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Bylaws - Jan 30, 2001
I. General A. Preamble The Department of Mathematics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University is governed by these Bylaws. B. Definitions 1. Tenure-track Faculty includes all persons on tenured or tenure-track lines holding the rank of Professor, Associate Professor, or Assistant Professor. 2. Faculty includes all tenure-track faculty, lecturers, senior lecturers, and instructors. 3. The Department Assembly, the governing body of the Department, consists of tenure-track faculty and academic professionals on continuing appointment or probationary lines. The Department Assembly shall also include the two representatives of the lecturers and senior lecturers referred to in IV.A.1.c. 4. Department Membership includes all faculty and staff, and all persons identified in their letters of appointment as Academic Professional, Post Doctorate, Teaching Assistant, Graduate Teaching or Research Assistant, Research Assistant or Associate, Research Faculty, Emeritus Faculty, Visiting Faculty, Adjunct Faculty, or Faculty Associate. C. Election Procedures 1. Elections to fill k seats from a pool of n candidates. Voting is done by secret ballot, using the Borda count method. The eligible voters and candidates are described separately in this document for each body being elected. a. All potential candidates for the position are asked whether they are willing to serve. b. A staff member shall prepare a ballot that lists the n eligible candidates who have not withdrawn their names. The ballot return deadline shall be at least two full work days from the time of distribution. c. Recipients of the ballots are instructed to rank the candidates for the position, beginning with 1 for the most preferred candidate and ending with n for the least preferred candidate. A voter need not fill in a rank for every candidate; the tellers will assign the average rank of the unassigned numbers to any blanks. d. The ballots shall be tallied by at least two tellers appointed by the Department Chair. The ranks assigned by each voter shall be added for each candidate; the k candidates with the lowest rank sum are declared the winners of the election. If the kth-ranked candidate is tied with the (k+1)st-ranked candidate, a runoff election shall be held. The h candidates with lower rank sum than the kth-ranked candidate are declared winners, and a ballot for the runoff election is prepared that includes the names of all candidates involved in the tie. Voters then vote for (k-h) candidates on the runoff ballot; the (k-h) candidates with the lowest rank sums are election winners. If the runoff ballot does not resolve the tie, the tellers shall determine the winner using random numbers in such a way that each tied candidate has an equal probability of winning. e. The tellers shall prepare a report with the vote tallies and rankings. The Department Chair shall then inform the Department of the winner of the election, but vote counts and rankings are to be kept confidential. The tellers' report and the ballots shall be placed in a sealed envelope, signed by the tellers, and retained in the Department office for at least 30 days. f. Any candidate or eligible voter may request a recount of the election. The recount shall be done by the tellers along with a member of the Review Committee. 2. Department meetings. Voting in Department meetings shall be by voice vote or by show of hands, unless a Department member requests a secret ballot. 3. Eligible voters. Except as specified elsewhere in this document, for elections of lecturers to committees the eligible voters are all lecturers; for elections of tenure-track faculty or academic professionals to committees, the eligible voters are tenure-track faculty and academic professionals. D. Conflicts of Interest. To promote fair deliberations in the Department, Department Members are to avoid conflicts of interest. No Department Member shall use his or her position to promote the interest of a spouse, long-term companion, child, or other immediate family member. A Department Member shall be excused from participating in any review involving a conflict of interest, and should not petition for someone with whom there is a potential conflict of interest. Remaining independent from such deliberations may require that a faculty member resign from a committee assignment, for example, service on a teaching award committee when one's spouse has been nominated. In other instances, it may only be necessary for a Department Member to be excused from a portion of a committee's deliberations, for example, those of the Graduate Advisory Committee regarding teaching assistantships, when one's child has applied for a teaching assistantship. E. Relation to College, University, and Board of Regents Policies and procedures in these bylaws that conflict with those of (a) the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, (b) Arizona State University, or (c) the Arizona Board of Regents, shall not take effect. II. Department Officers All Department Members share in the responsibility for the Department's success in its mission to teach, do research, and serve the University and the community. In general, the Chair of the Department, with the advice of the faculty, is responsible for coordinating the day-to-day as well as the long-term management of the Department, while faculty members with the advice of the Chair are responsible for the quality of the instructional program. In addition to their teaching responsibilities, faculty members share in the leadership responsibilities outlined below. The Department Officers are: the Department Chair, the Associate Chairs of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies, the Director of First-Year Mathematics, and the Academic Senators. If a Department Officer is to be on leave for one semester during a term of office, a replacement may be appointed to serve in an acting position for the one semester. However, if an individual is to be gone for two semesters, a replacement will be elected or appointed, as appropriate, unless a special circumstance, as judged by the supervising official (Chair or Dean), warrants a different approach. A. The Department Chair The Department Chair is a tenure-track faculty member. 