Skip to header Skip to Content Skip to Footer

Staff Senate Bylaws

Staff Senate

These bylaws were last revised January 8, 2025.

Questions? Contact staffsenate@uncw.edu.

Staff Senate Bylaws

Article I: Name

The name of the body hereby constituted shall be the Staff Senate, University of North Carolina Wilmington. (Hereafter in this document, the term "Senate" shall refer to the Staff Senate unless otherwise noted.)

Article II: Mission Statement & Goals

The Senate was established to foster a spirit of unity, pride and cooperation among staff members by recognizing the leadership role staff plays in the daily work of the University. The Senate advises the Chancellor and senior officers on issues and concerns that are important to staff and supports the administration in the achievement of the University's mission.

Specific goals of the Senate include:

  1. Represent and advocate for SHRA and EHRA non-faculty employees.
  2. Provide a two-way medium for communication with the Chancellor regarding issues affecting staff.
  3. Ensure that staff members work in a positive, respectful atmosphere with opportunities for professional and personal growth.
  4. Develop constructive suggestions for consideration by senior officers.
  5. Facilitate a consensus voice for all staff through open meetings to seek ideas, and express, investigate and debate issues with the participation of a significant cross section of University staff members.
  6. Foster recognition of staff contributions to the University's mission.
  7. Participate in and represent UNCW staff with the NC system-wide Staff Assembly.
  8. Encourage a sense of community among all University employees.
  9. Ensure ongoing communication regarding decisions made on staff-related issues as well as programs and benefits of interest to staff.

Article III: Membership

  1. Representation
  1. There shall be one Senator member per block of fifty employees, with at least one representative per division, with the total being rounded up to the next tenth permanent SHRA or EHRA non-faculty employees; data is provided annually from Human Resources for this information. Representation shall be based on distribution across five (5) areas. The areas represented include:
    • Academic Affairs
    • Business Affairs
    • Chancellor
    • Student Affairs
    • University Advancement
  1. Election
  1. Nominations shall be held on or before April 30th each year with elections by May 15th each year to replace members whose terms are expiring. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall coordinate an open campus wide nomination process, validate Nominees, and coordinate elections. Areas are encouraged to nominate SHRA and EHRA non-faculty employees.

 

  1. Terms of Members
  1. All members will be elected to serve a two (2) year staggered term. Terms will begin on July 1. The purposes of staggered terms are to assure continuity and to avoid full turnover in any year. Current delegates may run for re-election.
  2. When more than 50% of senators from an area are rolling off, one Senator may choose to extend their term by one year. If there are multiple Senators willing to serve, an election will be held.
  3. If a vacancy in a Staff Senator’s seat should occur through termination of employment, voluntary or involuntary change of division, resignation from the Senate, or expulsion from the Senate, the Senators position shall be filled by the Alternate Senator with the next highest number of votes in that unit from the previous election. Should a Senators Division change during their first year, they will need to forfeit their second year and self-nominate in their new division. Should there not be an alternative for the vacancy, the Senators division that changed would fill that vacancy.
      • If there is a tie between two (2) or more individuals with the next highest number of votes both of whom are interested in filling the vacant Senator’s seat, there will be a runoff election within thirty (30) days of the occurrence. If no one is available, the Executive Committee, at their discretion, may appoint a Senator to serve in the vacant seat for the balance of the term.
  1. If a temporary vacancy occurs due to a Senator being out of office, the Executive Committee may appoint an interim representative from the pool of the next highest number of votes in the Division from which the previous Senator was elected.

 

  1. Removal of Members
  1. Senators may be removed for nonperformance of Senate duties. Nonperformance may include but is not limited to Senate non-attendance, defined as two (2) or more unexcused absences to general or committee meetings, Senator unavailability to the staff represented: or conduct injurious to the Senate, the University, or the purposes of the Senate. 
  2. Upon two (2) unexcused absences, the Parliamentarian is to contact the Senator and confirm their continued interest in Staff Senate. Senators who have displayed conduct injurious of the Staff Senate and/or have had more than three (3) unexcused absences are subject to review and dismissal by the Executive C
  3. Committee chairs can notify the Secretary regarding attendance concerns of members if the Parliamentarian needs to address absences.

