ARTICLE I- REPRESENTATION

A. The Professional Employees Council (PEC) is comprised of twenty-six elected representatives from the constituency as outlined in the Constitution. Elected representatives serve a two-year term.

B. The Constituency is divided into five general areas, each representing one of the five Vice Presidential areas of Binghamton University. These general areas are further divided into subconstituency areas, each representing a specialization within the general area. The number of representatives in each area is determined by the total number of eligible professional staff in those areas. The Rules Committee shall be responsible for reviewing the updated constituency lists prior to the next year's elections to determine if the number of seats in the subconstituency areas need to be adjusted. The Committee will also review any changes or redistribution within and among constituency areas.

C. The composition of the 2006-07 Professional Employees Council shall be:

1) Academic Affairs (9 members)

2) Administration (8 members)

3) External Affairs (2 members)

4) Research (3 members)

5) Student Affairs (4 members)

ARTICLE II- ELECTIONS

A. The Rules Committee shall be responsible for conducting the elections to the Professional Employees Council.

B. All terms of office for the Council members shall be two (2) years in length. The terms of office shall be staggered so that in any one year, half the seats are up for elections.

C. Elections for the upcoming academic year shall be held in April. The council will send out notice in March to the entire constituency notifying them which subconstituency areas are coming up for election. A copy of the entire constituency listing, divided by subconstituency area, will be included with this mailing.  A deadline for nominations will be set by the Rules Committee. Any constituent may submit name(s) in nomination for any election area. Individuals may also nominate themselves for a Council seat.

D. Once the deadline for nominations has passed, the Rules Committee shall meet and review each nomination, verify the nominee's eligibility for the nominated area and confirm the nominee's willingness to run for election.

E. The Rules Committee will distribute a written ballot containing the names of verified eligible candidates to the appropriate constituency areas. The ballot shall list the name and organizational unit of each candidate. The ballot shall also contain the deadline for submission of the ballot and the office to which the ballot should be returned.

F. The candidates shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast. The Rules
Committee as a whole shall tally the results of each election. The Rules Committee shall send an individual letter to all candidates announcing the results of the election. The Committee shall then make the results known to the Council and the Council shall announce the results in the PEC minutes. A letter shall also be sent to the elected candidate's supervisor. Installation of the new Council members will occur at the last meeting in June each year.

G. In the case where there are no nominated candidates in a constituency area, the Committee shall poll in writing the entire constituency area and ask for interested candidates. Should no candidate be found from that area, the Committee reserves the right to nominate candidates from outside the constituency area to ensure a full Council. Members of the constituency area in question would vote on the candidates in accordance with the above outlined procedure.

H. In the case of a tie, a run-off election will be held. Results of ail balloting and elections will be kept by the Rules Committee for a two year period. Should a vacancy occur during the term of office, that seat shall be filled in accordance with the procedures set out in Article I, section 6, part d. of the By-Laws.

ARTICLE III- SELECTION OF OFFICERS

A. Prior to the last meeting in June, the Rules Committee, in consultation with the Executive Committee, shall prepare a slate of candidates for office from the continuing and newly elected membership of the Council.

B. Each candidate shall be contacted to verify his/her willingness to serve. Nominations may also be made from the floor at the time of balloting.

C. Elections will be held at the last meeting in June. Following the induction of the new Council, contested elections shall be by the new Council serving in the following year. The gavel passes to the newly elected Chair at the end of the last meeting in June.

D. Successful candidates for each office are determined by a majority vote of members present. A run-off ballot may be utilized if necessary to assure a majority.

E. If a vacancy occurs in the office of Chair, the Vice Chair shall automatically serve as Chair for the remainder of the term. If a vacancy occurs in any office other than Chair, the position shall be filled using the same process described in Article III, parts A-D, at the earliest possible meeting of the Council.

ARTICLE IV- MEETINGS

A. The Council shall establish a calendar of regular business meetings at the first meeting of each semester.

B. Council meetings shall be held at a minimum of once per month in a place and at a time accessible to the general constituency. The Chair of the Executive Committee reserves the right to call a closed executive session.

C. The use of Robert's Rules of Order is recommended at Council meetings and shall be enforced when increased order or protocol is deemed necessary by the Chair or designated Parliamentarian.

D. Minutes of all Council meetings shall be submitted by the Secretary in time for distribution to the constituency at least one week prior to the next Council meeting. A permanent record shall by maintained by the university secretary assigned to the Professional Employees Council.

E. Special meetings may be called by the Chair or Executive Committee. Rules for the Council meetings, as specified in the Constitution, By-Laws, and Standard Operating Procedures also apply to special meetings.

F. At least two (2) constituency meetings shall be scheduled each year, one in each semester.

G. Standing committees shall establish a regular schedule in meetings at the start of each semester and shall meet as often as needed to meet their charges. Committee reports shall be made, as appropriate, to the full Council at PEC meetings.

ARTICLE V- ATTENDANCE

A. All officers and members are expected to attend all Professional Employees Council meetings, constituency meetings and appropriate committee meetings.

B. Requests to be excused from general meetings or constituency meetings should be directed to the Chair. If any member cannot attend a Council meeting because of unusual circumstances, a substitute (with voting privileges) is chosen from the same Vice Presidential constituency area by the Council member to attend that meeting to represent the respective area. Failure to appoint a substitute is defined as an unexcused absence. Requests to be excused from a committee meeting should be directed to the chair of that committee.

