Constitution and Bylaws

The name of this organization shall be the Untenured Faculty Organization (UFO) at California State University, Fresno (Fresno State).

The purpose of this organization, hereinafter referred to as the UFO, is to bring together members of the probationary untenured faculty at Fresno State with the following goals:

2.01 Support probationary untenured faculty by communicating and providing suggestions to relevant Academic Affairs units (e.g., Provost's Office, Center for the Scholarly Advancement of Learning and Teaching - CSALT, Deans, Academic Personnel Services) for the development and implementation of programs and activities to support faculty in their scholarship, teaching, professional, service, and collegial activities in order to meet retention, tenure and promotion (RTP) expectations;

2.02 Develop, provide and implement a variety of UFO activities, events and opportunities to support untenured faculty as part of the work of the faculty organization;

2.03 Promote positive communication with other internal and external units outside of Academic Affairs (e.g., Student Affairs, Administrative Services, the community at large);

2.04 Provide and identify opportunities for untenured faculty to develop and enhance their skills in the area of leadership and professional development by becoming more actively involved in important University, community, and professional service.

2.05 Create a collegial social support network and foster personal friendships and a sense of community among the members of the organization;

2.06 Provide a safe and confidential forum for open dialogue, conversation, and sharing information among members. UFO members agree that the internal communications and business of the organization shall be honored, respected and held confidential as appropriate.

Membership

3.01 Membership shall include all probationary untenured faculty at Fresno State.

3.02 Each Fall, membership to UFO will automatically be granted to all untenured faculty.

3.03 Faculty who wish to decline membership must notify UFO (Secretary) in writing (e.g., via email) that they do not wish to be a member. Membership discontinuance may occur at any time upon a request from a member.

3.04 Faculty who wish to reactivate UFO membership may notify UFO (Secretary) at any time during the year.

3.05 Participation, privileges, voting rights and interests for each member are equal.

4.01 Notice of time and place of general membership meetings shall be sent via email to members with as much notice as possible.

4.02 Emergency general membership meetings may be called by the President of the organization or by the Executive Officers. Written or email notice of special meetings shall be sent to the general membership as soon as possible.

5.01 The Executive Officers of the UFO shall manage, direct, administer, and control the activities and affairs of the organization.

5.02 The Executive Officers shall decide on the formal role and relationship between UFO and the Associate Provost.

5.03 The Executive Officers will work closely with and provide information and updates to relevant committees (e.g., Professional Development Committee) as well as to offices such as the Provost, Deans, APS and others.

5.04 The Executive Officers shall delegate duties as may be necessary to the relevant committee, and establish new committees or Special Interest Groups (SIG) as needed.

5.05 All Executive Officers shall serve without monetary compensation.

5.06 Notice of time and place of Executive Officer meetings shall be sent to all Officers  at least one day prior to such meeting, and posted on the UFO Web site (or other electronic forum) for members.

5.07 Meetings of the Executive Officers are open to all members of the organization.

5.08 A quorum (33%) of the Executive Officers members holding office must be achieved to transact any official UFO business.

5.09 Attendance at Executive Officer meetings is vital. Therefore, Officers shall notify the UFO President in advance of conflicts or non-attendance.

5.10 Action may be taken by the Executive Officers without a meeting, if all members of the Executive Officers consent verbally or in writing (e.g., email) to such action; such consent shall be filed with the minutes of the proceedings of the Executive Officers.

6.01 The Executive Officers of the organization shall consist of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Historian Reporter, Public Relations Chair, Elections Committee Chair, and all the respective Chairs of the Special Interest Groups.

6.02 The President shall: be the chief executive officer of the organization and shall, subject to the approval of the general membership, perform all duties of her or his office in consultation with the Executive Officers and the general membership. The major tasks of the President include: write and send meeting agendas to all Executive Officers; preside at all UFO meetings; develop an active agenda for the year of activities and programs consistent with the purpose of the UFO; ensure effective governance of the Executive Officers and the general membership for the purpose of realizing goals; provide capable and energetic representation of the organization at the campus and community level.

6.03 The Vice President shall: serve as chairperson of all official meetings of the organization in the absence of the President, or at the request of the President; serve as Chief Coordinator of all Special Interest Group Chairs and other ad hoc committees; and perform such other duties as agreed to in consultation with the Executive Officers. The Vice President will also record the activities of the Executive Officers and SIG Chairs at the end of the academic year and will develop a letter, suitable for inclusion in each Officer’s portfolio to be signed by the UFO President.

6.04 The Secretary shall: record and maintain minutes of each official meeting of the organization and of meetings of the Executive Officers; send approved minutes to the Webmaster in a timely manner; create communications (i.e., letters and emails) to acknowledge thanks and/or participation at events as needed; and perform other duties in consultation with the Executive Officers.

