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Center for European Studies

Bylaws of the Center for European Studies

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences University of Florida Approved: December 2022

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Preamble

The purpose of this document is to establish bylaws for the Center for European Studies (hereafter CES) at the University of Florida (UF). Housed within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), CES recognizes that its operations are bound by UF regulations and that the bylaws of CES are supplementary to these regulations. Should any part of the published bylaws and operating procedures conflict with, or not take into consideration any of those announced by UF or CLAS, CES practices will be revised accordingly.

I. Mission Statement

As a Title VI-National Resource Center, CES is funded in part by the US Department of Education to assist in the development of area studies and language skills through fostering academic and cultural environments including broad area studies and language courses, degree options, and study abroad opportunities. The CES is committed to promoting, teaching, and facilitating research and scholarship on multidisciplinary topics related to Europe in its broadest sense.

For the purposes of the Title VI program and the current mandate of the CES, “Europe” is defined as all western European countries and all formally accepted European Union accession and applicant countries. Through its Title VI funding, the CES is able to support the activities that are related directly to contemporary Europe. The “contemporary” period starts from the 19th century. The activities focusing on other regions, countries, and earlier time periods can be funded only if their relevance for some aspect of “contemporary Europe” is an explicit and central theme.

The CES mission is as follows:

  • To offer UF undergraduate and graduate students interdisciplinary academic programs in European Studies;
  • To stimulate individual and collaborative research by UF faculty and students engaged in the study of Europe;
  • To sponsor study abroad programs in area studies, language, and culture;
  • To improve and disseminate awareness of European issues in the local community and in the State of Florida as a whole, and to increase national and international collaboration;
  • To promote activities that enrich the intellectual and cultural lives of students, faculty, and staff at UF;
  • To administer grants, programs, and events related to Europe, and;
  • To enhance UF’s national and international reputation.

II. Structure of the CES

  1. Core faculty. Core faculty shall be those faculty for whom at least 50% or more of their annual activities are assigned by the Director of CES and who hold the rank of lecturer or above in the course of the academic year. The faculty who are recruited by a search and on a renewable annual contract, yet appointed to a “visiting” faculty line, shall have the right to vote and will have the right to committee membership.
  2. Affiliate Faculty. UF faculty who wish to be affiliated with the CES will be appointed in the Center, following a vote by CES core faculty approving their affiliation according to the procedures established by CLAS for obtaining an affiliate faculty status. The affiliate faculty will have no voting rights in the CES. Though they are welcome to attend open CES faculty meetings, they cannot attend the closed meetings wherein voting takes place. Additionally, affiliate faculty members should have an affinity with the CES mission and attend the CES events. They may also be asked to serve on CES committees and participate in CES activities.
  3. Visiting Faculty. Visiting faculty and scholars who have not been recruited by a search or who are not on a renewable annual contract, are welcome to attend general departmental faculty meetings, but they cannot vote on the CES business.
  4. Advisory Board. The Advisory Board may include representatives from European-focused programs at UF, multiple colleges, relevant language and area studies departments, the library, and representatives of the broader community. Members of the Advisory Board will be nominated by the Director of CES in consultation with CES core faculty and with the approval of the Dean of CLAS. The mandate of the Advisory Board will coincide with the CES Department of Education Title VI funding cycle.
  5. Faculty Meetings and Voting. There shall be at least one CES faculty meeting per semester.Additional meetings may be called if requested by three or more faculty members. Unless there isemergency business to discuss, all meetings will be announced in writing at least two weeks in advance. Faculty members may participate in the meetings in person or virtually unless precluded by the CBA or other University requirements. Voting members consist of the faculty of the CES. Voting rights will be exercised on the principle of one vote per person. Voting shall proceed as follows:
    1. A quorum, defined as a two-thirds majority of core faculty except for those on leave, must be present to conduct a vote at a CES faculty meeting.
    2. Regarding regular CES business, the decisions will be made by a simple majority vote of all the faculty present at the meeting.
    3. When voting on candidates for faculty appointments within CES, the vote shall be conducted by secret ballot following the discussion of the search committee’s recommendation at a CES meeting.
      1. All faculty shall have the opportunity to provide feedback to the search committee prior to the meeting.
      2. Any vote on a personnel decision shall be announced no later than one calendar week before balloting is conducted.
      3. Full materials on all candidates shall be available at least one week before balloting is conducted.
      4. In the event that the CES Director deems a personnel matter to be urgent and therefore requiring the arrangement of a meeting and a vote in the space of less than one week, the Director shall solicit from the faculty a waiver of the here stipulated period of one week. The waiver shall be granted if approved by a simple majority.
    4. Proxy votes may be cast at faculty meetings or at announced times after a CES meeting. A proxy must be in writing; it must be signed (electronically or manually); it must be limited to one person’s use, at one specified meeting, and on one issue, and it must be submitted to the Director or staff member who is tasked with tallying votes prior to the vote.
    5. Otherwise, voting is conducted by show of hands unless a faculty member requests a secret ballot.
    6. Each CES committee may establish its own voting procedures.

