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The mission of the School of Community Health Sciences is to develop, disseminate, and apply knowledge with an ecological approach to protect and promote the health of populations statewide and worldwide.

Goal

• To prepare future public health practitioners, researchers, educators and leaders
• To develop the knowledge base for public health through research
• To engage with multiple communities through professional and scholarly service
• To expose students to diversity in multiple venues
• To be recognized for leadership in innovative approaches to public health

Values

• Professionalism
• Integrity
• Diversity
• Community and collaboration
• Advancement of knowledge and learners

These bylaws provide by-laws guidelines for School activities necessary to accomplish School mission, goals and objectives. These bylaws are to provide consistency, fairness and equity to School operations. An electronic copy of the bylaws will be maintained in a location accessible to the faculty and a printed copy will be available to any faculty or staff member who requests it.

These bylaws are within the scope and authorization of the University of Nevada, Reno Bylaws and Division of Health Sciences Bylaws. The content of this manual is an extension of University Codes, Bylaws, and Administrative Manual, bylaws of higher level administrative units. Any instances where there are apparent discrepancies with higher authority, the higher authority takes precedence over these bylaws.

Any member of the voting faculty may propose revisions to bylaws or any part thereof. Proposed revisions must be distributed to the SCHS Director and the voting faculty at least 14 days before a vote is held. Revision(s) of the bylaws must be approved by a vote of two-thirds of the voting faculty. The date of revisions will be noted at the beginning of the section which has been revised.

Bylaws – A document that communicates the means of accomplishing the School’s mission, goals, and objectives with a minimum of time and effort, and that results in a maximum benefit to all concerned. It is a tool to enhance transparent decision-making with minimal personal restrictions, and to provide consistency in operations.

Policy – A policy is an organization’s statement of philosophy regarding work-related issues. It consists of a definite course of action or provides guidelines for determining present or future decisions.

Procedure – Procedures are a particular way of accomplishing a work related task. They provide a sequence of specific actions to take in order to comply with a policy.

Faculty-at-Large – The Faculty-at-Large (FAL) constitutes the voting faculty of the SCHS. The term faculty refers to those individuals holding authorized professional positions as defined by the Board of Regents.

Majority – A majority is defined as over one-half (51%) of the voting faculty-at-large.

Staff – Staff are administrative and classified employees who assist the director, faculty, and support the students. They are supervised by the SCHS Director who is responsible for their duty-list and evaluation.

Personnel – The term personnel as used in the by-laws manual refers to all faculty and staff in the SCHS.

Division – The Division of Health Sciences

VPHS – The Vice President of Health Sciences

School or SCHS – The School of Community Health Sciences

The primary level of governance and final authority is the SCHS Director. The Director functions as chief administrative and executive officer for the School, and is the unit representative to the Division. The SCHS Director is responsible for decisions affecting the general welfare and status of the School. This includes assuring that the business of the School complies with mission statements, goals, and objectives of the School, the Division and the University.

1. Responsibilities of the Director

   The specific responsibilities of the Director include, but are not limited to:

   • Bringing forward the mission, planning, development, and opportunities for the School and faculty both inside and outside the University
   • Administering, planning, and overseeing daily management activities of the School with input from the faculty-at-large.
   • Supervising and evaluating faculty and staff.
   • Assigning responsibility for classroom teaching.
   • Pursuing and managing resources necessary for unit success.
   • Developing and managing the School’s budget.
   • Recruiting, training, and motivating faculty and staff.
   • Developing by-laws not specified in this manual or in the bylaws or regulations of any higher level of governance and informing the faculty of same.
2. Recruitment & Evaluation of the Director

   The SCHS Director is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the VPHS and the FAL. The Director is chosen through either a) a formal search process initiated by the Vice President of Health Sciences or b) a nomination process within the School with a recommendation for Director submitted to the Vice President of Health Sciences after a majority vote in favor of the nominee by the FAL.

   The Director will be evaluated annually by the VPHS as required by section 3.3.3 of the Division of Health Sciences bylaws. The school personnel committee will evaluate the Director’s performance in teaching, research and external service and report its findings and recommendation to the VPHS, who will consider this information along with performance criteria established by the Division or the VPHS for evaluation of directors of schools in determining a final evaluation. The Vice President and/or the School Personnel Committee will seek input from the FAL and staff regarding the Director’s administrative performance. The Director will also be evaluated periodically as required by University of Nevada, Reno bylaws 3.3.2.

The second level of governance is the SCHS Faculty-at-Large (FAL). The FAL provides input to the SCHS Director. The Faculty-at-Large (FAL) constitutes the voting faculty of the SCHS. All academic and administrative faculty members with at least a 50 percent appointment in the SCHS are considered part of the Faculty-at-Large. The SCHS Director may approve exceptions to this rule.

