IAEM-USA Universities and Colleges Caucus Rules

On May 22, 2007, President of the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), Mike Selves, utilized the authority vested in him to create a “special interest sector” ad-hoc committee entitled “Universities & Colleges” to represent the issues, goals, and objectives of higher education (university and college) emergency management practitioners. The creation of the committee was approved by the IAEM Board of Directors.

These Bylaws were accepted and established by the newly-created committee on May 25, 2007. On November 14, 2007, the new IAEM President, Larry Gispert, continued the existence of the Committee.

On January 15, 2008, the Committee amended its Bylaws to reflect the conversion of IAEM into individual IAEM Councils, which created the IAEM-USA Council.

On November 16, 2008, the Committee amended these Bylaws to further ensure consistency with the new IAEM-USA organizational structure.

On November 16, 2008, IAEM-USA President Russ Decker continued the existence of the Committee for the 2008-2009 year.

On June 2, 2009, The IAEM-USA Board of Directors reclassified the committee as a “Caucus,” named “Universities and Colleges,” to reflect the special interest sector focus and perpetuity.

On August 11, 2015, UCC leadership approved updated Bylaws.

On November 14, 2016, UCC leadership renamed this document to “Caucus Rules” or “Rules” consistent with legal guidance that only the parent entity IAEM USA could promulgate “bylaws”.

In accordance with Article VII of the International Association of Emergency Managers – USA Bylaws, adopted November 19, 2014:

The committee shall be known as the “Universities & Colleges Caucus.” Acceptable abbreviations include “University & College Caucus” or “UC Caucus” or simply, “UCC”.

The mission of the Universities & Colleges Caucus is to represent the emergency management issues surrounding college and university campuses.  Although they are a part of the communities in which they reside; higher education institutions take on special and sometimes unique considerations when assisting their campuses, students, faculty, staff, and visitors in preparing for, responding to, recovering from and mitigating against emergencies. The purpose of the UCC is to provide emergency managers from higher education institutions a voice on a national and international scale to ensure their needs are also being addressed by government and industry officials.

The UCC shall be differentiated from the “Training & Education” committee, which represents the academic side of emergency management education, as many higher education institutions now offer emergency management training. The “Universities & Colleges” caucus represents emergency management practitioners and others associated with the practical application of emergency management on campus.

In accordance with IAEM-USA Administrative Policies and Procedures, all leadership, special representatives and general members of this caucus shall be IAEM-USA members in good standing. Having met the eligibility requirements of one of the categories of membership, an IAEM member shall become a member of the Caucus by indicating their interest in the Caucus by the method established by the IAEM Secretary, and shall remain a member of the Caucus in perpetuity, while eligibility requirements continue to be met, or until such time that the member indicates their desire to end membership in the Caucus.

It is preferred, although not required, that caucus members possess CEM certification.

The designation of “General Member” is granted to any current IAEM-USA member who serves in the role of emergency management practitioner at a higher education institution.  

An “emergency management practitioner” is defined as a university or college employee who has been designated by his or her administration with a primary role in administering emergency preparedness and management functions at their institution.  

The designation of “Associate Member” is granted to a member any IAEM council, other than IAEM-USA, who serves in the role of emergency management practitioner at a higher education institution.  Associate Members are not eligible to vote or hold office, but are otherwise afforded all the rights, privileges, and benefits of caucus membership.

Supporting Members
The designation of “Supporting Member” is granted to any current IAEM-USA member, or member of any IAEM council, who does not serve in the role of emergency management practitioner at a higher education institution, but has an interest in higher education emergency management. Supporting Members are not eligible to vote or hold office, and are provided limited access to UCC files and records.   

The UCC Leadership shall have the following composition:

In accordance with IAEM-USA Administrative Policies and Procedures section regarding Caucuses, the IAEM-USA president nominates the Chair and Vice Chair of the caucus, which is approved by the IAEM-USA Board of Directors.