1. Responsibilities: The Department Chair is responsible for the efficient execution of university policies and for overall leadership of the unit, but shares this responsibility with members of the faculty and staff through discussion and other democratic procedures. Recommendations made by the faculty and staff are advisory to the Chair, who is ultimately responsible for the successful management of the Department. Faculty members and academic professionals participate in a regularly established procedure to evaluate the performance of their Chair and to share their opinions with the Dean. The Chair leads the faculty in envisioning the future potential and trends of the mathematical sciences and in shaping the development of the Department by appropriate hiring and resource allocation. Through contact with faculty in other departments, the Chair identifies opportunities for interdisciplinary research and encourages suitable initiatives. The Chair represents the Department in its official business with other University personnel, with the students, and with the public. The Chair seeks to maintain a productive atmosphere and encourages excellence in each Department Member. The Department Chair serves as a non-voting, ex-officio member of the Personnel and Budget Committee. The Chair shall • Represent the Department's needs for budgetary support, personnel, physical facilities, computing equipment, etc. to University administrators. • Inform the faculty about important developments and issues. • Efficiently use available resources in carrying out the Department's academic mission. • Coordinate personnel actions pertaining to the faculty and academic professionals: annual performance evaluations of faculty and academic professionals, recommendations on promotion and tenure, recommendations on faculty appointments and re-appointments, recommendations on salary adjustments including market and equity components, guidance of junior faculty. • Perform personnel actions pertaining to staff: recommendations for appointments, reclassifications and promotions, annual performance evaluations, recommendations for salary adjustments including market and equity components. • Manage the Department's day-to-day operations: the design of teaching schedules, the determination of teaching loads, the assignment of Department members to courses, the supervision and coordination of instruction, the management of the Department's budgetary affairs, the organization and supervision of support staff. • Schedule and chair Department meetings. • Appoint standing and ad-hoc committees. • See to the election of the Department's academic senators, and appoint or see to the election of other official Department representatives. • Assume all other responsibilities specified in the College Bylaws and the University ACD manual. 2. Selection: The Department Chair is appointed by the Dean of the College. The appointment and membership of a Chair Search Committee will adhere to the policies in ACD 111. Half of the members of the Search Committee shall be elected tenured faculty and continuing academic professionals, elected following the procedure in I.C. If the Dean requests that a lecturer be on the Search Committee, said lecturer shall also be elected following the procedure in I.C. If the Dean requests additional nominations for the Search Committee, those nominations are made by the Personnel and Budget Committee. The Search Committee is appointed by the Dean of the College and is responsible for recommendations to the Dean concerning the relative merits of candidates for the position. To the extent permitted by relevant college and university policies and procedures governing searches for administrative officers, the search for a Department Chair should be as open a procedure as possible. In the initial stages, faculty and academic professionals will be encouraged to make nominations in an effort to strengthen and diversify the pool of candidates. After the Search Committee has narrowed the field, the candidates' vitae should be made available to faculty and academic professionals. Prior to making its final recommendations to the Dean, the Search Committee shall solicit input from the Department Assembly, and distribute a secret ballot to its members. On the ballot, voters may rate each candidate as "acceptable" or "not acceptable," and rank the acceptable candidates. The outcome of the voting shall be included in the Search Committee's recommendations to the Dean, but otherwise kept confidential. B. Associate Chair of Graduate Studies The Associate Chair of Graduate Studies is a tenured full or associate professor who has had considerable experience in directing graduate students. The Department Chair appoints the Associate Chair for a two-year renewable term after consultation with the tenure-track faculty. Responsibilities of the position include: • Chairing the Graduate Studies Committee. • Coordinating Departmental activities with the Graduate College. • Directing the recruitment and admission of graduate students. • Assisting with the placement of graduate students. • Serving as temporary advisor to doctoral students before their