Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics
College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

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Article 1. Faculty

Section 1. Composition of the Faculty

1. The faculty of the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics shall include all persons in the Department who are tenured or receiving probationary credit toward tenure and hold the rank of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor.
2. Specialized faculty, as defined in UIUC Provost Communication No. 25, with paid appointments in the Department shall also have specified faculty rights. Specialized faculty, as defined in Provost Communication No. 25, who hold appointments in more than one unit may choose the Department where they want to vote. To be eligible to vote in ACE, however, the faculty member must hold an appointment of greater than zero percent and be paid by ACE. The faculty member who chooses to vote in ACE must inform ACE administration at the start of each academic year.

Section 2. Composition of the Voting Faculty

1. Unless specified otherwise, the voting faculty of the Department shall include those defined as faculty in Section 1a who receive part or all of their salary from the Department. Specialized faculty shall be entitled to vote on all Department issues except those associated with the graduate program or promotion of tenure-track faculty.

Section 3. Rights and Responsibilities of the Faculty

The faculty shall:

1. Have all departmental powers not exclusively given to the Head of the Department by the University of Illinois Statutes or by the voting faculty of the Department.
2. Have all powers delegated to it by the Head of the Department.
3. Elect a Department Faculty Advisory Committee. Review the missions, goals, and objectives of the Department at least once every five years.
4. Have the right, individually, to request from the Head of the Department an appropriate evaluation of his or her performance.
5. Have the responsibility to submit an annual report of activities in the format and on the schedule established by the Head. Any penalty for failure to comply shall be established by the Head after consultation with the Department Faculty Advisory Committee.
6. Have the responsibility to follow University requirements for confidentiality in all matters including matters involving students and University personnel.

Section 4. Department Faculty Meetings

1. The faculty of the Department shall meet at least twice during each semester.
2. Meetings of the faculty may be called by the Head of the Department or by the Department Faculty Advisory Committee. Academic staff other than faculty identified in Article 1, Section 1 are welcome to participate in faculty meetings except for voting.
3. Meetings of the faculty may also be called by a written request signed by at least ten members of the voting faculty of the Department. Such meetings shall be scheduled within two weeks of the date the request is received by the Head of the Department or the Department Faculty Advisory Committee.
4. Department faculty meetings shall be in compliance with the open meeting laws and regulations of the State of Illinois and the University of Illinois Statutes. Speaking privileges may be denied to persons who are not voting faculty members by a simple majority vote of the faculty present and voting on the question.
5. The Head of the Department, or his or her designee, shall preside at all Department faculty meetings.
6. The conduct of business at faculty meetings shall follow Robert's Rules of Order, except as modified by the vote of the faculty.
7. The Head of the Department shall designate a person to serve as secretary of the faculty meetings. This person, who need not be a faculty member, shall distribute the written minutes of each meeting to all faculty members in the Department.
8. At least one half of the voting faculty must be present at a Department faculty meeting in order to constitute a quorum. No decisions shall be made or actions taken at a faculty meeting unless a quorum is present.
9. Action may be taken by a simple majority of the faculty present and voting at a Department faculty meeting for which an agenda has been distributed in advance. A secret ballot on any question may be requested by any five eligible voters present at the meeting. Such a request must be made before the final vote on the motion is taken.
10. Actions taken on policy matters or bylaws at Department faculty meetings shall be restricted to those items on an agenda distributed to the voting faculty at least five days in advance of the meeting.
11. Items placed on the agenda for faculty meetings shall include those submitted by (a) the Head of the Department, (b) the Department Faculty Advisory Committee, or (c) a written request by any member of the voting faculty of the Department presented to the Head of the Department.
12. A closed session shall be scheduled at the end of faculty meetings or when requested and agreed upon by the voting faculty. Confidential information should only be discussed during one of these closed sessions. Examples of confidential topics are available in Section 2c of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

