Rules of Operation - Western Extension Directors Association

Printable Version of Rules of Operation (Word Doc)

Adopted June 23, 2004
Amended January 23, 2006
Amended October 23, 2007
Amended July 7, 2008
Amended November 16, 2010

Rules of Operation: Western Extension Directors Association

ARTICLE I – Name

The name of this organization shall be the Western Extension Directors Association (WEDA), hereinafter called the Association, which is established in conformity with the constitution of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU).

ARTICLE II – Membership

Those invited to be members of the Association include the Extension Directors from the 1862 Land-Grant institutions from the following states and territories: Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Micronesia, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The Extension Directors/Administrators from the 1994 Land-Grant institutions in the previous states will be invited to elect (or appoint) one representative as an official member of the Association.

The official members of the Association are those who have paid their annual assessment dues in full. The appropriate U. S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute for Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) official (or designee), the ECOP Executive Director, the Western Extension Executive Director, and all other 1994 Extension Directors/Administrators shall be ex-officio, non-voting members of the Association.

ARTICLE III – Purposes

The purposes of the Association include, but are not limited to, the following:

Represents the member Extension Directors/Administrators of the state, territory, and tribal colleges in the Western Region in their collective dealings.

Provides a forum for discussion and alignment among members, and represents and provides service to the individual member Directors/Administrators on matters of regional, national and international concern.

Plans and develops programs that expand the quality and effectiveness of member Cooperative Extension Services and their impact.

Provides recognition and awards for member institutions.

May contract for services of an Executive Director or other personnel to carry out multi-state, regional and Association initiatives. It is the policy of the Association that indirect and overhead costs not be taken from this contract or agreement paid for by Association funds.

May collect and disburse dues or assessments, enter into agreements or contracts with cooperators and/or granting agencies as agreed upon by the Association members.

Elects members to, and participates with, standing and ad hoc committees of the Association and other regional associations in developing and conducting regional initiatives for members.

Functions as the regional linkage to APLU, ECOP and the USDA/NIFA and other agencies and groups of interest to the Western region.

The Association (1) elects members to ECOP[1], (2) may formally exchange information between the regional and national levels via input to the Extension Section or ECOP, and (3) is the normal channel for Directors/Administrators of state/territory/tribal Cooperative Extension Services in the Western Region to engage the Board of Agriculture Assembly via the Section or ECOP. On matters to be ratified by, reported to, or recommended to APLU, the consensus of the Association’s members shall be conveyed to the chair of ECOP (who is also the chair of the Extension Section) by the chair of the Association, the Western Region ECOP members, or the WEDA Executive Director.

The Association members shall conduct its affairs in conformance with the Rules of Operation of the Cooperative Extension Section and APLU. The procedural details of the operation of the Association may be amended by a simple majority vote of members at any meeting where a quorum attends.

ARTICLE IV – Meetings

Meetings may be held as determined by the Association or at the call of the Chair, but no less frequently than twice per year.

ARTICLE V – Officers and Committee Assignments

A. Officers

Officers shall be elected from the Association’s members. The officers of the Association shall be the Chair, Chair-elect/Secretary each serving a one-year term that begins at the conclusion of the annual meeting of the APLU and ends at the same time the following year. A member may be elected for a previously held office.

B. Elections

The officers, committee members and liaisons shall be elected from among Directors/Administrators who are members of the Association and shall be elected at the summer or fall meeting (or as needed). Nominations shall be submitted by a Nominations Committee and nominations from the floor may be made. A simple majority vote of members is required for election. Officers, committee members and liaisons assume their role at the conclusion of the APLU Annual Meeting in November, or as otherwise indicated. In the event the Chair-elect/Secretary, a committee member or liaison resigns or is otherwise unable to serve, the Chair, in consultation with the remaining members of the Executive Committee shall make an appointment to fill the unexpired term. If the Chair resigns or is unable to serve, the Chair-elect/Secretary automatically becomes the Chair and also serves his/her full term. If the Chair-elect/Secretary is unable or unwilling to take over the Chair role early, the Executive Committee shall make an appointment to fill the unexpired Chair term.

C. Duties

The Chair shall preside at business meetings of the Association, at meetings of its Executive Committee and on all other occasions where the head of the organization is to be recognized. S/he is the chief executive officer of the Association. The Chair provides written notice of official meetings and an agenda prior to each meeting. The Chair acts on behalf of the Association in taking interim actions between meetings, with the advice and consent of the Executive Committee on matters of policy and precedent. The Chair shall appoint the chair of the Nominations Committee and all other committees.

The Chair-Elect/Secretary shall serve as Vice-Chair and undertake such duties as the Chair prescribes. S/he shall preside in the absence of the Chair. S/he shall be responsible for taking and distributing the official minutes of the meetings and facilitating communication among the members and the officers. S/he serves as the Secretary of the Association and of the Executive Committee.

Committee members and liaisons shall participate in and represent the Association at the assigned committee’s meetings. S/he shall be responsible for reporting meeting outcomes and actions to the Association at least once annually.

ARTICLE VI – Executive Committee

The Executive Committee shall be comprised of the Chair, Chair-elect/Secretary, immediate Past Chair, the western representative to the ECOP Executive Committee and, as a non-voting ex-officio member, the Western Extension Executive Director. The Executive Committee, through the Chair, executes the established programs of the Association and provides oversight for the activities of the Association.

ARTICLE VII – Voting

Votes are cast by the members whose dues are paid in full or by his/her official representative. There will be one vote allowed per 1862 member institution, and one vote on behalf of the 1994 Land-Grant institutions.

ARTICLE VIII – Quorum

For purposes of doing business of the Association, a quorum shall consist of a minimum of fifty percent of the Association’s members or their designee, who attend any duly called meeting. A duly called meeting requires that written notice and a meeting agenda be set out in advance of the meeting. A simple majority of members attending the meeting resolves all issues.

ARTICLE IX – Parliamentary Authority

The emphasis in all meetings shall be an orderly process to achieve an objective decision by those members present and voting. Should there be a parliamentary challenge, however, it shall be answered by reference to Roberts Rules of Order.

ARTICLE X – Repository of Documents

The Western Extension Executive Directors Office will create and maintain a web site which will serve as a repository of documents for the Association.

ARTICLE XI – Amendment of Rules of Operation

These Rules of Operation may be amended at any business meeting of the Association, provided the proposed amendment has been made available to all members at least one month in advance of the meeting and is passed by a simple majority (51%) of the membership.

[1] When combined, the five Regional Associations make up the Cooperative Extension Section, Board of Agriculture Assembly of APLU. The Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) acts on behalf of the Section, functioning in most ways as an Executive Committee of the Extension Section.