Bylaws | School of Public Health

1. Bylaws for School Committees

The governance body of the School of Public Health comprises personnel of the administration, faculty senate and student body and provide governance through the Pitt Public Health Council and the Standing Committees:

Faculty Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee
Educational Policies and Curriculum Committee
Planning and Budget Policies Committee
Faculty Diversity Committee

Complete bylaws for the School of Public Health (PDF)

2. School of Public Health Council

2.1: Committee Type and Composition

The School of Public Health Council is a Standing Committee which includes:

Voting Members where (A) means appointed and (NA) means non-appointed:

Past President, President, and President-elect of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee (see Section 3.0) (NA)
Four Standing Committee Chairpersons (see Section 4.0) (NA)
Additional Members-at-Large of the Faculty Senate (NA) may be reasonably added from time to time to enable the non-appointed (NA) members of Council with vote to equal the appointed (A) members of Council with vote. Although this is desired, it is not required since all voting members of Council are faculty and members of the Faculty Senate.
Department Chairpersons (A)
Associate Dean for Education (A)

Non-voting Members:

Dean of the Graduate School of Public Health (A)
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs (A)
Associate Dean for Public Health Practice (A)
Associate Dean for Public Policy (A)
Senior Associate Dean (A)
Associate Dean for Student Affairs (A)
Assistant Dean for Administration and Finance (A)
One student representative of the GSPH Student Body (NA)

The Chairperson of the Council will be the Dean and the Vice Chairperson will be the President of the Faculty Senate. Quorum for the Council will equal 50 percent of the voting membership.

The Standing Committees of the Council include the Faculty Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee (see Section 5), the Educational Policies and Curriculum Committee (see Section 6), the Planning and Budget Policies Committee (see Section 7), and the Faculty Diversity Committee (see Section 8).

2.2: Terms of Office for Committee Members

The Faculty Senate Executive Committee serves terms on the Council concordant with their terms as members of the Faculty Senate Executive Committee (See Section 3.2). The term of each committee member will begin on the first day of the fall term. All appointed members of the Council serve as long as they hold the position that they represent (Dean, Associate Deans, Assistant Dean for Administration and Finance, and Department Chairs). The student member is elected annually by the student body. At-large members on the Council serve a three year term and they must wait one year before becoming eligible for another three year term as an at-large member.

2.3: Charge of the Committee

The specific charge of the Council includes:

Serve as an advisory body to the Dean in matters of planning and setting of overall priorities and objectives for Pitt Public Health.
Review the mission statement and goals of the school. As part of this review, Council will consider the effectiveness of the existing measures and make recommendations concerning revision of these measures or development of new measures.
Oversee the activities of the Standing Committees of the school.
Review and approve motions for the creation of or changes to policies and procedures of the governance or academic program subject to final approval by the Dean.
Prepare and bring to the general faculty, in the form of a motion, issues that require action by the entire faculty senate.
Respond to the needs of the faculty and the school.
Meet on a regular monthly schedule.
Form ad hoc subcommittees as may be necessary to accomplish its charge effectively.

2.4: Conflict of Interest Guidelines Related to Faculty Actions

(Adapted from NIH Guidelines on Peer Review)
A conflict of interest in Council evaluation or action exists when a committee member has an interest in a search, appointment, promotion or tenure evaluation that is likely to bias his or her review of it. A committee member who has a conflict of interest with an action under consideration may not participate in its evaluation or vote. Appearance of a conflict of interest should be avoided whenever possible but, if it is established that there is no conflict of interest and the Council determines that the integrity of the process would not be impaired, the committee member in question may participate in the evaluation. For faculty actions, a Council member with an academic appointment in the same department as the action being evaluated is considered to be in conflict.

As it is the committee members themselves who are most familiar with their own situation, they are personally responsible for the following:

bring to the attention of the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs or the Chair of the FAPTC any conflict of interest situations that may pertain;
identify any potential actions where they have a conflict of interest;
certify that they will not be and have not been involved in the review of any faculty action where their participation constitutes a conflict of interest and that they will maintain the confidentiality of the proceedings of the committee with respect to all aspects relating to review and recommended actions under consideration.

In addition, the Council may determine that a particular situation involves a conflict of interest and require that the committee member not be involved in the review of a faculty action under consideration.

