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Council Bylaws

University of Houston Downtown Sustainability Council

Charge: In September of 2021, the University of Houston Downtown (UHD) Provost formed a temporary Sustainability Committee of faculty and staff to develop guidelines for a Sustainability Council and to establish plans for the formation of a UHD Office of Sustainability. This document focuses on the UHD Sustainability Council. It was requested that we propose bylaws for the establishment and administration of a UHD Sustainability Council that is advisory to the President and Provost on issues and strategies of campus sustainability. It was suggested that the bylaws should minimally contain a mission statement, objectives and anticipated outcomes, procedures for the appointment of members, roles, responsibilities, and terms of service of members, the scope of work, long-term funding plan, space requirements, and assessment plan.

Mission Statement:

The mission of the UHD Sustainability Council will be to foster and promote sustainability throughout the university community by providing support and recommendations to the Provost and President and move UHD forward in its strategic plans.

Objectives and Anticipated Outcomes:

  • Propose and eventually integrate with a UHD Office of Sustainability that will serve as a unified resource for faculty, staff, and students. The Sustainability Council and an Office of Sustainability will allow for better integration between operations and academic initiatives across the university.
  • Recommend university sustainability goals and strategies that integrate sustainable practices across all areas of the campus in the areas of teaching, service, and scholarship. Focused recommendations and integration will increase efficiency and reduce duplication of efforts.
  • Provide analysis and expertise on sustainability issues. Faculty and staff expertise in sustainability across multiple disciplines will be in communication and easier to access by programs, departments, or administration.
  • Oversee a UHD Sustainability Council website that will be a source to highlight basic sustainability information about UHD and advertise relevant programs and opportunities.
  • Support sustainability aspects of the strategic plan and work with appropriate members of the UHD community to set sustainability goals and set plans and timelines for implementing those goals.

Procedures for the Appointment of Members:
Committee Make-up

  • Between five (5) and ten (10) faculty members with at least one member from each college. Each college will recruit 1-2 members of the committee based on interest and/or area of expertise.
  • Between three (3) and five (5) staff members represented by diverse areas around the university including, but not limited to finance, communications, facilities, etc. Areas of the university will recruit staff to serve on the committee based on staff interest or expertise.
  • One (1) representative from Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S).
  • Once UHD creates an Office of Sustainability, representation from that office would be a member of the Sustainability Council.
  • Two (2) students will be invited to serve on the committee as appointed by the Student Government Association (SGA) leadership.
  • One (1) community representative that serves a Houston agency, government office, or non-profit as a specialist in some aspect of sustainability.

Council Selection

  • The selection of council members will be determined in May prior to the academic year the council will serve.
  • Sustainability Council selection will be organized by the Chair of the Sustainability Council (the person serving as Chair in May). For the first year of the Sustainability Council, the Provost will serve as a faculty volunteer to set the selection process in order.
  • Faculty recruitment from each college will occur by the first week of May. Faculty will serve starting the following fall. Colleges may call for volunteers or have an election as they see fit.
  • Staff recruitment from diverse areas of UHD will occur by the first week of May. Staff will serve starting the following fall. This effort will be coordinated with Staff Council to assure representation from diverse areas of the university and keeping with staff policies and procedures. This process could be based on volunteers or utilize an election as needed.
  • EH&S Office will be contacted in the first week in May to determine the name of the EH&S representative to serve the following year.
  • UHD Staff with sustainability titles (i.e., Sustainability Coordinator) will be contacted the first week in May to confirm they are willing to continue to serve.
  • A community member who lives, works, or is engaged in serving District H community, should be identified during the spring semester and confirmed by the first week in May. In March of each year, the Sustainability Council members can nominate a community representative that serves a Houston agency, government office, or non-profit as a specialist in some aspect of sustainability. Nominees will be contacted and if they are interested in joining their resume/CVs will share with the Council. If more than one community member is interested there will be a vote and the candidate with the most votes will be appointed. Community members can serve for multiple years, but they must be re-elected each spring of the preceding term they will be serving.
  • The two SGA representatives will be determined in early fall and invited to the first meeting (SGA may not be ready to nominate its representatives in May before the academic year).

Roles, responsibilities, and terms of service of members:

  • At the first fall meeting of the Sustainability Council, there will be an election of a Chair for that year. Members may self-nominate, and the Chair is determined by a majority vote.
  • Faculty or staff Sustainability Council members can run for Chair.
  • The Chair can run again the following year if they wish, but there must be a call for self-nominations and election of a Chair each fall.
  • Faculty and staff on the Sustainability Council will serve a minimum term of one year but may continue to serve either through continuous volunteering or voting mechanism as decided by each area.
  • The Sustainability Council will meet monthly for up to two hours except during the summer recess (June, July, and August).
  • The first meeting of the Sustainability Council will be in September. The Council may choose to move some of their meetings online as needed, but the recommendation is that at least half of the meetings be in-person.
  • The Chair of the Sustainability Council will send out an agenda one week before the meeting.
  • At the first meeting, the Council will establish objectives to focus on for that year based on the Objectives and Anticipated Outcomes in the bylaws. The group will create sub-committees to work on each objective identified and the sub-committees will establish outcomes for their objective and a timeline.
  • At subsequent meetings, the sub-committees will report their progress to the larger Council.
  • Administration and other areas and programs within UHD may request to attend a Sustainability Council meeting to propose new initiatives or seek advice from the larger council or subcommittee.
  • To be an active and recognized member of the Sustainability Council, members must attend 75% of the meeting and engage in at least one sub-committee during the year.

Scope of Work:

The goal of the UHD Sustainability Council is to elevate the visibility of sustainability initiatives at UHD and to integrate initiatives underway. There are numerous topic areas where sustainability efforts could focus. These include, but are not limited to, the establishment of and integration with a UHD Office of Sustainability, purchasing of sustainable goods and services, optimization of energy, sustainable food and dining, management of water resources, waste management, green building practice, utilizing of alternative transportation and fuels, monitoring of social and economic factors related to sustainability and sustainability-related education and research. At the end of each academic year, the Chair will assemble the reports from each subcommittee and create a report summary of the year’s activities and outcomes. This report will be sent to the President and the Provost by the second week of May.

Long-term funding plan:

The Sustainability Council will be only advisory. One of the first activities of the Sustainability Council will be to advocate for the formation of a UHD Office of Sustainability. The Office of Sustainability will require a budget. The Council will not require a budget. Space Requirements:

The Sustainability Council will only require a meeting space on the UHD campus if the meeting is not conducted in virtual format.

Assessment Plan:

Each sub-committee will determine the objectives and outcomes they will focus on for the year. Sub-committee reports (of approximately one page) will summarize outcomes accomplished and any impacts made. The sub-committee will also articulate any outcomes they did not meet and the reasons why. The Chair of the Sustainability Council will assemble all sub-committee reports into a larger document. In any one year, it will be a goal to accomplish 75% of the specific outcomes established the previous fall.