1. Rights and responsibilities of the faculty

   Faculty rights and responsibilities are described in Chapter III, section 39 of the University Bylaws. Additional responsibilities of the SCHS faculty are to:

   • Attend faculty meetings.
   • Attend at least one undergraduate commencement every year.
   • Attend graduate commencements when he/she has an advisee graduating.
   • Contribute to fulfilling the school’s teaching mission on the undergraduate and graduate levels.
   • Develop, in consultation with the Director, a role statement for each calendar year, describing the effort to be devoted to teaching, research and service, consistent with the mission and needs of the School. The role statement is signed by the faculty member and the Director and becomes part of the faculty member’s personnel file. Role statements may be amended during the year by mutual agreement of the faculty and the Director.
   • At the end of each calendar year, submit to the Director an annual report providing a full and accurate summary of the year’s accomplishments for the purposes of annual evaluation. The annual report becomes part of the faculty member’s personnel file.

   The SCHS Director may approve exceptions to these responsibilities.

Standing committees and ad hoc committees have delegated authority of the Director and the FAL, and are responsible for pursuing their individual charge(s). All committees serve in an advisory capacity to the Director. The SCHS Director may develop policies regarding committee service. Committee service shall be equitably and fairly distributed across the faculty-at-large. The chairs of the committees report regularly on committee recommendations to the Director and the FAL and request votes on committee business when needed.

1. Committee Procedures

   Unless otherwise specified, committees operate under the following general procedures.

   1. Membership.

      All School faculty members with at least 0.5 FTE in the School are eligible to serve on committees. The SCHS Director makes appointments for each of the committees with input from the faculty. Terms for each committee are 2 years, unless another term is agreed upon. The SCHS Director can change appointments before they expire and can remove any faculty member from a committee with reason. Terms are to be rotated so that a majority of the committee members have served on the committee in the previous year. If a committee member is unable to fulfill his/her responsibility to a committee, the SCHS Director will appoint a replacement (or elected for the Personnel Committee).

   2. Committee Chairs.

      Committee chairs are appointed by the SCHS Director or elected by the committee and have the following general responsibilities:

      • The chair is responsible for the efficient and timely conduct of the committee’s business and fulfillment of its charge.
      • The chair schedules meetings of the committee.
      • The chair is responsible for records of committee transactions.
      • The chair, on behalf of the committee and in a timely manner, communicates to the Director and the FAL on deliberations and recommendations of the committee.
      • Committee chairs are evaluated for service in that position by the SCHS Director, who may seek input from committee members.
      • Upon request, chairs provide the Director with an evaluation of members’ service on the committee
   3. Committee Operations.

      Standing committees meet as often as necessary to complete their charge, but (except for the Personnel Committee) at least once each month during the Fall and Spring semesters. Regular meeting times/days should be determined in August before the academic year begins. Decisions and recommendations of committees require a

2. Undergraduate Committee (UC)

   The purpose of the Undergraduate Committee is to: monitor the quality of undergraduate program including periodic review of curriculum and assessment of learning outcomes; Determine students eligible for scholarships and awards; recommend possible promotional literature or events for student recruitment; provide recommendations pertaining to changes, modifications or additions to the undergraduate curricula; review student appeals or grievances and recommend action to SCHS Director; develop policy and procedures for field studies and independent studies; develop an assessment plan, conduct assessment activities, and provide assessment data to the University assessment office.

   1. The Chair

      The committee chair is appointed by the SCHS Director and is the Director of Undergraduate Education responsible for the quality and efficient operation of undergraduate programs. When possible, the chair should be a tenured associate or full professor. The term of chair is two years and is renewable by the SCHS Director. The chair may negotiate for compensation (such as a course reduction) with the SCHS Director. The Undergraduate Director has the following responsibilities in addition to those generally expected of committee chairs:

      • The chair is responsible for records of committee transactions, which should be kept in the SCHS office. The chair can request an administrative assistant to take minutes.
      • The chair is the committee liaison to the Steering Committee.
      • The chair is responsible for continuing assessment (although these duties may be assigned to others, responsibility stays with the UC Chair).
      • The chair is responsible for scheduling undergraduate courses in consultation with the graduate committee chair and the director of the school (although these duties may be assigned to others, responsibility stays with the UC Chair).
3. Graduate Committee (GC)

   The purpose of the Graduate Committee is to: monitor the quality of the graduate program including periodic review of curriculum and assessment of learning outcomes.; provide recommendations pertaining to changes, modifications or additions to the graduate curriculum, graduate curriculum matters, and recommend action to the SCHS Director; process graduate applications for admission to the graduate program; develop marketing programs to increase student enrollment in the graduate programs; review applications for Graduate Assistant positions, and make recommendations to SCHS Director; develop an assessment plan, conduct assessment activities, and provide assessment data to the University assessment office; develop competencies and the means to assess the extent to which those competencies are met; conduct regular reviews of curriculum, competencies and assessment results and recommend those changes needed to ensure competencies are met; regularly review accreditation criteria set by CEPH and other relevant bodies and recommend changes needed to ensure the program meets accreditation requirements.

