Indiana University, Bloomington. Bloomington Professional Council

The Indiana University Bloomington Professional Staff Council became an official university organization when its Constitution and Bylaws were approved by university administration on October 16, 1985.

This representative council was created to empower the many professional staff members at the university by giving them a voice in university policies and actions that affect the working conditions, services, and benefits of their employment.

From the description of Records, 1980-1998. (Indiana University). WorldCat record id: 51929415

The Indiana University Bloomington Professional Staff Council became an official university organization when it's Constitution and Bylaws were approved by university administration on October 16, 1985. This representative council was created to empower the many professional staff members at the university by giving them a voice in university policies and actions that affected the working conditions and services/benefits of their employment. Before the approval of the Council's governing laws, it was a petition circulated by a representation committee appointed by the university administration, endorsed by the university's professional employees, and later presented to the IU Board of Trustees by an ad hoc group of four professional employees that laid the groundwork for the creation of the Council. Prior to the creation of the Council, many of the university's professional staff members were members or active participants in a non-officially-sanctioned group called the Indiana University Professional Staff Association. The IUPSA was formed in 1983 as a forum for the concerns and opinions of the university professional staff members on the Bloomington campus. This association was later disbanded in 1988 in favor of the Council.

The IUB Professional Staff Council held their first meeting on May 14, 1986 as a group of 24 professional staff members elected from 10 electoral units (now 21 professional staff members elected from 7 units) representing a balanced population of the university's professional community. In it's early years the Council worked to establish productive relations with university administration. The first issues of concern for this new university organization were the status of retirement plans, health care concerns, and issues concerning the job security of many professional staff members. The Council's first president, Don Brinneman, and other executive officers were successful in gaining the attention of many members of the university administration including that of it's president, John Ryan. Since these first connections were made, many subsequent members of the university administration have actively interacted with the Council even going so far as attending their meetings often as speakers.

The Indiana University Professional Staff Constitution begins with an official description of what the university considers a professional staff member; an individual appointed at 50% or full-time employment status as coded by the university budget. Professional Staff Members are represented by 21 professional staff members comprising the Professional Staff Council. The elected members of the Council are responsible for providing their fellow staff members with a means of making informed decisions and engaging in active participation regarding any university action or policy that would effect the university's professional community. The Council is responsible for dictating the concerns of the university's professional staff through questionnaires, surveys, meetings, and other forms of interaction and presenting them as formal proposals to the university Vice-President for Administration. The Council is required to meet once a month in which such meetings are open to non-members. In terms of responsibility, the Council is required to report its decisions and other proceedings to the members of the professional staff and these reports are also required to state how each Council member or his/her proxy voted on important issues. In terms of the Council's administration, the Council's Executive committee is required to elect a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Parliamentarian. Each Council member is required, as a minimum, to serve a three-year term with the possibility of serving another consecutive term after which they are ineligible to serve for the next two elections. The Bylaws state that 1/3 of the Council's members are required to run for re-election each year. After amendments to the Professional Staff Council Constitution have been discussed by the Council, such amendments must be approved by a 2/3 majority vote of the Council before being distributed by a mail ballot to the Professional Staff Association. A minimum of a 33% vote by the Professional Staff Association in favor of adopting the amendment is necessary before the newly ratified amendment is submitted to the IU Board of Trustees.

As mentioned above, the Council's first president, Don Brinneman, was a very influential executive member of the IUBPSC as was Doris-Jean Burton, the Council's first Vice President, who addressed the Faculty Affairs committee of the IU Board of Trustees concerning the establishment of the IUBPSC. The duties of both offices are extensive and require active cooperation with the many divisions and members of the Council. The President is responsible for chairing Council meetings, referring matters to the separate committees, preparing written annual reports, representing the Council at Bloomington Faculty Council meetings, and selecting the chairs of Standing committees and Ad Hoc task forces amongst other responsibilities. The Vice President is responsible for being the contact person for other university employee organizations or campus group; chairing a committee responsible for the Council's presentations to the IU Board of Trustees; as well as assuming the responsibilities of the President in his/her absence.

Each Council member is required to serve on at least one Standing committee each year. Attendance at each of the committee's monthly meetings is required. Each Standing committee is chaired by an individual appointed by the Council's president. The chairs of these committees are responsible for delegating assignments to the separate committee members, scheduling committee meetings, setting the agenda for committee meetings, and preparing written reports to the university's professional staff amongst other responsibilities. The Executive committee of the IUBPSC has the responsibility of establishing ad hoc committees and task forces to research staff related issues and report their findings to the Council. Like the standing committees, the ad hoc committees and task forces are chaired by individuals appointed by the Council's president who creates written reports for the Council, but attendance is not as strictly regulated since such groups meet only when necessary, and may only be active for a short duration.

From the guide to the Indiana University Bloomington Professional Council records, 1980-1998, (Indiana University Office of University Archives and Records Management http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives)