Bylaws of the Department of Human-Centered Computing

ARTICLE I

Identification

Section 1.1 Name.

The Department of Human-Centered Computing (HCC) is a department under the governing body of the Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing (SoIC) at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).

Section 1.2 Preamble.

HCC provides a unified administrative structure for several academic programs. These programs currently include: Informatics, Media Arts and Science, and Human-Computer Interaction programs. The programs in HCC share a common interest in advancing teaching and research on the human-centered aspects of information and communication technology. It is understood that existing programs and their structure can evolve, and new programs may be created under the umbrella of HCC.

Section 1.3 Mission.

The mission of HCC is to advance the area of human-centered computing through teaching and research that: (a) study its applications and societal implications; (b) make it familiar to our students, our colleagues, and the broader community of stakeholders in Indiana and beyond; (c) empowering people to participate more effectively in understanding, sharing and using interactive technologies.

Section 1.4 Vision.

As excerpted from the HCC Strategic Plan:

By serving the mission of IUPUI and the IU School of Informatics and Computing, we envision becoming a thriving Department of Human-Centered Computing that exhibits the following traits:

1. A department with a national and international premiere research reputation that is selected as a department of choice by students and faculty from around the world.
2. A department that attracts, motivates and nurtures excellent faculty of international caliber who pursue innovative, forward-looking, and impactful research agendas in human-centered computing and foster the application of their research to the health and life sciences.
3. A department where, at any given time, each tenure-track faculty has at least one externally-funded grant, and all research students are fully supported by faculty on external grants.
4. A department that, by leveraging its urban location, offers innovative and industry-ready educational programs that embed both local and national industrial partnerships—with the advantage of better aligning programs to market needs, increasing student hiring, and fostering academic-industrial partnerships.
5. A department with large, diverse, and competitive undergraduate programs that embrace innovation in online and blended learning to meet the changing needs of the students.
6. A department with competitive, rigorous graduate programs that educate tomorrow’s intellectual and industrial leaders in understanding, designing, and creating next-generation human-centered computing systems and in investigating their societal applications and implications.
7. A department where top companies in human-centered computing come regularly to hire our best students. Students graduate in a timely fashion and land their dream jobs.
8. A department that continually scans opportunities to build new programs in human-centered computing with high market demand and research potential.
9. A department where every faculty member achieves the standard of excellence required for timely advancement in rank.
10. A department that is a great place to work and fosters an inclusive, collaborative, diverse, and healthy climate; builds a strong sense of community among faculty and students; values the characteristics of each individual; encourages, promotes, and celebrates excellence; contributes to advancing diversity in the computing disciplines, and serve the wider community in Indiana and beyond.

ARTICLE II

Faculty

Section 2.1 Membership.

The faculty of HCC (hereinafter referred to as the Faculty) is composed of persons holding the following full-time academic positions in the department: Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, Senior Lecturer, Lecturer, Research Associate, Professor of Practice, or other faculty titles that may be defined in the future.

Section 2.1.2 Responsibilities.

The Faculty is responsible for developing the undergraduate and graduate curricula of HCC within the scope and mission of SoIC and IUPUI, for overseeing the courses offered by HCC, for recommending policies for carrying out HCC’s mission, for recommending persons for academic appointments in HCC, for providing input to evaluate the work of its members, and for advising the Chair and SoIC on matters concerning the welfare of the Faculty and of associate faculty members, students, and staff of HCC.

Section 2.1.3 Voting Rights.

Faculty members’ currently holding full-time positions in HCC have full voting rights.

ARTICLE III

Administrative Officers

Section 3.1 Chair.

The Chair of HCC serves as the chief academic officer of the department and is appointed by and reports directly to the Executive Associate Dean (EAD) of SoIC. The Faculty should advise the EAD on the selection of the Chair.

Section 3.1.1 Duties.

The duties of the Chair are as follows:

a. HCC fiscal management in consultation with the EAD, the Directors and the Fiscal Officers of SoIC; approval and disbursement of travel funds and other expenses;

b. Representation and advocacy of departmental interests and needs with the SoIC Deans and other School and University officials; representation of HCC on campus and in the community;

c. Personnel management, including: appointment of delegates to coordinate curriculum efforts and course scheduling within each program; faculty supervision, mentoring, and support; direction and guidance of faculty annual review, promotion and tenure process, including faculty appointment and salary recommendation; hiring and supervision of the secretarial staff, including annual review and salary recommendations in consultation with the EAD; resolution of complaints and grievances from full-and part-time faculty, staff, and students; independent evaluation of candidates for tenure and/or promotion review, annual and third-year reviews;

d. Schedule coordination in consultation with faculty, including: communication with administration and campus staff; delegation and oversight of scheduling and all schedule changes during the school year and summer sessions in consultation with faculty and directors;

e. Direction and coordination of daily departmental operations in the fall, spring and summer semesters;

f. Disbursement of information to faculty and students about Department-level, School-level, campus-level policies, information and other programs, including grants, fellowships, awards, and technological support.

g. Oversee faculty advising of HCC students in selecting course work as related to their career and academic goals and assist students with their plan-of-study ensuring they fulfill the academic requirements for conferral of their degree.

ARTICLE IV

Meetings of the Faculty

Section 4.1 Departmental Meetings.

Typically, HCC will meet at least four times per semester. The times and places for regular meetings must be announced prior to the beginning of the academic year.

Section 4.2 Program Meetings.

Faculty in programs with more than one full-time faculty member will meet on a regular basis based on the curriculum and program needs.

Section 4.3 Quorum.

A majority of the voting Faculty constitutes the quorum necessary for conducting business at a meeting of the Faculty.

Section 4.4 Voting.

All elections and changes to HCC’s Bylaws must be voted on by a majority of Faculty present at a department meeting.

Section 4.4.1 Procedures for Voting.

Ballots will be distributed by the Chair (or his or her designee), either in paper format or by email, and returned ballots will be counted in a manner to ensure authenticity and anonymity.

ARTICLE V

Departmental Committees

Section 5.1 Standing Committees.

In accordance with the SoIC constitution, HCC will have the following standing committees: HCC Promotion and Tenure Committee (also known as “primary committee”), composed only of tenured faculty members, and the Faculty Policy Committee, composed of two tenure-track and two lecturer-track faculty members.

ARTICLE VI

Amendments

Section 6.1 Amendments.

Amendments to the Bylaws and the policies in the appendices may be offered by any member of the Faculty or by a committee at any regular meeting of the Faculty. If approved by a majority vote of members present and voting at the meeting, the proposed amendments will be referred to the Faculty for action by written ballot. A two-thirds vote of returned ballots and a majority of all voting members of the Faculty is required to approve a proposed amendment.