Professional Employees Advisory Council

PEAC Constitution

Article I. Name, Purpose and Goals
Section 1. The name of this organization is the University of Maine Professional Employees Advisory Council and shall hereinafter be referred to as PEAC.

Section 2. PEAC is charged by the President of the University of Maine to encourage, facilitate and contribute to collegiality among the professional staff and administration for the good of the University of Maine. PEAC shall concern itself with non-bargainable issues relevant to professional staff such as: nominating colleagues to University committees, collecting and disseminating information relevant to professionals, and reporting its findings and recommendations to the President of the University of Maine.

Section 3. The goals of PEAC are:

• To increase awareness of campus-wide resources and foster opportunities
  for partnerships and collaboration between and across departments;
• To promote, encourage and enhance professional development;
• To recognize professional employees and the contributions they make to the University;
• And to provide networking opportunities across campus.

Article II. Membership
Section 1. PEAC strives to maintain an enrollment of engaged, participatory members who represent the broad and diverse constituency of professional employees at the University.

Section 2. Eligibility: Professionals shall be defined to include all professional employees associated with the Orono campus, regardless of whether their position is represented (UMPSA) or non-represented, or whether the position is considered administrative as defined by the Office of Human Resources. PEAC membership shall not include tenured faculty or any positions at the rank of dean or higher, such as associate/assistant vice presidents, vice presidents, or the President.

Section 3. Enrollment: PEAC shall consist of at least fifteen (15) members. Ideally, the membership will represent each University of Maine vice presidential administrative area, as well as those areas that report directly to the President. Eligible employees may volunteer or be nominated for membership.

Section 4. Selection Process:

• At least once each year, PEAC shall issue an invitation to all professional employees for membership, and shall issue invitations to vice presidents and other chief administrative officers to support and facilitate membership enrollment in their respective areas.
• Nominations will be particularly sought in the Fall, but may be made throughout the year, and will be voted on by current members at the earliest possible regular council meeting.
• Each prospective PEAC member receiving a majority vote of current PEAC members in attendance in favor will become an active PEAC member. The Council will periodically review the membership list to note areas of low or no representation and attempt to recruit members from those areas via additional invitations to employees and administrators.

Section 5. Member Expectations
PEAC members are expected to be engaged and active participants in the work of the council. Recommended participation expectations are to:

• Attend at least two (2) council meetings per semester;
• Actively participate in the work of a committee, serve as a committee chair, or serve as an officer;
• Attend or assist with at least one PEAC event each semester.

Article III. Officers, Committees, and Committee Chairs
Section 1. The officers of PEAC shall be at minimum: a Chair, a Secretary, and a Treasurer. There may also be a Chair Elect and/or Co-Chairs. Officer nominations and elections are to occur each fall and outgoing officers are expected to convey pertinent materials and practices to their replacements in a timely manner. Any council member in good standing may hold an officer position. There are no term limits. Positions will be re-elected each year and all members in good standing are encouraged to participate in council leadership. Specific officer responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• The Chair represents and promotes PEAC within the University community, serves as the official contact, and as the primary liaison with campus Administration; sets the agenda and presides over Council meetings; provides leadership for and collaborates with the other officers and Committee Chairs and monitors committee activity. These duties are to be
  shared with the Chair Elect if such position exists.
• The Secretary is responsible for maintaining the membership roster and tracking meeting attendance; recording and maintaining the minutes of each council meeting; and disseminating the minutes to all council members prior to the next meeting. Minutes will also be posted online in a shared location accessible by all council members. The Secretary may assist in monitoring the PEAC email account and will be a de-facto member of the Communications Committee.
• The Treasurer is responsible for monitoring and maintaining current and accurate records of the financial activity of the council, for leading the council in the creation and adoption of an annual budget, and for monitoring expenses in relation to said budget. The Treasurer oversees transactions. Expenses are generally authorized by the Council in accordance with the agreed-upon budget. Expenses not addressed in the budget will be approved by majority vote of those in attendance at a regular meeting.

Section 2. PEAC Committees: Much of the work of the council will be conducted via committees and members are expected to commit to work on at least one.
Committees may be formed or disbanded by consensus of the Council. Committees are likely to include:

The Membership Committee will research and implement ways to increase and maintain a diverse council membership, compose and arrange for the dissemination of recruitment materials, contact potential members, and submit names of nominees to be voted on at council meetings;

The Communications Committee will disseminate information regarding meetings and events by a variety of means, working in conjunction with the officers and other committees to ensure timely, appropriate, and consistent messaging without duplication of effort.

The Professional Development Funds Committee will conduct the business of offering and granting development funds in accordance with the wishes of the Council and provide recommendations for changes and/or additions to the use of development funds in the future.

The Outstanding Professional Employee Award Committee is active during a brief time frame each spring to solicit and receive nominations for this prestigious campus award. Committee members review and rate nominations individually, then meet as needed to select a winner based on a combination of specific qualifications and requirements, ratings, and group discussion.

The Events Committee will explore options and make suggestions for events that would further the goals of PEAC, and plan and execute events once approved by the Council.

Section 3. Committee Chairs: Any council member in good standing may chair a committee. Members may volunteer or be nominated whenever vacancies occur and will be approved by consensus of attendees at a council meeting.

Article IV. Meetings
Section 1. PEAC meetings will be held approximately monthly between September and June, with at least eight (8) meetings each academic year. The meeting schedule will be posted on the PEAC website and reminders and an agenda will be emailed to council members approximately one week prior to each meeting.

Section 2. PEAC meetings will be presided over by the Chair (or a Co-Chair) or by another officer in the Chair’s absence. The council will conduct business and make decisions based upon the achievement of consensus by those present as determined by the presiding officer.

Section 3. Committee meetings will be held as needed by the members and/or at the request of the Chair and are generally called and presided over by the specific committee chair.

Article V. Amendments
Section 1. Any proposed amendment to the Constitution shall be submitted to the PEAC Officers and Council members for review and discussion. The proposed amendment shall be ratified by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of PEAC members.

Original Constitution established May 19, 1972. Revised: May 31, 1974; May 20, 1980; Dec. 2, 1981; May 1985; Sept.1986; Dec.1986; May 1989; May 1994; May 1996; April 1998; August 2002; February 2010; October 2020.