Administrative Home:  Agricultural and Resource Economics
Revised: November 29, 2011
Approved by Graduate Council: December 16, 2011

Article I. Objective

The Graduate Program in Agricultural and Resource Economics (“Program”) is organized to establish and administer graduate education leading to the MS and PhD degrees in Agricultural and Resource Economics (ARE) in conformance with the rules of the Graduate Council and the Office of Graduate Studies of the Davis Campus of the University of California.

Article II. Membership

1. Criteria for Membership in the Program
   1. Membership in the Program will be limited to Academic Senate faculty associated with the Davis campus who are qualified to guide graduate candidates for the MS and PhD degrees in Agricultural and Resource Economics and who are willing to participate in the administration of the Program. Membership is based on disciplinary expertise and is independent of departmental appointment.
   2. Members are expected to contribute to the Program by:
      1. Having an active research program in the discipline of economics as applied to issues in agricultural economics, environmental economics, natural resource economics, international development economics, or econometrics
      2. Serving on or acting as chair of committees supervising dissertations and theses; such service need not be approved by members of the Program;
      3. Participating in the administration of the Program by serving on Program committees including preliminary examination committees, the MS exam committee, and oral exam committees.
   3. Program members who hold faculty appointments in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics are eligible to vote on all issues related to the Program.  Non-Departmental members of the Program may participate in graduate matters only and will not have voting rights regarding Departmental personnel actions; Departmental budget decisions, including Departmental funded employment and fellowships; undergraduate program matters; or other Departmental matters  
2. Application for Membership
   1. Members of the Academic Senate holding faculty appointments in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics are automatically members of the Program.
   2. Non-departmental Senate faculty may self-nominate or be nominated by an existing member of the Program. Nominators will submit a cover letter, CV and other relevant information to the Department Chair. These materials will be reviewed by the Graduate Administrative Committee (GAC). If the nominee meets the criteria described in Article IIA, the nomination materials will be provided to the full Program membership, and the Department Chair shall call a Program meeting. If a motion for membership is made and appropriately seconded, a vote will be held on the nominee’s admission.
   3. Nominees will be deemed elected upon receiving support from a two-thirds majority of votes of Program members eligible to vote.
3. Review of Membership
   1. All Program members shall be periodically reviewed. Membership review criteria apply equally to both departmental members and non-departmental members and include the expected contributions listed in Section IIA.2 above. Every member is expected to fulfill at least one of these criteria.
   2. Departmental members are reviewed as a normal part of the University  merit and promotion process.  Departmental members cannot be dismissed from the Program.
   3. Non-departmental members shall be reviewed every five years. At the end of each term, the member under review will provide a current CV and other relevant information to the GAC which, in turn, shall distribute this information to the full Program membership. The GAC shall make a recommendation to the Program faculty regarding whether a member still meets the criteria for membership as set out in Section IIA.2 above. A new vote shall then be held on the renewal of the individual’s membership. Renewal of membership shall require an affirmative vote of a two-thirds majority of Program members.
4. Participation of Non-Program Members
   1. Cooperative Extension Specialists with primary appointments in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics who hold an appropriate instructional title, such as Lecturer without Salary, may serve as a member of an orals, thesis, or dissertation committee. Such an individual may also co-chair a thesis or dissertation committee. Such individuals may not chair oral examinations within the Program.
   2. Non-Program senate faculty may serve as a member of an orals, thesis, or dissertation committee provided that the GAC approves their participation/nomination. Eligibility is determined by evidence of excellence in scholarship and an active research program in an area that is relevant for the student’s proposed research. When deemed appropriate, such an individual may also co-chair a thesis or dissertation committee, subject to approval by the GAC for nomination to the Dean of Graduate Studies. Such individuals may not chair oral examinations within the Program.
   3. Non-Program senate faculty may serve as sole chairs of a thesis or dissertation committee, subject to approval by the GAC and the Department Chair of ARE for nomination to the Dean of Graduate Studies. At the Department Chair’s discretion, a vote by the entire Program membership may be required to approve a non-Program thesis or dissertation chair for nomination. The criteria for service as chair are the same as for membership – evidence of a research program and expertise in the area of research to be pursued by the student.
   4. Every three-person Ph.D. thesis or dissertation committee must have at least two Program members. The majority of every orals committee must be Program members. All committees are formally appointed by the Dean of Graduate Studies.

Article III. Administration

The administration of the program and its activities will be vested in the Department Chair and the Graduate Administrative Committee.

