By Laws
ARTICLE I. Formation of Council
s
Section 1. Members and Terms
A. All non-probationary members of the classified staff* and non-academic
appointed personnel* of the College of Science are eligible to apply or
nominate colleagues for membership. Selection takes place at the department
level.
B. The Council attempts to have two members consisting of classified
staff and/or appointed personnel from each department in the College. (See
Article III, section 1, D for voting) The Dean's assistant will automatically
have membership on the Council as a non-voting member. It is anticipated that
the Dean would attend any meetings that are convenient to his/her schedule and
offer input where appropriate. Members are expected to serve a two-year term. Terms begin July 1
of the year elected and continue through the fiscal year to June 30 of the last
year of the term. Members may apply for a one-year-at-a-time extension of their
term, based on the needs of the Council or deficiencies in the available staff
in a department, and continue upon approval by the department and the Council's
Executive Board.
C. A concerted effort will be made to
encourage diverse representation from each department of the College. Department
staff may elect members from volunteers and nominations by May 1 each year as
term limits require. The new Council members should plan to attend the May, traditionally
the last meeting, as an introduction to the Council. There can be an
optional meeting in June.
D. When a midterm vacancy of a member occurs,
the Council will request a replacement from the department, by appointment or
vote at the discretion of the department, to complete the remainder of the
term.
Section 2. Responsibilities of Members
A. Each member will serve as a representative of his/her department and
liaison between his/her department colleagues, the Council, and the Dean's
office with the responsibility of carrying forward information, opinions, and
recommendation for both parties.
B. Members are expected to attend all
General Meetings.
C. Regular members are responsible for
notifying another member of the Staff Council prior to an expected absence of
both the regular and alternate member from a General Meeting.
D. It is expected that each department
be represented by at least one representative at each general meeting. If this
is not possible, an alternate should be found. The alternate will come to the
meeting to take notes and relay information from the meeting to the
departmental representatives and may be able to vote if necessary.
E. Members are required to sit on at least one sub-committee per term. If
a member is unable to sit on a sub-committee, due to extenuating circumstances,
a written request will be submitted to the Executive Board.
Section 3: Officers
A. Chairperson
Qualifications: The Chairperson must have been a member of the Council for at
least one year.
Duties: The Chairperson will be the principal officer of the organization.
The Chairperson will:
1. Have charge of the business of the Council in its general operation
2. Preside at all general, special, and Staff
Council meetings
3. Create Ad Hoc and Nominating Committees as
necessary
4. Preserve in a permanent file all records
and letters of value pertaining to this office
5. Be the College of Science Staff Council
official spokesperson and serve as liaison with outside parties
and other Staff Councils. Designated representatives may be appointed as
needed
6. Coordinate and distribute an agenda prior
to each meeting to all Council members
B. Co-Chairperson
Qualifications: It is preferable that the Co-Chairperson has been a member of
the council for at least one year.
Duties: The Vice-Chairperson will assume the duties of the chairperson in their
absence and assist the Chairperson in whatever way necessary.
C. Secretary
Qualifications: It is preferable that the Secretary has been a member of the
council for at least one year.
Duties:
The Secretary will:
1. Record the minutes of all regular or special meetings of the membership and
the Staff Council and distribute to all staff of the College of Science.
2. Preserve in a permanent file all records
and letters of value pertaining to this office.
3. Voting: Organize and collect nominations
for re-election.
D. Treasurer
Qualifications: It is preferable that the Treasurer has been a member of the
council for at least one year.
Duties:
The Treasurer will:
1. Work with the CoS business office to maintain ongoing knowledge of the
states of the Councils financial accounts.
2. Provide information to the Council about
the amount of money in the accounts, money the Council needs to raise, and
money the Council will be spending.
E. Each officer will be elected annually
by a majority vote of the Council in May.
F. Each officer will deliver to their
successor within 10 days after retiring from office all accounts, records,
books, papers, and property belonging to and important to the College of
Science Staff Council.
G. Subcommittee Chairpersons
Qualifications: Any Council member or alternate may serve as an Ad Hoc
Subcommittee Chairperson.
Duties:
The Subcommittee Chairpersons will:
1. Serve one year at a time with renewal if no other person volunteers. In
any event, no person will be required to continue to serve on that subcommittee
unless they choose to do so.
2. Preserve in a permanent file all
records and letters of value pertaining to this office and will pass it on to
subsequent chairpersons.
