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The regular faculty shall consist of all persons holding authorized professional positions as defined in Chapter III of the College bylaws. All positions within the CBS are tenure-track, contract type Academic A, ranked as Professor (IV), Associate Professor (III) and Assistant Professor (II).

Temporary instructors hired on a Letter of Appointment contract (LOA) are subject to approval by the director.

Visiting scholars and experts shall be nominated by the CBS. Such scholars shall normally conduct original research at the University of Nevada, Reno for three months to one full academic year.

Adjunct faculty members are not members of the NSHE system but shall hold teaching, research or honorific appointments in the CBS. Such appointments shall be proposed by the CBS faculty and approved by the dean of the CLA and the university administration, as required by the university code.

The director shall be responsible to the dean of the CLA for executing and implementing academic policy as it affects the CBS. The director shall agree upon an annual role statement in conjunction with the dean to determine the director’s duties in relation to research, service and teaching. The director shall be responsible for advancing the research, service and teaching mission of the CBS through his or her own efforts as well as through those of the faculty. The director shall guide the faculty and staff in strategic, program and curriculum planning, as appropriate. The director shall provide leadership to the Center in all its functions; oversee the CBS office and its staff, as well as the allocation of office space, equipment, and student assistance. The director shall also be responsible for the finances of the Center and shall represent the CBS in development matters, in coordination with the College of Liberals Arts development office and with the University’s Foundation. He/she shall be an ex-officio member of the CBS Advisory Board. He/she shall facilitate the personal and professional development of all faculty and shall closely monitor the progress of untenured faculty during the probationary period. The director shall conduct annual performance evaluations of all faculty and staff in January and, in consultation with them, create annual role statements. The director shall provide untenured faculty with an additional, annual performance review in July, in preparation for the third-year review and until tenure is granted. The director may appoint faculty members to ad hoc committees to carry out specific responsibilities of the CBS, as required. The committees may include faculty and staff, as appropriate. Any faculty member can request the establishment of a committee to accomplish a given task, and such a committee can be established by a majority vote of the faculty. The CBS has three standing committees: the CBS Press Editorial Board, the Outreach Committee,and the Advisory Board. Each of these committees is described below.

The director shall be nominated by a majority secret ballot of all regular CBS faculty in April preceding the start of appointment on July 1st. The nominated candidate will be recommended to the dean of the CLA, who will make the appointment with the approval of the president of the University of Nevada, Reno, as outlined in the University Bylaws. The director will be accorded the same voting privileges as other faculty members and will exercise a casting vote to break a tie. The normal term of appointment shall be for three years and is renewable.

The director shall be evaluated by the dean of the CLA on an annual basis. The dean shall take into account confidential peer evaluations of the director provided by CBS faculty members. The evaluation shall consist of a questionnaire, which relates to the director’s responsibilities and duties outlined in Section 7.A. The period of evaluation shall be from January 1 to December 31.

If the majority of all regular CBS faculty believes it is necessary, a co-director may be elected for a specific term of appointment. The co-director shall be nominated by a majority secret-ballot vote of all regular CBS faculty in April preceding the start of appointment on July 1st.

Should the director of the CBS be absent or unable to complete their term, the dean may appoint an acting or interim director as appropriate and in consultation with the regular faculty. In addition, the director’s removal from office for cause may be recommended to the dean of the college by simple majority vote of the regular faculty. A meeting shall be called for a vote if one-third or more of faculty not including the director agree to convene it. The vote will occur at that meeting of the regular faculty in the absence of the director. Should a majority of the total regular faculty in secret ballot vote affirmatively, the recommendation shall be made to the dean to remove the director. The recommendation for removal of the director of the CBS is subject to the approval of the dean of the college.

The Advisory Board meets at least once a year. The primary business meeting is normally held in April or May in Reno, Nevada. A second meeting is occasionally held in the summer in the Basque Country.

1. A commitment to give advice and community support to the CBS;
2. A commitment to promote the local, national and international importance of the Center and its activities;
3. A willingness to help identify and recruit potential new Advisory Board members;
4. A willingness to attend the annual Board meeting and assume leadership roles on the Advisory Board, or to assist the Executive Committee as the need may arise, or to participate in one or more of the Center's initiatives;
5. A willingness to build and maintain a base of knowledge about the Center that will enable each Board Member to provide well-considered advice and support to the director of the Center;
6. An appreciation of the financial needs facing the Center and a willingness to help build a base of private financial support for the Center through individual and institutional donations, “friend-raising,” and fund-raising events.

