Bylaws of University of Nevada Cooperative Extension

These Bylaws are authorized by Part 2, Chapter I, section 5 of the University of Nevada, Reno Bylaws.

The Bylaws provide for (1) the organization and administrative structure and (2) the personnel policies and procedures for Cooperative Extension and are consistent with the UNR Bylaws, the University of Nevada System Code and the laws of Nevada and the United States.

These Bylaws shall be in effect upon approval of a majority (51%) of the faculty casting votes, the Dean and Director of Cooperative Extension, and the President of UNR.

Any voting member of Cooperative Extension may propose amendments to the Bylaws.

To amend the Bylaws the following procedure is required:

1. Submit proposed amendment to the Bylaws Committee of Cooperative Extension at least one week prior to the amendment being placed on a Bylaws Committee meeting agenda.
2. Hold open discussions with faculty following the Bylaws Committee meeting regarding the amendment facilitated by the Bylaws Committee members in their respective areas.
3. Forward the amendment to all voting Cooperative Extension faculty for a vote by written secret ballot.

Amendments shall be adopted upon:

1. a two thirds majority vote of the faculty casting votes;
2. approval of the Dean and Director of Cooperative Extension; and
3. approval by the President of the University of Nevada, Reno. Most recently approved unit bylaws shall be made available to faculty by being placed on file in the unit, the office of the Faculty Senate, and the office of the President.

Questions of interpretation of the Bylaws shall be directed first to the Bylaws Committee and then to the voting faculty of the departments, herein after referred to as areas, for discussion and possible clarification. If unresolved at the area level, the question shall be simultaneously referred to the Dean and Director and the Faculty Senate Policy Committee on Bylaws and Code for final interpretation. In the event the question(s) is yet unresolved, the General Counsel for the University of Nevada System will be sought and shall represent final interpretation.

The functions of Cooperative Extension are to identify community issues, interpret and encourage the application of basic and applied research, develop community-based educational programs using a variety of methods, and enhance people's knowledge and skills.

Cooperative Extension has an administrative component and four extension areas in central, northeast, southern, and western Nevada. Each area is comprised of several county Cooperative Extension offices.

The following are the integral parts of Cooperative Extension's organization: (a) voting faculty, which are defined in Part 2, Chapter IV, section 13 of this document, (b) adjunct faculty also defined in Part 2, Chapter IV, section 13 of this document, (c) staff which include but are not limited to state classified and county staff, and (d) volunteers.

Organizational changes shall be made in accordance with Part 2, Chapter I, section 7 of the UNR Bylaws.

The Dean and Director shall be chief administrative and executive officer of Cooperative Extension, serving as chair at all open faculty meetings and as member ex officio of all Cooperative Extension committees except the committee that evaluates the Dean and Director. The Dean and Director shall only exercise voting rights in order to break tie votes.

The Dean and Director has responsibility for administering Cooperative Extension according to Cooperative Extension Bylaws, the University of Nevada, Reno Bylaws, the University of Nevada System Code, applicable laws as described in the University Administrative Manual, Nevada Revised Statute 396. 600, Smith-Lever Act as amended every five years, and as specified by the UNR President.

The Dean and Director is responsible to the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Federal Administrator, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), for administration of federal funds allocated to Cooperative Extension and for the submission of reports in compliance with the rules and regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture.

The primary responsibility of the Dean and Director of Cooperative Extension shall be to administer Cooperative Extension and to provide academic leadership to Cooperative Extension and shall include, but not be limited to: convening statewide faculty meetings; initiating processes for merit, promotion and tenure consistent with UNR Bylaws, Part 3, Chapter III, sections 39 -43; Chapter IV,sections 45 -50, representing Cooperative Extension opinions to other academic constituents; and communicating to Cooperative Extension faculty regarding University and University of Nevada System requirements, decisions, and policies.

The Dean and Director can have a representative(s) act on his or her behalf as deemed appropriate.

Standing committees of Cooperative Extension shall include: A) Personnel Committee, B) Policies and Procedures Committee, and C) Bylaws Committee. Each will conduct business as outlined in Policies and Procedures Manual for Cooperative Extension. Other ad hoc committees may be established as needs arise. Faculty in each area will select one representative to each of the standing committees to initiate operational procedures for each committee. Initial meetings will be held within two months of adoption of these Bylaws.

1. Personnel Committee

   Purpose: This committee shall meet to review all faculty applications for promotion and tenure submitted by the Area Directors and to make recommendations to the Dean and Director regarding concurrence or disagreement with evaluations of these applications. These recommendations will be independent of those made by the Dean and Director and made part of the individual's permanent record. Upon the Dean and Director's recommendation, the promotion and/or tenure packet, including all recommendations, will be forwarded to the University Promotion and Tenure Committee.

