Ratified and Adopted on June 8, 2006
Amended April 12, 2007
By the RFA Board of Trustees
At the regularly scheduled RFA Spring Board Meetings on those dates
Section 1. The name of the organization is the USC Retired Faculty Association (RFA) of the University of Southern California. It is also known more simply as the Retired Faculty Association.
Section 2. The purposes are: to work for the good of our members as well as the USC retiree community and the University community as a whole. We serve as a resource for our members and contribute to the fellowship, intellectual and social interests of our members, as well as contributing to the quality and success of the broader community of which we are a part. The USC Retiree Community has four principal organizations that work collaboratively on projects. The Emeriti Center is the umbrella organization within which we work and which provides direct linkage to the University through the Office of the Provost. There are two membership organizations (i.e., supported by the dues and contributions of members): the Staff Retirement Association (SRA) and the RFA. Each works closely with retirees who are and/or were respectively faculty or staff in their careers at USC. The Emeriti College is an operating unit of the Emeriti Center which is strongly supported by the RFA and the SRA. Our President meets regularly with the leaders of these three organizations (and others) in an Executive Committee. This Executive Committee focuses on the USC Retiree Community as a whole, and helps produce such products as the USC Retiree Community Newsletter that is created and distributed by the Emeriti Center to all of us in the retiree community.
Section 1. Membership in the RFA is composed by those who have been full-time or part-time members of the USC faculty in one or more academic ranks. A USC pre-retiree faculty member in those academic ranks who would like to activate his or her membership prior to retirement is free to do so. In addition, the spouse of a living or deceased RFA member is also free to activate his or her membership at any time.
Section 2. An active member, with rights to hold office and vote, is anyone of the above who has paid his or her current annual membership dues.
Section 3. A sustaining member is one who, in any given year, in addition to paying his or her annual dues, also contributes $200 or more to the purposes of the RFA (such as gifts to the Caldwell Scholarship Fund, the RFA operating fund, the RFA endowment fund, or other such activities as may from time to time be identified by the RFA Board).
Section 4. An associate member is one who has retired from a faculty position at another academic AAU institution who has applied for membership in the RFA and has paid the annual dues. Such a member cannot serve as an officer, but will otherwise be eligible to participate in all RFA activity and attend all EC/RFA/SRA programs.
Section 5. An endowed member is one who, in addition to paying his or her annual dues, also contributes (or commits through his or her will to do so) at least $10,000 to the endowment of the USC RFA. This endowment is to be held within the University’s endowment, and its annual yield is to be made available for the purposes of the RFA as determined by the RFA Board.
The officers shall consist of the president, the vice president (who is the president elect), the past president, the secretary and the treasurer. Officers are members of the Board and are elected by the active members attending the Spring Board meeting held annually in May or June of each year. The agenda and items to be voted upon at that meeting are to be posted to the RFA Web Site (and notification of that posting sent to the local and at-distance faculty list serves) prior to that meeting.
The president, vice president, and past president shall serve one-year terms in a three-year succession. If an officer is unable to serve, the President shall appoint another serving officer to take the place of the person unable to serve, or if that is not feasible, a new officer shall be elected by the RFA Board from its membership.
The secretary and treasurer shall also be elected by the active members voting at the Spring meeting. They shall serve a three-year term with a possibility of a second term for a total of not more than six years.
Membership of the RFA Board shall consist of the following:
A regularly elected Board member (both officers and members) has a responsibility to attend the monthly Board meeting and to participate actively in the life of the Board. This includes service on and/or chairing Board committees as well as active participation in the project work of the RFA. A Board member is elected for a three-year term and may be reelected for a second three-year term. A Board member who has missed three regularly scheduled meetings in a twelve month period without having these absences approved by the President or the Board shall be deemed to have resigned. Any at-distance member of the Board is not expected to attend meetings on campus, but (s) he may participate by telephone conference call when that would be helpful.
President
Prepare and circulate at least one-week in advance of each monthly RFA Board meeting the draft agenda for that meeting to each Board member and others who express an interest in receiving it.
Preside at Board of Directors and General Meetings.
Maintain contact with and be available to RFA members and others within the University who are important to the work of the RFA.
In cooperation with the Executive Director of the Emeriti Center, offer annually to meet with the University Provost and the University President at a time convenient to them to review the work of the RFA—including its contribution to the University and upcoming opportunities that could be worth addressing.
