Charter

Center for Exoplanets & Habitable Worlds Charter

 

CEHW Mission Statement

The Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds seeks to discover planets beyond our solar system, to characterize planetary systems and their host stars, and to understand the implications of the abundance of potentially habitable planets for the possibility of life beyond Earth and the origins of our own solar system. The Center for Exoplanets and Habitable Worlds is devoted to broad, interdisciplinary research in this exciting, rapidly developing field. The Center promotes collaborations among scientists at Penn State and between Penn State and other institutions, attracts early career, capable researchers to Penn State, and provides a solid platform for a coordinated effort to improve science education on campus and among the general public.

CEHW Roles

The CEHW Executive Committee (EC) is the governing body to provide oversight for CEHW. It advises the CEHW Director & Deputy Director, particularly for strategic planning of new CEHW initiatives. The CEHW EC approves proposals for formal partnerships extending beyond Penn State. The CEHW EC is available to approve/modify/reject proposals for which both Director and Deputy Director have a significant conflict of interest or to resolve issues if there is a significant disagreement between the CEHW Director and Deputy Director.

The CEHW EC includes the CEHW Director, CEHW Deputy Director, the chair of the Astronomy & Astrophysics Department, previous CEHW Director (when practical), and (when practical) one Penn State faculty member with a primary appointment outside the Astronomy & Astrophysics Department (e.g., Geosciences). Each of the ECoS and EMS Deans may choose to appoint an additional Penn State faculty member to serve as their representative on the CEHW EC.

The CEHW Director & Deputy Director jointly oversee the day-to-day operations of CEHW and provide the intellectual leadership for CEHW activities and strategic planning. The CEHW Director will chair the CEHW EC and is responsible for overseeing the CEHW budget. The CEHW Director & Deputy Director should consult one another on large expenditures or commitments (e.g., making a postdoctoral fellow offer, initiating a scientific meeting) whenever practical, and involve the CEHW EC when planning major new initiatives. The Director and Deputy Director will often delegate specific tasks to CEHW faculty members, postdocs or committees, according to their specific skills and interests.

The CEHW Deputy Director can approve expenditures to ensure efficient operations of CEHW when the CEHW director is unavailable or has a significant conflict of interest (e.g., approve CEHW support that would primarily benefit the Director’s research group). The CEHW Deputy Director serves as Acting CEHW Director when the CEHW Director is not available for an extended period (e.g., sabbatical, health or family leave).

The CEHW Director is to be a Penn State faculty member nominated by the CEHW EC and appointed by the ECoS Dean, ​in consultation with the Center faculty. The CEHW Deputy Director is to be a Penn State faculty member nominated by the CEHW Director and approved by the CEHW EC​ in consultation with the Center faculty. Both roles are traditionally a 5 year term, but this may be adjusted for practical considerations. Both the CEHW Director and Deputy Director appointments may be renewed. In the event that either the CEHW Director or Deputy Director are serving as Astronomy & Astrophysics Department Head, they should appoint a faculty member from the Astronomy & Astrophysics Department to serve as the departmental representative.

The CEHW Membership is intended to be overwhelmingly drawn from active members of the Penn State community who are engaged in research, education and service supporting the CEHW mission, including faculty (both tenure-track and non-tenure track, including multiple colleges and campuses), students, and postdoctoral researchers (regardless of whether they are formally employees). Students and postdoctoral researchers may be self-nominated, but should have a CEHW faculty sponsor, typically their research (or academic) advisor. The CEHW Director may approve nominations of PSU community members directly. Faculty sponsors should notify the Director & Deputy Director when students/postdocs depart PSU, so they can be removed from the CEHW membership. In principle, CEHW membership can be offered to external researchers in cases where it would provide a significant benefit to CEHW. Prospective members external to Penn State are to be nominated by the CEHW Director or Deputy Director and approved by CEHW EC. Membership can be denied or revoked at the discretion of the CEHW Executive Committee.

Reporting & Evaluation

The Director and Deputy Director are responsible for providing short annual updates on the activities of CEHW and its members to the CEHW EC each summer. The update should also be provided to the ECoS and EMS Deans. The Director and Deputy Director are to perform informal formative assessments, consult with the EC when necessary, and update plans for the coming year accordingly. The performance of the CEHW Director and Deputy Director is to be included as a factor in the standard annual review process for faculty.

The Director and Deputy Director are responsible for providing a formal report for review by the CEHW EC and the ECoS Dean at least once every five years. The primary review criteria for CEHW will be scientific impact, as reflected in publications, engagement of CEHW members, participation of leading researchers from beyond Penn State, and success in attracting strong graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.

In parallel with the five-year reviews of CEHW itself, Penn State faculty who are members of CEHW are to be invited to provide feedback on the performance of the CEHW Director and Deputy Director by the Astronomy & Astrophysics Department Head. The results of the evaluation will be shared with the CEHW EC and ECoS Dean. If the Astronomy & Astrophysics Department Head is serving in either of the Director or Deputy Director roles, then the review of both shall be carried out by the ECoS Dean or their designee.

Either the Astronomy & Astrophysics Department Head or the ECoS Dean may request that the five-year review of CEHW also include input from respected researchers external to Penn State and active in research areas spanned by CEHW. If external feedback is to be solicited, then each member of the EC will be invited to nominate potential evaluators and the ECoS Dean is to solicit feedback from at least three external evaluators.

Revising the Charter

The CEHW EC may recommend revisions and updates to the CEHW Charter on an ongoing basis. Recommendations are to be approved by the ECoS Dean.