Founding By-Laws

FOUNDING BYLAWS OF UNIVERSITY PROGRAM IN ECOLOGY DUKE UNIVERSITY
Article 1. PURPOSE
1.1. Name. The name of the program shall be The University Program in Ecology (UPE) at Duke University.
1.2. Goal. The goal of the Program is to coordinate graduate education in ecology at Duke University. The Program aims to unify the admissions process for students interested in pursuing graduate study in ecology at Duke and to provide a curriculum and forum for those studies amongst the diverse faculty of ecology on the Duke campus. As such, the Program will act to bring together the diversity of intellectual approaches—theoretical to applied and molecular to global—that characterize modern scientific studies of ecology.
1.3. Affiliation.. The Program is a degree-admitting and a degree-granting unit within the Graduate School of Duke University. For students seeking degrees in other units of the Graduate School, the Program also offers a formal Certificate of Graduate Study.
Article 2. MEMBERSHIP
2.1. Faculty. Any member of the Graduate faculty of Duke University may ask to join the UPE. New members are subject to approval by the Executive Committee of the Program.
2.2 Departmental/Divisional Participation. When a faculty member joins the UPE, the Department/Division of his/her primary appointment at Duke guarantees that any student admitted for graduate study in the UPE, and selecting that faculty member as the major professor, is thereby simultaneously admitted to the graduate program of the Department/Division. The UPE provides two years of support for students it admits; thereafter it is understood that support will be derived from the Department/Division in which the major professor holds her/his primary appointment.
2.3 Students. Students wishing to participate in the Program may choose to pursue the Ph.D. in one of two ways: 1) direct admission by and to the UPE for the pursuit of a Ph.D. in Ecology, through a curriculum of study and research administered by Program faculty, 2) admission for doctoral work in one of the participating departments with a Certificate of Graduate Study in Ecology, granted upon approval of the Executive Committee of the UPE, based on demonstration of relevant course work and participation in the Program.
Article 3. GOVERNANCE
3.1. Reporting. The Program shall be a University-wide body, reporting to the Dean of the Graduate School.
3.2. Executive Committee. The Program shall be under the general oversight and control of a Director, a Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), and an Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will be composed of the Director of Graduate Studies and five faculty who are generally representative of the major units of the university participating in the Program. The members of the Executive Committee shall be appointed by the Dean of the Graduate School, upon recommendation of the Faculty Director of the Program, for two-year terms, which may be renewed up to twice in succession. The Faculty Director shall be a member of and chair the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall make decisions and advise the Faculty Director by consensus or, if necessary, by majority vote. The Executive Committee shall meet regularly on a schedule it deems appropriate.
3.3. Faculty Director. The Faculty Director, with the advice and counsel of the Executive Committee, shall be generally responsible for the substantive agenda and strategic and intellectual directions of the Program. The Faculty Director shall be responsible for administering the Program's activities, programs, staff, budget, internal and external relations, and other functions, in cooperation with the Executive Committee. The Faculty Director shall be appointed for a three-year term by the Dean of the Graduate School, and may be reappointed for successive terms. He or she shall be selected from the faculty associated with the Program, on the basis of demonstrated interest and commitment to the Program, and vision and capacity to lead the Program.
3.4. Director of Graduate Studies. The Director of Graduate Studies shall be nominated by the Faculty Director and appointed for a three-year term by the Dean of the Graduate School. He/she may be reappointed for successive terms, as necessary. The DGS shall be responsible for coordinating the evaluation of candidates to the UPE, their admission to the Program, and financial support offered by the Program. The DGS selects preliminary advisors for students matriculating in the Program, approves of student committees and the designation of major and minor areas of study for each student, and receives and approves of the annual progress report by each student in the Program. The DGS is also responsible for assigning students to duties at Teaching Assistants in courses offered by Departments that have faculty who are members of the UPE.
3.5. Subsidiary bodies. The Executive Committee shall have the power to create such subcommittees, working groups, and other subsidiary bodies as needed to carry out the work of the Program.
Article 4. FUNDING
4.1 Funding for the University Program for Ecology will be obtained through a graduate awards allocation from the Duke University Graduate School, from tuition remission and teaching support from other schools of Duke University, and from other University and extramural sources of funds that are obtained by the Program on its own behalf and by individual faculty members who may support students on research grants.
Article 5. AMENDMENT AND OPERATION OF THE BY-LAWS
5.1. Amendment of the By-Laws. These by-laws may be amended or repealed by vote of a majority of the members of the Executive Committee, acting at a meeting for which the agenda and the proposed amendments were circulated to the members of the Executive Committee at least one week in advance.
5.2. Severability. If any provision of these by-laws is held to be illegal, unenforceable, or inconsistent with University rules, that provision shall be severable from the by-laws, the remainder of which shall remain in force.