Articlei MISSION
BYLAWS
TexasAMUniversity
UniversityStaffCouncil
ArticleI– MISSION
TheUniversity StaffCouncil’s(USC)stated missionistorepresenttheinterestsofand addresstheissuesimpactingbothclassifiedandnon-classifiedstaffemployeesunder theleadershipoftheTexas A&M UniversityPresident.
ArticleII–PURPOSE
Thecouncil will provideavoice andintegratestaffperspectiveby:
1. Actingas aconduitfortwo-waycommunication betweenstaffandadministration.
2. Engagingstaffandbringingtheir interests beforethe administration.
3. Identifyinguniversityissues andtheir impact onstaff.
4. Exploringandresearchingpossiblesolutionstoissues.
5. Providingoptionsandrecommendationstothe President.
6. Interactingwith othercouncils.
TheCouncil will not beinvolvedin anyspecific employee/employermattersor disputes.
ArticleIII–COUNCIL MEMBERSHIP
The Councilwillconsist offull voting members and non-voting ex-officio members. Therewillbenofewerthantwenty-five(25)votingcouncilmemberpositions.Therewill benomorethanten(10)ex-officio memberpositions,toincludeatleastoneex-officio agencymemberfromAgricultureandatleastoneex-officioagency memberfrom Engineering. Ex-officiorepresentationwillbenominated bytheExecutiveCommitteeand votedonbythecouncil.
A)Eligibility. Council members will be classified or non-classified staff employees. Allvotingcouncilmembersshallbeselected throughan election processoftheir peers.
B)Terms. CouncilMemberswillservethree-yeartermswithapproximatelyone- thirdoftheCouncilmembershiprotatingeveryyear. Councilmembersmay be electedtosuccessiveterms.
C) Duties.Councilmembersarerequiredtorepresenttheinterestsofthe employeestheyserveandtheemployeesofTexasA&MUniversity.Council membersare expected to attend and participate in regularly- scheduled Council meetingsandadditionalcommittee meetingswhenneeded. TheChairpersonshouldbeinformedinadvanceofany anticipatedabsences. An absence without priornotificationwillbeconsideredanun-excused absenceandwillberecordedinmeetingminutes.TheExecutiveCommittee shalladdress issues of non-participation or lack of attendance by a councilmember afterthreeabsencesinatwelve monthperiod. Council memberswillberesponsiblefordisseminatinginformationtotheemployees they represent.Council members will be expected to serve on at least one standingcommittee andnomorethanthree.
D)Vacancies. Where a vacancy in a Council position occurs before the member’stermexpires,thevacancy shallremainuntiltheareathatseat represents submitsanother representative. The newrepresentative shallservetheremainder ofthevacatedterm.
ArticleIV–OFFICERS- TERMS
TheUSCExecutiveOfficersshallincludeaChairperson,ViceChairperson,Secretary, and Treasurer andtwoat-largemembers. TheseofficersshallconstitutetheExecutive Committee.Termsofofficeforallpositionsshallbeoneyear.Eachofficermayserve morethanoneterm,but must benominated andelectedeachyearby members ofthe USC.Acouncilmembermaynotholdmorethanoneoftheaforementionedexecutive officesatonetime. AnnualelectionsshallbeheldbyMay31standnewly-elected
officersshallbegintrainingwithoutgoingofficersandparticipateintransitioningwithin their respective new council assignments until assuming office on September 1. Members whose terms are expiring in August are not eligible for the next year’s ExecutiveCommittee unless that member has already been re-elected to serve another term on the Council.
Shouldanexecutiveofficertransfer employmenttoanotherunitordivisionwithinTexas A&MUniversity thatiseligible forvotingmembershiponthecouncil,heorshemay continue their role on the council and the Executive Committee throughout the remainder of the fiscal year. The originalunitordivisiontheExecutiveOfficerrepresentedwillfillthevacancy createdby thetransferofemploymentoftheir representativeperSectionIIIDinthe bylaws.Iftheexecutiveofficertransfers employmenttoanagency noteligibleforrepresentationasavotingmemberonthe council, his or her membershiponthecouncil andtheExecutiveCommitteewill cease upontheir transferoftheir employment.
