Dean's Support Staff Advisory Committee

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Committee Members
 

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How to Join the Committee

Membership is open to all College of Human Medicine support staff and contracted community campus staff. Members serve as advocates for their peers by sharing feedback, participating in monthly meetings, and helping guide DSSAC initiatives. If you are interested in joining the committee, please email CHM.DSSAC@msu.edu

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Exceptional Support Staff Award

The DSSAC plays a key role in the College of Human Medicine’s annual awards by reviewing nominations and selecting recipients for the Exceptional Support Staff Award, which honors outstanding staff who demonstrate excellence in service to the college.

Congratulations to our 2025 awardees!

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Bylaws & Meeting Minutes

• Committee Bylaws

  1.0 | Mission Statement

  The Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (MSU CHM) Dean’s Support Staff Advisory Committee (DSSAC) was established in April 2019 to provide direct conduit and representation that enable all employed support staff and contracted community campus staff of MSU CHM as a mechanism to bring pertinent issues affecting MSU CHM’s business and operations to the Dean’s office for timely discussion and resolution.

  2.0 | Charge

  2.1 The Committee is charged with the following:

  2.1.1 Communicating the Committee’s purpose to all MSU CHM support staff and developing and implementing the means for MSU CHM support staff to convey ideas and concerns to the Committee.

  2.1.2 Soliciting and representing ideas and input from MSU CHM support staff for discussion with and advising the MSU CHM dean and on matters brought to the attention of the Committee.

  2.1.3 Selecting and summarizing issues for presentation to the MSU CHM dean for discussion and resolution.

  2.1.4 Developing, proposing, and communicating solutions for resolving pertinent issues to MSU CHM support staff.

  2.1.5 Seeking feedback from MSU CHM support staff, the Committee and the MSU CHM Dean agree on a mutually beneficial solution to an issue.

  2.1.6 Recording and cataloging the solution for review and access by current and future MSU CHM support staff.

  2.1.7 Recognizing and engaging with MSU CHM support staff to foster a welcoming workplace environment.

  3.0 | Limitations

  3.1  No action by the Committee and/or the MSU CHM Dean supersedes MSU CHM support staff rights and obligations available through their bargaining units, MSU CHM, and MSU. Any action on the part of the Committee and/or the MSU CHM Dean is to address and resolve issues before they reach a point which requires the assistance of a bargaining unit or MSU CHM administration.

  4.0 | Composition of Committee, Committee Member Terms, and Committee Vacancies

  4.1  With a focus on achieving a fair representation of the diversity of MSU CHM support staff, the Committee will decide the number, composition, and selection of Committee members through its voting membership.

  4.2  The Committee will be composed of 10 or more MSUCHM full-time/part-time/contract staff from all MSU CHM campuses. The committee ensures to maintain committee representation from the APSA, APA, CT unions and non-union staff including contracted community campus staff, as well as representatives from a variety of CHM departments and Dean’s office units.

  4.2.1 To maintain a functioning committee, there must be a minimum of 10 DSSAC members. If this committee falls below 10 members, committee members will nominate staff members outside of the traditional application process to fill the opening. To fill a vacancy a nominee will need confirmation through a committee vote.

  4.2.2 An appointed faculty liaison will act as a conduit to the Dean. This liaison will attend DSSAC meetings.
  
  4.2.3 Area of focus for the DSSAC Committee

  4.2.3.1 Awards

  4.2.3.2 Communication

  4.2.3.3 Community Service 

  4.3  For regular Committee membership, a member’s term of commitment begins on July 1, ending on June 30 of the final year of the term. Membership requires a two-year term commitment. Members wishing to serve additional terms must reapply.

  4.3.1 Members added outside the regular nomination process shall complete the remainder of the term for the committee member they are replacing (as referenced in 4.2.1).

  4.4  Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Program Coordinator and Treasurer selection occurs annually, term begins July 1.

  4.4.1 The Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer positions must be a member who has served on the committee for one year prior.

  4.4.1.1.1 Chair- oversees committee, creates agendas, leads meetings.

  4.4.1.1.2 Vice-Chair-oversees program coordinator, creates agendas, works parallel with chair.

  4.4.1.1.3 Program Coordinator – oversees task set forth by monthly meetings.

  4.4.1.1.4 Secretary- takes minutes at meetings and submits them to the DSSAC website.

  4.4.1.1.5 Treasurer- Tracks and documents expenditures authorized by MSU CHM’s Dean’s office.

  4.4.2 At the first meeting in July, those interested in one of the above positions in 4.4.1 will verbally self-nominate. If there is no one running against them they will automatically be awarded the position. However, if there are multiple people interested in the same position each of the self-nominating individuals will give the group a brief explanation of why they would like that position. After the positions with multiple nominees present their explanation so the remaining committee members can vote. Each member will have 1 vote and the nominee with the most votes gets the position.

