The name of this organization is the Invisible College.
The staff and office of the Invisible College shall reside at Portland State University or other site as chosen by the Steering Committee as needed.
The Invisible College, an expanding circle of educators, fosters and promotes community service learning as an effective educational tool. The IC recognizes the transforming power of service learning to involve the academy as a responsible and inclusive member of the diverse community.
The Invisible College’s primary purposes are to:
(a) Help its members in the pursuit of service learning at their individual institutions and in local communities by:
(i) Offering instructional assistance in the actual implementation of service learning courses and programs;
(ii) Collaborating with other organizations and institutions to create opportunities for training and Other activities to promote the further enhancement of community partnerships and service learning; and
(iii) Serving as an advocate for its members at their individual institutions in the cause of service learning.
(b) To, thereby, promote partnerships between institutions of higher education and their local communities by:
(i) Recognizing and validating community based knowledge systems;
(ii) Creating partnerships that depend upon and foster authenticity, integrity and mutual respect among faculty, students and community partners;
(iii) Honoring and respecting all elements of the diverse society; and
(iv) Creating safe spaces for open and frank dialogue on controversial or risk topics.
(c) To create a forum for written, face-to-face, and electronic discussion among its members so as to:
(i) Advance the theory and methodology of service learning;
(ii) Develop standards for service learning and its evaluation;
(iii) Promote collaborative service learning projects involving multiple institutions of higher education; and
(iv) Otherwise develop speakers’ lists, faculty interchanges and a scholarly literature on service learning;
(v) Continue dialogue on what it means to be an educator both in higher education and in the diverse community; and
(vi) Clarify how educators from higher education and educators form the diverse community can interact in relationships mutually beneficial to both.
(d) To promote the wider adoption of service learning as a form of pedagogy and scholarship through the expansion and diversification of it s membership.
(e) To become a nationally recognized, strong voice for the promotion of service learning in higher education.
The membership of the Invisible College is open to faculty and staff form colleges and universities and other educators. A person shall become a member for the current year under the terms set by the membership committee. Each member is entitled to one vote on all issues for which a membership vote is required.
(a) All members shall receive all publications to which they are entitled. For those on internet, access to the Invisible College Listserv, on which there will be ongoing discussion of service learning and organizational matters.
(b) Access to discussion for members not on internet. Whereas much of the discussion of the Invisible College shall take place electronically over the internet, provision shall be made for those without internet access. Specifically, accommodations shall be made for those without access to internet so that they can both receive hard copies of electronic discussions and contribute to them. Although it shall be the task of the staff of the Invisible College to insure such access, it shall be the responsibility of the coordinators of the individual learning circles to guarantee the continuity of the process.
Learning Circles are small, on-going gatherings of people who come together to share their ideals. goals, practices and honest experiences in service learning. In all cases, learning circles seek to be free spaces where open discussion of hard questions can take place in a collaborative and enriching environment that brings together people form different constituencies.
All members hall choose a “learning circle,” each of which shall maintain its own Listserv for electronic discussion and collaboration, responsible for facilitating discussion and collaboration. Each learning circles shall have a coordinator, responsible for facilitating discussion and collaboration. Learning circles can be organized around different themes, regions and interests, including:
(a) Topical Learning Circles. Topical Learning Circles shall discuss issues related to service learning and produce collective position papers and other publications related to such topics. Each topical learning circle shall have its own coordinator to facilitate these tasks. The publications produced shall be disseminated by the Invisible College as a whole.
(b) Regional Learning Circles. Regional learning circles are encouraged to promote faculty visits and colloquia, mutual assistance, and joint service learning projects in a particular region. Regional learning circles shall hold their own face-to-face meetings of members in the region, annually or biannually as the regional learning circle decides.
(c) Additional Learning Circles. Additional learning circles such as disciplinary learning circles may be established according to the interests of the membership. If established, such additional learning circles shall receive their own Listserv site and their own coordinator.
The Invisible College shall maintain electronic archives of all discussions taking place over the internet. All members shall have access to these archives.
(a) Offices shall meet annually, and at other times as required.
(b) The Invisible College will host a national Gathering at least every two years. The National Gathering shall be an opportunity for those involved in service learning to interact face-to-face, hear invited speakers, attend workshops, and present papers.
(c) A meeting of the entire membership will be convened at the National Gathering.