6.05 The Treasurer shall: be responsible for identifying and securing funding for UFO activities in conjunction with the Associate Provost’s office; draft funding requests for approval by the Executive Officers to relevant units; and perform other duties in consultation with the Executive Officers.

6.06 The Historian Reporter shall: assemble and chronicle a photographic and written archive of the organization's activities and programs; and perform other duties in consultation with the Executive Officers.

6.07 The Webmaster shall: create, maintain and update the UFO Web site and other electronic forums (e.g., Blackboard site, Twitter); collect information from all relevant Officers and SIG Chairs and post this information in a timely manner; and perform other duties in consultation with the Executive Officers.

6.08 The Public Relations Chair shall: be responsible for developing and disseminating information and other public relations materials such as meeting announcements as needed; and perform other duties in consultation with the Officers of Directors.

6.09 The Elections Chair shall: be responsible to take nominations, create and distribute the ballot (electronically), count and ascertain a fair and ethical election and voting process for the organization. The Elections Chair must convene an Elections Committee of no fewer than two other Executive Officers for the purposes of reviewing and verifying membership votes.

6.10 The Special Interest Group Chairs shall: be responsible for recruiting members for their committee and to work with their committee members to address issues of concern and to develop and implement faculty support programs in their respective area. Each year, the organization will identify and elect Chair Officers to head a select group of Special Interest Groups. SIG Chairs will ensure that their committee completes at least one major event in their area per year. Sample Interest Groups may include, but are not limited to:

• Research Support
• Teaching Strategies Development
• Teaching Dialogue
• Teaching Technologies
• Grant Development
• Service Activities
• Professional Activities
• Leadership Development
• Diversity and Multicultural Issues
• Student-Related Issues
• New Faculty Orientation Consulting Committee
• Community Outreach
• Affinity Group

6.11 Each Executive Officer shall make one major contribution to the organization each year, such as planning an event, maintaining the organization’s archive, or running the annual elections.

7.01 All Executive Officers members of UFO must be a tenure-track, probationary faculty in good standing with the university.

7.02 Any Executive Officer may be asked to step down from office for failing to adequately execute their assigned duties and responsibilities, or for no confidence. This process shall include fair warning, consultation with the Executive Officers, due process for response or rebuttal, discussion, decision and final formal voting. Executive Officers shall appoint a replacement Officer to complete the year's term.

8.01 With the exception of the founding year, a Spring General Elections meeting shall be announced and held for members interested in serving as officers of the UFO beginning July 1. For the founding year, interested faculty must notify the Associate Provost in writing indicating which position they are interested in serving. For all subsequent years, interested faculty must notify the UFO Elections Chair in writing of the position they would like to serve. The list of interested candidates will be reviewed and discussed at the General Elections meeting.

8.02 The nomination process shall be an open, fair process for the purpose of creating an inclusive nomination slate for a full vote by the membership.

8.03 Election ballots will be sent electronically to all UFO members by the Elections Chair.

8.04 Executive Officers members shall be elected for a one-year term and may not serve for more than two consecutive terms in the same office, unless there are no other candidates nominated for the position.

8.05 All UFO members in good standing with the university are eligible to vote.

8.06 In the event that an Executive Officer position becomes vacant through termination, dismissal, resignation, leave, or if the position was not filled through the general election process, then the Executive Officers may fill the position through appointment of a member in good standing with the university by a majority vote of quorum notwithstanding any other provisions of the constitution.

9.01 The fiscal year of the UFO shall be from July 1 to June 30.

9.02 UFO membership meetings and events will typically take place during the academic year (September through May).

9.03 Executive Officers will be expected to fulfill the duties associated with their position throughout the fiscal year as relevant.

10.01 Amendments to this constitution and bylaws may be made by formal voting of a majority vote of members.

The aforementioned bylaws of the Untenured Faculty Organization (UFO) of California State University, Fresno were unanimously ratified by organization members in good standing on:

DATE:

LOCATION:

President: Jason Bush

Vice President: Jennifer Ivie

Secretary: Sean Seepersad

Historian Reporter: Deanna Reese

Webmaster: Keith Johnson

Public Relations Chair: Marnel Niles

Research Support Chair:

Teaching Support Chair:

Service and Professional Activities Chair:

Leadership Development Chair:

RTP Issues Chair:

Diversity and Multicultural Issues Chair:

Student-Related Issues Chair:

Elections Chair:

New Faculty Orientation Consultation Committee Chair:

UNTENURED FACULTY ORGANIZATION (UFO)
California State University, Fresno

Adopted October, 2009