 

  1. Duties
    1. The members shall be responsible for attending regular scheduled meetings in person and, considering all matters presented therein, making recommendations for agenda items, serving on committees, performing additional business as presented to the Senate, and advising the Chancellor and Senior Officers on matters of mutual concern to both administration and staff.

 

  1. Ex Officio Members
    1. The Senate shall include a member from Human Resources as an ex officio, non-voting, non-office holding member.
    2. The Senate shall include a member appointed by the Student Government Association as ex officio, non-voting, non-office holding member.
    3. Ex officio members cannot be counted towards quorum.

 

  1. Succession
    1. The Office of Staff Senate Chair is a multi-year commitment in serving as Chair-Elect and in the advisory role of Past Chair to preserve institutional knowledge and avoid involuntary or burdensome extensions. Issues of succession shall be handled under the following bylaws:
      In the case of vacancy in the office of Staff Senate Chair, if:
  • The vacancy occurs before the 1st of February, the Chair-Elect shall assume the position of Chair for the remainder of the term to end on June 30th. This shall be considered an extension of the service term for which they were elected.
  • Else, if the vacancy occurs on or after the 1st of February, the Chair-Elect shall serve the remainder of the term as Interim Chair, with all duties, powers, and responsibilities afforded to the Office of the Chair until the end of that term on June 30th. The Interim Chair will then serve their duly elected term as Chair, from July 1st through June 30th fulfilling their one (1) year term.
    1. In case of a vacancy in the Office of the Chair-Elect, the Chair shall call a special election to select a new Chair-Elect, pursuant to the election procedures in Article IV, Section 2 of the Staff Senate Bylaws. The candidate who receives a plurality of votes shall be appointed Chair-Elect. 

