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The Constitution of Staff Council of Carnegie Mellon University

Article I: Name

Article II: Purpose and Responsibility

Section 2. The responsibility of Staff Council is to represent all persons holding full or part time staff appointments at Carnegie Mellon who are not represented by the faculty organization or a bargaining unit.

Article III: Eligibility

Article IV: Officers of Staff Council

Section 2.
A) The Chair of Staff Council presides over the meetings of Staff Council and the Executive Committee, and submits an annual report to the President of the University. In the absence of the Chair, or at the Chair's direction, the Vice Chair acts as Chair.

B) The Vice Chair serves in various capacities at the direction of the Chair, and supervises all elections and votes of Staff Council.

C) The Secretary of Staff Council records the minutes of the monthly meetings, maintains the current list of members, coordinates the monthly meetings, and sends correspondence at the direction of the Chair.

 D) The Treasurer of Staff Council oversees the finances under the control of Staff Council, reports on the finances monthly, and submits a yearly operating budget to the President of the University.

 E) A person may not simultaneously hold more than one of the offices named in Article IV, Section 1.

 F) Should a vacancy occur in the office of Vice Chair, Secretary, or Treasurer, before the completion of a term of office, the Nominating Committee nominates a candidate or candidates for the vacant office and an election is held at the first possible Staff Council meeting. At that meeting, nominations from the floor are accepted. Such an election is decided by a majority of the secret ballots received from Staff Council members attending the meeting. Officers elected by this method serve to the original expiration date of the term that they have been elected to complete.

G) Should a vacancy occur in the office of Chair of Staff Council, the Vice Chair shall complete that term and a new Vice Chair shall be selected in accordance with Section 2 Item F.

Section 3. The terms for the Chair, Vice Chair, Past Chair, Secretary and Treasurer are one year each and will commence or expire at the beginning of the August Staff Council meeting.

Section 4. At the expiration of each year's term, the retiring Vice Chair becomes the Chair for the following term, with the following exception:

A)  A person who has succeeded or been elected to the office of Chair by reason of a vacancy occurring after the 3rd Thursday in February of the expiring term remains Chair for the following term.

Section 5. At the beginning of each year's term that member of Staff Council who has most recently held the office of Chair becomes Past Chair and will serve in an advisory capacity.

Article V: Membership of Staff Council

Section 2. Representatives are to be nominated and elected from the eligible members of the staff, with eligibility to be verified by the Elections Committee. The process of obtaining nominations is coordinated, during the 2nd quarter of the current calendar year by the Elections Committee under the supervision of the Vice Chair.

Section 3. The election of representatives is by secret ballot and is conducted by the Elections Committee under the supervision of the Vice Chair. Write-in votes for qualified individuals are permitted.

Section 4. Alternates are those members who have been nominated to a seat on Staff Council but have failed to receive the requisite number of votes to be a representative. As such, they do not hold voting privileges but may attend  the monthly meetings.

Section 5. Should a vacancy occur before the completion of a 
Representative's term, the remainder of the unexpired term is filled by an Alternate Member of Staff Council. The new member is selected by the Chair and Vice Chair based on the number of votes received as well as their attendance at Staff Council meetings.

Section 6.  Each elected member of Staff Council is entitled to propose resolutions to Staff Council.

Section 7. Each elected member of Staff Council is entitled to vote on the business of the Council, with the exception of the Chair, who will vote only in the event of a tie.

Section 8. The Secretary of Staff Council will maintain a current list of the membership.

Article VI: Meetings of Staff Council

Section 2. Additional meetings of Staff Council may be called by the Chair if requested by the President of the University or in writing by a minimum of twenty members of Staff Council.

Section 3. Should both the Chair and Vice Chair be unable to preside at a meeting of Staff Council, the Past Chair will serve in their place. If the Past Chair is unavailable, the meeting will be presided over by the Treasurer, and if they are unavailable, it will fall to the Secretary. In the event that none of the officers are available, a member of the Executive Committee may be selected by the Chair to preside over the meeting.

Section 4. Any matter may be placed before a meeting of Staff Council and acted upon without appearing on that meetings agenda, unless the presiding officer along with one-third of the members present agree that a delay is necessary.

Section 5. Unless otherwise specified by the Constitution, all meetings of Staff Council will be conducted in accordance with that version or edition of Robert's Rules of Order as selected by the Executive Committee.

Section 6. The newly elected Chair will appoint a Parliamentarian from among the members of Staff Council to deal with any questions of procedure that may arise during a meeting. Such issues will be decided by the presiding officer after consultation with the Parliamentarian. However, a ruling of the presiding officer may be overruled by a majority vote of those members present. In the event that the Parliamentarian is absent, the Chair may appoint an acting Parliamentarian for the duration of the meeting.

Article VII: Committees of Staff Council

Section 2. The Executive Committee manages and executes the business of Staff Council. This includes, but is not limited to, approving the agenda for meetings, advising the Chair in making appointments to University committees, and monitoring the activities of Staff Council Committees. The Executive Committee includes, the officers of the Staff Council, the Chairs of Standing Committees and the Parliamentarian.

A) The Executive Committee shall meet no less than once each calendar month prior to the monthly Staff Council meeting.

B) Should both the Chair and Vice Chair be unavailable to conduct a meeting of the Executive Committee, the Chair may appoint a member of the Executive Committee to do so. If no such appointment is made, the members of the Executive Committee may appoint one of their members to conduct the meeting.

C) A majority of the Executive Committee members is required for the Committee to conduct business.

Section 3.  The Elections Committee is headed by the Vice Chair and is responsible for conducting all elections in accordance with the Constitution of Staff Council.

Section 4. Standing Committees are those established for a specified purpose and indefinite span of time, with size and composition to be determined under the guidance of the Executive Committee. The Chairs of said committees shall be chosen by the members and reported to the Executive Committee. If the members are unable or unwilling to select a Committee Chair, the Chair of Staff Council may appoint one. Standing Committee's should meet at the discretion of the Committee Chair.

A) The Chair of Staff Council shall maintain a list of all Standing 
Committees, their status as active or inactive, membership, and duties.

Section 5. Ad Hoc Committees are those committees established by the Executive Committee or  the Chair of Staff Council,  and are conceived as having temporary, finite, or exploratory functions. These are charged by the Chair of Staff Council. Charges include the purpose, composition, size, and terms of appointments to the Committee as well as an indication of the date or completed task that determines the dissolution of the Committee.

Section 6. All Standing and Ad Hoc Committee members must be current members of Staff Council.
 

Article VIII: Staff Council Appointments to University Councils and Committees

Section 2.  Only current members of Staff Council are eligible to 
appointment to University Councils, Committees, or Task Forces.

Article IX: Amendments

This Constitution shall become effective on January 1, 2002.

Final Draft: October 2001

Presented By the Constitution/By-Laws Committee
Established: Sept 1999
Chair:
Allan Becer
Members:
Beth Borrasso
Debbie Cavlovich
Tracy Farbacher
Debbie Gerhardt
Patty Mackiewicz
Jay Marano
Denise Murrin-Macey