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XXX CENTER
Manual of Operations and Procedures
December 1, 2003

This document specifies the basic administrative and personnel policies related to faculty appointed to the University of Iowa XXX Center.

ARTICLE I: XXX Center Faculty

1. Members. The faculty membership of the XXX Center consists of all faculty at the University of Iowa who have an interest in xxx, and other xxx-related areas and who participate actively in the Center’s research, seminar, and outreach activities. Faculty membership at the Center consists of three categories: (1) faculty with paid appointments jointly with academic departments, (2) faculty from academic departments with zero-time appointments at the Center, and (3) affiliated faculty not formally appointed at the Center
   who choose to participate in Center activities and research projects through the Center. University staff may also be invited to participate in Center activities.
2. Meetings. The Director of the XXX Center may convene meetings of the entire Center faculty as needed for discussing Center matters.

ARTICLE II: XXX Center Executive Committee

1. Members. The Executive Committee represents the constituent colleges and academic units whose faculty members routinely participate in XXX Center activities. It includes (1) the Center Director, (2) the Director of the YYY Research Program, (3) the Director of the ZZZ Research Program, (4) the Director of the AAA Research Program, (5) three other faculty members appointed by the Vice President for Research acting upon recommendations by the Center Director. The term of office is three years, renewable. Unless otherwise necessitated by special circumstances, faculty members of the Executive Committee have either paid or zero-time appointments at the Center.
2. Chair. The Executive Committee is chaired by the XXX Center Director.
3. Powers. The Executive Committee’s primary function is to decide major issues related to (1) the Center’s core mission; (2) appointment of additional faculty to paid or zero-time positions; (3) significant operational matters such as the Center’s budget, marketing strategies, staff configuration, space and facilities, and equipment procurement; and (4) significant personnel matters.
4. Meetings. The Executive Committee meets at least semi-annually. Special meetings may be called by the Center Director as circumstances warrant. A majority of the Executive Committee members constitutes a quorum. Except for issues related to personnel, meetings are open to the public, and Center faculty and staff are encouraged to attend. All guests are free to speak upon recognition by the chair.
5. Agendas. The Center Director normally distributes an agenda to members of the Executive Committee and other interested parties at least 48 hours in advance of the meetings. Agendas for special meetings called on short notice may be distributed with the calls for those meetings. Any member of the Executive Committee may place items on the agenda.
6. Minutes. A designee of the chair keeps a record of each meeting and distributes it to members of the Executive Committee at least two days prior to the next meeting, at which the Executive Committee considers the minutes for approval.

ARTICLE III: Director of the XXX Center

1. Qualifications. The Director of the XXX Center is a tenured faculty member at the University of Iowa and holds a paid joint appointment at the Center.
2. Selection. Following an appropriate search, selection of the Center Director is made by the Vice President for Research in consultation with members of the Executive Committee and other faculty and staff who hold appointments at the Center.
3. Term of Service. The Center Director serves at the pleasure of the Vice President for Research. There is no specified term of service.
4. Responsibilities. The Center Director is the unit executive officer (UEO) of the XXX Center and oversees all aspects of the Center’s operation and administration. One of the key roles of the Center Director is to provide intellectual leadership, including mentoring faculty and staff, assisting researchers as needed in developing research proposals and work products, carrying out his or her own research at a level and in a way that serves as a role model for others, and representing the Center to external constituents and funding agencies. The Center Director also is responsible for ensuring that the Center is able to support faculty, staff, and student research properly by ensuring that adequate support staff, facilities, equipment, and other resources are provided.

ARTICLE IV: Faculty Appointments in the XXX Center

1. Paid Joint Appointments. The XXX Center may make paid joint appointments of tenured faculty members for periods of up to three years; these appointments are renewable. Each such appointment must be approved by the XXX Center Executive Committee. The appointment fractions are to be negotiated between the Center and the academic department. Such appointments can be made for newly hired faculty or those who already are on the University of Iowa faculty. Such appointments are subject to all University policies and procedures regarding faculty appointment and review, as specified in the Office of the Provost’s Policy on Faculty Appointments in Non-departmental Units. Before such appointments are made, a letter of agreement is signed by the DEO of the appointee’s academic department(s), the Dean(s) of the college(s) in which the appointee’s academic department(s) reside(s), and the XXX Center Director. The letter of agreement specifies the appointee’s appointment fractions and funding fractions; his or her privileges and responsibilities with respect to both the academic department(s) and the Center, including the Center’s role in annual, promotion, and/or tenure reviews (as appropriate to the appointment); the period of the joint appointment (up to three years, renewable); procedures for review, renewal, and changing the appointment fractions; and the expected activities in teaching, research, and service, including the percentage of effort to be allocated to each. As with all faculty appointments, the Provost must approve all such appointments.
2. Zero-time Faculty Appointments. Zero-time faculty appointments may be made by the XXX Center. Each such appointment must be approved by the XXX Center Executive Committee. Terms and conditions of these appointments are set in a letter of agreement signed by the appointee, the appointee’s DEO(s), the Dean(s) of the college(s) in which the appointee’s academic department(s) reside(s), and the XXX Center Director. The letter of agreement specifies the appointee’s privileges and responsibilities with respect to the Center, as well as the period of the joint appointment (up to five years, renewable). Such appointments can be made for newly hired faculty or those who already are on the University of Iowa faculty. All such appointments are subject to University policies and procedures regarding faculty appointment and review, as specified in the Office of the Provost’s Policy on Faculty Appointments in Non-departmental Units. As with all faculty appointments, the Provost must approve all such appointments.
   1. Special Zero-time Faculty Appointments. Under University policy, untenured tenure-track faculty may not hold formal, greater-than-zero-percent appointments in nonacademic units, such as the XXX Center. It is possible, however, for the Center to pay a portion of tenure-track faculty members’ salaries on a continuing basis. When such faculty are successfully tenured, it is possible for them to have formal, greater-than-zero-percent paid appointments as discussed above.

