APPROVED BY ACADEMIC STAFF CONSTITUENCY SEPTEMBER 1999

Appendix F:

BY-LAWS OF THE ACADEMIC STAFF SENATE

University of Wisconsin - Superior

Preamble: Academic staff at the University of Wisconsin - Superior share a commitment to the mission of the University, contribute to the learning environment of the University through their diverse responsibilities, and work to provide for maximum efficiency in the institution. In recognition of the roles played by academic staff in the functioning and effectiveness of the University, we hereby establish the following bylaws:

Article I. Name

The name of the Senate shall be the Academic Staff Senate of the University of Wisconsin - Superior, hereinafter referred to as the Senate.

Article II: Constituency

The constituency of the Senate shall be all employees of the University who have a 50% or more fixed, probationary or indefinite academic staff appointment. Employees who have a 50% or more limited appointment with academic staff backup are also considered part of the constituency. Employees with a split appointment, such as 50% academic staff/ 50% faculty, must indicate either faculty or academic staff governance preference within 90 days after appointment.

Article III: The Senate

Section 1. Membership: There shall be nine members of the Senate, in accordance with UW- Superior 9.02.

Section 2. Elections: The election of the Academic Staff Senate members shall be on a rotation basis. The term will be three (3) years.

- Those persons who hold at least 50% probationary, indefinite, or fixed-term Academic Staff appointments, and those who hold limited appointments only who have been in the employ of the University throughout the academic year in which University Senate elections shall be conducted, shall be eligible to vote in the Academic Staff constituency and shall be eligible for election to the Senate by the Academic Staff constituency.

- Elections for Academic Staff Senators shall be held during the first two weeks in April. Voting shall be by secret ballot. Nominating and voting for Academic Staff senators shall be by the eligible Academic Staff. The chief academic officer of the University shall determine the eligibility of Academic Staff electors and candidates, subject to the provisions of this Charter, and shall furnish certified lists of the same to the Secretary of the Senate.

Section 3. Duties: The Senate shall: - monitor adherence to the policies and procedures of academic staff as provided for in Chapter 4. Governance. Section 4.2 of the Handbook.

- develop policies, practices and recommendations which are in the best interest of the academic staff and consistent with the goals and mission of the University.

- encourage professionalism among academic staff members and promote involvement of the academic staff in the activities of the University.

- survey needs on such issues as compensation/career advancement, identify goals of academic staff, and take appropriate action.

-receive and review concerns from academic staff following grievance procedures as defined in the Handbook, Chapter 7, Personnel Policies for Faculty and Academic Staff, Section 7.2

- call general and special meetings of all academic staff.

- serve as a channel for official communication from the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor in regard to issues affecting academic staff, consider any matters which may be referred to the Senate by the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor and meet regularly with them on academic staff issues.

- initiate communication with the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor, other officers of the institution and other employee groups when appropriate.

- establish and assign responsibilities to receive resignations from and recommend replacements for committees and task forces of the Senate.

- propose names of academic staff to serve on University system-wide committees.

- rank the requests for professional development grants to be submitted to the Vice Chancellor and work in consultation with the Vice Chancellor regarding their submission to UW-System.

Section 4. Quorum: Five members shall constitute a quorum of the Senate for the transaction of business.

Section 5. Vacancies: A special election of eligible academic staff will be held within one month of a vacancy.

Section 6. Annual Report: The Senate will report on its activities for the year, including professional development grants, at a general meeting of academic staff.

Section 7. Meetings: The Senate shall meet at least once a month during the calendar year at a time designated by the Senate.

Article IV: Officers

Section 1. Officers: The officers of the Senate shall be a chairperson, a secretary, and a official representative to the UW System.

Section 2. Term of Office: The term for each office shall be for one year beginning May I and ending April 30 of the following year, with the exception of the UW System representative whose term will be two years. Reorganization shall follow elections of at- large members and shall be completed no later than May 15 of each year. There is no limit to the number of terms an officer might hold.

Section 3. Selection: The selection of officers shall be made to provide leadership and continuity for the conduct of business. The officers shall be elected by a simple majority of the Senate present. The vote shall be by written ballot at a meeting of the Senate following the spring election and no later than May 15.

