Faculty Constitution (GOV 1)

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Policy # [####]
Faculty Constitution (GOV 1)

Initial Approval: October 27, 1980
Latest Revision:
Faculty Senate Approval: May 14, 2019
Faculty Referendum Approval (136-12): November 8, 2019
Faculty Referendum Approval: May 13, 2025

We, the members of the Faculty of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, establish this Constitution in order to promote the common interest of faculty, students, and administration in enhancing the academic quality of the university, to provide an organizational structure to preserve academic freedom, to protect academic due process, to assure shared responsibility in university decision making, to promote cooperation in university governance, and to establish a structure and procedures by which the faculty may exercise its responsibility for the immediate governance of the institution and for academic and faculty personnel matters.

Article I. The Faculty

Section 1. Membership in the Faculty

The ranked faculty of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh includes persons who hold the academic rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or instructor in the division of Academic Affairs at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Faculty members on leave of absence (including sabbatical) and faculty on lay-off, subject to appropriate Wisconsin statutes, shall be accorded full university governance rights under this Constitution, providing they are “present” to vote in the fashion (e.g., on a paper ballot or via electronic submission) prescribed for the vote. Faculty members serving on Limited Term Employment (LTE) contracts retain their faculty status but do not retain their voting rights on governance matters during the time of their LTE contract.

Section 2. Academic Freedom and Tenure

The purpose of this section is to promote (1) understanding and support of academic freedom and tenure and (2) agreement upon procedures to ensure that academic freedom and tenure are protected at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.

Institutions of higher education exist for the common good and not to further the interest of either the individual faculty member or the institution. The common good depends upon the free search for and expression of truth.
Academic freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to teaching, learning, research, and creative activity. Academic freedom is fundamental to the protection of the rights of faculty members in teaching and of students in learning. Faculty members are entitled to full freedom of discussion in the classroom and are expected to exercise professional judgment about the relevance of material introduced to the subject of the course. Academic freedom in research and creative activity is fundamental to the advancement of truth. Faculty members are entitled to full freedom in research and creative activities and in publication/presentation of the results. These rights are subject to the adequate performance of other academic duties.
Academic freedom carries with it duties correlative with rights. The faculty member is a citizen, a member of a learned profession, and an officer of an educational institution. When speaking or writing as a citizen, faculty members should be free from institutional censorship or discipline, but their position in the community imposes special obligation. As a person of learning and an educational officer, faculty members should remember that the public may judge the profession and the institution by an individual’s utterances. Hence the faculty member should at all times be accurate, should exercise appropriate restraint, should show respect for the opinions of others, and should make every effort to indicate that he or she is not a spokesperson for the institution.
It is a responsibility of the Faculty Senate to protect academic freedom in teaching, learning, research, creative activity, and extramural activities.
Tenure is a means to certain ends: (1) academic freedom in teaching, learning, research, creative activity, and extramural activities; and (2) a sufficient degree of economic security to make the profession attractive to qualified individuals. Academic freedom and economic security are indispensable to the success of an institution of higher education in fulfilling its obligations to its students and society. Tenure, therefore, is a necessary component of the institution.

Section 3. Equal Opportunity

The Faculty of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is committed to a policy of fairness and equal opportunity for all. A diverse student body, faculty, and staff that reflects the variety and pluralism of society is desired and encouraged. Moreover, equal access to benefits, programs, services, employment, and educational opportunities is assured for all without regard to sex, color, marital or parental status, race, age, national origin, disability, or sexual preference/identity.

Section 4. Powers and Responsibilities of the Faculty

The Faculty of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, subject to the responsibilities and powers of the Board of Regents, the President, and the Chancellor, and recognizing student rights, shall be vested with responsibility for the immediate governance of this institution and shall actively participate in institutional policy development. As such, the faculty shall have the primary responsibility for academic and educational activities and faculty personnel matters. The word “primary” shall be defined as both first and principal, but not exclusive. The faculty shall have the right to determine its own faculty organizational structure and to select representatives to participate in institutional shared governance.

