Our Bylaws

BYLAWS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF RETIRED FACULTY OF

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE

 

ARTICLE I.         The procedures and business of the Association of Retired Faculty (ARF) of California State University, Northridge (CSUN) shall be conducted according to the Bylaws that follow.

 

ARTICLE II.        ASSOCIATION OFFICES

 

The office of the Association shall be located in the CSUN Retiree Center. Written records and materials related to the Association shall be stored there.

 

ARTICLE III.       MEMBERSHIP

            Section 1.    Membership Year

Membership in ARF shall be for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

 

            Section 2.    Unified Dues Payment

Retirees joining both the CSUN Association of Retired Faculty and the CSU Emeritus and Retired Faculty Association (ERFA) may pay unified dues through PERS payroll deduction. This option will be available so long as ERFA remains responsible for administering the program and submits reports and dues payments to ARF on a timely basis.

 

            Section 3.    Individual Dues Payment

ARF members may elect to pay dues annually to the Treasurer of the organization.

            Section 4.    Records

The Treasurer and the Membership Chair shall maintain records of both individual and joint dues payments.

 

ARTICLE IV. DUTIES OF OFFICERS

 

           Section 1.  The PRESIDENT shall:

                              a. Exercise general supervision over the affairs of the Association.

                              b. Prepare the agenda for and preside over the annual business meeting and any other general meetings of the Association. The President shall notify the membership of the agenda, date, time, and place of any such meeting at least two weeks in advance.

                              c. Prepare the agenda for and preside over all meetings of the Executive Board. The President shall notify the members of the Board of the agenda, date, time, and place of each of its meetings at least one week in advance.

                              d. In consultation with the Program Committee, and with approval of the Executive Board, create a calendar of meetings, social activities, and other Association events for the following fiscal year.

                              e. Serve as ex officio member of all committees.

                              f. Serve as the Association member of the CSUN Faculty Senate or designate an Association member to do so.

                              g. Serve as the official representative of the Association at appropriate University functions, ceremonies, and/or public meetings, or designate an alternate from the Executive Board.

                              

           Section 2. The PRESIDENT-ELECT shall:

                              a. Serve as Vice-President of the Association, assuming responsibility for the business of the organization in the absence of the President.

                              b. Serve on at least one ARF standing committee.

                              c. Monitor and respond to Association phone calls and email.

                              d. Succeed the President when the President s term of office ends.

 

          Section 3.   The IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT shall:

                              a. Serve as an advisor to the President.

                              b. Assist in the administration of the Association as deemed necessary by the President and the Executive Board.

                              c. Serve as chair of the Remembrance Committee and coordinate the writing and publication of remembrance articles.

 

           Section 4. The SECRETARY shall:

                              a. Keep minutes of all meetings of the Executive Board and of the Association.

                              b. Collect and deliver to the ARF Historian documents related to the activities of the Association during the term of office.

 

           Section 5.   The MEMBERSHIP CHAIR shall:

                              a. Prepare letters, forms, and other means of encouraging members to remain current in membership and payment of dues.

                              b. Extend invitations to join ARF to newly retired CSUN faculty, to those who retired within a recent period of time (determined by the Executive Board) but have never joined, and to spouses/partners of newly deceased members.

                              c. Extend invitations to re-join ARF to former members whose membership lapsed within a recent period of time (determined by the Executive Board).

                              d. Develop recruitment methods and materials to expand membership (e.g., an up-to-date brochure describing the Association and its activities).

                              e. Work closely with the ARF database manager to insure that required data are available and current.

                              f. Be responsible for the compilation, printing, and distribution of the ARF Roster.

                              g. Serve as chair and coordinate the activities of the Membership Committee.

 

           Section 6.    The PROGRAM CHAIR shall: 

                              a. Serve as chair and coordinate the activities of the Program Committee.

                              b. Assume responsibility for implementing the previous Program Committee’s plans for the current year.  This responsibility includes securing facilities for ARF events, communicating with and accommodating the needs of speakers and other participants, and sending timely notifications to the membership of dates, times, and places for all ARF sponsored events.

                              c. Lead the committee in planning the following year’s schedule of events, including determining dates and securing speakers for the afternoon speaker series.

 

           Section 7.    The TREASURER shall:

                              a. Pay all Association obligations for routinely recurring expenditures and any others that have been explicitly approved by the Board. Disbursements for expenditures that exceed these by a significant amount shall be submitted to the Board for review and approval.

                              b. Establish and maintain appropriate checking, savings, and investment accounts for all ARF funds; and obtain Board approval for any changes in the investment of ARF funds.

                              c. Deposit all dues and contributions, and maintain all financial records.

                              d. File timely paperwork required for maintaining the Association s tax-exempt status with the IRS and the Franchise Tax Board.

                              e. Present a financial report at each Executive Board meeting and at the annual business meeting comparing current account balances to those at the start of the fiscal year as well as a cash flow statement.

                              f. Maintain a record of contributions to the ARF Memorial Graduate Project Awards fund and write letters of acknowledgement to scholarship contributors.

                              g. Serve as chair and coordinate the activities of the Fiscal Committee.

 

           Section 8. The EDITOR OF ARF NOTES shall:

                              a. Prepare and submit copy to the printer and the ARF Webmaster for each issue of ARF Notes.

                              b. Insure that each issue of ARF Notes contains information regarding the membership, Association activities, retirement issues, and relevant CSUN news and activities.

