Bylaws

The Staff Senate of East Tennessee State University shall be governed by the following Bylaws in the conduct of its business.

ARTICLE I COMMITTEES 

The Senate shall establish committees based on its authority granted in the constitution.  

1. Policies and Procedures of the Senate Committees.
   1. Senate committees shall not act independently of the Senate, and all statements and actions of these committees shall be presented to the Senate for consideration. Committee work shall be done as a body and not by action of the Chair, either alone or following consultation with individual members of the committee. Actions taken shall be those of the committee as a whole representing a majority vote. Minority reports and recommendations may be submitted to the Senate if desired by dissenting committee members. A majority of the committee membership shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business of the committee.
2. Standing Committees.
   1. The Senate shall confirm members annually to the standing committees at the October meeting. Standing committees shall be maintained at full membership as necessary and shall file minutes and any other pertinent reports in writing with the Secretary of the Senate at least seven (7) workdays prior to each regularly scheduled meeting of the Senate when committee business is to be placed on the agenda. The number of Senators on each committee may vary according to the complexity of their tasks; such number to be set prior to the October meeting by the Executive Committee. Senators may volunteer to serve on committees of their preference with the exception of the Executive Committee; however, any senator having not expressed a preference may be assigned to a committee by the President. The chair of each committee shall be appointed by the President by the October meeting.The standing committees of the Senate are as follows: Executive Committee, Committee on Staff Concerns and Grievances, Committee on Staff Senate Elections, Committee on Staff Development and Evaluation, Committee on Committees, Visibility Committee, Liaison Committee, Committee for Review of Staff Awards Process, and Community Benevolence Committee. (Amended 9/1996, 7/2009, 8/2010, 9/2010, 4/2011, and 7/2011).
      1. Duties of Standing Committees
         1. Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will be made up of elected Senators to fill the positions of President, Vice-President, Member-at-Large, Secretary, and Treasurer.
         2. Committee on Staff Concerns.  The Committee on Staff Concerns shall:
            1. Study and review university policies relating to received staff concerns.
            2. Act as the appeal agency for violations of the Staff Senate attendance policy by:
               1. Reviewing the attendance records upon receipt from the Staff Senate Secretary;
               2. Notifying the Staff Senator, in writing, that his/her membership has been terminated and that he/she has a right to appeal within 30 days;
               3. Meeting with the Staff Senator to discuss mitigating circumstances upon receipt of written appeal from the Staff Senator;
               4. Reporting the Committee's recommendation for upholding termination of membership or reinstating membership to the Senate for vote. The decision of the Senate is final.
         3. Committee on Staff Senate Elections. Committee on Staff Senate Elections is charged with the following responsibilities:
            1. Formulating a standardized procedure for elections to the Senate;
            2. Supervising the conduct of said elections;
            3. Conducting the annual election of officers to the Staff Senate Executive Committee;
            4. Ruling on the eligibility of nominees and voters, as prescribed in the Constitution;
            5. Formulating a standardized procedure for receiving nominations for Senators and other officers. These procedures will be governed by the following guidelines:
               1. Elections to the Senate shall be conducted annually during the month of July.
               2. Each category will be ranked by number of votes received in the election.  Alternates will be appointed by order of votes received and in the appropriate category to fill the remainder of the term of the Staff Senate vacancies. If less than six (6) months remain of a Senator's term, that space will not be filled but will be left vacant until the next election is held in July.
               3. If there are no alternates available for one or more vacancies, the Committee on Staff Senate Elections will solicit nominees from the EEOC category of the vacancy.  If only one nomination for an EEOC category is received that person shall automatically be elected.
               4. In the event of an officer vacancy:
                  1. The Member at Large will temporarily serve in the role per the Constitution.
                  2. A special election to fill the vacancy will occur within one month of the vacancy.
         4. Committee on Staff Development and Evaluation. The Committee shall be concerned with the following staff developmental activities:
            1. Training: Encourage formal training, assist in formulating workshops and seminars, and provide information concerning outside training programs.
            2. Evaluating: Conduct periodic reviews of the evaluation process, including forms and making recommendations concerning evaluation. Recommendations concerning the evaluation process should be sent to the Office of Human Resources.
         5. Committee on Committees. The Committee on Committees shall be concerned with, but not restricted to, such things as:
            1. Making recommendations to the President of the University for staff appointees to Standing University Committees
            2. Making recommendations to the President of the University for the formation of additional committees or changes in the scope of existing committees
            3. Submitting an annual report of the activities and recommendations of the Committee on Committees to the President of the Staff Senate, who shall submit the report to the President of the University.
         6. Committee on Communications and Website. The Communications and Website Committee shall be charged with the following responsibilities:
            1. Maintaining the Staff Senate website with current activities, updated rosters, and current photographs;
            2. Utilizing various means of communication (campus email, Accent - the campus newsletter, University Marketing and Communications staff, etc.) to inform the campus and local communities of Staff Senate activities, elections, and other appropriate news items concerning the Senate;
            3. The chair of this committee shall be listed as the web manager for the Staff Senates website and shall serve as the primary point of contact for inquiries about or corrections to the Website.
         7. Liaison Committee.  The Staff Senate Liaison Committee will give the Staff Senate the ability to be involved with those entities, both internal and external, that may directly or indirectly impact the staff at ETSU and gives the Staff Senate the insight to help affect change if need be. The duties of the Staff Senate Liaison Committee are as follows:
            1. Maintaining open lines of communication with the Faculty Senate, Student Government Association, and University Counsel by:
               1. Attending one Faculty Senate Meeting per month;
               2. Maintaining contact with the SGA Legislative and Executive Branches on a regular basis;
               3. Maintaining contact with University Counsel in those instances where there are inquiries of a legal nature;
            2. Enabling the Staff Senate to maintain open lines of communication with the State of Tennessee elected officials for our region on those matters pertinent to the ETSU staff;
            3. Tracking legislation that may affect the ETSU staff.
         8. Visibility Committee.  The Staff Senate Visibility Committee will bring awareness of the ETSU Staff Senate to the campus community throughout the year by attending various campus functions as well as sponsored special events that are non-legislative in nature.
         9. The Staff Awards Committee. The Staff Awards Committee is responsible for reviewing, updating, and editing information about the application process for the Distinguished Staff Awards. The committee is responsible for making sure proper information is submitted to maintain the web page in a timely manner. The committee is also responsible for the selection of the recipients of each years Distinguished Staff Awards.
            1. The goal of the Staff Awards Committee is to ensure the most efficient and transparent process possible, up to and including the selection of award recipients.
            2. Committee membership shall include one member from each EEOC category represented in the Senate body.
         10. Community Benevolence and Holiday Drive Committee. The Staff Senate Community Benevolence Committee (CBC) is responsible for coordinating and promoting the annual Holiday Drive.
             1. The committee coordinates with the faculty, students and staff to help gather food and monetary donations to be used during the holidays.
             2. The committee volunteers organize and distribute the donations to various ETSU employees and members of the community. Afterwards the committee chair reports back to the Senate the success of the drive and the number of baskets that were donated.
             3. The goal of the CBC is to promote stewardship among the ETSU campus and the community.
         11. Staff Picnic Committee. The Staff Picnic committee shall be responsible for the coordination, promotion, and execution of the annual Staff Picnic in the spring/summer.
         12. Blood Drive Committee. The Blood Drive committee shall be responsible for the coordination, promotion, and execution of the annual Staff Blood Drive.
3. Ad-hoc Committees
   1. Ad-hoc committees may be created in accordance with constitutional procedures;
   2. The life of an ad hoc committee shall be limited to the term of the Senate that created that committee;
   3. Ad hoc committee extensions will be approved by the Senate at the first meeting of the new Senate year.

