BYLAWS

votingfacultyMSM, tgarside, cheryl

13 April 2000

TO: Voting Faculty of the Mackay School of Mines

FROM: Bylaws Committee (Jon Price, Chair, Glenn Biasi, Alan Fuchs,

Maurie Fuerstenau, Danny Taylor, Steve Wesnousky)

SUBJECT: Proposed amendments to the bylaws

ATTACHMENT: DRAFTchangesMSMbylaws13Apr2000

Please review the eleven proposed amendments to the MSM bylaws. In prior e-mails you have seen earlier versions of all eleven, and there are no substantial changes to any since the e-mail on February 26.

The attached Word file contains all the proposed amendments (using red lettering to highlight the proposed new wording) and a copy of the approved, currently-in-force Bylaws. If you have trouble reading the file, please see Terri Garside (SEM 307, tgarside@unr.edu) for either a black-and-white hard copy or a file attachment saved in another format.

The MSM Personnel Committee and the MSM Bylaws Committee feel that proposed amendments are ready for a vote. According to the MSM Bylaws, we are herewith distributing them to the faculty at least ten working days in advance of consideration. We have scheduled an open meeting of the MSM faculty to discuss the changes at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 27 in LMR 353. This meeting will give everyone an opportunity to comment on the pros and cons of specific amendments prior to voting.

We suggest that you wait to vote on these proposed amendments until you have an opportunity to hear the comments of your colleagues on April 27.

At the end of this e-mail and on page 3 of the attached file is a ballot for voting on these bylaws changes. Please mark your ballot, "for" or "against", for each of the eleven amendments. Seal the ballot in an unmarked envelope. Place that envelope in another envelope, and write your name on the outer envelope. Send the envelope/ballot to Terri Garside, NBMG, Mail Stop 178 by close of business on Thursday, May 4. Terri will check to make sure you voted (once). On May 5 Terri will open the outer envelopes and give the sealed, unmarked envelopes to Cheryl Steed, who will open and count the unmarked, inner envelopes. Terri will check the count after Cheryl makes the first count.

The MSM Bylaws require "a proposed amendment shall be distributed to the teaching and research faculty at least ten working days in advance of consideration, whereupon it shall be discussed in open meeting, and shall be in force upon (1) approval by the teaching and research faculty, which shall be by at least a two-thirds majority of those voting in a secret mail ballot, which vote shall be valid only if a majority of the teaching and research faculty of the School cast votes: (2) approval by the Dean of the School: and (3) approval by the President." If a majority of the faculty have not voted as of May 4, Terri will contact those who have not voted and try to get the necessary majority.

Please note that the Bylaws Committee discussed the fact that the term "teaching and research faculty" is not defined. We are including among the voting faculty all members of the MSM faculty, with the exception of LOAs. This includes administrative faculty, because their roles are largely in support of teaching and research.

Please let me know if you have any concerns about the voting process or if you think someone who should have received a ballot did not.

Once the MSM Bylaws are modified, the Bylaws Committee will tackle the review of departmental bylaws for consistency with MSM Bylaws.

Dean Long has agreed to forward amendments approved by the faculty and her to President Crowley for his approval as soon as possible. That is, she will be requesting the President's approval of the amendments to the MSM Bylaws as the Committee begins its review of the departmental bylaws. Hopefully we will receive the President's approval before the review of the departmental bylaws has been completed.

Thanks for your patience and participation.

Jon

BALLOT on AMENDMENTS to the MSM BYLAWS

Please circle your vote, either "for" or "against" each of the eleven proposed amendments. Seal the ballot in an unmarked envelope. Place that envelope in another envelope, and write your name on the outer envelope. Send the envelope/ballot to Terri Garside, NBMG, Mail Stop 178 by close of business on Thursday, May 4. Thank you.

********************************************************************

AMENDMENT A. CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF UNITS WITHIN THE SCHOOL. "for" or "against"

********************************************************************

AMENDMENT B. CONCERNING ELECTION OF DEPARTMENTAL PERSONNEL COMMITTEES. "for" or "against"

********************************************************************

AMENDMENT C. CONCERNING THE MISSION OF THE SCHOOL.

"for" or "against"

********************************************************************

AMENDMENT D. CONCERNING RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MSM PERSONNEL COMMITTEE TO INITIATE THE EVALUATIONS OF CHAIRS.