2. Policies and Procedures Committee

   Purpose: This committee shall meet at least annually to develop, interpret, and monitor policies and procedures as they affect Cooperative Extension faculty. It will develop the Policies and Procedures Manual for Cooperative Extension. The committee shall develop the Standards of Criteria for Promotion and Tenure and serve as the evaluation committee of the Dean and Director. The Cooperative Extension Policies and Procedures Committee will review and recommend changes to provide for the comparability of annual evaluation criteria among areas.

3. Bylaws Committee

   Purpose: This committee will review the Bylaws at least once every three years and interpret Bylaws as questions arise. It will conduct elections for faculty senate representation. Each member will serve as liaison to his or her area for the review of Cooperative Extension Bylaws. The committee will receive proposed amendments to the Bylaws from the Cooperative Extension faculty, conduct open discussions with faculty members, and initiate a vote by written secret ballot on the proposed amendments to all voting Cooperative Extension faculty as defined in Part II, Chapter IV, section 13 of these bylaws.  Amendments will then be forwarded to the Dean and Director and the President for approval.

4. Other Ad Hoc Committees may be established as needs arise.

The faculty shall govern itself in accordance with these Bylaws, the University of Nevada Bylaws, the University of Nevada System Code, and the constitution and laws of the state of Nevada and the United States of America.

The faculty of Cooperative Extension is defined as per Part 2, Chapter III, sections 13 -20 of the UNR Bylaws. Faculty shall therefore include all professional FTEs with voting rights in Cooperative Extension. These professional FTEs shall be academic, administrative, and unranked faculty as defined as per Part 2, Chapter III, sections 15 and 16 of the UNR Bylaws but can also include faculty in authorized continuing part-time positions with the majority of their FTE in Cooperative Extension.

Adjunct faculty shall consist of those faculty qualified to provide service and advice to Cooperative Extension on a volunteer basis and are appointed through the appropriate university procedures.

Voting rights of Cooperative Extension faculty shall be consistent with those defined by Part 2, Chapter III, sections 17 - 22 of the UNR Bylaws. Those faculty with joint assignments with other units and that have more than 0.50 FTE of their assignment in Cooperative Extension shall be considered voting faculty.

Proxy voting is recognized with the written authorization of the person designating the proxy and notification of such designation to the presiding officer prior to the vote.

Notification of statewide faculty meetings shall be provided to faculty at least 10 working days prior to the meeting, unless there is an emergency. Meeting agendas shall be distributed to all faculty prior to the day of the meeting. Minutes of the meetings will be distributed to all faculty within 15 working days with a copy maintained in the Dean and Director's office. The Dean and Director or a designee shall serve as presiding officer at statewide faculty meetings.

Cooperative Extension faculty shall have all the rights and privileges of the University of Nevada, Reno faculty as provided in Part 3, Chapter I, Sections 27, 28, and 29 of the UNR Bylaws.

All personnel files maintained for Cooperative Extension shall be considered part of the official personnel file for each member of the faculty and shall be maintained in accordance with UNR Bylaws Part 3, Chapter I, Sections 30, 31, and 32.

Grievance policies and procedures are established in Part 3, Chapter II of the University of Nevada, Reno Bylaws.

Responsibilities of Cooperative Extension faculty shall be consistent with UNR Bylaws Part 3, Chapter III, section 39.

1. Annual Evaluations

   Each faculty member who's FTE is assigned to Cooperative Extension or holds a joint assignment with the largest proportion of the FTE assigned to Cooperative Extension shall be evaluated annually according to specified professional responsibilities in order to assess the quality of professional performance as unsatisfactory, satisfactory, commendable, or excellent. In those cases where a faculty member has a minor appointment in Cooperative Extension and where appropriate and agreed upon, Cooperative Extension will provide input into the evaluation process. Each person shall submit documentation, as specified in their area, for evaluation. All evaluations shall be initiated by the area and shall be made on the basis of equitable and uniform criteria and procedures for assessing quality of professional performance for each component of professional activity as specified in each area and shall include peer review as specified in the Bylaws for each area. The Cooperative Extension Policies and Procedures Committee will review and recommend changes to provide for the comparability of annual evaluation criteria among areas.

   1. Annual Evaluations of Faculty

      Faculty evaluations will be conducted by the area including the Area Director and the area peer review components as defined in the area Bylaws.

      At each level of evaluation, a separate written document shall accompany the file and shall be given to the faculty for personal and personnel files.

      Both academic and administrative faculty shall be evaluated by the accepted criteria for that rank and according to specified professional responsibilities and performance expectations.

      Expectations for faculty evaluations will be consistent with UNR Bylaws, Chapter III, section 40; legal requirements of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, as amended every five years; and Nevada Revised Statute no. 396.600.

