Bylaws and Roster

The MSU Campus Sustainability Advisory Council was created in 2008 with thefollowing charge.

a. Provide a university framework to coordinate and advise sustainability efforts on a campus-wide basis.

b. Advise the University President regarding national, regional, institutional and community-based sustainability efforts.

c. Explore and propose methods to fund campus sustainability initiatives and improvements. Review, analyze and determine funding support for sustainability proposals, including performance measures, progress reporting, etc.

d. Sponsor and guide the development of policies to increase and promote sustainability. As noted in the MSU Vision Statement: sponsor “a comprehensive Campus Sustainability/Energy Policy that includes guidelines for building energy conservation, new construction criteria, water conservation, transportation, purchasing, and recycling, with the goal of minimizing our impact on the environment and develop and implement an educational outreach program and oversee a baseline inventory of campus energy consumption, benchmarked against national and international standards, and establish meaningful timelines and goals to optimize consumption.”

e. Guide the development of a set of sustainability measures/indicators for the campus.

f. Guide the development of a communication strategy to promote, publicize and raise awareness of MSU’s sustainability efforts, benefits and successes among campus, community and statewide constituents.

g. Solicit and support the involvement of students and student organizations relative to sustainability efforts undertaken by the Council.

h. Advocate strategic planning for continued sustainability to MSU governance groups.

i. Guide coordination with university system and state government sustainability efforts.

The Council will be comprised of representatives from a broad range of campus constituents. Members can be appointed by the group they represent, or in the case of at-large members, self-nominated; all members will be approved by a vote of the council.  Council members are selected on the basis of the following: a) the specific responsibilities related to their position (ex officio); b) their particular expertise, knowledge or interest relating to the responsibilities of the committee, the campus in general; and/or c) to represent the interests of a particular constituent group.

Section 2.01 Voting members

a. Officers

i. Chair (1)

ii. Vice Chair (1)

iii. Treasurer (1)

b. Council members will represent the following categories/entities in numbers designated as shown in parentheses

i. University Services (3) representing Facilities, Engineering and Campus Planning, Design and Construction

ii. Auxiliary Services (3) representing Sports Facilities, Culinary Services, and Student Housing

iii.Office of the Provost (1) representing undergraduate curriculum planning

iv. MSU Students (3) representing ASMSU, Graduate School and University at-large

v. Research Institutes/Centers (up to 3) representing entities with a sustainability focus/mission

vi.Faculty Senate (1)

vii.All Staff Council (1)

viii.Community (3) representing City of Bozeman and community at-large interests

ix. MSU employees at-large (up to 7) representing a range of MSU’s Colleges, other academic programs, Extension, as well as non-faculty units and organizations

c. Ex-officio (non-voting) members

i. MSU Sustainability Office Director

ii. Others as voted by committee (ex. former chairs)

Section 3.01 CSAC will meet hold once monthly public meetings during the academic year to conduct council business and hear news and other timely issues brought by members and the public.

a. Meeting dates for each academic term shall be established within 1 week of the start of each academic term at a time set by the Chair and Vice-Chair in consultation with members.

b. Minutes shall be taken at monthly meetings and all other meetings and shared with membership by some means convenient for all members to obtain and read at least 7 days after the meeting.

c. Agenda items will be submitted to the Chair up to 7 working days prior to the meeting.

d. Meetings will be announced via forums that reach campus, public and CSAC member audiences.

The order of business at all Association meetings shall be determined by an agenda drafted by the Chair and adopted by the quorum at the outset of the meeting.  Procedures for meetings shall be based on Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised (10th Edition) unless specified otherwise in these By-laws. 

Section 4.01 Officers. CSAC officers will include a Chair, Vice Chair, Treasurer, and Secretary (if needed).

a. Chair: The President of Montana State University will appoint any qualified MSU employee to serve as Chair for a 3-year term. The Chair has the following responsibilities:

i. Chair CSAC meetings

ii. Cast tie-breaking vote as necessary

iii.Encourage participation and representation of entities listed in Article II

iv. Schedule and meet with the President and Provost once per year and meet with the Vice President for Administration and Finance a minimum of once per semester

v. Prepare the annual report with co-vice chairs and Working Group Chairs

vi. Be a point of contact for all on and off campus enquiries about sustainability activities at MSU

b. Vice Chair: CSAC voting members shall elect a Vice Chair for a 3-year term. The Vice Chair has the following responsibilities:

i. Meet with President and Provost twice per year with CSAC Chair

ii. Lead meeting when the CSAC Chair is not available

iii.Assist in point of contact responsibilities of chair

c. Treasurer:  CSAC voting members shall elect a Treasurer through a vote of the membership. The Treasurer has the responsibility to:

i. Chair the CSAC Finance Committee

d. Secretary: If administrative support in the form of MSU staff resources is not provided or available, CSAC voting members shall elect a Secretary through a vote of the membership. The Secretary has the responsibility to:  

i. Take meeting minutes or in their absence, assign the task to another member who will be present.

ii. Prepare and distribute materials to members for meetings and other functions as deemed appropriate by the Chair.

 

Section 4.02 Council Members. The entities listed in Article II shall appoint voting council members at a number up to the numbers of representatives shown in Article II, with appointments confirmed through a vote of existing council members.  Council members have the following responsibilities:

a.Attend monthly meetings or designate a proxy.

b. Vote on CSAC motions.

c. In addition to the active participation of each member, the responsibilities of Council members who represent a constituent group, and particularly those who represent an MSU governance body, include the dissemination of appropriate, relevant and timely information to their constituent groups, as well as the solicitation of constituent group input regarding issues before for the Council.

d. Chair or serve as a member of Working Groups.

 

Section 4.03Ex-officio members. The Director of the MSU Office of Sustainability will serve on CSAC in an ex-officio capacity. CSAC may vote to appoint ex-officio members at variable term lengths at the council’s discretion. Ex-officio members will attend meetings and participate in CSAC activities, but are non-voting members.

 CSAC activities may proceed through designated committees and ad hoc working groups.

Section 5.01 Finance Committee. The Finance Committee will be comprised of the Secretary and willing council members. Responsibilities of the Finance Committee are to:

a. Request and receive monthly budget reports from Office of the Vice President for Administration Finance.

b. Solicit and review proposals for CSAC according to a transparent and routine procedure.

c. Make recommendations for funding decisions at CSAC meetings on an every-other month basis.

d. Work with CSAC administrative support to communicate with funding applicants on a timely basis.

Section 5.02 Ad hoc working groups. Working groups shall be established to pursue specific tasks and projects as needed.

a. Working groups may be established through a vote of the membership or at the discretion of the Chair and Vice-Chair.

b. When active, working groups will be invited to make presentations on their activities at CSAC monthly meetings.

c. Working groups will be de-established through a vote of the membership or at the discretion of the Chair and Vice-Chair when they have completed specific tasks or they are no longer needed.

A quorum sufficient for the transaction of business by the membership at any meeting shall be a majority of those present at the meeting but not less than 1 person each from 5 of the 9 membership categories listed Article II and so long as at least two council Officers are present.

Nothing herein shall prohibit meetings, communication or voting by telephone, email, teleconferencing or other electronic means as agreed appropriate by the membership.

These by-laws may be amended by a majority vote of CSAC voting members present at any meeting, provided a quorum is present and provided a copy of the proposed amendment(s) are provided to each council member at least two weeks prior to said meeting.