Article I - 5

Article I - Name

Article II - Purposes

Article III - Membership and Representation

Article IV - Council Election

Article V - Council Officers

Article VI - VIII

Article VI - Meetings Article VII - Quorum and Voting Article VIII - Amendments

Rules and Bylaws

A Professional and Scientific Staff Council was established in 1978 for the purpose of studying, formulating, and recommending to administrative officers of UNI policies of interest to Professional and Scientific employees. The Council, consisting of representatives elected by division members, meets monthly during University office hours. Meetings are open to the public unless voted into executive sessions. Minutes from each P&S Council meeting are mailed to all P&S staff members. The minutes include a list of current council officers and representatives. Meeting notices and current membership lists are posted on INFOSYS. The Constitution and Bylaws of the Professional and Scientific Council are listed below.

Revised

10/89; 11/93; 6/96

Article I

NAME

The name of the organization shall be the University of Northern Iowa Professional and Scientific Council, hereinafter referred to as the Council.

Article II

PURPOSES

The purposes of this Council shall be:

a. To promote communication among University Professional and Scientific employees and ensure a medium for discussion of and action on mutual problems and concerns.

b. To serve as a liaison group between University Professional and Scientific employees and the administrative officers of the University and to respond in a consultative manner to inquiries made by the administrative officers of the University.

c. To study, formulate and recommend to the administrative officers of the University policies of interest to the University Professional and Scientific employees.

d. Such other purposes as may from time to time be proposed by the Council or administrative officers and adopted by a two-thirds vote of the membership and with the approval of the President's Cabinet.

Article III

MEMBERSHIP AND REPRESENTATION

Section 1. The Council shall be composed of 15 University Professional and Scientific employees (excluding persons with appointments to temporary positions and those exempt from P & S Policies and Procedures) with 11 to 13 members representing the administrative divisions proportional to the current number of P & S employees in each division, and the rest at large. In consultation with the Department of Human Resource Services, the Council will determine the number of representatives to be chosen from each division and may combine smaller divisions (those with less than 1/15 of the eligible membership) with each other or with divisions having at least 1/15 of the eligible membership, attempting consistency with historical relationships among groups.

Section 2. Elected Council members shall be announced at the December meeting and shall take office January 1.

Section 3. Council membership shall normally be for a three-year term, with representative terms staggered so approximately one-third of the representatives are elected annually. Council year shall run from January 1 through December 31. Council term length may be adjusted to ensure staggered terms within a division and among at-large members.

Section 4. An individual shall not serve more than two consecutive terms as a member of the Council.

Section 5. The President of the University shall appoint to the Council a non-voting administrative liaison person from the President's Cabinet for the purpose of communication between the President's Cabinet and the Council.

Section 6. The Director of Human Resource Services (or a designee from Human Resource Services) shall serve as an ex officio member of the Council. The representative shall have no vote but shall serve as Secretary of the Council and shall be responsible for assisting with the coordination of Council activities.

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Article IV

COUNCIL ELECTION

Section 1. The election for Council representation shall take place by secret ballot once a year during the first full week of November.

Section 2. All University Professional and Scientific employees (excluding persons with appointments to temporary positions and those exempt from P & S Policies and Procedures) shall have the right to nominate and vote for the candidate(s) from their division as well as for all at-large representative(s), in accordance with election procedures established.

Section 3. A vacancy will be filled at the next regular meeting of the Council after the vacancy is declared. The candidate from the appropriate division or at-large category having the next highest number of votes in the last Council election will fill the vacancy. In the event no candidate is available, the President of the Council shall appoint a person from the appropriate division or at-large category to the Council to serve until the position can be filled at the next annual election for the remainder of the term.

Article V

COUNCIL OFFICERS

Section 1. The officers of the Council shall be President and Vice-President.

Section 2. Officers of the Council shall be elected at the first meeting of the Council following the seating of the members elect.

Section 3. A temporary chair shall be designated by the outgoing President at the meeting one month prior to the seating of the members elect. The purpose of the temporary chair will be to coordinate the election of Council officers. Term of officers will commence following this election.

Section 4. Officers of the Council may succeed themselves directly only once.

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Article VI

MEETINGS

Section 1. The Council meetings shall be held monthly, during University office hours.

Section 2. With approval of the University President's non-voting administrative liaison, special meetings, during University office hours, may be called upon the request of at least five Council members or by the Council President.

Section 3. All Council meetings shall be open to the public unless voted into executive session. Participation in discussion shall be limited to Council representatives and the administrative liaison person unless otherwise approved by the Council President or a majority of Council members present.

 

Article VII

QUORUM AND VOTING

Section 1. A simple majority of the members of the Council shall constitute a quorum authorized to transact business presented at any regular or special meeting of the Council.

