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Membership & Positions

Membership

University staff members are automatically members of the Staff Council. Upon employment, all new staff will automatically be welcomed to the Staff Council body at the New Employee Orientation. Assistant and associate deans, deans, executive directors, assistant and associate vice presidents, vice presidents, the President, student workers and temporary employees are excluded from membership in the Staff Council.

The Staff Council represents the staff interests of the University and is responsible for the following:

  • Nominating staff members to serve on University-wide committees
  • Appointing staff to standing and ad hoc committees
  • Preparing and submitting an annual executive report, including a financial summary, to the University leadership and posting it to the Staff Council website
  • Coordinating annual Staff Council Membership Board elections
  • Preparing and submitting to the President of the University proposals and position papers on staff concerns
  • Making recommendations to appropriate University leadership about staff development programs on topics relative to staff
  • Having one representative on the University Academic Affairs Council
  • Providing collaboration on governance issues
  • Conducting one general Staff Council meeting, at a minimum, each quarter

Membership Board

The Membership Board will consider all matters brought forward by staff and make referrals to the proper committees when necessary.

Terms

Executive Committee members and Ambassadors are elected for a single one-year term. Executive Committee members are eligible for re-election to the same position or another Executive Committee position following the completion of their first one-year term.

Positions

The Membership Board shall consist of:

  • Executive Committee
    • President-Elect
    • Secretary
    • Treasurer
    • Communications Officer
  • Division Ambassadors (10)
    • 2 from Academic Affairs
    • 2 from Student Success and Student Life
    • 2 from Administration and Finance
    • 2 from Enrollment Management
    • 1 from Human Resources
    • 1 from the President's Office and Advancement and University Relations

All Membership Board members will have the same voting rights.

Duties and responsibilities are as follows:

President

Summary: Serves as Chair of the Membership Board, presides at all Staff Council meetings, and enforces all regulations and policies as specified in the Staff Council Bylaws.

Duties and responsibilities:

  • Confers with and reports regularly to the President of the University through the Executive Associate to the President on matters pertaining to the staff, Staff Council, and the University.
  • Serves as representative and spokesperson for the Staff Council, when necessary, at functions/events within the University and the UH System.
  • Identifies items for discussion for each regular and any special Staff Council meeting.
  • Appoints standing and special interest committee chairpersons, as well as members of all standing committees and calls special meetings as required.
  • Approves all expenditures and is responsible for Staff Council fiscal matters.
  • Prepares an annual report of the past year's activities and progress and makes the report available to the President of the University and all members of the Staff Council prior to the September meeting.

President-Elect

Summary: Assists the President in performing his/her leadership responsibilities and replaces the President when required. Oversees all Staff Council standing committees. The person elected President-Elect serves a two-year term: year one as President-Elect and year two as President.

Duties and responsibilities:

  • Stays abreast of Staff Council issues and goals in preparation for the assumption of the Presidency in the following year.
  • Oversees all Staff Council standing committees.
  • Attends New Employee Orientation to promote Staff Council involvement and committee participation.
  • Replaces the President should he/she be unable to complete the current term.
  • Represents the UHD Staff Council on the UH System Staff Executive Council (USSEC).
  • Performs other duties as deemed appropriate by the Staff Council President.

Secretary

Summary: Handles the recording and distribution of all minutes of all Membership Board and Staff Council meetings and all correspondence of Staff Council. Oversees the conduct of Staff Council business to ensure adherence to the bylaws and to Parliamentary Procedure of Robert's Rules of Order.

Duties and responsibilities:

  • Distributes the agenda for each monthly meeting at least one week prior to the meeting, or as directed by the Staff Council President, and handles all correspondence with all Membership Board and Staff Council members.
  • Keeps the attendance records of Membership Board members at meetings of the Council and certifies that a quorum is present.
  • Records minutes of all Membership Board meetings and Staff Council meetings and collects attendance and minutes report from committee chairpersons from their monthly meetings.
  • Records and proofreads the minutes for the monthly Staff Council meetings and submits the final copy of the minutes to the President of Staff Council, Staff Council members, and the Communications Officer for the Staff Council's website at least three (3) working days prior to the next meeting.
  • Maintains a permanent record of all Staff Council activities and prepares a yearly calendar of the organization's activities.
  • Maintains a current roster of Membership Board members and all other committee members, including but not limited to name, email address, interoffice mail address, telephone number or extension, committee membership, term of office, division they represent, and the expiration date of each member's term of office.

Treasurer

Summary: Maintains the Staff Council's budgets by processing and reconciling expenditures and revenue transactions on a monthly basis. Provides a financial report of the organization's financial activities to Staff Council at each meeting.

Duties and responsibilities:

  • Prepares financial documentation to process payments made and revenue received relating to Staff Council expenses.
  • Generates financial reports monthly and provides the Treasurer's Report to the Staff Council body during monthly standing meetings.

Communications Officer

Summary: Designs, develops, and maintains the Staff Council website for the posting and distribution of information about Staff Council events and activities. Provides information to the University Public Affairs Office regarding Staff Council elections, meetings, and activities. Maintains and provides a central and accessible location for storing historical files of Staff Council events and activities. Manages social media.

Duties and responsibilities:

  • Works with Staff Council leadership to maintain the Staff Council website and keeps the website information current in order to serve the interests of Staff Council members and the University community.
  • Facilitates the posting and distribution of information about Staff Council activities to the University community for reference and viewing (i.e., notes, photography, publications, etc.).
  • Works with the Staff Council Secretary to distribute minutes of Staff Council meetings by using a variety of communication channels, including email, the Internet, and social media.
  • Creates and designs Staff Council recruitment, marketing, and professional media required to support Staff Council sponsored events.

Ambassadors

Ambassadors will represent the interests of their division(s) and share Staff Council news, events, etc., with their respective divisions. Each ambassador will chair a committee created by the Staff Council Executive Board, whenever applicable. 

Standing Committees

Eligibility: No elected officer of the Staff Council Executive Committee is allowed to chair a Staff Council standing committee.

Term: The term of committee membership runs from September 1 through August 31.

Standing Committees

Membership and Elections Committee
The Membership and Elections Committee is responsible for recommending to the Staff Council President nominees for filling vacancies and for overseeing and conducting the annual campus-wide Staff Council Elections.

Appointments Committee
The Appointments Committee is responsible for recommending staff representatives to standing and other University committees for Staff Council approval. These recommendations must be presented for approval at the next Staff Council meeting. Upon approval, these representatives are forwarded to the appropriate committee officer or administrator. Representatives to standing or other committees are responsible for obtaining and presenting a summary or copy of approved committee meeting minutes of each committee’s activities at least twice a year in January and July to the Staff Council.

Events Committee
The Events Committee is responsible for planning all special campus events for staff, such as staff socials, Holiday Adopt-A-Family Program, and other activities selected and approved by the Staff Council.

Communications Committee
The Communications Committee is responsible for Staff Council Orientation, maintenance of the Staff Council bulletin board (located at the 2nd floor garage entrance and updated a minimum of once per quarter), and all external communication, including releases to University media.

Staff Affairs Committee
The Staff Affairs Committee is responsible for reviewing all issues affecting staff on campus (i.e., benefits, parking, safety, staff development and training, annual forum with the University President, and Edge Award.)

Special Ad Hoc Committees
Ad hoc committees may be appointed by the Staff Council President as needed.