Article IV: Officers of Senate

1.     Officers and Duties:

  1. Chair: The Chair shall preside at Senate meetings, serve as Chair of the Executive Committee, call special meetings as necessary, perform other duties usual to the office, and confer with and report regularly to the Chancellor on matters pertaining to the staff, Senate, and the university. The Chair is responsible for upholding the Bylaws of the Senate and conducting all meetings. The Chair shall serve as a member of the Staff Priority Issues Committee. The Chair shall serve for a term of one (1) year. The Chair is the UNCW delegate to the system wide UNC Staff Assembly during their one (1) year term. The Chair shall also serve on the Staff Assembly Chairs Committee during their tenure as Chair. In the event the Chair is unable to represent UNCW at such functions, the Chair-Elect may be appointed to serve in this capacity. The Chair serves on the following university committees: Parking, Traffic and Transportation Advisory Committee (PTTAC), Space Planning, Data Governance and the CITI committee.
  2. Chair-Elect: The duties of the Chair-Elect shall be to preside at all meetings of the Senate in the absence of the Chair or in the event the Chair requests the Chair-Elect to serve during the course of a meeting; to assist the Chair in performing leadership responsibilities; to serve by appointment on committees; to accept names of persons interested in serving on standing committees and to make appointments on the basis of the person's preference, and/or make necessary appointments to committees in consultation with the chair; to make appointments to fill vacancies on committees; and to call a meeting of any committee that is not fulfilling its responsibilities and establishing organization by dictum. The Chair-Elect shall become exempt from the terms of members in Article III Section 3.
  3. Past Chair (Year 1): The Past Chair shall serve in this office for a period of one year with alternating months of attendance to the monthly Senate meetings. The duties of the Past-Chair shall be to assist as requested by the Chair, may serve as a resource for the Staff Senate, to serve as Ex-officio member of the Executive Committee and Senate.
  4. Secretary:The Secretary will serve for one (1) year, (through the completion of the July Senate Meeting). The duties of the Secretary shall be to take the minutes and attendance records of each meeting, including the distribution of minutes to the Senate at least five (5) working days before the next scheduled meeting of the Senate; to serve as Secretary of the Executive Committee, keep minutes of the Executive Committee's meetings and notify its members of meeting dates and locations; and to serve by appointment on committees.
  5. Treasurer: The Treasurer will serve for one (1) year, (through the completion of the July Senate Meeting). The Treasurer shall serve on the Executive Committee and be responsible for recording and disbursing funds necessary to conduct Senate business, and for the creation of financial reports concerning Senate expenditures. It is preferred that those seeking to be the Treasurer have previous training and experience in UNCW Banner Financial systems.
  6. Parliamentarian: The Parliamentarian will serve for one (1) year, (through the completion of the July Senate Meeting). The duties of the Parliamentarian shall be to ensure that the Chair or presiding officer abide by the stated rules of order during meetings; to serve as a resource to Senate officers and membership regarding the rules and usage of the stated rules of order; to preside at all meetings in the absence of both the Chair and Chair-Elect and to serve as Chair of the Bylaws Committee. If the Chair, Chair-Elect and Parliamentarian are unable to preside at a meeting, the Parliamentarian must notify the Secretary to cancel the meeting.
  7. Communications Officer:The Communications Officer will serve as the Chair of the Communications Committee and will act as the main liaison to the Office of University Relations and the Staff Senators. It is preferred that those seeking to be the Communications Officer have previous training and experience in updating UNCW websites. They will serve as an ex officio to the Executive Committee by invitation from the Chair.
  8. Alternate(s) and Delegates to the Staff Assembly: Each campus is granted four (4) representatives to the Staff Assembly. The Senate Chair (required) and two (2) additional delegates are allowed and will be voted on by the Staff Senate after nominations are made. The Alternate to the Staff Assembly shall serve as a member of the Staff Assembly. The duties of this officer shall be as requested by the Chair to attend any face-to-face meetings as needed and to attend any on-site video conference at UNCW. The Alternate once voted in to this position by the Staff Senate will become a non-voting member of the Assembly that will attend meetings. In the event a campus delegate is absent from the meetings, the Alternate may vote. The Alternates to the Staff Assembly shall serve as non-voting members of the Executive Committee of Staff Senate.

 

2.     Elected officers shall form the Executive Committee: 

a.     Election Procedures for Officers:

  • The Officers of Senate shall be elected at a regularly scheduled meeting each July, except the Chair-Elect which shall occur at a regularly scheduled meeting each April, using the following procedures:
    1. Nominations may be made to the Chair(s) of the Nominations and Elections Committee starting in January through March. The nominated Senators for Chair-Elect must have served at least one (1) year, or is currently in their first term, as a Senator before being nominated. A firm time will be set to close all nominations and absolutely no nominations can be accepted after that time.
    2. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall contact the nominees. Each nominee must accept the nomination and consent to their name being placed on the ballot.
    3. A letter, or an email, must be received from the nominated person’s supervisor supporting their service as Chair of Staff Senate.
    4. Once the nominations have been confirmed, the ballot shall be prepared for the election.
    5. In the event of a tie, when voting for Chair Elect, there will be a runoff election of the two tied individuals. Voting will be done via written ballot by present Senators. Senators in attendance online (with prior approval), will send their vote to the Parliamentarian via e-mail to present to the Nominations and Elections Committee Chair(s) for consideration.
    6. The Chair and Chair-Elect shall begin service on July 1 of each year. The Secretary, Treasurer, and Parliamentarian shall begin service at the conclusion of the Senate meeting in July.

b.     Staff Senate Officers:

  • Staff Senate Officers who are elected as Executive Officers of the UNC Staff Assembly will remain ex officio officers attending Executive Committee meetings in the UNCW Staff Senate until their term as Executive Officer in Staff Assembly expires. In the event of a tie in an officer election, a runoff election will be held. 