In September, (in collaboration with the Executive Director of the Emeriti Center) welcome any newly appointed deans and offer to meet with them to explore the work of the RFA and the Emeriti Center and assure that transitions to retirement in that academic unit are going well. Renew that invitation to continuing deans, and be sure that all are invited to the Provost’s luncheon. In November, welcome new RFA members from the preceding year to the RFA community at the Provost’s luncheon.
Initiate long-range planning, goal setting, assessment and other such actions as may be useful to the health and success of the RFA.
Serve as a member of the Emeriti Center Executive Committee and the Emeriti Council.
Fill appointive positions as needed (subject to Board approval).
Prepare and send the annual June letter to all RFA members thanking the outgoing President, reporting on the work of the RFA in that preceding year, the results of the annual Spring meeting, and the request for membership dues for the July 1 FY (and other potential contributions). Send a follow-up reminder message in early fall to those RFA members who have not yet paid their membership dues, including reference to any new developments and upcoming fall programs.
Write a brief “President’s Message” for each USC Retiree Community Newsletter.
Develop, in consultation with the President Elect and the Treasurer, the annual budget for consideration and adoption at the annual spring meeting, as well as a report on the prior year’s work at the September meeting of the RFA Board.
Make arrangements for the annual audit.
Vice President/President Elect
Assist the President in any way possible and understudy the President’s job in preparation for assuming that responsibility following the next Spring meeting.
Preside at any Board meeting when the President is unable to do so.
Chair the RFA Outreach and Engagement Committee (on which the at-distance Board member(s) will also serve).
Past President
Serve as advisor to the President and to the Board.
Participate actively in all Board decision making.
Serve as the RFA representative to the Academic Senate and designate such other RFA members as may be useful in this task.
Secretary
Send notices of all Board meetings to Board members, take minutes at all Board and General meetings, and submit draft minutes for distribution with the agenda and approval at the following Board meeting.
Oversee, direct, nurture, and expand member contact through the phone network and card distribution programs. The Chair may elect to develop an ad-hoc committee to support this work.
Treasurer
Provide all financial operations of the RFA.
Maintain appropriate financial records and provide a brief summative written report monthly on the financial accounts to the RFA Board meeting.
Receive, deposit, account for, and report on the receipt of all dues and other income, and expenditures in the payment of bills and any necessary transfers or reinvestment actions.
Work with the President and the President Elect to prepare the annual budget proposal for review and adoption at the annual May meeting and the annual report on the prior year’s financial operations for review and adoption at the September meeting.
Liaise as appropriate with the Emeriti Center, the USC Credit Union and elements of the University’s financial organizations in the transfer of funds for such purposes as the support of the Emeriti Center and the Caldwell Scholarship.
Past Officers and Past Board members: Any board member or officer who has served on the Board for at least three years who is willing to continue to participate actively in the work of the RFA may elect to continue to receive Board Meeting agendas and minutes and attend Board meetings as a non-voting Advisory Board member.
Standing Committees
Constitution and By-laws Committee
The Chair is appointed by the President with approval by the Board. The Committee meets as needed at the call of its chair or the President to consider potentially useful constitution or by-law changes for consideration by the RFA Board and membership.
Nominations Committee
The Chair is appointed by the President in consultation with the Past President and the President Elect. The Committee shall be composed of the Chair (serving as a current Board member but not as a Board Officer), one other Board member not serving as an officer, along with the President, the Past President and the President Elect.
USC Retired Faculty/Staff Benefits Committee
The Chair is appointed by the Provost upon the recommendation of the RFA President. The Committee is responsible for considering the adequacy of, and the provision of, retiree benefits of all kinds. The Committee works with the Emeriti Center in making these benefits broadly known to the pre-retiree and retiree communities, as well as, from time to time, suggesting modifications to the specific benefits that are made available by the University. The Committee also makes recommendations to the Provost (as well as the RFA and SRA Boards) in these matters.
Retired Faculty Honors Award Committee
The Chair is appointed by the President (along with two additional members). The Committee reviews nominations for the University Retiree Lifetime Achievement Award, and recommends up to four such awardees for consideration by the Provost for awards that are made at the annual University Convocation. The call for nominations and the assembly of files is completed by University staff.