Subject to the general jurisdiction of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh over all educational matters that concern more than one School, the ranked faculty, as defined in Article 1.1, of each School has the following duties and powers.

To determine the structure, policies, and procedures for the immediate faculty governance of the School and determine membership criteria and voting eligibility; 
To form curriculum and long-range curriculum plans and coordinate curriculum within the School and with other Schools;  
To form School policies concerning the recruitment, evaluation, and appointment of persons to be assigned to teaching or professional duties in the School and determine other faculty personnel policies in the School such as tenure, promotion, salary, annual evaluation, merit, faculty development, and faculty workload; 
To control matters involving scholarship, including the advancement of students and dismissal of students for defective scholarship;
To recommend to the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh requirements for admission, courses of study, conditions of graduation, and the nature of the degrees conferred;  
To administer the regulations for the admission of students to the School;
To recommend to the Chancellor candidates for degrees in courses of study in the School;
To recommend students for fellowships, scholarships, and awards;
To establish research and field services and sponsor conferences, institutes, clinics, and short courses appropriate to the School; 
To report to the appropriate entity cases of student misconduct requiring investigation; 
To recommend citations recognizing outstanding achievements by faculty, by Wisconsin citizens, or by others who are connected with the university or the state;
To review and make recommendations to appropriate administrative officers concerning proposals affecting the administration or academic matters of the School; 
To delegate, where applicable, such tasks as defined in Article I, Section 4, 1-12, to IAS/TAP in accordance with service obligations delineated in their contracts. School Directors shall be responsible for inviting eligible IAS/TAP to put forward their name for participation in some of these activities.

Section 5. Administrative Review

Faculty decisions or recommendations concerning academic and educational activities and faculty personnel matters are transmitted in writing to the Chancellor. The Chancellor, recognizing the academic tradition of concurring with a clear faculty judgment in matters of primary faculty responsibility, shall as a matter of collegiality respond in writing, giving reasons for their decision, providing that such communication shall not be prohibited by law or Universities of Wisconsin policy. Nothing in this section shall impede the authority of the Chancellor, established by law and Universities of Wisconsin policy, to review faculty decisions on such matters and to make independent judgments regarding them; and nothing in this section shall prohibit appropriate consultation.

Section 6. Faculty Referenda

By two-thirds vote of the Faculty Senate, any policy matter related to the powers and responsibilities of the faculty as stated in Article I, Section 4 above, may be referred to the whole faculty for decision. A referendum will also be held if one-tenth of the faculty, as defined in Article I as of Opening Day of the academic year (excluding those on LTE contracts) petitions the Faculty Senate President to call for such a referendum. The Senate will draft the referendum proposal and will ordinarily distribute it to the faculty one month prior to the time at which a vote on the referendum is to be taken. At least one general faculty meeting, called by the Faculty Senate President, will be held on the matter for discussion and exchange of information. The referendum vote will be by secret ballot. A majority of affirmative votes of eligible voters who cast ballots is required for passage of a referendum. Eligible voters for faculty referenda will be members of the faculty as defined in Article I as of the first day of classes of the semester in which the referendum takes place (excluding those on LTE contracts). The appropriate Faculty Senate committee will count the ballots. The Faculty Senate President will announce the results to the faculty.

Article II. The Faculty Senate

Section 1. Powers

Powers and responsibilities vested in the faculty, except those that are reserved by this Constitution to the general faculty or delegated by this Constitution to faculty in the colleges or Schools, shall be delegated to the Faculty Senate as the representative body of the faculty. As such, the Faculty Senate shall represent faculty interests and maintain faculty prerogatives not vested in colleges or Schools, specifically including the faculty role (as defined in Article I, Section 4, and Article II, Sections 2, 3, 4 of this Constitution) in the immediate governance of the institution, in the formulation of academic policy, in planning, in faculty development, in curriculum development, in faculty personnel matters, and in the management and deployment of fiscal and physical resources.