Article V: Committees

1.     Standing Committee Chairs:

The Senate Chair shall accept volunteers to chair the standing committees each July. If more than one person volunteers to chair a committee, the committee chair would be determined by a vote of the Senate at large. If no one volunteers to chair a committee, the Senate Chair shall appoint a Senate member to chair a committee. The Chair-elect will ensure that each standing committee will have at least one member who has served on that committee from the previous year to preserve continuity of policy and procedure within that committee.

a.     Executive Committee:

  • Comprised of the Chair, Chair-Elect, Past Chair (Year 1), Secretary, Treasurer, and Parliamentarian. The Executive Committee makes decisions on behalf of the Senate in emergency situations, develops meeting agendas for the entire Senate, annually reviews Senate guidelines, and recommends motions to the Senate.
  • The Chair may invite any Staff Senator or Committee Chair to Executive Committee meetings when necessary.

b.     Bylaws Committee:

  • This committee reviews and recommends changes to the bylaws and procedures of the Senate. When suggestions to amend bylaws are made, the Senate must be given time to review a drafted document, discuss in a closed work session, and then vote to approve the changes during a regularly scheduled Staff Senate meeting. Any updates to the bylaws should be presented to the Senate by March to be voted on by members in April each year.

c.     Engagement Committee:

  • This committee is responsible for identifying and organizing relevant activities on campus and in the surrounding community. The committee will identify and encourage training and learning opportunities across campus to enhance the skills, training, and professional development of Senators and Staff. A strong emphasis is placed on staff involvement at UNCW as well as facilitating and collaborating opportunities with the community.

d.     Nominations Committee:

  • This committee shall handle all nominations and elections procedures as set forth in the bylaws. It shall also be the responsibility of the Nominations Committee to contact nominated candidates prior to the meetings wherein elections are scheduled to ensure their willingness to serve and to fully explain the duties and length of term of each office to the potential candidates.

e.     Communications Committee:

  • This committee develops and implements a variety of communications with the Senate's constituencies, paying particular attention to communications with SHRA and EHRA non-faculty employees at UNCW concerning Senate activities and opportunities. The Communications Committee Chair will serve as the Communications Officer of the Staff Senate and serve as an ex officio on the executive committee. One member of the Communications committee will serve as the Staff Senate Webmaster and is thus responsible for updating and maintaining the Senate website. One member will serve as Staff Senate liaison to the Office of University Relations on getting communication out to staff about Staff Senate happenings. One member will be designated to maintain the Staff Senate SharePoint website.

f.       Orientation Committee:

  • This committee educates newly elected members and alternates, enabling them to become fully contributing members of the Senate at their first official meeting, conducts any retreats of the Senate, and provides continuing development opportunities for members. The chair of this committee represents Staff Senate during HR's New Employee Orientation sessions.

g.     Scholarship Committee:

1)    The Staff Senate Scholarship(s) Committee oversees the marketing and communication, selection, and award processes for the Staff Senate Scholarship and the Staff Global Travel Grant, which is housed under Global Partnerships and International Education. The chair or co-chairs must complete training for NextGen, UNCW’s electronic scholarship dispersal platform. The fall semester duties of this committee are relatively light but do require adhering to a timeline and collaborating with other campus departments to publicize the scholarship.  The duties become heavier once applications are submitted and require reviewing (early March).  Light maintenance is expected in terms of ongoing note-keeping and updating processes and documents throughout the year.

h.     Staff Priority Committee:

  • This committee works to articulate staff priority issues as identified by SHRA and EHRA non-faculty to be brought forth to the Chancellor on an ongoing basis. The committee's findings are presented to the Staff Senate for review prior to submission to the Chancellor.

i.       Faculty Senate:

1)     Attends UNCW Faculty Senate meetings and reports back to Staff Senate monthly. 

 

2.     Ad Hoc Committees:

The Chair of the Senate may appoint various ad hoc committees to deal with specific issues or to assist the full Senate. These committees may include any combination of members of the general staff, administration, and faculty. The Senate may also establish ad hoc committees and specify the method of selecting their members.

