Bylaws

The Program in Ecology (PiE) is an interdepartmental, intercollegiate doctoral program under the auspices of the Graduate School. Its purpose is to provide advanced, integrated training in the science of ecology, a research discipline that focuses on organisms and biological processes in the context of their environments.

The Program in Ecology functions according to a democratic governance structure. The responsibility for the operation of the Program, except where specifically designated below, is vested in the Program’s faculty. The basic operation of the Program can be divided into the following areas: administration, graduate curriculum and program, and personnel. Each of these areas is specified below. Any change to this document must be endorsed by at least a two-thirds majority vote of a quorum of PiE Faculty.

Administration

The PiE Faculty are responsible for administering the Program as set forth in the following structure of committees and policies, except those responsibilities specifically delegated to the Director.

Director
The Program Director serves at the discretion of the Dean of the Graduate School and the PiE Faculty. The Director will be nominated by the PiE Faculty based on a majority vote of a quorum of PiE Faculty. The PiE Faculty will forward their recommendation to the Dean for appointment. The Director will serve a three-year, renewable term, and is bound to the principles and policies as set forth in this document.
The Director supervises the Program and its committees, assigns Graduate Assistantships and Fellowships, chairs the meetings of the Program Faculty and Affiliates, and represents the Program to the Graduate School and the central administration of the University.

The Director will meet regularly with the Graduate School Dean to discuss Program development and progress. The Director and the Graduate School Dean will meet at least once per year with the Heads of all participating departments and Deans of all participating colleges, to facilitate direct communication between the Program and the participating academic units.
Membership
The Program in Ecology Faculty consists of tenured or tenure-track faculty members at the University of Wyoming who are active researchers in the discipline of ecology (Appendix A). PiE Faculty members can advise doctoral students in the Program, vote at PiE Faculty meetings, and serve on PiE standing and ad hoc committees.

PiE Affiliates can co-advise doctoral students together with a PiE Faculty member, attend and participate (without voting) in PiE Faculty meetings, and serve on PiE ad hoc committees (Appendix A). Affiliates may include UW faculty members who work in fields closely related to ecology, UW Academic Professionals whose primary research area is in ecology, and doctoral-level ecologists from other institutions and agencies who are collaborating with PiE Faculty members.

Applications and associated materials (credentials and representative publications) for PiE Faculty and Affiliate status will be evaluated by the PiE Steering Committee according to policies set in the Faculty Status document (Appendix A).
The Committees of the Program
All meetings of the Committees of the Program in Ecology are open to Program Faculty, Affiliates, graduate student representatives, and invited individuals. The sole exception consists of those meetings or parts of meetings in which personnel are being evaluated, where only Program Faculty members may attend. Members are selected for or elected to these committees by the PiE Faculty members, and they in turn will select one of the committee members to act as the chair of the committee. Each member (faculty and student) of the following committees has one vote on matters before the committee, and all decisions and recommendations will be reached on the basis of a simple majority vote as established within the guidelines set out in the committee's operating policies, unless otherwise specified. The Program Director will vote in the committees only in the case of a tied vote. The actions of the Program’s committees, when carrying out their charge in accordance with their operating policy, do not require the approval of the Program Committee. All decisions and recommendations must be communicated in written or electronic form to the members of the Program Committee within five work days.

a. Program Committee
The Program Committee serves as the committee of the whole of the PiE Faculty and is chaired by the Program Director. This committee is responsible for governing the Program in Ecology in accordance with the Bylaws established in this document. A quorum must be in attendance in order to vote on any matter, although votes can be cast in absentia as proxies. Proxy votes must be submitted to the Program Director prior to the meeting in which the vote is to be taken. A quorum is defined as two-thirds of the Program Committee. The Program Committee is composed of the PiE Faculty and the graduate student representative. Each member of the PiE Faculty and the graduate student representative has one vote on matters before the Program Committee, except as elsewhere specified.

The graduate student representative to the Program Committee will be elected by PiE graduate students, who will forward their nomination to the Director for appointment. The graduate student representative may participate in discussions and vote in any matter except those concerning personnel. Graduate student representatives to other relevant Standing Committees will be elected by PiE graduate students, who will forward their nominations to the Director for appointment.

