University Senate                                                       

Proposed: April 27, 2012

Adopted: April 27, 2012

RESOLUTION TO AUTHORIZE UNIVERSITY SENATORS
TO COMMUNICATE WITH THEIR CONSTITUENCIES BY MASS EMAIL

Whereas, University Senators, by virtue of their office, have a need to be able to communicate readily and effectively with their respective constituencies; and

Whereas, University Senate business is benefited by increased accessibility and interaction with the membership of the University; and

Whereas, broad-based email communication will allow Senators the tools to solicit feedback and opinions from their constituents, and share important news and information; and

Whereas, there exists no unified policy granting University Senators the ability to reach out to those they represent;

Therefore be it resolved that all Senators be able to send emails to those populations of University members who constitute the voting populace that elected them, for the purpose of informing them of the Senate’s business and events planned by the Senate;  and

Be it further resolved that in those cases when multiple Senators are elected by the same constituency, those Senators will be awarded singular shared email access; and

Be it further resolved that these email privileges be granted solely for Senators to send information pertaining to University Senate business, such as University news, updates on Senate actions and legislation, and informational surveys and polls; and

Be it further resolved that these email privileges not be used for election campaigning or personal gain; and

Be it further resolved that Senate email communications be subject to University policies, including those on computing and communications; and

Be it further resolved that a Senator’s email to constituents may only be sent after the chair of the Senator’s caucus (or comparable organization) has been consulted and has confirmed that the proposed communication meets a proper purpose, is appropriately tailored to that purpose and, in a situation of a shared email address, that the communication represents a consensus among the Senators; and

Be it finally resolved that in the event that the chair of the Senator’s caucus denies permission to send an email, the Senator may appeal to the Executive Committee chair to resolve the conflict. If the Executive Committee chair is unable to resolve the conflict, the issue should be sent to the full Executive Committee for a final decision.

Proponent: Structure and Operations Committee