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Bylaws
Academic Federation
University of California, Davis

March 21, 2007
I. NAME
  The name of this organization shall be the Academic Federation of the University of California, Davis.
II. PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
  The purpose and objectives of the Academic Federation of the University of California, Davis, hereinafter referred to as the Federation, shall be:
  A. to provide a forum where matters of concern to academic appointees who are not members of the Academic Senate may be discussed. Matters of concern include teaching, public service, research, and personnel matters.
  B. to advise the administration of the University of California, Davis on matters of concern to academic non-Senate appointees.
  C. to promote full utilization of the professional abilities, interests and skills of academic non-Senate appointees at the University of California, Davis.
III. MEMBERSHIP
  A. There shall be regular and ex officio members.
  B. Regular members of the Federation shall be salaried academic appointees who are not in trainee, post-doctoral, or fellowship positions and who are not members of the Academic Senate and:
    (1) hold an appointment on the Davis campus; or
    (2) hold a University-wide appointment, but are located on the Davis campus; or
    (3) work at a location remote from the Davis campus, but report administratively to the Davis campus. Membership will be limited to persons who hold appointments in one or a combination of the following academic titles, or other titles that may be added by a vote of the Executive Council:
      • Academic Administrator
      • Academic Coordinator
      • Adjunct Professor
        - Adjunct Instructor
        - Assistant Adjunct Professor
        - Associate Adjunct Professor
      • Agronomist
        - Assistant Agronomist
        - Associate Agronomist
      • Assistant Law Librarian
      • Assistant University Librarian
      • Associate Law Librarian
      • Associate University Librarian
      • Health Sciences Clinical Professor
        - Associate Health Sciences Clinical Professor
        - Assistant Health Sciences Clinical Professor
      • Continuing Educator
        - Acting Continuing Educator
      • Demonstration Teacher
      • Lecturer
        - Senior Lecturer
      • Librarian
        - Assistant Librarian
        - Associate Librarian
      • Nursery School Teacher
      • Program Coordinator
      • Professional Research (excluding post-graduate research titles)
        - Assistant Professional Research
        - Associate Professional Research
      • Project Scientist
        - Assistant Project Scientist
        - Associate Project Scientist
      • Specialist
        - Assistant Specialist
        - Associate Specialist
      • Specialist in Cooperative Extension
        - Assistant Specialist in Cooperative Extension
        - Associate Specialist in Cooperative Extension
      • Supervisor of Physical Education
        - Assistant Supervisor of Physical Education
        - Associate Supervisor of Physical Education
      • Supervisor of Teacher Education
      • University Extension Teacher
IV. OFFICERS AND GOVERNING BOARDS
  A. Officers
    1. Chair
      a. Appointment. The chair of the Federation shall be appointed by the Federation Committee on Committees. The chair shall be a member of the Executive Council of the Federation.
      b. Term of Office. The term of office for the chair shall be one year, with reappointment an option. The chair shall take office on the first day of September in the year of appointment and shall serve through the last day of the following August.
      c. Duties. The chair shall:
        1. serve as the chair of the Executive Council of the Federation, and preside at meetings of the Executive Council, at general membership meetings of the Federation, and at Federation award ceremonies.
        2. prepare the call and agenda for meetings of the Executive Council and general membership meetings of the Federation, and ensure the maintenance and distribution of the minutes of the meetings.
        3. serve as the Federation representative on the Academic Senate Executive Council, and is authorized to attend and participate in all Council meetings, except executive sessions.
        4. maintain liaison with the Davis campus administration and other groups as appropriate.
    2. Vice Chair
      a. Appointment. The vice chair of the Federation shall be appointed by the Federation Committee on Committees. The vice chair shall be a member of the Executive Council of the Federation.
      b. Term of Office. The term of office for the vice chair shall be one year, with reappointment an option. The vice chair shall take office on the first day of September in the year of appointment and shall serve through the last day of the following August.
      c. Duties. The vice chair shall:
        1. in the absence of the chair, preside at meetings of the Executive Council of the Federation and general membership meetings of the Federation.
        2. serve as an alternate representative to the Academic Senate Executive Council when the Federation Chair is unable to attend.
        3. serve as Chair of the James H. Meyer Distinguished Achievement Award Committee, specifically presiding over the selection process.
        4. attend one meeting annually of the Staff Assembly and establish communication with the Chair of the Staff Assembly through regular meetings (monthly or quarterly).
