University of Denver - Staff Advisory Council

BYLAWS
of
UNIVERSITY OF DENVER
STAFF ADVISORY COUNCIL

ARTICLE I - NAME, PURPOSE AND HISTORY

This Council was established by the Vice Chancellor for Financial Affairs on September 13, 1978 and is named the Staff Advisory Council of the University of Denver. It is sometimes hereinafter referred to as the Council.

The purpose of the Staff Advisory Council is:

to be aware of the concerns of the staff (defined as appointed personnel other than faculty and union employees) (hereinafter "Staff") relating to the management and administration of the University and to make recommendations to the University administration on matters of concern to the Staff,
to provide a means for the exchange and dissemination of information among and for University of Denver staff relative to problems, procedures and policies,
to promote unity, cooperation, loyalty among all staff of the University of Denver,
to work with any and all similar councils, groups, or bodies of the University to fulfill the aforementioned purposes.

History: When the Staff Advisory Council was established in 1978, membership was voluntary. When bylaws were adopted in 1995, the then current membership was grand fathered into the appropriate representative positions in order to facilitate the change from a volunteer system to an elected system. When there was not an easily identifiable position for the representative, the President determined an area for that person to represent. By May 1995, the SAC Chair presented a list of vacancies and their areas of representation to the Vice Chancellor of Financial and Business Affairs. The Vice Chancellor requested nominations from department heads of areas having vacancies and appointed members into those positions.

ARTICLE II - MEMBERSHIP

All Staff of the University of Denver who have completed at least 6 (six) months of employment with the University are eligible for membership on the Staff Advisory Council.

The Staff Advisory Council membership shall consist of 25 representative positions, each with a two-year term. Fifteen of these positions shall be elected by the Staff of the represented departments and the ten remaining positions shall be appointed from specific areas. Position terms will be staggered so that one half of the position terms will expire in any given year. Elections shall be held in August in areas having a vacancy, with the new members officially beginning their duties each September.
Membership shall be representative of the campus through the following election and appointment procedures:

A. Elected Positions (15)

The fifteen largest areas of the University each shall have one elected position on the Council. The Executive Committee will be responsible for reviewing the allocation of representatives each year and if necessary, making adjustments to representative allocation based on changes in department size.

B. Appointed Positions (10)

The Chancellor shall be entitled to designate a person to fill one appointed position.
The Vice Chancellor of Enrollment shall be entitled to designate a person to fill one appointed position.
The Provost shall be entitled to designate separate persons to fill each of three appointed positions.
The Vice Chancellor of Communications shall be entitled to designate a person to fill one appointed position.
The Vice Chancellor of University Advancement shall be entitled to designate a person to fill one appointed position.
The Vice Chancellor of Financial and Business Affairs shall be entitled to designate separate persons to fill each of three appointed positions.

C. Vacancies occurring mid-term.

Elected positions: Vacancies in elected positions will be filled for the remainder of the term through appointment by the department head of the area represented by the vacating member or nominations to fill the vacancy from the vacating member.
When an Appointed position becomes vacant during a term, the Appointing individual (as identified in subsection II B) will appoint a replacement for the remainder of the term. An appointing individual may consider nominations to fill the vacancy made by the vacating member or others in the area.

ARTICLE III - OFFICERS AND EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Officers of the Council shall be a President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary and Webmaster. This group also constitutes the Executive Committee.

The officers of the Council shall be elected for one year terms by majority vote of the Council annually or as vacancies occur. Officers may succeed themselves, if reelected by a two-thirds vote. Voting will be by written ballot. The Vice President/President-elect shall have served at least six months on the Council before being eligible to serve as Vice President/President-elect.

A. The PRESIDENT shall:

prepare an agenda for each meeting.
preside at all meetings and enforce all policies established by the Council,
appoint subcommittees subject to approval by, the Executive committee,
call special meetings for the Council and the Executive Committee and notify full Council in advance,
approve all communications regarding the Council or its activities,
speak for the Council or designate another member of the Council to speak for the Council,
be responsible for all fiscal matters of the Council,
prepare an annual budget request for Council's approval and submission to the Vice Chancellor for Financial Affairs,
the President shall remain on SAC in an advisory capacity for the period of one year after their term ends,
delegate duties to Council members as appropriate.

B. The VICE PRESIDENT/PRESIDENT-ELECT shall:

in the absence of the President, preside at Council meetings and have the powers and prerogatives of the President.
be elected to a two-year term. During the first year the Vice President shall hold the office and duties of Vice President/President-elect. During the second year the Vice President will assume the title and duties of President as listed in III. A. 1-10.

C. The SECRETARY shall:

record the minutes of all regular and special Council meetings,
record the minutes of all regular and special Executive Committee meetings,
maintain minutes in a permanent book to be passed on to the succeeding secretary,
distribute copies of the minutes one week following the meeting; distribute agendas one week prior to meetings,
keep a record of attendance of members, excused and unexcused absences, and keep the President informed of these absences, and,
notify members of all meetings.

