Frequently Asked Questions

Any full-time faculty member currently employed by the University, regardless of rank or title series, is eligible to serve except for the following:

• The Faculty Senate Chair, who is an ex-officio member of the Faculty Senate but may not vote except to break ties.
• Faculty members serving on the Board of Trustees, who are ex-officio members of the Faculty Senate but may not vote.
• Faculty members who are currently serving in administrative positions, defined as chair or school director, or those who have the terms dean, provost or president in their title. This exclusion applies to all equivalent administrative titles, regardless of variations in terminology across Colleges and programs within the institution.
• Temporary, adjunct, emeritus and visiting faculty.

Each of our 19 colleges (including the Libraries and the Graduate School) elects two faculty representatives to serve on the Faculty Senate. 

The Faculty Senate also elects a Faculty Senate chair, who serves as an ex-officio, nonvoting member. 

The two Board of Trustees faculty representatives serve as ex-officio, nonvoting members.

The official provost liaison serves as an ex-officio, nonvoting member.

Faculty Senators are elected to three-year terms, with the exception of the inaugural cohort. To avoid the entire Faculty Senate being replaced every three years, one-third of the inaugural cohort will serve a one-year term, and one-third of the inaugural cohort will serve a two-year term.

Faculty Senators may serve no more than two consecutive terms. 

The Faculty Senate is the official representative body of UK faculty. The Faculty Senate engages in and is consulted about relevant matters important to faculty, including ensuring the credit-bearing and non-credit-bearing curriculum in academic colleges aligns with UK's mission.

See Governing Regulation V — Shared Governance Bodies.