        5. serve as the primary liaison to the Federation members appointed as representatives to Academic Senate standing committees: convene at least two meetings annually (one each during winter and spring quarters) with the following goals:
          a) learn about the major agenda item(s) in each Senate committee;
          b) inform the Federation Executive Council of issues relevant to the membership and provide meeting summaries to the Council; and
          c) invite these Federation representatives to a meeting of the Federation Executive Council to summarize issues facing their assigned Senate committee.
        6. take a leadership role in working on an area of high priority for the Federation, as identified by the Federation Executive Council.
    3. Secretary
      a. Appointment. The secretary of the Federation shall be appointed by the Federation Committee on Committees. The secretary shall be a member of the Executive Council of the Federation.
      b. Term of Office. The term of office for the secretary shall be one year, with reappointment an option. The secretary shall take office on the first day of September in the year of appointment and shall serve through the last day of the following August.
      c. Duties. The secretary shall:
        1. compile a list of members of the Federation Executive Council, Federation committees, and Federation representatives on Academic Senate committees and send to all members of the Federation by October 15 of each year.
        2. issue the call for volunteers for committee service to be sent to all members of the Federation by March 15 of each year.
        3. produce the Federation newsletter which shall be sent to all members of the Federation twice a year.
        4. serve as an ex officio member of the Committee on Communications.
        5. supervise the counting of all ballots and certify and publish the results of all elections for the membership of the Federation.
  B. Committee on Committees
    1. Membership. The Committee on Committees shall consist of eight regular members, to be elected by the Federation membership.
    2. Election and Term of Office.
      a. The elected members of the Committee shall be chosen in the following manner:
        1. Four members shall be elected each year to serve for two years. Members newly elected shall take office on the first day of September following their election.
        2. Election of members of the Committee shall be by electronic ballot in accordance with Bylaw V. The election shall be held before the end of Spring Quarter of each year.
      b. Vacancies occurring on the Committee shall be filled by appointment for the remainder of the term of the vacated office. Such appointments shall be made by the remaining members of the Committee and shall be made from among the regular members of the Federation.
      c. The elected or appointed members of the Committee shall be representative of the membership of the Federation in that no one academic series shall be in the majority and that at least four academic series shall be represented on the Committee.
      d. Members of the Committee on Committees shall be eligible to serve as officers of the Federation. However, if any member of the Committee on Committees is appointed to an office, that member shall resign from the Committee for the period of the appointment to that office, and a replacement member shall be appointed.
    3. Duties. The Committee on Committees shall:
      a. elect a chair of the Committee on Committees.
      b. before the end of June, appoint the Chair, Vice Chair, and Secretary of the Federation.
      c. before the end of June, appoint the chairs of all standing committees of the Federation, unless another procedure is specifically provided by the Bylaws. None of these chairs shall be an elected or appointed member of the Committee on Committees nor shall they be ex officio members of the Federation. Whenever possible, the chairs should be in the second year of their two-year committee appointments.
      d. before the end of June, appoint the members to all standing committees of the Federation, unless another procedure is provided by the Bylaws. The Committee shall also appoint Federation members to joint Federation/Academic Senate committees, and Federation representatives on Academic Senate committees, as required by the Bylaws. Terms of office for the Federation standing committees and for the Federation members to the joint Federation/Academic Senate committees shall be for two years (September 1 through August 31 of the second year). For each committee, approximately half the Federation members should be appointed in any one year, with the intent that complete turnover of membership never occurs in any one year for any committee.
      e. before the end of June, appoint the ad hoc members to the Administrative Series Personnel Committee (Assistant or Associate University Librarian and Assistant or Associate Law Librarian) and the Personnel Committee (the Supervisor of Physical Education title series). These ad hoc members are called upon only in the case of personnel actions involving these titles. Otherwise there is no expectation of meetings or other service for these ad hoc members.
      f. send letters of appointment to the officers, committee chairs and members, and representatives on Academic Senate committees over the signature of the chair of the Committee on Committees. A copy of the Federation Bylaws specifying the work of their committee and a list of committee members appointed by the Committee on Committees shall be sent to each standing committee chair. A copy of the Academic Senate Bylaws relating to the work of their committee shall be sent to each Federation representative on an Academic Senate committee.
      g. receive resignations of members of committees of the Federation and Federation representatives on Academic Senate committees, and appoint replacements as necessary.