Outreach and Engagement Committee
The Chair of this Committee is the Vice President/President Elect. The purpose of the Committee is to increase the engagement of RFA members with each other and the Association. This includes the building and delivery of programs that will be of interest and service to the RFA membership and others in the University community. This includes development of joint programs with the SRA. This may also include planning and offering luncheons, clubs, interest groups, social events, message board exchanges, developing means for assisting members with particular issues where help would be useful, and review of the University events calendar for opportunities of particular interest to RFA members, and other such activities. It includes hosting the annual Homecoming Booth. The Committee works to increase the proportion of RFA members who are actively engaged in RFA activities and who elect to become active in the payment of annual membership dues. The Committee’s purpose is to increase the sense within the RFA membership that each of us belongs to an active and rewarding community that is committed to the centrality and usefulness of the retired faculty to the continuing quality enhancement of USC.
Russell Caldwell Neighborhood Scholarship Committee
The Chair of the Committee is appointed by the President. The committee’s purpose is to develop positive relationships with counselors at local high schools, review and recommend the selection of Scholarship awardees in cooperation with University officials, arrange contact and the opportunity for mentoring contacts between Caldwell awardees and RFA members, and report on the work of the program so that potential contributors to the program are informed of the value of its work (and can continue to support the program though financial contributions).
Ad-Hoc Committees
Communications Committee
The Chair of the Committee is appointed by the President. The purpose of the Committee is to continue to expand the means and ease of connectivity and communication among RFA members. This includes the generation, oversight, and nurture of the quality, reach, and usefulness of our Web site, the oversight of our list serve usage, the creation of message boards and other ways of creating special interest venues that would be of interest to our members, the potential for an RFA directory, the content and usefulness of the Newsletter, and other such ideas as might beneficially be explored. This committee is licensed through May 2007, with a decision then as to whether it usefully would be continued as an ad-hoc committee, or perhaps converted into a standing committee.
At-distance Committee
The Board member responsible for this development may elect to create an ad-hoc committee of others with ideas on how the RFA might better engage with our RFA members who are not living in Southern California. If such a committee is created it is to be licensed through May of 2007, with a decision then to be made as to whether it is to be continued as an ad-hoc committee or considered for conversion into a standing committee.
Spouses and Widows/Widowers Committee
The Board member responsible for this development may elect to create an ad-hoc committee of others with ideas on how the RFA might better engage with our RFA members who are themselves spouses and/or widows or widowers of spouses of RFA members who were themselves faculty members. This community seems likely to have needs and interests that we have not yet thought through very well, and that might be quite distinct from those faculty retirees who constitute the majority of our membership. If such a committee is created it is to be licensed through May of 2007, with a decision then to be made as to whether it is to be continued as an ad-hoc committee or considered for conversion into a standing committee.
Proposed changes to the Constitution must be approved by a majority of the active RFA members voting at a regularly scheduled meeting where the consideration of these changes has been given in advance through the agenda of that meeting, and where the consideration of these changes has occurred at one other prior noticed meeting of the Board (i.e., those who meet the requirements of membership and whose current dues have been paid).
Article 1: Eight active members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at any meeting, provided that due notice of the meeting has been given.
Article 2: Election of officers shall be by ballot, but this requirement may be waived by majority consent.
Article 3: Expenses of the RFA shall be met by annual dues and voluntary contributions.
Article 4: The President shall appoint one member of the Association to the Board of the University Park University Club and a second member to the Health Sciences Campus Faculty Center Board.
Article 5: The President may appoint an Advisory Board from the membership, subject to confirmation by the Board of Directors.
Article 6: Amendments to these by-laws may be made at a duly-called meeting of the Board of Directors, provided at least one month’s advance notice has been given to the members of the Board of Directors.
Article 7: The President may appoint an Assistant Secretary and an Assistant Treasurer.
Ratification and adoption: This restated Constitution and By-Laws document was adopted by unanimous action of the RFA Board of Trustees at the regularly scheduled Spring meeting on June 8, 2006. The drafting committee which prepared this document was chaired by Steb Chandor, and the members of the committee included Bob Coffey, Howard Hansen, and Bob Biller. Numerous drafts, drawing on and extending from prior Constitutions, were prepared and discussed by the Board and the membership during the 2005-2006 academic year leading to the final ratification and adoption of this text.