  4.5 Should a Chair member resign or otherwise be unable or unwilling to fulfill the term of service, the Vice Chair will take over for the Chair, and a vote for a new Vice Chair will take place in accordance with Section 6.0.

  4.5.1 If the Vice Chair, Secretary, and/or Treasurer are unable to fulfil their duties, then the committee will vote to fill that vacancy.

  4.5.2 If a regular committee member resigns, another member will not be reassigned until next term, except for in the case defined in 4.2.1 to maintain a committee of at least 10 members.

  4.6 General Elections

  4.6.1 60 days before the expiration of a Committee member’s term outlined in Subsection 4.3 the Committee shall notify MSU CHM full-time contracted community campus staff of the opportunity to apply for and serve on the Committee subject to the Committee’s selection process.

  4.6.1.1 List the expected term of service by the applicant.

  4.6.1.2 Require the applicant to explain their qualifications and interest in serving on the Committee.

  4.6.1.3 Describe the selection process and provide a set date by which a decision will be made.

  5.0 | Committee Meetings

  5.1 The Committee will convene as necessary to establish and develop strategies for meeting objectives - but not less than six times per year.

  5.2 The Committee Chair and Vice Chair shall be responsible for calling order and selecting the meeting dates and locations, as well as preparing and sending a meeting agenda to Committee members at least 1 day in advance of the meeting.
  
  5.3 Any Committee member may request a meeting to address a matter they feel needs immediate attention, subject to the Committee Chair’s review and approval which shall not be unreasonably withheld.

  5.4 Any Committee member may submit an item to an agenda prior to the meeting or move to amend the agenda at the start of a meeting.

  5.5 The Committee Secretary shall provide general minutes of full Committee meetings and include motions and votes (i.e., in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order).

  5.5.1 All Committee meetings will be recorded and/or documented by the Committee Secretary (meeting minutes), who in turn will disseminate a draft of the meeting minutes to the 1) Committee leadership team for review and correction as necessary and 2) the MSU CHM Dean’s Office solely for the purposes of reviewing the accuracy of comments and/or information attributable to the MSUCHM Dean. A copy of the meeting minutes approved by the Committee will be preserved by the Committee Secretary in a location accessible by the full Committee and MSU CHM staff.
  
  

  6.0 | Committee Voting

  6.1 A quorum (50% plus 1) of committee members must be present at any given meeting to conduct any committee business.

  6.2 The matter to be addressed and subject to a vote must be noticed in accordance with Section 5.

  6.3 After a request to speak has been raised to the Committee Chair and/or Vice-Chair, a Committee member may have up to 5 minutes of uninterrupted time to address the matter to be voted upon.

  6.4 After any Committee member has had the opportunity to address the matter to be voted upon in accordance with Section 6.3, the Committee Chair and/or Vice-Chair may open the matter for general discussion.

  6.5 Upon motion of the Committee Chair and/or Vice-Chair, the matter may 1) be tabled for further consideration and discussion by the Committee or 2) put forth for a simple majority vote by the attending Committee members.

  6.5.1 A 2/3 majority vote by the full Committee is required for any matter which limits the right or participation of or involvement by any Committee member.

  7.0 | Committee Communications

  7.1 Internal Committee communications including but not limited to meeting minutes, proposed Committee documents, and survey results.

  External Communication from any member(s) of the Committee to the MSU CHM community (e.g., surveys, questionnaires, Committee news), requires submission and approval of the Committee.

  7.1.1 In the event a simple majority of the Committee members cannot agree on the proposed external communication, the matter will be submitted to the Committee Chair and/or Vice-Chair for final determination with input from the Committee members.

  7.1.2 In the event of a dispute related to the proposed communication and the Committee Chair and/or Vice-Chairs’ determination, a Committee member may request a meeting under Section 5.0 and a formal vote by the Committee under Section 6.0.
  
  

  8.0 | Amendments

  8.1 Any Committee member may submit a proposal to amend the bylaws as an agenda item for consideration during a Committee meeting that has been scheduled in accordance with Section 5.0.

  8.2 The proposed amendment shall be subject to the Committee members' approval in accordance with Section 6.0.

  8.3 Any approved amendment shall be merged with the bylaws.
  
  Having had the opportunity for review and comment, and by a simple majority vote of the Committee members, the MSU CHM Dean’s Staff Advisory Committee Bylaws were approved on 26 February 2026.
  
  

  updated 03/11/2026

• Meeting Minutes

  Meetings

  • 2025-26 Dean's Support Staff Advisory minutes
  • 2024-25 Dean's Support Staff Advisory minutes
  • 2023 Dean's Support Staff Advisory minutes
  • 2022 Dean's Support Staff Advisory minutes
  • 2021 Dean's Support Staff Advisory minutes
  • 2020 Dean's Support Staff Advisory minutes
  • 2019 Dean's Support Staff Advisory minutes