2. Tenure Evaluations

   Evidence of excellent performance in teaching or research, scholarly and creative work shall be a requirement for tenure or promotion. In addition, a faculty member shall also demonstrate at least satisfactory performance in service and the other components.

   In accordance with UNR Bylaws, Part 3, Chapter IV, sections 47 & 48, a probationary member of the faculty may be recommended for tenure by his or her area in any year during the probationary period. The probationary faculty members must also be evaluated and advised regarding prospects for a tenure recommendation no later than during the third probationary year and, if not granted tenure, annually thereafter. The probationary faculty member shall be informed of this evaluation in writing, including the program of improvement, if needed, that must be undertaken to be considered for tenure at a later date. See section 3. 3 of the UCCSN Code.

   1. Tenure evaluation procedures

      Areas shall establish procedures for evaluation of tenure applications that are consistent with procedures for annual evaluations. Results of previous annual evaluations during the probationary period shall be part of the record being assessed. Clearly documented reasons for substantial differences between annual ratings and ratings applied in assessing applications for tenure shall be required.

      Area recommendations of applications for appointment with tenure shall be forwarded by the Area Director to the Personnel Committee, who shall then make a recommendation to the Dean and Director. In the event of a positive recommendation at the unit level, the Dean and Director shall append his or her recommendation and forward the entire packet to the University Promotion and Tenure Committee. If the faculty member disagrees with the recommendation, he or she may ask for reconsideration through regular administrative channels as specified in the UCCSN Code Chapter 5, section 5. 2. 4. Criteria used will be defined in the Standards of Criteria for Promotion and Tenure as established in Part 2, Chapter III, section 11. b. of these Bylaws.

3. Promotion evaluations

   In accordance with UNR Bylaws, Part 3, Chapter III, section 42b., a member of the Cooperative Extension academic faculty may request consideration by his or her area for promotion in any year. If an instructor (Rank I) has the formal educational requirements for the next rank, he or she shall be evaluated in writing by the area and/or the Dean and Director regarding progress toward promotion no later than the end of the second full academic year in rank, and annually thereafter. An assistant professor (Rank II) shall be evaluated in writing by the department and/or Dean and Director regarding progress toward] promotion no later than the end of the third full academic year in rank, and annually thereafter. An associate professor (Rank III) shall be evaluated in writing by the department and/or Dean and Director regarding progress toward promotion no later than the sixth full academic year in rank, and annually thereafter. The above specified times shall not be construed as a minimum time in rank before promotion. Any rank may be a terminal rank. A separate salary schedule shall be utilized for administrative faculty for the purpose of determining promotions. The promotion of an administrative faculty member is in recognition of the level of work and responsibilities of that position.

   1. Promotion evaluation procedures

      Areas shall establish procedures for evaluation of promotion applications. Area recommendations of applications for promotion shall be forwarded by the Area Director to the Personnel Committee who shall then make a recommendation to the Office of the Dean and Director. With a positive recommendation from the Cooperative Extension Personnel Committee, the Dean and Director shall append his or her recommendation, if positive, and forward the entire packet to the University Promotion and Tenure Committee. If the faculty member disagrees with the recommendation, he or she may ask for reconsideration through regular administrative channels as specified in the UCCSN Code Chapter 5, section 5. 2. 4.

4. Merit evaluations

   In accordance with Part 3, Chapter III, section 42a. of the UNR Bylaws, all members of the academic and administrative faculty shall be evaluated and formally considered annually for merit increases.

5. Reappointment

   A probationary member of the faculty shall be evaluated and formally considered annually for reappointment.

6. Evaluation of the dean and director and area directors
   1. Evaluation of the dean and director

      A biennial evaluation of the Dean and Director and the functions for which he or she oversees shall be made by the Cooperative Extension Policies and Procedures Committee.

   2. Evaluation of area directors

      The Dean and Director shall survey all faculty for input into the annual evaluation of his or her respective Area Director.

All personnel evaluations involving tenure, promotion, annual evaluations and merit evaluations which may result in salary increases shall be made on the basis of written and specific professional responsibilities and performance expectations mutually agreed upon by the individual faculty member and the responsible agent within the department as specified by department bylaws.

The appropriate administrator shall inform each faculty member of final annual, merit, promotion and/or tenure recommendations within 15 calendar days from the date of making the recommendations. If the faculty member disagrees with the recommendation(s), he or she may ask for reconsideration through regular administrative channels as specified in the UCCSN Code, Chapter 5, section 5. 2. 4 and the UNR Bylaws, Part 3, Chapter III, Section 41. Further recourse is defined in Part 3, Chapter II of the UNR Bylaws. A faculty member shall receive written notice from the appropriate administrator of reasons for the evaluation including the recommendations of any peer review involved.