Members of the following Standing Committees will be elected by majority vote of the Program Committee.

b. Steering Committee
The Steering Committee advises the Director in setting and implementing Program policies, and also serves as the screening committee for evaluation of applications for Faculty and Affiliate status in the program. The Steering Committee is bound by the Faculty Status Policy in these evaluations. The Steering Committee meets twice a year, and more often as needed.

The Steering Committee consists of five members, to include the PiE Director and four PiE Faculty members elected by the PiE Program Committee. The Director serves as Chair of the Steering Committee. Faculty serving on the Steering Committee must represent at least three of the participating departments and at least two of the participating colleges. With the exception of the Program Director, Steering Committee members will serve staggered two-year terms.

c. Graduate Affairs Committee
The Graduate Affairs Committee screens graduate-student applicants to the Program, selects students for Graduate Assistantships, Fellowships, and other competitive awards, and tracks the progress of graduate students in the Program. The Committee will have authority to admit students into the Program, and will forward recommendations for Assistantships and Fellowships to the Program Director.

The Graduate Affairs Committee consists of five members, representing at least three of the participating departments and at least two of the participating colleges. Graduate Affairs Committee members will serve staggered two-year terms.

d. Seminar Committee
The Seminar Committee coordinates and schedules the PiE Seminar series. The Committee works closely with its departmental counterparts (committees or individual coordinators) in this regard.

The Seminar Committee consists of three PiE Faculty members and one graduate student representative. The Faculty members will represent at least three departments and at least two colleges. Seminar Committee members will serve staggered two-year terms.

e. Director Review Committee
The Director Review Committee shall evaluate the Director’s performance in administering the Program annually. This Committee shall solicit input from all PiE Faculty members to assist in the evaluation. This committee is composed of three faculty members representing three departments and at least two colleges. The Committee will submit their evaluation to the Graduate School Dean. The Director will meet with the Graduate School Dean each year to discuss the evaluation.
Program Policies
The administrative policies of the Program are established and modified by a two-thirds majority vote of the Program Faculty members. The Program’s policies, listed below, are presented in Appendix A.

a. Faculty Status Policy
b. Graduate Affairs Policy

Adopted by an 11 (for) to 0 (against) vote of the Program in Ecology Faculty on Monday 11 April 2005. Revised by a 13 (for) to 0 (against) vote of the Program in Ecology Faculty, 8 October 2007.

APPENDIX A. Program Policies

Faculty Status Policy

Preamble

The Program in Ecology is centered on the science of ecology, a research discipline that focuses on organisms and biological processes in the context of their environments. Ecology overlaps with many other disciplines in the biological and environmental sciences, and many scientists whose research lies primarily in other areas may nevertheless do ecological research and sponsor students pursuing research in ecology.

The Program has high expectations and requirements for all faculty who participate in its programs.

Faculty participants in the Program in Ecology may take either of two forms: as a Program Faculty member, or as a Program Affiliate. Program Faculty members include tenured or tenure-track University of Wyoming faculty members who are active and credentialed researchers whose primary research focus is in ecology. Program Affiliates comprise a broader category of participants, including individuals who are not tenured or tenure-track UW faculty, or whose primary research area lies outside ecology. The Program Affiliate category provides a means for broad participation in the Program by UW faculty and Academic Professionals and by ecologists outside UW.

Program Faculty members may serve as Chairs of doctoral committees for students enrolled in the Program in Ecology. Program Faculty members may also participate in all aspects of Program governance, including voting in the Program Committee and Standing Committees, and serving as Director. Program Affiliates may serve as Co-Chairs of doctoral committees for students in the Program in Ecology, provided a Program Faculty member agrees to serve as Chair. Program Affiliates are invited to participate in Program meetings and activities, but are not allotted a vote in Program governance. Program Affiliates may serve on ad hoc committees as appropriate.

