CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS OF THE STAFF DEVELOPMENT GROUP IN THE W. P. CAREY SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Article 1:       Name

The name of the organization shall be the Staff Development Group (SDG) in the W. P. Carey School of Business.

Article 2:       Objective

The mission of the Staff Development Group is to promote a strong service culture, a dedication to high ethical standards and a sense of community at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

SDG shall promote the professional development of the staff members of the W. P. Carey School of Business.

It is recommended that supervisors encourage staff members to attend SDG meetings to enhance their professional growth.

Article 3:       Membership and Voting Privileges

Section 1.     Membership in SDG shall be open to all full-time or part-time staff members in the W. P. Carey School of Business, excluding temporary personnel. Staff is defined as all administrative staff, service professionals, classified staff and academic professionals.

Section 2.     For voting purposes, each staff member has one vote. Requests for absentee votes can be submitted in writing to any officer of SDG.

Article 4:       Executive Board and Duties

The SDG Executive Board shall be: President/ Immediate Past President, Vice President/President Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Section 1.     The President/ Immediate Past President

1. The duties of the President are to: preside over all meetings of SDG; exercise general supervision over the business of the committees; communicate for SDG with the Office of the Dean, and with other organizations as required; and fulfill such other responsibilities as are given to this office elsewhere in these Bylaws or by action of SDG.

2.    If the President position becomes vacant for any reason, the Vice President will immediately succeed to President for the balance of the term.

3.    The President shall serve as Immediate Past President during the year immediately after the end of the term as President.

Section 2.     The Vice President/President Elect

1.   The duties of the Vice President are to: act as the Program Chairman for the SDG meetings; arrange guest speakers for SDG meetings; assist the President in the operations of SDG; assume the duties of the President in the absence of that officer; and fulfill such other responsibilities as are given to this office elsewhere in these Bylaws or by action of the President of SDG.

2.   If the office of Vice President becomes vacant because the occupant succeeds to President, or for any other reason, the Secretary will immediately succeed to Vice President for the balance of the term.

3.      The Vice President shall advance to the office of President after the end of the term as Vice President.

Section 3.     The Secretary

1.   The duties of the Secretary are to: assist the President with the official communications and correspondence of SDG; reserve a room for meeting purposes; prepare and disseminate the required notices of meetings, agendas, and information through e-mail; take meeting notes; disseminate meeting minutes through e-mail; maintain a current membership roster in the form of a distribution list on e-mail to be called STAFF, monitor and respond to incoming mail sent via e-mail; and fulfill such other responsibilities as are given to this office elsewhere in these Bylaws or by action of the President of SDG.

2.   If the office of the Secretary becomes vacant for any reason, a new secretary shall be appointed by the President from among School staff members. The new officer shall serve in that office for the balance of the term.

Section 4.     Treasurer

1.   The duties of Treasurer are to: monitor, maintain, and reconcile the SDG budget that is appropriated each year by the dean’s office, work closely with events that involve SDG fundraising, provide a quarterly report to the SDG Executive Committee on fund usage, report any discrepancies and work closely with the dean’s office designee for approval of expenditures and revenues.

2.   If the office of the Treasurer becomes vacant for any reason, a new Treasurer shall be appointed by the President from among School staff members. The new officer shall serve in that office for the balance of the term.

Section 5.     Each executive officer will serve as liaison to assigned standing and ad hoc committee(s).

Article 5:       Committees, Standing Committees, ad hoc Committees

Section 1.     Committee participants shall consist of volunteers from the SDG. Each committee shall be made up of at least three people, but not more than five people.

Section 2.     SDG shall have the following standing committees: the Welcoming Committee; the Social/Activities Committee; the Bylaws Committee; the Election Committee; the Awards Committee and the Website Committee. Membership on the standing committees shall consist of volunteers for a term to commence on July 1 and ending on June 30 of the following year.

1.   The Welcoming Committee shall be responsible for contacting new W. P. Carey School of Business staff members. The purpose of the Welcoming Committee shall be to foster a sense of community within the staff of the School of Business. The committee shall inform new staff members about SDG, acquaint them with its function, and answer any questions they might have.

