By-Laws of the Faculty of the Grove School of Engineering

Preamble

These By-Laws are adopted by the Faculty of the Grove School of Engineering and shall not be interpreted in conflict with the By-Laws of the City University of New York and the Charter of Governance of the City College of New York as ratified by the CUNY Board of Trustees.

Article I - Role of the Faculty

The Faculty of the Grove School of Engineering (GSOE) is a self-governing body which is responsible for:

• Developing and approving the mission statement and the goals of the School;
• Developing and approving the five years strategic plans of the School;
• Developing and approving the over-all research priorities of the School;
• Formulating the policies and criteria relating to the admission and retention of students at the School;
• Approving curriculum and programs administered by the School and its faculty;
• Awarding of GSOE credits and granting of GSOE degrees and honors;
• Electing the engineering representatives to College-wide committees,
• Electing the faculty members that shall serve on the search committees for the positions of Dean and Associate Deans of the School, when there is a vacancy in any of these positions, and
• Electing the faculty members representing the GSOE to special panels appointed by the President and/or Provost.
• Providing the stewardship of all other matters appropriately and traditionally brought before academic faculty, as outlined in the governance guidelines of the American Association of University Professors.

Article II – Meetings of the Faculty

The roster of attendees of meetings of the Faculty of GSOE shall include:

• Tenured and tenure-track members of Faculty rank in the Departments of the School, the Dean and Associate Deans of GSOE, with vote.
• Lecturers and Instructors who have received notice of reappointment on an annual salary basis for a third or later year of continuous full-time service in the School, with vote;
• The following ex-officio members without vote: the President, the Provost, the Associate Provosts, the Vice-President for Student Affairs, the Registrar and the Science and Engineering Librarian;
• With voice but without vote, one faculty member from each of the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Mathematics and Physics. These representatives shall be elected annually by the faculty of the respective departments and their names communicated to the Secretary of the Faculty before October 1 of each year;
• With voice but without vote, HEO’s, Associate HEO’s, Research Associates, and Accreditation Specialists serving in the School of Engineering;
• With voice but without vote, members with the ranks of Chief Technician and Senior Technician  in the CLT series serving in departments of the School of Engineering;
• With voice but without vote, six matriculated students, one from each department of SOE, selected annually from the respective departmental Executive/or Advisory Committee members and chosen by the student members of these committees. The Secretary of the Faculty shall be notified of their election before October 1 of each year.

In the following Articles of these Bylaws, “Voting Members of the Faculty” shall always mean exclusively the members in categories (i) and (ii), as defined above.

All meetings of the Faculty of the SOE are open to the general public and shall adhere to the provisions of the “Open Meeting Law” of the State of New York”.

Article III – Organization of Meetings

Section 1:

The Faculty of the SOE shall have four regular meetings each academic year in the months of October, December, March and May.

Section 2:

The Dean of Engineering shall preside at the Faculty meetings, and in his absence the Chair of the Executive Committee.

Section 3:

Special meetings of the Faculty shall be scheduled by request of the GSOE Executive Committee, a petition signed by 10% of the Voting Members of the Faculty, and in response to written requests from the CUNY Chancellor, the CCNY President, or the GSOE Dean. All requests should be addressed to the Chair of the Executive Committee with a copy to the Secretary of the GSOE Faculty and shall specify the object of the special meeting.

Section 4:

A majority of the Voting Members of the Faculty shall be necessary to constitute a quorum.

Section 5:

The meetings shall be conducted under the general provisions of the then-current Robert’s Rules of Order. The Assembly Presiding Officer shall decide all questions of order subject to an appeal to the Assembly. Such appeal shall not prevail unless sustained by a majority of the Voting Members of the Faculty present.

Section 6:

The regular order of business at meetings shall be as follows:

• Roll call/sign-up sheet
• Approval of minutes
• Communications from the Trustees and Chancellor
• Communications from the College President and Provost
• Communications from the GSOE Dean
• Report from the Executive Committee
• Briefings by the Engineering Representatives to College-wide Committees.
• Reports of GSOE Committees
• Elections
• Recommendations of Degrees
• Old Business
• New Business
• Adjournment

Section 7:

Voting Members of the Faculty wishing to add items to the agenda under New Business should communicate their requests to the Secretary of the Faculty, at least fifteen days prior to a scheduled meeting. Items will be added to the agenda in the order received.

Section 8:

New business, not included in the call of a meeting may be added to the agenda at the start of that meeting, if approved by a vote of the majority of the Voting Members of the Faculty present.

