2023 Election Information
Thank you for your interest in Professional and Scientific Council!
What is Professional and Scientific Council?
The Professional and Scientific Council is a representative body elected by, and responsible to, P&S employees at Iowa State University. The Council is composed of approximately 40-45 members. Council members are elected from the divisions of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Operations & Finance, and President’s (one representative for every 75 P&S employees).
The Professional and Scientific Council identifies the needs of its constituents, provides information and advocacy in response to those needs, recommends policies and procedures to University administration that benefit P&S employees, and assists in fulfilling the mission of Iowa State University.
What do I do if I want to run for Professional and Scientific Council?
Running for Professional and Scientific Council is a two-step process: 1) submitting a nomination form and 2) earning votes from your scientific and professional peers in your division. For instance, if there are four vacancies in Academic Affairs and six candidates, voters in Academic Affairs can vote for up to four candidates. The four candidates with the most votes will fill the vacancies and be elected to Council.
Nominations typically open in February or March and elections occur in March or April. Councilors take office in June.
What are the expectations if I am elected to Professional and Scientific Council?
When elected, a Councilor has the following obligations:
- That you will attend the general monthly meeting, typically held in-person on the first Thursday of the month from 2:10-4 p.m. If you are unable to attend the monthly meeting, you must arrange for a substitute to serve in your place. Substitute policies can be found here.
- That you’ll serve on one of the Professional and Scientific Council committees. These committees maintain various monthly meeting schedules. Some meet in person prior to the monthly general council meetings, some meet in person at other times and some meet online. There is generally work to do between each meeting (at the discretion of your committee chair). The average monthly time commitment for a Councilor is 4-8 hours per month, which varies depending on the committee you participate on and the time of year.
How long will my time commitment be to Professional and Scientific Council?
Professional and Scientific Council holds elections every year during the spring. Approximately one-third of the Council is chosen at each election. Per Article II § 5 of the Rules and Bylaws of the Professional and Scientific Council, Councilors serve one-, two-, or three-year terms. Specifically, it states: “Representatives shall serve one-, two-, or three-year terms as determined in this section. In accordance with pertinent articles of the Constitution, the Representation Committee shall provide for and report to the Council any adjustments that are necessary to provide for the election of approximately one-third of the representatives of the Council each year. The committee shall place candidates receiving the most votes in vacancies with the longest available terms until all vacancies are filled.” Therefore, the Representation committee reviews the vote totals along with balance between divisions to determine terms assigned to those elected or re-elected.
Candidates have the opportunity to be elected to two consecutive terms.
What happens if I run and am not elected?
If you run for Professional and Scientific Council and were not elected, you will be placed on the vacancy list. Per Article II § 9 of the Rules and Bylaws of the Professional and Scientific Council, nominees for vacancies “shall first be chosen from the list of candidates from the most recent Council election, with priority given to those receiving the most votes.”
Further, those not elected are encouraged to be placed on the substitute list.
The Representations Committee welcomes any questions you have regarding the election process. Please email pands-r@iastate.edu to get more information.