Bylaws

I. PURPOSE OF COMMITTEE

Assists CANR leadership to effect strong relationships between staff, administrators, and faculty by:

  1. Providing a direct communication link to the Dean regarding issues and opportunities of importance to CANR staff members
  2. Gathering information from CANR staff about matters which will help CANR be a more effective organization
  3. A variety of information gathering measures shall be employed such as surveys, individual and group discussions, etc.
    • Information presented to the Dean’s office will focus on issues, opportunities, and themes; the Committee will preserve the anonymity of staff to ensure all have a safe environment to provide feedback 
  4. Fostering conditions which lead to these ends, including effective communication, systems efficiencies, training within the college, team building, and diversity, equity, and inclusion 
  5. Making final recommendations to the CANR Human Resources Director for staff awards

Serves as a parallel group to the CANR College Advisory Committee.   

The CANR Staff Advisory Committee does not address contract issues or represent staff interests in such matters, as the majority of CANR staff members are covered by collective bargaining agreements.

II. MEMBERSHIP

Representatives

  1. All regular, benefits-eligible staff in the College are eligible to serve on the committee. Those not eligible to serve include temporary, on-call, faculty, academic staff, and student employees.
  2. Each designated unit within CANR may select a representative to serve on the SAC
  3. The following units shall have representation on the committee:
    1. Academic Departments
      • Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics (AFRE)
      • Animal Science (ANS)
      • Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering (BAE)
      • Community Sustainability (CSUS)
      • Entomology (ENT)
      • Fisheries and Wildlife (FW)
      • Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN)
      • Forestry (FOR)
      • Horticulture (HOR)
      • Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences (PSM)
      • School of Packaging (PKG)
      • School of Planning, Design, and Construction (SPDC)
    2. Non-Academic Units (one representative from each of the following groups – representation may rotate through different units within the group if more than one is listed):
      • Kellogg Biological Station  
      • ANR Research and Extension Centers - On campus
      • ANR Research and Extension Centers - Off campus
      • ANR Communications & Marketing  
      • CANR External Relations
      • ANR Information Technology
      • CANR Administration (includes Dean’s office, Budget office; Office of Academic and Student Affairs; Institute of Agricultural Technology; CANR Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)
      • AgBioResearch Director’s Office
      • MSU Extension
    3. Ex-officio Representatives (without vote)
      • CANR Director of Human Resources
      • CANR Assistant Director of Human Resources
      • Staff Representative on the CANR DEI Committee

Responsibilities of members

  1. Actively participate in all scheduled meetings for the committee  
    • Members who are unable to attend a meeting shall notify the Chairperson or the Vice Chairperson prior to the meeting
    • Any member who needs to resign from the committee due to a change in status or availability shall notify the Chairperson or the Vice Chairperson as soon as possible
    • Any member who has three (3) unexplained absences within a single year shall be automatically dropped from the committee 
    • The Department/Unit will appoint a replacement to serve for the remainder of any vacated term
  2. Actively engage in Subcommittee work
  3. Elect and seat the Leadership Team; all subcommittees filled on a voluntary basis from existing committee members

Term of service

  1. Committee members are appointed to a three-year term
  2. The committee term begins August 1 and ends July 31
  3. Committee members may not serve more than two consecutive terms (re-eligible after being off one (1) term). However, if at any time there are no eligible committee members willing to serve within the respective unit, then members who have served two consecutive terms may serve additional terms.

III. SUBCOMMITTEES

Staff Engagement

  1. Plan and execute staff engagement events (e.g., all-staff meetings, sporting tickets, wellness events, community service opportunities)
  2. Coordinate with MSUE Representative about ways SAC could be involved in MSUE Annual Meeting
  3. Coordinate with DEI Committee Staff Representative about ways SAC could coordinate/collaborate on DEI-related staff activities

Recruitment & Management

  1. Communicate with unit administrator(s) when a representative’s term is ending or when a vacancy exists to request a replacement
  2. Annually review committee composition to determine if it is representative of all CANR staff
  3. Periodically review and update recruitment & management process to ensure that committee terms are staggered (i.e., approximately 1/3 of the committee terms turn over annually)
  4. Work with CANR Office of DEI to assist with appointment of staff representative on CANR DEI committee
    • DEI Representative will provide periodic updates to SAC about CANR DEI committee activities and needs

Awards

  1. Manage the annual staff award and recognition program, including soliciting nominations, reviewing submissions, selecting awardees, and making recommendations to the Dean for the Dean’s Award of Distinction
  2. Benchmark CANR staff awards program against other MSU college staff award programs
    • Bring any recommendations for changes to the CANR staff awards program to the Dean for review and approval