ARTICLE II MEETINGS

The Staff Senate shall meet as stated in the Constitution (Article VI).

If the Senate approves an executive session, minutes will be taken and kept confidential by the Secretary.  An executive session can be either a full meeting or part of a meeting. 

ARTICLE III QUORUM

A simple majority of the elected membership of the Staff Senate shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business of the Senate. 

ARTICLE IV ORDER OF BUSINESS

The following shall be the order of business at each meeting of the Staff Senate:

Call to order.
Approval of minutes.
Reports from officers and Senate committees.
Old business.
New business.
Announcements.
Adjournment.

ARTICLE V RULES OF ORDER

All business of the Staff Senate shall be conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised. A parliamentarian shall be appointed by the Executive Committee and confirmed by the Senate at its September meeting each year and shall advise on matters of parliamentary procedure. 

ARTICLE VI AMENDMENT PROCEDURE

1. Initiation. The Bylaws may be altered by an initiatory procedure begun in either of the following ways:
   1. By a petition signed by one-third (1/3) of the full-time staff members of the University.
   2. Through a proposal supported by one-third (1/3) of the Staff Senate members.
2. Ratification. Any amendments shall be adopted and ratified by a majority of Staff Senators voting in an official Senate meeting to be held no sooner than one (1) week after the initiatory procedure has been completed.