CHAPTER ONE: 1590

HISTORY, MISSION, GENERAL ORGANIZATION, AND GOVERNANCE

July 2004

1590

ACADEMIC UNIT BY-LAWS

PREAMBLE: Responding to widespread disparities among departmental or unit bylaws, this section was adopted by the university faculty at its April 27, 2004 meeting.

Each academic unit will develop a set of bylaws, setting forth the rules by which the unit is governed [see 3560 E-1]. The majority of the faculty of the unit, the unit administrator, the dean of the college, and the provost must approve the bylaws and any revisions. The bylaws will undergo review and be re-approved at least every five years and a copy shall be sent to the Office of the Faculty Secretary. Unit bylaws must be consistent with college bylaws and the Faculty-Staff Handbook, and in the event of conflict, the unit bylaws are subordinate.

 Each unit’s bylaws must contain the following information:

1. the mission statement of the unit, including the objectives of the unit and its role;
2. policies on unit governance, including rules of order, meeting procedures, quorum, attendance at meetings, student representation, and voting rights;
3. the organizational structure of the unit, including the responsibilities of the unit administrator and the constitution and function of committees, their terms, and selection procedure;
4. specific departmental procedures, in addition to human resources procedures, by which faculty and staff searches and hirings are conducted;
5. the unit’s criteria and procedures for annual performance evaluation and third-year review;
6. the process for negotiation of annual position descriptions;
7. the unit’s promotion and tenure guidelines [see 3140 B-1] and procedures; and
8. the procedures for amendment of the bylaws.

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