Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition 

College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Preamble

The mission of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition (FSHN) is to implement education, research and outreach programs designed to promote a safe, nutritious, accessible, and affordable food supply that enhances human health.

Article 1. Purpose

The Department of FSHN is responsible for and dedicated to excellence in teaching, research, extension and public service in the fields of Dietetics, Food Science, Hospitality Management, and Human Nutrition. The purpose of these Bylaws is to provide an operational framework that will expedite the efforts of the faculty and staff in achieving departmental goals and to assure the rights of all members. The Bylaws are to operate within the regulations stipulated in the University Statutes and be subordinate to them.

Article 2. Membership of the Department

The Department of FSHN is a primary administrative unit within the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (herein referred to as College).

Section 1. Faculty

The faculty of the Department of FSHN shall include all persons in the Department holding faculty status as defined by the University Statutes. This includes individuals with the rank or title of professor, associate professor, or assistant professor who are tenured or receiving probationary credit toward tenure and hold at least a 25 percent salaried appointment within the Department. The faculty shall also include persons in non-tenured specialized faculty positions (instructors; lecturers; teaching, research, and clinical professors) of all ranks who hold at least a 50 percent salaried appointment within the Department. Faculty so defined have voting privileges and are also referred to below as “voting eligible”. Emeriti, specialized faculty appointed as visiting or adjunct, and joint appointees of all ranks not meeting the conditions stated above shall be non-voting members of the faculty in the Department.

Section 2. Academic and Other Staff

The Academic Staff consists of members of the teaching, research, scientific, and extension staff who hold academic appointments. It includes members of the faculty not included in Article II, Section 1, those on academic professional appointments, and graduate assistants. Staff is used in the broadest terms to include all departmental employees who, on the recommendation of the Head of the Department, are appointed or assigned to the Department.

Academic and other staff are non-voting members of the Department. Voting privileges of others not defined above will be as designated by the University Statutes and indicated in Article II Section 3a of the University Statutes.

Article 3. Organization

Section 1. Head of the Department

The Head of the Department is its chief executive officer.

Appointment

The Head shall be appointed and removed as specified in the University Statutes, Article IV, Section 3a.

Responsibilities

The Head shall have general direction of the missions of the Department. Under this general responsibility, the Head shall:

  1. Have primary responsibility for organizing the work of the Department, for its quality and progress, for the formulation and execution of departmental policies, and for the execution of University and College policies insofar as they affect the Department.
  2. Assign staff responsibilities and consult with each faculty member of the Department regarding the nature and scope of the work for which that member is responsible and offer an appropriate evaluation of the member's performance.
  3. Consult regularly with the Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee regarding departmental policy and governance. This shall include, but not be limited to, the appointment of new faculty, visiting professors, zero-time faculty appointments and faculty for off-campus programs, the departmental budget, faculty meeting agendas, and educational programs.
  4. Call meetings of the departmental faculty as specified in Article III, Section 2e of these Bylaws.
  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, academic staff, civil service staff, and relevant public with respect to the needs and activities of the Department as part of the process of planning, conducting, and evaluating departmental programs.
  7. Have general supervision of the work of students in the Department.
  8. Prepare and submit departmental budgets.
  9. Have primary responsibility for the distribution and expenditure of departmental funds and allocation of space controlled by the Department Head.
  10. Engage in advancement & development activities.

Section 2. Faculty of the Department

Responsibilities of the Faculty

The faculty shall carry out the programs of instruction, research, extension, and public service in Dietetics, Food Science, Hospitality Management, and Human Nutrition. All members of the faculty share the responsibility for maintaining those high professional standards which foster academic excellence.

  1. Members of the faculty shall be responsible for the instruction in courses in their areas of professional competence as defined by their appointments upon assignment by the Department Head. Such assignment shall be consistent with the terms of their contracts.
  2. While it is expected that the main research effort of faculty members shall be in their area of competence, in accordance with their interest and available financial support, cooperative research with investigators in others areas and departments is encouraged.
  3. The extension and public service responsibilities of each member of the faculty shall be consistent with departmental missions and goals.
  4. Members of the faculty should contribute to the governance of the College, Campus, and University to the extent feasible with their other responsibilities.
  5. The faculty through their representatives on the Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee, faculty meetings, and departmental committees shall advise the Head upon matters of educational policy, extension, and departmental governance.

