Professional Staff Association

Constitution of the Professional Staff Association Chadron State College Chadron, Nebraska

Preamble

The philosophical principle upon which this constitution is based is the premise that Chadron State College exists to serve the needs of its students, subject to the laws and governance of the State of Nebraska and the Nebraska State College Board of Trustees.

The Professional Staff Association (PSA) derives its authority from three main sources: 1) the Nebraska State College Board of Trustees; 2) the College President; and 3) the codes and ethics of the respective members' professions.

Operationally, the Professional Staff Association is an advisory and/or review body within the structure of the College; and it serves as an advocacy unit for the professional staff members.

I. Organization

A. Name: the name of the organization shall be the Professional Staff Association (PSA).

B. Function:

1. The PSA shall serve, among other purposes, as a forum for the discussion of relevant matters pertaining to student and professional staff development and the educational climate of the college.

2. The PSA shall serve as a channel of communication through which the Association may act as an advisory forum to the College President and the Nebraska State College Board of Trustees concerning the operation of the college.

3. The PSA shall serve as the medium by which the Professional Staff, an organized group, may meet on common ground with the Faculty Association to seek solutions to mutual problems and concerns.

4. The PSA shall be entitled to exercise the power of review over actions taken by the Faculty Senate that affect the working conditions or general welfare of the PSA membership [or one of its members].

C. Membership:

1. Membership shall be open to the professional staff currently employed at Chadron State College expressly for directing programs and/or providing services to students. Full time administrators (President, Provost, Vice-Presidents and Deans) and full time teaching faculty are not included in this definition.

2. The Faculty Association may select one (1) person from its membership to attend regularly scheduled meetings of the PSA.

3. Membership requests from other college personnel will be considered by the Association upon application.

D. Meetings:

1. The PSA holds regularly scheduled meetings as determined by the Association By-laws.

2. The President of the PSA shall have the authority to call a special meeting of the Association.

3. The President of the College shall also have the authority to convene the PSA.

4. A special meeting shall be called by the President of the PSA upon the petition of at least twenty (20) percent of the membership.

E. Officers:

1. The officers of the PSA shall be: President, Vice President/President-Elect and Secretary.

2. The term of office shall be one (1) year beginning in May.

3. A nominating committee shall consist of three (3) members appointed by the President of PSA. This committee shall present slate of candidates of the PSA for the election of Vice President/President-Elect, Secretary and Senator. The Vice President/President-Elect shall serve as President in the year following his/her election. Nominations for these offices may also be made from the floor. A senator may be nominated for the Vice Presidency. The Nominating Committee is urged to keep in mind the number of disciplines represented in PSA and the number of groups who should be represented as officers and/or Senators.

F. Duties of the President of the PSA:

1. To call regular and special meetings and to preside over these meetings.

2. To be an ex-officio member of all standing and special committees of the Association.

3. To serve on or to appoint a representative to other college committees as needed.

4. To vote only in the PSA to break a tie vote.

5. To be responsible for receiving the reports of the Association committees and transmitting the various recommendations contained therein to the College President and/or the appropriate organization for further action.

G. Duties of the Vice President/President-Elect of PSA:

1. To assume the office of President of the PSA in his/her absence, and to complete the term of the President in the event the President is unable to do so.

2. To serve as an ex-officio member of all PSA committees.

H. Duties of the Secretary:

1. To keep complete records of all proceedings of the PSA.

2. To notify each member of the date, time and place of PSA meetings.

3. To report the minutes of the meetings in writing or orally to the PSA, except when circumstances beyond his/her control make it impossible to do so. Such reports shall be made on or before the time of the next PSA meeting.

I. Standing and Special Committees:

1. The membership of the PSA will stand as a Committee of the Whole, with the obligation of performing the duties assigned by this Constitution and the Association.

2. Special Committees may be established for the expressed purposes of performing duties such as gathering facts, seeking solutions to existing problems, and formulating recommendations that may be voted upon by the Association as the Committee-of-the-Whole.

J. By-laws of the PSA:

1. The PSA shall be responsible for the construction and implementation of its own rules of operating procedure known as the Association By-laws.

II. Amendments to this Constitution.

1. Amendments to this constitution may be initiated by a simple majority vote of those present at a legally constituted meeting.

2. Proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing to every member of the PSA at least one week in advance of the voting date. A two-thirds majority of the membership of the PSA shall be sufficient to amend this constitution.

III. Parliamentary Procedure.

1. One-third of the membership of the PSA shall constitute a quorum. A quorum for subcommittees and ad hoc committees shall consist of fifty percent of the committee members plus one.

2. A simple majority of the votes cast, providing a quorum is present, shall be sufficient in the PSA or any of its committees to determine an issue or an election.

3. Unless otherwise specified in the Constitution and the By-laws, the definitive authority governing the PSA and its various committees shall be Robert's Rules of Order.

4. The election of all officers of the PSA shall occur on or before April 1 in order to enable Senators to be seated on the Faculty Senate.

IV. Ratification.

The President of the College sanctions and endorses this Constitution as a document expressing cooperation between the Professional Staff Association and the authority vested in the Office of the President of Chadron State College.