Article 2. Departmental Administrators and Duties

Section 1. Head of the Department

1. The chief executive officer of the Department is the Head of the Department.
2. The Head of the Department shall be appointed and removed as specified in the University of Illinois Statutes, which also specify the responsibilities of the Head of the Department to the College and the University.
3. The Head of the Department shall have general direction of the missions of the Department. Under this general responsibility, the Head of the Department shall:
   1. assign staff responsibilities and consult with each member of the Department regarding the nature and scope of the work for which that member is responsible and offer an appropriate evaluation of his or her performance;
   2. consult regularly with the Department Faculty Advisory Committee regarding Department policies;
   3. call meetings regularly of the Department faculty to explain and discuss policies and programs;
   4. be responsible for organizing the work of the Department, for the quality and progress of that work, for the formulation and execution of Department policies, and for the execution of University of Illinois and College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences policies insofar as they affect the Department;
   5. report to the appropriate College and University administrators on the teaching, research, and public service activities of the Department;
   6. establish and maintain effective communication among students, faculty, and relevant publics with respect to the needs and activities of the Department as part of the process of planning, conducting, and evaluating Department programs;
   7. have general supervision of the work of students in the Department;
   8. prepare Department budgets;
   9. be responsible for the distribution and expenditure of Department funds and for the care of property assigned to the Department.
4. The Head of the Department shall be responsible for the maintenance of a current Department Policy Manual.

Section 2. Assistant and Associate Department Heads

Assistant or associate heads may be appointed by the Head of the Department after consultation with the Department Faculty Advisory Committee. The appointee and the Head shall agree annually in writing on the appointee’s responsibilities.

Section 3. Other Departmental Administrators

Individual faculty members may be appointed to perform general administrative and leadership duties typically on a less than full-time basis. These appointments are by the Head of the Department after consultation with the Department Faculty Advisory Committee. An appropriate title will be designated at the time of appointment. Duties assigned to such faculty administrators will be Department-wide in scope, not relegated to a subdiscipline, and will assist in carrying out the missions of the Department.

Article 3. Department Committees

Section 1. Selection Procedure

1. The Department committees that are elected by the voting faculty are the Department Faculty Advisory Committee (DFAC), the Department Promotion and Tenure Committee, and the Department Grievance Committee. Election procedures are provided in Article III Sections 2-4. These elections, the election of Department members to the University Senate, the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences Courses and Curricula Committee, the advisory vote on the Department External Advisory Committee, and any other special elections appropriate to the functioning of the Department, shall be supervised by the Head of the Department or the person(s) designated by the Head of the Department.
   Before the final election process is initiated, each faculty member nominated will be contacted by a person designated by the Head of the Department in order to allow those individuals the opportunity to decline nomination.
2. Unless otherwise specifically provided by these Bylaws all elections shall utilize the following procedure. Each member of the voting faculty shall have one vote for each position to be filled. Cumulative voting shall not be allowed. The election winner(s) will be that (those) candidate(s) who has (have) received the largest number(s) of votes.
3. The members of the five policy committees in the Department will be appointed by the Head of the Department after consultation with DFAC, normally for terms of two years. Proposed appointments shall be on the agenda for faculty approval at the last regular Department faculty meeting of the Spring Semester. The policy committees are discussed in Section 5 of this article.