"for" or "against"

********************************************************************

AMENDMENT E. CONCERNING EVALUATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENTAL CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS. "for" or "against"

********************************************************************

AMENDMENT F. CONCERNING COMPOSITION OF THE MSM PERSONNEL COMMITTEE. "for" or "against"

********************************************************************

AMENDMENT G. CONCERNING FURTHER CHANGES TO THE COMPOSITION OF THE MSM PERSONNEL COMMITTEE. "for" or "against"

********************************************************************

AMENDMENT H. CONCERNING THE TIMING OF ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE MSM PERSONNEL COMMITTEE. "for" or "against"

********************************************************************

AMENDMENT I. CONCERNING THREE-YEAR AND SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS FOR TENURE. "for" or "against"

********************************************************************

AMENDMENT J. CONCERNING EVALUATION AND PERSONNEL RECOMMENDATIONS. "for" or "against"

********************************************************************

AMENDMENT K. CONCERNING SEARCH PROCEDURES FOR THE DEAN.

"for" or "against"

********************************************************************

AMENDMENT A. CONCERNING THE DEFINITION OF UNITS WITHIN THE SCHOOL.

This proposal is to change Part II (DEPARTMENTAL BYLAWS), Section A, from its current wording,

"The School is divided into constituent parts hereinafter referred to as departments. Departments have primary missions including teaching, research, or public service in accordance with UNR Bylaws. Each department shall adopt bylaws in accordance with UNR Bylaws."

to the following:

"The Mackay School of Mines consists of the following units: Geological Sciences, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (NBMG), Chemical Engineering Division, Metallurgical Engineering Division, Seismological Laboratory, and Mining Engineering. Hereafter in these Bylaws, these units are referred to generically as "departments." Departments have primary missions including teaching, research, or public service in accordance with UNR Bylaws. Each department shall adopt bylaws in accordance with UNR Bylaws."

This is simply a housekeeping amendment.

********

AMENDMENT B. CONCERNING ELECTION OF DEPARTMENTAL PERSONNEL COMMITTEES.

This proposal is to add in Part II (DEPARTMENT BYLAWS), a new item (changing D to E and making a new item D):

"D. Departmental personnel, promotion, and tenure committees should either be elected by vote of the departmental faculty or consist of all eligible members of the faculty, as specified in the departmental bylaws."

This proposed amendment is meant to ensure representation of all department faculty in selection of departmental personnel committees. The wording tries to explicitly account for the fact that some of the smaller departments have chosen to have all faculty members other than the chair be their personnel committee and for the fact that some have promotion and tenure committees that include all members with rank at or higher than the one being considered for promotion or tenure, respectively.

********

AMENDMENT C. CONCERNING THE MISSION OF THE SCHOOL.

This proposal is to change Section III (Administrators and Committees), Part F (Administrative Advisory Council) from its current phrasing,

"The Administrative Advisory Council shall function as an advisory body which consists of all department chairmen and directors plus Associate and Assistant Deans. The Council shall meet at least once a month during the academic year and shall be chaired by the Dean. The Council shall have the prerogative of advising the Dean on any matters pertaining to education and research that affect the School. This shall include, but not be limited to, preparation of the budget, School personnel policies, and course and program development and change within the School.

The Dean and Administrative Advisory Council shall meet at least twice each year in an open meeting with graduate and undergraduate students to discuss issues affecting students. In addition, the academic department chair shall endeavor to conduct exit interviews with each student graduating or otherwise leaving the university."

by adding the following paragraph:

"The Administrative Advisory Council shall review annually the mission of the School and assess strategic trends in education, research, and industry. The Council will provide results of this review in a written advisory report to the Dean."

The Bylaws Committee discussed whether it was necessary to state whether the Dean could add additional people to Administrative Advisory Council and decided that because the Council is only advisory, the Dean can probably add individuals without requiring a change in the Bylaws.

********

AMENDMENT D. CONCERNING RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MSM PERSONNEL COMMITTEE TO INITIATE THE EVALUATIONS OF CHAIRS.

This proposal is to change the following paragraph in Section III (ADMINISTRATORS AND COMMITTEES), Part G (Committees), Subpart 1 (The School Personnel Committee), next to last sentence in the first paragraph, from its current phrasing,

"The Committee will provide a forum for review of disagreement over annual evaluation and merit recommendations by the Department Chairmen or Dean; and will initiate the evaluations of the department chairs and directors."

to the following:

"The Committee will provide a forum for review of disagreement over annual evaluation and merit recommendations by the Department Chairs or Dean; and will initiate and report to the Dean on progress made on evaluations of the department chairs and directors."

Further explanations of the process for evaluations of chairs are given in the next proposed amendment (E).

********

AMENDMENT E. CONCERNING EVALUATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENTAL CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS.

The proposal is to replace Part V (EVALUATION AND PERSONNEL RECOMMENDATIONS), Section D, which currently reads

"An annual evaluation of the department chairman/director shall be made by the department faculty in accordance with the department bylaws, and forwarded to the Dean."

with the following paragraphs:

"A confidential annual evaluation of the department chairman/director shall be conducted by the department personnel committee in accordance with department bylaws, and consistent with UNR and Mackay School of Mines bylaws, and forwarded to the Dean. This evaluation is to be completed each year by the deadline for annual faculty evaluations.

