The name shall be the Osprey Staff Association of the University of North Florida. The Osprey Staff Association (OSA) shall be concerned with any activities that affect staff members as specified in the constitution, rules, policies and procedures of the University of North Florida and its Board of Trustees and any governance enacted by the Florida Board of Governors and Florida law.
The Osprey Staff Association is established to foster collegial relationships among Association members which promote professionalism, creativity and leadership. The Association shall also serve as a forum wherein an individual or group of staff members may voice their beliefs, concerns, problems and suggestions regarding any and all aspects of the University, and of their employment. The Association shall be the representative voice of its members and shall actively participate and cooperate with the other constituent associations and the University; and shall stand in the overall governance of the University as provided for in the Constitution of the University of North Florida.
The membership shall include all persons holding full-time administrative or support staff appointments except those otherwise classified in the General Faculty Classifications and Rank Equivalents (e.g., Librarians) and those with Administrative Appointments (Deans, Chairs, etc.). The Association shall be the judge of its membership where questions of eligibility arise, except as provided in the UNF Constitution.
No member of the Osprey Staff Association shall be a member of any other UNF constituent association simultaneously.
All social events hosted by the Osprey Staff Association must be open to all members as well as other personnel services (OPS) staff. OPS staff must have their supervisor’s approval before attending Association events.
Association officers shall consist of the President, Vice President, Treasurer and Secretary. Any member of the Osprey Staff Association shall be eligible to serve as an officer. Officers shall perform the duties prescribed herein.
The Staff Association President shall act as presiding officer over Association meetings. In addition to the duties prescribed by the Association's Bylaws, the President shall: represent the Association at meetings, conferences, and other occasions except as herein provided; provide leadership for Association activities; keep the membership advised concerning needs, programs, and accomplishments of the Osprey Staff Association, or of other matters of professional concern; coordinate the work of the Osprey Staff Association; serve as an ex-officio member of all Association Committees; appoint such special committees as the Osprey Staff Association deems necessary to conduct business; and serve as a delegate to the University 's Standing Committees. The President shall chair the Osprey Staff Affairs Council. The President shall serve as chair of the Awards Committee. The President is responsible for the administration of the Osprey Staff Association’s mentorship program and Employee Interest Groups but may designate this authority to another officer.
The Vice President shall assume the duties of the President in the President's absence. In the event the President is unable to serve, the Vice President shall succeed to the Presidency for the duration of the unexpired term. The Vice President shall also assist the President in coordinating Association work. The Vice President shall chair the Nominating Committee.
The Treasurer shall receive, report and deposit the funds of the Association and disperse the same in accordance with the Association budget. The Treasurer also shall render to the Association an account and statement of all financial transactions at each annual meeting of the Association and at other such times as the Association may determine. The Treasurer shall at all reasonable times exhibit Association books and accounts to any member of the Association, shall be the accountable officer for Association's budget, and shall in general perform all duties incident to management of the Office of Treasurer for the Osprey Staff Association. The Treasurer shall be responsible for reviewing, approving and disbursing funding requests made by Employee Interest Groups; approval must be supported by the Osprey Staff Governance Council by simple majority vote.
The Secretary shall keep the records of The Osprey Staff Association's proceedings and shall make a report at Association meeting. The records and minutes shall be maintained by the Secretary and shall be available to members upon reasonable request. In addition, the Secretary keep records and minutes for the Osprey Staff Association’s councils and committees. The Secretary shall also conduct the Association's general correspondence; notify members of meeting time and place; make the physical arrangements for Association meetings; maintain the records of the Association, its officers, and committees; assist the officers, committees and members, and delegates of the election; and, in the absence of both the President and the Vice President, call the meeting to order and preside until the election of a President pro temp.
The Staff Advocate shall serve as the chair of the Staff Advocacy Committee and is responsible for representing the voice of the Association members to the Executive Board and the Staff Governance Council. The Staff Advocate shall also serve as a resource for Association members seeking guidance on university processes and procedures. In addition, the Staff Advocate will ensure that staff representation on other university-wide committees and councils with constituent group membership is up to date and has sufficient staff representation. The Staff Advocate shall receive comments, complaints, feedback and requests from Association members on behalf of the Staff Advocacy Committee.
The Association President shall have the authority to appoint Officers to fill vacancies for the remainder of unexpired terms. In the event of any Officers' absence or inability or refusal to perform the duties of the office, The Association President may appoint any Association member to perform their respective duties.
Officers shall be restricted to terms of two years in duration and may seek re-election for successive terms. Each term shall commence on the first day of July and shall conclude on the thirtieth day of June of the second consecutive calendar year
The Staff Governance Council shall have the power to create additional offices as it deems necessary and appropriate.
Failure to faithfully execute the duties of the office constitutes cause for an officer's removal. Removal of an officer requires a two-thirds majority vote of the Staff Governance Council at any regular or special meeting.
No officer shall serve as an elected delegate or elected member of any other constituent association committee.
Only members of the Osprey Staff Association as defined in Article III are eligible to hold an officer position.
The Nominating Committee shall prepare a slate of proposed new officers for each election.
The names of the candidates for elected office together with information about each candidate shall be published at the beginning of the election period, as defined by the Executive Committee. This shall begin no less than one week prior to the Annual (spring) Meeting during election years.
The Nominating Committee shall prepare a ballot that contains the names, grouped by office and arranged alphabetically, of all individual nominees who have accepted nomination. Write-in candidates will be accepted.
Elections may be conducted either at the Annual (spring) Meeting or by electronic means, as determined by the Executive Committee.
Election of Association officers shall be by majority vote. A majority of the members voting during the election shall constitute the majority necessary to elect an officer.