      h. evaluate, on a regular basis, the status of each standing committee including their charge, duties, workload and membership; solicit recommendations from the current chair of each standing committee regarding possible chair and continuing members for the following year. Findings may be presented to the Executive Council along with recommendations.
      i. evaluate, on a regular basis, the duties of the officers of the Federation. Findings may be submitted to the Executive Council, along with recommendations.
      j. propose, when requested by campus administration, names of Federation members to sit on campus advisory committees.
      k. propose, when requested by the Academic Senate leadership, names of Federation committee members to sit on special committees or task forces for the Senate.
      l. propose, when requested by the Vice Provost–Academic Personnel, or other appropriate administrator, names of Federation members to sit on hearing committees. A separate list shall be submitted for each hearing committee. The number of names proposed shall be three times the number of Federation members to serve on the committee. The consent of those proposed shall be obtained before the lists are submitted.
    4. Quorum. Five members of the Committee on Committees shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
  C. Executive Council
    1. Membership. The Executive Council shall consist of the Chair, Vice-Chair, and Secretary of the Federation, the members of the Committee on Committees, chairs of all standing committees of the Federation, and the chair of the Joint Federation/Senate Personnel Committee; these will serve as voting members of the Council. The following persons may attend as non-voting Executive Council members: the immediate past Chair, the Federation assistant to the Vice Provost–Academic Personnel, and the Chancellor of the Davis campus or a designated substitute.
    2. Term of Office. The members of the Executive Council shall take office on the first day of September each year and shall serve through the last day of the following August.
    3. Duties. The Executive Council shall:
      a. act on behalf of the membership in the transaction of all business, and consider current and future issues that affect the members of the Federation;
      b. consider such administrative matters as may be referred to it by the campus administration;
      c. receive requests and direct them to the appropriate committee or committees for action;
      d. receive reports of all standing or special committees and approve or disapprove the committees' recommendations;
      e. appoint special committees of the Federation as authorized in Section VIII of these Bylaws;
      f. direct the Chair of Federation to take specific actions on behalf of the Federation.
      g. assign leadership over a high-priority issue to the Vice Chair of the Federation.
    4. Quorum. A simple majority of the membership of the Executive Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
V. ELECTIONS
  A. When elections by electronic ballot are required by the Bylaws or are ordered by other action of the Federation, they shall be conducted by the Rules and Elections Committee and certified by the secretary of the Federation.
  B. Notice of Election: Not less than thirty days prior to any election, the Rules and Elections Committee shall initiate such an election by sending to each member of the Federation a notice via email that nominations for the office or offices in question will be received by the committee during the next twenty days. The Rules and Elections Committee shall specify the date and time after which nominations will no longer be received. These nominations shall be in writing, shall be signed by three members of the Federation other than the nominee, and shall contain a statement signed by the nominee that s/he will accept the nomination. Nominators shall also submit to the committee chair a brief list of the candidate's relevant experience for the office in question.
  C. In the event the nominations in writing fail to produce candidates representing a sufficient number of academic title series to comply with Bylaw IV (B) 2. (c), the Rules and Elections Committee shall serve as an ad hoc Nominations Committee to nominate additional candidates.
  D. Balloting shall be conducted by secure electronic ballot, as designated by the Executive Committee, or as follows:
    1. Not less than ten days after the time for receiving nominations has expired, the committee shall send via email to the members of the Federation and post via the appropriate websites a ballot containing, in alphabetical order, the names of those persons who have been nominated as prescribed above. The academic title and University affiliation of each nominee shall be listed after the name. The ballot shall be accompanied by a list of the nominees, in alphabetical order, together with the names, academic titles, and University affiliations of those nominating each candidate. The candidate or the nominator shall also provide a brief list of the candidate's relevant experiences. The ballot shall also be accompanied by a statement that the Federation membership has fifteen days to cast their vote electronically. Electronic balloting will be conducted via MySenate, with each Federation member given secure access via their individual Kerberos login and password. A statistical sampling of the electronic ballot process will be conducted by the office staff to ensure validity of the process.
    2. Election to an office shall be determined by a plurality. The candidates receiving the highest number of votes shall be declared elected, subject to the restrictions outlined in Bylaw IV. (B) 2. (c). In case of tie votes, the ranking of candidates shall be determined by lot drawn by the secretary of the Federation.
    3. The electronic ballot will not allow more names to be marked than the number of vacancies to be filled.
    4. Voting by any person other that the person to whom the Kerberos login and password are assigned will be considered invalid.