3. Supply Council via the listserve with
an update of committee activities prior to monthly meetings.
Members of the Subcommittee may be staff
persons within departments, who are not Council members.
ARTICLE II. Council Responsibility
Section 1. Fiscal Responsibility
A. The committee budgets need to be itemized approved in May. Expenditures beyond approved budget
need to be pre-approved by Chair upon consultation with Treasurer.
B. The fiscal year will commence on July 1
and will end June 30.
Section 2. General
A. The Council's responsibility is to
the general staff population of the departments of the College of Science and
the University of Arizona:
ARTICLE III. Operation of Council
Section 1. Meetings
A. The regular meeting of the College of Science Staff Council will be
held monthly on the second Tuesday of the month at a set time determined by the
council and posted on the COSSAC web page. A change in this schedule may occur,
due to circumstance beyond the scope of the Council and with the general
consensus of the Council prior to this day.
B. The Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson
will conduct all meetings.
C. Special meetings may be called by the
Chairperson or by 1/4 of the membership. Notice of such meetings will be
provided at least one week in advance and will state time, place, and purpose.
The agenda will be limited to the stated purpose of the meeting.
D. One-half (1/2) of the membership will
constitute a quorum. It is understood there is one vote per department.
E. There will be no general council
meetings in June or July.
ARTICLE IV. By Laws
Section 1. Additions to or Amendment of By Laws
A. A call for additions to or amendments of these By Laws will be made at
a regular meeting.
B. Additions to or amendments of these
By Laws can be effected by a 2/3 vote at the regular meeting announced for such
a purpose. It is understood there is one vote per department.
C. The original By Laws were drafted
February 29, 1996 and adopted October 15, 1996. Amended May 14, 2002, May 16,
2005, July 11, 2006.
D. Revisions by addition, amendment or
any other modifications require a 2/3 majority vote and will be recorded in
these By Laws and the By Laws redistributed to all current Council
members.
E. The Executive Board members are not
required to serve on committees.
F. Voting by Email
1. Email voting should only be used for issues of timeliness; otherwise,
votes should be tabled for regularly scheduled council meetings;
2. If an issue arises at a regularly scheduled council meeting and it is
decided to vote via email, the motions will be tabled until the next regularly
scheduled council meeting; Only an executive board member can initiate an email
vote; If a council member requests a specific issue to be voted on, it should
be forwarded to an executive board member who thus sends the question to the
COSSAC listserv in the following format: approval or denial; or the choice of
specific options with answers listed as choices; If an urgent issue arises
outside a council meeting, a separate council meeting should be
scheduled.
3. One vote per department-14 total. If a particular department has not
voted within 2 days of the deadline (5 business days) and a quorum has not been
reached, the member should be contacted directly to determine his/her vote; If
a quorum has not been reached within the deadline, it shall be tabled or
resubmitted for the next regular council meeting; Email votes would need to be
carefully counted to make sure the department representative has been given
first choice to vote.
4. Votes by email should be reported in
the minutes for the following meeting that includes the council members, who
voted with their respective departments, and the dates of each vote. The
council meeting agenda format would include approval of the minutes and any
email voting that took place prior to the subsequent meeting. Since the minutes
currently include motions and department reps, it is not necessary to keep
track of department votes.
ARTICLE V. Council Productivity
Section 1. Achievements, Results, Outcomes of Council Business
A. The Secretary will keep a record of all issues proposed, discussed
and/or pursued during the current year. The new Council will review at
the beginning of each year all past issues to determine whether those not
completed should be resurrected and approached again and so that there will not
be a repeat of issues that have already been covered and resolved.
B. Results of issues resolved or
information obtained for the use of all staff in all departments will be
available for new employees by request through the Council member of his/her
department.
Definitions
Classified Staff
Any employee, whose position is classified under the Arizona Universities
Personnel System, and, who is a Regular Classified Staff, Part-Time Classified
Staff; Temporary Classified Staff; and Extended Temporary Classified
Staff.
Non-Academic Appointed Personnel
Employees designated by the Notice of Appointed/Reappointment as
"professional" including: Professional - non-classified employees
with a direct role in service, who require professional and intellectual
freedom, and, who report to a person below the level of vice president,
including those in student services, technical services, student health
services, and public service. Professionals may be on continuing status or
year-to-year.