Article IV. The Graduate Program Chair

The Department Chair of ARE administers the Program. The Department Chair may delegate the day-to-day responsibilities of the Program to the GAC Chair; however, even with the delegation of responsibilities, the Department Chair is the official, graduate program Chair.

Duties of the Chair: a) provides overall academic leadership for the program; b) develops and implements policies for the program; c) represents the interests of the program to the campus and University administrators; d) calls and presides at meetings of the Executive/Program Committee; e) calls and presides at meetings of the program; f) is responsible for  coordinating all administrative matters with  the  Office  of  Graduate Studies; g) manages the budgets of the program; h) submits course change or approval forms; i)  is  responsible  for  the  accuracy of all publications related to the program including web pages and catalog copy; and j) nominates graduate advisers for appointment.

Article V. The Graduate Administrative Committee

1. The GAC consists of all the appointed graduate advisors in the program. The ARE Department Chair appoints one of these advisors as GAC Chair. The GAC Chair must hold a senate faculty appointment in ARE. Appointment as GAC Chair is for a one-year, renewable period.
2. The GAC is charged with the following responsibilities:
   1. To review and make recommendations to Graduate Studies regarding applications for admission and fellowships, and various graduate student petitions;
   2. To serve as graduate advisors as defined in Article VI;
   3. To evaluate and make recommendations to the Program faculty regarding policy, curriculum, and administration of the Program;
   4. To make recommendations about Graduate Program membership to the Program faculty and review at five-yearly intervals the membership of elected members as outlined in article II.C.
   5. To appoint ad hoc committees, as needed
3. In addition to the above duties, the GAC Chair provides academic leadership for the program, making recommendations to the Department Chair regarding departmentally funded student employment and fellowships, overseeing student employment and fellowships funded by other sources including block grant and other funds allocated specifically to the graduate program, appointing preliminary and qualifying exam committees, and coordinating administrative matters with the Office of Graduate Studies.

Article VI. Student Representatives

Student representatives to ad hoc committees will be appointed at the discretion of the Department Chair.  Student members must be excused from meetings during discussion about other students, personnel actions, disciplinary issues relating to students, faculty or staff, or rankings of existing students for funding.

Article VII. Graduate Advisors

Five graduate advisors shall be appointed in compliance with the policies and procedures of the Graduate Council and the Office of Graduate Studies. Advisors are appointed for a period of two years, renewable. All Graduate Advisors serve on the GAC. Graduate advisors are responsible for ensuring that their advisees complete appropriate preparative course work; interpreting requirements; providing advice and guidance to their advisees about required coursework, elective courses, and graduate research options and requirements; identifying members for research advisory committees; and overseeing students’ progress. In the case of PhD students, the balance of responsibility for overseeing students’ progress shifts from the Graduate Advisor to the Dissertation Advisor after the student advances to candidacy.

Article VIII. Meetings

The ARE Department Chair shall call a general Program meeting during the Fall quarter each year. The Department Chair shall call additional Program meetings as deemed necessary or desirable. Any Program member may petition the Chair for additional meetings. Notification will be emailed at least two weeks before Program meetings. The ARE Department Chair will be the presiding officer at Program meetings, employing Robert’s Rules of Order.

Article IX. Quorum

Issues requiring a vote must first be brought forward by a motion in a Program meeting with a quorum of at least 50+% of the non-emeritus Program membership that is eligible to vote. On graduate program matters other than amendment/revision of the bylaws and admission to and renewal of membership, passage requires a 50+% supporting vote of the members voting.

For matters requiring a simple majority of the members of the Program who are eligible to vote - such as curriculum issues, program requirements, and approval of non-Program members as thesis chair -- non votes, including abstentions, will not count either way.  For matters requiring a supermajority of the members of the Program who are eligible to vote – such as amendments to these bylaws -- non votes will count as votes against the change.

Voting will be anonymous. The presiding officer will determine if voting is electronic. For electronic voting, 10 days must be provided for expression of opinions about the proposal prior to the acceptance of votes; after that date, the polls may open and 14 days are provided for votes to be returned or before the polls are closed.

Article X. Amendments

Amendment to the Bylaws may be proposed by any member of the Program. The member should provide the written amendment with justification to the GAC Chair for distribution to the Program membership for consideration.  Amendments require approval by two-thirds of the members of the Program who are eligible to vote. All amendments and revisions must be submitted to Graduate Council for review and approval. Changes in the bylaws will become effective upon approval by Graduate Council.