III. Duties and Functions of the Director

  1. Term of Office. The Director’s term of office is determined by the Dean of CLAS. The Director shall serve a 3-year term, except that the initial appointment of a Director brought from outside the University may be for a period of as many as 5 years. This appointment shall be made following the regular procedures for appointing heads of the departments and programs in CLAS. Incumbents are eligible for reappointment to a 3-year term. If the Director desires to be considered for reappointment, procedures for review are set out by CLAS.
  2. The Director or their designate shall represent the CES in relation to other centers, departments, programs, and the administrative offices of the University. The Director or their designate shall attend monthly CLAS chairs and directors meetings and other meetings designated for chairs and directors. The Director or their designate shall represent the CES to other universities and organizations that have dealings with the CES.
  3. The Director or their designate shall set, in a timely fashion, core faculty meetings at which s/he will act as the presiding officer.
  4. The Director shall, in coordination with Center staff, take central responsibility for the running of the CES and shall perform the functions necessary to implement all phases of its operation, including space allocation, equipment procurement, and staff hiring and supervision.
  5. The Director, in coordination with Center staff, shall assume responsibility for administering the CES budget.
  6. The Director is responsible for appointing committee chairs and for working with these committees to effectively carry out their charges. S/he is an ex-officio member of all standing and ad hoc committees with the exception of the Executive Committee.
  7. The Director will not participate in review activities involving evaluation of the Director.
  8. The Director shall be responsible for assigning duties to and supervising and evaluating assigned duties of Center-based faculty members. The Director shall consult with faculty members about any proposed changes to their assigned duties.
  9. The Director shall be responsible for coordinating with chairs of departments which have joint appointments in the CES to ensure that the allocation of faculty service, teaching and research time is congruent with the faculty member’s percentage FTE appointment. The Director shall consult with relevant chairs in the cases of promotion and tenure and is responsible for ensuring that the faculty member’s contributions to the CES are recognized.
  10. The Director shall select the Assistant/Associate Director and other staff with approval from the Dean of CLAS.

IV. Mentoring

  1. Tenure-accruing faculty: Mentorship is arranged in the academic unit in which a faculty member’s tenure is to be awarded, and the choice of a mentor will follow that unit’s standard procedures. That said, the CES Director will support the appointment of a CES mentor if desirable and possible and desired by the mentee, in consultation with the tenure-granting unit’s Chair and untenured member.
  2. Non-tenure-accruing faculty: The CES Director has the responsibility of informing instructional and other non-tenure-accruing faculty about job duties, and performance expectations. The director will also provide information regarding professional development leave and promotion opportunities. The CES Director will support the appointment of a mentor if possible and desired by the mentee. The Director or the mentor shall acquaint the faculty member with the OP’T online packet and system at the end of the second year of employment in preparation for future Progress toward Promotion review.