 

3.     Basic Charge to Sub-Committees:

  1. Each committee is empowered to investigate issues in its area of responsibility for report to the Senate.
  2. Reports providing information and results of investigations shall be submitted to the Executive Committee for inclusion on the agenda. Each committee shall report on its activities at each Senate meeting.

Article VI: Meetings

1.     Meeting Schedule and Attendance:

  1. The Senate shall meet monthly beginning in July of the Fiscal Year at a time agreed upon by the Senate. Attendance at meetings and activities is considered work time provided arrangements have been made with the appropriate supervisor for attendance. It is expected that members shall attend all Senate meetings and other activities and shall be given permission to adequately represent their constituencies in this manner.
  2. Staff Senate meetings are open meetings. All Senate meetings shall be announced in a widely available email to the university with a hybrid solution included. A working draft agenda will be provided to Senators no later than one (1) week prior to the meeting with the final agenda being provided when the Senate convenes. Attendance by non-Senate members at monthly meetings, committee meetings and other activities is strictly voluntary.

 

2.     Agenda for Regular Meetings:

  1. Items to be reported or discussed should be sent to the Chair of Staff Senate at least two (2) weeks prior to the meeting.
    The Chair shall prepare an agenda for each meeting. The order of business shall be:
  • Call to order
  • Roll call (by Secretary)
  • Confirmation of quorum
  • Reading of the Conflict-of-Interest statement
  • Approval of the minutes
  • Reports from the Chair
  • Committee Reports
  • Old Business
  • New Business
  • Adjournment
  1. The agenda will also provide for updates by the University Chancellor or designee, as well as guest speakers, as needed.

 

3.     Minutes and Custodian of Records:

  1. Minutes shall be taken at each meeting. The minutes are to be made available for inspection by all staff at a place or location to be determined by the Senate. The Secretary of the Senate shall serve as custodian of the Records according to the university's retention policy. The Chair of each committee shall provide by email a summary of their committee reports to the Secretary no later than the day of the Staff Senate Meeting, prior to the Meeting. The Secretary of the Senate shall provide by email a reminder of Committee reports being due, no later than one (1) day prior to the Staff Senate Meeting.

 

4.     Special Meeting:

  1. The Chair may call a special meeting of the Executive Committee or full Staff Senate. A special meeting may be requested by a member of the Executive Committee, the Chancellor of the University, an active Senate member or by an individual presenting the request directly to the Chair. The request for the meeting must include an agenda. At least two (2) working days must lapse between the announcement of a meeting and the scheduled date of the meeting.

 

5.     Closed Session:

  1. When matters of a confidential nature shall be discussed, a member of the Executive Committee may call a Closed Session. Provided it conforms to the rules and conditions of the N.C. Open Meetings Law. Closed sessions are for Staff Senate members only.

 

6.     Quorum:

  1. A two-thirds (2/3) majority of the members of the Senate shall constitute a quorum for meetings of the Senate.

 

  1. Staff Senate Team Site:
    1. The Staff Senate teams site is for members only and should not be shared with anyone who is not an elected member of the Staff Senate.
    2. The Executive Committee will be added as administrators of the Teams site.

Article VII: Parliamentary of Procedures

The current edition of Robert's Rules of Order shall govern this Senate in all parliamentary procedures in which they are applicable and in which they are consistent with the University's Policies & Procedures.

Article VIII: Amendments to the Bylaws

  1. Proposal Process
    1. Amendments to the bylaws may be proposed by any member of the Senate at a regular meeting to be referred to the Bylaws Committee for study and recommendation for a vote at the next regular meeting.
  2. Approval Process:
    1. Amendments to the bylaws shall be approved by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the full membership of the Senate.
  3. Reviews Process:
    1. These bylaws shall be reviewed by the Bylaws Committee at least once a year and updated as necessary.

Celebrating Staff

Soaring Seahawk is a way to recognize those employees who have taken their UNCW service to the next level!
Soaring Seahawk Nomination Form