Section 9:

A copy of any resolution expressing the policy of the Faculty, or putting the Faculty on Record, or designed for transmission to the College or University or for publication shall be sent by its sponsors to the membership at least seven days prior to the date of its consideration by the Faculty. In cases of extreme emergency, the Executive Committee may, at its discretion, be exempted from this 7 days rule.

Section 10:

All curriculum changes recommendations, submitted by the Curriculum Committee for Faculty action, shall be forwarded to the Faculty at least seven days before the meeting at which they are submitted for action.

Section 11:

The regular order of business in any meeting may at any time be suspended by a two-third (2/3) vote of the Voting Members of the Faculty present.

Section 12:

Any by-laws article may be temporarily suspended during any meeting for a specific purpose by a ¾ vote of the Voting Members of the Faculty present, provided that the ¾ shall be at least a majority of the entire Voting Members of the Faculty.

Section 13:

In any election a majority vote of the Voting Members of the Faculty present shall be required to elect.

Section 14:

The Secretary of the Faculty shall be elected in the May meeting for a term of three years, starting on July 1 immediately following the election.

Section 15:

The Faculty shall elect all its standing committees in the May meeting, and the term of their members shall start on July 1 immediately following their elections. Each committee, except for the P&B and the Committee on Course and Standing shall elect its Chair. The elections of committees with term exceeding one year shall be staggered.

Section 16:

For issues not in the purview of the standing committees, the Faculty may establish ad-hoc committees and task forces as the need may arise. The scope, tasks and term for such temporary bodies shall be specified in the resolution establishing them.

Section 17:

Notice of all meetings of the Faculty and its committees shall be posted on the GSOE website at least seven days prior to scheduled meetings.

Section 18:

Copies of the approved minutes of the Faculty and all its committees shall be deposited with the Office of the Dean. All this archival material, with the exception of Personnel actions, shall be made available to all Voting Members of the Faculty, upon request, during regular office hours.

Article IV – The Executive Committee

Section 1:

The Executive Committee shall be empowered to act and speak for the GSOE Faculty, when not in assembly, on all matters, under that body’s jurisdiction, except for the approval of the School Strategic Plan and amendment of the By-Laws which require the action of the GSOE Faculty as a whole. The Executive Committee shall report all its actions to the Faculty in the meeting immediately following approval of these actions.

Section 2:

The membership of the Executive Committee, with vote, shall consist of one faculty member from each department of the School elected by the voting members of the Faculty as a whole, for a term of one year. The Dean of the School of Engineering shall serve as an ex-officio member of the committee, with voice but without vote.

Section 3:

The Executive Committee shall make a preliminary assessment of all new initiatives for new interdisciplinary research centers and institutes within the GSOE prior to having these proposals submitted to a plenary meeting of the Faculty for approval.

Section 4:

In all matters, except personnel and other issues within the purview of the PSC-CUNY contract, the Executive Committee shall review all practices within the GSOE brought formally to its attention by a Faculty member. When warranted, the Committee shall communicate its findings and recommendations to the Faculty in a plenary meeting.

Article V – The Personnel & Budget Committee

Section 1:

The entire membership of this committee shall be ex-officio and consists of the Dean of Engineering, as Chair, without vote; the Chairs of the different Departments in the School; and the Faculty Directors of programs in the School that are eligible for ABET accreditation. The Committee, by majority vote, may invite, when not in executive session considering personnel matters, other members of the Faculty to sit on its meetings without vote. 

Section 2:

On personnel matters, the committee receives from Departmental tenure and promotion committees, as the case may be, the following actions:

• recommendations for appointments and reappointments,
• recommendations for tenure,
• recommendations for promotion in rank, and
• recommendations for compensation and salary increments.

The Dean may participate in discussions of the above actions. The Directors of programs eligible for ABET accreditation may participate in discussion of the above actions as they pertain to candidates within their program. Only the Department Chairs may vote on these personnel matters.

Section 3:

On budget matters, the responsibilities of the committee include:

• developing, with the Dean, the annual budget of the School,
• allocating, with the Dean, from the approved annual budget and other sources of funds received by the School the budgets of the different departments, centers and institutes of the School,
• allocating, with the Dean, new faculty and staff lines approved for the School, and
• allocating, with the Dean, to the different academic programs the scholarships and fellowships received by the School from tax-levied funds or overhead recovery funds.

Section 4:

The Dean shall consult with the P&B committee on the operational activities of the School, including the following

• coordinating issues related to students recruitment, admission, and retention,
• coordinating advisement and registration,
• organizing public events and outreach programs, and
• coordinating physical plant maintenance and improvement.

Section 5:

The P&B committee shall have additionally the responsibility to ensure that all data and statistics pertaining to the School are up-to-date, and shall be the body responsible for coordinating all activities and tasks relating to the ABET accreditation process.