Section 4. Vacancies: Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the offices, the Senate shall elect another member of the Senate to serve the un-expired term, after which time the office will be reopened and filled in accordance with election procedures.

Section 5. Removal: An officer may be removed from office by a simple majority of the whole Senate.

Section 6. Duties of Chairperson: The chairperson shall:

- prepare agendas, call meetings and preside at the meetings of the Senate and of the general academic staff and in anticipation of her/his absence from a meeting appoint either the representative or the secretary to conduct the meeting

-serve as official representative of the academic staff and the Senate internally and in this capacity receive communications from officers of the University and members of the campus community relating to academic staff matters.

- develop, in consultation with the Senate, correspondence, statements, policies, and recommendations of staff matters.

- function as liaison internally on staff matters.

- notify the committee or task force nominees of their appointment as detern-flned by the Senate

Section 7. Duties of the secretary: The secretary shall:

- prepare and maintain an official list of academic staff persons eligible to vote in consultation with the Vice Chancellor.

- record in the minutes the business of all meetings of the Senate and the academic staff. - distribute minutes of Senate meetings.

- serve as custodian of records and papers, and be responsible for maintaining the historical files on academic staff governance.

- prepare all correspondence, internally and externally, for the Senate, as directed by the Senate.

- notify academic staff of all general and special meetings.

(Note: For special meetings, notice should be given as soon as possible after receipt of requests from the Senate but not less than 7 days prior to such a meeting. Exceptions to 7 days advance notice may be made in special circumstances.)

Section 8. Duties of the Representative: The representative shall:

- serve as official representative of the academic staff and the Senate externally and in this capacity receive all external communications regarding academic staff.

- share with the Senate issues of concern to academic staff.

- be elected from one of the nine elected Academic Staff Senate members.

- hold other offices on the Senate if elected.

- report to the Senate regarding meetings external to the University.

Article V: General Academic Staff Meetings

Section 1. General Meetings: There shall be at least three general meetings for all eligible members of the academic staff each year. (See Article 11: Constituency for eligibility.)

Section 2. Special Meetings: Special meetings of academic staff may be called at the discretion of the Senate. The academic staff at large may initiate a special meeting by presenting to the Senate a written petition signed by twenty percent of the academic staff. The meeting shall be held within four weeks of the receipt of the petition.

Section 3. Presiding Officer: The chairperson of the Academic Staff Senate presides over all meetings of academic staff.

Section 4. Quorum: Twenty percent of the eligible academic staff shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Section 5. Notification of Meetings: The secretary shall notify all academic staff of the time, location and agenda for all general and special meetings at least 7 days in advance.

Section 6. Agenda: The agenda shall be set by the Senate. Matters recommended for inclusion in the agenda should be submitted in writing to the Secretary of the Senate two weeks in advance of the meeting. There shall be time allotted for new business at each meeting. Items suggested at this time shall be discussion items, unless two-thirds of the staff present vote to consider it as an action item at that meeting.

Article VI Academic Staff Personnel/Compensation Committee

Section 1. Composition: The Academic Staff Personnel/Compensation Committee, hereinafter referred to as the Personnel/Compensation Committee, shall consist of four academic staff (AS) members and the Director of Human Resources.

Section 2: Chairperson: The chairperson of the Personnel/Compensation Committee shall be selected by members of the Personnel/Compensation Committee.

Section 3: Election of Members: The Personnel/Compensation Committee shall have five (5) members: two AS members shall be duly elected from the AS Senate, two AS members shall be nominated and elected from the AS constituency, and Director of Human Resources. Election of members will be completed no later than May 15th.

Section 4: Election Procedures: Election of committee members will be as follows. Call for nominations to the committee will be immediately following the results of the Academic Staff Senate election.

In the event there are insufficient interested candidates from either the Academic Staff Senate or the academic staff constituency to meet the composition requirements, individuals may be elected from the academic staff constituency at large, including the Academic Staff Senate.

In the event of a vacancy on the committee a special election will be held for all vacancies to the Personnel/Compensation Committee.

Section 5: Term of Office: The term of office for the Personnel/Compensation Committee shall be for 2 years elected on a staggered rotation.

