BYLAWS OF THE

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL, AEROSPACE AND BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

(Amended November 28, 2006)

 

Preamble

 

To provide a structure through which it may effectively discharge its responsibilities in the development and conduct of the Department's programs of instruction, research, and service, the Faculty of the Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering Department of the University of Tennessee agrees to govern itself according to these Bylaws.

 

These Bylaws are intended to facilitate the internal operation of the Department, and shall not supersede any existing University of Tennessee regulations or University of Tennessee Faculty Senate Bylaws.

 

 

ARTICLE I

 

The Department

 

A.        The Faculty

 

            1)         The Faculty of the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering is defined as those members of the academic staff of the Department who have academic rank at the three professorial levels, instructors, and lecturers, including those holding visiting, temporary, and part-time appointments.

 

            2)         The Mechanical, Aerospace and Biomedical Engineering Professorial Faculty is comprised of those members of the academic staff of the Department who have academic rank at the three professorial levels.

 

B.         Voting Members

 

            1)         All tenured or tenure-track Professorial Faculty shall be voting members of the Department.  Other members of the Departmental Faculty may attend and participate in Departmental meetings on a nonvoting basis.

 

            2)         Written proxies may be submitted to a voting member on issues requiring a recorded vote.

C.        Administration

 

            Administration of the Department shall be the responsibility of the Department Head.  For each of the undergraduate programs in the department, the Department Head shall appoint a faculty member to serve as Program Coordinator and charged with taking a lead role in nurturing the program.  The Department Head shall also appoint an Associate Department Head to assist with administrative and other matters

 

D.        Meetings

 

There shall be at least two Faculty meetings per semester during each academic year.  All meetings shall be called by the Department Head, by his or her appointee, or on the request of 20 percent of the voting members of the Department.  A quorum for meetings is defined as one-half of the voting members in residence.  (“In residence” means presently having assigned duties in the teaching and/or research program of the Department.)

 

E.         Agenda

 

Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with a written agenda circulated to the Faculty by the Department Head's office at least two days prior to the meeting.  A call for items to be placed on the agenda shall be circulated to the Faculty at least one week prior to the meeting.   Under exceptional circumstances this condition may be waived.

 

F.         Faculty Secretary

 

A Secretary of the Faculty shall be appointed by the Department Head with the duties of recording the minutes of the Faculty meetings, distributing copies of the minutes to each Faculty member, and maintaining a permanent file of minutes in the Departmental Office.

 

G.        Functions

 

The Faculty shall receive at its meetings at least one report each Fall and Spring from each Departmental standing committee and shall have the right to review the work of these committees.  The Faculty is responsible for all academic matters relating to the Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Engineering Science Programs.  All decisions shall require a majority vote of the voting members present with two exceptions:

 

            1)         Amendment of the Bylaws as discussed in Article V.

 

            2)         Decisions to change the academic program (any change requiring approval of the College Faculty) require an affirmative vote of a majority of the voting members in residence.

 

H.                 Other

 

Motions made at Faculty meetings by a committee will not need a second.  Issues not specifically covered in the Bylaws or the Faculty Handbook shall be conducted according to Robert's Rules of Order.      

 

 

ARTICLE II

 

Committees of the Department

 

A.        Standing Committees

 

            The following standing committees shall be established to aid the Faculty in the execution of its academic and related responsibilities.  The Department Head shall be a member ex-officio of all standing committees except for the Department Head’s Advisory Committee.   Regular appointment or election as specified herein shall take place before the end of the Spring Semester and terms shall begin with the succeeding academic year.  Each standing committee shall inform the Department of its substantive decisions and recommendations.  Each standing committee chair shall be responsible for maintaining a file of minutes of committee meetings.

 

            1)         Curriculum and Assessment Committee

 

                        This committee shall be responsible for seeking ways of improving the undergraduate curricula.  It shall also be responsible for seeking ways of recognizing and emphasizing teaching ability and classroom commitment.  The committee shall have oversight responsibility for insuring that all aspects of the ABET process are being adhered to for each program. The committee shall review existing undergraduate curricula or curricular recommendations, including new undergraduate course proposals coming from individual faculty members.  The committee shall be composed of the Associate Department Head as chair and the Program Coordinator for each undergraduate program, as a minimum.

 

            2)         Graduate Programs Committee

 

This committee shall be responsible for coordination of all graduate programs in the Department.  Specific responsibilities of the committee shall include making recommendations to the Graduate School regarding admission of students;  reviewing proposed changes or additions to the Department’s graduate curricula; making recommendations to the faculty regarding graduate curricular changes and changes in academic standards and policies; making recommendations to the Department Head regarding graduate course offerings, stipends for graduate students, and awarding of graduate fellowships, scholarships, and assistantships; reviewing office assignments for graduate students; and publication and maintenance of the Department’s Graduate Student Handbook.

 

The committee shall be composed of a chair and at least six other members appointed by the Department Head.

 

            3)         Honors, Awards and Scholarship Committee

 

This committee shall be responsible for selecting and reviewing the performance of recipients of undergraduate fellowships, scholarships, assistantships, and other awards given by the department.

 

The committee shall be composed of a chair and at least two other members appointed by the Department Head.

 

4)                  Promotion, Tenure, and Retention Committee

 

The committee consists of all tenured faculty for the purpose of Tenure and Retention decisions.  For the purpose of Promotion decisions, the committee shall consist of all tenured faculty with rank equal to or higher than that sought by each candidate. The Department Head shall appoint a subcommittee of the Promotion, Tenure, and Retention Committee, consisting of a chair and a minimum of two other members, to comprehensively study the dossiers presented by candidates.  The subcommittee shall report their findings of the strengths and weaknesses of candidates to the entire committee.  The chair of the subcommittee shall act as the chair of the entire committee and is responsible for submitting a written report of the deliberations and vote of the entire committee to the Department Head.  All votes shall be by secret ballot.

 

 

5)                  Department Head’s Advisory Committee

 

This committee’s purpose is to advise the Department Head on all matters on which he or she requests their advice.  At a minimum, this committee is composed of the Department Head as chair, the Associate Department Head, the Program Coordinator for each of the undergraduate major fields within the Department, the Chair of the Graduate Programs Committee and two members from the faculty at large. The two at-large members shall be elected by the faculty for staggered two-year terms.

 

             

B.         Ad Hoc Committees

 

The Department Head may appoint ad hoc committees as the need arises.  The responsibilities and membership of these committees shall be established at the time of the announcement of their creation.

 

 

Article III

 

Recommendations for New Appointments

 

Recommendations for new appointments to the Faculty shall follow the policies of the college and university. The Department Head shall solicit comments from the faculty after receiving a recommendation from a search committee. 

 

 

 

Article IV

 

Annual Review of Faculty

 

All Professorial Faculty shall have an annual review conducted by the Department Head in accordance with the policies of the college and university.

 

 

 

Article V

 

Amendments

 

An affirmative vote of two-thirds of the voting members of the Department shall be required to amend these Bylaws.  Any proposed amendment to the Bylaws shall be circulated to the Faculty no less than ten days before the meeting at which it is to be considered.  No amendment shall be voted on at the meeting at which it is introduced.