Bylaws of the Community College of Rhode Island Adjunct Faculty Association

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BYLAWS OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE OF RHODE ISLAND ADJUNCT FACULTY ASSOCIATION

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of the Community College of Rhode Island Adjunct Faculty Association is to represent all contingent faculty at the college. Any proposals passed by the Association members shall be in effect and binding on all Association members. While the Association is not a union, current members of the Association encourage all adjuncts to become members of the Association, which simply requires them to register their name and encourages them to provide the Association with any assistance related to the daily functioning of the Association.

1. PLACE OF BUSINESS

The legal mailing address of the Community College of Rhode Island is 400 Warwick Avenue, Warwick RI with satellite locations in Providence, Newport, Lincoln, and Westerly.

1. MEMBERSHIP

The Association consists of members who have expressed an interest in, and dedication to, the mission of CCRI, contingent faculty instruction, and the quality of life for contingent faculty and their students. The Association will maintain rolling membership on an annual basis, to be renewed automatically unless the member requests withdrawal from membership in writing. The Association retains the authority to remove any member from The Association, for just cause, by a majority vote of the entire membership.

1. STEERING COMMITTEE AND OFFICERS:

The Association’s activities and responsibilities shall be conducted by Steering Committee members and officerschosen from the Steering Committee. Those activities and responsibilities shall be approved by the membership, as necessary, at Association meetings.

Steering Committee members shall each serve two-year terms and will be voted in by Association members through electronic voting, which will take place during August or September of each year.Officers shall serve one year terms and be voted in by Steering Committee members. There shall be no less than five and no more than 13 Steering Committee members. The Steering Committee membersand Officers shall be full participants in all Steering Committee discussions and decisions with full and equal voting privileges. Steering Committee membersand Officers will remain in office until a successor is elected, except due to resignation or removal by a vote of the membership. There is no limit on the consecutive or totalnumber of terms aSteering Committee member or Officer may serve. The Association retains the authority to remove any Steering Committee memberor Officer from his/herposition, for cause, by a majority vote of the membership present at a given meeting, as long as 30 days’ notice is given to the entire Association membership concerning such a vote. The former Steering Committee member or Officer, once removed from the position, can retain membership in the Association with approval by the Association membership.

A Steering Committee memberor Officer may resign at any time by giving written notice to the Steering Committee. In case of the inability of aSteering Committee member to serve for any reason, the remaining Steering Committee members may choose a substitute to complete the un-expired term.

The Steering Committee members and Officersshall serve without compensation. Singly or as a group, they shall not be held personally liable for any obligation of, or claim against, the Association. The Steering Committee members and Officersare individually indemnified by the Association against such obligation(s) or claim(s) to the extent permitted by law and applicable state and federal regulation, the cost of defense, and the results of binding judgments, providing those individuals have acted prudently and in good faith on behalf of the Association.

The Steering Committee members and Officersshall at all times act to preserve and protect the purpose of the Association.

1. OFFICERS:

The OFFICERS, who make up the Executive Committee, shall consist of a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Communications Coordinator. Theyshall be chosen from the Steering Committee by a vote of the Steering Committee members, at a meeting to be scheduledduring August or September of each year. In case of the inability of an Officer to serve for any reason, the remaining Steering Committee members will vote on a replacement at the next scheduled Steering Committee meeting.

The PRESIDENT shall be the chief executive officer of the Association and the chief liaison with the Administration of CCRI. The President shall oversee the management of the business of the Association and shall see that all actions of the Executive Committee, the Steering Committee and the Association are carried into effect.

The VICE-PRESIDENT shall exercise all the powers and functions, and meet all obligations of the President during the absence or disability of the President and shall assist the President with the management of the business of the Association.

The SECRETARY is responsible for keeping an accurate record of the actions of the Steering Committee and of the Executive Committee in the form of minutes of their meetings, and shall call meetings as herein provided. The Secretary shall also maintain an official list of members together with their permanent addresses. The Secretary’s records shall be open to inspection by any member of the Association on reasonable notice.

The CommunicationS COORDINATOR shall be responsible for all communication to the Association and the CCRI Administration,and shall be the publicity agent for the Association.

All motions shall be approved by a simple majority of those qualified to vote when a quorum exists for Association meetings, Steering Committee meetings and Executive Committee meetings.

Each Steering Committee member may be assigned additional specific responsibilities or duties from time to time as designated by the Executive Committee of the Steering Committee.

All motions shall be approved by a simple majority of those qualified to vote when a quorum exists for Association meetings

The choice of meeting facilitator for Association and Steering Committee meetings will be at the discretion of the Steering Committee. The President shall facilitate Executive Committee meetings.

7. COMMITTEES

From time to time,committees will be drawn from the Association membership. Each committee shall elect a Chairperson annually from its membership.

8. MEETINGS AND VOTES

The Steering Committee members shall attend regular meetings, of which there shall be twelve annually, to be scheduled by the Steering Committee members and announced by the Secretary. The Steering Committee members must attend a minimum of nine meetings annually to remain in good standing. The Secretary shall give twenty days written notice of each meeting, e-mailed to each Steering Committee member as carried in the Secretary’s records. It shall be entirely the responsibility of each Steering Committee member to notify the Secretary of any change in permanent or electronic-mail addresses.

At all meetings, a quorum shall consist of 2/3 of the Steering Committee members of the Association, those both present at the meeting or represented by proxy. Steering Committee members who are unable to attend Association meetings may select another member, by means of a signed proxy, authorizing the attending member to represent his or her interests in discussions and through formal votes of the membership

Decisions shall be made by a simple majority vote of the Steering Committee members present in person or by proxy. All such actions shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting and approved or modified by vote at the next meeting. Informal votes (hand or voice) shall suffice for the conduct of all business at Association, Executive Committee,and Steering Committee meetings.

10. AMENDMENT

These Bylaws may be altered, amended, or repealed after discussion and ratified at the next scheduled meeting of the Association provided due notice is given of the proposed change in the call to meeting. By-Law provisions requiring a two-thirds vote of the membership or of a quorum to enact may be changed only by a two-thirds vote of a quorum. All others may be passed by a simple majority vote of a quorum.