The CBS Press Editorial Board consists of all regular academic faculty members of the CBS.

Scholarly manuscripts submitted for publication are reviewed by the board, and recommendations for submission to external peer-review are made according to the members’ area of specialization and expertise.

The CBS Press Series have an Editor or/and an Editorial Board. The CBS Press Series may have external Series Editors, who are established scholars with a strong record of successful research in their field of study and who are appointed by the CBS Press Editorial Board. Series Board members will help the CBS Press identify manuscripts for submission and potential external peer reviewers.

Only regular CBS faculty members, as defined in section 6 of these bylaws, are eligible to vote at the CBS Press meetings or when such voting is deemed appropriate.

The CBS outreach committee consists of all regular CBS faculty members who may appoint a CBS classified staff member to serve as the Center’s delegate at NABO’s three annual meetings.

1. To strengthen the Center’s ties with NABO, and in turn its member organizations by participating in and carrying out mutually-beneficial initiatives;
2. To improve communications between the Center, NABO and its member clubs by fostering more active CBS involvement in NABO-related activities;
3. To establish closer links with South American Basque institutions;
4. To use the CBS website and newsletter more effectively as a means of raising awareness of the Center’s activities, and in turn identifying ways that the CBS can contribute to NABO events;
5. To identify Board members and CBS faculty to develop friendship networks in specific regions;
6. To identify new potential sources of funding through Basque institutions.
7. To perform other duties or undertake other initiatives as assigned.

A faculty member’s duties shall consist of an assigned combination of research, service and teaching, established annually in the role statement created jointly by the director and faculty member. The standard workload of a CBS regular faculty member is 60% research, 20% service and 20% teaching.

1. Research

   The University of Nevada, Reno is a research-intensive university, so the College of Liberal Arts continues to require original scholarly research or creative activity as a key criterion for tenure and promotion. Research is also the first priority of the CBS faculty members, who participate in scholarly interdisciplinary investigation in the field of Basque studies. Research normally entails field work, extended periods of archival and library research, the digitization of documents and the collection of photographs and other Basque-related materials that enhance the Jon Bilbao Basque Library at UNR and publications by CBS faculty. Typically, faculty members publish the results of their research in peer-reviewed monographs, in refereed journals, in proceedings, as editors of collections, or in other publications produced by respected publishing houses. Faculty members organize, coordinate and participate in collaborative research projects, in national and international conferences and in academic networks around the world. Grant-writing and applications for funding to undertake research and other scholarly activities (such as participation in symposia, international seminars and conferences) are also central to the research agenda of a CBS faculty member. In Basque Studies, archival, library and field research are normally conducted in the Basque, Spanish, French and English languages.

2. Service

   Regular faculty members are expected to engage in service activities such as participation on departmental college or university committees, relevant boards and panels. Faculty members serve on the editorial board of the CBS, which oversees the publication, sale and distribution of books in eleven different series on Basque Studies. In addition, they are affiliates of the CBS advisory board, whose membership enhances the Center’s relationship with the national and global Basque community. The director and faculty are actively engaged in the Board’s fund-raising activities. In addition,CBS faculty members provide scholarly assistance to the librarian of the Jon Bilbao Basque Library. Service also includes organizing international symposia, seminars and conferences. Faculty are also encouraged to be involved with global Basque scholarly communities and, with the agreement of all regular faculty, to promote international agreements with foreign universities and institutions through research projects, scholarly collaboration, exchanges among scholars and students. Teaching Basque studies related courses for credit or lecturing at other recognized colleges and universities in the United States and abroad also constitutes CBS faculty service.

3. Teaching:

   Regular faculty members contribute to a minor and a tutorial Ph.D. program in Basque Studies. Typically, they are responsible for teaching two courses per academic year. Instruction at the CBS entails generating and developing Basque studies courses in the faculty’s fields of expertise, classroom or on-line teaching, extension teaching, lectures, the supervision and mentoring of graduate students and those engaged in independent study, and service on graduate student committees.

4. Engagement

   Engagement is a non-compulsory activity of CBS faculty members. Faculty engagement refers to scholarly, creative, pedagogical and service activities engaged for the public good and directed toward persons and groups outside the university. The outreach provided by CBS faculty benefit international, national and local communities. Faculty members provide information and advice about Basque Studies to organizations, institutions and individuals around the world through lectures, advising, volunteering and participation in other academic and non-academic activities. Faculty members act as consultants to the media, to institutions and professionals in a wide range of fields and generate outreach to public schools and community organizations, including not-for-credit teaching and lecturing.Engagement should be recognized as a significant part of a faculty member’s professional achievements. It must be appropriate to the faculty member’s discipline and approved by the chair and dean as part of the role statement articulating the distribution of duties.