If a member has questions about participation in the review he or she has a conflict, the individual should consult with the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs or the Chair of the FAPTC.

3. Faculty Senate Executive Committee (FSEC)

3.1: Committee Type and Composition

All individuals with a primary appointment at the School of Public Health are voting members of the Faculty Senate. The FSEC is a Standing Committee of the Faculty Senate which serves as the elected representative body of the Faculty Senate. The FSEC officers are the President-elect, President, and Past President of the Faculty Senate. The President of the Faculty Senate serves as the Chair of the FSEC. The FSEC is composed of the three FSEC officers, the Chairs of the four Standing Committees of the Council, (see Sections 5.1, 6.1, 7.1 and 8.1) and additional at-large faculty representatives so that the total number of non-appointed members of the Council may equal the number of appointed voting members of Council. For nominees of the at-large positions, to the extent possible, primary consideration should be given to the appointment of individuals from any public health department not already represented among the FSEC officers and the chairs of the Council Standing Committees.

3.2: Terms of Office for Committee Members

Elections for the President-elect are held annually in conjunction with the annual School-wide elections for faculty representatives to the Council Standing Committees (See Section 9). As an FSEC officer, an individual faculty member may serve three, one-year terms in succession as President-elect, President, and Past President and, thereafter, only following an interval of two years after completion of the three successive one-year terms. The term of office for a Standing Committee Chair continues until the individual's term expires (see Sections 5.2, 6.2, 7.2 and 8.2). Elections for Members-at-Large, who will serve a three-year term, will be held after the election results have been determined for the Standing Committee Chairs and the FSEC President-elect. The at-large members will be elected by the faculty of the underrepresented departments on Council. The term of each committee member will begin on the first day of the fall term.

3.3: Charge of the Committee

The specific charge of the FSEC includes:

• Represent the faculty on all matters as presented to the Council and the school.
• Develop and maintain the slate of candidates for all elected positions within the FSEC, the Council, and the Standing Committees of the Council.
• Oversee the annual elections of faculty members to fill the elected positions within the FSEC, the Council, and the Standing Committees of the Council.
• Communicate the results of the elections and other information relevant to the governance of the school, the academic environment, or quality of life of the faculty.
• Report on activities of the Council to the full Faculty Senate at least once in the fall and spring term.
• Convene at least two meetings of the full Faculty Senate each school year, one each in the fall and spring terms.
• Undertake other activities that the President of the Faculty Senate deems pertinent to the welfare of the faculty.

4. Standing Committees

4.1: Committee Type and Composition

The four Standing Committees of the Council include:

• Faculty Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee (see Section 5.0)
• Educational Policies and Curriculum Committee (see Section 6.0)
• Planning and Budget Policies Committee (see Section 7.0)
• Faculty Diversity Committee (see Section 8.0)

All primary faculty are eligible to serve on the Standing Committees.

5. Faculty Appointment, Promotion, and Tenure Committee

5.1 Committee Type and Composition

The FAPTC is a Standing Committee of the Council. It is composed of the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and two faculty members elected by each department's faculty. All members will be at the rank of Associate Professor or above with at least six members having the rank of Professor and at least six members having tenure. None of the elected faculty can be a Department Chair. The Chair of the FAPTC must be chosen from the faculty representatives serving on the committee at their first meeting of the academic year. This meeting will be chaired by the outgoing chair. The election will be by secret ballot, with the results tallied immediately by the committee support staff person. The President of the FSEC will inform the Council of the results.

The Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs will serve as Vice Chair, coordinating activities with the Dean's office.

5.2 Terms of Office for Committee Members

The elected faculty members of the FAPTC serve three-year staggered terms. Elections to replace members whose terms have expired are held annually (see Section 9). Faculty members elected to the FAPTC may serve two successive terms and, thereafter, only following an interval of three years after the completion of the second term. Once an individual is elected as the Committee Chair, the term of office as the Committee Chair continues until the repeated tenure as the Committee Chair as long as he/she is a faculty representative of the FAPTC. The Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs serves on the FAPTC as long as he/she holds this position.