1. Evaluations are to be submitted anonymously by all faculty within the department, using a system that insures a single, valid evaluation for each faculty member.

2. The chairman/director of each department shall submit to the Dean and the faculty in his/her department an administrative role statement, specifying goals and objectives as chair for the next evaluation period. At the end of the evaluation period, this role statement shall be submitted, along with self-assessment documentation, to the department personnel committee.

3. The format of the chair’s evaluation is up to each department. However, the MSM Personnel Committee shall make available a standard format evaluation form, and encourage departments to cover all areas of assessment as set forth in this standard format. Department evaluation forms shall also incorporate assessment of goals and objectives as stated in the chair’s annual administrative role statement.

4. Chair’s evaluations will be administrated, collected, collated, and assessed by the department personnel committee. Completed evaluation materials will be distributed to the faculty of the department, the chair, and the Dean. The Dean will meet with the department faculty and with the chair, separately and/or together, to discuss the results of the evaluation. The chair should also discuss the outcome of the evaluation with the faculty."

This proposed amendment is meant to assure the faculty that their concerns expressed in departmental evaluations of their chairs and directors are heard by the Dean.

********

AMENDMENT F. CONCERNING COMPOSITION OF THE MSM PERSONNEL COMMITTEE.

This proposal is to change the following paragraph in Section III (Administrators and Committees), Part G (Committees), Subpart 1 (The School Personnel Committee) from its current phrasing,

"The Committee shall consist of ten members elected from the School faculty as follows: one Rank IV representative for Geological Sciences, NBMG, Chem/Met, and Computer Science; one Rank 0, I, II, III, or IV representative from Geological Sciences, NBMG, Chem/Met, and Computer Science; one Rank 0, I, II, III, or IV representative from the Seismological Laboratory, and one Rank I, II, III, or IV from Mining. Directors of departments and research centers, departmental chairmen, Assistant and Associate Deans, and other faculty members who are themselves evaluated as administrators shall not be eligible for membership on the Committee."

to the following:

"The Committee shall consist of eight members elected from the School faculty as follows: two representatives each from Geological Sciences and NBMG, and one representative each from Chemical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Mining Engineering, and the Seismological Laboratory. Directors of departments and research centers, departmental chairmen, Assistant and Associate Deans, and other faculty members who are themselves evaluated as administrators shall not be eligible for membership on the Committee."

This proposed change keeps the status quo with regard to departmental representation on the Personnel Committee, updates the bylaws to reflect that Computer Science is no longer in the School and that Chem/Met has split into two divisions, and eliminates the requirement that one of the representatives from Geological Sciences, Chem/Met, and NBMG be Rank IV and the other be either Rank 0, I, II, III, or IV. Most people recognize that the Bylaws explicitly state that "A committee member may only vote on tenure and/or promotion decisions if she/he has attained the rank or status at issue." This means that for a department to have full voting privileges on Personnel Committee matters it is to their advantage to elect Rank IV members.

********

AMENDMENT G. CONCERNING FURTHER CHANGES TO THE COMPOSITION OF THE MSM PERSONNEL COMMITTEE

The proposal is to modify Section III (Administrators and Committees), Part G (Committees), Subpart 1 (The School Personnel Committee) to add one additional member to the Personnel Committee to be a member of the Rank 0 faculty within the School, elected by majority vote of the Rank 0 faculty who are eligible to vote.

Assuming that AMENDMENT F passes, this would change the number of members of the Committee to nine members. The new wording for this section would then be

"The Committee shall consist of nine members elected from the School faculty as follows: two representatives each from Geological Sciences and NBMG; one representative each from Chemical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Mining Engineering, and the Seismological Laboratory; and one additional member of the Rank 0 faculty within the School, elected by majority vote of the Rank 0 faculty who are eligible to vote. Directors of departments and research centers, departmental chairmen, Assistant and Associate Deans, and other faculty members who are themselves evaluated as administrators shall not be eligible for membership on the Committee."

********

AMENDMENT H. CONCERNING THE TIMING OF ELECTION OF MEMBERS OF THE MSM PERSONNEL COMMITTEE.

This proposal is to change Part III (ADMINISTRATORS AND COMMITTEES), Section G.1. (The School Personnel Committee), Paragraph 4, from its current wording,

"Representatives will serve two-year staggered terms. Nominations and elections to the committee will be held during the Spring semester for the Committee for the following academic year. The Committee will meet before the end of the Spring semester to elect a chairman from among its elected members."

to the following:

"Representatives will serve two-year staggered terms. Departmental nominations and elections to the Committee will be held at the beginning of the Fall semester. The Committee will elect a chairman from among its elected members and serve until the next Committee is elected."