   1. Membership.

      The graduate committee should have at least one graduate student member in addition to faculty members as specified above.

   2. The Chair

      The committee chair is appointed by the SCHS Director and is the Director of Graduate Education responsible for the quality and efficient operation of graduate programs. Where possible, the chair should be a tenured associate or full professor. The term of chair is two years and is renewable by the SCHS Director. The chair may negotiate for compensation (such as a course reduction) with the SCHS Director.

      Responsibilities of the chair:

      • The chair is responsible for records of committee transactions, which should be kept in the SCHS office. The chair can request an administrative assistant to take minutes.
      • The chair is the committee liaison to the Steering Committee.
      • The chair is responsible for continuing assessment (although these duties may be assigned to others, responsibility stays with the GC Chair).
      • The chair is responsible for scheduling graduate courses in consultation with the undergraduate committee chair and the school director (although these duties may be assigned to others, responsibility stays with the GC Chair).
      • The chair coordinates masters and doctoral curriculum with the various program chairs.
4. Personnel and Promotion& Tenure Committee (PC) [Adopted 10/06/2009]

   The purpose of the Personnel Committee is to develop, in consultation with the SCHS Director and with input from the FAL consistent, reproducible standards for evaluation of faculty performance in accordance with applicable bylaws, regulations and policies of higher levels of governance; inform the faculty of these standards; advise and recommend to the SCHS Director regarding faculty performance, roles & goals, promotion and tenure; review, along with the SCHS Director, annual goals of all School faculty members to assure compliance with the School’s mission and needs; at the request of the SCHS Director, advise regarding other faculty personnel issues.

   1. Membership.

      The committee has four members, at least three of whom are tenured. The three tenured members must be current faculty. The fourth member may be a lecturer, research faculty member, or a tenure-track faculty member that is in the first or second year of service. Members of the Personnel Committee are elected by the FAL. Potential members can be nominated by self or other. All those who accept nomination will be placed on a ballot and an election will be held. The nominee(s) with the greatest number(s) of votes shall be elected to the committee. Committee member terms are for three years for tenured faculty. Untenured members serve for one year. Terms are to be rotated so that at least one tenured position is open for appointment each year.

   2. The Chair

      The chair is elected by the Committee and must be a current tenured faculty member. The chair is responsible for the timely and equitable evaluation of academic faculty in accordance with applicable University, Division and School by-laws. Additional responsibilities of the chair are to:

      • In a timely manner, communicate to the faculty the deadline for submitting evaluation materials.
      • On behalf of the committee, submit a letter to the SCHS Director summarizing the committee’s evaluation recommendations.
      • Upon request, provide to the Director an evaluation of members’ service on the committee
   3. Operating Procedures

      The committee meets as often as necessary to complete its charge. The PC must maintain confidentiality of committee evaluation results. To the extent possible while maintaining the confidentiality of personnel information, the PC is to record and maintain (in the SCHS office) all actions and procedures involving evaluations and judgments.

5. Steering Committee (SC)

   The purpose of the committee is to ensure coordination between and among School committees and academic programs and to advise the SCHS Director on the mission, goals, and direction of the School.

   1. Membership

      The Director of Undergraduate Education, the Director of Graduate Education, the leaders of each specialty area and the SCHS Director are members of the Steering Committee.

   2. The Chair.

      The chair of the Steering Committee is the SCHS Director. The chair is responsible for scheduling meetings of the committee, maintaining necessary records of committee transactions, and reporting to the FAL on deliberations or decisions of the committee.

   3. Operating Procedures

      The committee meets at times scheduled by the Director during the Fall and Spring semesters.

6. Ad Hoc Committees

   The SCHS Director or the FAL may convene ad hoc committees when they are necessary to complete a specific task or charge for the School. Such committees are temporary in nature with limited charges, goals, and time of service. Ad hoc committees are charged with fulfilling all responsibilities as specified by the FAL or SCHS Director. Ad hoc committees must develop necessary procedures and meet as often as necessary to complete their charge. Committee chairs are appointed by the Director or elected by the committee, according to the committee’s charge. Ad Hoc committees are dissolved when their charge is completed.