Section 6: Duties: The Personnel/Compensation Committee shall review all requests and policies for promotion, title changes, and/or career progression using UW-Superior Unclassified Personnel Guideline 1, Revised January 11 1994. If necessary, background information will be found in UW-Superior Unclassified Title Definitions Book, 199 1, AS Title and Salary Structure final report Hayes/IEII 1986 and supplement by President Shaw, 1987, the AS title structure: Background Guidelines and Definitions for use by the AS title Assignment Review Team, 1988.

- Review AS compensation issues and policies.

- Make recommendations to the Vice Chancellor based on the review completed by the Personnel/Compensation Committee

-Inform AS in regard to current AS Personnel/Compensation issues.

Article VII Academic Staff Senate Legislative Committee

Section 1. Composition: The Academic Staff Senate Legislative Committee, hereinafter referred to as the Legislative Committee, shall consist of at least three academic staff members.

Section 2: Election: Election of committee members, 3 academic staff, will be as follows: Call for nominations to the committee will be made to the Academic Staff constituency, and elections will be held shortly after September 15.

In the event of a vacancy on the committee a special election will be held for all vacancies to the Legislative Committee.

Section 3. Members: Additional members, if appropriate, of the Legislative Committee shall be nominated and elected by the Senate.

Section 4. Chairperson: The chairperson of the Legislative Committee shall be elected by the members..

Section 5. Term of Office: The term of office shall be for one year with appointments made prior to September 15.

Section 6. Duties: The Legislative Committee shall:

- Keep abreast of legislative issues and trends which may affect academic staff. - Inform the Senate of bills or legislative trends which may need action.

Article VIII: Committees and Task Forces

Section 1. Appointment: Motions accepted by the Senate for the creation of a task force of committee shall designate the manner in which appointments shall be made, the responsibilities of the group and that body's tenure.

Section 2. Membership: Committees and task forces may include in their membership persons other than academic staff, provided that at least two-thirds of the appointees shall have academic staff appointments. Each committee or task force will be chaired by a member of the Senate.

Section 3. Duties: Committees and task forces shall perform such duties and have such powers as shall be designated in the resolution calling for their creation.

- hold other offices on the Senate if elected.

- report to the Senate regarding meetings external to the University

Section 4. Quorum: A simple majority of the membership of a committee or task force shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

Article IX: Amendments to Bylaws

The Senate or an appointed committee shall prepare and report to the Annual Meeting in May such changes and additions to the bylaws as may be deemed advisable. The Senate maintains the formal supervision of all changes in bylaws recommended by committees or individuals. A petition signed by at least twenty-five percent of those holding University of Wisconsin - Superior academic staff appointments shall be sufficient to place a proposed change in the bylaws before the Senate. Such a petition must be reported by the Senate to the academic staff at the next regular meeting or a special meeting, provided that the Senate shall have had at least two weeks in which to consider the proposed change.

An individual academic staff person may, at any general or special meeting, move that the Senate consider a proposed change in the bylaws. Such a motion must receive an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members present in order to pass.

The Senate shall not take final action on recommending the addition to, amendment of, or repeal of the bylaws during the meeting at which such proposals are first made, unless written notice thereof shall have been posted at least two weeks prior to the meeting. The bylaws may be added to, amended, or repealed only by a two-thirds vote of the members present at a general meeting, provided written notice shall have been sent to all academic staff persons as prescribed above.

All proposed changes in the bylaws shall be accompanied by a statement concerning their purpose and the important changes which they would make in the existing bylaws.

All modifications of existing bylaws and all newly enacted bylaws shall become effective immediately upon adoption, unless another effective date is accepted by majority vote of the academic staff present.

Article X: Parliamentary Authority

The rules contained in Roberts Rules of Order Revised shall govern meetings of the Senate in all cases in which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws. The parliamentary rules may be suspended by an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members present.

Article XI: Ratification of By-Laws

These by-laws shall become effective immediately upon ratification by a two-thirds majority of eligible academic staff who cast mail or email ballots and upon approval by the Chancellor or Vice Chancellor and Board of Regents as per Wisconsin Administrative Code, Chapter 9, Section 9:02.Section 4.