This will bring the Bylaws into conformity with current practice, because most of the departments forget to elect members until the Fall semester anyway.

********

AMENDMENT I. CONCERNING THREE-YEAR AND SUBSEQUENT REVIEWS FOR TENURE.

This proposal is to change Section IV (Faculty), Part A (Definition), Subpart 1 (Criteria for Tenure for Teaching and Research Faculty) from its current phrasing,

"The guidelines for granting tenure are as specified in Section 50 of the UNR Bylaws."

to the following:

"The guidelines for granting tenure are specified in the UNR Bylaws. In accordance with the UNR Bylaws, there must be a three-year review for probationary faculty in which they must be evaluated and advised regarding progress toward tenure recommendation and, if not granted tenure, annually thereafter. This evaluation should be done by the tenured faculty of the department, division, or unit and be based on input from the faculty member, the department, division, or unit chair or director, and the Dean. The probationary faculty member, the chair or director, and the Dean shall be informed of this evaluation in writing, including the program of improvement that must be undertaken to be considered for tenure at a later date. The evaluation should be included in the faculty member's personnel file in the Dean's office."

The relevant section of the UNR Bylaws (Part 3, Chapter IV, 48b, on three-year review) states:

"A probationary member of the faculty must be evaluated and advised regarding progress toward tenure recommendation no later than the end of the third full academic year as a probationary member of the academic faculty of the university, and, if not granted tenure, annually thereafter. The probationary faculty member shall be informed of this evaluation in writing, including the program of improvement that must be undertaken to be considered for tenure at a later date."

********

AMENDMENT J. CONCERNING EVALUATION AND PERSONNEL RECOMMENDATIONS.

The proposal is to insert a sentence into Section V (EVALUATION AND PERSONNEL RECOMMENDATIONS), Part B, after the sentences that currently read "Effort should be made at all levels; department bylaws, department personnel committees, department chairmen, the Dean, and the School Personnel Committee to obtain conformity in all evaluations. The School Personnel Committee shall endeavor to ensure that the ratings by individual department chairmen are reasonably equivalent between departments." The sentence to add is:

"Annual evaluations of faculty by departmental chairs, directors, and personnel committees will be forwarded to the Dean, along with role statements and performance expectations for each faculty member, and kept on file in the Dean's office until the faculty member terminates employment with the University."

This proposed amendment is to meant to take care of concerns that have arisen about record keeping, particularly the lack of records regarding recommendations of departmental personnel committees.

********

AMENDMENT K. CONCERNING SEARCH PROCEDURES FOR THE DEAN.

This proposal is to change the following paragraph in Section VI (Search Procedures), Part A (Dean), Subpart 1 from its current phrasing,

"In accordance with UNR Bylaws, a search committee for filling a vacancy for the position of Dean shall be established. The search committee shall consist of:

a. one member elected from each department;

b. one member-at-large from the School, nominated and elected by voting faculty of the School;

c. one student member;

d. one representative from the classified staff of the School, elected by the members of the classified staff;

e. one representative of the Mineral Industry;

f. one representative of the University of Nevada-Reno at-large;

A candidate for the position is automatically ineligible to be a member of the search committee. The committee will appoint a chairman and select two members to the committee, one of whom will represent the Mineral Industry and one of whom will represent the University of Nevada at-large. After conducting a nationwide search following affirmative action procedures, the committee shall recommend to the President a ranked slate of three candidates for the Deanship."

to the following:

"In accordance with UNR Bylaws, a search committee for filling a vacancy for the position of Dean shall be established. The voting members of the search committee shall consist of:

a. one faculty member each elected from Chemical Engineering, Geological Sciences, Metallurgical Engineering, Mining Engineering, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, and Seismological Laboratory;

b. one member-at-large from the School, nominated and elected by voting faculty of the School;

c. one student member, selected by the students of the School;

d. one representative from the classified staff of the School, elected by the members of the classified staff;

e. one or two representatives of industry, one of which must be from the mineral industry;

f. one or two representatives of the University of Nevada-Reno at-large;

A candidate for the position is automatically ineligible to be a member of the search committee. The School's members on the committee will select one or two members of the committee who will represent the Mineral Industry and one or two members of the committee who will represent the University of Nevada at-large. The President will appoint the chair. After conducting a nationwide search following affirmative action procedures, the committee shall recommend to the President a ranked slate of three candidates for the Deanship."

This proposed amendment would explicitly give the President much of the authority that he has exercised in the past few searches to add additional people to the committee and to name the chair. Nonetheless, by limiting the number of individuals outside the School to a maximum of four and preserving seven slots for MSM faculty, one for an MSM student, and one for an MSM classified staff member, the proposed change would keep a majority of votes in the hands of MSM and our faculty. By inserting the words "voting members of the" search committee, we would be implicitly allowing the President to add additional nonvoting members if he chose to do so. Please note that the UNR Bylaws (Part 3, Faculty Personnel Policies, Chapter VI, Search Procedures, Section 66, Deans) state:

"The President, in making a nomination for dean or director to the Board of Regents, shall consult with the faculty of the unit concerned. Consultation shall involve a faculty screening committee selected according to the bylaws of the unit."