To ensure leadership continuity the caucus recommends to the IAEM-USA President and Board of Directors that leadership ascension shall occur similar to that of the council wherein the Vice Chair shall succeed to the office of Chair when the Chair’s term ends or if the Chair vacates that office for any reason; and the Secretary shall succeed to the office of Vice Chair.

The UCC shall conduct a binding election to select the Secretary in anticipation of, and before, the scheduled end of a term of office or within 30 days whenever the office becomes vacant for any other reason. 

The result of the binding election for the caucus Secretary by the caucus shall be the basis for a formal recommendation to the IAEM-USA President and Board of Directors for the appointment of the slate of Officers. The current caucus Chair shall transmit to the IAEM-USA President the names of the current Vice Chair and Secretary, and the results of such election for incoming Secretary in writing and shall request that the President and Board of Directors acknowledge and act in accordance with the wishes of the caucus general members.

General Members meeting the following criteria will be eligible to be nominated for Secretary:

Nominees may be nominated by any other General Member, including themselves, and such nomination must be submitted to the current Secretary for eligibility.

Selection of the Secretary shall be made by a private ballot using a suitable method of voting as determined by the Caucus Leadership, and shall be made available to all General Members of the Caucus.

In accordance with IAEM-USA Administrative Policies and Procedures, the caucus Chair shall be nominated by the IAEM-USA President at least 30 days before the current chair’s term expires or within 30 days after a position becomes vacant.

Nominations will be made from IAEM-USA members who meet the aforementioned membership eligibility requirements and will be approved by the IAEM-USA Board of Directors. In accordance with the wishes of the Caucus as established by these Rules, the Caucus recommends to the IAEM-USA President that the current Vice Chair shall be nominated to succeed as Chair.

The Chair will serve a 1-year term beginning and ending at the Annual IAEM-USA Conference.

In accordance with IAEM-USA Administrative Policies and Procedures, the caucus Vice-Chair and Secretary shall be nominated by the IAEM-USA President at least 30 days before the current Chair’s term expires or within 30 days after a position becomes vacant.

Nominations will be made from IAEM-USA members who meet the aforementioned membership eligibility requirements and will be approved by the IAEM-USA Board of Directors. In accordance with the wishes of the Caucus as established by these Rules, the Caucus recommends to the IAEM-USA President that the current Secretary shall be nominated to succeed as Vice Chair.

The Vice Chair and Secretary will serve a 1-year term beginning and ending at the IAEM-USA Annual Conference.

The Vice-Chair will be responsible for developing, updating, and monitoring the progress of the Caucus Strategic Plan and shall serve as Caucus parliamentarian.

The Secretary will be responsible for ensuring all official Caucus business is documented, including but not limited to issuance of meeting agendas and minutes.

In accordance with IAEM-USA Administrative Policies and Procedures, the Caucus Immediate Past Chair is the person who was nominated by the IAEM-USA President, installed, and served the most recently concluded term as Chair of the Caucus.

In addition, the Immediate Past Chair must continue to meet the aforementioned membership eligibility requirements during his/her term.

The Immediate Past Chair will serve a term that coincides with the Chair, beginning and ending at the Annual IAEM-USA Conference.

The Immediate Past Chair shall serve as an advisor to the Chair and Caucus, serve on workgroups as designated by the Chair, and be delegated other duties and projects at the Chair’s discretion.

In accordance with IAEM-USA Administrative Policies and Procedures, Regional Representatives shall be appointed by the Caucus Chair at least 30 days before the current chair’s term expires or within 30 days after a position becomes vacant.

Appointments will be made from Caucus General Members and must be employed at a college or university in the region they are representing.

To promote the diversity of the Caucus, a Regional Representative should not work for the same institution as any of the Officers.

Regional Representatives will serve one-year terms, beginning and ending at the IAEM-USA Annual Conference. Regional Representatives may serve consecutive terms if appointed by the Chair to do so. Regional Representatives must participate in at least half of the regular Caucus scheduled leadership activities.