Section 2. University Policy: Primary Faculty Responsibility

The Faculty Senate, in cooperation with colleges, Schools, and administrative officers, shall assure faculty participation in all stages of policy development about matters of primary faculty responsibility.
The Faculty Senate, in cooperation with colleges and Schools, and recognizing the students’ role and the Chancellor’s responsibilities and authority, shall have primary responsibility for formulating university-level policy about the following:
1. Academic and educational activities including instruction, review and coordination of curriculum, academic planning, and faculty development.
2. Tenure-track and tenured faculty personnel matters including salary procedures, university-level policy about faculty status, appointments, reappointments, dismissals, tenure, promotion, merit, participation in outside activities, personnel planning, faculty development, and the rights of laid-off faculty. Where applicable, all such policies shall be consistent with the Wisconsin Administrative Code.
Faculty Senate decisions and rationale concerning academic and educational activities and faculty personnel matters are transmitted in writing to the Chancellor. The Chancellor will respond according to the values and procedure articulated in Article I, Section 5 of the Faculty Constitution.

Section 3. University Policy: Governance

The faculty, subject to the provisions of appropriate Wisconsin statutes, shall be responsible for the immediate governance of the institution. The Faculty Senate, in cooperation with colleges and Schools, shall assure faculty participation in all levels of policy development about governance.
The Faculty Senate, in cooperation with colleges and Schools, and recognizing the students’ role and the Chancellor’s responsibilities and authority, shall have responsibility for formulating university-level policy about the following faculty matters: elections, eligibility for voting, representation, faculty participation in governance, faculty organizational structure, bylaws, and constitution.

Section 4. University Policy: Faculty Participation Rights

The Faculty Senate, in cooperation with colleges and Schools, shall assure faculty participation in all stages of policy development in areas of faculty concern.
The Faculty Senate or its representatives to the appropriate body, subject to the responsibilities and authority of the Chancellor, shall actively participate in the formulation of university-level institutional policies in areas of faculty concern, specifically including the management and deployment of fiscal and physical resources.

Section 5. Administrative Search and Screen Procedures

The Faculty Senate shall select faculty representatives for search and screen committees for Universities of Wisconsin and university-level administrators above the level of School Director

Section 6. Evaluation of Administrators

The Faculty Senate shall share in the development of university policy and procedures for the evaluation of administrators at or above the level of School Director concerned with matters of primary faculty responsibility. Faculty within the specific college or School represented by a Dean or Director may participate in the periodic evaluation of those administrators following policies set forth by each college and/or School. All faculty may participate in the periodic evaluation of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (as well as other specified and approved faculty-facing administrative positions) following administrator evaluation policy set forth by the Faculty Senate through the Faculty Senate Administrator Evaluation Committee.

Section 7. Complaints and Grievance Procedure

The Faculty Senate, in accordance with appropriate Wisconsin statutes, shall develop rules and procedures addressing allegations, complaints, and grievances about the professional conduct of faculty members, and shall provide a grievance procedure to assure that violation of faculty rights or unfair treatment may be promptly and equitably remedied.

Section 8. Faculty Senate Bylaws

The Faculty Senate shall write and operate in accordance with its own Bylaws.

Section 9. Constituencies and Senators

The constituencies of the Faculty Senate are:
School of Business
School of Media, Arts, and Communications
School of Public Affairs and Global Engagement
School of Education and Human Services
School of Nursing and Health Professions
School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
The Faculty Senate shall be composed of four Senators from each School specified above. All faculty members shall be eligible to serve as members of the Faculty Senate except administrators above the level of Area Coordinator (or equivalent) who hold a limited appointment.
The Faculty Senate shall review the size of the Faculty Senate and the distribution of Senators among the constituencies every three years.

Section 10. Election of Faculty Senators

Each year elections will be held to fill one-fourth of the seats on the Faculty Senate, one seat from each School each year. The Faculty Senate shall follow the Faculty Senator Election Policy/Procedure to conduct elections for vacant Senator seats.