When a vacancy occurs, it might be wise for representatives of the MSM faculty to meet with the President to review the search procedures and get his recommendations for the industry and UNR at-large members for the committee.

This proposed amendment also adds one faculty member under part (a) by recognizing that Chem/Met has split and giving each of their divisions one seat on the committee. In addition, it explicitly says that the student representative should be selected by the students (although it doesn't say how this would be done - leaving that up to the students).

Finally, this proposed amendment tries to strike a compromise regarding industry representation by recognizing that the School serves more than the mineral industry but at the same time recognizing that there should definitely be representation from the mineral on the search committee.

********

BYLAWS

Mackay School of Mines

University of Nevada, Reno

(approved, as amended, by Dean James Hendrix, 16 December 1992, and

President Joe Crowley, 14 August 1993)

(Retyped by Melissa Bell, 9 June 1999; edited for conformity with the approved bylaws

and retyped by Jon Price, 15 December 1999)

BYLAWS

Authorization. The Bylaws are authorized by the Bylaws of the University of Nevada, Reno. Section 5.

Scope of the Bylaws. The Bylaws provide for the organizational and administrative structure and personnel policies and procedures for the teaching and research faculty of the Mackay School of Mines and shall be consistent with the UNR Bylaws, and the UNS Code.

Adoption of the Bylaws. These Bylaws shall be adopted and in full force and effect upon (1) approval by the teaching and research faculty of the Mackay School of Mines, and shall be by at least a majority of those voting in a secret mail ballot, which vote shall be valid only if a majority of the School teaching and research faculty cast votes; (2) approval by the Dean of the School; and (3) approval by the President.

Amendment of the Bylaws. Any member of the Mackay School of Mines teaching and research faculty may propose amendments to the Bylaws. Proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing to the Dean. A proposed amendment shall be distributed to the teaching and research faculty at least ten working days in advance of consideration, whereupon it shall be discussed in open meeting, and shall be in force upon (1) approval by the teaching and research faculty, which shall be by at least a two-thirds majority of those voting in a secret mail ballot, which vote shall be valid only if a majority of the teaching and research faculty of the School cast votes: (2) approval by the Dean of the School: and (3) approval by the President.

Interpretation of the Bylaws. Questions of interpretation of these Bylaws shall be directed to the Dean who shall seek the advice of the School Personnel Committee in making a ruling. If the Dean’s interpretation is in conflict with the interpretation of a majority of the School’s teaching and research faculty as expressed by a majority vote in an official meeting, the teaching and research faculty may appeal to the President for a final ruling. In any instance of such disagreement over interpretation of the Bylaws, the Dean’s position shall be presented to the teaching and research faculty in written form.

Compliance with the Bylaws. The Dean, department chairman and directors, and School and departmental committee chairmen shall be responsible for compliance with these Bylaws. In the event of noncompliance, any faculty member may file a written grievance with the Dean, stating the nature of the complaint and requesting corrective action. If the Dean does not take corrective action within 5 working days, the Dean or his representative shall request the School Personnel Committee to serve as an advisory hearing board, and the Dean or his representative shall within 15 working days from the original date of transmittal provide the faculty member with a written response describing the action taken. If no action is taken, the reasons shall be so stated in the written response, and the faculty member may submit the grievance to higher authorities.

DEPARTMENT BYLAWS

The School is divided into constituent parts hereinafter referred to as departments. Departments have primary missions including teaching, research, or public service in accordance with UNR Bylaws. Each department shall adopt bylaws in accordance with UNR Bylaws.

After approval by the department, the bylaws and any amendments thereto shall be submitted to the School Personnel Committee to determine the scope and content of required material, and consistency with Mackay School of Mines Bylaws and the UNR Bylaws. The Committee shall then make its recommendations to the Dean.

Departments bylaws shall specifically provide for the following:

The department chairman’s duties, responsibilities and authority, term of office, and annual evaluation.

Department committees.

Teaching and research faculty participation in developing and administering the department budget and funds.

Department meetings and notice thereof.

Search procedures for teaching and research faculty.

Search procedures for chairman.

Detailed procedures for annual evaluation, promotion and tenure.

Department bylaws may additionally provide for any procedures not in conflict with the UNS Code, UNR or School Bylaws.

ADMINISTRATORS AND COMMITTEES

The Dean. The Dean of the School shall be chief administrator and executive officer of the School, the chairman of its faculty, and ex-officio member of all its committees, expects for the committee to evaluate the Dean.