Appointment of New Faculty Members

  1. A Search Committee shall be appointed by the Head to assist in the selection of appropriate candidates.
  2. All recommendations for the appointment of new faculty members in tenure-track positions shall be made by the Head in consultation with the departmental search committee, the Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee, and the Dean and Associate Deans of the College at an appropriate time after the publication of the position announcement as specified in the Campus Administrative Manual, Section IX.
  3. The Affirmative Action guidelines specified in the Campus Administrative Manual shall be followed in the search. Appointments shall be made solely on the basis of the qualifications of the individual for the position.
  4. All recommendations for appointment of visiting professors, faculty for off-campus programs, adjunct faculty, affiliate faculty, and other zero-time faculty appointments shall be made by the Head with the approval of the voting faculty. Reappointments of other zero-time faculty shall be made annually by the Head with the approval of the Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee. Reappointments of adjunct and affiliate faculty are made in accordance with the FSHN Guidelines for Reappointment of Adjunct and Affiliate Faculty.
  5. All appointments and job offers shall be made by the Head in consultation with the faculty member(s) responsible for the program or project upon which the new staff member is to be employed. Furthermore, all such appointment requests shall be forwarded through the departmental business office to ensure their accuracy.

Promotion and Tenure of Faculty Members

  1. Promotions shall be initiated by one of three means.
    1. The Department Head may submit evaluation materials to the Departmental Promotion and Tenure committee and request consideration.
    2. A faculty member eligible for promotion may submit evaluative materials to the Departmental Promotion and Tenure committee for consideration.
    3. The Departmental Promotion and Tenure committee will conduct an annual review of faculty eligible for promotion and request evaluation materials from the Head.
  2. All requests for evaluative material for consideration by the Departmental Promotion and Tenure committee should be made in a timely manner and at least 60 days prior to the deadline for submission of recommendations to the College.
  3. The Departmental Promotion and Tenure committee members shall review the available information, including but not limited to that submitted by the faculty member, and make their recommendations for promotion to the Head in writing and in a timely manner. The Promotion and Tenure committee’s evaluation shall be based upon the faculty member’s creativity in research, teaching performance, contributions to extension, public and international service, contribution to the mission of the Department, and service to the College, University, and professional organizations. Consideration will be in accordance with the position’s description. The criteria employed shall conform to those described in the Campus Administrative Manual.
  4. For those faculty members in the years 1-5 of their appointment, the Committee shall review the faculty member’s performance at least two months prior to the date required by University Statutes for notification of non-reappointment and make their recommendation to the Department Head in writing according to Campus procedure. The evaluation shall be on the same basis as in Section 2c(1) above. Procedures for the 3rd year review will be followed as described in the Provost Communication No. 13.
  5. After reviewing the recommendations of the Promotion and Tenure Committee, the Head shall inform the faculty member and the Committee of action taken with a general review of the faculty member’s progress and possible areas of improvement.
  6. A candidate not recommended for tenure or promotion shall have the right to request reconsideration by the Head by submitting in writing, within 30 days of his/her notification, the reasons why reconsideration may be in order and supplying any additional supporting information. After reconsideration, the decision of the Head is final.
  7. It shall be the responsibility of the Department Head to inform the candidates for tenure or promotion of all adverse action taken at the College, Campus, or University levels.
  8. In all actions involved in the procedures for renewal, tenure or promotion, proper attention shall be paid to the confidentiality of the recommendations of the Committee and the privacy of the records of the candidates.
  9. In the case of promotion of specialized faculty, the Head will appoint an appropriately-ranked specialized faculty member to serve as an additional member on the Departmental Promotion and Tenure Committee. If there is no one in the Department at the appropriate rank, the Head may appoint an appropriately-ranked specialized faculty member from another department.