5. Entrepreneurial Activity

   At the CBS entrepreneurial activity refers not solely to the economic returns of the CBS academic community to UNR, including but not limited to getting sources of funding from non-governmental or public organizations and grant activity, but should also be considered as wider social and economic benefits such as the diffusion of knowledge or the contribution to employment. The principal entrepreneurial activity of the CBS is the production and distribution of CBS Pressbooks, the establishment of international academic agreements, and the configuration of a network of Basque and American companies and institutions that promote economic transactions and investments in research and technology and also contribute to business creation. Such activity is not required of individual faculty members. Entrepreneurial involvement cannot substitute for original scholarly research or creative activity, which is expected for tenure and promotion, nor should it disqualify a faculty member from performing departmental, college, university, and professional service as part of his/her regular duties. Entrepreneurial activity must be appropriate to the faculty member’s discipline and approved by the chair and dean as part of the role statement articulating the distribution of duties.

The dean of the CLA recommends new faculty positions at all ranks and approves searches to fill new and vacated faculty positions. Once a search has been authorized, the CBS shall initiate and conduct the search in accord with the approved bylaws of the CBS, the College of Liberal Arts, the university, University of Nevada, Reno search procedures and the NSHE Code. The director shall appoint a search committee consisting of regular CBS faculty members and colleagues from other departments at the University of Nevada, Reno, as appropriate. The director of the Center chairs the search committee. Its members are responsible for creating a job description for the position, recruiting, interviewing, and inviting candidates to campus for interviews. Search committee members vote by secret ballot for their preferred candidate. The director, as chair, then recommends the appointment of the candidate to the dean.

1. Annual Role Statements

   All annual evaluations shall be made on the basis of specified role statements, including professional responsibilities and performance expectations (relating to research, service and teaching), mutually agreed upon by the director and faculty member. Such responsibilities and expectations shall accord with the mission and priorities of the CBS. Neither the faculty member nor the director can unilaterally determine or alter the role statement of the faculty member. Significant discrepancies between a faculty member’s role statement and the CBS mission must be approved by the dean of the CLA.

2. Disagreements

   If a faculty member and the director cannot agree upon specified professional responsibilities, the matter shall be subject to mediation by the dean of the CLA. If mediation by the dean fails, the matter shall be subject to mediation through the Office of the Provost.

In accord with University of Nevada, Reno bylaws (Sections 3.3.2, 3.4.4 and 3.4.7), all evaluations shall be based upon equitable, uniform criteria and equitable, transparent procedures for assessing the quality of a faculty member’s performance, whether in annual evaluation, merit consideration, promotion, or consideration for continuing contract status. The director’s annual evaluations of faculty shall be based upon careful assessment of pertinent evidence in order to arrive at just, equitable recommendations.

Annual evaluations of faculty performance enable the university to recognize meritorious achievement within the CBS. The director shall recommend merit steps for individual faculty to the dean of the CLA.

The CBS expects that faculty members shall, during their careers, conduct, facilitate and disseminate the results of interdisciplinary research on the Basques to a local, regional, national and international audience primarily through peer reviewed publications.

1. Initiating Consideration and Forming the Tenure and Promotion (T&P) Committee

   It is incumbent upon a probationary full-time member of the CBS faculty to demonstrate that he/she has established a strong record of successful research, teaching, and service prior to earning tenure. Typically, the candidate shall apply for tenure and promotion at the beginning of the sixth year; however,in exceptional cases, he/she may request consideration at any time during the probationary period of employment through consultation with the director and dean. The CBS T&P Committee shall consist of all tenured CBS faculty and shall be chaired by the director. The minimum number of committee members shall be the director plus three other individuals. If there are not four tenured CBS faculty available for committee service, the director, in consultation with the CBS tenured faculty, will recommend additional names to the dean of CLA for the dean’s selection. The CBS Promotion Committee shall consist of a minimum of three professors at Rank IV and shall be chaired by the director of the CBS. All applications for tenure or promotion shall also be subject to external evaluation by established scholars whose own research is relevant to that of the applicant, following the guidelines established by the Office of the Provost and the dean’s Office. Ideally five with no fewer than four and no more than six external evaluators shall consider applications for tenure and promotion to associate professor and for promotion to full professor. The candidate shall suggest names to the director of the CBS and the director, after consultation with additional specialists, shall choose such external evaluators in conjunction with the dean of the CLA.