A)Chairperson.TheChairpersonshall:(1)provideleadershipandvisionforthe USC;(2)facilitate meetingsandopenforums;(3)serveasChairpersonofthe Executive Committee; (4) serve as official spokesperson for the USC and approveofficialcommunications;(5)representtheUSCinthelargeruniversity and higher educationcommunity.
B)ViceChairperson.TheViceChairpersonshall:(1)performChairpersonduties as needed in his\her absence; (2) coordinate meeting and forum logistics includingdistribution ofthe agenda prior tothemeeting.
C)Secretary. The Secretaryshall: (1) compile andmaintain recordsof USC membership, activities, and programs; (2) ensure minutes of meetings and forumsarerecorded and facilitatetheir distributionandapprovalinatimely manner.;
D)Treasurer. TheTreasurershall:(1)overseeallfiscalactivitiesincoordination withtheUSC;(2)maintainfinancialrecords,andprocessfinancialtransactions; (3) provideaquarterlyfinancial reporttotheUSC.
E) At-Large. TheAt-largemembersshall;(1)offeradditionalUSCrepresentation to the Executive Committee; (2) provide additional support to the accomplishmentofExecutiveCommitteeresponsibilities.
IntheeventanyelectedExecutiveOfficebecomesvacant,theUSCwillelectanofficer bymajorityvotefromthecurrentmembershiptofillsuchvacancyuntilthenextelection ofofficers.
ArticleV- COMMITTEES
A) StandingCommittees.StandingCommitteesarethoseestablishedbythe ExecutiveCommitteeforaspecifiedpurposeandindefinitespanoftime,with sizeandcompositionto bedeterminedunder theguidanceofthe Executive Committee. TheChairpersonsofsaidcommitteesshallbechosenbythe membersandreporttotheExecutiveCommittee. Ifthemembersareunableor unwillingtoselectaCommitteeChairperson,theChairpersonoftheStaffCouncil mayappointone. WiththeexceptionoftheExecutiveCommitteeandthe ElectionsCommittee,anexecutiveofficercannotserveasthechairorco-chairof astandingcommittee.Thetermofserviceshallbeoneyearbutmayserve consecutiveterms.
StandingCommittees should meet at the discretion of the Committee Chairperson. TheywillsubmitminutesfromeachmeetingtotheSecretaryofthe StaffCouncilatleastoneweekpriortothemonthlyCouncilmeeting. Finaldrafts ofcommitteeproposalsrequireCouncilapproval. Eachstandingcommitteewill, uponrequest, actas aresourcetotheother standingcommittees orCouncil.
Meetingswillbeheld asneededwithCommitteeMembersexpectedtoattendall meetings. Asimple majorityoftheStandingCommittee membershipshall constituteaquorumwitha majorityconsistingofone-halfofthevoting membershipplusone.Thecommitteewillsubmitafinalreportincluding recommendations regardingtheissue(s) atthetime ofthe established deadline.
1) The ExecutiveCommittee shallensure overallUSC groupcohesiveness andthevalidityandattainmentofcollectivegroupgoals.Themembership shall consistoftheelectedofficers.This committeeshallensureactive member participation.Thecommitteeshall provideinformationand recommendationstothePresidentoftheUniversity.ExecutiveCommittee meetingsshallbeheldatleastonceamonth and/orasnecessarytoconduct Council business.
2) TheElectionsCommitteewillrevieweligibilityandensurerepresentation across classificationlevels and executivereportinglevels. Theyshall announcethecall for officernominations andconducttheelectionofofficers. Thecommitteewillcreate andrecommend election procedures tothe representativeunits aswell as assistinelectionprocesses ifneeded. The electionscommitteeshallpresentproposedrepresentationchangestothe USCbodyasawholeprecedingeachelectioncycleinordertoreflecta council thatis representative ofthe university.
3) TheCommunicationsCommitteeshalloverseeandcoordinateallinternal andexternalUSCcommunicationprotocolstoincludebutnot limitedto listservs,USCwebsite,pressreleaseandmarketingmaterials, andother materials,both electronicandprint incollaborationwiththe Executive Committee.
