WHEREAS the Employee Assembly (the Assembly) presently holds an organizational meeting for each session after the start of that session June;

WHEREAS the Assembly must fill key positions in the University Assembly (the UA) and in other committees sufficiently early to permit those organizations to conduct their routine business effectively;

WHEREAS other constituent assemblies hold their organizational meetings in April or earlier;

WHEREAS the UA, to which the Assembly must appoint members each Spring, holds its organizational meeting in May and is routinely encumbered by vacant employee positions;

WHEREAS holding the organizational meeting after the new session has the potential, regardless of when the session starts, to cause a gap in employee representation in key assemblies, committees, and conversations;

WHEREAS holding the organizational meeting after the new session has started hinders opportunities for new officers to exchange information with outgoing officers and arrange an orderly transition of responsibility;

WHEREAS the Assembly can best fulfill its obligation to the UA, other organizations, and its constituents by holding an organizational meeting prior to the start of each session;

WHEREAS the Assembly must complete election of members in March in order to conduct an organizational meeting in April;

RESOLVED the following changes are incorporated into the charter of the Assembly:

Replace the final sentence of Article 3, Section 5.2 with the following:

RESOLVED the following changes are incorporated into the bylaws of the Assembly at the same time the changes to the charter are adopted:

Strike the first two paragraphs of Article 4, Section 3, which begin, “As soon as possible after the conclusion of elections and no later than the last day of May” and end, “ The newly elected Chair presides over the remainder of the meeting.”

Add the following text as Section 3 of Article 6 and renumber subsequent sections accordingly:

The Chair sets a date for the organizational meeting to occur as soon as possible after conclusion of employee elections, but no later than April 15. In this meeting, the Assembly:

• 1. elects the officers of the Assembly for the next session;
• 2. receives nominations and appoint representatives to the University Assembly and any other committees or commissions with vacancies that occur in the next session; and,
• 3. sets a schedule of regular meetings for the next session.

All members who will be seated as of the start of the next session of the Assembly are voting members for the purposes of the meeting and must make every reasonable effort to attend and participate. The meeting must be held in closed session. The first order of business for the meeting must be appointment of a temporary chair who will preside until the Chair is elected for the next session. The temporary chair may be any voting member who does not seek election as Chair. The second order of business must be election of the Chair for the next session. The temporary chair must yield to the newly elected Chair immediately after his or her election.

RESOLVED these changes will take effect for election of members in Spring 2013.

Respectfully submitted,
Curtis Ferguson, II