D. The TREASURER shall:

keep accurate records of all expenditures,
prepare all SAC expenses for Chair signature,
present Quarterly expense reports to the Executive Committee, Subcommittee Chairs and the Council.

E. The WEBMASTER shall:

design and maintain a SAC web site in keeping with the format established by the University of Denver Webmaster.
keep all information current by performing updates in a timely manner.

F. The EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE shall:

hold special meetings to handle affairs for the Council when, in the unanimous determination of the majority of the Executive Committee, time does not permit a full meeting of the Council, and
approve the appointments to subcommittees made by the President.

ARTICLE IV - TERMS OF OFFICE OF COUNCIL MEMBERS

The council will have 25 members each of whom shall serve a two-year term. Members are expected to attend the monthly meetings unless their official duties interfere. If a council member decides to resign, the person should inform the President by a written notice of intent.

ARTICLE V - MEETINGS

Meetings shall be held on the second Wednesday of each month of the calendar year unless otherwise changed by the Executive Committee.

Special meetings may be called by the President, upon request of Council members, or at the request of the Vice Chancellor for Financial Affairs.

All employees of the University are welcome to attend regular or special Council meetings and are encouraged to do so. Council meetings shall proceed from an agenda, and non-Council members wishing to address items on the agenda must inform the President in advance of the meeting. Only members of the Council may have voting privileges.

A minimum of thirteen of the total membership of the Council, or a majority of the total membership if there are vacant positions on the Council, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting of the Council.

ARTICLE VI - COMMITTEES

The formation of a committee shall be approved by a majority vote of the Staff Advisory Council. Committees shall act as forums for study and consideration of issues and activities and shall make recommendations to the Council. All proposals and recommendations of subcommittees must be made to the Council at the monthly meeting and approved by a majority Council vote.

Members of a committee may consist of both members and non-members of the Council who are Staff. Membership on a committee will be on a volunteer basis. All committee members must indicate their willingness to serve by notice to the Chair of the committee. Each member is responsible to attend meetings as scheduled by the Chair. If a member does not attend three or more consecutive meetings, the committee shall assume the member has relinquished his position on the committee. Each committee shall have a Chair who will be responsible for the budgetary, administrative and project coordination of all committee functions. The Chair will also preside over all committee meetings and be responsible for the general report-out of committee activities to the Council at the monthly Council meeting. The Chair shall be elected by the committee members or appointed by the Executive Committee. The Chair may also be required to attend Executive Committee meetings as necessary.

All committees shall submit a yearly budget of planned expenses to the Council for approval. Once approved, they are to then consider themselves bound by that budget unless granted approval by a majority Council vote to change focus or expansion of the approved budget. Expenditures under a $100.00 that are included in a committee's Council-approved budget may be made following approval by a majority vote of the Committee and approval by the Council President. Expenditures of over $100.00 shall require a majority vote of the Council before being made.

The Staff Advisory Council shall have the following standing committees:

Staff Issues and Actions that will focus on concerns of the Staff.

Employee Recognition that will center on acknowledging the contributions of the Staff.
Community and Events that will concentrate on building unity of the Staff.
Staff Benevolent Fund that will administer the distribution of funds to provide assistance or send special acknowledgement to staff members.
1. Funds may be raised by selling merchandise and by donation.
2. Confidentiality will be maintained during all aspects of consideration and assistance.
3. Requests for assistance/acknowledgement will be received by the Committee Chair from faculty, supervisors and other staff members.
4. The request will be referred to other Committee members for consideration.
5. Action will be determined based on recommendations received from all members of the Committee.
6. One or more of the following methods of assistance/acknowledgement may be used:
  1. Financial/Food Donations
  2. Personal Contributions
  3. Special Acknowledgments
Additionally, the Staff Advisory Council shall form the Election Committee each June.

The Election Committee will be composed of members who are not up for reelection. The election committee will elect one of its members to serve as the chair of the committee. The election committee chair will preside over the meetings of the election committee and report back to the Council and the Executive committee as needed or requested. The duties and timelines of the election committee will be described in the election code. The election code may not be modified without a majority vote of the Council.

Election Code
The election code can only be changed or amended by a majority vote of the Staff Advisory Council members responding. The election committee will follow the election code for conduction regular elections for SAC membership. No member of the SAC can be on the election committee if their position is up for re-election.

If special elections are to be held, the election code will be a guide for holding those elections.
Other Subcommittees may be formed as deemed necessary or desired by the Council.

ARTICLE VII - AMENDMENTS TO BYLAWS

An amendment to the Bylaws may be proposed by the Council members in writing to the President two weeks prior to a regularly scheduled meeting. After review by the Council, the proposed amendment must receive an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the Council members responding and shall not thereafter become effective until approval by University Counsel as being consistent with established University policies and procedures.

SAC approval on April 19, 1995
SAC approved Amendments on April 18, 2001
SAC approved an amendment to Article III on February 19, 2003
SAC approved an amendment to Article II, Section B, Item 5, on April 9, 2003