The SCHS will create internal divisions (initially to be called programs, but may also be called specialty areas, specializations or departments), each with a core group of primary faculty responsible for graduate academic programs and undergraduate teaching. These areas include Epidemiology & Biostatistics; Environmental & Occupational Health; Health Policy & Administration; and Social and Behavioral Health. Programs provide instructors and courses as needed for the successful functioning of the undergraduate and graduate programs. When resources permit, each area will offer at least one MPH concentration and may develop additional academic programs, including doctoral degrees. Specialty areas will eventually be responsible for graduate admission and initial advisement of graduate students. When this occurs is to be negotiated between each Program and the Graduate Director.

1. Specialty Area Faculty

   SCHS faculty, in consultation with the SCHS Director, will be appointed by the SCHS Director to one primary specialty area. A faculty member may be appointed by the SCHS Director to a secondary association with another area, upon consultation with the SCHS Director and area leaders.

2. Area Leaders

   Each specialty area has a leader appointed by the SCHS Director. The leader may be nominated by the faculty of the program or recruited specifically for that position. Area leaders are appointed for a term of 3 years and may negotiate compensation or course release with the SCHS Director. Leaders function as chairs for their specialty areas and manage the graduate academic degrees within those areas in consultation with the SCHS Graduate Committee. Area leaders serve as liaison to the SCHS Director, the Graduate Director, and the Undergraduate Director and are members of the Steering Committee.

1. General Procedures

   The faculty should provide input into School policies. Most by-laws recommendations are developed by the relevant committees and presented for approval by the FAL and the Director. The Director may also develop policies and procedures needed for operation of the School. Faculty members must be provided the opportunity to give input to committees, the SCHS Director, or the faculty as a whole.

   The FAL votes on issues that affect the mission, programming, and functioning of the SCHS, as well as any issue that the FAL or the SCHS Director decide need a vote or would benefit from general faculty support. Votes of the FAL are advisory to the Director except where otherwise specified in these by-laws or in the bylaws or regulations of a higher level of governance.

2. Courses and Curriculum

   Curriculum changes, new courses and new degree or certificate programs must be reviewed by the relevant curriculum committee (graduate and/or undergraduate). Upon approval by a majority vote, the committee may recommend adoption of the changes to the FAL and the Director. Curriculum changes, new courses and new academic programs require approval by the FAL by majority vote and by the Director before being forwarded for further review by the Division and University.

3. Appeals

   Any faculty member has a right to appeal decisions that appear to be inconsistent with other by-laws, missions, goals, or objectives of the School, Division or the University. Decisions of the SCHS Director can be appealed by a majority vote of the faculty-at-large. After voting to appeal a decision, the steering committee will meet within 10 days with the SCHS Director to discuss the differences and achieve resolution. If a resolution cannot be reached, then a memo will be written to the Director asking for specific action. A copy of this letter will be sent to the VPHS. The SCHS Director then has 10 days to write a response letter to the FAL with a copy to the Vice President.

Faculty meetings are convened by the SCHS Director:

1. as part of the regular schedule of meetings established each academic year,
2. when the Director has issues for discussion or action items needing faculty input; 
3. upon the written request by a majority of the voting faculty; and
4. as directed by a higher administrative authority.

The Director (or his/her appointed representative) presides over FAL meetings. As much as possible, Roberts’s Ruled of Order-Newly Revised shall govern the conduct of faculty meetings.

1. Voting

   Voting at faculty meetings can be accomplished via open or secret balloting.Generally, all voting will be of an open nature, and will be achieved by a show of hands or voice vote. If any voting faculty member requests a secret vote(which can be done at the meeting or to the SCHS Director before the meeting), it must be stipulated whether such a vote 1) can be handwritten and counted at the faculty meeting by a School administrative assistant, or the SCHS Director and one other faculty member; 2) must be a mail-in, double envelope balloting procedure, or 3) via email to either the SCHS Director or the designated administrative assistant.

2. Records

   The Director is responsible for accurate minutes of faculty meetings and may utilize the services of an administrative assistant for recording purposes. The Director is responsible for editorial corrections that do not affect substantive material, for making a draft of minutes available to the faculty prior to the next meeting, and for maintaining a continuous record of School minutes on file in the main office.

The Personnel Committee is responsible for a thorough, objective, independent and confidential peer review of academic faculty performance in accord with University Bylaws, Section 3.3.2. The committee will apply consistent standards to evaluate each faculty member based on the individual’s workload and responsibilities relevant to research, teaching, service and administrative assignments.