    5. If the number of persons nominated as described above does not exceed the number of places to be filled, the election by electronic ballot shall be cancelled and the secretary shall cast a single vote for each of the candidates.
    6. Nothing in this Bylaw shall contradict the fact that elected members of the Committee on Committees shall be representative of the membership of the Federation in that no one academic series shall be the majority.
  E. When questions other than the election of members of the Committee on Committees are submitted to an electronic ballot, such balloting shall be conducted in accord with the procedures prescribed above as far as they are applicable. When ballots are sent electronically to the voters, they shall be accompanied by all relevant texts and a brief summary of the arguments pro and con. In certifying the results of the balloting the number of affirmative votes, the number of negative votes, and the number of abstentions and/or invalid votes, if any, shall be reported to the membership by the secretary.
VI. GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
  A. A general membership meeting of the Federation may be scheduled at any time by the chair of the Federation or by the Chancellor of the Davis campus. Upon the written request of ten members, a meeting must be scheduled within four weeks' time by the chair or, in the case of his/her absence or disability, the vice chair of the Federation.
  B. The call for all general membership meetings of the Federation shall be issued by the Chair, who, at least ten days prior to every meeting, shall send a written notice of such meeting to each member.
  C. The minutes of any general membership meeting of the Federation shall be published in the next issue of the Federation newsletter that is sent to each member.
  D. Fifty members of the Federation shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
VII. STANDING COMMITTEES
  A. Standing committees shall be constituted of regular members of the Federation.
  B. The Committee on Committees shall each year appoint the chairs and members to all standing committees of the Federation, unless otherwise specifically provided by the Bylaws.
  C. Unless otherwise specified, members of standing committees shall serve two years from the first day of September through August 31 of the second year. In the case of replacement appointments, the term shall be from the date of appointment until the end date of the term of the person being replaced.
  D. The annual reports of all standing committees, except the Personnel Committees, shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Council by August 1. The Personnel Committees shall submit reports by October 1.
  E. All standing committees shall have the power to create ad hoc subcommittees to expedite the work of the committee. The membership of these subcommittees shall be limited to regular members of the Federation, unless the Executive Council approves otherwise.
  F. Quorum. A simple majority of the membership of a standing committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, unless specified otherwise.
  G. Additions to and deletions from the List of Standing Committees (Bylaw X) shall be accomplished following the procedures prescribed for amending the Bylaws in Bylaw XV.
VIII. SPECIAL COMMITTEES
  A. The Executive Council shall appoint special committees and their chairs. Such appointments shall be reported to the membership of the Federation by the secretary.
  B. A special committee shall have such powers and shall perform such duties as shall be designated at the time of its appointment. No special committee shall, however, be appointed to perform any duties assigned to a standing committee.
  C. A special committee shall have tenure only until the following September 1 unless (1) a definite term is specified or (2) it is continued by action of the Executive Council.
  D. The final reports of special committees shall be presented to the Executive Council.
  E. A special committee may be constituted of regular members of the Federation, of ex officio members of the Federation, or of both. It may also include in its membership persons who are neither regular nor ex officio Federation members, but such persons shall not constitute more than one-third the membership of the committee.
  F. Quorum. A simple majority of the membership of a special committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.
IX. POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMITTEES
  A. Every committee of the Federation, whether standing or special, is responsible to the Federation and has the obligation to report its actions to the Executive Council and the membership.
  B. If duties, other than those listed in Bylaw X, or in the authorization of a special committee, are imposed upon a committee by order of The Regents, by the President of the University, or by the Chancellor, the committee in exercising such duties is answerable only to the one imposing the additional duties. Should the committee desire the approval of its action in such additional functions or advice in executing them, it may communicate on these subjects with the Executive Council of the Federation. An account of any such additional duties shall be included in the annual report of a standing committee or in the final report of a special committee.
X. LIST OF STANDING COMMITTEES, THEIR POWERS AND DUTIES
  A. Academic Freedom, Rights, and Privileges
    1. This committee shall consist of five members.
    2. The committee shall study any conditions within or outside the University which, in the judgment of the committee, may affect academic freedom in the University.
    3. The committee through the Executive Council shall advise the Chancellor or other appropriate administrative officers concerning appeals procedures as they apply to members of the Federation.
    4. The committee shall:
      a. review insurance, retirement and fringe benefit programs and advise the Federation Executive Council on changes or improvements;