Revised November 16, 1982
CODE OF OPERATIONS
OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

I. Preamble

This code allows for faculty participation in unit internal affairs. The
code establishes procedures which allow the faculty of the unit to paraticipate bv
making recommendations to the unit head on appointments, promotions, and permaner
tenure. Recommendations to the unit head resulting from these procedures are
advisory in nature, both to him and his immediate administrative superior.

II. Objectives

Pursuant to the purposes and philosophy of East Carolina University, the
Chemistry Department pledges itself (1) to encourage in the broadest and most
liberal manner the advancement of science and particularly chemistry in all of its
branches; (2) to promote research in chemical science by both faculty and
students; (3) to encourage the improvements of the qualifications and usefulness
of chemists through high standards of professional ethics, education, and
attainment; (4) to serve other disciplines and departments in a cooperative manner
by dissemination of chemical knowledge; (5) to promote scientific interest and
inquiry through meetings, professicnal contacts, reports, papers, discussions,
publications, thereby fostering public welfare and education, aiding the
development of the state’s industries, and adding to the material prosperity and
the betterment of its people.

III. Departmental Organization

The organization of the Chemistry Department is represented by the
organizational chart. See figure l.

A. Chairperson

1. The Departmental Chairperson will be selected as
prescribed by the East Carolina University Code.

2. Duties of the Chairperson

a. The Chairperson will represent the department in its
relations with the University administration, the other
units of the University and the community.

The Chairperson will be the chief administrative officer
of the department and will be responsible to the

University administration for the total operation of the
department.

The Chairperson will preside over the faculty meetings.

The Chairperson will serve as a member of the Executive
Committee.

 
e. The chairperson will be responsible te see that all personnel matte:
i.e., evaluations, merit salary increases, appointments, Se
reappointments, permanent tenure, promotions, teaching assignments
and released time conform to Appendix C of the University Code.

If the Chairperson desires, he may appoirt an Assistant to
assist him iu his duties.

In the event the Chairperson does not appoint an Assistant,
he will nominate for faculty approval the fifth member of

the Executive Committee

The Chairperson will appoint officials and committees as
he deems necessary.

B. Assistant to the Chairperson. If the Chairperson desires, an assistant
to the Chairperson may be appointed to oversee part of the affairs of the
department.

1. Appointment of the Assistant to the Chairperson. The Assistant to
the Chairperson will be nominated by the Chairperson and approved by
majority of the faculty.

2. Duties of the Assistant to the Chairperson

a. During a brief temporary absence of the Chairperson, the
Assistant to the Chairperson would serve in his place when *
necessary, except for the faculty meeriugs where the
Chairperson of the Executive Commiitce wili serve in the
absence of the Chairperson. (If no Assistant to the Chair-
person is appointed, the Chairperson of the Executive
Committee will serve in the Chairperson’s place.)

b. Any additional duties delegated by the Chairperson.
Cc. The Executive Committee

The Executive Committee will consist of the Departmental Chairperson,
the Assistant to the Chairperson and three elected representatives of the
faculty. in the event no Assistant to the Chairperson is appointed, the
fifth member of the committee will be chosen in the manner described for th:
appointment of the Assistant to the Chairperson.

1. The Fxecutive Committee will meet within the week before the regular
scheduled faculty meetings and also when deemed necessary by the Chairpersm
of the Exeuctive Committee or the Departmental Chairperson.

2. Election of the Faculty Representatives. Each faculty member will vote
for three candidates to serve as the three faculty representatives of the
Executive Committee. Candidates must receive a majority vote to be elected,
Lf more candidates than are necessary to fill the available positions

receiv: a majority vote, them the candidates receiving the greatest number

of votes will be considered elected. If fewer then three candidates <e®
a majority vote, then those receiving a majority will be considered electd
and secuential elections will be held to fill the remaining positions. In

 
the sequential elections, faculty members will vote for only the number o
candidates needed to complete the committee.

3. Chairperson of the Executive Committee. The Chairperson of the
Executive Committee will be elected from the entire membership of the
committee of the faculty.

4. In discussions concerning promotions, reappointments, and permanent
tenure, the faculty will elect a voting alternate to serve in the place of
the Departmental Chairperson. Except when he is being considered for
personnel actions himself, the Department Chairperosn will serve as a
non-voting member of the committee.

