Bylaws, Department of Physics and Astronomy

1. Faculty Definition, Rights, and Responsibilities

(a)  Core Faculty are persons with tenured or tenure-track appointments in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

(b) Teaching Faculty are persons with non-tenure track faculty appointments and with rank and title of Assistant Teaching Professor, Associate Teaching Professor, or Teaching Professor. They are eligible to participate as members on master’s thesis and dissertation committees, subject to University policy administered by Graduate Studies.

(c) Courtesy Faculty are faculty with formal, salaried appointments at the University of Kansas, but not in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. These positions have no formal duties and they also carry no voting privileges in our Department, except as members of Dissertation Committees. The positions are designed primarily to facilitate interdisciplinary interactions between faculty with common interests and goals. The initial appointment is subject to approval by the Core Faculty and is for a one-year period with annual review.

(d)  Adjunct Faculty. This category is very similar to that of Courtesy Faculty except that the individuals do not hold formal salaried positions at the University of Kansas. These positions have no formal duties and they also carry no voting privileges in our Department, except as members of Dissertation Committees. Adjunct appointments carry no provisions for salary, tenure, or sabbatical leave. The initial appointment is subject to approval by the Core Faculty and is for a one-year period with annual review.

(e) Emeritus Faculty. In recognition of many years of service to the Department of Physics and Astronomy, a retired tenured Core Faculty member can be appointed as Professor Emeritus through normal University procedures. Emeritus Faculty status is for life.These positions have no formal duties and they also carry no voting privileges in our Department, except as members of Dissertation Committees.

2. Department of Physics and Astronomy Officers

(a)  Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. This individual is appointed by the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Chair guides day-to-day and longer-term activities of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and officiates at the Department of Physics and Astronomy meetings (unless noted otherwise)..

(b) Associate Chair. This person is appointed by the Department Chair from the core faculty to assist in Departmental administration.

(c)  Director of the Engineering Physics Program This person is appointed by the Department Chair from the core faculty in consultation with the Dean of the Engineering School, and is in charge of administering the Engineering Physics Program.

3.   Department of Physics and Astronomy Standing Committees

All members of any standing committee or ad hoc committee, except student members of search committees, have full voting rights in that committee. The chair of a committee only votes to make or break a tied vote by other members of the committee.

(a) Promotion and Tenure Committee. This consists of core faculty members who are tenured. In cases involving promotions to the rank of Full Professor, Committee membership is restricted to core faculty who are Full Professors. The Committee is responsible for evaluating candidates for pre-tenure, tenure, and promotion in rank. For each such candidate, the Department Chair appoints an ad hoc committee of core faculty to be ratified by the full Promotion and Tenure Committee, which gathers and evaluates relevant material on the candidate, including input gathered from students within the Department, and presents its report to the Promotion and Tenure Committee. In the event of a favorable decision the ad hoc committee assists in the preparation of materials to be submitted to the College.

(b) Teaching Faculty Promotion Committee. The Committee is responsible for evaluating Teaching Faculty candidates for promotion in rank. The Committee consists of core faculty and teaching faculty of rank equal to or higher than that to which the candidate is being considered for promotion. For each such candidate, the Department Chair appoints an ad hoc committee, to be ratified by the full Teaching Faculty Promotion Committee, which gathers and evaluates relevant material on the candidate, including input gathered from students within the Department, and presents its report to the Teaching Faculty Promotion Committee. In the event of a favorable decision the ad hoc committee assists in the preparation of materials to be submitted to the College.

(c) Department Core Faculty Evaluation Committee. Annual performance evaluations of Core Faculty are performed by the Department Core Faculty Evaluation Committee. The composition of this committee is specified in the separate document entitled Core Faculty Performance Evaluation Plan.

(d) Department Teaching Faculty Evaluation Committee. Annual performance evaluations of Teaching Faculty are performed by the Department Teaching Faculty Evaluation Committee. The composition of this committee is specified in the separate document entitled ”Teaching Faculty Performance Evaluation Plan.”

(e) Undergraduate Studies Committee. This committee is responsible for overseeing undergraduate programs in the Department. It consists of core faculty and teaching faculty appointed by the Department Chair, plus two undergraduates elected by our undergraduate majors within the Department. The number of core faculty and teaching faculty is not to exceed 10, and the majority of the committee membership must be of core faculty. Recommendations of the committee are submitted to the Departmental Assembly or Faculty Meeting where they are debated and voted upon.

(f) Graduate Studies Committee. This consists of core faculty appointed by the Department Chair, plus two Physics graduate students elected by graduate students in the Department. The number of core faculty is not to exceed 10. The committee is charged with overseeing all aspects of the graduate program in the Department. As above, recommendations of the committee are submitted to the Departmental Assembly or Faculty Meeting where they are debated and voted upon.

(g) Engineering Physics Committee. This consists of core faculty and teaching faculty appointed by the Department Chair in consultation with the Director of the Engineering Physics Program. The Director of the Engineering Physics Program serves as chair of this committee and there are, typically, four other members. The majority of the committee membership must be core faculty. The committee is charged with overseeing all aspects of the engineering physics program in the Department and it serves as the primary interface between the Department and the School of Engineering. Recommendations of the committee are submitted to the Undergraduate Studies Committee.

(e)  Other Committees. There may be other committees appointed by the Department Chair as the need arises. The number and nature of most of these committees are not specified in these Bylaws. They may be long-lived committees or those of brief duration such as ad hoc committees for promotion and tenure, and search committees. The makeup of search committees should include at least one student, but students have no voting rights within the committee. All committees dealing with personnel, e.g., search committees, faculty and staff evaluation, etc., shall have the majority of the committee membership consisting of core faculty. On the appointment of a Strategic Planning Committee, this committee shall consist entirely of core faculty.