Section 2. Department Faculty Advisory Committee

1. The Department Faculty Advisory Committee (DFAC) shall consist of six elected members.
2. Term of membership on DFAC shall be two years.
3. Eligibility for election requires membership in the voting faculty, as defined in Article I, Section 2, subject to the following restrictions:
   1. Departmental administrators holding the title of Associate Head, Director of Undergraduate Studies, or Director of Graduate Studies are ineligible for membership on DFAC.
   2. Faculty members who will be on sabbatic leave or who will be otherwise off campus for over four months of the first year of a given term are ineligible for election for that term. Similarly, any member of DFAC who will be on sabbatic leave or who will be otherwise off campus for over four months of the second year of a given term is ineligible to continue on DFAC for the second year of the term.
      Any DFAC member who has a change in plans that takes that member away from campus for four months or more shall resign from DFAC prior to leaving campus if there are four months or more remaining in that member's term on DFAC.
   3. A member previously elected to DFAC for a full term and having less than two years' absence from DFAC is ineligible for election. However, any faculty member elected for or serving a partial term on DFAC shall be eligible for election to a succeeding full term, so long as other eligibility requirements are met.
4. The staff in the department as identified by the Head of Department shall elect a staff member as a non-voting ex officio member to DFAC. This member position shall be subject to the requirements of Section 2c.(3).
5. Elections of new members shall be completed each year no later than one month prior to the last regular Department faculty meeting in the Spring Semester. These elections shall regularly replace three of the six members of the existing committee. As part of the regular election, one alternate shall be elected to serve only in case one of the elected members of DFAC is unable to complete a term. An alternate who does not serve on DFAC ceases to be an alternate as soon as the next DFAC is constituted. A special election to fill any additional vacancy that may occur shall be held when and as the need arises to complete the term of the vacancy If a specialized faculty member is not elected to serve as one of the six committee members, the specialized faculty member with the highest vote total in the most recent election will be elected to serve on DFAC as an additional member for a one-year term subject to the requirements of Section 2c.(3).
6. The term of office for all DFAC members shall expire on August 15 of the year in which their term is completed.
7. The responsibilities of DFAC are to:
   1. perform the advisory function specified by the University Statutes
   2. offer advice to the Department administration, by invitation or on its own initiative, on any matter affecting the welfare of the Department. In order to fulfill these responsibilities, DFAC shall have access to any Department information that the committee decides is necessary for its deliberations, other than confidential personnel information.
8. The Department Faculty Advisory Committee shall elect its chair. The DFAC chair should ordinarily be a DFAC member serving the second year of a term. DFAC shall adopt DFAC Operating Procedures to guide its operation. Operating Procedures shall be adopted or amended by a simple majority vote of DFAC members after appearing as an agenda item. After adoption or amendment, a copy of the Operating Procedures shall be distributed to the Voting Faculty of the Department.
9. DFAC meetings shall be in compliance with the open meeting laws and regulations of the State of Illinois and the University of Illinois Statutes.

Section 3. Department Promotion and Tenure Committee

Purpose

1. The Promotion and Tenure Committee shall advise the Head of the Department on the retention, tenure, and promotion of faculty members. The committee will also be consulted before any faculty member is given a terminal contract and will consult and advise on mid-term probationary reviews.

Composition

1. The committee shall consist of six tenured faculty members each with at least a 50 percent paid appointment in the Department. Departmental administrators holding the title of Associate Head, Director of Undergraduate Studies, or Director of Graduate Studies shall not be members. Faculty members who will be on approved leave or who will be otherwise off campus for over four months of the first year of their term are ineligible for election.
   When considering the cases for promotion of specialized faculty, up to two specialized faculty members who are voting members within the Department may be appointed by the Head to be included in the Promotion and Tenure Committee. The specialized faculty serving on the Promotion and Tenure Committee must be of the same track (Research/Clinical) as the candidate.

Restrictions

1. Only full professors are entitled to vote on the promotion of a faculty member from associate professor to full professor.
2. Specialized faculty serving on the Promotion and Tenure Committee will participate and vote only on specialized faculty promotion cases.

Term

1. Committee members shall serve staggered, two-year terms, beginning on January 1 and ending on December 31 of the following year. If an appeal is pending or extenuating circumstances cause a promotion or tenure decision not to be completed by December 31, the current Promotion and Tenure Committee shall continue to serve as the Promotion and Tenure Committee for those cases until they are resolved. 
   Any elected member who will be away from campus for four months or more shall resign prior to leaving campus if there are four months or more remaining in that member's term. A member whose promotion papers will be submitted to the committee will resign from the committee. A member whose spouse’s or partner’s papers will be submitted or whose participation raises a potential or apparent conflict of interest will not discuss or vote on that person’s promotion papers.

