate Assembly unit shall be apportioned more than 17 members. For the purposes of Senate Assembly apportionment, UM-Dearborn members shall constitute a “UM-Dearborn” unit; UM-Flint members shall constitute a “UM-Flint” unit; and all Librarian, Archivist, and Curator members from all campuses shall constitute a “Library” unit of the Senate Assembly. The assembly shall make a reapportionment every three years. The members of the assembly shall serve for terms of three years (or longer in accordance with Sec. 4.07) so adjusted that the terms of approximately one-third of the members shall expire each year. A member who has served one term will not immediately be eligible for re-election.
Sec. 4.04. Senate Assembly: Powers and Duties
The Senate Assembly shall serve as the legislative arm of the senate. An action of the assembly shall have the effect of an action of the senate unless and until it is revoked by the senate, except when the assembly recommends an amendment to the rules of the University Senate, the Senate Assembly, and the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs that requires a change in the Bylaws of the Board of Regents. Notice of any such proposed amendment to the rules shall be communicated to the members of the senate by publication in the University Record or by other appropriate means. No action thereon by the Board of Regents shall be requested without senate approval if, within thirty days following such publication, a meeting of the senate is called in accordance with its rules to consider the assembly recommendation. The areas of concern of the assembly shall be those of the senate. The assembly meetings shall be open to all senate members. The assembly shall have power to consider and advise regarding all matters within the jurisdiction of the University Senate which affect the functioning of the university as an institution of higher learning, which concern its obligations to the state and to the community at large, and which relate to its internal organization insofar as such matters of internal organization involve general questions of educational policy. The assembly shall advise and consult with the president on any matter of university policy which the president may place before it. The assembly may request information from any member of the university staff, and may invite any such person to sit with it for the purpose of consultation and advice. Standing and special committees which are required to report to the senate shall present such reports to the assembly for study and transmittal to the senate, with such recommendations for action as the assembly shall deem proper. The assembly shall communicate its opinions and recommendations to the University Senate from time to time, and at a winter meeting of the senate in each academic year, shall present a formal report of its activities.
Sec. 4.05. Senate Assembly: Nomination and Election of Members
The members of the assembly apportioned to each school or college shall be elected by the members of the senate in such school or college within time limits determined by the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs.
Sec. 4.06. Senate Assembly Organization
Meetings of the assembly shall be held at such times as the assembly shall determine. Periodically, but not less than once each year, the assembly shall meet with the executive officers of the university. The assembly shall organize for the ensuing year by choosing from its membership the members to serve on the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs (hereinafter sometimes referred to in these bylaws as SACUA). The election shall take place at the last meeting of the year, and the new SACUA members and assembly officers shall take office immediately after the election of assembly officers. Members of SACUA shall be elected by the assembly from a slate listing nominees submitted by a nominating committee composed of two outgoing members of SACUA and four outgoing members of the assembly elected by the assembly, plus nominations from the floor. The names of the nominees chosen by the nominating committee must be transmitted to assembly members at least two weeks before the meeting at which the vote is to take place. No more than three members of SACUA shall be from the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, two from the College of Engineering, two from the Medical School, and one from any other school or college. A majority of the members of the assembly shall constitute a quorum. The assembly may adopt rules for the transaction of its business. The secretary of the senate shall be a member of the assembly, ex officio, and without vote.
The assembly shall establish standing committees to advise and consult with the vice presidents of the university on matters within the areas of their respective responsibilities. The number of persons on each committee and the terms of its members shall be determined by the assembly. The committee shall be nominated by SACUA.
The assembly may create other standing and special committees to assist it with its work. It may define the qualifications for membership of such committees, provide for the number of members thereof, provide how they are to be appointed and their terms of office, and define their duties and obligations. The assembly shall provide for the appointment of all committees created by the senate, and except when otherwise provided by senate action, such committees shall be considered as committees of the assembly.
Committees established in accordance with this section shall report to the assembly and to the senate as directed by the assembly.
The officers of the assembly shall be the chair and the vice chair, chosen by SACUA from among the members of SACUA, and the secretary of the senate, who shall also serve as secretary of the assembly.
Sec. 4.07. Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs
The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs shall consist of nine members of the Senate Assembly elected by the assembly from its membership for three-year terms. The members of the SACUA whose terms in SACUA extend beyond their assembly terms shall be voting members of the assembly during their terms on SACUA. SACUA shall meet as frequently as it deems desirable. The secretary of the senate shall inform the Board of Regents of the membership of SACUA at the time of election.
Sec. 4.08. Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs: Powers and Responsibilities
The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, on behalf of the assembly, shall advise and consult with the president of the university on matters of university policy and shall serve as an instrument for effecting the actions of the senate and the assembly. It shall nominate and supervise the committees of the assembly and shall perform other functions delegated to it by these bylaws or by the assembly.
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