6. Educational Policies and Curriculum Committee

6.1: Committee Type and Composition

The EPCC is a Standing Committee of the Council. It is composed of one elected faculty member from each department, and two representatives of the student body, one at the doctoral and one at the master's level. The Associate Deans for Student Affairs and Education, the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, and the Director of the MMPH Program are ex-officio, non-voting members. Faculty members are elected by each department and student members are selected annually by the student body which organized by the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. The Chair of the EPCC must be chosen from the elected faculty representatives currently serving on the committee at their first meeting of the academic year. This meeting will be chaired by the outgoing chair. The election will be by secret ballot, with the results tallied immediately by the committee support staff person. The President of the FSEC will inform the Council of the results.

6.2: Terms of Office for Committee Members

The elected faculty members of the EPCC serve three-year staggered terms. Elections to replace members whose terms have expired are held annually (see Section 9). Faculty elected to the EPCC may serve two successive terms and, thereafter, only following an interval of three years after the completion of the second term. Once an individual is elected as the Committee Chair, the term of office as the Committee Chair continues until the individual’s term of office as a faculty representative to the EPCC expires. An individual can serve repeated tenures as Chair as long as he/she is a faculty representative of the EPCC.

Because of the time-sensitive nature of much of the work of the EPCC, it is critical that a quorum be reached at the meetings. In order to achieve this quorum, each voting member will identify a second (back-up) representative who is deputized to vote on behalf of the department or Student Body when the primary representative is unable to attend.

6.3: Charge of the Committee

The specific charge of the EPCC includes:

Establish academic policies and procedures for the School of Public Health.
Maintain and make available to all faculty the policies and procedures document that contains the guidelines or criteria that relate to educational or curriculum matters.
Update the policies and procedures document, as appropriate, with full review and re-approval at least every five years or when major changes in school or University policy occur.
Review and recommend action to Council on all curriculum changes.
Assist the Dean and Associate Dean for Student Affairs and the Associate Dean for Education in the integration and coordination of the School's curriculum.
Review and evaluate the school's educational courses and programs; core curriculum subcommittee of the EPCC also reviews and evaluates the school-wide core curriculum.
Make recommendations to the Council on the implementation of educational policies.
Review student academic performance three times annually; student representatives will be excused from these meetings.
Establish and interpret admissions policies.
Form ad hoc subcommittees, as may be necessary, to accomplish its charge effectively. Chairpersons of subcommittees normally should be members of EPCC but members of subcommittees can be drawn from the faculty at large.
Meet on a monthly basis, or more often as necessary, to accomplish its charge. Interim meetings may be called at any time by the chairperson or on request of three or more members or at request of Council.
Provide feedback and consultative services to Office of Student Affairs regarding recruitment and admissions practices, and other functions conducted by Office of Student Affairs.
Make regular oral reports to the Council and provide a report summarizing its activities at least once each year at the School-wide faculty meeting.

7. Planning and Budgeting Committee

7.1: Committee Type and Composition

The PBPC is a Standing Committee of the Council. It is composed of one elected faculty member from each department, one elected Department Chair, Director of Budget and Finance, and one student representative elected annually by the student body. The Assistant Dean for Administration and
Finance and the Departmental Administrators are ex-officio, non-voting members. The Chair of the PBPC must be chosen from the selected faculty representatives currently serving on the committee at their first meeting of the academic year. This meeting will be chaired by the outgoing chair. The election will be by secret ballot, with the results tallied immediately by the committee support staff person. The President of the FSEC will inform the Council of the results.

7.2: Terms of Office for Committee Members

The elected faculty members of the PBPC serve three-year staggered terms. Elections to replace members, whose terms have expired, are held annually (see Section 9). Faculty members may serve two successive terms and, thereafter, only following an interval of three years after the completion of the second term. Once an individual is elected as the Committee Chair, the term of office as Committee Chair continues until the individual’s term of office as a faculty representative to the PBPC expires. An individual can serve repeated tenure as Chair as long as he/she is a faculty representative of the PBPC.