Article VI – The Undergraduate Admission Committee

Section 1:

All admissions to the GSOE undergraduate programs shall be vetted and approved by the Admission Committee, as per guidelines adopted by the GSOE Faculty.

Section 2:

The Admission Committee may issue, at its own discretion, waivers of certain admission requirements in exceptional individual cases. The file of the applicant admitted under this clause should include in all cases, however, an insert clearly indicating the reason for the exception and the date that the committee voted the exception.

Section 3:

The membership of the Undergraduate Admission Committee shall consist of one faculty member from each undergraduate accredited degree-granting program of the School elected by the voting members of the Faculty as a whole, for a term of three years. The Associate Dean of Engineering for Undergraduate Studies shall serve as an ex-officio member of this committee, and acts as its Executive Officer, responsible for implementing its decisions and coordinating with the Registrar Office. The Committee shall elect its Chair.

Article VII – The Undergraduate Curriculum Committee

Section 1:

Any proposed changes or additions to any of the undergraduate courses and programs administered by the School shall be referred by the appropriate department/program, following adoption, to the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee for report before their submission to the Faculty for discussion or vote.

Section 2:

The membership of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee shall consist of one faculty member from each undergraduate accredited degree-granting program of the School elected by the voting members of the Faculty as a whole, for a term of three years; and a student representative to the GSOE Faculty meetings, elected by the student representatives to the GSOE Faculty meetings for a term of 1 year. The Associate Dean of Engineering for Undergraduate Studies shall serve as an ex-officio member of this committee, and acts as its Executive Officer, responsible for coordinating the Committee’s agenda and implementing its recommendations once approved by the Faculty, as a whole. The Committee shall elect its Chair.

Article VIII - The Graduate Curriculum Committee

Section 1:

Any proposed changes or additions to any of the graduate courses and programs administered by the School shall be referred by the appropriate department/program, following adoption, to the Graduate Curriculum Committee for report before their submission to the Faculty for discussion and vote.

Section 2:

The membership of the Graduate Curriculum Committee shall consist of one faculty member from each graduate degree-granting program of the School elected by the voting members of the Faculty as a whole, for a term of three years; and a student- representative to the GSOE Faculty meetings, elected by the student representatives to the SOE Faculty meetings, for a term of 1 year. The Associate Dean of Engineering for Graduate Studies shall serve as an ex-officio member of this committee, and acts as its Executive Officer, responsible for coordinating the Committee’s agenda and implementing its recommendations once approved by the Faculty, as a whole. The Committee shall elect its Chair.

Article IX – The Course & Standing Committee

Section 1:

The responsibilities of this Committee are to

• Adjudicate on individual cases of appeal of a student academic status,
• Authorize variances in graduation requirements in individual cases,
• Adjudicate on change of grade appeals.

Section 2:

The membership of the Course and Standing Committee shall consist of one faculty member from each degree-awarding programs of the School elected by the voting members of the Faculty as a whole, for a term of three years. The Dean and the Associate Deans of Engineering shall serve as ex-officio members of this committee. The Committee is chaired by the Dean of Engineering.

Article X – The Doctoral Committee

Section 1:

The responsibilities of this Committee are to administer the GSOE doctoral programs and to ensure the maintenance and improvement of these programs high standards, including

• approving the addition of faculty members from other CCNY divisions or other CUNY campuses who have been nominated by the different programs to serve on the GSOE doctoral faculty.
• coordinating the interdepartmental doctoral courses offering,
• admitting students to the doctoral program,
• selecting recipients of fellowships funded by tax-levied and overhead recovery funds allocated to its administration by the P&B Committee,
• overseeing the qualifying exams administered by the different programs,
• approving students Ph.D. supervisory committees,
• admitting students to doctoral candidacy, and
• recommending to the GSOE Faculty the award of PhD degrees to students who have successfully completed all the doctoral degree requirements.

Section 2:

The membership of the Doctoral Committee shall consist of one faculty member from each engineering PhD granting program of the School elected by the voting members of the Faculty as a whole, for a term of three years. The Associate Dean of Engineering for Graduate Programs shall serve as Executive Officer of this committee, responsible for implementing this Committee’s decisions. The Committee shall elect its Chair.

Article XI – Amendments to the By-Laws

Any By-Law may be adopted, amended or repealed by a 2/3 vote of the voting members present provided that the two-thirds shall be at least a majority of the voting members of the entire faculty, after notice has been given at a preceding meeting, and provided also that, at least six days before the vote shall be taken upon any proposed amendment or change, the Secretary of the Faculty shall have sent to each member of the Faculty a copy of the proposed amendment or change.