Bylaws

1. To promote opportunities for communication and collaboration among members of the staff, and between staff and students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and other Lincoln University stakeholders;

2. To provide a forum for discussion of staff-related issues;

3. To represent, collectively, staff issues and concerns;

4. To make recommendations concerning staff issues to the university president or appropriate administrator or committee;

5. To ensure adequate staff representation on university committees, in university planning, and in university decision-making that affects the institution as a whole;

6. To ensure recognition of the value of staff contributions both individually and collectively.

2.60.1 Composition of the Staff Council

Representation will be by job classification with three Council seats each and six additional at-large seats open to any staff employee regardless of job classification as follows:

  

STAFF CLASSIFICATION	# OF COUNCIL SEATS
Administrative directors	3
Professional	3
Administrative support	3
Service and maintenance	3
Technical and skilled crafts	3
Representatives at-large	6
Total # of Council Seats	21

                

2.61.1 Vacancies

 

In the event of a vacancy, the Nominations and Elections Committee shall recommend an appropriate replacement to the chair of the Staff Council who shall appoint a replacement to complete the term of the vacant Council seat.

2.65.1 Voting by Classification

All permanent Lincoln University staff shall vote for the Staff Council candidates in their respective employment classifications and the at-large candidates.

 

2.65.2 Candidacy

Nominations for candidates will open one month prior to the election date and close two weeks prior to the election date. Candidates must indicate their acceptance of the nomination before being placed on the ballot. The names of the candidates shall be submitted to the chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee.

 

2.65.3 Distribution of Candidate Lists

A list of candidates, with accompanying personal statements if available, shall be distributed two weeks prior to election date.

 

2.65.4 Balloting

Individuals voting in the Staff Council election must cast their own ballots.

 

Following the election, the Nominations and Election Committee shall be responsible for counting the votes.

 

The candidates with the most votes shall become members of the Staff Council. In the event of a tie, a run-off election shall be held within two weeks of the initial election.

 

2.65.5 Announcement of Election Results

The current chair of the Staff Council shall announce the names and employment classifications of those elected to the Staff Council. This announcement shall not include the number of votes each candidate received.

 

2.65.6 Withdrawal or Ineligibility of Candidacy

A candidate may withdraw from the ballot at any time before the conclusion of the election. If a candidate becomes ineligible after the election but before the term begins, the position shall be awarded to the candidate with the next highest number of votes. If there is no other candidate, the position shall be filled as with any other vacancy. (See section 2.61.1.)

 

2.65.7 Unfilled Seats

In the event that a seat is not filled during the regular election, the seat shall be filled as with any other vacancy. (See section 2.61.1.)

2.68.1 Terms of Service        

All officers shall be elected for a term of one year and may serve for no more than three consecutive one-year terms.

2.68.2 Chair

The duties of the chair of the Staff Council shall be as follows:

 

To preside over meetings of the Staff Council;

To call special meetings of the Staff Council when deemed necessary;

To prepare meeting agendas;

To serve as spokesperson for the Staff Council;

To represent the interests and concerns of the Staff Council to the university president and the campus community;

To serve on the umbrella group of the Faculty Senate/Staff Council (name to be determined);

To appoint committee chairs (see section 2.75.1);

To delegate tasks to committees or individual members;

To cast the deciding vote in the case of deadlocked decisions.

 

2.68.3 Vice Chair

The duties of the vice chair of the Staff Council shall be as follows:

 

To fill the unexpired portion of the chair’s term in the event of a vacancy in that position;

To assume any or all of the chair’s duties in the absence of, or at the request of, the chair;

To serve on the umbrella group of the Faculty Senate/Staff Council (name to be determined).

 

2.68.4 Secretary

The duties of the secretary of the Staff Council shall be as follows:

 

To prepare and distribute the Staff Council minutes and any other appropriate communications;

To maintain a permanent record of all Staff Council activities;

To serve on the umbrella group of the Faculty Senate/Staff Council (name to be determined);

To supervise the collection, maintenance, and availability of resource materials for the Staff Council;

To serve as de facto chair of the Staff Council Communication Committee.