Associate and Assistant Deans. The Dean may be assisted in the conduct of the office by an Associate Dean and one or more Assistant Deans.

Responsibilities and Duties. The responsibility and duties of an Associate and Assistant Dean shall be specified by the Dean.

Department Chairmen and Directors. The department chairmen and directors shall be faculty members within their respective departments. They shall also serve as administrative and executive officers of their departments. They shall be ex-officio members of all department committees except when they are being evaluated as either faculty members or as chairman.

Responsibilities and Duties. The department chairmen and interdisciplinary program chairmen shall be directly responsible to the Dean for the execution of School and departmental policy, and the efficiency and educational and scholarly effectiveness of their departments and programs. The department chairman shall be responsible for establishing means of communication to (1) inform the department faculty of actions or information from the Dean and from department chairmen’s meetings, and (2) inform the Dean concerning pertinent actions taken by the department.

The department Chairmen, at the request of the Dean, shall submit periodic reports reviewing the accomplishments and developments of the department as well as its future development, and the Dean may request additional reports peculiar to individual departments.

Administrative Advisory Council. The Administrative Advisory Council shall function as an advisory body which consists of all department chairmen and directors plus Associate and Assistant Deans. The Council shall meet at least once a month during the academic year and shall be chaired by the Dean. The Council shall have the prerogative of advising the Dean on any matters pertaining to education and research that affect the School. This shall include, but not be limited to, preparation of the budget, School personnel policies, and course and program development and change within the School.

G. Committees:

The School Personnel Committee. The School Personnel Committee, following the personnel criteria established in the University and School Bylaws, shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Dean. Specifically, the Committee will advise the Dean on matters of tenure, promotion, annual evaluation, merit consideration, and any other personnel matters requested by the Dean. The Committee will provide a forum for review of disagreement over annual evaluation and merit recommendations by the Department Chairmen or Dean; and will initiate the evaluations of the department chairs and directors. If the Dean disapproves of the Committee’s recommendations, reasons for the disapproval shall be given in writing to the Committee.

The Committee shall consist of ten members elected from the School faculty as follows: one Rank IV representative for Geological Sciences, NBMG, Chem/Met, and Computer Science; one Rank 0, I, II, III, or IV representative from Geological Sciences, NBMG, Chem/Met, and Computer Science; one Rank 0, I, II, III, or IV representative from the Seismological Laboratory, and one Rank I, II, III, or IV from Mining. Directors of departments and research centers, departmental chairmen, Assistant and Associate Deans, and other faculty members who are themselves evaluated as administrators shall not be eligible for membership on the Committee.

A committee member may only vote on tenure and/or promotion decisions if she/he has attained the rank or status at issue.

Representatives will serve two-year staggered terms. Nominations and elections to the committee will be held during the Spring semester for the Committee for the following academic year. The Committee will meet before the end of the Spring semester to elect a chairman from among its elected members.

Should a vacancy occur among the elected members during the year, the Dean shall forthwith appoint a member to serve out the year, whereupon nominations and elections shall be held at the usual time for the remainder of the vacated term.

Ad Hoc Committees: The Dean may establish ad hoc committees to facilitate administration of the School and shall either appoint the members and the chairman, or provide for their election by the School faculty.

H. Assumption of Temporary Authority. In the temporary absence or incapacity of the Dean, the Dean shall appoint an Acting Dean, unless the Dean is unable to do so, in which case an Acting Dean shall be appointed by the President.

FACULTY

Definition. The Mackay School of Mines faculty shall consist of all persons holding authorized professional positions in the School with rank 0 or above, as provided in the UNS Code. Rank 0 faculty are those academic and administrative faculty not eligible for tenure. Every member of the faculty, with the exception of faculty with Letters of Appointment, shall have voting rights.

Academic faculty are those defined as those faculty whose duties involve teaching or research. Depending on duties, they will be called: Lecturer, Research Associate, Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, Assistant Research Professor, Associate Research Professor, Research Professor, Assistant Research Scientist/ Engineer. Titles of geologist or metallurgist, for example, will be considered as scientist or engineer as appropriate.

Temporary teacher and/or researchers, i.e., those persons who do not hold regular continuing contracts, such as visiting faculty, sabbatical replacements, etc., will be called by the same titles but will have the word, visiting, preceding the title, for example, Visiting Assistant Professor.

All academic faculty in tenure track and those in Rank 0 regular continuing positions must be associated with a department or division. Those faculty must be evaluated annually and are eligible to be considered for promotion and for merit increases in salary.

Administrative faculty are defined as those faculty who primarily perform administrative and/or support functions for research projects. They are called Administrative Faculty.