The Standing Committees of the Osprey Staff Association shall consist of the following:
The President shall appoint The Nominating Committee bi-annually. The Nominating Committee, chaired by the Vice President, shall prepare a list of nominees for elected Association offices.
The President shall appoint the Awards Committee to oversee the administration of any Association sponsored awards.
The Awards Committee shall consist of the Staff Association President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Staff Advocate, the current recipients and the immediate past recipients. The Awards Committee shall decide the winner of the Gabor award.
The Staff Governance Council shall be the governing body of the Osprey Staff Association and will consist of membership of Osprey Staff from all of the major divisions at the university. There shall be ten (10) total elected members. Four (4) allotted to the division of Academic and Student Affairs, three (3) to Administration and Finance, one (1) to Information Technology Services, one (1) to the President’s Division, and one (1) to University Development and Alumni Engagement. Of the allotted members for the division of Administration and Finance, one (1) seat shall be reserved for an employee of Physical Facilities. Of the allotted members for the division of Academic and Student Affairs, one (1) seat shall be reserved for an employee of Housing and Residence Life. All Association members shall vote on all representatives in elections.
The Staff Advocacy Committee shall be chaired by the Staff Advocate and shall comprise of four (4) additional members, as appointed by the Association President. The primary objective of the Staff Advocacy Committee is to solicit and collect feedback, comments, concerns, suggestions, and grievances from Association members. The Committee shall convene on a regular basis, as determined by the Staff Advocate, to review such submissions from members and decide upon any necessary actions. The Staff Advocate shall be responsible for presenting a report of notable submissions, as determined by the committee, to the Staff Governance Council during any regular meeting. Additionally, the Staff Advocacy Committee may propose recommendations for resolutions for the Staff Governance Council's consideration, based on feedback from Association members.
As provided for in the University of North Florida Constitution, the President of the Association or designee serves on this committee. Four (4) additional Association members serve on this committee and are to be appointed by the Association President in consultation with the Staff Governance Council.
As provided for in the University of North Florida Constitution, the President of the Association is a member of the Convention, which is convened every ten years, prior to the expiration of the Constitution. Five (5) additional members of the Association will be appointed to the Convention by the Association President, in consultation with the Osprey Staff Affairs Council.
The Staff Governance Council is the governing body of the Osprey Staff Association and shall have the power to pass recommendations in the form of resolutions to the university President and Cabinet on behalf of its members.
The Staff Governance Council shall serve as the elected representative body of the Association members. The Council shall be charged with formulating and submitting resolutions to the university President on behalf of all university staff, ensuring that the collective voice of the staff is effectively communicated and considered.
The Association President shall have the authority to appoint representatives to fill vacancies for the remainder of unexpired terms. In the event of any representative’s absence or inability or refusal to perform the duties of the office, The Association President may appoint any Association member to perform their respective duties, regardless of that employee’s current divisional affiliation.
The Association President and/or the Osprey Staff Governance Council shall identify and establish such Special Committees as may be required from time to time to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Osprey Staff Association.
The Osprey Staff Association shall maintain a mentorship program for the purpose of pairing new members with senior members. The mission of the mentorship program is to create meaningful professional relationships between participants and to further the professional development and institutional knowledge of new Association members.
The Association President or designee shall create guidelines for the administration of the mentorship program. The guidelines for administration of the mentorship program must include details on the following components of the program:
The guidelines for administration of the mentorship program shall be made publicly available to all members on the Association website. The program must be available for application to all members.
The Association shall enable members to establish Employee Interest Groups (EIG’s) for the purpose of uniting small groups of members through common interests.
The Osprey Staff Association President or designee shall create policies and procedures for the administration of EIG’s. The policies and procedures shall be made publicly available to all members on the Osprey Staff Association website.
EIG’s may make written requests to Association Treasurer for funding to assist in their mission and purpose. Such requests, if approved by the Treasurer, must then be approved by a simple majority vote of the Osprey Staff Affairs Council.
Section 1 - All members have the right and privilege to attend meetings of the Osprey Staff Association.
Section 2 - The Osprey Staff Association shall meet at least twice yearly. The regular meeting in the spring will be termed as the annual meeting.
Section 3 - The President of the Osprey Staff Association may call special meetings with not less than 10 working days’ notice.
Section 4 - The Secretary shall notify members of all regular meetings and special meetings. Notice of all meetings shall indicate the full agenda to be considered.
Section 5 - The President, or in their absence, the Vice President, shall act as Chairman of all meetings of the Osprey Staff Association. In the absence of the Vice President, the Secretary shall act as Chairman. In the absence of the Secretary, the Treasurer shall act as Chairman. In the absence of the Treasurer, the Staff Advocate shall act as Chairman. In the absence of these Officers, the Osprey Staff Governance Council may appoint any Association member to serve as temporary Chairman.
Section 6 - The rules of order of the Osprey Staff Association shall be in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order, Newly Revised.
Section 7 - A quorum for any general meeting of the Osprey Staff Association shall consist of a majority of those members in attendance. A majority of committee members shall constitute a quorum for all Association committee meetings.
Section 8 - There shall be no proxy votes.
Section 9 - The meetings of the Osprey Staff Association are open, and non-members may have the floor when permission is granted by the presiding officer. Members and non-members may submit items to the Osprey Staff Governance Council to be considered for inclusion on a meeting agenda at any time prior to 30 days before any such meeting.
Section 10 - Recommendations of the Osprey Staff Association shall be forwarded to the University President for approval. Upon approval of the President or the Board of Trustees as may be applicable, these decisions shall become the policies and practices of the University.