The committee’s review will be based on the faculty member’s annual report and other materials that may be requested by the committee. Each faculty member shall have at least one primary reviewer and at least one secondary reviewer on the committee. Reviewers are to independently determine a rating for scholarship, teaching, and service. The committee will then discuss the performance of each faculty member in each assessment category, and arrive at an over-all evaluation. PC members may not rate or evaluate themselves or be a part of tenure & promotion decisions for faculty members of higher rank. The PC submits to the SCHS Director a written summary of faculty performance evaluations. This is to include a final, over-all evaluation of performance for each academic faculty member for the year in question.

If a committee member disagrees with the majority evaluation of a faculty member(s), or believes that criteria were not justly applied, he/she must submit a letter to the SCHS Director explaining the circumstances and personnel issues.

The final annual evaluation of each faculty member is completed by the Director, taking into account the committee’s recommendation and other information available to the Director. The Director’s evaluation is forwarded to the VPHS.

If a faculty member disagrees with his or her evaluation, he or she may submit the grievance in writing to the SCHS Director who will attempt to resolve the issue at the SCHS level. If it is not resolved, the faculty member may appeal to the Division Personnel Committee as outlined in the Division Bylaws, Section 3.4.2.

Unit-level decisions about promotion and tenure are based on recommendations of the Personnel committee and the Director. The Director solicits external letters of recommendation for candidates for promotion and tenure. The personnel committee reviews the candidate’s completed application, including letters from external referees, and makes a written recommendation to the Director, summarizing the candidate’s accomplishments, strengths and weaknesses, and recommending whether promotion and, if applicable, tenure is warranted. The Director submits a formal recommendation to the VPHS, taking into account the materials submitted by the applicant, the letters from external referees and the committee’s recommendation.

Administrative faculty will complete the University Administrative Self Evaluation Form and Goal Statement or Individual Performance Objective Form annually as required by the University. Administrative faculty will be evaluated by their supervisors who will submit their recommendations to the Director of SCHS. The Director will review the evaluation and submit a formal recommendation to the VPHS.

Classified staff are evaluated by their supervisors according to the procedures established by the University and the state personnel system.

People the SCHS faculty have identified as content experts in public health who have played a role (or could help) in the development and direction of the SCHS may become affiliate faculty. This designation also represents the School’s support for them and their work. Affiliate faculty typically are people who have taught in the SCHS program or have been involved in some other way. Potentially, they are people who could serve as resources for students (as committee members for MPH students, for example). Affiliate faculty may also act in an advisory role in guiding the School’s direction and development. There are no formal obligations or responsibilities associated with this designation. To become affiliate faculty, a nominee’s CV is circulated for approval by a majority vote of the FAL.

Qualified individuals providing a service to the School, usually teaching, committee service, or conducting research in collaboration with School faculty, may be appointed as adjunct faculty members as provided by the University Bylaws. Adjunct faculty appointments are described in Section 2.3.6 of the University Bylaws.

An adjunct appointment may by requested by submitting to the School Director a) a curriculum vitae b) a letter outlining the applicant’s present or proposed contributions to the School and c) the name of a School faculty member willing to serve as a contact person. Adjunct appointments may be granted by the Director following review of the request by the FAL and approval by majority vote.

Adjunct Appointments are for a specific period of time and require a formal contract that complies with University policies and procedures. Appointments may be renewed by the Director upon demonstration of satisfactory service to the School.

The School values faculty travel for the purpose of presenting papers at national professional meetings and to represent the School for recruiting purposes. The SCHS Director is responsible for ensuring that available funding is distributed as fairly and as equitable as possible. Faculty will turn in projected travel fund requests at the beginning of the academic year. If School travel funds are made available, they will be awarded based on the following criteria:

• Availability of said funds.
• Nature of the request (priority is given in the following order):
  • Presenting a paper at a professional conference.
  • Representing the School for recruiting purposes at a national conference.
  • Professional development.
• Projections being turned in at the beginning of the academic year.
• Not having already received travel funds for the year.
• Importance to the School of the trip.

1. Office Space Assignments

   The School strives to provide adequate office space for faculty. The SCHS Director will assign office space based on the following prioritized criteria:

   • Function
   • Rank
   • Longevity of employment
2. Research Space Assignments

   The School strives to provide adequate research space for faculty. The SCHS Director will assign lab and research space based on the following prioritized criteria:

   • Funding
   • Productivity
   • Longevity in the space

As the Budget allows, the School maintains typical office supplies for faculty, staff, Letter of Appointments (LOAs) and graduate assistants. Supplies not readily available may be secured through an assigned administrative assistant.