The Faculty Assembly voted Wednesday in favor of forming a task force charged with developing a proposal for the formation of a faculty senate at NIU.

The task force members will be chosen from among all faculty and will be appointed by University Council Executive Secretary Judith Bischoff.

The issue was first discussed at the Oct. 21 UC meeting when Gordon Dorn, president of NIU’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, spoke to council members about the possible formation of the senate. The idea for the senate grew out of the need for a stronger faculty voice on campus Dorn said.

Although the motion was developed in correlation with discussion of NIU’s new constitution assembly member Sherman Stanage said it did not “necessarily have anything to do with the constitution.”

Communicative disorders Professor Jim Lankford said, “I see people voting ‘no’ on the (NIU) constitution because they want a faculty senate.”

Assembly members discussed possible ways to introduce the motion as an agenda item at the Dec. 16 UC meeting, when council member will vote on the proposed constitution.

owever, the assembly decided to bring the motion, through Bischoff, to NIU President LaTourette and then to the Board of Regents, Stanage said.

When discussing the proposed constitution, Bischoff urged assembly members to support it. In general, assembly members were in favor of the new constitution.

owever, some expressed concern over the possible vote-down by student UC members who are opposed to an amendment which would change the constitution’s amendment porcedure from a three-fourths vote to a two-thirds vote.

“If the amendment is defeated, I think many of you will join me in voting down the entire document,” political science Professor Larry Finkelstein said.

Associate law Professor Jeff Parness said, “I am troubled with the attention which has been given to the student’s preoccupation with the amendment. What originally was proposed was a much stronger faculty voice . . . this has been pushed to the side.” Parness said the students have gained “enormous” strength just by focusing on the amendment. “They have more power than they should have,” he said.

Student leaders are opposed to changing the amendment procedure because it will weaken students’ power to stop constitutional changes, Student Assocation President Jim Fischer.