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College of Engineering Staff Council Bylaws, Standing Rules and Procedures
(Adopted Fall 2005, amended Spring 2006, amended Fall 2006, amended Spring 2009)
Article 1: Name
The College of Engineering Staff Council is the official name of the organization.
Article II: Philosophy
The College of Engineering Staff Council views the importance and the involvement of staff as a vital aspect in the College of Engineering at the University of Arkansas.
Article III: Purpose
The purpose of the College of Engineering Staff Council is to promote staff development and a positive working environment through 1) recognition of staff achievements, 2) encouragement and support of staff development, and 3) development of a mentoring system.
Article IV: Charge
The charge of the College of Engineering Staff Council is to promote professional development of staff members and represent the interests of the staff within the College.
Article V: Goals
Section 1: Staff Achievement Recognitions
• Employee of the Semester
• Employee of the Year
Section 2: Recognize Staff Issues through Guest Speakers
Section 3: Recognize and Support Others in the UA Community
Section 4: Staff Development
• Funding for professional development and staff training
• Staff retreat (mandatory attendance)
Section 5: Social Activities (flexible schedule)
Social Activities are open to all staff members in non-academic positions, both appointed and hourly.
• Annual picnic
• Other activities as voted on by the Staff Council members
Section 6: Business meeting
The staff council shall conduct a semi-annual business meeting of all COE Staff (if required; may be combined with other activities)
Article VI: Membership
Section 1: Eligibility
Membership in the College of Engineering Staff Council is open to all full-time classified and non-classified staff employees who have been employed within the College of Engineering for at least one year. There shall be no discrimination for reasons of religion, age, race or color, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, veteran status or disability.
Section 2: Selection of Representatives
• Staff Council will include representatives from each unit within the College of Engineering and two At-Large members:
o Biological & Agricultural Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science & Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Dean’s Office/ENRC
o One At-large member from each of the following areas - Administrative/Academic Support and Technical/Research Support
• Staff from each unit shall elect one representative from their department and vote for one at-large from their employment designation (Administrative/Academic Support or Technical/Research Support) All staff who are appointed in 50% or more are eligible to vote for their representative.
• Terms will be based on the fiscal year (beginning on July 1). The initial terms will be either a one or two-year term so that the council will not be adding new members every election.
• The President-elect will contact each department to initiate the election process at least six weeks prior to July 1. The President-elect will solicit nominations from administrative staff and technical staff for the at-large positions at least six weeks prior to July 1. Ballots should be distributed no later than May 31. Should no one person in a unit have at least 50% of the votes, there should be a run-off election between the top two in that employment designation. The President-elects’ department should elect another representative for their term as President.
Section 3: Rights
All regular members of the College of Engineering Staff Council shall attend meetings, vote, and hold offices. All College of Engineering Staff Council meetings are open to any College of Engineering Staff.
Section 4: Vacancy
In the event of a vacancy in a Staff Council position (not holding an office), the President will name a replacement for the at-large representatives from the same group, departments will name a replacement for their representative.
Article VII: Officers
Officers of the College of Engineering Staff Council shall be President, President-elect, Secretary and Treasurer.
Section 1: Selection of Officers
Officers will be selected at the first meeting of the year by nominations from the College of Engineering Staff Council. The President will be the immediate past President-elect.
In the event that a replacement for President-elect was appointed during the year, the elections will be for all officers – President, President-elect, Secretary and Treasurer.
The past Staff Council President will act in an ex-officio capacity. Should the past Staff Council President not be able to serve in this capacity the previous Staff Council President shall serve.
Section 2: Duties and Responsibilities
Staff Council Members
• Willingness to organize and/or participate in all staff activities
• Attendance at scheduled meetings of the College of Engineering Staff Council
• Coordination of Special Staff Council Events
• Facilitation of the awarding of staff awards
• Representing to the College administration issues affecting the staff
• Serve on committees
President
• Shall preside over all meetings of the College of Engineering Staff Council
• Shall be the liaison between the College of Engineering Staff Council and the Dean
• Shall be responsible for disseminating information relevant to the staff within the College
• Shall be responsible for bringing staff issues to the College of Engineering Staff Council
• Shall prepare an annual report to be added to the minutes
• Shall vote only in order to break a tie
President-elect
• Shall serve in the capacity of President in the absence of the President
• Shall serve as President for the following year
• Shall be in charge of upcoming Staff Council elections
Secretary
• Shall keep minutes of the College of Engineering Staff Council meetings and distribute them to the staff of the College of Engineering
• Shall keep information on webpage current
• Shall assist the President-elect during elections by verifying the votes
Treasurer
• Monitor the annual Staff Council budget
• Shall keep track of all College of Engineering Staff Council funds and maintain accurate records of receipts, transactions, and deposits in accordance with the Assistant Dean of Finance of the College of Engineering
• Shall present a financial report at regular Staff Council meetings
Committee Coordinator (appointed by President)
• Shall be responsible for solicitation of staff involvement in coordinating committees for special programs in the College
Section 3: Vacancies
A. President – in the event the President is unable to complete their term, the President-elect shall succeed to the Office for the unexpired term and shall continue in the Office of President for the following year.
