The Bylaws of the Faculty Senate of Blinn College
Approved by the Faculty Senate February 2026
PREAMBLE
The Faculty Senate of Blinn College exists to provide a forum through the spirit of shared governance in which the faculty of the Blinn College (the “College” or “Blinn”) may engage in the constructive exchange of ideas regarding academic policies and other matters of professional concern. According to Senate Bill 37 (SB 37) from the 89 th Texas Legislative Session, only the governing board of an institution of higher education may establish a faculty senate in the state of Texas. With these bylaws, the Blinn College District hereby creates the Faculty Senate of Blinn College in accordance with SB 37.
ARTICLE I: NAME
The organization described herein shall be called the Faculty Senate of Blinn College and shall be referred to as the Senate in the remainder of this document.
ARTICLE II: PURPOSE
The purpose of the Senate shall be to provide a forum for discussion of academic concerns, including but not limited exclusively to policies; to formulate recommendations and to communicate such recommendations to the Administrative Council of the College; to consider non-academic matters and to formulate and communicate recommendations relative to these matters; and to provide a channel of reciprocal communication between faculty members and the decision- making and policy-making bodies of the College. According to SB 37, a faculty senate serves in an advisory only role and cannot be delegated the final decision-making authority on any matter. The faculty senate shall represent the entire faculty of the institution of higher education and advise the administration of the College regarding matters related to the faculty senate.
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. The membership of the Senate shall ensure adequate representation of each division of the institution. The membership of the Senate shall consist of full-time faculty who are either appointed by the Chancellor or elected by the faculty members of the member’s respective division of the College who are not concurrently members of the Deans' Council or the Division Leadership Council. Membership is limited to not more than sixty (60) members with at least two (2) representatives from each division of the College including one (1) member appointed by the Chancellor of the College and one (1) member elected by a vote of the faculty of the member’s respective division of the College. There will be an equal number of appointed and elected members of the Senate. Non-Senate members may attend Faculty Senate meetings as guests; their presence must be announced by the president.
Section 2. A faculty member serving on the faculty senate may be immediately removed from the senate for failing to conduct the member’s responsibilities within the senate’s parameters, failing to attend senate meetings, or engaging in other similar misconduct. A member of a faculty senate may be removed on the recommendation of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, or similar position, and approval by the Chancellor.
ARTICLE IV: DIVISION SENATORS
Section 1: Senators are defined as those members of the faculty senate who are either appointed by the Chancellor or elected division representatives. Elected Senators shall be elected at-large from each division of the College. The list of Blinn College divisions is found in Exhibit “A” and is attached to these Bylaws.
Section 2: The elected division senator(s) shall be chosen each spring semester or upon vacancy by a vote of the faculty members of that division. The current division senator(s) shall organize the election and report the result to the senate president by the April meeting of each academic year or to the president by 15 April if no late spring meetings are scheduled.
Section 3: In the event that the current division senator(s) fails to organize an election, a committee of at least two (2) faculty members from that division may form an election committee, with the approval of the senate president, to elect a division senator.
Section 4: A division senator appointed by the Chancellor may serve up to six (6) consecutive one-year terms and then may only be re-appointed after the second anniversary of the last day of the member’s most recent term. An elected division senator shall serve for a term of two (2) years and may only be re-elected after the second anniversary of the last day of the member’s most recent term, the term to commence on the first day of June following the spring semester election. The terms of elected division senators shall be staggered in a manner that allows approximately one-half of the elected members to be elected each year.
Section 5: The division senator(s) shall distribute the agenda of the upcoming meeting and minutes of the previous meeting to his or her division prior to the upcoming meeting—as soon as the documents have been made available by the president and the secretary, respectively.
ARTICLE V: OFFICERS
Section 1: The officers shall consist of president, vice-president, secretary, and parliamentarian. The positions of president, vice-president, and secretary shall be appointed by the Chancellor. The position of parliamentarian shall be elected by members of the faculty senate. Only Division Senators present at the meeting are eligible to vote for the position of parliamentarian and that position shall be elected at-large.
Section 2: The appointment of the offices of president, vice-president, and secretary by the Chancellor, and the election of the office of parliamentarian for the following academic year shall be made and/or conducted around or during the regular April or May meeting. In addition to the nomination for the position of parliamentarian presented by the Nominating Committee at the previous meeting, nominations may be made from the floor for such position. The election for the position of parliamentarian shall require a simple majority vote by the faculty senate members present.
Section 3: All officers shall serve for a term of one (1) year, said term to commence on the first day of June of each year.
Section 4: An officer may resign their position by submitting in writing their resignation to the remaining officers of the Faculty Senate and the Chancellor. Additionally, an officer, whether appointed by the Chancellor or elected by the faculty senate members, resigns their position automatically when they accept a position within the administration of Blinn College. A Faculty Senate officer automatically resigns their current officer position when they accept either appointment or election to another appointed or elected officer position.
Section 5: In the event of the death, resignation, or declaration of ineligibility of an officer or officer elect, the Chancellor shall replace the offices of president, vice-president, and secretary and the Division Senators shall replace the office of parliamentarian by majority vote in a special election. If no candidate for the position of parliamentarian receives a majority of the vote from the first canvass, then a run-off election will be immediately held between the two candidates who received the most votes from the initial election. Should a runoff election be required for the position of parliamentarian and the candidates who finish in second place receive the same number of votes, then the second candidate for the runoff election will be determined by a flip of the coin. Only Division Senators present at the meeting are eligible to vote for the position of parliamentarian. A new parliamentarian shall be elected at large.