The equivalence of ranks in tenure track and non-tenure track positions is as

follows:

Tenure Track Non-Tenure Track

Lecturer

Instructor 0 (I)

Research Associate

Asst. Professor

Asst. Research Professor II 0 (II)

Asst. Research Scientist/

Engineer

Assoc. Professor

Assoc. Research Professor III 0 (III)

Assoc. Research Scientist/

Engineer

Professor

Research Professor IV 0 (IV)

Research Scientist/

Engineer

Criteria for Tenure for Teaching and Research Faculty

The guidelines for granting tenure are as specified in Section 50 of the UNR Bylaws.

Minimal Criteria for Promotion for Academic Faculty

a. Academic Faculty Not Eligible for Promotion

Lecturer/Instructor. Lecturers and Instructors are those persons who function in supporting research roles. Research Associates who do not have the terminal degree are not eligible for promotion in assistant research positions, Rank 0 (II). Research Associates are not required to enter the research professor series of positions.

b. Academic Faculty Eligible for Promotion

Faculty eligible for promotion will be evaluated according to the following minimal criteria; Departments shall have the right to establish additional criteria.

c. Rank II

A candidate for promotion to Rank II shall have the Doctor’s degree or appropriate terminal degree or equivalent experience in the professional field; shall have demonstrated commendable teaching or research ability where required and shall have given evidence of continued professional growth through study, professional activities and creative work.

d. Rank III

A candidate for promotion to Rank III shall have in addition to the requirements of the previous rank a record of substantial accomplishments in the previous rank; shall have given evidence of effectiveness in University teaching, research or service activities where required; shall have performed research or creative activity resulting in publication in recognized referred journals, equivalent reviewed publications or comparable productivity; shall have performed service to the School, the University, and professionally related service to the community or to the discipline, and shall have demonstrated capacity for further significant intellectual and professional achievement.

Rank 0 (II) faculty are expected to apply for promotion on a schedule equivalent to that required for tenure track faculty. Those faculty who work part time are expected to apply on a schedule based on accumulated time in grade. Prior to promotion to Associate Research Professor, research faculty will be granted only short contracts. After promotion, multi-year contracts will be extended to the Rank O faculty member contingent upon availability of funds and satisfactory performance evaluations. Rejection of an application for promotion to Associate Research Professor may be considered sufficient cause for non-reappointment of that individual.

e. Rank IV

A candidate for promotion to Rank IV shall have in addition to the requirements of the previous rank a record of substantial accomplishments in the previous ranks; shall have achieved excellence in University teaching activities where required; shall have attained national recognition in the special professional field; shall have a record of significant publication in recognized, referred journals, equivalent reviewed publications or comparable creativity productivity; shall have made significant contributions to the University, to the School and to the community or the profession.

Minimum Criteria for Awarding/Renewal of Three-Year Contracts for Rank 0 (I) Faculty

A minimum criterion for awarding/renewal of three-year contracts to Rank 0 (I) faculty members who are not eligible for promotion to Rank 0 (II) is the attainment of at least a Commendable rating in their Annual evaluations for the three most recent evaluation periods.

A minimum criterion for annual renewal of three-year rolling contracts is the same as described above for three-year contracts.

Continuing contracts are contingent on the availability of funds.

Criteria for Conversion of a Temporary Position to a Regular Continuing Position

Any conversion of a temporary to a regular continuing position must be initiated by a department/division; must be approved by the Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs; and must be in compliance with Affirmative Action requirements. This petition may be initiated at any time depending upon the availability of funds. During the third and subsequent years of employment in a temporary position, the department must consider conversion of this position to a regular continuing position.

Criteria for Discontinuing Rank 0 Faculty on Regular Continuing Contracts

Grounds for discontinuing a Rank 0 faculty member’s position on a regular continuing contract include an Unsatisfactory evaluation or those causes listed in the UNS Code, Section 6.2. During each of the first two years of employment, Rank 0 faculty on regular continuing contracts must be evaluated in time so that notice of non-reappointment, if necessary, can be given to the faculty member in accordance with UNS Code, Section 5.9.

Participation in Department/Division Governance

Every member of the faculty, with the exception of faculty with Letters of Appointment, shall have voting rights.

Meetings. Meetings of the faculty may be called: (1) by the Dean or an designee of the Dean; (2) by a petition signed by 20 per cent of the voting faculty, which has been submitted to the Dean or a designee of the Dean. A meeting called by petition shall be convened by the Dean or a designee of the Dean within ten working days of receipt of the petition. Members of the faculty shall receive notification of such faculty meeting at least five working days before the meeting. The Dean shall call at least one meeting each semester.

The Dean or a designee of the Dean shall preside over meetings of the faculty.

The presiding officer shall determine the order of business but shall provide adequate opportunity for introduction of new business from the floor.

Procedures during all faculty meetings shall follow Roberts’ Rules of Order; a quorum will consist of 50 per cent of the faculty.