4.   Conduct of Department Business

4.1 Definition of Deliberative Bodies

The Department’s Standing Committees have already been discussed in Section 3. These committees usually initiate the discussion of issues requiring attention. Except as noted above, the recommendations of these committees are then presented to the Department for further discussion and a final vote. There are two possible forums for this:

(a)  Department Assembly. This body consists of Core Faculty and Teaching Faculty plus student representatives. The student representatives consist of the current members of the Undergraduate Studies and Graduate Studies committees. Additional student representatives, elected at large, shall be appointed if needed to maintain a student representation no less than 20 percent of the faculty membership. The student representation shall not be allowed to exceed the minimum amount that is mandated. On special occasions other people may be invited to attend and participate in discussions, but without voting rights. Core faculty and student representatives have full voting rights. Teaching faculty have full voting rights on all issues not exclusively related to the graduate program, including on issues where there is an overlap in the interests of the undergraduate and graduate programs. 

(b) Faculty Meeting. This is a meeting of the Core Faculty and Teaching Faculty, who are the only ones with voting privileges. As in the case of the Departmental Assembly, there may be occasions when visitors are invited to attend and participate in discussions, but such people do not have voting rights. Personnel matters are referred to this body rather than to the Departmental Assembly. Personnel matters include, but are not limited to, the following: student issues (petitions, admission to candidacy, etc.), and faculty issues (promotion and tenure, hiring, Department planning, etc.). Only core faculty have voting rights on issues regarding core faculty (promotion and tenure, hiring, future hiring priorities, etc.) and on items exclusively related to the graduate program.

4.2 Rules Governing Conduct of Faculty Meetings & The Department Assembly

Except as provided here in Section 4.2, conduct of Faculty Meetings and of the Department Assembly shall be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order ,Newly Revised, 12th Edition (Copyright 2020), or superseding editions. If a ballot is secret, the Chair votes as a regular member. If a vote is taken by the raising of hands, the Chair of the meeting only votes if their vote will determine the outcome.

(a)  Voting Eligibility of Absent Faculty. Faculty on leave retain their full voting rights. This includes those on Sabbatical leave or on any other temporary leave. It also includes those whose KU obligations have been temporarily relieved via the use of external funds. 

(b) Quorum Definition. A quorum consisting of more than 50% of those eligible to vote, with at least two-thirds of the members counted in the quorum being core faculty, is required for votes to be binding. The quorum includes both members in physical attendance and those participating remotely (see, 4.2.g). A record of attendance at meetings is usually incorporated into the Minutes of the meeting, but the number in attendance may change as people come and go. A quorum call may therefore be used to determine the actual number of people present at the time a vote is to be taken, otherwise the attendance recorded in the Minutes shall be binding. If there is no quorum, then anyone who is eligible to vote may request that the vote be conducted via e-mail and the request shall be granted.

(c)  Proxy Votes. A majority of those present and eligible to vote must approve the acceptance of Proxy Votes where a voting eligible member who is unable to attend a meeting asks another committee member to cast their vote. A prerequisite for this is that the motion under consideration be previously circulated and remains unchanged. The decision on whether to accept Proxy Votes on a given motion must be made before a vote on that motion. If Proxy Votes are disqualified, then a majority of those present and eligible to vote may request that a vote on the motion in question be conducted by an e-mail ballot and the request shall be granted.

(d) E-Mail Ballot. In the event a motion is referred to an e-mail ballot, all members of the deliberative body from which the motion originates are eligible to vote. The e-mail ballot must include the motion and brief statements pro and con and allow a reasonable time period for responses. Unreturned ballots will be counted as abstentions.

(e)  Secret Ballots. If any person who is eligible to vote shall ask that a vote be conducted by secret ballot then the vote shall be so conducted.

(f)  Visitors at Meetings. The voting membership for Faculty Meetings and the Departmental Assembly has been clearly defined in Section 4.1. However, it is sometimes necessary to have visitors present at certain meetings to provide important input. Such visitors may participate in a discussion of the issues that prompted their invitation, but they do not acquire the right to vote.

(g) Remote Participation. Eligible voting members of the Faculty Meeting and Departmental Assembly should be able to participate in these meetings, even when they are not physically present at KU. Persons unable to be present at an in-person meeting, but wishing to join such meetings remotely, should make their request to participate known in advance of the meeting. As much as possible, a remote participant should have the same rights as participants that are physically present at KU.

5.   Faculty Performance Evaluation

The Department of Physics & Astronomy Faculty Evaluation Plan may be found in the Policy Library.

6.  Grievance Procedures

 The Department of Physics & Astronomy Grievance Procedures may be found in the Policy Library. 

7.  Promotion and Tenure Procedures

 The Department of Physics & Astronomy Promotion and Tenure Procedures may be found in the Policy Library. 

8.  Post-tenure Review Procedures

 The Department of Physics & Astronomy Post-tenure Review Criteria and Procedure may be found in the Policy Library.

9.   Amendments to the Department of Physics and Astronomy Bylaws

The bylaws of the Department of Physics and Astronomy can be amended if a clear need arises. Proposed amendments to these bylaws shall be circulated at least one week before any scheduled Departmental Assembly meeting in which the proposed amendments will be formally presented. All members of the Departmental Assembly (core faculty, teaching faculty, and student representatives) have full voting rights on all proposed amendments to the bylaws. In order to approve the amendments there must be a favorable vote of at least two-thirds of those eligible to vote.