7.3: Charge of the Committee

The specific charge of the PBPC includes:

Maintain and distribute to all faculty the charges and standard operating procedures (SOP) for planning and budgetary matters.
Updated the charges, with full review and re-approval at least every five years or when major changes in school or University policy occur.
Develop and recommend to the Council equitable policies and procedures for allocation of University transfer funds, endowment and research development funds (RDF) taking into account the academic programs and appropriate balance between hard and soft money sources.
Provide advice to the Dean and Council on issues which have financial implications for the expenditure of University transfer, endowment, and RDF return to the school. Issues include creation of new educational programs, termination of educational programs, decreases in funding streams, changes in major research initiatives which could impact the RDF allocations, expenditure of funds allocated for capital improvement and others.
Review and make recommendations to the Dean and Council on proposed reallocation of funds among departments.
Represent the faculty of the school in the University of Pittsburgh planning and budgeting process.
Provide advice to the Dean and Council concerning planning and budgeting matters.
Meet on a monthly basis, or more often as necessary to accomplish its charge. Interim meetings may be called, at any time, by the chairperson or at request of three or more members or at request of Council.
Form ad hoc subcommittees as may be necessary, to accomplish its charge effectively.
Make regular oral reports to the Council and provide a report summarizing its activities at least once each year at the school-wide faculty meeting.

8. Faculty Diversity Committee

8.1: Committee Type and Composition

The FDC is a Standing Committee of the Council. It is composed of one elected faculty member from each department, Director of the Center for Health Equity, and one student representative of the student body. The Chair of the FDC must be chosen from the selected faculty representatives currently serving on the committee at their first meeting of the academic year. This meeting will be chaired by the outgoing chair. The election will be by secret ballot, with the results tallied immediately by the committee support staff person. The President of the FSEC will inform the Council of the results.

8.2: Terms of Office for Committee Members

The elected faculty members of the FDC serve three-year staggered terms for the elected faculty members. Elections to replace members, whose terms have expired, are held annually (see Section 9). Faculty elected to the FDC may serve two successive terms and, thereafter, only following an interval of three years after the completion of the second term. The student member is elected annually by the student body. The Associate Dean for Diversity and the Director of the Center for Health Equity will serve on the FDC as long as they hold this position.

8.3: Charge of the Committee

The specific charge of the FDC includes:

Identify and implement a broad range of activities directed to increasing faculty diversity.
Work with the FAPTC to assure appropriate processes are in place for enhancing diversity in faculty recruitment, promotion, and award of tenure.
Liaison with the Center for Health Equity in matters relating to faculty diversity.
Meet on a monthly schedule, or more often as necessary, to accomplish its charge. Interim meetings may be called at any time by the chairperson or at request of three or more members or at request of Council.
Form ad hoc subcommittees as may be necessary to accomplish its charge effectively.
Make regular oral reports to the Council and provide a report summarizing its activities at least once each year at the School-wide faculty meeting.

Before a department initiates a new search or appointment, an FDC member will meet with the chair of the faculty search committee on an as needed basis to discuss recruitment strategies. The FDC department representative will meet with their department chair annually to discuss recruitment strategies based on the School of Public Health goals regarding faculty diversity.

9. Nomination and Election of Faculty Representatives

9.1: Nomination and Election of Faculty Representatives

Each spring the associate dean for faculty affairs, in conjunction with the president of FSEC, will conduct an election for the members of the Standing Committees of the Council and nominees for president-elect of the Faculty Senate. The FSEC will oversee the integrity of the election process and verify the count of votes. If any disagreements arise, they will be resolved by the three FSEC officers. The president of the Faculty Senate will announce the election results in the spring of each year.

All Standing Committees, except FAPTC, will have one representative from each department. FAPTC will have two representatives from each department in addition to the associate dean for faculty.

All members of the Standing Committees will be elected by the faculty of their respective department. Each Department Chair will be given a list of positions to be filled, taking into account any conditions associated with the position (i.e. tenured, ranks, etc). This list will be developed by the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and the President of FSEC. The Department Chairs will use this information to select proposed nominees and contact these nominees to ascertain their willingness to serve. A slate of at least two candidates will be identified for each elected position to be filled. In the event that two willing candidates meeting the eligibility requirements cannot be identified, a single eligible and willing candidate may be proposed. The President of the FSEC will present the elected members of the Standing Committees to the Council.

