This subcommittee will advise University Staff Senate members of bylaws and ensure that current bylaws are posted on the University Staff Senate website.
The University Staff Senate (the “Staff Senate”) shall represent Marquette University staff so that their views and interests may be considered, alongside those of faculty and students, in the conduct of institutional affairs that affect life in the workplace and in the advancement of the university’s mission. The Staff Senate will provide nominations for staff appointments to administrative committees and other task forces and initiatives as requested and as appropriate.
Staff Senate recognizes and cherishes the dignity of each individual staff member regardless of age, culture, faith, ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, language, disability, social class or job classification.
All meetings associated with the Staff Senate are governed by these bylaws.
Any full-time or regular part-time employee whose primary designation is staff rather than faculty or student, who has been employed by Marquette University for at least one year as of May 1st, and who is not represented by a collective bargaining unit, may be elected to the Staff Senate.
Our commitment to diverse committee representation helps us to achieve excellence by promoting a culture of appreciation and understanding of the great variety of work experiences as a staff member at Marquette University. To support and empower underrepresented members of our campus community to serve on the Staff Senate, all elected representatives will be permitted to attend regularly scheduled Staff Senate meetings without it counting against their regularly scheduled paid work hours. The chair of Staff Senate will send a formal letter of committee service responsibilities with pertinent information to the staff member’s supervisor.
The University Staff Senate will strive to develop a membership that consists of a representative ratio of academic and administrative staff not otherwise represented by collective bargaining organizations, determined by a triennial reporting from the Office of Human Resources, as well as members-at-large who can be within any reporting line:
If the representative ratio cannot be met in an election, highest-voted members at large will fill any remaining seats to reach a 16 elected-member body, regardless of administrative/academic classification.
For more details on the specific areas and offices, please see the Nominating and Election Process.
Marquette University Student Government and the Graduate Student Organization may each appoint one ex-officio member.
Non-elected standing committee chairs will be granted an ex-officio membership.
The Vice President for Inclusive Excellence is an ex-officio member.
The University Staff Senate will elect one university staff-person to the University Academic Senate. Once elected, this UAS senator becomes an ex-officio member of University Staff Senate
Annual University Staff Senate nominations and elections will be conducted to allow terms of service to start with the July meeting.
Nominees for the Staff Senate must have at least one nomination (which may include self-nomination) to be considered to run on the election ballot. All nominees will be contacted by the Nominating and Elections Subcommittee to be asked if they are interested in accepting the nomination. An explanation will be given on how they should identify their position at the university as either academic or administrative.
If accepted, they will be asked to submit their MUID number and a bio statement. All nominees who have submitted their MUID and bio statement by the deadline will be placed on the ballot.
The Nominating and Election Committee will try to have at least double the number of candidates running on the election ballot as the number of open positions for a given vacancy.
The candidate with the greatest number of votes for a given vacancy will be elected to that Staff Senate vacancy. Once all the open positions for academic and administrative membership have been filled, the At-Large positions will then be given to those with the highest votes, regardless of academic or administrative status.
Representatives shall be elected to the University Staff Senate for a term of three years unless a staff member is elected to fulfill the remaining term of an elected member who has resigned or is no longer employed at Marquette University. Members may be re-elected without limit.
The filling of positions of those who have resigned from USS or left Marquette will be an entirely separate process from the Annual Nominations and Elections. The Elections Committee will use the previous election’s results to determine who will be offered the resigned position. The candidate with the next highest number of votes, who is determined to be eligible to fill the resigned position, will be offered the opportunity to complete that former committee member’s term. (Not a full three-year term) The filling of a resigned position will only take place if they are over 12 months of the term remaining.
Newly elected members will be provided written information from the Nominating and Elections Committee of the upcoming opportunity to serve in any of the officer or standing committee chair positions and that the election for these positions will be held at the July organizational Staff Senate meeting.
Representatives shall be elected to the Staff Senate for terms of three years. Members may be re-elected without limit. The term of service shall begin at the annual organizational meeting held in July.
Officer positions should be held by a diverse balance of staff that best reflects the entire staff at Marquette University. Officers will be elected at the July organizational meeting. The positions are:
Officer elections will support a commitment to diversity to reflect the greatest variety of staff positions and experiences at Marquette University.
At the July organizational Staff Senate meeting,
Officers, including the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer will be a one-year term with a consecutive three-year maximum.
The Standing Committees of the Staff Senate shall include the following:
The Staff Senate may on occasion create such other standing committees or ad-hoc committees as it deems necessary.
At the July meeting, Staff Senate members will be asked to indicate with which committee they would like to participate. After self-selecting, the newly formed committees will convene for five minutes to determine who is going to serve as chair. If multiple people are interested and there is no consensus, names will be drawn randomly. No preference will be given to elected or non-elected members.
Officers and chairs will meet monthly to discuss matters of process and determine agendas. The officers and chairs have no authority, rather bring options and/or recommendations to the full committee for approval.
The presiding officer must ask the body to adopt the proposed agenda. Senators should be allowed to propose amendments to the agenda before a vote is taken/unanimous consent is used.
The presiding officer must ask the body to adopt the meeting minutes that were prepared for the last meeting. Senators should be allowed to propose amendments to the agenda before a vote is taken/unanimous consent is used.
Voting in USS occurs as a tallied, non-roll-call vote. The presiding officer should choose a method that is efficient, and that allows for an accurate tally. Voting options for senators are in the spirit of : For/Against/Abstain. A record of any vote (all for/against/abstaining) should be recorded in the meeting minutes.
Unanimous Consent: the chair may, but does not have to, and in some cases should not, start a vote by assuming unanimous consent of the body to expedite the process. Any senator may speak up to request a tallied vote instead. If unanimous consent is used, or proposed and transitioned to a tallied vote, it should be noted in the meeting minutes.
The USS has adopted a scheduled end time for meetings, which is part of the meeting’s agenda. When that time passes, and no action is taken to extend the meeting, business should cease and any open agenda items should be prioritized for the next meeting.
Any senator may bring the need for more time to the attention of the presiding officer, but the presiding officer should also remain aware of time remaining in the meeting. If there is a risk of running out of time, the presiding officer should engage the body in a brief discussion as to whether items should be postponed, or the meeting extended. Extending the meeting requires a majority vote by the body.
If the meeting’s agenda is completed early, the presiding officer should move to adjourn the meeting with a vote or unanimous consent.
A quorum exists when at least 50% of the voting members of USS are present.
The Bylaws of the Staff Senate may be changed as necessary from time to time based on proper notice and a two-thirds vote of the elected members.
To ensure that every member will be given an opportunity to weigh in on a change to the bylaws proper notice will be given as follows:
The information below will be provided to the Bylaws Committee for review at least one month before the amendment is reviewed at the next Staff Senate meeting.
The Bylaws Committee will review the proposal and email all the elected Staff Senate members with the proposed amendment. The Bylaws Committee chair will request time on the agenda to formally present the proposal at the next Staff Senate meeting.
Amended: 12/15/2021
Privacy Policy Legal Disclaimer Non-Discrimination Policy Accessible Technology
© 2024 Marquette University