By Laws Revision Proposal 2012

Staff Assembly By-Laws Revision Proposal 2012

Leaders of the Staff Assembly are continuously striving to represent staff, address staff needs and concerns, and make Gonzaga University an even greater community to be a part of.   The current By Laws of the Staff Assembly pose the most pressing and pertinent difficulty in being organizationally sound and sustainable in order to be of the best service to the staff community.   Last Fall, the Executive Council created an ad-hoc committee to review the By Laws and identify parts that are no longer relevant or reflective of our current operating structure and process with the goal of modifying the By Laws this year, prior to the formal elections for new leadership in April, 2012.  Human Resources helped the committee gather examples from other Jesuit institutions.  The committee brought a set of proposed changes to the Council for discussion, and input was gathered from the staff body at the January social.  

Acceptance of the proposed changes is now needed by the greater staff community for a formal change of the By Laws.  Descriptions of and explanations for each of the proposed changes is provided here for your consideration.  Use the link on the left to review an edited document reflecting the proposed wording changes to the By Laws.   Then, complete our online ballot via the By Laws Vote link on the left margin. 

Leadership Structure

Currently, the elected Vice President becomes the President the next year.  A recommendation is to eliminate the VP position, make the president position a 2-year term, and require that any nominee for president have served on the executive council in order for the Staff Assembly executive council to be more effective and to improve continuity between leadership changes.

Currently there are no limits on the number of terms of office.  The recommendation is to require that Executive Council terms be limited to two consecutive terms, in order to prompt the recruitment of new involvement on a regular basis.

Currently the by-laws require filling vacancies with special elections.  The recommendation is to add an ability for the Council to nominate and vote an appointment to fill a vacancy for short-term needs. 

The current Staff Assembly committees -- Community Service, Community Outreach, and Compensation -- were created at various points of the organization's history, and have been long-standing committees but they are not listed as required in the by-laws.  The Council regularly creates special committees when needed for topics that are not related to these standing committees.  The recommendation is to add a line specifying that the Council may create ad hoc, or temporary, committees as needed so that the by-laws align with common practice. 

Quorum

Currently a quorum constitutes 60% of all votes, with 50% of entire staff voting.  There are about 800 staff employees, and we typically get about 250 responses and/or votes and/or attendance at meetings.  The recommendation is to modify the quorum requirement to 20% of employees. 

Voting Methods

Ballots and staff input practices over several years include both electronic and paper methods, but the By Laws currently state that a paper method is required.  Response levels the past couple of years show that having an online option is valuable, and the Council remains sensitive to some staff populations preferring or relying upon a paper method.  The proposed change expands the input options to include electronic venues.

Proposals

Currently the by-laws require proposals to be submitted for a written-ballot vote to the entire staff.  The recommendation is for the Council to maintain voting approval for proposals, and for the Staff Assembly President to present proposals to the University President, to match the common practice of how proposals are managed now, and to clarify responsibilities for proposals. 

Regular Review

In order for the Staff Assembly structure and practices to be aligned, and to help the Council maintain responsibility for ensuring the By Laws are relevant and useful, the recommendation is to add a review requirement every three years as a Council responsibility.  There is no requirement in the current By Laws.