Elections

1. Election of new members to replace members of the committee whose terms are expiring shall be completed each year no later than December 15. As part of the election, one alternate shall be elected to fill a vacancy if an elected member is unable to complete a term.
   At least five full professors shall vote on the promotion of a faculty member from associate to full professor. When five full professors, including the alternate, do not serve on the elected committee, a special election shall be held to select full professor(s) to vote on promotion from associate professor to full professor. The professor(s) chosen in the special election shall serve for one year.
   An alternate who does not serve ceases to be an alternate as soon as the next Promotion and Tenure Committee is constituted. A special election to fill any additional vacancy shall be held if needed to complete the term of the vacancy.

Operating Procedures

1. Each year the Promotion and Tenure Committee shall elect its chair. The Committee shall adopt Promotion and Tenure Operating Procedures to guide its operation. Operating Procedures shall be adopted or amended by a simple majority vote of Promotion and Tenure members after appearing as an agenda item. After adoption or amendment, a copy of the Operating Procedures shall be distributed to the Voting Faculty of the Department.

Duties

1. The Promotion and Tenure Committee shall be responsible to
   • Review and evaluate the annual review materials for all promotable faculty
   • Review and evaluate faculty 3rd-year reviews
   • Review, evaluate, and vote on faculty being considered for promotion
   • Other duties required by the University of Illinois

Section 4. Department Grievance Committee

Purpose

1. The responsibility of the committee shall be to consider any grievance brought to it by any faculty member, academic professional, or graduate or undergraduate student. The grievant is expected to explore other alternatives that may be available within the Department before bringing a grievance to the committee. The purpose of this policy is to protect the interests of faculty, students and staff in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics by providing informal and formal means of seeking resolution in case of an inappropriate action of a member of the faculty or administrative staff or an inappropriate application of a department policy.

Conformity to University Policies

1. The following publications describe University policy on grievance procedures. Department procedures shall comply with these policies and procedures.
   1. Academic Staff Handbook, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (published biennially).
   2. Graduate College, Student Grievance Guidelines in the Graduate Student Handbook.
   3. Code on Campus Affairs and Handbook of Policies and Regulations Applying to All Students, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (published annually).
2. Cases involving allegations of capricious grading shall be processed by the committee consistent with the Code on Campus Affairs and Handbook of Policies and Regulation Applying to All Students.
3. This policy does not apply in cases of academic misconduct or sexual harassment. Breaches of academic integrity in research and publication are handled under the campus’s Policy and Procedures on Academic Integrity in Research and Publication. Allegations of sexual harassment are handled under the campus policy on sexual harassment.

Composition

1. The committee shall consist of three voting faculty members of the Department and may be augmented with student members as outlined in (2) below. These faculty members shall be elected annually, no more than two weeks after the election of DFAC. Two ballots shall be used: one to nominate eight candidates, where each faculty member nominates three persons from a complete list of those eligible; and a second ballot to elect the three committee members and two alternates from the faculty. Voting on the second ballot shall be for three candidates. Elected alternates shall serve if regular members become disqualified or are unable to serve.
2. Two graduate students elected by the graduate students of the Department shall serve as members of the committee but only in cases involving a graduate student grievance and with the consent of the student bringing the grievance to the committee. These two students and two alternates shall be elected annually no later than one month after the beginning of the Fall Semester.
3. Two undergraduate students selected jointly by the recognized undergraduate club(s) of the Department shall serve as members of the committee, but only in cases involving an undergraduate student grievance and with the consent of the student bringing the grievance to the committee. These two students and two alternates shall be elected annually no later than one month after the beginning of the Fall Semester.
4. No member of DFAC, the Department Promotion and Tenure Committee, or members of the Department administration who are ineligible to serve on those committees shall serve on the Grievance Committee.
5. The term of office for all members of the committee shall be one year, commencing August 16.
6. A chair and a vice-chair shall be selected by the faculty members of the committee. Only faculty members are eligible for these positions.
7. Any member of the committee shall inform the committee chair in writing of any possible basis for his or her disqualification with respect to any specific grievance brought to the committee. The committee shall resolve such matters before proceeding with any grievance investigation. Any disqualification is to become part of the formal record of the grievance proceedings.