V. Evaluation

  1. The CES-related duties and activities of faculty members (e.g. teaching, research, and service) will be evaluated on an annual basis by the CES Director. This evaluation will be provided in an annual letter of evaluation written by the Director for each faculty member, whether separately or in conjunction with the letter of evaluation written by the Chair of the Department in which a faculty member holds a joint appointment. An opportunity will be provided for each faculty member to discuss the annual letter with the CES Director.
  2. The Director of the CES will ensure that each faculty member has the opportunity to have his/her teaching observed and evaluated at least once a year. The teaching evaluation of those faculty members who hold tenure-accruing appointments will follow the existing mechanisms in their tenure-granting department. Should the Department or other academic unit in which a CES faculty member holds a joint appointment not provide an opportunity for the faculty member to have his/her teaching evaluated, the Director of CES will ensure that this opportunity is provided. The teaching evaluation of those faculty members who do not hold tenure-accruing appointments or hold appointments solely within the CES will be conducted by the CES in consultation with the relevant language or area studies department where the faculty expertise lies.

VI. Tenure and Promotion

Given the diverse mission of CES as a Title VI National Resource Center, the assigned duties of CES faculty vary. CES acknowledges the importance of teaching, research and scholarly activity, and service; however, individual faculty assignments may not include all three areas or may include additional duties (community outreach, program building, and so forth). Semester assignments should be created so that candidates for tenure and promotion can meet their expectations. Individual assignments must be taken into consideration during the tenure and promotion process. It is the responsibility of the CES Director to clarify faculty assignments and ensure that the promotion dossier accurately reflects faculty duties and contributions to the CES and Title VI mission.

  1. Tenure-accruing and tenured faculty: Since all tenured and tenure-accruing CES faculty currently hold joint appointments, the tenure and promotion process shall follow the procedures and guidelines outlined in the academic unit where the tenure line lies (i.e., outside of the CES). The CES Director shall consult with relevant chairs in the cases of promotion and tenure and ensure that faculty contributions to the CES are recognized. CLAS and UF procedures and guidelines for tenure and promotion for tenured and tenure-accruing faculty can be found online: http://www.clas.ufl.edu/hr/tenure/tenure.html
  2. Instructional and other non-tenure-accruing faculty: The promotion process of instructional and other non-tenure-accruing faculty in the CES shall be organized and overseen primarily in the Center and shall follow the procedures established by CLAS: https://dean.clas.ufl.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022-2023-CLAS-Tenure-and-Promotion-Guidelines.pdf Promotion procedures and guidelines will be updated to remain in compliance with the procedures set out in the CBA. https://hr.ufl.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2021/08/2021-2024-UFF-UF-Collective-Bargaining-Agreement.pdf Faculty should be evaluated according to the criteria below insofar as they are consistent with their assigned duties and FTE:
    1. Criteria for promotion from Assistant Instructional Professor (formerly Lecturer) to Associate Instructional Professor (formerly Senior Lecturer):
      • Teaching: Evidence of consistent meritorious achievement in teaching, evidenced by strong teaching evaluations, strong peer teaching evaluations, nomination/receipt of teaching awards, professional development and training, etc.
      • Professional development: Development of innovative teaching techniques and technologies, participation in training workshops, etc. development activities and workshops, etc.
      • Program building: Contributions include, but are not limited to, new course and curricular development, organization and directorship of study abroad programs, etc.
      • Service: Contributions include, but are not limited to, CES governance, participation in CLAS or UF committees, advising, contributions to the field or advancement of one’s discipline.
      • Research: Evidence of research productivity includes, but is not limited to, the publication of books, articles, monographs, edited volumes, translations, etc. related to the faculty member’s assignment.
      • Grant activity: Contributions include application for external grants to contribute to CES programmatic needs; receipt of internal grants to contribute to CES programmatic needs.
      • Outreach: Participation in CES community outreach events such as teacher outreach, liaison with heritage groups, campus or community projects and events.
    2. Criteria for promotion from Associate Instructional Professor (formerly Senior Lecturer) to Full Instructional Professor (formerly Master Lecturer):
      • Teaching: Continued evidence of consistent meritorious achievement in teaching, evidenced by strong teaching evaluations, strong peer evaluations, nomination/receipt of teaching awards, etc.
      • Professional development: Continued development of innovative teaching techniques and technologies, participation in training workshops, etc. development activities and workshops, etc.
      • Program building: Strong contribution to CES program building, including but not limited to new course and curriculum development, organization and/or directorship of study abroad programs, etc.
      • Service: Contributions include, but are not limited to, CES governance, participation in CLAS or UF committees, advising, contributions to the field or advancement of one’s discipline.
      • Research: Evidence of research productivity includes, but is not limited to, the publication of books, articles, monographs, edited volumes, translations, etc. related to the faculty member’s assignment.
      • Grant activity: Contributions include application for external grants to contribute to CES programmatic needs; receipt of internal grants to contribute to CES programmatic needs.
      • Outreach: Participation in CES community outreach events such as teacher outreach, liaison with heritage groups, campus or community projects and events.