2. Standards for appointment with tenure and promotion to associate professor (Rank III):

   Section 3.4 of the UNR bylaws sets minimum standards for consideration for tenure and promotion. The CBS director shall obtain appropriate external evaluations of the applicant’s achievements in research, as specified in Section F.1. The candidate shall demonstrate a record of achievement in teaching, scholarly and/or creative work, and service as defined in section 22of the college bylaws, in section 12.A. of these bylaws. In order to meet the minimum standard to be eligible to apply for tenure and promotion, the candidate must be evaluated as “excellent” in research or teaching, and as at least “satisfactory” in the other areas. Candidates shall demonstrate a successful research program through publications in refereed outlets and academic conference presentations in the field of Basque studies. At the time the file is submitted, the candidate is expected to have published or have in press a monograph and a minimum of eight refereed articles/book chapters, or equivalent combinations, in Basque, Spanish, French and/or English as defined in Section 12.A.1 of these bylaws. A peer-reviewed monograph counts as five refereed articles/book chapters. The candidate is expected to have organized and participated in international symposiums, seminars or conferences. In service and teaching, the candidate for tenure shall demonstrate that he/she has successfully completed all service and teaching assignments made by the director of the CBSas defined in Section 12.A.2 and 12.A.3 of these bylaws.

3. Procedures and criteria for promotion to professor (Rank IV):

   Section 3.3.5 of the UNR bylaws sets the process and schedule for promotion of academic faculty. The CBS shall establish fair and equitable procedures for conducting tenure and promotion evaluations, in accord with UNR and college bylaws (Section 22.E) and the NSHE Code. The promotion to full professor is based on achievement rather than promise. A faculty member in Rank III shall be eligible for promotion to Rank IV when he/she has established a sustained record of excellence in a professional field. In order to meet the minimum standard to be eligible to apply for promotion, the candidate must be evaluated as “excellent” in research, teaching, and service. The record shall document publications and/ or creative work as defined in Chapter V, 18.B of the CLA Bylaws and as judged significant by peers in the field; distinguished professional service; and distinction in teaching and related activities such as graduate student advising. The candidate needs to show clear and convincing evidence of an international reputation, impact in the field of Basque studies and, active participation in professional arenas by participating and hosting international symposiums, seminars and conferences. The record shall document publications/creative work judged significant by peers and consistently commendable achievement in professional service and teaching activities. The candidate is expected to have published or have in press a minimum of two peer-reviewed monographs since the last promotion, in addition to a minimum of two refereed articles/book chapters published annually while in Rank III, in Basque, Spanish, French and/or English as defined in Section 12.A.1 of these bylaws. A peer-reviewed monograph counts as five refereed articles/book chapters. In addition, the candidate is expected to be sole or senior (first) author on most of the refereed publications. The record should document exceptional administrative achievement as well. The candidate should demonstrate that he/she has successfully completed all service and teaching assignments made by the director of the CBS,that he/she has been a committed member of the CBS Press’ Editorial Board, and that he/she has taken an active role in relation to the Advisory Board as defined in Section 12.A.2 and 12.A.3 of these bylaws. Departments and units shall obtain appropriate external evaluations of the faculty member’s achievement according to procedures established by the Office of the Provost and in accordance with CLA and department bylaws.

4. Negative Recommendations:

   If a tenure-track faculty member has not been awarded tenure by the end of the faculty member’s sixth probationary year, the faculty member will be notified that the contract issued for the seventh academic year will be a terminal contract (UNR bylaws, Section3.5). However, if a negative recommendation for promotion or tenure is received at any level, the faculty member has the right for reconsideration of the decision following the procedures outlined in the university’s bylaws(Section 3.2.4.b)and the NSHE Code (Section 5.2.4).

The director shall convene a faculty meeting at least once a semester. Any faculty or staff member may request a departmental meeting. Whenever a vote is required at such meetings, all policy matters proposed shall require a simple majority vote by faculty members for passage and a quorum consisting of a simple majority of the voting members, except in the case of the CBS bylaws.

All faculty members have the right to vote in the departmental meetings. All voting situations (departmental officer elections, hiring decisions, and tenure and promotion decisions) require a quorum of at least 50% of the active faculty allowed to vote as defined in the College bylaws 11.B.1.a-e. Voting on departmental officers, hiring, and tenure and promotion decisions should be by secret ballot and requires a majority vote of those present. Abstentions are not counted in the number of votes needed. Proxy votes will be allowed with the expectation that those voting by proxy will be well informed on the matters under consideration.