Program Faculty: Criteria for admission

Minimum criteria for admission to the Program Faculty include status as a tenured or tenure-track Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, or Professor at the University of Wyoming. In addition, individuals seeking admission to the Program Faculty must provide evidence of ongoing, scholarly work in the field of ecology, as defined in the Preamble to this document and in our mission statement. It is expected that the preponderance of research done by Program Faculty members be ecological.

Individuals seeking Program Faculty status must be able to document nationally or internationally recognized research that has advanced understanding of fundamental and/or applied aspects of ecology. There should be evidence of quantitatively substantial and qualitatively rigorous contributions to the field of ecology in the context of the following criteria:

Primary standard (this benchmark must be clearly documented)

Publications:

Members of the Program Faculty are expected to have regularly published ecological research in highly respected, peer-reviewed research journals, as evidenced by a listing of publications (authors, titles, dates, and journals) and representative reprints.

Secondary standards (at least one of these four benchmarks must be clearly met for Assistant Professors, at least two for Associate Professors, and at least three for Professors)

Grants & Contracts:

Securing of financial resources for ecological research from nationally competitive funding sources, as evidenced by a listing of grants and contracts (investigators, titles, dates, and funding agencies).

Courses:

Teaching of courses in the discipline of ecology, as evidenced by course offerings (course titles, syllabi, and dates). Such teaching must include courses that integrate ecological scholarship at an advanced level (e.g., advanced or graduate courses and/or seminars).

Graduate Students: Mentoring of graduate students who have conducted research directly relevant to the science of ecology, as evidenced by ongoing or completed theses and dissertations (authors, titles, and dates).

Professional Service:

Providing of leadership in the field of ecology, as evidenced by editorial positions, elected offices in ecological societies, and/or service on review panels or advisory committees (listing of positions, responsibilities, and affiliations).

Program Affiliates: Criteria for admission

Program Affiliates comprise a broader and more heterogeneous group than Program Faculty. All Program Affiliates will possess a PhD or equivalent. All Program Affiliates must demonstrate potential for contributing to graduate training in ecology, and capacity for research in ecology or closely related fields. In addition to these criteria, Program Affiliates must satisfy the criteria outlined in one of the following three tracks:

Track 1
Program Affiliates who are not members of the University of Wyoming faculty (e.g., scientists from other entities such as other universities, government agencies, or private organizations) must (a) be sponsored by a Program Faculty member, and (b) document research contributions in the field of ecology. Criteria for judging the latter will be similar to those applied to Program Faculty.

Track 2
University of Wyoming Academic Professionals must document published research contributions in the field of ecology. It is expected that Academic Professionals participating as Program Affiliates will have their primary research focus in ecology.

Track 3
Tenured or tenure-track faculty members of the University of Wyoming Graduate Faculty may participate as Program Affiliates based on documentation of their research contributions to fields closely allied to ecology. Such fields may include (but are not restricted to) systematics, genetics, evolutionary biology, physiology, earth sciences, atmospheric sciences, statistics, mathematical modeling, and geographic information sciences. Typically, Track 3 Affiliates will be productive researchers in disciplines that overlap with ecology and who are interested in co-sponsoring students in the Program or otherwise contributing to Program activities.

Review of Applications

Individuals seeking to join the Program, either as Faculty members or as Affiliates, should submit a letter of interest addressing the preceding points, together with a full C.V. and copies of representative recent ecological publications, to the Program Director. The letter of interest should specify whether the individuals seek to join the Program as Faculty members or Affiliates. Applications received during the academic year will be reviewed by the Steering Committee within one month. Applications received during the summer may not be reviewed until the first month of the following Fall semester. The Program Steering Committee will make all decisions regarding Faculty and Affiliate acceptance into the Program.

Review of Faculty Status

Once admitted as a Program Faculty member or Affiliate, an individual retains this standing for 5 years. At the end of each 5-year term, the individual must provide evidence to the Program Steering Committee of continued productivity through a re-application consisting of supporting documentation with regard to the stated standards. It is generally expected that activities in the preceding five years will include advising and mentoring graduate students in the Program and serving on PiE student committees.

Revised by a 13 (for) to 0 (against) vote of the Program in Ecology Faculty, 8 October 2007.

Graduate Affairs Policy