The President-elect of the FSEC will be elected by the full school faculty. A slate of at least two candidates will be identified. The President of the FSEC will present the President-elect results to the candidates who ran in the election and then to the Council. If the President-elect steps down during his/her term, a new election will be held. If the President steps down, the current President-elect will assume the office of President and a new election for a President-elect will be held. If the Past President steps down the previous Past President will be invited to return to the Past President position to complete the term. If any of these vacancies occur within ten weeks of the end of the term, the position will remain vacant for the remainder of the term.

The term of each Standing Committee member and President-elect of the FSEC will begin the first day of the fall term after their election.

9.2: Representativeness of the Elected Members

To the extent feasible, the slate of each election will be constructed to assure that there is representation by all faculty ranks, gender and race/ethnicity on the Council and each of its subcommittees.

9.3: Replacement of Elected Members

In the event that an elected faculty member resigns or is unable to fulfill his/her responsibilities to participate in the Council or Standing Committees of the Council prior to the completion his/her full elected term, the department from which the faculty member resigned will identify an eligible nominee who indicates a willingness to serve for the remainder of the elected term.

9.4: Election of the Chairs of the Council Standing Committees

With the exception of the Faculty Diversity Committee, which will be chaired by the Associate Dean for Diversity, the Chairs of the Council Standing Committees must be chosen from the selected faculty representatives currently serving on the committee at their first meeting of the academic year. This meeting will be chaired by the outgoing chair. The election will be by secret ballot with the results tallied immediately by the committee support staff person. The President of the FSEC will present the elected Standing Committee Chairs to the Council.

9.5: Election of the Members-at-Large for the GSPH Council and FSEC

Elections for at-large members will be held annually after the election results have been determined for the Standing Committee Chairs and the FSEC President-elect. The members-at-large will be elected by underrepresented departments on the Council. The associate dean for faculty affairs and the president of the FSEC will identify and contact those departments that need to elect an at-large member in order to achieve some balance among departments with respect to elected members.

9.6: Tie votes for an elected office

If there is a tie in the number of votes for an elected office, the deadlock will be broken by a majority vote of the Council. If the Council is deadlocked, the chair of the Council (dean) will break the tie.

9.7: Search of a new GSPH Dean: Electing a Faculty Committee

In the event that a search for a new dean is conducted, the FSEC President will organize an election to choose representatives from the faculty to serve on the search committee consistent with University guidelines.

9.8: Election Disputes

Any disputes concerning election results will be resolved by the associate dean of academic affairs and all officers of the FSEC who were not running for office in the disputed election.

10. Approval of Policies and Procedures for Standing Committees

10.1: Documents of Approved Policy and Procedure

The modification to and distribution of documents describing approved policies and procedures for the operations of the governance or administration of the academic program of the school is the responsibility of the Standing Committees. Current copies of policies and procedures for Standing Committees will be maintained on the school website. The chair of the Standing Committee is responsible for providing the web content manager with up-to-date documents for posting.

10.2: Documents of Approved Bylaws

The modification to and distribution of documents describing the approved bylaws for the governance of the school is the responsibility of the Council. Current copies of the articles of the bylaws will be maintained on the school's website. The Council vice chair is responsible for providing the web content manager with up-to-date documents for posting.

10.3: Approval of Policy and Procedures by the Council

The documents pertinent to each specific Standing Committee should be reviewed by that committee on a routine basis. The Committee Chairs will submit recommendations for new or revised policies or procedures to the Council. In addition to the Committee Chairs, recommendations for new or revised policies or procedures can be submitted to the Council by any individual faculty, administrator, or student. All recommendations for new or revised policies or procedures will be submitted in written motion to the Council for approval. Current copies of policies and procedures for Standing Committees will be maintained on the school website. The Council will review and vote on the recommendations. All recommendations that are approved by the Council will become effective at the time of approval unless otherwise stated in the approval motion.

10.4: Approval of the Bylaws by the Council and the Faculty Senate

Recommendations for revisions to the bylaws of the school governance can be initiated by any individual faculty, administrator or student within the school. Recommendations for modifications will be submitted in a written motion to the Council and the Faculty Senate for approval by both bodies and by the dean. Once recommendations for new or revised articles of the governance are approved by the Council and the dean, the vice chair of the Council will prepare a motion for approval to be submitted to the Faculty Senate. Once approved by the Faculty Senate and the dean, the new or revised articles will be effective immediately unless otherwise stated in the approved motion.