Department of Psychology Bylaws

October, 1992

(Revised November 1995)

(Revised, November 1999)

I. Membership

1. The department consists of voting members and non-voting members.

2. Voting members are faculty members at the rank of assistant professor or above who have an ongoing commitment to the Department and hold at least a half-time (0.5 FTE) appointment in the Department. They include: (1) Tenured or tenure-track faculty members, excluding those who are in their last year of service because they are about to leave the University, but including faculty members who are about to retire, and (2) General faculty who hold more than a one-year appointment.

3. There are two classes of voting members: Active and inactive.

4. Voting members may declare themselves inactive at the beginning of a semester during which they are on leave. While inactive they do not count toward fulfilling the quorum, nor may they vote.

5. Voting members who are on leave, but have not declared themselves to be inactive, are active even if they are not in residence. They then count toward fulfilling the quorum, and may vote.

6. The Department Chair makes every effort to supply active voting members who are out of town with the information they need to vote wisely.

7. Active voting members who are unable to cast a ballot may participate in ballots by designating a proxy voting member and informing the Department Chair of this designation.

8. Non-voting members also include those on courtesy faculty appointments for fixed terms. Consideration for these courtesy appointments requires a formal vote by departmental faculty and the term of appointment is usually for 3 years. Any active faculty member may bring forward a candidate at a faculty meeting. These appointments include: (I) research professors - appointment and salary contingent on external funding with laboratory space within the assigned space of a tenured or tenure-track faculty member or, in extraordinary cases, within space assigned by the department; (ii) adjunct professors - courtesy appointments for an individual who could contribute to the academic mission of the department in a significant manner (for example, retired faculty or members of state of federal agencies); or (iii) joint appointments - faculty members in other departments at the University of Virginia may be considered for second appointments in the department. These individuals should have expertise appropriate for one or more of the research areas within the department. Space assignments are not automatic and may be considered by the chair and appropriate faculty.

II. Directors of Undergraduate and Graduate Studies

1. The Director of Undergraduate Studies is selected by the Department Chair in consultation with the department and has responsibility for the administration of undergraduate programs. The Director of Undergraduate Studies serves as Chair of the Undergraduate Studies Committee. This committee is responsible for establishing policy for the administration of the departmental undergraduate program, subject to review by the department.

2. The Director of Graduate Studies is selected by the Department Chair in consultation with the department and has responsibility for the administration of graduate programs. The Director of Graduate Studies serves as Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee. This committee is responsible for establishing policy for the administration of the departmental graduate program, subject to review by the department.

III. Steering Committee

1. The purpose of the Steering Committee is to make policy decisions and recommendations on all matters of importance to the evolution of the Department, subject to the review of the faculty (see Article III. 4).

2. In case of a conflict between the Department Chair and a member of the faculty, a student, or a staff member, the Steering Committee may mediate the conflict.

3. All policy decisions made by the Steering Committee are reported in minutes distributed to all faculty in a timely fashion.

4. Any decision made by the Steering Committee may be overridden by the vote of a majority of the active voting members of the Department (see Article VI) or by the Department Chair.

5. The Steering Committee consists of six voting members, elected for two-year terms. Elections are staggered so that three new members are elected each year. Members do not serve consecutive terms.

6. The Chair and the Directors of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies are ex-officio, non-voting members of the Steering Committee.

7. Before the end of March the Steering Committee meets in order to recommend the fields of psychology from which applicants for vacant positions will be sought in the coming academic year. These recommendations are documented and transmitted to the faculty in the form of one or more ads for publication in professional journals. They must be approved by a majority of the active voting members of the Department (see Article VI).

IV. Composition of the Steering Committee

1. The Steering Committee should be broadly representative of the diversity of interests within the Department. The Committee, however, acts for the Department as a whole; its members do not represent specific research areas.

2. All faculty members will be candidates for Steering Committee positions for the upcoming year provided that they will be active voting members during the following year, that they are not at present members or ex-officio members of the Steering Committee, and that they are not in the same primary area as continuing Steering Committee members of the same level (with senior level defined as Associate Professors and above, and junior level defined as Assistant Professors). Primary and secondary areas of research interest will be defined by each faculty member.

3. New members of the Steering Committee are selected by secret ballot by the active voting members of the faculty, each of whom may cast up to two votes for candidates at the senior level and one vote for a candidate at the junior level. The senior and junior candidates receiving the largest number of votes are elected. The senior candidate who is in a different primary area from the elected senior candidate and receives the next largest number of votes is also elected. To ensure representation of genders and areas, the standing Steering Committee may substitute candidates as follows. In the case of a committee of insufficient diversity, the standing Steering Committee may substitute a candidate(s) from the unrepresented group(s) with the largest number of votes and nonoverlapping primary area for either the second senior position or the junior position. In addition, if an area that consists of two or more members is not represented on the Steering Committee by any faculty member with primary or secondary affiliation for a two-year period, the faculty member in that primary area with the highest number of votes during the next election will be appointed. New members of the Committee normally begin service on the 1st of July following the election.

4. A Chair of the Steering Committee is elected annually by the Steering Committee.

V. Faculty Meetings

1. The Department Chair insures that one weekly period of ninety minutes is available for faculty meetings (i.e., no teaching is scheduled for that time, nor are colloquia or other departmental functions). Under unusual circumstances, faculty meetings may be held at other times during the week.

2. Faculty meetings are usually called by the Department Chair. Any other voting member may call a faculty meeting by contacting the Chair of the Department or the Chair of the Steering Committee.

3. Faculty meetings are usually called with one week=s prior notice.

4. A quorum consists of two-thirds of the active voting members. No motion or vote may be made unless a quorum is present. When a motion to promote a faculty member is made, the quorum consists of two-thirds of the active voting members who are above the candidate=s present rank.

5. The person calling the faculty meeting distributes the agenda of the meeting at least 48 hours in advance of the meeting.

6. Minutes of the meeting are kept and distributed to the faculty. A file of these minutes is kept in the Department office.

VI. Voting Procedure

1. All motions, except motions to hire new faculty, are adopted by majority rule among active voting members who vote.

2. Adoption of motions to hire new faculty or to appoint individuals to courtesy faculty appointments requires a three-fourths vote of the active voting members who vote. The number of faculty voting is defined as the total number of AYES@ and ANO@ votes cast. Abstentions do not count toward the total.

3. Motions to promote a faculty member are voted on by all active voting members whose rank is above the candidate=s present rank, excluding General Faculty.

4. All votes are taken by a show of hands, except on motions to hire new faculty, courtesy faculty appointments, and motions to promote a faculty member, for which voting is by secret ballot. On the request of any active voting member present at the meeting during which a motion is made, the motion is voted on by secret ballot.

5. When a motion is voted on by ballot, a ballot slip is put in the mailbox of each active member who may vote on the motion, no later than noon of the working day following the faculty meeting during which the motion was made. Ballots are cast in a locked ballot box placed in the Department office. Forty-eight hours after the end of the faculty meeting during which the motion was made, ballots are counted by the Department Chair and the Chair of the Steering Committee or his or her designate. Results will be reported as motion passed or failed, and will include a vote count.

6. If in a vote, fewer than a quorum vote AYES@ or ANO@, the vote is invalid and will be announced as such.

VII. Approving and Changing the Bylaws

A new article of the bylaws or an amendment of a previously approved article of the bylaws is adopted by a two-thirds vote of the active voting members who vote.