 

2.68.5 Parliamentarian

The duties of the parliamentarian of the Staff Council shall be as follows:

 

To advise the chair on parliamentary procedures in accordance with the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order;

To serve on the umbrella group of the Faculty Senate/Staff Council (name to be determined).

2.68.6 Filling Vacancies (Officers)With the exception of the chair (see section 2.68.3), if a vacancy among officers occurs, Council members may choose to hold a special election. If the vacancy occurs less than two months before that person’s term is due to expire, a temporary representative may be appointed by the Council chair.

2.69.1 Responsibilities

The responsibilities of the members of the Staff Council shall be as follows:

 

To attend and participate in all regular and special meetings of the Staff Council;

To engage in communication and to solicit feedback from their respective classification staff employees regarding Staff Council activities;

To actively participate in any committee(s) to which the member is appointed.

                       

2.69.2 Service as a Part of Workload

Service on the Staff Council and attendance at meetings shall constitute a part of the member’s regular work assignment.

2.69.3 Absences

Members shall notify the chair in the event of an anticipated absence from a regularly-scheduled or special meeting. After three absences by a member in an academic year, the Staff Council chair will appoint a new Council member according to section 2.61.6.

2.70.1 Procedures for Meetings

 

Meetings and business of the Staff Council shall be conducted according to the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order. The usual order of business shall be (but shall not be limited to) the following:

Approval of the minutes from the previous meeting

Individual and committee/subcommittee reports

Unfinished (old) business

New business

Announcements 

Items for new business must be submitted in writing to the secretary of the Staff Council no less than fourteen days in advance of the next Council meeting. After review by the chair, these must be posted to the staff listserv for discussion not less than seven days before the meeting.

 

During Council meetings, Lincoln University administrators, faculty, and/or students may receive special recognition by the Staff Council and may address the Council.

 

2.70.2 Modifying the Agenda

The Staff Council shall have the power to modify an agenda item by motion and majority vote.

 

2.70.3 Voting

University staff who do not hold an elected seat on the Staff Council are not eligible to participate in the voting process.

 

Voting on an issue shall be oral unless a ballot is moved and seconded by Council members.

 

Adoption of said issue shall be by simple majority, except in case of amendments to bylaws, which always require a ballot and must pass by a two-thirds majority. (See section 2.80.)

 

In non-ballot voting regarding issues and motions, any representative may request that the members be polled, and results recorded by roll call.

 

2.70.4 Quorum

A quorum shall consist of fifty-one percent of the Staff Council members.

 

2.70.5 Minutes

The secretary shall record the minutes of Staff Council meetings. After the minutes have been approved (as amended, if necessary at the following meeting) they will be posted on the listserve and the Staff Council Web site. A copy of the approved minutes shall be provided to the Office of the President. 

2.75.1 Committee Chairs, Membership, and Terms of Service

The Staff Council chair will appoint chairs for each standing committee and will define each committee’s scope and charge. Committee chairs must be chosen from Council members.

 

The committee chair will establish membership from a committee pool of interested staff employees maintained by the Nominations and Elections Committee. Each standing committee will be composed of six members and an ex officio member as appropriate. An ad hoc committee may have more than six members if the Council deems it necessary by majority vote. 

 

Committee membership shall be representative of a cross-section of staff classifications. A committee may remove by vote any member who does not actively participate, defined as missing three consecutive meetings, in the committee’s work. Upon a vacancy, the committee chair will fill the vacancy with a staff employee from the committee pool and shall so notify the chair of the Staff Council.

 

Staff Council standing committee membership will be announced by the Council chair.

 

Committee members shall serve three-year terms. Terms shall be staggered so that approximately one-third of the Staff Council standing committee members are replaced each year.

 

No individual shall serve more than two consecutive terms on the same standing committee unless approved by simple majority vote of the Staff Council.

 

Staff members shall serve on no more than two standing committees concurrently.

 

The Staff Council chair may, at her/his discretion and/or the direction of the Council, appoint special and ad hoc committees and assign members who will serve one-year terms. Such groups will generally be given a deadline by which they must complete their work and at which point their charge will expire.