Carlson School of Management Constitution

Preamble

The faculty of the Carlson School of Management (the School) herein states those Articles which establish the internal governance structure and embody the authority of the School to facilitate its mission to discover transformative knowledge about the issues faced by organizations and managers in a dynamic global economy and to create exceptional learning and career opportunities by facilitating an engaged and integrated community of scholars, students, and practitioners.

It is the purpose of this constitution to provide a framework enabling the dean, faculty, and all other constituencies of the School, to work collaboratively to fulfill the mission of the School.

I: Approval Process

In order to amend this constitution or its bylaws, proposed amendments must be communicated to the faculty at least two weeks before a vote can be taken.  For an amendment to take effect, it must be approved by at least two-thirds (2/3) of the regular faculty eligible to vote (e.g., if there are 120 eligible voters, at least 80 must vote in favor of the amendment to be approved).

Procedures for operating under this Constitution shall be specified in the by-laws.  Any proposed amendment of, addition to, or deletion of a by-law must be submitted to the faculty at least two weeks before a vote can be taken.  By-laws shall be adopted, amended, or deleted by a majority of the faculty eligible to vote.

Section 1. Voting.  Responsibilities and voting rights of the faculty shall be in accordance with the statement adopted by the University Senate (February 20, 2003) entitled Academic Unit Governance. (Approved by the Administration March 22, 2005). This policy vests primary responsibility for governance of a tenure granting unit in its tenured and tenure-track (regular) faculty. The responsibility includes research policy, curricular policy and degree requirements, and academic personnel allocation, in consultation with the dean.

Voting on research policy, doctoral program curricular policy and degree requirements, academic personnel allocation, and other matters not specifically mentioned herein may be extended to other constituencies, if granted within the tenure granting unit; such an extension is subject to the requirement that if any of these is within the responsibilities of the regular faculty, majority approval of the regular faculty determines the outcome of a vote on the matter.

Voting on non-doctoral curricular policy and degree requirements may be extended by majority vote of the regular Carlson School faculty to Carlson School full time teaching P&A faculty who have three years of continuous service. If such voting rights are currently in effect, they may be rescinded by majority vote of the regular Carlson School faculty.

For questions that are governed by this constitution, votes shall be transmitted electronically if the question to be voted on together with relevant explanatory information has been transmitted at least two weeks prior to the vote unless at least 10 percent of the regular faculty has requested that a meeting be held to debate the proposal in question.  In that case, electronic voting shall be available prior to a meeting to debate the proposal, and paper ballots at the meeting where the debate takes place shall be available to any regular faculty members who have not previously voted electronically.  All ballots, electronic and paper, on any question must be submitted by the deadline requesting the vote (if electronic), or the point at which the faculty meeting to consider the question is adjourned.

Certain policy and advisory matters require the vote of the faculty or any of the other constituencies, either as a matter of University, School, or other policy.  For instance:

1. Voting requirements and eligibility in promotion and tenure cases is governed by the School’s 7.12 statement.
2. Voting on policies that affect the School’s research, service, outreach, or engagement activities is by the regular faculty. Issues are decided by simple majority of those voting. For purposes of conducting a valid vote on any issue, a quorum of at least 25 percent of the eligible voters must be gathered either in person or electronically within an announced time period.
3. For other situations in which votes are necessary, unless a departmental constitution or other relevant constitution or bylaw governs the issue to be decided, a quorum is achieved with 25 percent of eligible voters and issues are decided by a simple majority of those voting.

All matters relating to the research, teaching, service, outreach, public engagement, and administrative affairs of the School are the responsibility of the dean and the faculty of the School as delegated by the Board of Regents and in accordance with the Constitution of the University Senate, and consistent with actions of these bodies and their administrative policies heretofore or hereafter taken.

Substantial consultation between the dean and the faculty in administering these responsibilities is a long held tradition of the School.