Section 11. Meetings of the Faculty Senate

The Senate shall hold a regular meeting at least once per month during the two full semesters of the academic year with a minimum of nine meetings per academic year. Meetings of the Senate shall be called by the President of the Senate. The times and locations of meetings shall be selected by the President of the Senate, in accordance with the preferences of the senators, and shall be announced in advance to the faculty.
General faculty meetings, for the purpose of discussion and exchange of information, may be called by the Faculty Senate President or by petition of 20 faculty members to the President. The President of the Faculty Senate shall preside.

Section 12. Standing Committees of the Faculty Senate

The Faculty Senate will establish standing committees to carry out the faculty’s role, as defined in Article I, Sections 4 of this Constitution, in the formulation and implementation of university policy about academic and educational activities, faculty personnel matters, and immediate governance of the institution in accordance with appropriate Wisconsin statutes. The charter for each of these committees will be approved by the Faculty Senate consistent with the procedure for amending the bylaws of the Faculty Senate. The Faculty Senate Bylaws will enumerate the extant standing committees and each such standing committee’s purpose and composition will be set forth in a Committee Information Form.

Section 13. Special Faculty Committees

The Senate shall create such ad hoc committees and task forces as it considers necessary to assist it in formulating policies and making decisions on special problems.

Article III. Joint Committees

University-level matters that are not the primary responsibility of faculty, students, or administration may be considered by joint committees. The Senate will select faculty representatives for each committee and may review the committees’ reports.

Article IV. School Affairs

Section 1. Purpose

The Faculty Senate shall establish university-level policies by which the faculty conduct their primary responsibility for academic and faculty personnel matters.

Section 2. Schools

The fundamental academic unit for faculty governance responsibilities is the School.

Section 3. School Membership

All ranked faculty members as defined in Article I.1 shall be voting members of the School to which they are assigned for the greatest part of their time.

Ranked faculty members as defined in Article I.1 whose time is divided equally between two or more Schools shall, in consultation with the appropriate School Directors, choose voting membership in one of the Schools. This choice will be communicated to the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate. Once this choice is made, it can only be changed by following the procedure outlined in Article IV Section X below.

Ranked faculty members as defined in Article I.1 may be nonvoting members of other units in accordance with the bylaws of those units.

Assignment of personnel to a teaching or professional unit in which they have not been tenured shall require approval by a majority of the faculty members of that unit and of the person assigned.

Section 4. Rights and Responsibilities of School Members

The faculty of a School, recognizing the students’ role and the Chancellor’s responsibilities and authority in formulating university policy, shall have primary responsibility for the School’s academic and educational policy, faculty personnel policy, and immediate governance.

Faculty primary responsibility shall include those items listed in Article I Section 4 and are further detailed as follows (this list is not necessarily exhaustive): formulation of major and minor requirements; formulation and continuous evaluation of curriculum; planning and faculty development; full participation in School decisions about recruitment, appointment, reappointment, tenure, and promotion.

The faculty of a School shall have the right to participate fully in School governance. The faculty of a School shall also have the right to participate actively in determining policies about teaching assignments, budgets, and all other such School matters. Each voting member of the School shall have an equal voice in governance. Unless specifically prohibited elsewhere in this Constitution or in university policies as defined in Article V, Section 4 of this Constitution, the decisions of the majority of eligible voting members of the unit shall be the decisions of the unit.

School bylaws shall provide details for implementation of this principle within the School.

Section 5. School Bylaws

Each School defined as a Faculty Senate constituency in Article II, Section 9 of this Constitution shall have written bylaws consistent with the Faculty Constitution. Each School shall define procedures for ratifying, reviewing, and amending its bylaws. Ratification and approval of amendments shall require a two-thirds majority of eligible voters who choose to vote and shall become effective after approval by the Faculty Senate.

