NACADA Mid-Atlantic (Region 2) By-Laws Adopted March 3, 2009

1. Role of the NACADA Region 2 Steering Committee (from here on, referred to as Steering Committee).

• Promote NACADA and academic advising on the institutional, state, regional, and national levels.
• Provide professional development and leadership opportunities to region members.
• Serve as a liaison to the region members and the NACADA Executive Office.
• Plan state professional development events.
• Ensure that the annual Regional Conference is held by supporting the Regional Conference Chair(s).
• Identify regional concerns for the Region Chair to address at the national level.
• Assist in the development of the annual region budget and other reports.
• Recruit and retain NACADA members and promote diversity of the membership within the region.
• Run an annual regional awards program.
• Composition of the Steering Committee.

2. The Steering Committee shall consist of up to sixteen (16) members, including the elected Regional Representative (from here on, referred to as Region Chair) to the national NACADA organization.  The following positions comprise the Steering Committee:

Region Chair

Delaware State Liaison

District of Columbia Liaison

Maryland State Liaison

New Jersey State Liaison

Pennsylvania (East) State Liaison

Pennsylvania (West) State Liaison

Virginia State Liaison

Awards Chair

Membership Coordinator

Mentoring Program Coordinator

Site Selection Coordinator

Current Regional Conference Chair(s) – up to 2 Co-Chairs allowed

Future Regional Conference Chair(s) – up to 2 Co-Chairs allowed

A Conference Chair may hold an additional position on the Steering Committee as long as that task does not interfere with their ability to complete the responsibilities of the other position. 

 3. Steering Committee Meetings (or board meetings) and Attendance Requirements.

• In-person board meetings of the Steering Committee are expected to take place in the first Thursday and Friday in December at the site of the upcoming Regional Conference and the first Thursday and Friday in June each year at a central, cost-conservative location within the region.  In addition, a Steering Committee meeting will take place at the Regional Conference.  A quorum of the Steering Committee will consist of at least 51% of the number of current members and all members of the committee are voting members.  The December meeting is budgeted into the Regional Conference Budget, while the June meeting is budgeted into the Region Budget. 
• In event there are financial constraints preventing the in-person meetings, teleconference(s) or web conference(s) may be held instead. 
• No NACADA funds will be used to support alcoholic beverages at Steering Committee meetings.
• Regional Steering Committee members are required to attend the Regional Conference, the two regional board meetings, and, if possible, the Annual Conference during their term.  Failure to attend one event (an event being the Regional Conference or a regional board meeting) within a given two-year term will result in a warning of dismissal; failure to attend two events within a given two-year term will result in an automatic dismissal from the Regional Steering Committee.  In the event a board member misses a second meeting due to extraordinary circumstances, a quorum of the steering committee may vote to determine if dismissal is appropriate.
• Additional teleconferences or web conferences may be scheduled by the Region Chair at their discretion.  Failure to attend these meeting will not count as a missed required meeting nor can attendance substitute for a required meeting. 

