Region VI Bylaws

Region VI Administrative Policies and Web Site Guidelines

National Council of University Research Administrators

Region VI (Western Region) Bylaws (PDF)

(As amended April, 2008)

I. NAME

The name of this organization shall be Region VI or the Western Region of the National Council of University Research Administrators.

II. PURPOSE

In conformity with the National Council, the purpose of the Region is exclusively educational and assists individuals with professional interests in the administration of sponsored programs (research, education, and training) primarily at colleges and universities by:

A. Promoting the development of more effective policies and procedures relative to the administration of sponsored programs to assure the achievement of the maximum potential in academic programs;

B. Providing a forum through regional meetings for the discussion and exchange of information and experiences related to sponsored programs in colleges and universities;

C. Providing for the dissemination of current information and the exchange of views on mutual concerns; and

D. Promoting the development of college and university research administration and the administration of other sponsored programs as a professional field, and stimulating personal growth of the Regional members of the Council.

III. MEMBERSHIP

The membership shall be individuals who are members of the National Council of University Research Administrators and are affiliated with a qualifying institution within the Western Region as designated by the National Council.

IV. OFFICERS

A. The officers of the Region shall be a Chair, Chair-elect, Secretary, Secretary-elect, Treasurer, and Treasurer-elect.

B. Duties of the officers are specified in the Region's Administrative Policies.

C. The term of office of the Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be one year, beginning January 1. The term of office of the Chair-elect, Secretary-elect, and Treasurer-elect shall be one year beginning January 1 of the year following election. The Chair-elect in office when an incumbent Chair's term ends shall automatically succeed to the office of Chair. The Secretary-elect in office when an incumbent Secretary's term ends shall automatically succeed to the office of Secretary. The Treasurer-elect in office when an incumbent Treasurer's term ends shall automatically succeed to the office of Treasurer.

D. Election procedures shall be as prescribed in Article VI.

E. All Officers and Incoming Regional Advisory Committee members will take office on January 1 of each year.

F. If the office of Chair becomes vacant between elections due to death, resignation, or loss of member status, the Chair-elect will automatically succeed to the office of Chair. If the office of Secretary becomes vacant, the Secretary-elect will automatically succeed to the office of Secretary. If the office of Treasurer becomes vacant, the Treasurer-elect shall automatically succeed to the office of Treasurer.

G. If the office of Chair-elect, Secretary-elect, or Treasurer-elect becomes vacant between elections due to death, resignation, or loss of member status, a special election by the Region membership to fill the unexpired term shall be implemented promptly by the Secretary. If the election process is unavoidably delayed, the Chair may appoint a qualified member to serve in the interim until the election is completed.

V. COMMITTEES

A. Regional Advisory Committee - The Regional Advisory Committee shall advise the Chair on regional business, develop strategies for regional activities, evaluate regional issues, and serve as a general sounding board for the Chair and the membership.

B. Other Regional Committees

1. The Advisory committee may create committees and appoint members, as appropriate and in good standing, on an as-needed basis to assist and-or perform tasks to facilitate regional business and activities.

2. The Chair may appoint members of the Region in good standing to ad hoc committees as needed from time-to-time to serve regional functions.

C. National Committees

1. The Region will elect one member to the Board of Directors of the National Council in accordance with Article VI of the Bylaws and in accordance with the Administrative Policies. Board members serve two year terms beginning on January 1 of odd-numbered years. If an elected Board member is unable to complete the full term of office and the remainder of the term is less than one year, the Chair may appoint a member to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the term, otherwise a special election of the membership shall be held for the seat.

VI. ELECTIONS

A. Election of the Chair-elect, the Secretary-elect, and the Treasurer-elect and one Regional Advisory Committee member shall occur every year. Election of a regional member to the National Board of Directors shall occur in even numbered years, with the successful candidates serving a two-year term effective January 1 of the following odd-numbered year. An individual many not serve concurrently as an elected National Officer or Board Member and as a Regional Officer.

B. Upon verification of each candidate’s willingness to serve, the Nominating Committee shall certify to the Secretary a slate of two candidates for each office or Board seat.

C. On or before September 1 in the year of election, the Secretary shall forward, via the National Office, an electronic ballot of two candidates for each open position to each member of the Region. NO later than thirty (30) days following the distribution of the ballots, the election shall be declared closed, the results reviewed by the Secretary, the record retained for audit, and the Chair immediately notified in writing of the election results. The Chair will notify all candidates of the results. The Chair will also report the results to the National Council's Executive Director and to the Region membership.