School bylaws shall specify procedures for faculty governance. The bylaws shall provide for the exercise of faculty responsibility for the immediate governance and of primary faculty responsibility for academic and faculty personnel matters. The bylaws shall provide for a procedural relationship between the college and the appropriate committees of the Faculty Senate. School committees that deal with academic, personnel, or governance matters shall be elected and shall be chaired by an elected faculty member.

School bylaws shall, at a minimum, include information regarding the following:

School membership for ranked faculty, instructional and professional academic staff, and university staff
Voting rights for School members
1. Only ranked faculty members as defined in Article I.1 shall be eligible to vote on personnel matters related to ranked faculty members.
Regular and special meetings of the School membership
Governance organization within the School, including:
1. Standing committees
  1. Each such standing committee will have a Committee Information Form detailing Committee purpose, membership, etc.
2. Task forces and other ad hoc groups with short-term focus
Elected governance positions
1. Only ranked faculty may serve on and Chair committee whose role is part of the ranked faculty performance evaluation process
2. Schools shall maintain clear job descriptions for their elected governance positions. These job descriptions will include, at a minimum, enumeration of duties, eligibility criteria for nomination/selection, and expected remuneration
School policy as required by this Constitution and/or School Bylaws, to include at a minimum:
1. Policies for ranked faculty performance evaluation, including for renewal, tenure, promotion, post-tenure review, and annual performance review
2. Policies for performance evaluation of elected School officers who retain ranked faculty or academic staff status
3. Policies for performance evaluation of instructional academic staff
4. Policies for faculty workload
5. Policies for evaluation of faculty and instructional academic staff teaching
6. Policies for the creation, removal, or re-organization of Disciplines within the School
7. Policies for ranked faculty and IAS to change Discipline affiliation within the School
8. Policies for nominating eligible individuals to elected governance positions to the School Director, Dean, and Provost for approval.
9. Provision for amending the bylaws

Members of the faculty shall review their School or college bylaws at least every five years and, if no changes are deemed necessary, provide the Faculty Senate with an affirmative vote indicating the review has occurred and no changes are proposed.

Section 6. Disciplines

In alignment with academic norms, in the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Faculty Constitution, policies, or School bylaws, the term “Discipline” defines the field of study or expertise or the branch of learning or knowledge in which individual faculty are specialists, leading to their intra-university curricular assignments as well as (typically but not exclusively) intra- and extra-university research. Depending on the context in which it is used, the term “Discipline” may refer to the individual faculty member’s specialization, expertise, or field of study or a wider collective of faculty who belong to the same field of study.

Disciplines serve to acknowledge the units (department, program, college, etc.) into which faculty were hired prior to the 2025 restructuring. Following the 2025 restructuring, a) all faculty will be affiliated with a primary Discipline (except for faculty with split assignments), b) all School bylaws will enumerate the Disciplines housed within each School, c) a faculty member’s primary Discipline and tenure will be housed within the same School, and d) tenure home for faculty with split assignments across more than one School will be determined by their assignment weight. Following the 2025 restructuring, a faculty member’s tenure home will be situated at the School level.

Section 7. Organizational Changes

From time to time, it may be appropriate to consider and enact organizational changes. Such changes include a ranked faculty member’s disciplinary affiliation, a Discipline’s affiliation with a School, and a School’s affiliation with a College. The faculty recognize the Chancellor’s responsibility for designing curriculum in consultation with the faculty.

Each School that is recognized in Article 2 Section 9 of this Constitution shall continue to be so recognized and to retain the same college affiliation unless change is made through the following procedures. A different College affiliation for a School shall be established only through consultation among the Chancellor, the School and the colleges directly involved. A different School affiliation for the Discipline shall be established only through consultation among the Provost, Dean(s), School Directors, and ranked faculty members of the Discipline. A different disciplinary affiliation for a ranked faculty member (including changing School membership for a faculty members assigned equally to two or more Schools) shall be established only through consultation among the Dean(s), School Director(s), and members of the affected Disciplines.

