FACULTY ASSOCIATION of the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
ARTICLE I. NAME
The name of this organization, referred to as “association” in these by-laws, is the Riverside Faculty Association.
ARTICLE II. PURPOSES AND FUNCTIONS
Section 1. The Association shall have as its general objectives: to further the professional and scholarly values held by the faculty, to protect those privileges and responsibilities traditionally reserved to the faculty for the purpose of maintaining and improving the academic quality of the campus, and to improve the economic status and general welfare of the faculty.
Section 2. The Association shall have as its principal functions:
- It will inform, consult with, and seek to represent faculty interests to all agencies whose decisions affect the faculty. It will gather and disseminate information to the faculty on issues before the legislative and executive branches of California’s government, other relevant state units dealing with higher education, campus and University administrations, and the Board of Regents.
- It will encourage the development of, maintain contact with, coordinate its activities with, and form liaisons with parallel or similar organizations on other campuses of the University of California.
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
Section 1. Membership in the Association is open to individuals, irrespective of race, gender, creed, color, national origin, or sexual orientation, in all categories of faculty, including non-senate faculty and those eligible for membership in the Riverside Division of the Academic Senate, under the standards contained in the By-Laws of the Division in effect on January 1, 1975, except those holding more than half-time academic administrative positions above the rank of Chair of a Department.
Section 2. The criteria for membership may be altered only on approval, in an email ballot of the membership, by an absolute majority of the membership, or, if less than 75% of the membership cast valid ballots, by two-thirds of those casting valid ballots. The Executive Board shall make its views on the proposed alteration of membership criteria known to the membership at the time of emailing ballots.
ARTICLE IV. RELATIONSHIP TO THE RIVERSIDE DIVISION
The Association shall carry out its functions independent of the activities of the Riverside Division of the Academic Senate and its committees, and shall make use of none of the resources or facilities of the Riverside Division. It shall support the principles of governance expressed in the present delegation of authority by the Board of Regents to the Academic Senate.
ARTICLE V. EXECUTIVE BOARD AND OFFICERS
Section 1. There shall be an Executive Board consisting of nine persons who shall be elected for two-year terms, and they shall be eligible for re-election.
Section 2. The officers of the Association shall be a Chair, a Vice Chair, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. The officers shall be selected by the Executive Board from within its own ranks, following each election of Board members, and shall serve until successors are selected. Officers once selected may be removed by vote of five members of the Board at a meeting of the Board called for that purpose.
Section 3. The term of Board members shall be two years, beginning January 1 and Ending December 31.
Section 4. Vacancies on the Executive Board or among its officers shall be filled by action of the Executive Board. The term of appointments shall expire on December 31.
Section 5. Officers and board members may be removed by a simple majority of those voting by mail ballot. A petition for recall of any Board member may be instituted by 10% of the membership.
Section 6. Elections for the Board shall be by email vote of the members in good standing as of October 1. Ballots shall be emailed no later than November 15.
Section 7. There shall be a Nominating Committee for Board elections, which shall consist of three Association members in good standing as of the date of appointment (no later than April 1). The Executive Board shall make the appointments; no member of the Board may be appointed to the Nominating Committee.
Section 8. On or before October 15, the Nominating Committee shall propose at least one candidate for each Board position to be filled at that election. On or before October 20, the Board will distribute by email to the members the names of the persons nominated by the Nominating Committee. Such notice will indicate that further nominations may be made on petition of five members in good standing as of October 1. Such petitions shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Association on or before November 1. The names of all candidates nominated by the Nominating Committee and by petition shall be placed on the ballot, with a designation of the method by which each as nominated. All nominees shall have given approval for inclusion of their names on the ballot.
Section 9. Only Association members in good standing as of October 1 shall be eligible to be candidates for the Board.
Section 10. Each voter may vote for as many candidates as there are posts to be elected, and the winning candidates shall be determined by plurality vote.
Section 11. The Board shall appoint a committee to be responsible for the conduct of the election and the counting of the vote. The Board shall announce the results of the election within seven days of the close of the ballot period.
ARTICLE VI. DUTIES OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD AND OFFICERS
Section 1. The Executive Board shall act as the governing body of the Association between Association meetings. A majority of the Board shall constitute a quorum for conduct of its business.
Section 2. The Chair shall preside over meetings of the Association and of the Executive Board, shall issue the call for such meetings, shall supervise the administration of the Association’s programs, and shall be the Association’s delegate to the Executive Board of the Council of University of California Faculty Associations.
Section 3. The Vice Chair shall assist the Chair in the supervision of the general program of the Association and shall act in the Chair’s stead at all Association and Board meetings that the Chair is unable to attend.