II: College Mission

The mission of the Carlson School of Management is to inspire and enable individuals and organizations to create a brighter future. Our promise is to create a transformative learning experience for every student; develop influential knowledge that impacts the future of organizations; and grow entrepreneurial leaders with the imagination, integrity, and global mindset required to tackle the grand challenges facing business and society.

III: The Dean

Section 1.  Duties & Authority of the Dean. The Dean is the chief academic and executive officer of the college, responsible for overseeing the academic priorities and day-to-day administrative operations of the college, including but not limited to setting a vision and aligning college resources to support that vision, inspiring and supporting faculty, staff and students in the activities of teaching and learning, research, and public engagement, garnering internal and external support for the college, and building relationships and support with alumni, donors, civic and business leaders and other key partners in the community. The Dean will maintain regular communication with faculty, staff and the Board of Overseers about the current status of the school and provide an annual report on the “State of the School” either orally or in writing.

Section 2.  Appointment of the Dean. The Dean is appointed by, and serves at the discretion of, the Executive Vice President and Provost (Provost), subject to the approval of the Board of Regents. The Executive Vice President and Provost has sole authority and responsibility for decisions related to the dean's employment, including but not limited to selection, performance evaluation, and termination. A search committee will be appointed by the Executive Vice President and Provost and its membership will normally include representatives from college constituencies, including faculty, staff, and students, as defined in the bylaws. The search process will provide faculty, staff, and students with an opportunity to meet with and hear in a public forum from candidates who are announced as finalists for the position, and allow for input to the Provost. Interim appointments will be made by the Provost, after consultation with the faculty and staff.  

IV: The Faculty

The faculty is the general policy-making and legislative body of the School.  The Faculty shall receive reports or recommendations submitted by the Dean or may require such reports or recommendations on any matters affecting educational policy prior to their implementation.  The faculty implements the teaching, research, and service activities of the School. It has authority over the curricula for all academic programs and courses offered by the School and, through its voting rights, sets policies that affect the School’s research, teaching, service, and public engagement activities. The faculty also maintains oversight of the School constitution and its bylaws.

Section 1.  Regular Faculty.  The regular faculty consists of faculty members who hold tenured or probationary tenure-track appointments of greater than 50 percent in the School, including the dean, and all associate and assistant deans holding regular faculty rank.  The regular faculty also includes regular faculty members on phased retirement, regardless of their appointment fraction; regular faculty on sabbatical leave; regular faculty who are currently filling positions in the University’s central administration; and regular faculty who are on approved unpaid leaves.

Section 2.  P&A Teaching Faculty.  The P&A Teaching Faculty (P&A Faculty) consists of faculty members who hold continuous or term appointments of 75 percent or greater in the School and whose primary responsibilities are to teach credit courses in the School’s undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Section 3.  Jointly-Appointed Faculty.  The jointly-appointed faculty consists of faculty members who hold tenured or probationary tenure-track appointments of greater than 50 percent in other budgetary units of the University. To become a jointly-appointed faculty member, one must be invited by one of the School’s doctoral programs and receive a sufficient number of affirmative votes from eligible faculty voters in the doctoral program under Graduate School rules to be elected as a joint member.

Section 4.  Part-time Faculty.  The part-time faculty consists of faculty members who are hired to teach one or more specific classes in the School’s undergraduate and graduate programs during a specific academic year and whose contract ends with the completion of the teaching assignment.

Section 5.  Visiting Faculty.   The visiting faculty consists of faculty members who hold current regular faculty appointments in another university and who are in residence to participate in the research, teaching, outreach, and/or public engagement activities of the school in either a paid or unpaid position, as appropriate.

Regular faculty members shall be appointed by action of the Board of Regents upon recommendation from the faculty of the School to the dean. Faculty members shall be governed by the policies of the Regents, the University Senate, the University’ central administration and Board of Regents Policy: Faculty Tenure.

V:  Other Constituencies

Members of all constituencies are expected to participate in the affairs of the School, including its governance mechanism, committee structures, and performance review processes; consistent with rules and procedures promulgated by the Office of Human Resources for various job categories and negotiated collective bargaining agreements covering represented employees.  Representatives from constituency groups shall serve on the various School committees, as appropriate given their individual expertise, and shall be chosen according to procedures specified in the bylaws.

