March 2017 Draft RULES OF OPERATION FOR THE NORTH CENTRAL REGIONAL COUNCIL FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND TEACHING (NCR-CARET) I. Preamble The Land-Grant College System was established to serve the people of the United States specifically through the development, transfer, and encouragement of application of scientific knowledge for the enhancement of people's economic and social lives. This objective is achieved throughout the three interrelated land-grant functions of Research, Academic Programs and Extension. The system has exercised its responsibilities for over a century in partnership with the people. Individuals, agricultural organizations, local, state and national government bodies, community groups, and alumni serve as clientele and advisors. Likewise, these same individuals and groups represent the support base of land-grant institutions as a democratically established system of public education and service. The multiplicity of social, economic, and political challenges, the increasing importance of information, and the rapid rate of change in every aspect of life, makes the need for, and appropriateness of, the Land-Grant System more relevant and vital than ever before. II. PURPOSE To ensure the viability of land-grant programs for agriculture, food and nutrition, natural resources, individual and family well-being, and community development, the land-grant colleges of the North Central Regional States in cooperation with the individuals and groups who depend on the programs do hereby establish the North Central Regional Council for Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching (NCR-CARET) to provide citizen support of the land-grant philosophy, and the inherent programs of research, extension, and academic programs. III. OBJECTIVES NCR-CARET shall be a regional focal group of states' representation of land-grant programs. NCR-CARET, in conjunction with its national parent, shall be a cooperative grassroots unit of the Board on Agriculture Assembly (BAA) of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) as operationalized through the Administrative Heads Section (AHS) and the BAA Policy Board of Directors (PBD) and shall operate as an advocacy arm of the Budget and Advocacy Committee (BAC) and the Committee on Legislation and Policy (CLP). NCR- CARET is dedicated to the proposition of enhancing national support and understanding of the important role played by the land-grant colleges in the food and agricultural systems as well as 1
their role in enhancing the quality of life for all citizens of the nation: 1. To serve as a means for expressing involvement of citizens at the regional and national level for the purpose of identifying priorities and strengthening programs in agricultural research, extension, and academic programs of the land-grant system; 2. To become involved with the Board on Agriculture Assembly in the federal budget and legislative development processes as it affects research, extension, and academic programs relating to agriculture, food, environment, and renewable resources; 3. To strengthen volunteer support with appropriate national, regional, state, and local leaders for public support of research, extension, and academic programs relating to agriculture, food, environment, and renewable resources; 4. To identify individuals and strategies for responding to regional and national issues; 5. To support and coordinate efforts with other regional and national organizations which benefit from understanding the importance of the mission of the land-grant system; and 6. To stimulate cooperation and communication among citizens and user councils and boards to achieve broader public awareness and appreciation of the land-grant system. IV. MEMBERSHIP A. The membership of NCR-CARET shall be composed of the members of the national CARET as determined by the Administrative Heads of the respective states in the North Central Region. Normally the delegation shall consist of three (3) members per state. However, when appropriate, additional members may be appointed by the respective Administrative Head(s). B. State appointment to NCR-CARET and CARET will be the responsibility of the Administrative Heads of the land-grant institutions in each participating state. In states where the Director of Research, Extension, or Academic Programs is not administratively responsible to the AHS, such Director may appoint one delegate to be part of the state delegation. C. Appointments will be for a term of one year, with annual reappointments possible. Terms shall begin and terminate at the end of the calendar year. V. VOTING A. The principle of consensus shall be the governing principle of NCR-CARET and voting will generally be by a voice vote of the assembly. B. A quorum shall be reached with a simple majority vote of states represented at the time of a vote. 2
C. In the case of elections of officers and representatives, voting will be by written ballot. An individual will be considered to be elected when he or she receives a majority of the votes cast by members who are present and voting at the meeting. VI. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE A. NCR-CARET shall have an Executive Committee of three (3) members; made up of a chairperson, vice chairperson, and secretary. The NCR-AHS liaison (who is the NCR- AHS chairperson elect) shall be an Ex-Officio, non-voting member of the NCR Executive Committee. B. The chairperson, vice chairperson and secretary shall be elected by and from the membership and shall serve two year terms. Elections will be held during the business meeting of the annual summer NCR-CARET regional meeting with the terms being effective at the close of the summer annual meeting. 1. The duties of the chairperson shall be to conduct all business meetings and see to the successful administration of the organization. The chairperson, along with the other members of the Executive Committee, shall prepare an agenda and submit it to the membership at least 15 days prior to a meeting of the membership as outlined later under section VII B in these Rules of Operation. 