2.   The Social/Activities Committee shall be responsible for the overall facilitation and hosting of events and activities as they relate to the Staff Development Group.

3.   The Bylaws Committee shall undertake an annual review to update the Constitution and Bylaws of the SDG.

4.   The Election Committee shall be responsible for the yearly election of the Executive Board. The committee will also be responsible for overseeing any special elections that are required during the course of the year.

5.   The Awards Committee shall be responsible for revising the award criteria (as deemed necessary), soliciting nominations for staff awards, and overseeing the award selection process. The Staff Recognition Awards Program includes the following awards:

  1.      Dean’s Staff Recognition Award – the recipient of this award is announced by the Dean

  2.      Staff Service Award – more than one award may be given in this category.

  3.      W. P. Carey School of Business Team Award

The Dean’s Staff Recognition, Staff Service Award(s) and W. P. Carey School of Business Team Award are announced and presented at the SDG spring event.

Miscellaneous awards may also be announced by the Awards Committee and presented at the SDG spring event or throughout the year.

6.   The Website Committee (which could consist of a single webmaster) shall be responsible for revising, maintaining, updating the W. P. Carey School of Business SDG website. Changes to the SDG website will be made in consultation with the SDG Executive Board. The Website Committee will also work with the Awards Committee to update the awards nomination web page.

Section 3.     The Staff Development (SDG) shall have other ad hoc committees as deemed necessary by the executive board.

Article 6:       Meetings

The SDG shall hold meetings and events as scheduled by the SDG Executive Board. Special meetings may be called by the SDG Executive Board or at the written request of seven staff members. Any voting to be conducted at the meetings will be announced at least two weeks prior to the meeting. No quorum shall be set. All meetings shall be conducted by the President or his/her designee.

Article 7:       Elections

Section 1.     Executive Board shall be elected at large from staff members in the W. P. Carey School of Business.

1.   Terms of office shall be from July 1 through June 30.

2.   Each April 1 the Election Committee shall solicit nominations for Executive Board for SDG.

3.   The Election Committee shall put together a ballot to consist of at least one nominee for each position. Nominees shall be placed on the ballot upon their consent provided the nominee is a staff member in the W. P. Carey School of Business.

4.    In the event that there are no nominees for a position, the Election Committee shall solicit nominations for that position again.

Section 2.     Balloting

1.   The Election Committee shall send out a ballot no later than April 15 to each staff member in the School.

2.   Ballots are to be returned to the Chair of the Election Committee no later than April 30. The Chair and other committee members shall then tabulate the results of the balloting. In the event of a tie the Election Committee shall determine the winner using a tie breaking method agreed upon by the tied candidates with the tied candidates (or a representative chosen by the candidate) present.

3.   The results of the election will be announced in May, with the new Executive Board assuming their role on July 1.

Article 8:       Authority

Section 1.     The Executive Board of SDG shall have the authority to take the proper and necessary action vested in them by the Bylaws.

Section 2.     SDG business and recommendations can move forward by a majority vote of the quorum. A quorum for any meeting shall be the members present.

Article 9:       Amendments or Additions to Bylaws

Section 1.     The Bylaws, and any subsequent amendments or additions, shall be considered to be in force.

Section 2.     Proposed amendments or additions to the Bylaws must be submitted in writing to the President.  A copy of the proposed amendments or additions must be sent to each staff member two weeks prior to the spring event/meeting. The proposed amendments or additions will be discussed and voted on at the spring event. Proposed amendments or additions must be passed by 2/3 of the members present and voting at the spring event/meeting and ratified as in Article 10 of these Bylaws.

Article 10:     Ratification

These Bylaws shall become effective upon ratification of a 2/3 majority of staff members of the W. P. Carey School of Business present and voting at the spring event/meeting.

Ratified November 3, 1986

Amended May 31, 1988

Amended April 14, 1995

Amended April 10, 1997

Amended April 8, 1998

Amended May 20, 2004