Regional Representatives shall solicit input from higher education institutions within their region on topics before the Caucus, as appropriate.  They shall foster active dialogue of all institutions by encouraging them to join appropriate discussion groups, email list serves, and obtain IAEM-USA membership.

Each Regional Representative is to designate one (1) Alternate who can fulfill the roles and responsibilities of the Representative in his/her absence at meetings and conferences. Alternates are subject to the same membership eligibility requirements.  To encourage diversity and increased participation, alternates should not represent the same institution as the primary Representative.

Regional Representatives are permitted, and strongly encouraged, to create regional sub-structures as they see fit to efficiently administer the roles and responsibilities of their office.  

As necessary to further the Strategic Plan of the Caucus, the Chair may establish Workgroups to address specific issues. The Workgroup shall be led by Caucus members in good standing and report regularly to the Caucus Chair.  The Workgroup membership is appointed by the Caucus Chair and may include any individual deemed appropriate for the task, regardless of Caucus membership. Workgroups are limited to the term of the appointing Chair and may be reconvened by subsequent Caucus Chairs as needed.

In accordance with IAEM-USA Administrative Policies and Procedures, the Caucus Chair may appoint an Advisory Panel to the Caucus composed of individuals who are not IAEM-USA members but have knowledge, skills, and abilities that would enhance the function of the Caucus. Advisory Panel members have no voting authority on the Caucus.

The IAEM-USA Board will designate one of its members to serve as Board Liaison to the Caucus. The Board Liaison serves as an intermediary with the IAEM-USA Board, in addition to the relationship between the IAEM-USA President and Caucus Chair.  The Board Liaison is strongly encouraged to participate in all Caucus meetings and activities, but has no voting rights.

The Caucus Leadership shall meet, in physical person, at a minimum of once per year at the IAEM-USA Annual Conference.

As needed, additional in-person meetings may be scheduled to address specific issues of an important or urgent nature.

To further the advancement of the caucus goals, additional virtual meetings, whether by internet, teleconference or other meeting arrangements, shall be held at least quarterly.

Ongoing dialogue between Caucus Leadership via e-mail, telephone, and/or online discussion board is strongly encouraged.

Caucus meetings are open to the membership and shall be publicized to the membership at least 48 hours before the scheduled start of the meeting to allow interested members to participate.

The UCC Leadership can bring a topic forward for general membership voting. Official business can be conducted at any publicized, scheduled meeting.

In order to conduct official Caucus business, a quorum must be established. A quorum is defined to be at least half of the current Caucus Leadership. The participation of either the Chair or Vice-Chair is required.

Regional Representatives may send their designated alternate to attend a meeting on their behalf. The designated alternate may be counted to establish quorum.

A simple majority vote of quorum is required to approve official business, unless otherwise specified in the IAEM-USA Bylaws or Administrative Policies and Procedures. Each member of Caucus Leadership is allotted one vote.

If unable to attend a meeting where official business is conducted, Regional Representatives may delegate their vote by proxy to their designated Alternate from their same region. Votes may also be submitted electronically to the Secretary before the official vote.

In addition to the annual goals and priorities established at the IAEM-USA Annual Conference, the Caucus will always address the following standing goals:

Goal #1: To promote the importance of developing organized, comprehensive, all-hazard and integrative emergency management at all universities and colleges.

Goal #2:  To facilitate networking, communication, and best-practice sharing between university and college emergency management practitioners.

Goal #3:  To promote the inclusion of university and college emergency management practitioners in the multi-jurisdictional, multi-disciplined, and multi-hazard emergency planning conducted at the campus, local, regional, state and federal levels.

Goal #4:  To facilitate awareness of current legislative and planning issues in emergency management and interpretation of their effects on universities and colleges.

Goal #5:  To promote professionalism and professional development of university and college emergency management practitioners and/or programs.