D. In the event that two or more candidates for a particular position receive the same number of votes, the candidates receiving equal number of votes shall engage in a runoff election and a new ballot shall be sent to each member of the Region. The Nominating Committee shall conduct the runoff election following the same procedures specified for the first balloting except that the Secretary shall forward a ballot to each member of the Region as soon as possible after the determination that a runoff election is required. Fifteen days (15) following the distribution of ballots, the election shall be declared closed. If any two or more candidates in such a runoff election receive the same number of votes then the tie shall be broken by a vote of the Regional Advisory Committee.

VII. MEETINGS

A. There will normally be an annual Regional Meeting, within or near the Region’s geographic boundaries, held in the first six (6) months of the calendar year so as not to interfere with attendance at the National Council's Annual Meeting.

B. The Region will hold business meetings at the annual Regional Meeting and in conjunction with the National Council's Annual Meeting.

C. There may be other meetings of the Region subject to the approval of the elected officers.

VIII. DUES

No dues, over and above those of the National Council membership, shall be assessed on Regional members.

IX. ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES

The Region shall develop a set of Administrative Policies that provide procedures to accomplish the business and professional activities of the Region. Changes in the Administrative Policies are the responsibility of the membership, and may be proposed by the Officers, Regional Advisory Committee or from any member of the region. Proposed changes must be approved by a majority vote of the Officers and Regional Advisory Committee members. Approved changes must then be reported to the Region membership no later than the next business meeting. A majority of the Regional members present at that business meeting may vote for reconsideration of any changes presented.

X. AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS

Amendment of the Bylaws may be recommended by the Officers or upon petition by 10% of the membership. Proposed changes shall be submitted in writing to the Secretary for a vote by the Region membership. The Secretary shall distribute the proposed changes and ballot to members within 60 days of receipt. Upon close of the voting period, the proposed changes shall be declared immediately effective if the majority voting cast an affirmative vote.

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NATIONAL COUNCIL OF UNIVERSITY RESEARCH ADMINISTRATORS

Region VI (Western Region) Administrative Policies

I. Duties of the Officers

A. Regional Chair: The Regional Chairperson shall be the chief executive officer of Region VI, having the responsibility of calling meetings, appointing committee members, and generally directing the activities of the region. The Regional Chair shall be the second person authorized to sign checks drawn on the region's account.

B. Chair-Elect: The Chair-Elect shall be the second chief executive officer of the region and shall assume the duties of the Regional Chairperson in his/her absence. The Chairperson-Elect shall assume the office of Regional Chair at the expiration of the Chair’s elected term of office, or upon the death, recall, or resignation of the Chair. The Chair-Elect shall assist the Regional Chair, as requested, in directing the activities of the region and shall serve as Chair of the Program Committee for the regional annual meeting.

C. Secretary: The Secretary shall be responsible for maintaining the minutes of the regional business meetings and the official membership roster of the region. Minutes of regional business meetings shall be obtained from the outgoing Secretary and delivered to the incoming Secretary. The Secretary will make appropriate reports at regional meetings. In addition, it shall be the responsibility of the Secretary to conduct annual region elections.

D. Secretary-Elect: The Secretary-Elect shall assist the Secretary, as requested, and shall assume the duties of the Secretary in his/her absence. The Secretary-Elect shall assume the office of the Secretary at the expiration of the Secretary’s elected term of office, or upon the death, recall, or resignation of the Secretary.

E. Treasurer: The Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining the financial records of the region. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the collection, deposit, and disbursement of funds and for the preparation of the region's annual budget for endorsement by the Regional Chairperson. The budget period will coincide with each Regional Chairperson's term of office. The Treasurer will make appropriate reports at regional meetings.

F. Treasurer-Elect: The Treasurer-Elect shall assist the Treasurer, as requested, in directing the financial activities of the region and shall assume the duties of the Treasurer in
his/her absence. The Treasurer-Elect shall assume the office of the Treasurer at the expiration of the Treasurer’s elected term of office, or upon the death, recall, or resignation of the Treasurer.