Those candidates who are to be considered for promotion in a particular AY should notify the CES director in writing no later than May 15 of AY prior to the AY in which the faculty member wishes to be considered for promotion, at which time they shall complete the form regarding their decision about waiving access to various materials (e.g., internal reviews). The CES Director will consult with the candidate about who should serve as reviewers. CLAS expects a minimum of 5 and maximum of 6 letters of evaluation. The candidate may submit a list of suggested writers of evaluation letters, but the final selection is determined by the Director.

The candidates will prepare their materials for submission according to CLAS and UF guidelines. The Promotion Review packet (if any) needs to be provided by June 1 so that it can be reviewed carefully to ensure that it is complete and correctly formatted and is sent to internal and/or external reviewers.Additionally, the candidate should prepare the electronic OPT packet for a courtesy review by the deadline set by the College.

VII. Progress Toward Promotion for Non-Tenure Accruing Faculty

The Progress toward Promotion (PtP) review is to be conducted for non-tenure accruing faculty in their third year of employment. The purpose of the assessment is to provide the faculty with a substantive progress report and to suggest what the faculty member might need to accomplish in the areas of teaching, scholarly research, and service before a formal promotion review.

A non-tenure track faculty member due for review may decline to be reviewed under this process by notifying the Director in a letter or email that they so decline by January 10 (see “Opt-Out” template below). Faculty who decline to be reviewed will have another opportunity for a PtP review the following year (and must explicitly “opt out” each year until they have been promoted). Otherwise, faculty due for review shall submit an appraisal dossier to the Director no later than March 15 of the year in which the review is to be conducted.

The PtP dossier should contain the same materials as those included in the promotion dossier except that letters of evaluation normally solicited for review are not required.

  1. The faculty member will use the promotion template for the current academic year, with its directions and guidelines, as complete as appropriate given the time in rank of the candidate.
  2. A portfolio containing the candidate’s instructional materials, research publications, papers submitted for publication, and any other relevant items the faculty member elects to submit.

The CES Director shall provide to the faculty member the following materials for inclusion in the dossier:

  1. Annual Assigned Activity, including the proportions of the faculty member’s assignments, reported on the annual activities report that have been devoted to teaching, scholarship, and service;
  2. CES criteria for promotion;
  3. Peer evaluations; and,
  4. The faculty member’s Annual Evaluations.

The Director will subsequently make the completed dossier, together with his/her cover letter, available to the CLAS Dean’s office for review no later than June 10. For faculty with joint appointments, the letter should be co-signed by the Director/Chair of the other unit. The dean will provide an evaluation of the faculty member’s progress toward meeting the criteria for promotion and will share this evaluation with the Director.

No later than July 10th, the results of the review will be shared with the faculty member in a letter of evaluation prepared by the Director. These results will include any recommendations about how the faculty member might improve their performance and promotion dossier and what assistance might be available in CES, CLAS, and UF to address candidate needs and improve performance. Upon request, the faculty member will be provided the opportunity to meet with the Director and/or the dean to discuss the review.

