Campus

Click here for a PDF version of the COS By-Laws. (revised 6/25/10)

BY-LAWS PREAMBLE

The Committee on Staff (COS) shall be composed entirely of elected, non-union support staff employees of Marquette University.  Its purpose will be to represent the Support Staff by reviewing with Upper Administration matters of special concern brought forth by the Support Staff.


ARTICLE I -- Members

Section A

The Committee on Staff shall consist of fifteen (15) members:

For a specific breakdown of university structure, please see this PDF.

Any full-time and regular part-time non-union support staff member employed at Marquette University for at least one (1) year may be elected to the Committee on Staff. Members of the Committee on Staff shall be elected by full-time and regular part-time non-union support staff members who have been employed at least three (3) months. The term of office shall be two (2) years and members shall serve no more than three (3) consecutive elected terms.

If open seats remain after area elections, staff members outside the designated areas may be appointed by COS to fill open seats.

Section B

The term of service for each new member of the Committee on Staff shall begin at the April meeting.

Section C

A member of the Committee on Staff shall cease to be a member if:

  1. He/she submits a resignation in writing to the Chairperson of the Committee on Staff, specifying date of resignation;
  2. He/she has excessive unexcused absences from three (3) meetings of the Committee on Staff within a twelve (12) month period;
  3. He/she has excessive excused absences from four (4) meetings of the Committee on Staff within a twelve (12) month period;
  4. He/she is promoted to an administrative position (Exempt); or
  5. He/she is no longer employed by Marquette University.

Section D

When a vacancy as outlined in Section C occurs in the Committee on Staff, the vacancy shall be filled by a Committee on Staff appointment. The appointment shall be made from the area in which the vacancy occurs. The appointee shall serve until the end of the term of the person replaced. This appointment shall not count in regards to the three (3) consecutive term limit.
Vacancy appointments shall be advised by the Nominations and Elections Sub-committee. Appointments shall be approved by simple majority vote of all elected members of COS.

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ARTICLE II -- Officers

The officers of the Committee on Staff shall be a Chairperson, a Vice Chairperson, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. These officers shall be elected by the Committee on Staff at its Annual Organization Meeting. These officers shall serve for a term of one (1) year. The Secretary, Chairperson and Historian will keep a copy of each meeting’s minutes. The Committee on Staff may also appoint such additional officers as it may, from time to time, see fit.

 

Chairperson

It is the responsibility of the Chairperson:

  1. To preside at all meetings;
  2. To report all actions and recommendations of the Committee on Staff to the Upper Administration;
  3. To appoint chairpersons for Sub-committees;
  4. To announce business to be acted upon and create the agenda for each meeting; and
  5. To represent and stand for Committee on Staff in carrying out its purpose.


Any special meetings are to be called by the chairperson.

 

Vice Chairperson

In the event of an absence of the Chairperson, the Vice Chairperson will act as Chairperson. The Vice Chairperson performs other duties assigned by the Chairperson and keeps current on the activities of all Sub-committees.

Secretary

It is the Secretary’s responsibility to record attendance and take minutes at each meeting. The Secretary will distribute the minutes of each meeting to:


Distribution may change based upon any changes in University organization. The Secretary shall be responsible for obtaining a room for all scheduled meetings.

 

Treasurer

It is the Treasurer’s responsibility to maintain records of expenses and requisition reimbursements from Human Resources.

 

Area Representatives

Each Area Representative, as outlined in Article I, serves as a liaison between the Committee on Staff and his/her elected Area. The representative will listen to those who have questions, concerns or comments. All questions, concerns or comments, written or verbal, should be brought to the attention of the Committee on Staff at the next regular meeting. While there could be pressures from special interest groups, these members should keep in mind the general welfare of the entire support staff as opposed to a small group which would be benefited.

Area Representatives shall also serve other duties as needed.

 

Members At-Large

Each Member At-Large should represent the interests of the entire University non-union support staff. While there could be pressures from special interest groups, these members should keep in mind the general welfare of the entire support staff as opposed to a small group which would be benefited.

 

Historian

The Historian is responsible for gathering materials from all Committee members once a year for transfer to University Archives. The Historian is responsible for organizing all materials prior to transfer to University Archives and shall be responsible for the proper disposal of duplicate materials.

The Historian may attend all the Committee on Staff meetings as an ex-officio member to provide historical background. The Historian is appointed by the Committee on Staff and the term of office is determined by the mutual agreement between the appointee and the Committee on Staff. The appointee must be a past member of the Committee on Staff.

 

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ARTICLE III -- Meetings

Section A

The Annual Organizational Meeting of the Committee on Staff shall be held the third Thursday in May. Written notice shall be sent to all members, including those who were members prior to such meeting and those newly elected to the Committee on Staff, at least one week before such meeting. At a time in the meeting to be indicated by the Chairperson, newly elected members shall join the Committee on Staff and those whose term of office expires at the meeting shall leave the Committee on Staff. The new members and the continuing members shall elect officers for the following year.