C. The Secretary and committee chairs shall advise the Rules Committee of excessive absences by members. If any member cannot attend a Council meeting because of unusual circumstances, substitute (with voting privileges) should be chosen from the same Vice Presidential constituency area by the Council member to attend that meeting to represent the respective area. Failure to contact the Chair or provide a substitute is defined as an unexcused absence. Vacancies will be filled in accordance with Article VI, section B.

ARTICLE VI- VACANCIES

A. Members who resign their seats should do so in writing, addressing the resignation to the Council Chair with copies to the chairs of any working committees on which the member serves.

B. Vacancies which have twelve or more months left in the term shall be filled according to Article II of these Standard Operating Procedures. If there are less than twelve months left in the term, Council will appoint, by a majority vote of the Council, a replacement for the remainder of the term.

ARTICLE VII- COMMITTEES

A. Standing Committees shall be as follows:

1. Executive Committee
Executive Committee membership shall consist of the Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Chairs of the Standing Committees (chosen from the elected Council membership) and the past Chair of the Council who will serve ex officio.
This committee will function as the Committee on Committees and will be responsible for forwarding names to the appropriate offices to serve on University Committees. This committee shall also serve as an advisory committee to standing and ad hoc committees.

2.  Rules Committee
The Rules Committee shall be responsible for establishing the Standard Operating Procedures, for reviewing them on an annual basis, and for reviewing all changes and making recommendations on the Council's and Committees' procedures. The Rules Committee is responsible for running elections. Related duties include verification of constituency lists, establishing slates of candidates for general elections, tallying the votes, notifying the elected candidates and their supervisors of the election results. Prior to the final meeting in June, the Rules Committee, in consultation with the Executive Committee, establishes a slate of officers to be voted on for the next year.

The Rules Committee" is charged with the responsibility of reviewing, revising, and refining the By-Laws, as needed.

3. Communications Committee
The Communications Committee shall be charged with the responsibility of establishing a positive and visible professional image on campus. Through a variety of activities and working with such offices as Alumni Affairs, Admissions, and Publications, this committee will seek to educate faculty, administration, parents, students, and staff about the contributions professional staff make on this campus.

This committee shall be responsible for producing an end-of-year report on the activities of professional staff at Binghamton, working with a staff member from Inside and developing, with the appropriate offices, an effective communications network on campus.

4. Professional Development Committee
The initial charge of the Professional Development Committee will be to gather information on professional development opportunities for professional staff at Binghamton, as well as to gather information on what activities are currently taking place on other SUNY campuses.

The committee will also gather information from constituents on their professional development needs.

5. Distinguished Service Award Committee
The initial charge of this committee shall be to create criteria for this award in accordance with the wishes of the Council. The Distinguished Service Award Committee shall also solicit nominations from the Binghamton University community and select two professionals who have made invaluable contributions to the campus community and to their profession through exemplary service.

The committee shall be composed of one member from each Division represented in Council.

These awards shall be determined by the end of the Spring Semester each year and suitable gifts shall be provided. The awardees will be appropriately recognized in PEC and university publications.

B. The most recent past Chair of the Council, whether elected or not, is an ex offido member of the Executive Committee and retains voting privileges. All other ex officio members are non-voting. Ex offido members of the Executive Committee are expected to attend Council meetings. The Chair may invite others to attend Executive Committee meetings as guests.

C. Standing Committee membership and charges shall be prepared by the full Council prior to the first constituency meeting, distributed to the membership, and submitted to the PEC secretary for permanent record. Each of the standing committees will be made up of members of the Council and other interested members from the constituency and a chair chosen from the elected Council membership. The Council or the individual standing committee, with the Council's approval, may modify committee membership and/or charges at any time.

D. Committees shall operate within the scope of their charges by establishing goals, methodologies and priorities. They have the authority to investigate, and to carryout activities necessary to perform their charges, and to prepare reports, recommendations and parliamentary motions.

E. Committees shall convene regularly following a schedule established at the beginning of each semester.

F. Each committee chair shall provide the Council, if requested, attendance, agenda and minutes of committee meetings. At the final June meeting of Council, each chair shall provide to the Council appropriate information to facilitate continuity, e.g. charges, goals, unfinished business, investigatory materials, passed and pending parliamentary motions, etc.

G. At the end of each year, each committee chair shall provide a summary report to the Council for distribution as appropriate and for the permanent record.

H. The Council, when necessary, will convene a Professional Standards Committee. The charge to this committee will be to review cases which are not matters of grievance or discipline under provision of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. This committee will consider all sides of the issue involving professional conduct, and will seek resolution or recommend appropriate action to assure high standards of professional conduct. Parties to the issue cannot serve on the Professional Standards Committee.

ARTICLE VIII- APPEALS/RECONSIDERATIONS

A. Modifications of and/or additions to these Standard Operating Procedures may be made in the following ways:

1. By the Rules Committee in consultation with the Executive Committee and the subsequent majority of the Council membership.

2. By any professional staff member at any time. He/she may propose a modification/addition to the Rules Committee, which shall make recommendations and take them to the Executive Committee for consultation. Proposals and recommendations of the Rules Committee or Executive Committee must be made public and may be overruled by a floor motion and an affirmative vote by the majority of the elected Council membership.

B. The Standard Operating Procedures as passed by the Professional Employees Council shall be submitted to the Council secretary for permanent record.

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