The appraisal process will be confidential to the extent permitted by law and internal to the department and the college office. Consequently, the appraisal will not be placed in the faculty member’s evaluation file and will not be included in the faculty member’s subsequent promotion dossier.

“Opt-Out” Template: [Date: XXXX] Dear Name of [CES Director], I acknowledge that I am eligible for a Progress to Promotion Review during the AY [insert year]. By this email/letter, I am exercising my right to decline this review for the [AY year]. [Name of Faculty member]

VIII. Market Equity Salary Increase

An individual faculty member may make a request to the CES Director to have his/her salary reviewed for consideration of a market equity increase. If the faculty member is tenured or has a tenure-accruing faculty line, the Director will assign the review to the Chair of the tenure-granting department who will forward the request to the appropriate departmental committee. If the faculty member requesting review is a lecturer or another non-tenure-accruing core faculty of CES, the Director will review the request and consult relevant materials (such as those submitted for review of merit or promotion) in order to evaluate the faculty member’s value to and productivity in the CES; he/she shall also compare the faculty’s salary to market norms. The Director may create an ad hoc committee to review the faculty’s dossier and develop a pay increase recommendation; if so, any voting on such a committee shall be conducted by secret ballot. The committee’s recommendation will be sent to the CES Director, who will evaluate the committee’s recommendation and make a decision whether or not to forward the request to the College. In the event of an increase, faculty members shall be notified of the increase amount prior to the submission to the payroll.

IX. Merit Raises

This section defines the rules and procedures that govern the identification of meritorious faculty members for purposes of receiving merit salary increases. Awards of merit increases are designed to recognize outstanding overall performance in research, teaching, service and other relevant activities. This document will guide the considerations of the Merit Committee, which make merit-pay recommendations to the Director.

  1. Merit assessments will be completed annually for all faculty based on:
    1. Annual Activity Reports for the reporting period (March 15–March 15).
    2. Student-teacher evaluation scores for the reporting period (Spring and Fall Semester)
    3. A brief addendum outlining additional activities that deserve recognition or peer teaching evaluations to reflect all faculty contributions in a given review period.
  2. To be eligible for consideration for merit pay, faculty must submit their annual activities report by April 15 (or a later deadline if announced by the Director).
  3. The Director will appoint three CES core faculty to serve on the Merit Committee, serving on a bi-annual basis. All effort shall be made to ensure a group of candidates who themselves reflect the disciplinary diversity of CES faculty (foreign language and various area studies) as well as the various ranks (professor, lecturer, etc.).
  4. The Merit Committee shall meet in the spring semester (after all Annual Activity Reports have been submitted) to assess faculty according to the guidelines outlined in the “CES Merit Criteria.”
  5. The chair of the Merit Committee will report its findings to the CES Director in writing.
  6. The Director will inform each CES faculty member of his/her merit assessment and merit-pay raise. The Director will not discuss the assessment or merit-pay raises of third parties.
  7. In the event that merit funds are not available in a given year, faculty merit assessments for that year will be taken into consideration in the subsequent review period(s). In absence of directives to the contrary, annual assessments will be averaged for all merit periods in which no merit funds are available, or for three years, whichever is less. (The three-year limit may be waived to ensure consideration of a major accomplishment never considered for a merit increase).
  8. For new faculty members, the reporting period will begin with their arrival at UF (usually August of that year).
  9. Merit pay considerations are distinct from promotion raises, salary compression adjustments, etc. and, within each category, are based on achievement and accomplishment, regardless of release time, course reductions, and the like.
  10. In making its merit pay recommendations the merit committee should refer to the CES’s Merit Criteria which ranks meritorious activity in the areas of research, teaching, service and other relevant activities. The merit committee should furthermore:
    1. Ensure that expectations of a faculty member’s performance are proportionate to that faculty’s work assignment (FTE) in CES. (For example, faculty whose FTE is 100% in the CES would be expected to engage in proportionately more CES-related activities than faculty whose FTE is only 50% in CES).
    2. Ensure that expectations of faculty member’s performance reflect that faculty’s duties in the CES.
    3. Evaluate each faculty’s performance relative to the rest of the CES faculty.

