Staff Body Bylaws
The Staff Body serves as a voice and a support system for the needs of Staff and Volunteers. The Staff Body works to enhance and preserve the overall mission of Warren Wilson College.
I. Responsibilities of the Staff Body
A. The Staff Body develops college-wide Staff policy through standing committees and makes Staff policy recommendations to the Staff Forum, the President of the College, and the Board of Trustees.
B. The Staff Body participates fully in the triad education program of: academics, work and service.
C. The Staff Body reviews staff policies to ensure consistency with the Warren Wilson College mission.
D. The Staff Body, either directly or through its standing committees, reviews and makes recommendations to the Staff Forum, the President of the College and the Board of Trustees as follows:
1. reviews and makes recommendations regarding the College's compensation, vacation, and insurance policies;
2. reviews and makes recommendations regarding the processes for Staff contracts and evaluations;
3. reviews and makes recommendations regarding the College's staffing and budgetary priorities;
4. serves as an advisory body to the College's Shared Governance system; and
5. promotes opportunities for Staff training, development, and education.
II. Membership Staff Body
A. Attendance at Staff Body meetings is normally open to all members of the Warren Wilson community and invited guests.
B. All regular and temporary Staff members, employed by the College, and Volunteer Staff members, contracted by the College, whether full-time or part-time are voting members of the Staff Body for the duration of their contracts, with the right to be recognized to speak by the presiding convener.
1. Regular staff members are those whose term of employment is expected to last for at least one year and are eligible for continuation, subject to review.
2. Regular full-time / part-time volunteer staff members are defined as volunteers who contribute to the College by filling full or part-time faculty or staff positions.
3. Staff/Faculty members are those who fulfill the definition of a Staff member in addition to the definition of Faculty.
C. Members of the Administrative Council are not eligible to be voting members of the Staff Body. Members who fulfill the definition of both faculty and staff are considered voting staff members.
D. A two-thirds (2/3) vote of the voting members present may close the meeting to a specified portion of the membership, e.g. members only, or voting members only.
III. Officers and Duties
A. The officers of the Staff Body shall be two Conveners, each called a Co-Convener, and a Secretary, each chosen from among the voting membership of the Body.
B. The term of office for Co-Conveners shall be one calendar year, commencing with the first day of classes in the fall semester in which elected. The term of office for the Secretary shall also be one year.
C. During the last meeting of the Staff Body in the spring semester, the current officers shall receive nominations from the members of the Body to fill the officer positions for the coming year. Voting members of the Staff Body present shall then each vote for one candidate in each position. The candidate receiving the highest vote total for each position shall be elected. (The details for electing the first Co-Conveners and Secretary are detailed in section entitled Procedures).
D. Should an officer leave office mid-term, the remaining officers shall present to the voting members one or more nominees to fill the position only until the following Spring election. A plurality is required for election.
It shall be the duty of the Co-Conveners:
1. to call meetings of the Staff Body and propose an agenda as described in the Meetings section below,
2. to preside at meetings of the Staff Body,
a. assuring the expeditious execution of the meeting's agenda
b. serving as guarantor of each member's right to speak to any issue under discussion, and
c. ensuring that the proceedings of the Staff Body are in accord with the provisions of its Bylaws, and
3. to represent the Staff Body to the Staff Forum, the President of the College, and the Board of Trustees.
It shall be the duty of the Secretary:
1. to participate in calling meetings of the Staff Body and proposing an agenda as described in the Meetings section below,
2. to keep accurate minutes of all meetings of the Staff Body,
3. to convey a copy of the minutes of each meeting to the college archives and each member's respective office,
4. to ensure that notice of meetings and materials under discussion are conveyed to the membership in a timely manner, and
5. to obtain from Human Resources, at the beginning of each semester, a list of voting and non-voting members from each respective office and certify membership and voting status.
IV. Meetings
A. The Staff Body shall meet once per term during the regular academic year or additionally as deemed necessary by a majority of its officers (Co-Conveners and Secretary).
B. A petition signed by one-third (1/3) of the membership for a meeting to consider a particular policy issue shall be deemed by the officers sufficient reason to call a special meeting.
C. The agenda for each meeting shall be proposed by the officers, and approved by the sitting membership, based on items offered by the standing and special committees of the Staff Body, members of the Staff Body, and other elements of College governance as deemed appropriate. In accord with Robert's Rules of Order, items shall also be accepted from the floor for consideration under New Business.
D. Meetings will be announced and the proposed agenda distributed by electronic means or campus mail usually five (5) days, but not less than 48 hours, prior to the meeting.
E. If a main motion is to be placed before the Body for a vote, the text of that motion must be provided as part of the agenda.
V. Procedures
A. One Third of the voting members shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business by the Staff Body.
B. The conduct of every meeting shall be governed by Robert's Rules of Order. (The Officers may appoint a qualified parliamentarian.)
C. Except as otherwise provided by the By-Laws of the Staff Body or by Robert's Rules of Order, a simple majority vote of the quorum shall decide on the question.
D. Any main motion offered during the business of a Staff Body meeting may be discussed during that meeting.
E. A main motion offered from the floor on an issue not part of the published agenda, i.e. "new business," shall not be voted on during the meeting in which it is presented, but shall automatically become an agenda item for the next meeting, including a meeting especially called to consider this motion. (A two-thirds vote of the quorum is required to suspend this rule.)
F. A main motion initiated at a previous meeting and considered under "old business" or a new main motion offered concerning an item on the published agenda, the text of which has been distributed with the agenda as provided above may be voted upon at the current meeting.
G. All actions taken by the Staff Body which pertain to policy issues must be taken as recommendations to the proper decision-making bodies as provided for in the College's Governance Structure document.
H. Approval of these bylaws by a simple majority of the voting members of the proposed Staff Body shall constitute their adoption.
I. An Ad-hoc committee of three Staff members elected by a majority of voting members at a meeting where at least one third of voting members are present shall be responsible for the nomination of the first officers.
- The committee shall seek nominations for at least three candidates for co-convener and two candidates for secretary from members of the Staff Body.
- These nominations shall be placed before the Staff Body by electronic and paper campus mail ballot.
- The two candidates for Co-Covener receiving the most votes shall serve a full year term.** The candidate for Secretary receiving the highest number of votes shall serve a full term.
J. An amendment to the By-Laws of the Staff Body may be placed on the agenda by a petition signed by 25% of the voting members, and considered as a scheduled agenda item under the section V.F above, or by a simple majority of the quorum present in which the proposed amendment to the By-Laws is offered as a motion under "new business" and considered for adoption at a subsequent meeting as provided for under the section V.E above. This rule cannot be suspended.
K. A two-thirds majority of a quorum of voting members is required to approve an amendment to these By-laws.
VI. Committee Establishment
A. A majority of the officers of the Staff Body (Co-Conveners and Secretary) or a simple majority of a quorum of voting members may appoint an Ad Hoc committee to investigate a particular issue and make a policy recommendation to the Staff Body.
B. The Staff Body may establish any standing committees it deems necessary by a simple majority vote of a quorum of voting members.
The Staff Body, through its standing committees, is responsible for development, recommendation, and monitoring of staff policies as detailed in Section I of these Bylaws. The members of the Staff Body, individually and through its Officers and divisions, are responsible for implementation of policy.
**Changed by Staff Body vote on February 27, 2007. Original wording stated: "The candidate for Co-Convener receiving the most votes shall serve a full year term. The candidate receiving the second highest number of votes shall serve a term of one semester and may be eligible for re-election at that to a full year term."