Bylaws of the
Staff Association of the
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, VA
ARTICLE I.
Name
The name of this association shall be the College of Agriculture
and Life Sciences Staff Association (CALSSA).
ARTICLE II.
Purpose
Section 1. The purpose of this association shall be
to facilitate communication between the staff and administration, faculty, and
students; to serve as a vehicle for the administration to inform classified
staff of missions, goals, existing and proposed policies and programs, and
other timely topics; to serve as a forum for classified staff input on
missions, goals, existing and proposed policies and programs, and other timely
topics; to convey ideas from the staff to the administration, in the planning
and organization of staff educational activities, staff development, and
social/recreational activities for the college (when necessary, referrals may
be made to the appropriate channels); to encourage staff participation in
college activities, to develop personal skills, and to promote esprit de corps
among all college employees; and, to act in an advisory capacity to the Staff
Senate.
Section 2. CALSSA representatives to the Board shall
be responsible for presenting ideas and addressing general concerns from the
employees they represent and for reporting Staff Senate meeting information to
those employees on a timely basis.
ARTICLE III.
Membership
Membership shall consist of all classified employees (full
and part time, salary and wage) in the College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences. Members shall advise departmental representatives of issues to be
brought before CALSSA.
ARTICLE IV.
Officers
Section 1. The officers of this Association shall be
a President, a Vice President (President-elect), and a Secretary, whose duties
shall be as prescribed by these bylaws and the parliamentary authority adopted
by this Association. Additionally, the President shall be a member of the College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences Council. The President shall ensure that
staff members appointed to college committees and commissions regularly report
activities of their committees back to CALSSA.
ARTICLE V.
Meetings
Section 1. Regular meetings of the Board shall be
held not less than once per yearly quarter (four times a year) on a day, time,
and location agreed upon by the Executive Committee.
Section 2. CALSSA Board meetings shall be open to all
CALSSA association members.
Section 3. On areas of specific concern, the
Executive Committee will invite the appropriate individuals (Department Head, Dean,
etc.) to address the membership.
Section 4. A written proxy shall be allowed and, to
be considered valid, a proxy must contain the date of the meeting, a statement
giving the proxy holder the right to vote in place of the issuer, and a
signature. Whenever possible, the member who knows in advance that attendance
at the meeting will not be possible should notify the Secretary of the
existence of the proxy. Proxy votes shall count as members attending for the
purpose of determining a quorum.
ARTICLE VI.
The Board
Section 1. The governing body shall consist of the
President, the Vice President (President-elect), Secretary, one representative
from each department/unit of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and
5 staff senators (or the number prescribed by the Staff Senate), and shall be
known and referred to as the BOARD.
Section 2. Each designated department/unit in the College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences shall elect a representative and an alternate
to the Board. The alternate shall replace the representative in the event of a
vacancy.
Section 3. The office of a representative may be
declared vacant whenever that person has unauthorized absences from two
consecutive regular meetings or from any three regular meetings within a year.
Absences shall be authorized if announced in advance to the President or if the
absentee is replaced.
Section 4. Any representative may resign by informing
the President and his/her department association in writing.
Section 5. Should a representative's status change
within the College during the term of office, the representative will notify
the Executive Committee and replacing the representative is the responsibility
of the department/unit.
Section 6. Extension districts and Research and
Extension Centers shall have the option of either electing a representative
from their unit or electing/appointing a campus representative to the board.
Section 7. If the President-elect of the Board is
also a departmental representative then he/she shall request the current
departmental alternate to serve as the departmental representative. When the
alternate becomes the representative, the department shall elect a new
alternate.
Section 8. A quorum shall be defined as 10 Board
members present.
ARTICLE VII.
The Executive Committee
Section 1. The Executive Committee shall be composed
of the officers of the Association and the Staff Senators and shall coordinate
all activities of the Association, the officers, committees, and all special
meetings; set the time and place and prepare an agenda for all regular and
special meetings; act on behalf of the Association between meetings; report
regularly to the Association on the disposition of all major matters submitted
to it; and serve as a liaison with the administration and staff.
Section 2. Election of Officers. A slate of officers
shall be nominated from the list of elected, current and past, department/unit
representatives and/or officers by the board of CALSSA for the meeting held in April.
Elections will be by secret ballot at the May meeting Officers shall be elected
for a term of one year. Officers will assume their responsibilities on July 1.
Section 3. Staff Senators shall be elected from the
membership at large. At the January meeting, department/unit representatives
shall present a slate of not more than two nominees per department/unit.
Ballots shall be distributed to the membership by February 15, with the request
that they be returned by March 15. The Executive Committee shall appoint two
people who are not nominees or officers to collect and tabulate the votes. They
will report the results of the election at the March meeting of the Board.
Section 4. Staff Senators shall be elected for
three-year terms commencing July 1 and ending June 30 three years later. The
number of Senators elected will be specified by the bylaws of the Staff Senate.
At least one "alternate" Staff Senator will be elected yearly for a
two year term. The number and method of electing alternates will be determined
by the Board prior to the election. The Senior Alternate will fill the vacancy
created by the resignation of a senator and will serve the remainder of that
senator's term. A "senior alternate" is the candidate with the
highest seniority or the person who received the highest number of votes at the
last election. Staff Senators shall serve as liaisons between CALSSA and Staff
Senate and be voting members of the Board. The Senator will brief the alternate
on issues to be discussed and voted on.
ARTICLE VIII.
CALS Council
Section 1. The President of the Association shall
serve as a member of the Council.
Section 2. Six additional Council members shall be
nominated and elected from the staff at large as follows: three on campus, two
Extension field staff, and one AREC.
Section 3. Election of Council members shall be held
in conjunction with the May election of officers.
Section 4. For the period 2001-2002, there shall be
three one-year terms and three two-year terms. Upon expiration
of the one-year terms and thereafter, each Council member shall be
elected for a two-year term.
ARTICLE IX.
Committees
Section 1. Committees shall be appointed by the
President as the need is determined by the Board. The president shall be an
ex-officio member of all committees.
ARTICLE X.
Amendments
Section 1. A proposal for an amendment must be
submitted to the Executive Committee for review and certification. The notice
shall contain the proposed amendment in context or the general nature of the
matter. Proposed amendment shall not be voted on until at least one regular
meeting after the meeting in which it was proposed. Amendments to the bylaws
shall be approved by a 2/3 vote of the Board.
ARTICLE XI.
Parliamentary Authority
Section 1. The rules contained in the current edition
of Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Association 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 Association may adopt.
Adopted:
- February 1991
Amended:
- June 1991
- February 1992
Revised & Amended:
- January 1993
- November 1994
Revised and Amended:
- May 2001