X. CES Standing Committees

The standing committees of the CES are:

  • Curriculum Committee
  • Speakers Committee
  • Grants Committee
  • Executive Committee

The CES Director or a minimum of three CES faculty may propose other ad hoc committees as needed (for example, in the event of a search or to award grant funds). Procedures of specific committees are described in more detail in the CES Operations Guidelines.

  1. Chairperson. The CES Director will appoint a chairperson for each committee.
  2. Membership.
    1. The Executive Committee shall consist of three members, elected by simple majority from among CES core faculty. The members are elected in the Spring semester and serve for a term of one year, with a term limit of two consecutive years.
    2. For all other committees, the CES Director will appoint all committee members. Membership must include at least one CES core faculty and may also include CES affiliate faculty and, when relevant, UF academic personnel or staff.
  3. Committee Service Load.
    1. Every effort will be made to distribute service duties evenly among faculty. Since some committees are more labor-intensive than others, distribution of service work will be based on anticipated service hours rather than the number of committee assignments.
    2. First-year faculty need not chair a committee.
    3. In the case of joint appointments and shared faculty, the Director shall coordinate with respective departmental chairs to ensure that faculty’s service load is equitably divided between the CES and other units.
  4. Committee Functions and Duties.
    1. The Curriculum Committee shall oversee semester course assignments and schedules at the CES. They review faculty’s Course Assignment Request forms to determine whether the intended offerings are balanced (with a minimum degree of overlap in course content and conflict between course schedules). Committee members must be informed about CES minor and certificate requirements to ensure that intended curricular offerings allow students in CES programs to make degree progress. The Director makes the final decision regarding course offerings and course assignments.
    2. The Speakers Committee helps to plan speaker events. It evaluates speaker requests proposed by UF faculty and may suggest its own candidates. The committee should coordinate closely with the Director to determine its annual budget, with the Outreach Coordinator (who may serve on the committee) to avoid program conflicts. While the committee need not schedule travel per se, it must coordinate with CES staff to ensure that all funds are spent in accordance with UF or US guidelines.
    3. The Executive Committee’s role is to facilitate CES governance. The Committee, through both self-initiative and faculty input, is expected to assist the CES Director in the development and implementation of new programs and initiatives, including working with the Director to create a long-term strategic plan for the CES as a whole. It may also voice concerns expressed by core faculty to the Director. Members of the Executive Committee may attend meetings of the External Advisory Board. The Director will inform the Executive Committee of the External Advisory Board meetings and invite them to attend.
      1. The Executive Committee has the authority to convene itself and should do so on a regular basis throughout the year. The CES Director is expected to consult regularly with the Committee.
      2. Any Committee member may choose to initiate discussion on a topic. The CES Director and other CES core faculty are encouraged to request items for discussion.
    4. The Grant Committee’s role is to review and rate awards, fellowships, and rolling grants.

XI. Amending the Bylaws

  1. These bylaws have been adopted by a two-thirds majority vote of the Core Faculty.
  2. The core faculty of CES, in conjunction with the CES Director, shall develop and maintain bylaws to ensure they reflect current UF policy and the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Amendments to the bylaws must be approved by a two-thirds majority of the voting members of the CES.
  3. Future amendments to the bylaws may also be proposed by any member of the Core Faculty. All Core Faculty members shall have the right to participate in the development of the bylaws.
  4. If the bylaws are developed by means of a committee, such committee shall be comprised of faculty members elected by the core faculty members of the unit.
  5. Provisions in the bylaws relating to tenure, promotion, merit salary increases, market equity salary increases, and performance evaluations must be approved in a secret-ballot vote by a majority of all affected faculty in the relevant unit who are eligible to vote on the matter under consideration.
  6. Amended bylaws shall be forwarded for approval to the dean. If the chair and the other faculty are unable to reach agreement on an issue, both the chair’s proposal on that issue and the proposal approved by a majority of the faculty shall be submitted to the dean.