5. In the event that a member of the Executive Committee other than the
departmental chairperson is being considered for promotion, reappointment o
permanent tenure, the faculty will eleet a voting alternate to serve in his
place during all such personnel matters being considered at that time.

6. The selection of alternates will be after their need is determined by
the Executive Committee. The election will follow the procedure described
for election of members of the Executive Committee.

7. Duties of the Executive Committee

ae The committee is responsible for long-range planning in the
department and for making recommendations to the Chairperson concerning
allocating released time for research and administration.

b. The committee shall make recommendations including comments to the
higher administration through the Departmental Chairperson with respect
to permanent tenure, reappointment, prometion, and appointments. In the
event that the Departmental Chaitperson disagrees with the committee
recommendation, he may also submit a recommendation identified as his ow
to the higher administration.

ce. A faculty member may participate in making recommendations concerni1
promotions and permanent tenute through written recommendations or
nominations of him/herself and/or colleagues to the Executive Commttee.

d. In the department’s evaluation process, greater weight is given to
teaching and research/creative activity. Service, although important, #
not considered equivalent to teaching or research/creative activity.
Effective teaching and research/creative activity are considered
essential components of a faculty member’s performance. It would not be
common for advancement to occur solely on the basis of excellence in on
area without evidence of competence in the other. Guidelines for
evaluation of the faculty in teaching, research/creative activity, and
service which have been approved by the faculty will be used in the
evaluation.

e. The Executive Committee in carrying out its responsibilities for
making recommendation through the Departmental Chairperson to the higher

ae administration with respect to promotions, permanent tenure, and
reappointment shall:

 
Advise a candidate that he is under consideration.

Advise a candidate to submit to the Committee any
material to support his candidacy. If the candidate
wishes to present his case personally, he shall have
this privilege.

Obtain additional information relative to the
candidate by taking such actions as talking
informally with members of the chemistry faculty
and with other possible sources.

Examine available evidence on the candidate and
vote by secret ballot. A majority vote shall be
considered a recommendation.

Notify in writing the candidate involved of their
recommendation.

A faculty member not recommended for promotion, reappointment or
permanent tenure may request a hearing before the committee.

f. The committee will serve in an advisory capacity to the departmental
chairperson with respect to raises.

g- All personnel actions of the Executive Committee will conform to the
provisions of Appendix C of the University Codé.

h. The committee wili make recommendations to the Departmental
Chairperson for the expenditure of the supply, equipment, travel and
student wages budgets.

8. Executive Committee Reports

ae All formal action of the Executive Committee with the exception of
raises will be reported to the faculty at the next scheduled faculty
meeting.

b. As specified in the most recent edition of Robert’s Rules of
Order, no action of the Executive Committee can conflict with actions
of the faculty; and, except for raises, the faculty can instruct and
countermand actions of the committee if it is not too late.

Faculty. The faculty consists of all persons with an academic title
and not less than half a normal teaching or research program as
practiced in his unit.

1. Faculty Meetings. In the preparation of the teaching schedules, the
department will attempt to make it possible for a one-hour faculty meeting
to be scheduled during a working day with no conflicts in teaching
schedules.

 
ae The faculty will meet once a month during the academic year. The
meetings will be limited to 50 minutes. Additional meetings can be
called by the Chairperson or by a petition of 1/3 of the faculty.
Additional meetings will be announced at least one week in advance.

b. The faculty meeting will be conducted according to the most recent
edition of Robert’s Rules of Order.

c. Agenda. The agenda of the meeting will be distributed at least 24
hours before the meeting. Any faculty member can place items on the
agenda by giving the item to the departmental secretary. If no
business has been suggested, the faculty meeting will be cancelled.
Staff items may be placed on the agenda by the Assistant to the
Chairperson or Chairperson. Committees will report the actions of the
committee at the faculty meetings for the approval of the faculty. If
no motion is made to reject the actions or part of the actions, the
report stands approved.

d. Conduct of Business. All faculty meetings must follow the usual
order of business described in section 40 of the most recent edition of
Robert’s Rules of Order. The maximum length of time for each

member’s speech on an issue will be three mintues, with a limit of two

speeches per question. The presiding officer of the faculty meeting
will be the Departmental Chairperson, and in case of his absence, the

Chairperson of the Executive Committee.

re 2. Elections for all elected officials, representatives, or committee
members except for the evaluation committee will be held every two years.