(d) Regional gatherings sponsored by the Invisible College members will be encourage and promoted.
Ideally, this organization will make decision through consensus; efforts will always be made to arrive at consensus with consultation without he membership prior to voting.
The Steering Committee will make no binding decision without a quorum of two thirds of the Steering Committee.
(a) Voting. All membership votes shall take place through the mail. All members shall receive relevant ballots at least 30 but not more than 60 days before such votes are tallied. Unless otherwise specified, actions shall be taken in conforming with the majority of votes cast.
(b) Member Resolutions. The Steering Committee shall be required to conduct a formal vote on any draft resolution signed by more than one sixth of the total membership of the Invisible College. Such votes shall be conducted at the same time as new organizational officers are elected. It shall be the responsibility of the Secretary to insure that all members receive copies of such resolutions between thirty and sixty days of the vote.
The officers of the Invisible College shall be the Chair or co-Chairs, the Secretary, and Treasurer. These officers shall be elected by the membership at large.
The Chair shall be the executive officer(s) of the Invisible College, shall preside over the Steering Committee, shall have responsibility for the general management of the organization, and shall see that all resolutions of the membership or the Steering Committee are put into effect. The Chair shall make a three year commitment, serving as Chair Elect (serving for a year as \observer), Chair (serving as Chair) and Immediate Past Chair (offering continuity an institutional memory) in consecutive years.
The Treasurer shall have responsibility for the financial management of the Invisible College, including the procurement of external funding. The Treasurer shall perform or cause to be performed the following duties: (a) keeping full and accurate accounts of all financial records of the Invisible College; (b) the deposit of all moneys and other valuable effects in the mane and to the credit of the Invisible College; (c) the disbursement of all funds when proper to do so; (d) making financial reports as to the financial condition of the Invisible College to the Steering Committee; and (e) any other duties that may be prescribed by the Steering Committee. The Treasurer shall serve a one year term.
The Secretary shall have overall responsibility for all record keeping. The Secretary shall perform or cause to be performed the following duties: (a) official recording and dissemination of the minutes of all proceedings of the Steering Committee; (b) coordination and archiving of discussions and deliberations of the regional and topical learning circles; (c) maintenance of the membership list; (d) provision for notice of all meetings of Steering Committee; and (e) notification of impending votes or expulsion. The Secretary shall serve a one year term.
The Steering Committee will consist of the five elected officers listed above and 5 members selected in consultation with the learning circles; this group of 10 will have the option of appointing two at large members to ensure that the Steering Committee reflects the diversity of the membership at large. Steering Committee members other than elected officers shall serve two year terms.
The Steering Committee shall serve as the Board of Directors of the Invisible College.
The Steering Committee shall explicitly be charged with supervising the following functions: (a) strategic planning of organization; (b) finances, including external funding; (c) oversight of staff; (d) nominations and elections for national offices; (e) communication with learning circles; (f) the National Gathering; (g) recruitment of members (h) publications; (i) advocacy, where needed, on behalf of individual members vis-à-vis their institutions; (j) the exertion of a national voice; (k) relations with the Highlander Center, Campus Compact, and other interorganizational relations; and (k) the collection and distribution of documents.
Individual members of the Steering Committee shall each be designated to perform or cause to be performed one or more of the above functions. The functions overseen by each Steering Committee member shall be made known to the general membership.
At its prerogative, the Steering Committee shall have the power to create Working Groups to oversee each of the functions identified in Section 7 committees which may be chaired by and comprised of members not on the Steering Committee. Such Working Groups shall report to and remain under the guidance of a specific members of the Steering Committee.
The Steering Committee shall also have the power to authorize ad hoc Working Groups of the Invisible College as warranted. Such ad hoc Working Groups shall be under the authority and direction of the Steering Committee.
The Invisible College shall indemnify its officers and members of the Steering Committee to the fullest extent allowed by law.
During the interim, start-up phase of the organization, prior to election of officers, the steering Committee, in consultation to achieve broad consensus with members, will amend these bylaws as needed.
After the interim period and after officers are elected, these bylaws may be amended or repealed, and new bylaws adopted, by the Invisible College by an affirmative vote of two thirds of the membership. Each member shall receive notification of such a vote at least sixty days prior to the time that votes are tallied. Any member requiring a copy of the bylaws shall be issued one by the Secretary of the organization.
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