Article I: Section 1.4 of the Faculty Constitution (attachment #1) allows members of the non-voting faculty the option to petition to become members of the voting faculty. I have been an adjunct instructor at UNI since 2012, and I have served on the Faculty Senate since 2016. As a senator I represent around 200 contingent (term and adjunct) faculty members and I receive a stipend for my service, yet I have never had voting rights. On the other hand, I previously served in a similar capacity on the executive board of United Faculty, and there I always had voting rights. As for my service on committees, such as the original Faculty Handbook Committee or the LAC2A (Humanities I/II/III) Committee, my voting status has never been clear or has fluctuated based on who was committee chair. Extending voting rights to contingent faculty members who participate is shared governance is supported by the findings of a committee called by Faculty Chair Scott Peters in 2015 (attachment #2), and is also supported by the AAUP (attachment #3).
Therefore, be it resolved that the Faculty Senate votes on whether to extend full membership in the voting faculty to Thomas Hesse. His membership in the voting faculty would be effective immediately and would cease at the conclusion of his service on the Faculty Senate.