supervisory committee is established. • Supervising the training of graduate teaching assistants, coordinating the evaluation of teaching assistants, and resolving student complaints about instruction by teaching assistants. • Deciding which students receive graduate teaching assistantships. • Assisting the Chair in the design of teaching schedules. • Coordinating the administration, grading, and evaluation of qualifying and comprehensive exams. • Preparing catalog and brochure information about the graduate program. • Considering proposals for existing and new graduate degree programs, and for substantive curriculum changes in graduate courses, and discussing these proposals with the Graduate Committee and tenure-track faculty. These proposals are to be voted on by the tenure-track faculty. • Directing any other activities related to the graduate program as assigned by the Chair. • Serving as Acting Chair in the absence of the Chair. C. Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies The Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies is a tenured full or associate professor. The Department Chair appoints the Associate Chair for a two-year renewable term after consultation with the tenure-track faculty. Responsibilities of the position include: • Chairing the Undergraduate Committee. • Coordinating undergraduate advising. • Reviewing requests for overrides and making appropriate decisions. • Recommending approval or disapproval to the Undergraduate Committee of changes in the program of study of a student. • Conducting student orientation sessions. • Reviewing independent study course requests. • Maintaining effective communication with the faculty concerning the undergraduate programs. • Considering proposals for existing and new undergraduate degree programs, and for substantive curriculum changes in undergraduate courses, and discussing these proposals with the Undergraduate Committee and tenure-track faculty. These proposals are to be voted on by the tenure-track faculty. • Providing for regular review of undergraduate curriculum, to include decisions on textbooks, technology, and teaching methods. • Preparing catalog and brochure information about the undergraduate program. • Assisting the Chair in the design of teaching schedules. • Resolving student complaints about instruction by tenure-track faculty. • Serving as liaison between the Department and the Office of Career Services. • Serving as Acting Chair in the absence of the Chair and the Associate Chair of Graduate Studies. D. Director of First-year Mathematics The Director of First-year Mathematics is a tenure-track faculty member, a lecturer, or a senior lecturer. The Department Chair appoints the Director of First-year Mathematics for a two-year renewable term after consultation with the faculty. Responsibilities of the position include: • Chairing the First-year Mathematics Advisory Committee. • Coordinating first-year mathematics (100-level MAT, MTE, STP) course offerings. • Considering proposals for substantive curriculum changes in 100-level courses, and discussing these proposals with the faculty. These proposals are to be voted on by the faculty. • Resolving student complaints about instruction by non-tenure-track faculty. • Training graduate teaching assistants. • Assisting the Chair in the design of teaching schedules. • Coordinating the master teacher program. E. Academic Senators The Department's Academic Senators will be elected for a term specified by the Academic Senate in the spring of the year preceding the beginning of service. All department members that are members of the Academic Assembly may vote and are eligible. Responsibilities include: • Attending all Academic and College Senate meetings or arranging a substitute. • Representing the interests of the Department through the Academic Senate and College Senate. • Bringing University, Academic Senate, and College Senate concerns back to Department members. • Assisting with the performance evaluation of the Department Chair. • Participating on Academic and College Senate committees. III. Meetings A. The Department Chair calls and conducts regular Department meetings at least once each semester. Unless specified otherwise by the Chair, all faculty and academic professionals are invited to attend and participate in the discussion. Except in emergencies, the Chair shall announce meetings at least one week in advance and distribute the agenda at least two days before the meeting. The Chair must place an item on the agenda or call a special meeting to discuss a particular item whenever presented with a request in writing signed by three or more members of the Department Assembly. B. Department business will be conducted only when a quorum is present. A quorum is 25% or more of the Department Members invited to the meeting who are not on leave. C. Tenure-track faculty members may vote on any issue discussed in Department Meetings. Academic Professionals may vote on any issue discussed in Department Meetings except those involving curriculum decisions, research directions, and evaluation of faculty. Lecturers may vote on issues involving 100-level instruction. Except as provided otherwise in this document, a simple majority of those voting at a Departmental meeting shall suffice for adopting a measure. Normally, voting in Departmental meetings is done by voice vote or show of hands; however, a secret ballot shall be used if requested by any voting member. If a ballot is used, the results shall be counted by two tellers appointed by the Chair, and the ballots shall be destroyed after the results are announced. Written proxy statements from persons not present to hear the discussion are allowed on any issue in the published agenda. Persons