CLCU Constitution & By-Laws

The Constitution and By-Laws

of

The Conference of Louisiana Colleges and Universities

(Amended March 8, 1975; March 5, 1993; March 14, 2003; March 4, 2008)

Article I

Name

The organization shall be called the Conference of Louisiana Colleges and Universities.

Article II

Purpose

The purpose of the Conference shall be the advancement of higher education in Louisiana. The organization shall serve as a communications medium among institutions of higher learning in Louisiana and between those institutions and significant constituencies. Implementation of this aim, however, shall not include the prescription of any kind of uniform standards for institutions of higher learning in the State of Louisiana.

Article III

Membership and Voting

The members of the Conference shall consist of representatives from universities, colleges, and community and technical colleges located within the State of Louisiana. The State of Louisiana Board of Regents, the Board of Supervisors for the Louisiana State University System, the Board of Supervisors for the University of Louisiana System, the Board of Supervisors for the Southern University System, the Board of Supervisors for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, and the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities or their successors shall also be members and shall be represented by their Chief Executive Officers.

A condition of institutional membership shall be recognized by the Louisiana Board of Regents. Institutions shall be accepted to membership by vote of the Conference at its regular business meeting. Applications for membership shall be received in writing by the President of the Conference and reviewed by the Executive Committee at least three months before the annual meeting of the organization. The Executive Committee will inform the member institutions of its recommendations concerning the application(s).

Each member institution of the Conference shall have one voting representative who shall be the president/chancellor or his/her designee. The voting representative for each system will be the president or his/her designee.

The presence of a majority of the voting delegates shall constitute a quorum.

Article IV

Officers and Committees

The officers of the Conference shall be a president, a president-elect, a past-president, and a treasurer. The president-elect is to be elected annually by the Conference at its regular meeting. The treasurer shall be elected by the Conference at a regular meeting to serve for a three-year term. In case a vacancy occurs between meetings of the Conference, the Executive Committee shall have power to fill such vacancy for the extent of the term. The president-elect, following his/her term of office as such, shall automatically succeed to the office of president, and the president shall automatically succeed to the office of past-president.

These four officers and four other persons selected by the Conference at-large shall constitute the eight-member Executive Committee. The four at-large Executive Committee members shall be elected by the Conference for two-year terms each. The elections of these individuals shall be arranged so that the Conference will elect two persons annually. After the adoption of this amendment, two persons are to be elected for two-year terms each, and two for one-year terms each. Thereafter, persons shall be elected for two-year terms each. At-large members should be selected to ensure that all systems are represented on the Executive Council by a minimum of one.

The president of each member institution shall be responsible for disseminating news of the conference program to the faculty and staff of his/her institution.

There shall be an Audit Committee of three members appointed annually by the president to audit the books of the Conference.

The president may appoint such special committees as are required for promoting the purposes of the Conference.

Article V

Meetings

The Conference shall meet annually with the time and place to be set by the Executive Committee.

Article VI

Dues

To meet the expenses of the Conference, each member of the Conference of Louisiana Colleges and Universities shall pay annual dues, the amount to be determined by the Conference upon the recommendation of the Executive Committee.

Article VII

Amendments

This Constitution and its By-Laws may be amended by a vote of two-thirds of the voting delegates present at any regular meeting, provided that the proposed amendment has been submitted at one regular meeting and that final action may not be taken until the next regular annual meeting or provided that a copy of the proposed amendment shall be sent to every member institution of the Conference at least four weeks before the meeting at which the proposal is to be submitted.

BY-LAWS

1. Robert’s Rules of Order (latest edition) shall prevail in all matters of business not specifically covered in this Constitution and By-Laws.

2. The president of the association, immediately upon assuming office, shall appoint an official parliamentarian.

3. A resolution to be presented to the Conference must be sent to the president of the organization four weeks in advance of the annual meeting. Such proposals shall be reviewed by the Executive Committee and presented, with its recommendations, to the Conference for action. A resolution may be brought directly before the Conference by a two-thirds vote of the institutional delegates.

4. In appointing all standing committees, the president and the Executive Committee shall respect the principle of rotation of representatives among the several member institutions.

5. The annual dues for Conference membership are $150.00. Each college or university shall be billed on or about May 1 for the next academic year with payment to be received no later than September 30.

6. The addition, deletion, combination, or division of sections or other units of the Conference are the responsibility of the Conference president and the Executive Committee. Such modifications shall be decided by a majority vote of the members of that committee.

7. Upon being elected, the treasurer is authorized to collect, take custody of, and disburse the funds of the Conference. This officer is further authorized to deposit Conference funds in a responsible banking institution of his/her own choice. He/she is empowered to draw money on his/her signature for payment of minor recurring expenses of the Conference (travel, stationery, postage, and clerical supplies) without a special motion by the Executive Committee. Payment of major expenses of the Conference (such as printing of programs and honoraria for guest speakers) must be authorized by a specific motion of the Executive Committee.

8. The duties of the voting representatives are to record on their campus calendars the date of the annual conference, to reproduce the tentative program of the annual meeting and distribute copies to the faculty and administration in their institutions, and to publicize the annual meeting by any other appropriate means.

9. An officer or a member of the Executive Committee may be reimbursed for travel affiliated with Conference business. Automobile travel will be reimbursed at the rate consistent with regulations for state travel or for the actual cost of other means of transportation.

10. The President shall maintain a file of the minutes of the Executive Committee and of the annual business meeting of the Conference. Copies of the minutes of each Conference business session shall be distributed to each member institution and system through its voting representative. Minutes for the most recent year of activity of the Conference shall be kept in hard copy and copies of past minutes, correspondence, conference programs, financial records, attendance records and any other records deemed to be permanent records of the Conference shall be retained in hard copy and electronic format and maintained in the CLCU Archives located on the Louisiana State University in Alexandria Campus.