                              c. Coordinate the distribution, by mail and/or email, of each issue of ARF Notes.

 

           Section 9. The HISTORIAN shall:

                              a. Maintain the archives of the Association of Retired Faculty.

                              b. Add to the archives each year copies of all issues of ARF Notes, event programs, and other items of historical importance as determined by the Historian or the Board.

                              c. Add to the archives each year the names of the ARF Memorial Graduate Project Awards recipients, together with the titles and brief summaries of their research. The names, titles, and summaries shall be received from the chair of the ARF scholarship committee.

                              d. Add to the archives each year the names of the Phil and Shirley Hansen COE/ARF Memorial Scholarship awardees, with a brief summary of their achievements. The names and summaries shall be received from the chair of the Hansen scholarship committee.

                              e. Deliver to the CSUN Archivist relevant documents related to the activities of the Association during the term of office.

 

           Section 10.  The WEBMASTER shall:

                              a. Maintain the ARF website and update it as needed.

                              b. Insure that the website includes an ARF history, a description of ARF s purposes and regular activities, a list of known deceased CSUN faculty, information about membership eligibility and how to join, and timely notice of upcoming ARF events and activities.

 

           Section 11. MEMBERS-AT-LARGE shall:

                             a. Help facilitate the goals and current activities of the Association.

                             b. Serve on appropriate ARF standing or ad hoc committees. Members-at-large are encouraged to serve on at least one ARF committee during their first year and are expected to do so in subsequent years.

                             c. Act as liaison between the Executive Board and any committee on which they are serving.

 

ARTICLE V.        STANDING COMMITTEES

 

                              Standing committees shall include a Membership Committee, Fiscal Committee, Program Committee, Remembrance Committee, and any others as determined by the Executive Board. The Board may also establish such ad hoc committees as are required for carrying out the functions of the Association.

 

           Section 1.    Committee Membership

 

                             a. Membership on all committees is limited to members of ARF in good standing.

                             b. Committee members are appointed by the President with approval by the Executive Board. The number of members for each committee may vary with need and will be determined by the President and the Board.

 

           Section 2. Functions of the Standing Committees

 

                             a. The MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE shall:

                             1) Advise and assist the Membership Chair in carrying out the duties of the office.

                             2) Include a member who, with the assistance o the Membership Chair and the Treasurer, will be responsible for maintaining and managing the ARF database. To the extent feasible, the database manager will maintain a list of ARF-eligible retired CSUN faculty, noting ARF membership status, contact information, spouse/partner, department or administrative position, date of retirement, ARF scholarship contributions, and other information necessary. The database will include similar information for members of ARF who are not retired CSUN faculty.

 

                             b. The FISCAL COMMITTEE shall:

                                 Advise and assist the Treasurer in carrying out the duties of the office.

 

                             c. The PROGRAM COMMITTEE shall:

                             1) Plan the current year s annual banquet, field trip, scholarship luncheon, spring picnic, and any other events the committee and the Executive Board may approve.

                             2) Determine dates and secure speakers for the following year s afternoon speaker series that begins in September.

                             3) Assist the committee chair in implementing the committee s plans and recommendations.

                             4) Include a member, appointed by the President in consultation with the committee and approved by the Executive Board, who will serve as Program Chair-Designate.  The Chair-Designate will serve one year on the committee and then, pending election by the membership at the annual meeting, become Program Chair and a member of the Executive Board.

 

                             d. The REMEMBRANCE COMMITTEE shall:

                             1) Facilitate the writing and publication in ARF Notes of remembrance articles honoring deceased members of the CSUN community.

                                    i) Whenever possible, deceased members of ARF shall be so memorialized.

                                    ii) At the discretion of the Remembrance Committee chair, other deceased members of the CSUN faculty may be similarly honored. These include retired faculty members who were not current ARF members and those who made significant contributions to CSUN but died prior to retirement.

                                    iii) At the discretion of the Remembrance Committee chair, other deceased members of the CSUN community, who by virtue of their close association with the CSUN faculty and their contributions to CSUN, may be similarly honored

 

                             2) Include one member from each of the eight Colleges and the Library, who shall represent the faculty in that discipline. (Staff members not so affiliated shall be represented by the committee chair.) Each committee member shall be responsible for gathering information in support of the relevant remembrance article and for either writing it or delegating its writing to an appropriate colleague.

 

ARTICLE VI.       PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

 

Robert's Rules of Order, latest edition, shall be the parliamentary authority for all meetings of the Association.

 

ARTICLE VII.     AFFILIATION

 

The Executive Board may affiliate or join with other organizations and/or associations working for the improvement of CSU retired faculty as long as the Constitution of that body does not conflict with the Constitution and Bylaws of this Association.

 

ARTICLE VIII.    DISSOLUTION

 

This Association may be dissolved only by a written ballot, mailed not less than one month in advance of the proposed date of dissolution to all members in good standing, and requiring a three to one ratio of ayes over nays and abstentions.

Any funds in the treasury at dissolution shall be contributed to the CSUN Foundation, with the express proviso that the funds be used to fund student scholarships, to be known as "Emeriti Awards." The awards shall be based solely on scholarship and determined by a committee composed of retired professors appointed by the Faculty President.

 

 

(Originally adopted 4/25/1985; amended 2/18/1988, 1990, 2/5/1991, 9/14/1993; revised 11/7/1995, 9/11/2001; revised and amended 6/4/2011, 4/12/2017, 4/13/2017, 6/7/2021, 9/8/2021)