(A) Authority:
(1) Authority. The
university of Cincinnati ("university") is a state school created
under Ohio law. Pursuant to Chapter 3361. of the Revised Code and rule
3361:30-5-02 of the Administrative Code, the staff of the university
("staff") may adopt bylaws ("bylaws") that are approved by
the board of trustees ("board"), to govern the conduct of its
affairs.
(2) Relationship to
collective bargaining agreement. The bylaws are intended to address matters of
staff governance that are not addressed under a collective bargaining
agreement. In the event that any provision of the bylaws conflicts with a
collective bargaining agreement, the collective bargaining agreement shall
govern.
(3) Amendment. Any bylaw
may be amended or repealed by the staff at any regular or special meeting by a
vote of the majority of the members present. The proposed change must be
submitted to the chairperson of the staff ("chairperson"), and the
chairperson must give written notice of the proposal to the staff at least two
weeks prior to the meeting at which adoption is proposed. Any amendment or
repeal shall become effective immediately upon approval by the
university's board and the inclusion into rule 3361:30-5-02 of the
Administrative Code.
(B) The university staff
bylaws.
(1) Name: The name of
this organization is the university of Cincinnati staff senate ("staff
senate").
(2) Purpose:
(a) The purpose of the staff senate is to provide a
regular, open forum to facilitate communication among staff and university
administration, faculty and students.
(b) Staff senate will primarily consider matters brought to
its attention by staff members, university administration, and other members of
the university community which supports the strategic direction and vision of
the university.
(c) As appropriate, staff senate may participate in the
selection of university senior administrative officers and administrators by
serving on search committees, interviewing candidates, and submitting
evaluations and recommendations.
(d) Staff senate will act in compliance with and support
the commitment of the university with regard to non-discrimination, equal
opportunity and affirmative action in accordance with federal, state and local
laws and regulations.
(3) Membership and
representation:
(a) University employees eligible to become members of the
staff senate include all benefits-eligible employees, who are not charged
principally with teaching, including both exempt and nonexempt employees, both
part-time and full-time employees; excluding temporary employees, student
workers or other university employees who are eligible members of the
university of Cincinnati faculty senate (hereinafter
"staff").
(b) Staff senate endeavors to have a duly representative
and diverse membership reflecting its many constituent groups and campuses with
equitable representation among the various colleges, divisions and
departments.
(c) Staff senate will, annually, accept nominations for up
to twelve staff who will serve as "at-large members" for two year
terms, or in the case of resignation, for the remainder of the existing
term.
(d) Representatives will be elected to staff senate per the
stated qualifications through a regular or special election process
(hereinafter "senators").
(e) Senators will be responsible to regularly attend
general staff senate meetings, as well as special or called
meetings.
(f) To become a senator, employees must have prior approval
from their direct manager/supervisor.
(4) Nomination and term
of office of senators:
(a) Senators will serve staggered two year terms beginning
at the July staff senate meeting. A maximum of two consecutive terms (four
years) may be served. A one year interval is necessary before being eligible to
serve again.
(b) Elections will be held annually to elect one-half of
the representatives and any vacant positions. Each year the membership &
elections committee will notify those voting, call for nominations, prepare
ballots, and handle the election.
(i) Members appointed to
fill vacant seats will serve until the next election.
(ii) When a new member is
elected to fill the vacant seat, the new member will complete the original term
of the seat.
(iii) Members changing
from one area to another may continue to serve until the end of the fiscal
year. If they wish to continue to serve as members, they must run for
re-election within their new area.
(5) Staff senate
officers:
(a) The officers of the staff senate includes a chair, vice
chair, treasurer, secretary and past-chair, and make up the senate
cabinet.
(b) The chair will:
(i) Be responsible for
setting the strategic direction of the staff senate consistent with the
strategic direction of the university in partnership with the senate cabinet in
accordance with these bylaws, the university code of conduct, and committee
policy.
(ii) Serve as an official
staff senate representative to university administration, the board of
trustees, and other university entities, and refer matters submitted for the
staff senate's attention to the appropriate governance
committee(s).
(iii) Preside at staff
senate and cabinet meetings.
(iv) Hold office for a
term of two years. The term will commence on the first day of the first month
of the new academic year. The Chair may not be re-elected for a consecutive
term.
(c) The vice chair will:
(i) Assist the chair and
perform the duties of the chair in their absence.
(ii) Chair the
memberships and elections committee and oversee all voting procedures in the
staff senate.
(iii) Hold office for a
term of two years. The term will commence on the first day of the first month
of the new academic year. The vice chair may not be re-elected for a
consecutive term.
(d) The treasurer will:
(i) Prepare the annual
budget and submit it to the senate cabinet for approval.
(ii) Chair the budget and
human resources committee, prepare reimbursements for vendors and staff senate
members, and prepare documents as necessary for university budget
processes.
(iii) Hold office for two
years. The term will commence on the first day of the first month of the new
academic year. The treasurer may not be re-elected for a consecutive
term.
(e) The secretary will:
(i) Record and publish
the official minutes and oversee the minutes of general staff senate meetings
for approval and maintain records of such minutes and other staff senate
documents and records.
(ii) Distribute all
minutes not more than two weeks after cabinet and staff senate
meetings.
(iii) Hold office for two
years. The term will commence on the first day of the first month of the new
academic year. The secretary may not be re-elected for a consecutive
term.