All personnel recommendations involving tenure, promotion, and annual review shall follow the procedures and schedule specified by the UNR Bylaws, Part 3, Chapter III, Sections 41-43. In cases of positive recommendations for promotion and/or tenure, the Area Director shall forward the area evaluation to the Cooperative Extension Personnel Committee who shall then make a recommendation to the Dean and Director. With a positive recommendation from the Cooperative Extension Personnel Committee, the Dean and Director shall append his or her recommendation, if positive, and forward the entire packet to the University Promotion and Tenure Committee.

In the event that the evaluation is negative at either the area or unit level, the faculty can follow the recourse outlined in the grievance procedures as established in Part 3, Chapter II of the UNR Bylaws.

All evaluations shall be in writing, with copies provided for the faculty member's personal and personnel files. The purpose of all evaluation processes shall be to inform the faculty member of his or her observed strengths, to initiate correction of any observed weaknesses, and to provide an opportunity for a mutual discussion of the evaluation.

All evaluations shall be made consistent with Part 3, Chapter III, section 40 of UNR Bylaws and with the Mission of Cooperative Extension.

Faculty evaluations for promotion and tenure shall be conducted with respect to the criteria as set forth in Standards and Criteria for Promotion and Tenure for Cooperative Extension.

The Area Directors shall be evaluated annually and the Dean and Director evaluated every two years with respect to the criteria specified but not limited to that in Part 3, Chapter III, section 20.F of these Bylaws.

1. Re-appointment criteria

   The probationary faculty must achieve an overall rating of satisfactory on the annual evaluation to qualify for reappointment.

The justification, eligibility, probationary period, schedule for evaluation of probationary faculty, standards for recommending appointment with tenure, notice of tenure, annual performance evaluation of tenured faculty, tenured faculty in administrative positions, relinquishment of tenure on transfer, expiration of tenure, termination of tenure, and financial or curricular reasons for terminations shall be addressed as per Part 3, Chapter IV, Sections 45-56 of the UNR Bylaws.

The procedures for nonreappointment, dismissal, termination for financial exigency or curricular reasons including the notice and appeals process, sabbatical leave and changes in contractual status shall follow those procedures outlined in Part 3, Chapter V, Sections 57 of the UNR Bylaws.

Recommendations for the appointment of new faculty shall originate in the area concerned and shall follow area and unit bylaws. In recruiting academic and administrative faculty members, the objective shall be to conduct a thorough and appropriate search in an effort to hire the most suitable candidate for the position.

The Area Director shall appoint at least two members of Cooperative Extension faculty to search committees. Other members can be added from faculty in other units, Extension staff, and/or community members.

The terms and conditions of employment shall be specified in the contract in accordance with the UCCSN Code, Chapter 5, subsections 5. 4. 1 through 5. 4. 4.

The Dean and Director shall consider recommendations of the search committee and the Area Director prior to forwarding a final recommendation for the President's approval.

The President, in making a nomination for Dean and Director to the Board of Regents, shall consult with Cooperative Extension faculty. Consultation shall involve a faculty screening committee selected according to the Bylaws of the unit.

1. Search procedure for the dean and director

   In the case of a vacancy, a Cooperative Extension Search and Screening Committee shall be formed. At least four members shall be elected from the Cooperative Extension faculty with at least one from each area. The President shall appoint additional members from Cooperative Extension faculty, additional members representing community interests, and additional member(s) representing the general University. The President shall choose the chairperson. The Committee shall present a slate of three or more candidates to the President and shall meet with the President to discuss the proposed candidates.

2. Search procedure for the Associate Director

   In the case of a vacancy, a Cooperative Extension Search and Screening Committee shall be formed. At least four members shall be elected from Cooperative Extension faculty with at least one from each area. The Dean and Director shall appoint additional Cooperative Extension faculty members and at-large member(s). The Dean and Director shall appoint the chairperson. The Committee shall present a slate of three or more candidates to the Dean and Director and shall meet with the Dean and Director to discuss the proposed candidates.

3. Search procedure for the Assistant Director

   In the case of a vacancy, a Cooperative Extension Search and Screening Committee shall be formed. At least four members shall be elected from Cooperative Extension faculty with at least one from each area. The Dean and Director shall appoint additional Cooperative Extension faculty members and at-large member(s). The Dean and Director shall appoint the chairperson. The Committee shall present a slate of three or more candidates to the Dean and Director and shall meet with the Dean and Director to discuss the proposed candidates.

4. Search procedure for Area Directors

   Area Bylaws shall establish procedure for filling vacancies in these positions consistent with Cooperative Extension and University of Nevada, Reno Bylaws.