7.1 Changes Involving Colleges

In the event of reorganization between existing colleges or the formation of a new college by existing Schools, the following process shall apply:

Any proposed change to the overall structure involving moving a School to a different college, adding a School to a college, removing a School from a college, adding a new college, or removing a college shall require a referendum.

7.2 Changes at the School Level

While a School may be structured in various ways and may determine its own processes for internal reorganization, any proposed change that involves moving faculty, Disciplines, or other components from one School to another shall require the following steps:

The entity proposing the change shall communicate the proposal and rationale in writing to all parties directly affected – Schools, college(s), Disciplines, faculty members, and the Faculty Senate Executive Committee.

The entity proposing the change shall provide assurances (financial reports, enrollment data, etc.) that such a change is to the benefit of all involved. The deans or their representatives shall provide written assurance that such a change is not expected to place faculty, Disciplines, or other parties in financial jeopardy.
The written proposal shall be forwarded (with all its signatories) to the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for review and recommendation.
Parties affected by the change may either sign the proposal or submit their letters along with the proposal to the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
The Provost shall submit a recommendation to the Chancellor, who will have final approval.

Section 8. Selection of Deans, School Directors, and Equivalent Administrators

Search and screen committees for deans, School directors, and equivalent administrators of Schools shall be composed of at least 60% faculty members of the college or School. Schools shall establish policies for selecting faculty for such search and screen committees that ensure representation of multiple Disciplines from the School.

Article V. Sources of Parliamentary Rules Governing the Faculty

The sources of parliamentary rules governing the faculty shall in descending hierarchical order, are:

The constitution and statutes of the United States.
The constitution and statutes of the State of Wisconsin.
The resolutions and policies of the Board of Regents of the Universities of Wisconsin.
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh policies that have been developed jointly and approved by the Faculty Senate and the Chancellor.
The Faculty Constitution.
The bylaws and adopted procedures of the Faculty Senate.
The current edition of the Standard Code of Parliamentary Procedures published by the American Institute of Parliamentarians.

Article VI. Amendments

Section 1. Proposal of Amendments

Amendments to this Constitution may be proposed to the faculty by a two-thirds majority vote of all members of the Faculty Senate at any regular meeting, provided that a written copy of the proposed amendment shall have been presented to the Senate at a meeting at least one month prior to the time at which a vote on the amendment is to be taken. Amendments to this Constitution may also be proposed by means of a petition signed by one-tenth of the faculty membership, as defined in Article I, except for administrators with limited appointments.

Section 2. Hearings on Proposed Amendments

The Faculty Senate shall conduct hearings on any amendment proposed to this Constitution before any action on such amendment shall be considered.

Section 3. Ratification of Amendments

Amendments to this Constitution will become effective after ratification by a two-thirds majority of eligible voters who exercise their voting rights. The eligible voters shall be members of the faculty as defined in Article I, excluding those with limited appointments. Each faculty member shall be sent a copy of the proposed amendment a minimum of four weeks before the amendment is voted upon for ratification. The vote shall be by secret ballot in a special election.

Article VII. Ratification

Section 1

This Constitution shall be considered ratified and shall become effective when it has been approved by a two-thirds majority of the eligible voters who exercise their voting privilege. The eligible voters shall be members of the faculty, as defined in Article I, excluding those with a limited appointment. The vote on ratification shall be by secret ballot in a special election.

Section 2

When this Constitution shall be approved by the necessary two-thirds vote, the constitution adopted in 1964 shall be repealed and this Constitution shall become effective. All actions taken in accordance with the constitution of 1964 shall have continuing validity and application unless they conflict with the provisions of this Constitution, or actions taken subsequently under the provisions of this Constitution.

Revision History

Initial Approval: 27 October 27 1980
Amended: 1989
Amended: May 1999
Amended: 11 September 11 2001
Amended: 12 October 2004
Amended: 15 February 2005
Amended: 8 November 2019
Amended: 13 May 2025

Policy