Section 1.  Academic Professional and Administrative Staff.  The academic professional and administrative staff (P&A Staff) consists of professional employees who hold continuous or term appointments of 75 percent or greater assigned to duties enhancing the research, teaching, service, outreach, engagement, external relations, and development performance of the School; and administrative employees who are involved in policy development or execution or in directing, coordinating, or supervising activities in the School.  Determination regarding which positions are part of the P&A Staff is ultimately governed by Office of Human Resource rules and procedures.

Section 2.  Civil Service Employees.  The civil service employees consist of administrative and support staff that are primarily in non-supervisory, non-policy-making, and non-instructional positions.  Determination regarding which positions are part of the Civil Service group is ultimately governed by Office of Human Resource rules and procedures.

Section 3.  Bargaining Unit Staff.  Bargaining unit employees (BU staff) consist of positions that are within occupational groups within the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota as defined by the Minnesota Public Employee Relations Act that have chosen, by majority vote at the campus level, to be represented for the purposes of collectively bargaining their employment relationship with the University.

Section 4.  Students.  Students consist of all those who are admitted to degree programs of the School and who are enrolled for credit during the current semester.

Section 5.  Board of Overseers.  The Board of Overseers (Board) consists of business executives and other professionals who have an interest in the mission of the School.  The members of the Board are invited to serve by the Dean.  The purpose of the Board is to advance the mission of the Carlson School of Management by advising the dean on strategic issues, assisting in promoting the school to numerous constituents, providing access to the business community, and providing assistance in seeking financial contributions.  The operations of the Board shall by governed by the Board of Overseers Charter.

VI. Collegiate Governance

The School’s administrative structure is designed to maximize the abilities of the dean, faculty, and other constituencies in carrying out their assigned responsibilities.

Section 1.  Associate and Assistant Deans.  Positions of associate and assistant deans may be established by the dean to lead, manage, and coordinate the achievement of School and/or program goals.  The dean may assign specific administrative duties to associate and assistant deans and may delegate authority to them.  The dean shall make known to the faculty and staff the principal areas of responsibility and authority delegated to the associate and assistant deans.  The associate and assistant deans are appointed by the dean through approved University procedures and serve at they pleasure during a mutually agreed period of appointment.

Section 2.  Departments.  The School is the tenure unit for regular faculty.  Departments have been established to provide an opportunity for faculty members to more closely and intensely associate with others whose research, teaching, and professional service form a community of interest.  Departments may also provide greater opportunities for faculty voice regarding issues of particular collective interest, effectiveness in searching for new faculty members, more intensive and focused feedback on developing research programs, more focused evaluation of performance, and a more cohesive collegial culture. Departments may be formed, merged, or disbanded upon recommendation of the dean as the goals and strategy of the School evolve.  Changes in the departmental structure of the school involving the reassignment of all of a department’s faculty as the result of closing or combining departments; or the movement of faculty through the creation of a new department or splitting an existing department require approval by a majority of the regular faculty.

1. The departments’ roles and responsibilities in promotion and tenure matters are governed by the School’s 7.12 statement.
2. Departments are chaired by a tenured full professor from the department unless an exceptional circumstance exists in which a tenured associate professor may be appointed. However, the individual must be promoted to full professor prior to the end of their initial appointment period to be considered for reappointment. Department chairs are appointed by the dean with the advice and consultation of the regular faculty in the department. The chair’s term is three years with the possibility of reappointment. Roles and responsibilities of department chairs are governed by department policy except where defined by the School constitution, 7.12 statement, and its bylaws, such as membership on the Executive Committee (see Article VI, Section 1).

Section 3.  Degree Programs.  The School is authorized by the Board of Regents to offer academic programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The curricula for the major requirements for these programs is governed by the School’s faculty, subject to campus-wide and University-wide requirements and policies. The programs and their administration are described in the by-laws.

