Constitution and Operating Procedures

Constitution

Article 1: Name

The organisation shall be known as the University Women’s Network (UWN)

Article II: Purpose

The University Women’s Network was founded in 2012 to support professional development and networking among its members to enable achievement of individual career goals and to contribute to the development of vibrant research, teaching and support services communities at NUI Galway.  

Article III: Membership

Membership of the UWN is open, free of charge, to all individuals on the staff of NUI Galway who are interested in the purpose of the Network. Membership will be determined by completion of the Registration Form on the Network’s website.

Article IV: Executive Committee

The Executive Committee of the UWN will consist of at least ten, and no more than fifteen elected members, who will be elected by the UWN membership.  The elected positions are Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary/ Treasurer, and Members-at-Large. The University’s Equality Manager and Equality Officer will be ex officio members of the Executive Committee. In addition the Past Chair will be a member of the Executive.   The elected members will serve for three year terms. Normally members will not serve for more than six successive years. The term of the Chair will normally be for two years.

Article V:  Nomination and Election of Executive Committee

The Executive Committee will seek to have active participation from staff across the Academic, Administrative and Research constituencies. The Executive may co-opt members of staff to the committee to ensure balanced representation from all categories of staff. Membership of the Executive Committee will normally be sought by way of expression of interest. In the event of there being more expressions of interest than there are vacancies on the committee elections may be held at the AGM. Only Network members who are present at the AGM may be elected to the Executive Committee. 

Article VI: Officers and Duties

Chair
The Chair of the network will normally preside at all meetings of the Network and the Executive Committee, but may when necessary be represented by the Vice-Chair, and will be the primary contact person for the Network.

Vice- Chair

The Vice-Chair will deputise for the Chair as and when needed, and will support the chair in the execution of their duties.

Secretary/Treasurer:

The Secretary/Treasurer position will normally default to the University’s Equality Manager who will be responsible for taking meeting minutes, maintaining the Network’s e-mail list of members, and emailing members. They will also be in charge of creating and managing the Network’s budget.

Article VII: Meetings

The Executive Committee will hold an annual general meeting to which all UWN members will be invited and at which elections to the Executive Committee will take place.

The Executive Committee will meet at least four times a year to look after the general interests of the Network and plan networking opportunities, relevant seminars, and other events. A quorum of five Executive Committee members will be required for decisions.

Version History

Version 1:            11^th September 2013
Version 2:            9^th November 2013 incorporating changes discussed at Executive Committee Meeting 12^th Sept.
Version 3:            11^th December incorporating changes suggested by Executive Committee Members via e-mail