Section 2. Voting by the Council membership shall be by voice or a show of hands except when a written ballot is deemed appropriate by the Council President.

Section 3. A simple majority vote by the members present shall carry a motion, except a motion to amend the Constitution. Amendment is handled in accordance with Article VIII of the Constitution.

Section 4. If a Council representative cannot attend a Council meeting, a designated proxy shall be sent in his or her place. Each Council member shall choose and designate by name a proxy for the year and submit the name to the Council Secretary at the January meeting. The proxy shall be knowledgeable of Council proceedings and shall have the same privileges as regular Council representatives, but only while acting in official (proxy) capacity.

Section 5. If a representative is absent from three meetings without a proxy during any consecutive twelve months of his/her term, the seat will be declared vacant.

AMENDMENTS

Section 1. A proposed amendment shall be presented in writing to the Council secretary, who shall send copies to all University Professional and Scientific employees (excluding those with appointments to temporary positions and those exempt from P & S Policies and Procedures) at least ten working days prior to the next regular meeting of the Council where it shall be read and considered but not acted upon until the following regular meeting of the Council.

Section 2. Amendment to the Constitution of the Council shall be made only by a two-thirds concurrence of the Council membership.

Section 3. Amendments approved by the Council shall be submitted to the President's Cabinet prior to formal adoption.

 

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RULES AND BYLAWS

I. Nomination and Election Procedures for Council

A. Nomination Procedures

1. The Council President shall appoint a Nominating Committee at the September meeting, from the Council and eligible voters, which shall consist of three persons from different divisions.

2. Human Resource Services shall prepare a list of eligible voters, by division, as of the last day in September. This list will be given to the Council President at the October meeting to serve as the official figures, by division, for selecting names for nomination and determining proportional representation.

3. The Nominating Committee shall contact candidates to determine interest and availability.

4. At least two candidates for each single open position should be nominated, or no fewer than two more than a total plural number to be elected for each division or at-large category.

B. Election Procedures

1. The Nominating Committee shall be responsible for compiling, distributing, collecting, and counting ballots.

a. The deadline date shall be determined for return of ballots.

b. The election ballot shall be compiled and distributed to staff eligible to vote with provision made for write-in candidates in accordance with Article IV, Section 2 of the Constitution.

c. Voting members shall be instructed to vote for the exact number requested on the ballot. Directions on the ballot are to be clearly stated and must be in accordance with Article IV of the Constitution.

 

 

2. The Nominating Committee shall report winners and total number voting.

a. For each position, winners shall be determined by highest vote count.

b. In case of a tie, a run-off election shall be held within the affected division (or whole body if the tie is in the at-large category). If the run-off results in a tie, a flip of a coin shall determine the winner.

3. The Council shall vote to destroy ballots after they have been retained two working weeks following the reporting of election results to eligible Professional and Scientific employees. The ballots shall be made available for scrutiny upon request during that two-week period and shall be housed in the office of the Council President.

II. Committees

A. Selection Procedures for Standing Committees

1. For each standing committee, five members from the Professional and Scientific eligible membership will be selected and nominated by the P & S Council President. At least three divisions will be represented on each committee. The Council will approve committee membership at each September meeting. At least one member of each committee must be from the Council. Term on each committee will be for one year with the option for reappointment. Committee members and officers shall not succeed themselves more than two consecutive terms.

2. The committee chair will be appointed by the P & S Council President and approved by the Council. The committee shall select its own recording secretary from among the committee membership.

B. Standing Committees

1. Policies and Guidelines Committee

This committee shall regularly assess the value and effectiveness of the P & S policies and guidelines and their implementation and shall work with appropriate personnel to develop and recommend any revisions or strategies that best serve the interests of the employees and the University. These recommendations will be presented to the Council for approval. An annual written report of activities will be prepared by this committee at the end of the council year. Status reports will be made to the Council as needed or upon request by the Council President.

2. Salary and Fringe Benefits Committee

This committee shall regularly assess the implementation of the Professional and Scientific policies and guidelines as related to salary, fringe benefits and promotions, and shall work with appropriate personnel to develop strategies to best serve P & S employees; these policies will be presented to the Council for approval. An annual written report of activities will be prepared by this committee at the end of the Council year. Status reports will be made to the Council as needed or upon request of the Council President.

3. Governmental Action Committee (revised 11-92)

The mission of the Governmental Action Committee (GAC) shall be to evaluate issues, educate Professional and Scientific employees, and advocate fairness on governmental issues that impact P&S employees. The committee shall evaluate elected representative interests and actions, educate P&S employees appropriate to advance P&S interests.

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