Bylaws

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

The purpose of this organization, hereinafter referred to as the UFO, is to bring together members of the probationary untenured faculty at California State University, Dominguez Hills 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, Faculty Development Center, Deans, Faculty Affairs, Graduate Studies and Research) 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 and 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 California State University, Dominguez Hills.

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 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 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 Chair of the organization’s Executive Board 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 will work closely with and provide information and updates to relevant committees (e.g. Faculty Research Symposium planning committee) as well as to offices such as the Provost, Deans, Faculty Affairs and others.

5.03 The Executive Officers shall delegate duties as may be necessary to the relevant committee, and establish new committees as needed.

5.04 All Executive Officers shall serve without monetary compensation.

5.05 Notice of time and place of Executive Officer meetings shall be sent to all Officers at least one day prior to such meeting.

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

5.07 A quorum (51%) of the Executive Officers must be achieved to transact any official UFO business.

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

5.09 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 Chair and Board Members.

6.02 The Chair 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 Chair include: write and send meeting agendas to all Executive Officers; preside at all UFO meetings; 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 Board Members (up to 8 people) shall: develop and implement an active agenda for the year of activities and programs consistent with the purpose of the UFO; serve as Chief Coordinator of all Special Interest Committees (SICs) and other ad hoc committees; assemble and chronicle a photographic and written archive of the organization's activities and programs; 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; and other tasks that are deemed necessary by the Chair.

7.01 All Executive Officers 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 Chair or UFO Broad Members in writing of the position they would like to serve.

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 UFO Chair.

8.04 Executive Officers shall be elected for a two-year term, with elections held for half of the board members each year. This way, continuity of institutional knowledge is maintained.

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

8.06 In the event that after all reasonable attempts a position cannot be filled or in the event of a withdrawal, the Chair may appoint a replacement member.

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 (August through May).

9.03 Executive Officers will be expected to fulfill the duties 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 Executive Officers.

Date: October 2018

Location: Faculty Development Center (LIB 1940)

Founding Officers:

• President - Heather Butler
• Secretary - Fynnwin Prager
• Treasurer - Justin Gammage
• Promotions & Documentation Chairs - Brant Burkey, Arumugam Thangavel, Payman Nasr
• Elections Chair - Megumi Kuwabara
• Research Support Chairs - Jennifer Sumner, Patrick Still
• Service & Professional Development Support Chairs - Hannah Nguyen, Linda Goldman, Hugo Asencio
• Teaching Support Chairs - Heather Kertyzia, Rui Sun, Bin Tang, Ryan Bowles Eagle, Karina Kim, William David Brice
• Social Chairs - Shari Berkowitz, Heather Kertyzia

California State University, Dominguez Hills, September, 2016

The Untenured Faculty Organization (UFO) has been established as a faculty-based organization dedicated to providing voice and support to the untenured, probationary faculty at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

As an organization, we pledge to work collaboratively with Academic Affairs and other relevant offices in order to achieve the following goals:

1. Support probationary untenured faculty by advocating for and providing consultation to relevant Academic Affairs units (e.g., Provost’s Office, Faculty Development Center, Deans, Faculty Affairs, Research Foundation) 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. 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;
3. Promote positive communication with other internal and external units outside of Academic Affairs (e.g., Student Affairs and the community at large);