About the Faculty Senate
The Faculty Senate at the University of Nevada, Reno is the principle representing body for faculty. It is comprised of 31 Senators who are elected for three-year terms by their respective major unit faculty to represent their interest in shared governance. Senate elections are held in the spring each year and all continuing faculty, except chief administrators, with at least a .50 FTE are eligible to serve on the Senate.
Faculty Senate services
The Faculty Senate office offers a variety of services to faculty on request. These services include, but are not limited to the following:
The Senate office can assist faculty in obtaining information about the University. Its website includes links to a repository of governing documents, including the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) Board of Regents Handbook and the Code, University/ College/Unit/Department Bylaws and the University Administrative Manual.
Faculty may request reconsideration of administrative decisions with which they disagree, including denial of promotion and/or tenure, notices of non-renewal or layoff, or unfavorable performance evaluation. Although faculty can obtain information and guidance regarding these processes from the Faculty Senate Office, the reconsideration must be filed by the affected faculty member directly through the office of the person who rendered the negative decision.
A grievance is an act or omission to act by the University administration, allegedly resulting in an adverse impact on the employment conditions of a faculty member relating to salary, promotion, appointment with tenure or to other aspects of contractual status, or relating to alleged violations of the Code or institutional bylaws. Through the Faculty Senate office, faculty have an avenue to pursue the opportunity to appeal (grieve) such acts before the University Grievance Committee (UGC).