Faculty Salaries

  1. Each year, at the appropriate time before the departmental budget is finalized, the Head shall request that all faculty members submit their Achievement Summaries. In addition, although having little to do with faculty salaries, upon request by any faculty member, the Head shall be available to discuss with them on a confidential basis their immediate and longer term goals, their needs, and expectations.
  2. The Departmental Promotion and Tenure committee, in consultation with the Department Head, will decide how the committee gives input to the Department Head.
  3. Upon reviewing the annual achievement summary forms and any input from the Departmental Promotion and Tenure committee, the Head will prepare the departmental salary budget for submission to the Dean of the College.
  4. Upon the establishment of the salary budget, the Head shall inform the individual faculty members of the action taken and discuss with them their accomplishments and possible areas of improvement.
  5. In all actions involved in faculty evaluation, proper attention shall be paid to the confidentiality of the recommendations of the Committee on Promotion and Tenure and the privacy of the faculty member's records.

Faculty Meetings

  1. The departmental faculty shall meet at least twice during each semester to consider committee reports for faculty action and to discuss such matters of educational policy and departmental governance as are presented by the Head or proposed by faculty members.
  2. Calls for meetings shall be initiated by the Head or upon receipt of a written request signed by at least five faculty members. Such meetings shall be held within two weeks of the date of receipt of the request by the Head.
  3. The agenda of the meeting, including committee reports to be considered and any other necessary information concerning topics on the agenda, should be distributed to the faculty prior to the meeting unless the need for prompt action makes this impossible.
  4. At least half of the voting members of the faculty must be present at a meeting to constitute a quorum. No decision shall be made or action taken unless a quorum is present.
  5. The Department Head or the Department Head’s delegate shall preside at all faculty meetings.
  6. At all faculty meetings, Robert's Rules of Order Revised shall apply to the extent that its provisions are consistent with University Statutes and these Bylaws.
  7. The minutes of each faculty meeting shall be recorded by a recorder selected by the Head prior to the meeting. These minutes, including the committee reports, shall be distributed to all faculty members and approved by the faculty at the next faculty meeting and shall be filed and preserved so as to be readily available to all faculty members and others with legitimate claims to access.
  8. While all members of the faculty and invited guests have the right to speak on appropriate questions, the right to vote shall be limited to those with voting privileges as specified in Article II, Section 1 of these Bylaws.
  9. Action may be taken by a simple majority vote of the voting members present at the meeting. A secret ballot may be requested by any voting faculty member present provided a final vote on the matter has not been taken.

Faculty Grievances

  1. In search for a solution to faculty grievances, a faculty member with a grievance is expected to exhaust all other available methods within the Department before filing the grievance in writing with the Departmental Grievance Committee.
  2. Within two weeks of the receipt of the grievance, the Committee shall make a preliminary investigation to determine if all methods have been exhausted and, if not make appropriate recommendations to the aggrieved member.
  3. If all other methods have been exhausted, the Committee shall inform the person(s) allegedly responsible for the grievance in writing and provide an opportunity for a written response or personal interview.
  4. The Committee may then conduct additional interviews and shall be authorized to obtain all documents pertaining to the grievance from members of the Department and other sources as appropriate.
  5. Upon completion of its investigation, the Committee shall make its recommendation to the Head, the aggrieved member, and the person(s) named in the grievance.
  6. The Head, upon receipt of the recommendations, may request additional supportive information from the Committee and, upon reaching a decision, shall inform the Committee and both parties involved in the decision.
  7. Decisions reached at the departmental level may be appealed to the appropriate College or Campus officials or committees. Both parties involved in the grievance shall be informed by the Head of the Department as to the appropriate appeals processes.
  8. At least one copy of the complete case file shall remain intact and not be removed from the Department Head’s office. The case file shall be available for examination by those directly involved in the grievance or their authorized representatives and the College and Campus officers and committees responsible for handling grievances at those levels.