2. The vice chairperson shall serve in all functions in the absence of the chairperson, and other duties of the Executive Committee. 3. The secretary shall record and disseminate in a timely manner all information pertinent to the membership, including but not limited to meeting agendas and minutes. 4. In the event the chairperson can no longer serve the organization, the vice chairperson shall assume the role and responsibilities until the next regularly scheduled regional meeting, at which time there will be an election for the chairperson position for the remainder of the term. 5. In the event the vice chairperson or secretary can no longer serve the organization, the remaining Executive Committee members shall assume the responsibilities of the vacated position or appoint an individual to serve until the next regularly scheduled regional meeting, at which time there will be an election for the remainder of the term. C. NCR-CARET shall elect three of its members to serve two year terms on the Executive Committee of national CARET. These delegates shall be nominated and chosen during the process of electing NCR-CARET Executive Committee members at the summer annual NC Regional Meeting. The same person may serve simultaneously on the Executive Committees of both NCR-CARET and national CARET. The terms of the 3
CARET delegates elected at the summer Regional Meeting to serve on the national Executive Committee begin and terminate on the calendar year. In the event a delegate elected to serve on the national Executive Committee can no longer serve, a special election will be held at the next regularly scheduled or called meeting of the NCR- CARET to elect another delegate to fill the remainder of the term. D. The chairperson shall appoint a nominating committee of three NCR-CARET members to solicit candidates for elected positions. A slate of candidates for elected positions shall be presented to the NCR-CARET membership no later than 30 days before the Regional Meeting at which an election is to be held. Prior to the vote, the chairperson shall accept nominations from the floor. It is the policy of NCR-CARET that there be contested elections for each elected position. E. The Executive Committee may establish and make appointments to such additional committees as deemed necessary. VII. MEETINGS A. NCR-CARET will hold two business meetings a year. The spring meeting will be held in conjunction with the National Joint CARET/AHS meeting in Washington D.C. The summer meeting will be held in conjunction with the summer NC Regional meeting which rotates among the NC states. B. In addition to business meeting agenda items submitted by national CARET, the chairperson shall call for agenda items from the membership no later than 45 days prior to a business meeting; delegates shall have 15 days to respond. The agenda shall be finalized by the Executive Committee and distributed to the membership no later than 15 days before the business meeting. C. The Executive Committee, by consensus, may call additional meetings as deemed necessary. D. All business meetings shall be conducted according to Robert s Rules of Order. VIII. COMPENSATION AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT A. NCR-CARET members will serve without direct financial compensation for their time. B. NCR-CARET members will normally be reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses such as travel, room, and meals while on approved official business. Reimbursement to delegates from states to meetings of NCR-CARET and CARET of the whole will be the responsibility of the respective states. IX. AMENDMENTS AND ADDITIONS TO THE RULES OF OPERATION A. The NCR-CARET membership may recommend changes or additions to these Rules of 4
Operation for consideration by the NCR Executive Committee and the NC-AHS. Any changes or amendments shall receive the approval of the full NCR-CARET membership and the NC-AHS before adoption. B. The NC-AHS may recommend changes or additions to these Rules of Operation for consideration by NCR-CARET. X. CHARTER AND POLICIES NCR-CARET is an associated unit of APLU, BAA, BBD, and BAC. As such NCR- CARET is subject to the limits, guidelines, and policies of APLU as provided by law, the Articles of Incorporation, and the Association By-Laws. XI. DEFINITIONS 1. Throughout these Rules of Operation, the definition of the term states is identical to the definition of state in Title XIV of Public Law 95-113. 2. The term Board on Agriculture Assembly is defined as: the unit of the APLU Commission on Food, Environment, and Renewable Resources (CFERR) whose purpose is the promotion of agriculture in all of its phases (food, environment, agriculture, natural resources, human sciences, and international) in the state universities and land grant colleges of the states, District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territories of the Pacific, and the U. S. Virgin Islands. 3. The term Policy Board of Directors is defined as: the nine-member governing body of the Board on Agriculture Assembly (BAA) which takes appropriate action on key matters affecting the interests of the member institutions of the Assembly and is responsible to the Association for the management of Assembly affairs. The Policy Board of Directors (PBD) acts as the Legislative Committee for the BAA. 4. The term Budget and Advocacy Committee (BAC) is defined as: a standing committee of the BAA Policy Board of Directors that prepares annual budget recommendations and supporting materials for the Research, Extension, and Education Title of the Farm Bill. 5. NCR-CARET is defined as the North Central Regional-CARET and is comprised of those members of CARET from the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Amended July 2005 Approved as corrected July 2006 Amended and Approved 5