Definition of a Grievance

1. A grievance may arise when an individual believes that his/her status as member of the faculty, staff, student body or his/her University appointment has been adversely affected by an incorrect or inappropriate decision or behavior. Examples include, but are not limited to the following:

   1. inappropriate application of a department or University policy;
   2. being required to engage in excessive effort;
   3. being the subject of practices or actions that seriously deviate from the accepted disciplinary standards of ethical or responsible conduct;
   4. a student being improperly terminated from a program;
   5. being improperly terminated from University appointment;
   6. a graduate student being unfairly assessed on a preliminary examination;
   7. being required to perform personal services unrelated to academic program or assistantship duties;
   8. being required to meet unreasonable requirements for a graduate degree that extend the normal requirements established by the campus or by the department and are inconsistent with the scholarly standards in the discipline or;
   9. being the subject of retaliation for exercising his/her rights under this policy.

Procedures

1. The Grievance Committee shall follow the Grievance Committee Policies and Procedures as approved by the faculty March 31, 2000.

Section 5. Department Policy Committees

1. The Department will have five policy committees:
   1. Graduate Admissions and Recruiting Committee (GARC)
   2. Undergraduate Programs Committee (UPC)
   3. Graduate Programs Committee (GPC)
   4. Courses and Curricula Committee (CCC)
   5. Extension Programs Committee (EPC).
2. Each of the policy committees shall consist of five members including the committee chair. Each committee will be composed of voting faculty members. The chair of GARC will be appointed by the Head of the Department for a two-year term after consulting DFAC. The other committees will elect their respective chairs.
3. The members of each of the policy committees except Courses and Curricula will be appointed by the Head of the Department for two-year terms. The Head of the Department shall seek information from all voting faculty members regarding preferences with respect to serving on the four policy committees other than Courses and Curricula prior to forming committee appointment recommendations.
   1. Two (or three, in alternate years) new members of each of the policy committees, except Courses and Curricula, shall be appointed, and approved by the faculty at the last regular Department faculty meeting of the Spring Semester. The Courses and Curricula Committee will consist of two members of the Undergraduate Programs Committee, two members of the Graduate Programs Committee and the elected Department representative to the College Courses and Curricula Committee. The chair of the Undergraduate Programs Committee and the chair of the Graduate Programs Committee will appoint, each year, one faculty member who is serving for the first year on their respective committees to serve a two-year term on the Courses and Curricula Committee. Only members of these two committees and the elected Department representative to the College Courses and Curricula Committee are eligible to serve on the Courses and Curricula Committee. CCC will elect its own chair.
4. Policy Committees shall assume their responsibilities on August 21 each year. The chair of the outgoing committee shall convene the new committee.
5. Each committee listed above within this Article III shall submit to the Head of the Department a written annual report describing its activities. The report shall be submitted for approval by the faculty at the first Department faculty meeting of the next academic year.
6. The voting faculty shall review and decide on the number of students and their voting status for each of the Department policy committees. The Head of the Department shall, in keeping with this decision, invite Department organizations of graduate students and undergraduate students to appoint members to policy committees.
7. Responsibilities: The responsibilities of the policy committees are specified in Attachment A which is incorporated as a part of these Bylaws.
8. Creation and discontinuance: New committees may be instituted and existing committees may be discontinued by action taken at a Department faculty meeting.

Section 6. External Advisory Committee

The Department Head will recommend the appointment of three persons each year to this nine-member committee, for a term of three years. The Department shall solicit nominations to the External Advisory Committee from faculty and staff. The Department Head shall also consider the geographical and professional balance of the Advisory Committee in making recommendations for new appointments to the committee. These recommendations shall be brought to the faculty for approval.

The term of office for committee members shall commence on August 16.