B. President-elect – in the event the President-elect is unable to complete their term, the Officers shall appoint a replacement to serve the unexpired term. The Acting President-elect shall not automatically succeed to the Office of President for the following term.
C. Secretary or Treasurer – in the event that either the Secretary or Treasurer is unable to complete their terms, the remaining officers shall appoint a replacement for the unexpired term.
Article VIII: Staff Awards
Section 1: Employee of the Semester
Employee of the Semester will be determined at the end of each semester. Nominations for the Employee of the Semester will be requested by the President to the staff no later than November 1 for the fall semester and April 1 for the spring semester unless scheduling to accommodate special events requires an earlier vote. Nominations will be returned to the President.
• Nominees must be employed by the College of Engineering for at least one year.
• Persons who received the Employee of the Semester award are not eligible for 2 academic years before receiving the Employee of the Semester award again.
• The President will verify eligibility of nominees.
• Employee of the Semester will be selected by a committee made up of the two immediate past Employees of the Year winners, two faculty members(Chair of the Honors & Awards Committee and Chair of the Promotion and Tenure Committee), and two department heads (selected by the Dean). The President will serve as facilitator.
• Nomination packets are limited to the nomination form and no more than two pages of supporting documents for each nomination and must be submitted on-line.
• Selection Committee members cannot nominate individuals while serving on the committee.
Employee of the Semester will be awarded a certificate of appreciation at the semi-annual College of Engineering Faculty/Staff Meeting. The Dean of the College of Engineering or the employee’s supervisor will be asked to recognize each nominee with a personal letter. Employee of the Semester will be automatically nominated for the Campus Staff Senate Employee of the Quarter.
See Article VIII Section 5 for awards timeline.
Section 2: Employee of the Semester Criteria
Selection of Employee of the Semester for the College of Engineering shall be based on superior job performance and shall meet the following nomination criteria:
• The nominated employee shall have made a significant contribution to his/her unit or department, or to the College of Engineering, or to the University itself during the previous semester. Significant contributions can be, but are not limited to, development/changes in departmental/unit processes or services, College processes or services, or University processes or services, or superior customer service that enhances the image of his/her department/unit, the College, or the University. Service above and beyond the scope of an employee’s job description is also considered a significant contribution.
• The nominator must, in his/her nomination, outline in detail the contribution(s) made by the individual taking into consideration what constitutes a “significant contribution”. After weighing the contributions stated in the nominations, the Selection Committee will select the Employee of the Semester. Selection will not be based on numbers of nominations for any individual but will be solely based on significant contributions.
• Contributions of the two Employees of the Semester will be considered and be the sole basis for the committee’s selection of Employee of the Year.
Section 3: Employee of the Year
Employee of the Year will be determined at the end of the academic year. The Selection Committee will select the Employee of the Year from the previous winners of the Employees of the Semester with selection based on significant contributions of each of the previous winners. Employee of the Year will be awarded a certificate of appreciation, name added to the perpetual staff award plaque, and a monetary award or gift certificate at the Faculty/Staff Meeting. The Dean of the College of Engineering will be asked to recognize each nominee in this category with a personal letter.
Employee of the Year recipients can be nominated to ASEA (Arkansas State Employees Association) for consideration for Outstanding State Employee. Staff Council will assist in the preparation of application.
Section 4: Staff Award Nominations
The Staff Council will disseminate a copy of the nominations for Employee of the Semester Award to the nominated individual, a copy will be placed in the individual’s departmental personnel file, and a copy will be sent to Human Resources for inclusion in the nominee’s UofA personnel file. Additionally, a copy of the Dean’s recognition letter should be added to the individual’s departmental and UofA personnel files.
Article IX: Accounts
Staff Council accounts:
The Staff Council Treasurer will administer these funds.
• Foundation account typically used for gifts, food for events, etc. Initially funded by the Dean and Department Heads
• The Staff Council budget is proposed by the President, President-elect and the Treasurer for approval by the Staff Council
Article X: Changes to Bylaws
Full-time staff of the College of Engineering may present amendments to the College of Engineering Staff Council Bylaws to the College of Engineering Staff Council. Adoption of Amendments requires simple majority of votes cast from the College of Engineering Staff, provided that the amendment has been submitted electronically at least two weeks prior to voting. Voting can be done either electronically or at a semi-annual business meeting.
Automatic grammatical, punctuation and correlation corrections to these Bylaws, which in no way alter the intent of the Bylaws, shall be effected by the Bylaws Committee.
These Bylaws and/or amendments thereto shall become effective upon election of the staff, unless otherwise specified.
Article XI: Meetings
The CoE Staff Council should meet once a month.
The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the College of Engineering Staff Council in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules of order the society may adopt.
Article XII: Committees
Standing Committee(s): the Council Officers appoint Bylaws & Standing Rules Committee members and terms are for one year to coincide with the fiscal year.
Special Committees will be appointed by the Council Officers as needed.