In the event that the office of the faculty senate president is vacant, the vice-president will preside at all meetings until the open office is filled. If both the faculty senate president and vice-president offices are open, then the secretary will preside at meetings until the officesarefilled.
If all faculty senate leadership positions are open, the Chancellor will appoint the open positions of president, vice-president, and secretary.
ARTICLE VI: DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS
Section 1: The duties of the president shall be
- to distribute the agenda of an upcoming Senate meeting to the senators and post the agenda on the Faculty Senate’s website at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting;
- to preside at meetings of the Senate;
- to appoint standing committees as designated in these bylaws;
- to appoint ad hoc committees;
- to approve official communications sent out in the name of the Senate;
- to attend meetings of the Administrative Council;
- to present recommendations to the Administrative Council on behalf of the Senate and to communicate discussions and actions of the Administrative Council to members of the Senate and vice versa;
- to represent the Senate at meetings of the Blinn College Board of Trustees; and
- to represent the Senate in official communications with the administration of the College
Section 2: The duties of the vice-president shall be
- to conduct, in the absence of the president, meetings of the Senate and to assume other duties and functions of the president; and
- to attend meetings of the Administrative Council.
Section 3: The duties of the secretary shall be
- to record the minutes of the proceedings of meetings of the Senate;
- to conduct correspondence of the Senate as directed by the senate president;
- to attend meetings of the Administrative Council in the event that the president or vice-president of the Senate is unable to attend such meetings;
- to distribute, electronically, the minutes of the most recent meeting to division senators (or to the president, who will distribute the minutes to the division senators); and
- to conduct, in the absence of the president and vice-president, meetings of the
Section 4: The duties of the parliamentarian shall be
- to assist the president in maintaining order during meetings and to advise the president and members on questions of parliamentary procedure;
- to attend meetings of the Administrative Council, of which two Senate officers are members, in the event that the president, vice-president, and/or the secretary, cannot attend; and
- to conduct, in the absence of the president, vice-president, and secretary, meetings of the
ARTICLE VII: MEETINGS
Section 1: The first meeting of each long semester shall be held in August and January.
Section 2: At the first meeting of each long semester, tentative dates shall be set for monthly meetings.
Section 3: Additional meetings necessary to conduct the prescribed business of the Senate shall be called at the discretion of the president.
Section 4: A quorum means a majority of the membership of the faculty senate.
Section 5: Voting members include those members of the Senate as described in Article III.
Section 6. The faculty senate shall conduct meetings at which a quorum is present in a manner that is open to the public and in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Chancellor of the College. Chapter 2110 of the Texas Government Code does not apply to a faculty senate.
Section 7. The faculty senate shall broadcast over the Internet live video and audio, as applicable, of each open meeting of the senate if more than fifty percent (50%) of the members of the senate are in attendance.
Section 8. The following shall be made available to the public on the website of the College not later than the seventh (7 th) day before a meeting of the senate:
- an agenda for the meeting with sufficient detail to indicate the items that are to be discussed or that will be subject to a vote; and
- any curriculum or policy proposals reviewed by the senate that will be discussed or voted on at the meeting.
Section 9. The names of the members of the senate in attendance must be recorded at a meeting in which the faculty senate conducts business related to:
- policies related to curriculum and academic standards; or
- a vote of no confidence regarding an administrator of the College.
ARTICLE VIII: COMMITTEES
The Senate shall have three (3) standing committees, specifically,
- the Nominating Committee, consisting of at least three (3) members (preferably with
representation from multiple campuses) which shall present a nomination for the position of parliamentarian during the regular April or May meeting.
- the Executive Committee, which shall consist of the president, vice-president, secretary, and parliamentarian of the Senate; and
- the Advisory Committee, consisting of the four (4) officers of the Senate and the division senators, which shall assist the Executive Committee in fulfilling the purposes of the
- Additional committees may be added as necessary to conduct the official business of the Senate. Such committees shall be created by a majority vote of the Senate.
ARTICLE IX: PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY
The rules contained in the most recent edition of Robert's Rules of Order that are applicable and that are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order adopted by the Senate shall apply.
ARTICLE X: AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS
A proposed amendment to this document must be submitted to the members of the Senate no later than two (2) weeks prior to a regular meeting of the Senate, such publicity being the responsibility of the officers of the Senate. The ratification of a proposed amendment requires an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the voting members present at the meeting.
ARTICLE XI: GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 1. Service on the faculty senate is an additional duty of the faculty member’s employment. Members of the faculty senate are not entitled to compensation or reimbursement of expenses for their role as a member of the faculty senate unless the expense is on behalf of, and approved by, the College.
Section 2. A faculty senate may not issue a statement or publish a report using the College’s official seal, trademark, or resources funded by the College on any matter not directly related to the senate’s duties to advise the administration of the College.
EXHIBIT A
List of Blinn College Divisions:
- Applied Technology, Workforce, and Economic Development
- Arts, Kinesiology, and Agriculture
- Mathematics, Business, Engineering, and Technology
- Health Sciences
- Humanities
- Natural and Physical Sciences
- Social Sciences