who are on leave (including faculty members away from the Department because they are serving as central administrators) may vote if present at the meeting; otherwise, they may submit a written proxy statement. D. The Department Chair is responsible for preparing and distributing minutes of each meeting, or for assigning another person to do this task. Minutes should be distributed within one week of the meeting. It is the Chair's responsibility to assure that hard copies of the minutes are put on file in the office of the administrative assistant to the Chair. IV. Committees All faculty members are expected to participate in the functioning of the Department through service on Departmental committees. A. Elected Committees 1. Personnel and Budget Committee (abbreviated PBC) a. Responsibilities: • Evaluating and deciding whether to recommend individuals for promotion and tenure. • Advising the Chair on annual performance evaluations and post-tenure review of all faculty and academic professionals. • Evaluating and making recommendations on sabbatical proposals. • Evaluating the progress of probationary faculty in performance reviews specified by the College. • Making recommendations on the renewal and promotion of non-tenure-track faculty with renewable contracts. • Advising the Chair on long range planning issues. • Advising the Chair on budget issues. • Making recommendations to the Chair on hiring priorities and recruitment procedures for new faculty, and providing input to the Chair on construction of search committees. • Consultation on appropriate executive functions when requested by the Department Chair. b. Selection: The PBC shall have six members: • two tenured full professors, • two tenured associate professors, • two members at large who may be either tenured full or tenured associate professors. Members of the PBC are elected for two-year terms, with one person in each of the three categories elected by April 15 for the next academic year. A candidate is not eligible if known to be on leave during the first year of the term, or if they intend to apply for either promotion, or for promotion and tenure, during the next academic year. If a member of the PBC is unable to finish a term, a special election shall be held for a replacement in the same category to serve for the remainder of that term. For this purpose, a member shall be considered to be unable to finish the term in the following cases: a member intends to apply for promotion and or tenure during the next academic year; a member will be on leave during the second year of the term; a member becomes Department Chair. After the election, the PBC elects one of the full professors on the committee to serve as Committee Chair. The procedure in I.C.1. is followed, and all full professors on the PBC are placed on the ballot." c. Representation of Lecturers and Instructors. All senior lecturers and lecturers may vote to elect two representatives. Representatives are elected from the senior lecturers and lecturers in August, and they serve a one-year term. Senior lecturers or lecturers who are not undergoing a second-year review during the year are eligible to be elected. They provide input to the PBC and the Chair on all matters pertaining to non-tenure-track faculty. These representatives are not members of the PBC, but they shall be invited to all PBC meetings in which non-tenure-track faculty are evaluated; they shall have the same responsibilities and voting privileges as the tenured faculty during these meetings. In addition, the PBC may delegate some of its responsibilities for evaluating non-tenure-track faculty to these representatives. 2. Review Committee a. Responsibilities • Hearing appeals from Department Members concerning performance evaluation and other personnel actions that are appealable at the Department level. Making recommendations to the Department Chair on the disposition of the appeals. • Listening to and counseling faculty, students, and administrators involved in disputes relating to the Department's functions. • Conducting hearings on charges of academic dishonesty or other disagreements and making recommendations for action to the Chair. • Recommending further steps to individuals when human relations problems cannot be resolved at the Department level, and informing individuals not satisfied with the review process of the next step in the Appeals process. b. Selection The Review Committee shall consist of six members of the Department Assembly who have tenure or continuing status. Three members of the Review Committee are elected each April, in an election held after the PBC election; members serve a two-year term. A candidate is not eligible if known to be on leave during the first year of the term. If a member of the review committee is unable to finish a term, a special election shall be held for a replacement. For this purpose, a member shall be considered to be unable to finish the term in the following cases: a member will be on leave during the second year of the term; a member is elected to the PBC; a member becomes Department Chair. Department members may not serve on the Review Committee during, or in the year following, a term as Department Chair or member of the PBC. After the election, the Review Committee elects one of its members to be chair using the procedure in I.C.1. All members of the Review Committee are included on the ballot for chair.