II. Regional Committees

A. Regional Advisory Committee: The Regional Advisory Committee shall consist of eleven members in good standing of the Region. The Regional Chair shall serve as Chair of the Regional
Advisory Committee. Every year, one member will be elected by the Region membership and one member will be appointed by the Region Chair. All members will serve two-year terms beginning January 1. Members are eligible for reappointment or re-election to successive terms without restriction. If an elected member is unable to complete the full term of office, the Chair may appoint a
member for the remainder of the term, with the concurrence of a majority of the Regional Advisory Committee.

Committee Membership Includes:

1. Current Regional Chair (Regional Advisory Committee Chair)
2. Chair-elect (ex-officio, non-voting)
3. Immediate Past Chair
4. Current Secretary
5. Current Treasurer
6. Secretary-elect (ex-officio, non-voting)
7. Treasurer-elect (ex-officio, non-voting)
8. Two Elected Members (one elected each year)
9. Two Members Appointed by the Chair (one appointed each year)

B. Awards Committee: The Awards Committee shall consist of at least four individuals who are active Regional members: a present member of the Region VI Regional Advisory Committee; a past member of the Region VI Regional Advisory Committee or a past Regional Office or past Regional Awards Committee member; a research administrator with less than three years experience; and up to two members-atlarge.

C. Nominating Committee: The Nominating Committee for Regional offices and Regional Advisory Committee members shall consist of three members of the Region in good standing who shall
be appointed by the Chair by April 1 of each year. The Chair may choose to ask the Nominating Committee to serve a two-year term.

D. Ad hoc Committees: The Chair shall be free to appoint members of the Region in good standing to ad hoc Committees as may be needed from time to time to serve Regional functions.

III. Website Guidelines (October 21, 1996)

A. These guidelines are consistent with, and intended to be complementary to those established for the National web site. Under the national guidelines, the Region VI Chair carries the responsibility for the Region VI Web site.

B. Overall Guidelines:

1. The Region VI Web site should be an open resource to the overall community.
2. The Region VI Web site should not include information used as a revenue resource by the National or Regional offices without specific approval. This includes advertisements (including national job postings), membership mailing lists, and brochures that are sold for a fee.
3. Links from the Web site to commercial entities that provide useful information to NCURA members are encouraged. Such links will be provided at no cost.
4. Any opinions that may be construed as being the opinion of NCURA should not be included on the Region VI Web site, unless specifically approved by the Regional Chair and the NCURA Executive Committee.
5. Personal opinions should not be included on the Region VI Web site unless authorized by the President of NCURA.
6. Permission shall be obtained for the use of materials on the Region VI Web site that are developed by others and not currently available on an open web site. This includes written material developed by other professional organizations, whether or not it has been copyrighted, and program, conference, or teaching materials, etc. prepared by individuals. When such items are included, they should be accompanied by a notice stating that it is being used with permission.
7. The Region VI Web site may be used in conjunction with the Region VI Listserv as a vehicle to call for nominations for office, distribute information on candidates, and conduct elections, including the distribution and return of an electronic ballot in conformance with NCURA National practices.

C. Responsibility and Authority for Region VI Web Site Updates

It is difficult, if not impossible, for one person to keep up with all of the changes that are occurring in the region and ensure that appropriate changes are made to the Region VI Web site. It is advisable, therefore, to divide the Region VI Web site into sections and designate a Content Manager to be responsible for the content of a particular section. The Content Manager will be responsible for making changes and keeping the section up-to-date, accurate, and useful to the community. The Content Manager will not make any changes directly to the Region VI Web site,
but rather will relay any changes to the Region VI Webmaster. The Region VI Webmaster will be responsible for programming the changes and adding them to the Region VI Web site in a timely manner. The Region VI Webmaster will not make any changes to the web site except when authorized by the Content Manager.

D. Expansion of the Region VI Web Site

Additional sections, beyond those listed above, may be proposed to the Region VI Chair by the Region VI Web Committee, or any member of the region. It is anticipated that the Region VI Web Committee will serve as a resource to the Chair by reviewing changes proposed by members, as well as those proposed within the Committee, and making recommendations to the Region VI Chair for their implementation into the web site. The Region VI Chair has the authority to approve any additional section(s) and their content(s), to require review by other regional officers and/or by the Regional Advisory Council, or to defer review until the next Regional Business Meeting. If additional section(s) are added, a Content Manger will be designated at the time any new section is added, and the Region VI Chair will so advise the Webmaster.

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