 4. Term Length, Start Dates, and Limits.

• Region Chair. 
• The Region Chair term, responsibilities, criteria for eligibility, and election is governed by the NACADA Bylaws Article V, Number 2. 
• Regional Conference Chair(s) or Co-Chair(s), future and present. 
• A Regional Conference may have one Conference Chair or two Conference Co-Chairs.  Conference Chairs begin their terms at the December Steering Committee Meeting, 16 months before the conference they are chairing and end their terms at the June Steering Committee Meeting following the Regional Conference for which they served as Chairs.   This position is recruited for by the Region Chair with the help of the Steering Committee and is appointed by the Region Chair.   Conference Chairs may serve in this position multiple times; however, they may not serve in the role for two consecutive conferences.  In addition, service solely in this position does not count toward the terms limits described for the other Steering Committee positions.
• State/District Liaisons (from here forward, referred to as State Liaisons), Awards Chair, Membership Coordinator, Mentoring Program Coordinator and Site Selection Coordinator.  
•  State Liaisons will be elected by the NACADA members from their state, while the other positions will be elected by the region NACADA members.  Open positions will be advertised on the Region website and by email to current NACADA members of the state/region as appropriate.  Positions will be advertised for a minimum of 10 days.  After ten days (or a longer period of time if clearly stated in the advertisement by the Region Chair), an election (using the current election system established by the NACADA Executive Office) will be held to select the position if more than one member is interested in the position.  Candidates will be allowed to write a platform statement and a summary of their interest and experience related to the position for members to read before the election.  If after the advertised opening only one person is interested in the position, the Region Chair will officially appoint that person to the position without running an election.  If the position remains vacant after the open advertisement, the Region Chair, with the assistance of the Steering Committee, may recruit and appoint a member into the position without further announcement to the general NACADA membership of the state/region. 
• These positions serve two-year terms running April to April (Regional-Regional Conference) or October to October (Annual Conference-Annual Conference).  Members may serve two consecutive terms in the same position without re-election.  If after one term they wish to be considered for a different state or coordinator vacant position, they may apply for that position (and compete in an election if others are interested), such that they would hold two-terms on the committee consecutively but in different positions. 
• All members of the Steering Committee serving as State Liaisons, Awards Chair, Mentoring Program Coordinator, Membership Coordinator, or Site Selection Coordinator may only serve two, two-year terms on the Steering Committee.  After four years of service on the Steering Committee in one (or two) of these positions (regardless of whether the terms were consecutive or not), they must remain off the Steering Committee in any of these positions for a minimum of three years.  After that three-year break in service in one of these positions, a region member is again allowed up to four years of service in these positions.  This restriction does not apply to the positions of Region Chair whose terms rules are governed by the National NACADA Bylaws or Conference Chair. 
• In the event of an unexpected vacancy of one of these positions, the Region Chair is responsible for advertising the position as described in (i) above.  If elected (or appointed) between Dec-April, the term will run from April for two years.  If elected or appointed between May and November, the term will run October to October.  The same term start dates will apply if a person is finally found to fill a vacant position after it was advertised.
• Due to the timing of the Awards Chair responsibilities, this position will run April to April, even in the event of an unexpected vacancy.  The Steering Committee will decide how to adjust the first term length of the person who fills this position, keeping in mind the spirit of term limits.  
• In the extremely unlikely event that all State Liaisons positions become vacant during the same month and year, the Region Chair may use their discretion to allow up to three State Liaisons to continue in their position beyond their term limits as stated in (iii) above for six months to one year to create stagger in the openings of these positions.  This allows for continuation of knowledge of the tasks to be successful in as a State Liaison on the Steering Committee and will prevent complete turn-over of the Steering Committee at one point in time.  If no State Liaisons wish to continue in this manner, and all other positions are also becoming open at the same time, the Region Chair may extend this offer to up to three other current members of the Steering Committee also at the end of their term limit.  This is to ensure that the steering committee will have at least one member at any given time that has served on the Steering Committee before to help with the transition.  This guideline is established in recognition that unexpected vacancies and delays in filling open positions may create the unlikely scenario that all positions become open at one month in a given year, however past history indicates that this would be an exceedingly rare event. 

 5. Diversity Commitment of the Steering Committee.   

• The Steering Committee will strive to have a diverse committee that includes representation by both genders, representation by both two- and four-year institutions, representation by both faculty and professional advisors, and representation of ethnic and cultural diversity.  This effort will occur by the Steering Committee’s encouragement of region members who belong to underrepresented groups to run for open positions as they become advertised to all members. 

 6. Amendments or Other Changes to the Bylaws.

• Amendments or other changes to the by-laws can be submitted by any member of the region, including current Steering Committee members, by November 30th each year for initial consideration by the Regional Steering Committee at their December meeting.  If the Steering Committee initially supports the change, those changes will be put to a vote, using the online voting system used by the National Executive Office, by the current members of the Region via electronic announcement to members on the website and via email.  This vote is expected to take place as soon as possible and no later than the upcoming Region Conference.  If the Regional Steering Committee does not support the initial suggested change, the region member may present the proposed change to the regional membership in attendance at the Regional Business Meeting held during the Regional Conference.  If a 51% quorum at that meeting views the changes should be put to a vote of the entire membership, those changes will be put to a vote to the entire region as described above. 
• A vote by the Region to change the bylaws does not require a quorum of region members to vote; it only requires a 51% majority of those who do vote.
• No changes to the bylaws can be made that are contradictory to the policies governing regions as established the National NACADA organization.
• When changes are approved to these by-laws, the Region Chair will be responsible for entering the changes into the bylaws and publically publishing the new version. 