(f) Immediately upon termination of service, the chair will
serve as past-chair for one year. The past-chair's principal role is to be
advisory to the chair and cabinet. The past-chair will not be counted as part
of the assembled quorum but accorded full privilege of deliberation. The
past-chair will be entitled to vote only in the event of a tie
vote.
(g) The staff senate may also have other officers, and/or
assistant officers as may be deemed necessary and/or appropriate by the staff
senate from time to time.
(h) All officers will serve as members of the senate
cabinet.
(6) Election of
officers:
(a) Except for the staff senate's first year of
existence, a senator must serve on the staff senate for one full year to be
eligible to hold an officer position.
(b) The election of officers will take place at the general
staff senate meeting scheduled annually. The term for office for all newly
elected officers will begin at the start of the fiscal year.
(c) Immediately following their term, officers may be
nominated and elected as a representative for their area.
(d) In the event of a vacancy occurring in the chair's
term of service, the vice chair will assume the duties of the chair and will
hold office for the unexpired term of the chair.
(e) An elected and/or appointed officer may be removed by a
majority vote of those members present and voting.
(7) Staff senate
committees:
(a) There are five standing committees in order to conduct
staff senate business more efficiently during the interim between staff senate
meetings.
(i) Committee meetings
are open to all staff; however, only official committee members may vote on
committee matters.
(ii) A quorum, being a
requirement to conduct committee business, is defined as a majority of members
of the committee.
(iii) Following the
confirmation of senators to standing committees, a committee chair and co-chair
will be elected by a majority vote of the committee members present and
voting.
(b) Each of the standing committees below has been
established by the staff senate and constitutes a standing
committee.
(i) Membership &
elections committee will execute the staff senate election process as outlined
by the governance committee, provide the staff senate with nominees for open
positions on standing committees and develop the new member orientation and
training program.
(ii) Budget and human
resource committee will support the strategic direction of the university with
an emphasis on the staff experience, and in doing so may consider all
financial, planning, human resource, and economic welfare matters affecting the
university to ensure a supportive environment that will provide personal and
professional growth opportunities for university staff in collaboration with
the offices for finance and human resources.
(iii) Information
technology committee will consider and represent staff views on all significant
information technology initiatives, issues, and policies that impact the
university; create and maintain the staff senate website and electronic voting
systems; offer technology consultation and training for staff; and consider all
information technology matters brought to its attention by the staff senate or
the university administration in collaboration with the university of
Cincinnati office of information technology.
(iv) Communication and
recognition committee will organize and coordinate outreach and community
engagement activities, staff recognition functions, public and special events;
performs responsibilities related to communications of the staff senate,
including the distribution of publicity and information relating to the staff
senate; and considers all outreach and communication matters brought to its
attention by the staff senate or the university administration.
(v) Governance committee
will annually review the bylaws and propose amendments; determine membership,
nomination, and election procedures for senators with final approval by the
senate cabinet; annually review the number of staff senate representatives and
reapportion the area representation as needed based on information received
from university of Cincinnati human resources; monitor governance policies and
practices to ensure effective staff involvement in university decision making;
and consider all governance matters brought to its attention by the staff
senate or the university administration.
(vi) Ad hoc committees
may be appointed for purposes in such manner as the staff, senate, or
university rules may direct.
(8) Meetings:
(a) The staff senate will hold a minimum of five meetings
during the academic year. Staff senate meetings are open to the public except
when items are considered in executive sessions.
(b) Staff senate may request to go into executive session
in accordance with the Ohio open meetings code (section 121.22 of the Revised
Code), only after a majority of a quorum of the members present, by a roll call
vote, to hold an executive session and only at a regular or special meeting.
These meetings are not open to the public and not reflected in meeting
minutes.
(c) Special meetings may be called by the chair and/or
committee chairs with the appropriate body, as necessary.
(d) Voting occurs as follows:
(i) A quorum, being a
requirement to conduct staff senate business, is defined as a majority of
members of the staff senate.
(ii) For the purposes of
voting, a majority is defined as more than half of all voting members in
attendance at a staff senate meeting.
(iii) Voting during each
meeting of the staff senate will be by method prescribed by the chair or
committee chair as the time of the vote.
(9) Budget:
(a) Control of the staff senate budget and operating
expenses will be vested in the budget and human resource committee and approved
by senate cabinet.
(b) The treasurer will present an annual operations budget
report at the first senate cabinet meeting of the academic year that
outlines:
(i) Expected
budget
(ii) Expected
expenditures
(iii) Special
projects
(iv) Other items of
financial concern
(c) The staff senate will submit a proposal for a budget
annually to university leadership.
(10) Amendments or
revisions to the bylaws:
(a) Bylaws will be reviewed annually by the governance
committee to determine if amendments or revisions are needed.
(b) Technical changes are to be understood to include
renumbering articles and sections, updating administrative titles, and making
other non-substantive revisions that improve accuracy and clarity. It is the
prerogative of the senate cabinet to make technical changes by majority
vote.
(c) Any bylaw may be amended or repealed by the staff
senate at any regular or special meeting by a vote of the majority of the
members present. The proposed change must be submitted to the chairperson, and
the chairperson must give written notice of the proposal to the staff senate at
least two weeks prior to the meeting at which adoption is proposed. Any
amendment or repeal shall become effective immediately upon approval by the
university's board of trustees ("board") and the inclusion into
rule 3361:30-5-02 of the Administrative Code.
