Faculty Senators - Requirements, etc.
Faculty Senator Qualifications and Eligibility
Only University Faculty employed full-time by Arkansas State University who hold the rank of instructor, assistant professor, associate professor, or professor and who have served as a full-time faculty member for at least three years may serve as a Faculty Senator. Affiliate Faculty may not serve as senators or proxies for elected senators.
The term of each senator is fixed at two years. A senator may be elected for an unlimited number of consecutive terms.
Senators are elected or appointed to their positions from the academic organizations they represent.
Apportionment and Composition of the Faculty Senate
The officers of the Senate shall reapportion seats on the Faculty Senate among the colleges and the independent academic organizations based on the number of University Faculty members (not Affiliate Faculty) within those units as determined in the fall semester prior to reapportionment (Article I, Section I).
Faculty with dual appointments shall be counted only once and by the college of their primary academic appointment as defined by the budget line or tenure determination. The professional library staff and the military science faculty shall be represented as an
independent academic unit. The creation of additional such academic units outside of colleges will be likewise acknowledged and represented. Representation would begin the academic year following the creation of the unit.
Officers of the Faculty Senate
The officers of the Faculty Senate shall consist of a president, vice president, secretary, and president-elect or immediate past president. These four officers shall serve as the Faculty Senate Executive Committee. This committee has the responsibility to plan meetings of the Faculty Senate and conduct the business of the Senate. The Faculty Senate Executive Committee shall also plan meetings for the Faculty of Arkansas State University.
Any faculty member eligible for service in the Faculty Senate shall be eligible to hold any elective office of the Faculty Senate (See Article I, Section III). The Faculty Senate officers shall be members of the Faculty Senate with all rights and privileges of such membership.
President
The president shall preside over the Faculty Senate. The president shall serve for a term of two years. Upon completing the two-year term as president, the retiring president will serve in the Executive Committee for one year as immediate past president. In the absence of the president or vice president, the immediate past president or the president-elect shall preside over the Faculty Senate or the Faculty of Arkansas State University meetings.
Vide-President
The vice president is elected each year from seated Faculty Senators with a maximum of two consecutive years. The role of the vice president is to preside over Senate meetings in the absence of the president. The vice president also serves on the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.
Secretary
The secretary is elected each year from seated Faculty Senators with a maximum of two consecutive years. The secretary shall keep the records of the faculty proceedings and be responsible for select administrative tasks related to the business of the Faculty Senate
University Faculty. This includes minutes for the Faculty Senate and the Faculty of Arkansas State University meetings.
President-Elect
The University Faculty shall select the president-elect. The president-elect shall be elected every other year and shall serve for one year, whereupon he/she will succeed the president in office. The president and president-elect shall not be from the same college/academic organization. The president-elect serves as a member of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.
Board of Trustees
The president and/or vice president of the Faculty Senate, or a member of the faculty so designated by the president of the Faculty Senate, shall attend meetings of the Arkansas State University System Board of Trustees and other shared governance meetings as appropriate and shall submit periodic reports to the Faculty Senate about the discussions of these bodies.
Last reviewed 8/24/2026