Bylaws

Academic Staff Orientation Committee

Article I: Purpose and Responsibilities

Section 1: Purpose

The purpose of the Academic Staff Orientation Committee is to educate new and continuing
academic staff on topics related to academic staff appointments and shared governance.

Section 2: Responsibilities

  1. To develop materials for academic staff orientation sessions in consultation with the Office of the Secretary of the University and the Department of Human Resources.
  2. To present orientation sessions focused on academic staff appointments and shared governance at least quarterly.
  3. To participate in the annual orientation for new employees.

Article II: Membership

Section 1: Structure

The Committee consists of seven elected academic staff members and one ex-officio academic staff member who is a member of the Academic Staff Committee. The ex-officio member will be appointed by the Academic Staff Committee and will serve a one-year term on the Orientation Committee. The ex-officio member must be currently serving their second or third year on the Academic Staff Committee. No more than two elected members may be from any one college or division. There must be at least one member from each functional area (instructional and non-instructional). There must be at least one member from each of the following appointment categories: indefinite, probationary, and fixed term. All members must have at least a 50% appointment at UWM and have been academic staff at UWM for at least three years.

Section 2: Nomination/Election Procedures

Members are nominated and elected in accordance with Standard Academic Staff Operating Rules.

Section 3: Term of Office

All members serve three-year terms. The term of office begins on the first day of the fall semester contractual period as it appears in the academic year calendar published on the Secretary of the University’s website and ends the day before the next fall contractual period begins.

Section 4: Absences

Attendance at Committee meetings is part of each member’s duties. Members who miss one-third of the regular meetings, as scheduled at the beginning of each year in accordance with Article III, Section 2, Paragraph A of these bylaws, forfeit their committee membership. There are no excused absences. Orientation sessions do not count as meetings. In instances where a committee member may have to miss one-third or more of the regular meetings for a significant medical or life event, a “leave” may be taken from the committee and a replacement appointed for a semester or year (as determined by the approved leave) with a subsequent return to the committee to fulfill the remaining term. Such a leave must be requested and approved by the committee chair and Secretary of the University prior to the committee member’s final absence.

Section 5: Vacancies

If a vacancy occurs, the position is filled by the eligible candidate who received the next highest number of votes in the most recent election. That candidate will serve the remainder of the term associated with the vacancy.  If no eligible candidate is available, the Academic Staff Committee appoints an academic staff member to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term of service.


Article III: Organization

Section 1: Officers

The officers are the Chair and Secretary. Other officers are appointed by the committee as necessary.

  1. Responsibilities: The Chair prepares and distributes the agenda for all meetings and presides over meetings. The Chair is the liaison with the Office of the Secretary of the University and the Academic Staff Committee and Academic Staff Senate. At the end of each committee year, the Chair prepares a written report of committee activities.

    The Secretary takes minutes and distributes them to Committee members and the Office of the Secretary of the University, maintains the attendance records of Committee members, and conducts Committee business in the absence of the Chair.

    Responsibilities of other officers are determined when each position is created.
  2. Eligibility: To maintain continuity of leadership, the Chair must have served on the committee during the year prior to their term of office. Other offices may be held by any voting member regardless of prior length of committee service.
  3. Election, Term of Office, and Vacancies: Officers are elected for one-year terms. Elections take place at a regular committee meeting within one month after the annual academic staff election results are published. Officers may not serve more than two consecutive terms in a single official capacity. If a vacancy occurs, the committee, at a special meeting called within three weeks, elects a new officer to complete the unexpired term.

Section 2: Meetings

  1. Regular and Special Meetings: The Chair calls the first meeting in September for organizational purposes and to establish a schedule of regular meetings. The Chair calls special meetings as needed or at the request of two or more committee members.
  2. Quorum: A quorum consists of four voting members.
  3. Standing Rules: All committee meetings are conducted according to the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order unless otherwise specified in these bylaws.
  4. Agenda: The agenda is distributed prior to each meeting. Any committee member or academic staff member may place an item of business on the agenda of any regular meeting by contacting the chair prior to the distribution of the agenda. Additional items may not be added to the agenda of special meetings.

Article IV: Amendments to the Bylaws

A motion to amend these bylaws may be made only by a committee member and must be placed on the agenda prior to a regularly scheduled meeting. Amendments must be approved by a majority vote of both the Orientation Committee and the Senate of the Academic Staff. All proposed amendments must be reviewed by the Codification Committee for logic, clarity, and consistency prior to final approval by the Senate of the Academic Staff. Any approved bylaw amendment(s) must be reported at the next General Meeting of the academic staff.

Orientation Bylaws

12/23