Communications

  1. Update the SAC website 
  2. Submit SAC-related information (e.g., engagement events, awards program) to CANR Communications & Marketing for dissemination to CANR staff
  3. Explore new channels for communication that may be relevant to staff engagement (e.g., social media) 
  4. Assist with conducting staff surveys
  5. Assist with process of appointing a staff representative for the CANR Dean Search Committee when a vacancy occurs

Ad Hoc

An ad hoc subcommittee can be created at the initiation of the Chairperson for the period of one (1) year to address a specific task that falls outside of the responsibilities of the regular subcommittees

IV. APPOINTMENTS - FULL COMMITTEE

  1. Each unit shall appoint one representative to serve on the Staff Advisory Committee.
    • Units are responsible for defining the process on how representatives are selected
    • While serving as an appointed representative, the SAC member will not be eligible to be nominated for a CANR staff award
  2. In April each year, the Recruitment & Management subcommittee shall send out invitations to departments whose representative’s term will expire the following July 31 to name a new representative
  3. A listing of the current committee membership will be provided to all support staff in the College via the SAC website

V. SAC LEADERSHIP

Roles and Responsibilities

  1. Chair Emeritus
    • After completing the one-year term, the Chairperson becomes the Chair Emeritus
    • Serves in an advisory capacity to the SAC Leadership to ensure successful transfer of knowledge
    • Solicits nominations for committee leadership for the coming year
    • Conducts election of committee leadership for the coming year
    • Serves in place of the Chairperson when the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson are unavailable.
  2. Chairperson
    • After completing the one-year term, the Vice Chairperson becomes the Chairperson
    • Leads Committee and Leadership Team meetings, including the preparation and distribution of meeting agendas
    • Ensures promotion of action items from minutes
    • Liaises with the Dean’s office, on behalf of the Committee
    • Serves as non-voting staff representative on the CANR College Advisory Committee
    • Initiate review and update of SAC bylaws during the spring of even years, or more frequently when changes are needed
  3. Vice Chairperson
    • Leads Committee and Leadership Team meetings, including the preparation and distribution of meeting agendas, when the Chairperson is unable to do so
    • Liaises with the Dean’s office, on behalf of the Committee, when the Chairperson is unable to do so
    • Attends CANR College Advisory Committee meetings when the Chairperson is unable to do so
  4. Secretary
    • Creates and maintains all records for the Staff Advisory Committee meetings and decisions:
      • Assists the Chair in preparation of meetings (e.g., distributing meeting agenda, arranging meeting locations)
      • Takes minutes for Committee and Leadership subcommittee meetings
      • Distributes minutes to membership, updates minutes as necessary, and once approved, uploads final version to SAC Teams folder  
  5. Treasurer
    • Works with the SAC subcommittees on potential budget items. Budget items are shared with and discussed by the Leadership Team and then presented to the Dean
      • Work with the Staff Engagement and Awards subcommittees to ensure events are within budget

Elections

  1.  Any member from the Staff Advisory Committee can nominate themselves or other members of the committee for open positions on the leadership team.
  2. Elections will be conducted by the Chairperson Emeritus, via online survey of current SAC members:
    • The call for nominations is put forth at the April meeting.   
    • The online ballot will be submitted to members on/before May 1
    • Members shall have two weeks to cast votes
    • Election results are announced at the June meeting
    • Leadership terms begin August 1 and ends July 31
  3. Chairperson Emeritus, Chairperson, and Vice Chairperson serve one-year terms each. Only the Vice Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer are elected.
  4. A new Vice Chairperson is elected annually. Secretary and Treasurer positions serve staggered two-year terms to aid in continuity on the Leadership Committee

VI. BYLAW REVIEW AND DEAN SEARCH

  1. SAC Bylaws will be reviewed at least every other year with a majority (more than 50%) carrying revision decisions.
  2. Per Appendix A of the CANR Bylaws, which outlines the procedure for selecting the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Search Committee is to include one staff representative who “shall be selected by the CAC from two names that are submitted by the CANR Staff Advisory Committee.” Those two names to be submitted to the CAC will be decided upon as follows:
    • The SAC Communications subcommittee will request nominations from the current SAC members via email. Only current SAC members will be eligible to be nominated. 
    • Nominations will be compiled by the Communications subcommittee and an election will be conducted by the Communications subcommittee Chair. The election will be held via an online survey of current SAC members. 
    • Members will have one week to cast votes. Each member will choose up to two selections.
    • The two names receiving the most votes will be submitted to the CAC.
    • In the event of a tie, another vote will be held, including only selections involved in the tie. 
    • If there are no volunteers from the SAC roster, a member of the SAC Leadership Team will serve. The Leadership Team can decide upon their nomination as they see fit at the time. 

Revised December 2, 2024