Any of the above may be recalled at any time by 2/3 vote of the general
faculty after a recall hearing. A recall hearing may be held two weeks
after being requested by petition of a majority of the general faculty.
All votes concerning elections and recall will be by ballot.

3. Appointment for all appointed officials shall be made by the
Chairperson with the consultation of the Executive Committee except for
the Assistant to the Chairperson who must be approved by the Faculty
every two years.

Graduate Faculty. The Graduate faculty consists of all full-
members appointed to the graduate faculty.

F. Elected Committees. All actions of the elected committees, with the
exception of those actions specified of the Executive Committee, are subject to
the approval of the faculty in the next scheduled faculty meeting. (The actions
of the Executive Committee have been discussed previously.) Elected committees
will be elected by the appropriate faculty unit. The election procedure will be
the same as that described in Part [II C subparpagraph 2.

1. Executive Committee. The Executive Committee has been previously
described in Section III C.

2. Graduate Committee

a. The Committee shall consist of five members elected from
the graduate faculty.

 
~

b. The Graduate Committeeis responsible for the overall operation
of the department’s graduate program.

c. The Chairperson of the Graduate Committee will be, elected >
from the committee membership by the graduate faculty.

d. In addition to presiding over committee meetings, the
chairperson shall also

1) serve as deparatmental representative on the Graduate

Council.

2) act as general advisor to graduate students until they
select a research advisor, and

3) be responsible for the teaching assistants in their
duties as assigned by the Scheduling Official.

3. Curriculum Committee

The committee shall consist of five elected members.

The Chairperson of the Curriculum Committee will be elected from
committee membership by the faculty.

The committee is responsible for

1) developing new courses in consultation with faculty
members from the: various areas of chemistry in order to
and modernize the curriculum,
2) evaluating the curricula informally to determine if &
they meet the objectives of the several degree programs,
and
3) keeping abreast of new techniques in the teaching
of chemistry so that they may be used when feasible
in the curriculum.

4. Evaluation Committee
a. The committee shall consist of three elected members.
b. The committee is responsible for directing the periodic
evaluation of the Chemistry Department as prescribed by the

University Code.

c. The Chairperson Shall be elected from the committee
membership by the chemistry faculty.

G. Elective Representatives to Campus Bodies. These representatives will
be elected in the manner prescribed by the Faculty Senate for the election

of the faculty senator and alternate.

 
H. Appointed Committees and Officials

1. Appointed Committees will be appointed by the Chairperson. These
Committees include the following:

ae Seminar.
b. Recruitment

c. Other committees deemed by the Executive Committee.

2. Appointed Officials. The following officials may be appointed by the
Chairperson.

ae Scheduling.
Safety;.
Library Representative.
Public information.
Undergraduate Student Assistants.
Laboratory Coordinators.
Advisors.

I. Student Representatives. All elected committees with the exception of
the executive and evaluation committees may have a student representative

member appointed by the Departmental Chairperson in consultation with the
Executive Committee. The evaluation committee will solicit student

evaluations through the student representatives to other committees. The
& student representative on the Graduate Committee may attend faculty meetings

and participate in debate, but have no vote.

" yySummer and Vacation Operation

Inasmuch as possible, the department wili function as described above during
the summer sessions and vacation periods with the exception that faculty meetings
will not be scheduled regularly. In the event that a quorum of the faculty is not
available for the meeting the decisions of the Executive Committee will be

followed. Decisions of the Executive Committee will be made by telephone if
necessary.

_», V.Amendment

This code may be amended by the vote of 2/3 of the permanently tenured
faculty, providing that seven days notice of the proposed aciton has been given,

and that there is subsequent approval by the faculty senate and the Chancellor of
the University.

VI.Enabling Clause.

This code shall go into effect upon acceptance by the majority of the tenured

faculty of the Department of Chemistry upon approval of the Faculty Senate and the
Chancellor of the University,