By majority vote of the voting faculty at the meeting, any question shall be submitted to the entire School faculty for secret mail ballot vote. The ballot shall be prepared, circulated, and counted by a committee of three faculty members elected at the faculty meeting.

EVALUATION AND PERSONNEL RECOMMENDATIONS

All personnel actions and decisions shall conform to the requirements of the UNS Code, the UNR Bylaws, the School Bylaws, and the department bylaws, and Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity policies.

The School Personnel Committee in reviewing personnel recommendations and advising the Dean thereon shall be governed by the following personnel criteria together with the mission, priorities, and any further personnel criteria established by departmental bylaws. Recognizing the diversity of missions among the School departments, no universal standard of performance can be applied. Nevertheless, the School requires reasonable continuing achievement in the following areas where applicable: (1) instruction (2) research, scholarly or creative work (3) University service and (4) community or other professional activities (UNR Bylaws, Section 40). Therefore, each department shall have specified responsibilities and performance expectations mutually agreed upon by the individual faculty member and the department chairman. Effort should be made at all levels; department bylaws, department personnel committees, department chairmen, the Dean, and the School Personnel Committee to obtain conformity in all evaluations. The School Personnel Committee shall endeavor to ensure that the ratings by individual department chairmen are reasonably equivalent between departments. External peer review shall be a part of all tenure and promotion procedures.

C. Criteria for Annual Merit Recognition

Each department shall have specific criteria related to annual merit recognition. As a minimum, a candidate shall have demonstrated effectiveness as a teacher where required, as evidence by student or peer evaluations; shall have performed creative or research activity resulting in publication in recognized, referred journals, equivalent reviewed publications or comparable productivity; shall have performed service to the School, the University, and professionally related service to the community or to the discipline.

Annual merit recognition usually indicates encouragement toward tenure and promotion but does not necessarily mean that all the requirements for tenure and/or promotion are being met.

D. An annual evaluation of the department chairman/director shall be made

by the department faculty in accordance with the department bylaws, and forwarded to the Dean

E. An evaluation of the Dean shall be conducted by the Mackay School of Mines Personnel Committee on behalf of the faculty, staff, and students of the School. Questionnaires will be sent to the faculty and staff, and the Committee will hold discussions with leaders of student organizations with the Mackay School of Mines. The Personnel Committee will write an evaluation that summarizes the questionnaires and discussions. The evaluation, plus all original, anonymous data, including comments on questionnaires, will be made available by the Personnel Committee to any voting faculty member, but no copies of the report or data will be distributed. All data will be kept by the Chairman of the Personnel Committee until the next evaluation, after which the data will be forwarded to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The evaluation will be forwarded to the Vice President for Academic Affairs, who will review the evaluation in a meeting with the voting faculty. The first evaluation shall be made in November of the second year of the Dean’s incumbency and in subsequent Novembers thereafter following completion of the State Legislature biennial sessions.

SEARCH PROCEDURES

A. Dean

In accordance with UNR Bylaws, a search committee for filling a vacancy for the position of Dean shall be established. The search committee shall consist of:

one member elected from each department;

one member-at-large from the School, nominated and elected by voting faculty of the School;

one student member;

one representative from the classified staff of the School, elected by the members of the classified staff;

one representative of the Mineral Industry;

one representative of the University of Nevada-Reno at-large;

Should a vacancy occur, the President shall appoint an Acting Dean. Within ten days of the announcement of an existing vacancy or of a forthcoming vacancy, whichever is earlier, the School Personnel Committee shall meet as an advisory committee to assist the President in the selection of an Acting Dean. The committee shall recommend to the President a ranked slate of at least three candidates. The Acting Dean shall serve until the selection of a Dean as provided in the Bylaws.

B. Associate and Assistant Dean

The Dean may provide for Associate and/or Assistant Deans. Upon the announcement of an available position, the Dean will select an advisory committee consisting of one representative from each department within the School to assist in the selection of the Associate or Assistant Dean. The Dean’s recommendation shall be submitted to the President for approval. The Associate or Assistant Dean shall serve at the pleasure of the Dean.

C. Department Chairperson/Director

The department chairperson/director is the chief executive officer of the department, and as a member of the faculty shall be nominated according to department bylaws. Where applicable, the term of office should be staggered among departments so as to minimize the number of new chairpersons in any one year. After receiving the nomination from the department, the Dean shall submit his recommendation to the President for approval.

D. Faculty

The allocation, recruitment and appointment of faculty will adhere to the general provisions set forth in the University Bylaws. Recruitment of new faculty is initiated at the department level according to the procedures outlined in the respective department bylaws. The final nominees of the department are recommended to the Dean, who will evaluate the nominees in close consultation with the department chairman. The Dean’s recommendation will be communicated to the department chairman and the university administration.