4) The Bylaws Committee shall review and maintain the USC Constitution and Bylaws to ensure the accuracy and validity of the articles under which the Council operates. Upon request through amendment proposals, the committee will provide recommendations to the Council for any changes to the Constitution or Bylaws.
B)AdHocCommittees. AdHocCommitteesarethosecommitteesestablishedby theExecutiveCommitteeor theChairpersonofthe StaffCouncil, andare conceivedashavingtemporary,finite,orexploratoryfunctions. AnExecutive Officer cannotserveasthechair or co-chair ofanadhoccommittee. These committeesarechargedbytheExecutiveCommitteeortheChairpersonofthe StaffCouncil. Chargesincludethepurpose,composition,sizeandthetermsof theappointmentstotheCommitteeaswell asanindicationofthedateor completedtask that determines the dissolutionoftheCommittee.
Meetingswillbeheld asneededwithCommitteeMembersexpectedtoattendall meetings.AsimplemajorityoftheAdHocCommitteemembershipshall constituteaquorumwitha majorityconsistingofone-halfofthevoting membershipplusone.Thecommitteewillsubmitafinalreportincluding recommendations regardingtheissue(s) atthetime ofthe established deadline.
Article VI– MEETINGS
TheUSCshallmeetmonthlyonthethirdTuesdayofeachmonth. Specialmeetings maybecalledbytheChairpersonasdeemednecessary. Meetingsshallbeopen,and onlythoseitemsontheagendashallbeconsidered.Agendaitems maybesubmittedto theexecutivecommitteeforconsiderationbyanyTexasAMUniversitystaffmember atleastoneweekbeforeascheduledmonthlycouncilmeeting.Newbusinessmaybediscussed but no action may be taken without appropriate deliberation. The parliamentaryauthorityoftheUSCshallbethemostcurrenteditionofRobert’sRules of Order.IfneededtheChairpersonmay appointaParliamentariantoadvisethe Chairpersononparliamentaryprocedures.A quorum of 2/3 of voting USC members is required for a vote to take place. Passage of Business items require majority approval of voting members present.
Atleast one university-wide openforumshallbe held eachyear.
Article VII- PROCEDURES ON ISSUESFOR CONSIDERATION
In thefurtheranceofitsmission,theUniversityStaffCouncilsupportsopen communications and encouragesemployeestocommunicateissues and/orsuggestions toany Councilmember. CommunicationswiththeUniversityStaffCouncil,eithertothe Councilasawholeortoanyindividualrepresentative,canbedoneby: electronicmail, writtencommunications, or verballyas indicated attheCouncil website.
Allissuessubmittedwillbeevaluatedusingtheadoptedmethodforprocessingissues asdescribedintheUSCGeneralProcedures. Allissuesthataresubmittedbyany TexasA&MUniversityemployeeforconsiderationby theUSCshallreceivean acknowledgmentthattheissuehasbeenreceived. TheUSCwebsitewill provide guidance onhowissues maybetracked.
Article VIII –AMENDMENTS
AnAmendmenttotheBylawscanbeproposedinwritingbyanyUSCrepresentativeto theExecutiveCommittee. ProposedAmendmentstotheBylawsshallbedeliveredto eachUSCmemberatleast three (3) business days prior to a regular USC meeting. The Proposed Amendmentwillbediscussedandeditsincorporated. TheProposed Amendmentwill thenbepresentedforavoteatthenextregularlyscheduledmeeting. TheAmendmentshallbeadoptedifitreceivesa2/3voteofthoseeligibletovote. Votingbyproxyshallnot be allowed.
ArticleIX–STANDARDOPERATING PROCEDURES
StandardOperatingProcedureshave been adoptedby a majority ofthe voting and made publicly available. Standard Operating Procedures can be changed as needed through the Executive Committee.
Approved October7,2008
AmendedAugust26,2010
AmendedApril 19,2011
AmendedJune21,2011
AmendedJanuary17,2012
AmendedSeptember17, 2013
AmendedDecember 17,2013
Amended October 21, 2014
Amended November 18, 2014
Amended February 17, 2015
Amended May 17, 2016