Section 7. Committee Standards

Committee members shall recuse themselves from any issue that presents a conflict of interest or commitment. Faculty should use Illinois policy on what defines a conflict of interest as a guideline. See Policy on Conflicts of Commitment and Interest and Provost Communication 9. If a faculty member is unsure if a conflict of interest or commitment exists, they should meet with DFAC for advice on whether a conflict exists and recusal is needed.

Article 4. Revision of Department Bylaws

Section 1.

If a provision of these Bylaws is inconsistent with a University of Illinois Statute or with a University, Campus, or College regulation or policy pertaining to the administration or operation of the Department, such provision shall be void.

Section 2.

These Bylaws shall be reviewed annually by DFAC. Changes may be proposed by voting members of the Department faculty, or by DFAC. Bylaw revisions shall be made after approval by a simple majority of the faculty present and voting at a Departmental faculty meeting.

Attachment A

Section 1. Policy Committee Responsibilities

Undergraduate Programs Committee

1. To recommend to the Head of the Department and the Department faculty policies and procedures related to undergraduate programs, including internships, practicums, concentrations, teaching loads, course assignment systems, teaching improvement programs and related matters.
2. To provide leadership in recruiting undergraduate students through material development, recruiting strategy development, minority student programs, and information provision within the Department and to individuals and institutions outside the Department.
3. To review existing Department undergraduate curricula and to make recommendation for change as needed.

Graduate Programs Committee

1. To recommend to the Head of the Department and the Department faculty, policies and procedures related to graduate programs: including admission criteria, graduate student target population, and graduate student numbers.
2. To review and recommend action to the Department faculty on proposals for Ph.D. degree graduate fields, Ph.D. degree preliminary examinations, the composition of Ph.D. degree graduate fields, and related graduate program matters including issues and matters related to the Master of Science degree and MBA programs joint with other departments.
3. To review existing Department graduate curricula and to make recommendation for change as needed.
4. To be responsible for the content of Graduate Program Policies and Procedures.
5. To evaluate graduate theses for appropriate competition.

Courses And Curricula Committee

1. To review and recommend action to the Department faculty on proposals for new and revised courses and curricula and to follow up on such recommendations. All undergraduate, graduate, and extramural offerings are included under this charge.
2. To maintain liaison with the College Courses and Curricula Committee by having the Department representative on the College committee as a member of this committee.

Graduate Admissions and Recruiting Committee

1. To provide leadership in recruiting graduate students through material development, recruiting strategy development, and information provision within the Department and to individuals and institutions outside the Department.
2. To provide leadership in recruiting minority graduate students through the recommendation to the Head of the Department and the Department faculty of a minority graduate student recruitment strategy.
3. To review applications for admission to graduate study in the Department and make recommendations to the Head of the Department regarding the admission status--full standing, limited status, or non-degree.
4. To review applications for financial aid (fellowships, assistantships, and tuition and fee waivers) and make appropriate recommendations to the Head of the Department.

Extension Programs Committee

1. To facilitate communication among faculty members involved in extension, research, and teaching in the Department.
2. To assist the Head of the Department and Department administration in all matters pertaining to extension.
3. To recommend policies, and establish and implement review procedures for departmental extension publications.
4. To recommend and review policies and procedures related to extension in the Department.

External Advisory Committee

1. To provide advice on Departmental programs as an external group with appropriate interests in the State of Illinois.
2. To respond to requests for advice on policy regarding operation and direction of the Department, after appropriate briefing from the Head of the Department.
3. To bring to the attention of the Head of the Department the committee's concerns about policy matters and other questions of substance as these affect the operation and direction of the Department.
4. In order to provide for communication and interaction between Department members and that group the meetings of the committee shall be held on campus. Committee members shall be offered reimbursement by the Department for reasonable travel expenses incurred to attend such meetings.

Adopted by the faculty of the Department of Agricultural Economics and by the faculty of the Division of Consumer Sciences, May 4, 1995.
Affirmed by the faculty of the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, September 1, 1995.
Revised by the faculty of the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics March 31, 2000, May 4, 2010, May 8, 2015, September 23, 2016, April 12, 2019, December 1, 2023, March 22, 2024.