Section 4. The Secretary shall be responsible for keeping the records of the Association, for preparing a record of the minutes of all regular and special meetings of the Association and all meetings of the Executive Board, and for issuing notice of the call to regular and special meetings of the Association when instructed to do so by the Chair.
Section 5. The Treasurer shall serve as the custodian of Association funds and shall be responsible for keeping these funds in a suitable depository, for keeping the Association’s financial statement up to date at all times and for making it available to the Association upon request, and for maintaining and keeping current a list of the membership in good standing, which list shall be available at any Association meeting when called for. The Treasurer shall prepare a financial report for distribution to the membership at least once a year. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the disbursing of funds of the Association as authorized by the Executive Board.
Section 6. Members of the Board shall perform such other functions as the Board may determine. The Association or the Board may establish such committees, as circumstances require.
Section 7. The Board may employ such staff as necessary for the effective functioning of the Association. The staff will operate under the direction of the Executive Board.
Section 8. The Chair shall issue a call for a meeting of the Executive Board upon request of three members of the Board.
Section 9. Advisory Committee. The Executive Board will appoint the members of an Advisory Committee consisting of members of the Riverside Faculty Association who have an interest in the governance and activities of the Association. The membership of the Advisory Committee will be reviewed every year during the month of October. The membership of the Advisory Committee shall be no larger than fifteen persons.
ARTICLE VII. DUES AND ASSESSMENTS
Section 1. The Board shall maintain an equitable dues structure. Assessments shall be at the discretion of the Board.
Section 2. Paid-up membership shall be a prerequisite for Association membership in good standing.
ARTICLE VIII. MEETINGS
Section 1. The association shall schedule at least one regular meeting during each quarter of the regular academic year, beginning with the Winter Quarter 2011.
Section 2. The Chair shall call a special meeting of the Association within two weeks when requested to do so by a majority of the Executive Board or on petition by ten per cent of the Association members in good standing.
Section 3. The quorum for any Association meeting shall be ten Association members in good standing or ten per cent of the membership, whichever is higher. Any action taken at a membership meeting shall be submitted for approval by the membership by mail ballot upon request of one-third of the members in attendance at that meeting or of a majority of the Executive Board.
Section 4. The Secretary shall issue a notice of any regular or special meeting of the Association at least seven days prior to the meeting date, unless the Executive Board shall determine that circumstances require shorter notice.
ARTICLE IX. AMENDMENT
Section 1. These by-laws may be amended, except as provided in Article III, Section 2, by a majority of the membership responding to an email ballot.
Section 2. Amendments may be proposed by a majority vote of the Board or by petition of at least ten per cent of the voting members of the association or by twenty-five members of the Association, whichever is less.
ARTICLE X. EMAIL BALLOTS
Section 1. Email ballots, other than those scheduled for regular election to the Board, may be initiated for any purpose by the Executive Board or by direction of a regular or special meeting of the Association.
Section 2. Except as otherwise specified in these by-laws, those eligible to vote in any email ballot shall be all members in good standing as of one month before the date on which the ballots are emailed. Unless the Executive Board shall declare that an emergency exists requiring a shorter period, all ballots emailed within two weeks from the date of the emailing of a ballot shall be counted.
Section 3. Except as otherwise specified in these by-laws, matters submitted to the membership by email ballot shall require only a simple majority of those casting valid ballots.
ARTICLE XI STATE OF CALIFORNIA FRANCHISE TAX BOARD, SECTION 23701-A REVENUE AND TAXATION CODE EXEMPT ORGANIZATION REQUIREMENTS
Section 1. The specific and primary purpose of this organization is to operate a labor organization within the meaning of Section 23701-A of the California Revenue and Taxation Code.
Section 2. The organization does not contemplate pecuniary gain or profit to its members and is organized for nonprofit purposes.
ARTICLE XII EFFECTIVE DATE
These by-laws became effective February 5, 1975. (Article III, Section 1, amended 5-13-11, Article III, Section 2, amended 8-20-20; Article V, Sections 1-3, 5, and 8, amended 5-13-11, Article V, Sections 1-2, 5, and 8, amended 8-20-20; Article VI, Sections 2-4, and 7, amended 5-13-11, Article VI, Section 9, amended 8-20-20; Article VII, Sections 1-4, amended 3-13-11; Article VIII, Sections 1-2 amended 5-13-11; Article IX, Sections 1-2 amended 5-13-11, Article IX Section 1 amended 8-20-20; Article X, Section 1-2, amended 8-8-20; Article XII amended 5-13-11)