Bylaws of the Faculty of Medicine
Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine

Article III. Membership

Section 1. Fully Affiliated Members

A. All persons appointed to the rank of professor, associate professor, assistant professor, or instructor and who have accepted such a position in a department of the School of Medicine, shall be fully affiliated members of the Faculty of Medicine; provided that the provisions of Section 4 of this article shall have been complied with.

B. Categories of fully affiliated faculty membership are defined in current School of Medicine policies.

C. Participants in School of Medicine residencies and postdoctoral programs will be eligible for appointments for the length of training.

Section 2. Partially Affiliated Members

All other persons who have been duly appointed to the Faculty of Medicine shall be partially affiliated members of the Faculty of Medicine, subject to continuance as provided in Section 4 of this article.

Section 3. Right of Members

Each member shall be entitled to participate in the deliberations of the Faculty of Medicine, vote upon all business brought before the Faculty of Medicine, and sit upon committees of the Faculty of Medicine. Members in residencies, postdoctoral programs, and research faculty are excluded from participation and vote.

Section 4. Academic Freedom, Tenure and Due Process

The Faculty of Medicine, insofar as is possible, supports and is guided by the intent of the 1940 Statement of Principles of Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure, Revised as published by The American Association of University Professors.

The Faculty of Medicine, in recognition of its unique diversity of composition, responsibilities, geographic distribution and standards within Wright State University, defines its criteria for membership (Article III, Sections 1 and 2) and its concept of continuance (B below).

Regarding due process, these Bylaws supersede contracts with the University for employed faculty.

A. New Appointments

1. The departmental chair will initiate the process of recruitment for new members of the department in accordance with the appropriate School of Medicine procedure.
2. The School of Medicine Faculty Development Committee will evaluate the recommendation and supporting information and either (a) confirm the recommendation and forward its recommendation to the Dean of Medicine for action, or (b) deny the recommendation and return this written decision with justifications to the chair.
3. The initial term of appointment shall be for a maximum of three years without regard to rank.

B. Continuances and Promotions

Faculty members subject to reappointment, hereafter referred to as continuance, are reviewed for continuance for specified periods of time. After the initial appointment, the first continuance will be for four years; all subsequent continuances will be for five years. Faculty members shall be informed of continuance or non-continuance before the end of the appointment currently in force. Continuance requires recommendation by the chair and decision by the school's Faculty Development Committee and does not occur automatically by failure to review in the timely fashion.

1. The school's Office of Faculty and Clinical Affairs will maintain a comprehensive policy and procedure for all faculty continuances. Such policy and procedures will be readily available for review by all faculty.
2. Whether upon a recommendation by the departmental chair or self-initiated, a faculty member can begin the process for promotion by following the appropriate current School of Medicine promotion policy.

C. Removal or Suspension

Removal or suspension of a faculty member during a period of appointment shall occur only because of (a) demonstrated incompetence or dishonesty in teaching or scholarship, or (b) substantial and manifest neglect of duty, or (c) personal conduct which substantially impairs the individual's fulfillment of the individual's institutional responsibilities, of (d) malicious conduct which directly obstructs the performance of instructional or scholarly program authorized or permitted by the university.

Charges brought against a faculty member by an administrator or faculty member shall be made in writing with reasonable particularity of the grounds for removal or suspension within one or more of the categories for removal or suspension specified above and shall be presented to the Dean of Medicine. The Dean of Medicine shall, as soon as possible, inform the accused faculty member in writing of the nature and cause of the charges made against the faculty member, specifying which one or combination of the categories for removal or suspension specified above comprise the basis of the charges.

The Dean of Medicine will, as soon as possible, meet with the faculty member against whom charges have been brought, to review the charges and provide the faculty member an opportunity to present his or her case. The Dean of Medicine shall, based on the evidence available, decide whether there are grounds for removal or suspension of the faculty member. Within 10 days of their meeting, the Dean of Medicine will inform the faculty member in writing of his/her decision regarding removal or suspension.

D. Appeal Mechanism

1. Fully affiliated faculty employed by the university may initiate an appeal in writing to the School of Medicine Faculty Affairs Committee within thirty (30) days of receipt of the written notice of non-continuance, suspension or removal.
   1. The Faculty Affairs Committee will appoint a three-member hearing board to review the pertinent proceedings, documents, and testimony of the appellant, appellant's departmental chair, the school's Faculty Development Committee, and Dean of Medicine. The board shall deliberate promptly and transmit its recommendations to the Faculty Affairs Committee which must make a recommendation to the dean within thirty (30) days.
   2. The faculty member may make further appeal in a writing to the Provost.
   3. After notice of non-continuance, the faculty member shall have a one year termination period subsequent to the final appeal decision.
2. Other appeals should be made in writing to the Provost.

E. Departmental Chair Appointment and Continuances

1. Recommendation for the appointment of a departmental chair, or equivalent, ordinarily shall be made by the Dean of Medicine upon advice of a special committee convened for this purpose.
2. No more than five years shall elapse without review of the individual in the position of departmental chair. The process for the review of a departmental chair will be in compliance with current School of Medicine policy and procedures. Such policy and procedures will be readily available for review by the faculty. Removal of a faculty member from the position of departmental chair in no way shall affect the individual's appointment or rank in the Faculty of Medicine.
3. The evaluation for continued appointment of the departmental chair as a member of the Faculty of Medicine shall be initiated by the Dean of Medicine in the manner prescribed in Article III, Section B.

F. Joint Appointments

Nothing in these Bylaws shall be construed as infringing upon the rank, title, or tenure status of a member holding a joint appointment in another school or college.

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