Section 3. Elected Committees

Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee

Composition

The Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee shall consist of five elected members of the voting membership of the Department, one of which will be a non-tenured specialized faculty member. The Department Head or designate shall serve as Chairperson ex officio. The committee shall elect a Vice-Chair from among its members at the beginning of every academic year. The primary function of the Vice-chair is to preside in the Head's absence. An alternate committee member from the tenure-track faculty with the next highest votes shall be elected to serve a one-year term. The alternate is to attend all committee meetings but will only vote if an elected member of the committee is absent. In addition, Associate Heads and the Assistant Head will serve as ex-officio members on the Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee.

Responsibilities
  1. The Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee shall advise the Department Head in regard to departmental policy and governance as specified in Article III, Section 1b (3) of these Bylaws.
  2. The Committee shall advise the Head regarding the invitation of other persons who are not members of the departmental faculty to attend faculty meetings.
  3. In advising the Head in regard to departmental policy decisions, the members of the Committee shall consult with faculty members and serve as a channel of communication between the faculty and the Head.
  4. he Committee shall assist the College Administrator Evaluation Committee in the evaluation of the Head of the Department of FSHN by selecting the groups which should be surveyed or interviewed, assisting in the preparation of the questionnaires.
Election Procedure
  1. The members of the Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee shall be elected by the voting members of the Department for staggered three-year terms. Each term shall begin on August 16 of the academic year. Committee members who are on a sabbatical leave do not retain voting rights during their leave.
  2. Eligibility for membership on the Committee shall be limited to the voting members of the faculty.
  3. The nominations and elections shall be conducted by the Departmental Elections Administrator and shall be by secret ballot. The Departmental Elections Administrator shall be appointed by the Department Head.
  4. In the event of a tie vote, the electee shall be determined by lot.
  5. Permanent vacancies (death, resignation, etc.) which may occur in the membership of the Committee shall be filled by special election supervised by the Elections Administrator. The member so elected shall serve out the term of office of the member he/she replaces. Such election shall not disqualify him/her from being a candidate for the position in the following term.
  6. The election for the Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee shall be conducted no later than May 1 of the previous academic year.
  7. Ex-officio members [Assistant Head and the Associate Head (s)] do not vote. If a faculty member who has been elected a member of the Departmental Advisory Committee is also an ex-officio member, then the faculty member should vote during the term he/she has been elected to office.
Meetings
  1. The Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee shall meet prior to each Departmental Faculty meeting whenever possible and at such other times as determined by the Head, requested by a majority of the Committee, or requested by the College Administrator Evaluation Committee.
  2. When meetings are requested by the College Administrator Evaluation Committee, a member of that Committee shall chair with the Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee present. The Department Head shall not be present.
  3. The agenda of the meeting with any necessary information concerning topics to be considered shall be distributed to Committee members prior to the meeting unless the need for prompt action makes this impossible.

Section 4. Other Administrative Officers

To facilitate the work of the Department of FSHN, Associate Head(s) shall be appointed by the Head of the Department with the advice of the Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee for a term typically of three years.

Section 5. Standing Committees

Promotion and Tenure Committee

The Promotion and Tenure committee shall be appointed by the Head at the recommendation of the Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee.

The Promotion and Tenure Committee shall consist of five full professors and two associate professors according to the rank held at the start of the current academic year (August 16 – August 15). In years, when the demographic of the department will not allow for two associate professors to serve, up to seven committee members may hold the rank of full professor. The chairperson of the outgoing Committee shall convene the new Committee and the Committee shall then elect its chairperson who must be a full professor. The Committee shall review the available information on candidates for promotion and tenure, renewal of contract, and make recommendations to the Head in the manner specified in Article III, Section 2c of these Bylaws. Only full professors are entitled to vote and be present during discussion of the promotion of a faculty member from associate to full professor level. The tenure of this committee shall be for staggered three-year periods of service on a calendar year basis (January 1 through December 31).