Section B

The Secretary shall record a calendar of dates for regular meetings. The meetings shall be held on the third Thursday of each month unless otherwise changed by the Chairperson and agreed to by the committee as a whole.

Section C

Executive Meetings shall be called:

  1. At the request of the Chairperson or an Executive Committee member; or
  2. At the written request of any seven (7) members of the Committee on Staff.

Section D

The Committee on Staff shall conduct all regularly scheduled business in meetings normally open to all support staff. All support staff employees are welcome and encouraged to attend meetings. The Committee may provide non-members of the Committee on Staff the opportunity to speak at such meetings if such non-members submit to the Chairperson, in writing, an item to be placed on the Agenda one week prior to the meeting.

Section E

The Committee on Staff may in any particular case decide to conduct its business in a session at which only its members may be present.

Section F

A simple majority of eight (8) members of the Committee on Staff shall constitute a quorum for any meeting of the Committee on Staff.

Section G

The Chairperson shall set the agenda of all meetings.

 

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ARTICLE IV -- Sub-committees

The Standing Sub-committees shall be as follows: Public Relations, Nominations and Elections, and Website.

Section A

The Committee on Staff may create Sub-committees or ad hoc committees as it deems necessary.

Section B

The following provisions apply to all the Sub-committees and ad hoc committees unless special provisions are indicated:

  1. The Chairperson of each Sub-committee shall be a member of and elected by the Committee on Staff. Sub-committee members may be chosen from the support staff at large by the Sub-committee Chairperson and are subject to approval of the Committee on Staff. Temporary members may be appointed to any Sub-committee from time to time for such periods and for such duties as the Committee on Staff may decide;
  2. Each Sub-committee shall function in accordance with By-Laws adopted by the Committee on Staff;
  3. The Sub-committee shall report its recommendations to the Committee on Staff via the Chairperson of the Sub-committee.

Sub-committee on Public Relations

The Public Relations Sub-committee is responsible for notifying “Marquette Matters” and “News Briefs” with pertinent information. The Sub-committee is also responsible for sending representation to New Folks Convocation and monthly new hire orientation.

The Public Relations Sub-committee receives a list of new employees from Human Resources; verification of names is done before the Area Representatives meet with the new employees. The Public Relations Sub-committee is responsible for assigning Area Representatives to welcome new employees within two (2) months of employment, and to answer any questions from the new employees.

Sub-committee on Nominations and Elections

The Nominations and Election Sub-committee is responsible for notifying “News Briefs” with all election results. Duties of the Nominations and Elections Sub-committee include:

  1. Preparing the Election Calendar of deadlines to be brought to the January meeting of the Committee on Staff and published via the Committee on Staff minutes prior to the distribution of the nomination ballot;
  2. Meeting necessary deadlines (e.g. nominations, tabulations);
  3. Preparing and distributing necessary information (e.g. nomination procedures, biographical sketches, final ballot, etc.);
  4. Contacting nominees for biographical sketches;
  5. Reviewing and formatting biographical sketches;
  6. Notifying newly elected members; and
  7. Performing any other duties assigned by the Chairperson of the Committee on Staff.

In the event that the Chairperson of the Nominations and Elections Sub-committee is nominated for and chooses to run for election/re-election on COS, that person must step down and the Committee on Staff will appoint an eligible replacement.

The return of nomination and election ballots must be completed by the end of the deadline date set by the Sub-committee on Nominations and Elections.

Sub Committee on Web site

The Sub-committee on Website will be responsible for keeping the Committee on Staff Web site current. These duties include updating the Web site with information as provided by the Committee on Staff, including agendas, meeting locations and approved minutes.

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ARTICLE V -- Conduct of Business

When questions of parliamentary procedure arise, Robert’s Rules of Order will be the authority, except where the University Policy & Procedure Manual or these By-Laws specify otherwise. Each elected member of the Committee on Staff, including the Chairperson, shall have one (1) vote on each issue. A member may vote in person or by proxy given in writing.

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ARTICLE VI -- Amendments

Amendments to these By-Laws may be adopted at any meeting of the Committee on Staff by a vote of at least two-thirds of the fifteen (15) committee members, provided that notice thereof was given at the regularly scheduled meeting preceding or was given to all members in writing at least one (1) week previously.

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COS SITE MENU

COS MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Committee on Staff is to strengthen Marquette's mission by encouraging excellence, faith, leadership, and service in university offices and workplaces. Committee on Staff is dedicated to serving as a liaison between Marquette's support staff and the University administration. The committee advocates on behalf of support staff and encourages university improvements at the policy level.