B. Appointed Committees Members of appointed committees are appointed by the Department Chair, with advice from the Associate Chairs. The Chair should take into account the advice and concerns of various subdisciplines of the Department when making committee assignments. The Department Chair shall normally appoint one of the committee members to serve as chair of the committee. At the end of an academic year, each committee chair shall prepare a brief report for the PBC and Chair outlining the actions and accomplishments of the committee. 1. Affirmative Action Committee. Responsibilities include a. Helping to implement the policies and procedures described in the ACD Manual. b. Developing an Affirmative Action Plan for the recruitment of faculty, staff, and students from underrepresented groups and bring the plan to the Department for endorsement or revision. c. Reviewing and updating the Department's Affirmative Action Plan every year, and assuring that the Department follows its Affirmative Action Plan. d. Advising the PBC and the Department Officers on affirmative action issues. e. Contributing to University-level affirmative action efforts on behalf of the Department. f. Keeping the Department aware of issues of fairness and cultural diversity. g. Becoming EO/AA certified. The Affirmative Action Committee shall have five members, at least three of whom shall be tenure-track faculty members. The other two members of the committee may be faculty or academic professionals. 2. Graduate Advisory Committee. Responsibilities include: a. Advising the Department on maintenance and improvement of the quality of graduate courses and degree programs. b. Advising on and implementing procedures for recruitment, admission, and retention of graduate students, graduate teaching assistants, and graduate research assistants. c. Advising the Chair and Associate Chair for Graduate Studies on the supervision of graduate teaching assistants. d. Assisting in the preparation and administration of required examinations for the graduate degrees offered by the Department. e. Advising the Chair and Associate Chair for Graduate Studies on procedures for certifying faculty members' qualifications to chair dissertation committees. f. Performing other functions relating to the graduate program, when requested by the Chair. g. Hearing and deciding upon appeals and petitions from graduate students. 3. Undergraduate Advisory Committee. Duties include a. Advising the Department on maintaining and improving the quality of undergraduate courses and of undergraduate degree programs. b. Advising on and implementing procedures for recruitment, admission, and retention of undergraduate mathematics majors. c. Supervising the advisement of undergraduate mathematics majors. d. Performing other functions relating to the undergraduate program, when requested by the Chair. 4. First-year Mathematics Advisory Committee. Responsibilities include a. Advising the Director of First-year Mathematics and the Chair on maintenance and improvement of the quality of first-year mathematics courses, and on development of curriculum. b. Performing other tasks relating to the first-year mathematics curriculum when requested by the Chair, for example, drafting course schedules. 5. Other appointed committees. The Department Chair may appoint other committees as needed by the Department, for example, a Colloquium and Visiting Scholars Committee, Graduate Teaching Assistant Training Committee, Computing Equipment and Facilities Committee, Engineering Liaison Committee, etc. C. Ad Hoc Committees The Department Chair, standing committees, or the Department Assembly may appoint or call for the election of ad hoc committees or subcommittees to carry out specific tasks. When the task is completed, the ad hoc committee is automatically dissolved. The task of a special committee is limited by the duties delegated by these Bylaws to the authority creating it. The Department Assembly shall be notified concerning the charge and membership of any special committee by the authority creating the committee. V. Appointment of Personnel A. Full time tenure-track appointments When new tenure-track faculty positions become available, the Chair, in consultation with the PBC (after seeking input from representatives of subdisciplines in the Department), determines the research area(s) in which the Department will attempt to recruit new faculty. Once the areas of recruitment have been established, the Department shall advertise the new positions following university guidelines. Applications received by the Department shall be available for perusal by tenure-track faculty at all times after the application deadline. The Chair, in consultation with the PBC, appoints one or more ad hoc Hiring Committees of three to five members each. Each Hiring Committee shall contain at least one member of the PBC, and at least one person trained in EO/AA procedures. Each Hiring Committee develops a short list of acceptable candidates, and submits the list to the Chair. The short list is made available to all tenure-track faculty for further comment. After consulting with the PBC and with interested tenure-track faculty, the Chair decides which of the candidates should be invited for interviews. All communication with candidates prior to their visit is done by the Chair. Candidates invited to visit the Department shall be interviewed formally by the Hiring Committee(s); PBC members may also attend these interviews. Candidates shall be encouraged to meet with as many faculty members as possible. After a visit, the tenure-track faculty are encouraged to make written comments about the strengths and weaknesses of a candidate, and to compare various candidates. The written comments are submitted to the Chair of the appropriate Hiring Committee, who shares them with the Committee and the Department Chair. The Department Chair, PBC, and Hiring Committee(s) further discuss the merits of the candidate, and the PBC and Hiring Committee(s) shall make recommendations to the Chair concerning the acceptability, strengths, and