If an associate professor is on the Departmental Promotion and Tenure Committee during the year he/she is being considered for promotion, then the associate professor will not serve on the committee during his/her year of review. The associate professor loses the one-year of service from the three years he/she was appointed to serve. An alternate associate professor shall be appointed by the Head at the recommendation of the Departmental Faculty Advisory Committee to fill the one-year vacancy. The associate professor under review will re-assume committee duties and finish the remaining year(s) of his/her original term immediately following the year of the review.

Specialized faculty on the Departmental Promotion and Tenure Committee will be concerned only with promotion of specialized faculty of same or lower rank. Votes by the Departmental Promotion and Tenure Committee shall be by secret ballot. The Department Head attends the Promotion and Tenure Committee meetings to gather insight and information from the departmental committee’s discussion but does not vote.

Courses and Curricula Committee

The Courses and Curricula Committee shall consist of five voting faculty members, as well as an undergraduate and graduate student appointed by the Department Head. The Associate Head of Undergraduate Programs shall serve as one of the five voting committee members and as chairperson of the committee. Tenure of committee members will be staggered for three-year terms. The Chairperson of this Committee shall serve as departmental representative to the College Courses and Curricula Committee. In order to maintain liaison with the Graduate Programs Committee, one member should be on both Committees. The Committee shall meet at the discretion of its members or its chairperson and as requested by action taken at a faculty meeting. The Committee shall: (a) review proposals for new courses and revisions of old courses including all undergraduate, graduate and extramural offerings and recommend action to the faculty; (b) review existing curricula, and make recommendation to the faculty for change as needed, and (c) assist in maintaining a departmental file of current outlines for all courses offered by the Department.

The Committee shall report to the faculty orally or in writing concerning its activities at least annually. Items brought before the full faculty for voting purposes should only be voted on by faculty members with voting privileges.

Faculty Grievance Committee

The Faculty Grievance Committee shall consist of five faculty members, with one of them appointed by the Head as chairperson. The tenure for these members shall be for staggered three-year terms. The Committee shall consider all grievances submitted to it by faculty members according to the procedures outlined in these Bylaws.

Graduate Programs Committee

The Graduate Programs Committee shall consist of seven voting faculty members, as well as a minimum of one graduate student appointed by the Department Head and the Director of Student Services as an ex officio member. The Associate Head of Graduate Programs shall serve as one of the seven voting committee members and as chairperson of the committee. Tenure of committee members will be staggered for three-year terms. In order to maintain liaison with the Courses and Curricula Committee, one member should be on both Committees. The Committee shall meet at the discretion of its members or its chairperson and as requested by action taken at a faculty meeting. The Committee shall: (a) review proposals for new courses and revisions of existing courses for graduate and extramural offerings and recommend action to the faculty; (b) review existing curricula, and make recommendation to the faculty for changes as needed, and (c) assist in maintaining a departmental file of current syllabi for all courses offered by the Department. The Committee shall report to the faculty orally or in writing concerning its activities at least annually. Items brought before the full faculty for voting purposes should only be voted on by faculty members with voting privileges.

Article 4. Use of Space, Instruments, and Equipment

Section 1. Use of Space

Assignment of Space

The assignment of faculty members to the various buildings used by the Department shall be made by the Department Head so as to be consistent with the faculty members’ interests and those faculty members currently in the building.

Responsibility for Use and Maintenance of Space

Each faculty member shall be responsible for the supervision of the use and maintenance of the space assigned to him/her. Responsibility for the maintenance of space used by all of the building faculty, including plant, library and classrooms, shall rest with the Building Coordinator designated by the Head.

Article 5. Amendment of Bylaws

The Bylaws may be amended following discussion of the proposed amendments at a faculty meeting. Amendments may be proposed by any voting member of the faculty and shall be submitted in writing to the Head of the Department. The Head shall circulate proposed amendments to all voting members of the faculty at least two weeks prior to the date of the meeting at which the amendments will be discussed. A three-fifths majority of the secret ballots cast shall be required for adoption of amendments to these Bylaws.

BYLAW AMENDMENT (March 9, 2018, Unanimous vote)