Section 4.  Collegiate Centers and Institutes.  Centers and institutes (“centers”) may be established to pursue various research, education, outreach, and/or public engagement activities that would be better supported with such a structure.  Centers may exist within departments or across departments.  Seed money may be provided for the establishment and early operation of centers, but it is expected that they will be self-supporting on an ongoing basis.  Administrative Policy: Collegiate and Intercollegiate Centers:  Establishing, Operating, and Evaluating) provides guidance regarding the establishment, operation, and review of collegiate centers and it is expected that centers within the school will be in conformance with these policies and procedures.

Section 5.  Non-credit Programs.  As part of its teaching, service, outreach, and public engagement responsibilities, the School may offer non-credit instruction.  The dean has the authority and responsibility to develop a strategy for non-credit programs, to organize and operate these programs, to appoint administrators and delegate responsibility for operations and appointments to teach in non-credit instruction programs.  The dean is expected to consult with the Executive Committee and any committee that might be established under Article VI, Section 1 to exercise oversight regarding the development and performance of non-credit programs.

Section 6.  Development and External Relations.  The dean has the responsibility for strengthening the School’s performance in its major activities, developing external ties, and communicating the performance of the School to important external constituencies.  In doing so, the dean shall establish, organize, and staff development and external relations functions in a manner that they determine will be to the best advantage of accomplishing the School’s goals.  It is expected that the dean will communicate with School constituencies regarding the effectiveness of development and external relations activities and their effect on accomplishing School goals and objectives in the annual “State of the School” analysis.

VII. College Committees

The committee and consultative structure of the School is designed to help the dean, faculty, and other constituencies work in collaboration to best fulfill the mission of the School as a whole.

Section 1.  Executive Committee.  An Executive Committee consisting of the department chairs and any of the associate or assistant deans or directors the dean chooses to designate shall be appointed.  The purpose of the committee is to work closely with the dean in developing, implementing, and monitoring the strategy, goals, and operations of the School.  The committee meets at the dean’s pleasure except that it must meet at least once during each half-term of the academic year.  The committee shall publish minutes of its meetings.

Section 2.  Faculty Consultative Committee.  There shall be an elected Faculty Consultative Committee.  The purpose of the committee is to advise and consult with the dean and their designees regarding issues that are important to the faculty.  Membership and voting eligibility, election procedures, and operations of the committee are governed by its by-laws as determined by the regular faculty.

Section 3.  Other Committees.  The School’s 7.12 statement, which is incorporated into the operation of Board of Regents Policy: Faculty Tenure requires the establishment of review committees for regular faculty who are being recommended for promotion and/or the grant of indefinite tenure.  The 7.12 statement requirements apply for these committees.  Other School committees may be established to oversee, develop, consult with, advise, or evaluate programs, strategies, goals, and activities as necessary.  Membership on other committees except regular faculty review committees may include members from any of the constituent groups described in Article V as appropriate.

1. Voting on policies that affect the School’s research, service, outreach, or engagement activities is by the regular faculty. Issues are decided by simple majority of those voting. For purposes of conducting a valid vote on any issue, a quorum of at least 25 percent of the eligible voters must be gathered either in person or electronically within an announced time period.
2. For other situations in which votes are necessary, unless a departmental constitution or other relevant constitution or bylaw governs the issue to be decided, a quorum is achieved with 25 percent of eligible voters and issues are decided by a simple majority of those voting.

Section 4. Grievances. When a faculty or staff member has a grievance or dispute that cannot be resolved informally without assistance from outside the school, the matter will be handled in accord with applicable University policies and procedures. In the case of a faculty or staff (or external) grievance, the dean's office will ensure that those who are involved will contact the Office for Conflict Resolution, the chair of the Senate Judicial Committee (in the instance of faculty members alleging violations of  Board of Regents Policy: Faculty Tenure), the Office of the General Counsel, and other University offices as appropriate (e.g., Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty and Academic Affairs, Office of Human Resources).