weaknesses of the candidate. Finally, after considering seriously the recommendation of the Personnel and Hiring Committees, the Chair shall decide whether to recommend that the candidate be offered a position. B. Academic Professionals The procedures for hiring Academic Professionals are the same as those for tenure-track faculty. C. Lecturers and Instructors When positions for lecturers or instructors become available, the Chair, after consulting with the PBC, appoints an ad hoc Hiring Committee of three to five members. The Hiring Committee shall contain at least one person trained in EO/AA procedures. Completed applications shall be available for perusal by faculty above the rank of the advertised positions at all times after the application deadline. The Hiring Committee develops a short list of acceptable candidates, and submits the list to the Chair. The short list is made available to the tenure-track faculty and to lecturers above the rank of the available positions for comment. After consulting with the Hiring Committee, the PBC, and with interested faculty, the Chair decides which of the candidates shall be offered positions. D. Faculty Associates The recruitment of Faculty Associates is the responsibility of the Chair in consultation with the Director of First-year Mathematics and, where appropriate, the Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies. E. Visiting Faculty When visiting positions become available to the Department, the Chair will invite all faculty members to nominate candidates for the positions. Nominees are then invited to make application. The Chair may also solicit applications by advertisement in appropriate publications. At all stages of the selection process applications are made available for the perusal of the tenure-track faculty. After all applications are received, the Chair shall prepare a short list of acceptable candidates for presentation to the tenure-track faculty for comment. After receiving the comments the Chair, in consultation with the PBC, shall make the final hiring decisions. F Procedures for Targeted Appointments Any faculty member may identify a truly outstanding candidate for a position in the Department, and may bring such a candidate to the attention of the Chair. If the Chair decides that the candidate merits further consideration, the Chair shall then meet with the PBC to decide whether to pursue a targeted hire for the candidate. Any candidate for targeted hire must be able to bring special abilities to the Department that would normally not be obtainable through the usual hiring process, and must enjoy the unanimous support of the Chair and the PBC. VI. Evaluation of Department Members. A. Annual performance evaluations. Annual performance evaluations of Department Members are conducted according to the procedures in the document "Department of Mathematics Evaluation and Salary Adjustment Plan." B. Probationary reviews of faculty and academic professionals. All probationary faculty and academic professionals are reviewed periodically as specified by College guidelines. The purpose of these reviews is to provide guidance on the individual's progress. The review should resemble a tenure/continuing status review, except that outside letters are not normally solicited. As in the review for tenure/continuing status, the Chair and PBC prepare separate statements of recommendations and suggestions. C. Review for renewal of lecturers and senior lecturers. All lecturers and senior lecturers are reviewed prior to the final year of the fixed-term appointment as specified by College guidelines. These evaluations are conducted according to the procedures in the document "Department of Mathematics Evaluation and Salary Adjustment Plan." D. Appeal procedures. Appeals of annual performance ratings done by the PBC must be filed with the Department Chair, in writing, within thirty working days of receiving notification of evaluation results. The Chair will forward the appeal to the Department Review Committee which will use non-adversarial fact finding procedures and will report back to the Chair. The Chair shall inform the appellant in writing of the outcome of the Review Committee's deliberations and the decision on the appeal, attaching a copy of the Review Committee’s report. If the appellant is still not satisfied, the next recourse for appeal is at the College level. Bylaws violations shall be reported in writing to the Review Committee, with simultaneous notification of the Department Chair. The Review Committee shall deal with the issue and make appropriate recommendations. All other appeals can be made either to the Department Chair who forwards them to the Department Review Committee or directly to a member of the Review Committee. VII. Promotion Policies. All evaluations for promotion, tenure, and continuing status shall be conducted according to the latest version of the document "Department of Mathematics Promotion and Tenure Policies." VIII. Adoption and Amendment of the Bylaws These Bylaws will become effective upon approval by at least two-thirds of the Department Assembly in a secret ballot and upon approval by the University. They may be altered, amended, or repealed by a 2/3 majority vote in a mail ballot provided that at least fifty percent of all eligible voters cast a vote. Proposals for amendments to the Bylaws must be sent to members of the Department Assembly at least eight days prior to the date on which action is to be taken upon them. IX. Parliamentary Authority The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order, Newly Revised shall govern the Department in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these bylaws and any special rules the Department may adopt. |