Regional Steering Committee Positions and Responsibilities

Region Chair

• Chair Steering Committee meetings
• Make arrangements for June meeting
• Provide a tie-break vote at Steering Committee meetings as necessary
• Set agenda for Steering Committee meetings
• Set goals for region in consultation with the Steering Committee
• Develop region budget and submit to the National NACADA Council
• Present regional issues at the Region Chairs meeting held in conjunction with the Annual Conference
• Write the annual Region reports as required by the NACADA Council
• Fulfill all responsibilities as currently outlined by the National NACADA organization (http://www.nacada.ksu.edu/Leadership/RegionChairOverview.htm)

Future Conference Chair

• Actively learn the responsibilities of Present Conference Chair
• If institutional funding allows, attend the Annual Conference and the training session for conference chairs
• Assist Steering Committee members as needed

Present Conference Chair

• Coordinate all functions of the Regional Conference
• Select subcommittee chairs for the conference
• Present a final expected conference budget and theme to the Regional Steering Committee for approval no later than the December Steering Committee meeting before the conference
• Handle all financial arrangements for conference and for December Board meeting
• Make arrangements for the December Steering Committee meeting
• Submit a preliminary budget by June 15 to the Region Chair to meet the national established guideline of submission of this budget by June 30th
• Submit all final reports as required of Conference Chair by the EO

Site Selection Coordinator

• Gather information from surveys and Steering Committee members and identify potential meeting sites and meeting chairs
• Contact potential chairs/discuss interest and responsibilities
• Meet with potential chairs at possible sites to discuss details
• Make recommendations to the Regional Steering Committee so that sites are selected at least two years in advance

Awards Chair

• Coordinate the Regional Awards program, soliciting nominations and notifying the Region Steering Committee of award-winners
• Ensure that funds are distributed to award winners, notifying the national NACADA office of the recipients each year

 Membership Coordinator

• Identify membership recruitment activities, especially those which could help diversify the region membership
• Develop cost figures to implement recruitment activities and make recommendations to the Regional Steering Committee
• Run the Student Conference Grant program
• Implement activities as determined by the Regional Steering Committee
• Assist State Liaisons on implementing regional membership drive campaigns

Mentoring Program Coordinator

• Recruit mentors and mentees from those members attending the regional conference
• Match the members and invites all to a reception held at the conference
• Work with the conference chair(s) to plan a Mentor’s Reception
• Work with the hotel on specifics for the reception, if needed
• Provide a report to the Regional Steering Committee at the May/June meeting

State/District Liaisons (note, this is a complete job description)

The State/District Liaison is selected to:

1. represent the issues that impact on academic advising within his or her state to the Regional Steering Committee;
2. encourage/develop/facilitate the development of professionals engaged in academic advising activities; and
3. promote the National Academic Advising Association and its resources within the state.

This can be accomplished through a variety of activities, which could include:

1. Coordination of state or local activities/workshops, such as NACADA-Sponsored Drive-In workshops.
2. Reporting on state activities through the email to state NACADA members, postings on the Region website, and through articles in a regional newsletter.
3. Attendance/presentations at professional activities where the attendees may have some interest in or connection to academic advising, i.e. state meetings.
4. Organization of a state advising network.

• State Liaisons are expected to run their State Meeting during the Regional Conference each year and if available, run a State Meeting during the Regional Meeting at the Annual Conference.  State Liaisons thank members from their state who present at the Region Conference.  In addition, State Liaisons are expected to assist with other responsibilities directly related to the region as needed at the request of the Region Chair.  Past examples of this type of work has included assistance with gathering information on how other regions operate, reviewing website options, and planning of the June Steering Committee meeting.  All state representatives are expected to attend the regional conference at their institution’s expense.  Attendance is also expected at the June and December Steering Committee meetings annually where they will present state issues to the Steering Committee; help identify NACADA members in state that could chair/host meetings, conferences, and/or be involved on a state, regional, or national level; participate in setting goals and budget for the region; and help identify facilities in state for possible state/regional meetings.  For these planning meetings, NACADA will pay for one-half of the room rate, a per mile reimbursement for travel, and up to the approved per diem for food expenses with receipts. 

Qualifications for all positions:

• Member of NACADA
• Active involvement in academic advising activities on local campus
• Support from institution and supervisor. 
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Excellent organization, planning and follow through skills
• Computer skills highly recommended
• Available to attend regional board meetings in June and December and the Regional Conference in the spring.

 

Past By-Laws