ARTICLE V: Annual, Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure Reviews of XXX Center
Faculty

1. Role of the Center. The Center’s role varies somewhat with the type of review.
   1. Reappointment, Promotion, and/or Tenure Reviews. When a faculty member is jointly appointed in an academic department and the XXX Center (a paid or a zero-time appointment) tenure always will reside in the academic department. In the case of reappointment, promotion, and/or tenure decisions, however, other faculty members appointed at the Center are in a particularly good position to assess the candidate’s performance in research and certain types of service. Accordingly, when a faculty
      member with a zero-time or paid appointment at the Center is being considered for reappointment, tenure, and/or a promotion, the Center Director in consultation with the Executive Committee forms a three-person faculty review committee. If the faculty member being reviewed is a member of the Executive Committee, he or she is excluded from any discussions by the Executive Committee regarding composition of the review committee. It is possible for one or more of the faculty members serving on the candidate’s departmental promotion review committee also to serve on the XXX
      Center’s review committee.
   2. Annual Reviews. For all faculty with formal (zero-percent or greater) appointments at the Center, the Director will provide comments to the home department regarding the faculty member’s activity in the Center on an annual basis. This provision is stated in the letter of agreement signed at the time such appointments are initiated.
2. Review Procedures. The jointly appointed faculty member who is to be reviewed for reappointment, promotion, and/or tenure provides the XXX Center faculty review committee a statement of performance, a current curriculum vitae, and copies of relevant publications. The Center review committee then requests that the academic department(s) provide the committee with all letters it receives from outside reviewers. Following its deliberations, the review committee prepares a letter containing its recommendation. This letter is provided to the Center Director who sends it to the academic department DEO (if
   more than one, that of the primary department) who will enter the letter into the faculty member’s promotion record no later than November 15 to fit well with the University promotion review timetable.
3. Letter of Agreement. The above provisions regarding the role of the Center and its review procedures will be included in all letters of agreement signed when any faculty appointments at the Center are initiated. Doing so will make clear from the beginning of faculty appointments at the Center what its role is to be in various reviews of faculty member’s research and service.

ARTICLE VI: Released Salary Funds by Faculty with Paid Appointments

1. General Principles. When any portion of the salary of a faculty member with an appointment (zero-percent or greater) at the XXX Center is paid by the Center, the Center’s portion of these salaries is defrayed by state appropriated funds. The core source of funds for the Center is released faculty and staff salaries. These salaries are released by appointments to externally funded research grants and contracts. When a faculty member accepts a funded appointment or arrangement at the Center, he or she should understand that (1) such faculty are expected to generate released salary funds at some reasonable level, (2) in a technical sense these released salary funds are the property of the Center, (3)
   research support needs of the faculty member releasing the funds (e.g., computer equipment and software, conference travel, student research assistant support) will be accorded a high priority in the use of some portion of the released salary funds, and (4) a portion of the released salary funds will be retained by the Center to finance its operation.
2. Practical Considerations. The highest priority for selecting projects to pursue by XXX Center faculty should be likelihood that scholarly products will result. Additionally, the project should be of great substantive interest to the faculty member, and it should be consistent with his or her research agenda. The ability of a project to generate released salary funds by a faculty member is a secondary consideration. The presumption is that if good projects are undertaken by interested faculty appointed at the Center, the generation of released salary funds will occur, and through the combined efforts of all jointly appointed faculty and Center staff, sufficient funds will be released to support continued operations by the Center properly.

ARTICLE VII. Changes to XXX Center Procedures

1. Procedure for Making Changes. From time to time in its meetings, the Executive Committee will discuss various issues in this document and whether changes are needed or advisable. Likewise, as experience is gained with the procedures, the XXX Center Director and others may see a need for revisions. Minor changes to the procedures contained in this document may be made by the Center Director, who will inform Center faculty and staff of these changes. More substantial changes require approval by the Executive Committee, and depending on the nature of the change, approval by the Vice President for Research and the Provost may be needed. If a majority of the Executive Committee indicates that a
   change made by the Center Director is important enough to warrant a vote by it, the change will not be placed in effect until a timely discussion and affirmative vote by the Executive Committee take place.
2. Guiding Principle. As changes to these procedures are contemplated, the guiding principle should be the overall faculty welfare. The XXX Center’s function is to create an environment where interdisciplinary collaborative research can be carried out productively on topics important to the public interest. Any changes to the procedures contained in this document should be made with this purpose uppermost in mind. 

This Manual of Operations and Procedures dated December 1, 2003, is hereby adopted.