College Committees

The Bylaws Committee considers proposals from the faculty and from the dean to revise the faculty bylaws of the College of Arts and Sciences. The committee may also review the bylaws and make revision recommendations of its own to the dean and to the faculty. In addition, the committee reviews departmental bylaws, including new bylaws and revisions, and it may conduct a college-wide review of existing departmental bylaws periodically.

The Bylaws Committee is composed of four elected faculty and one student member. It meets as needed and at least once per semester during the academic year. Current members.

The Chairs Council is an advisory body to the dean that includes all department chairs and institute and school directors in the College of Arts and Sciences, in addition to the associate and assistant deans and other administrators of the college. The Chairs Council considers and takes action on a broad range of matters presented by the dean and may also makes recommendations to standing committees of the faculty.

The Chairs Council meets frequently as needed at the call of the dean throughout the calendar year. Current members.

The Curriculum Committee receives and reviews proposals for any changes in course offerings and curricular requirements and forwards proposals it deems appropriate to the full faculty for approval. The committee also has the power to review the curricular offerings and requirements of the college and to make appropriate recommendations to the dean and to the faculty. In addition, the committee may authorize experimental courses on a trial basis and share its assessment with the faculty.

The Curriculum Committee is composed of eight elected faculty and two student members. Current members.

The Executive Committee of the College of Arts and Sciences is an advisory body to the dean on a range of matters relating to the administration of the college. The Executive Committee is also charged with a number of specific responsibilities that include: reviewing the academic operations and the budget of the college and any related items submitted by the dean or from the faculty; making nominations for vacant seats on the college's standing committees; initiating the triennial evaluation of department chairs and institute/school directors; initiating, under the supervision of the provost and vice president for academic affairs, a triennial evaluation of the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; appointing a faculty grievance board; and considering proposals for the creation or elimination of departments, schools, institutes, and centers of the college and making such recommendations to the faculty as it deems appropriate.

The Executive Committee is composed of the dean, associate deans, vice chair of the faculty, twelve elected faculty, and two student members.

The Executive Committee meets regularly and at least once per semester of the academic year at the call of the dean. Upon receipt of a petition signed by six members of the Executive Committee, the dean will call a special meeting of the committee.

In addition, the faculty members of the Executive Committee, including the dean and along with three elected area chairs, meet as the Promotion and Review Procedures Committee to consider for approval any proposed changes to the College of Arts and Sciences Promotion and Tenure Manual, related college-level manuals and policies, and departmental promotion and tenure guidelines. This committee also considers any newly developed guidelines and policies needing approval. It meets as needed throughout the academic year. Current members.

The Faculty Awards Committee is charged with selecting the recipients of annual awards for faculty approved by the College of Arts and Sciences, which currently include the Outstanding Senior Faculty Award, Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, Outstanding Teaching Award, Outstanding Faculty Diversity Award, Outstanding Undergraduate Mentoring Award, Outstanding Graduate Mentoring Award, Outstanding Undergraduate Director Award, and Outstanding Graduate Director Award. The committee also is charged with establishing qualifications and nominating procedures for these awards. In addition, the committee may consider and develop proposals for new awards or for other mechanisms to honor outstanding faculty to present to the dean and to the faculty.

The Faculty Awards Committee is composed of five elected faculty and two student members.

The Faculty Awards Committee meets as needed and at least once per semester during the academic year, typically in late fall before the call for nominations is distributed and mid-spring to select the award recipients. Current members.

The Faculty Grievance Board is advisory to the dean and functions in accordance with the Faculty Appeals Policy and Procedures . The duties of the Faculty Grievance Board include the following: Provides training for board members in grievance conciliation and in the conduct of formal appeal hearings; Attempts to conciliate differences that arise between faculty members and department chairs, school and institute directors or administrators; Conducts formal grievance appeal hearings and reports its findings and recommendations to the dean; Conducts procedural hearings on promotion and tenure appeals when referred to the board by the Executive Committee. Current members.

The Graduate Council is an advisory body to the dean and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences on issues relating to the college's graduate programs. The Graduate Council considers proposals for the creation, discontinuance, or renaming of graduate degree programs and concentrations and makes recommendations to the dean with input from the full faculty of the college. The council also reviews changes in departmental criteria for graduate status and/or procedures for reviewing such criteria and makes positive or negative recommendations to the dean and to the relevant department. In addition, the council appoints each year four faculty and one graduate student to serve as a graduate petitions board charged with reviewing final course grade appeals, academic complaints, and petitions for waivers or variance of academic policies and making recommendations to the dean in keeping with relevant university policies.

The Graduate Council meets regularly at the call of the Dean's Office and at least once during each of the three semesters. Current members.

The Undergraduate Council is an advisory body to the college faculty and dean on issues relating to the undergraduate programs of the College of Arts and Sciences. The council considers proposals for the creation, discontinuance, or renaming of undergraduate degree programs and concentrations and makes recommendations to the dean with input from the full faculty of the college. The council designates each year the membership of the Interdisciplinary Studies subcommittee. In addition, the council appoints each year four faculty and two students to an undergraduate petitions board charged with reviewing final course grade appeals, academic complaints, and petitions for waivers or variance of academic policies and making recommendations to the dean in keeping with relevant university policies.

The Undergraduate Council meets regularly and typically at least twice per semester of the academic year. Current members.

The College of Arts and Sciences has three area promotion and tenure committees--one for the Humanities, one for the Natural and Computational Sciences, and one for the Social and Behavioral Sciences--charged with reviewing the credentials of each candidate for promotion and/or tenure within its respective area and making a recommendation to the dean concerning each candidate. The area committees also assist in the post-tenure review process by similarly evaluating faculty members' credentials and sharing their assessments with the dean.

All members hold the rank of Professor. Current members.

The Non-Tenure Track Promotion Review Committee reviews the credentials of each non-tenure track (NTT) faculty candidate for promotion in the College of Arts and Sciences and makes a recommendation to the dean concerning each candidate. The committee considers cases for promotion to the ranks of senior lecturer, principal senior lecturer, senior academic professional, and other NTT ranks.

The NTT Promotion Review Committee is composed of ten elected faculty members, including three representatives from each area of the college and one at large member. Each area includes at least one tenured faculty member and at least one NTT faculty member at the senior level or above.

Current members.

The Staff Executive Committee is an advisory body to the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences with a range of duties and responsibilities that include: discussing policies and procedures related to salary equity, raises, performance evaluations and other issues relevant to the staff; reviewing any items submitted by the dean and/or staff members; reporting its actions at each regular meeting of the college staff; supervising all elections for members of the staff standing committees; making nominations for vacant seats on the college's staff committees; reporting any advancement opportunities within the college or university; and coordinating the college's annual staff awards process and selecting the award recipients.

The Staff Executive Committee meets at the call of the dean or vice chair at least once each semester. Upon receipt of a petition signed by seven members, the dean will call a special meeting of the committee. Current members.

The Staff Mentoring and Morale Committee is a standing committee of the College of Arts and Sciences staff charged with developing and implementing programs that provide staff with opportunities to interact with peers from across the college, which may include mentoring programs, orientations, social events, and other networking opportunities. The committee also regularly collects items that can be used to recognize and award staff achievement.

The Staff Mentoring and Morale Committee is composed of nine elected members of the college staff. It meets at least twice in the Fall and Spring terms and at least once during Summer. Current members.

The Staff Professional Development Committee is a standing committee of the College of Arts and Sciences staff charged with managing the application approval process for awards from the college's Staff Development Fund. The committee investigates ways in which staff can benefit from training programs and makes recommendations to the staff executive committee. The committee is also responsible for maintaining a list of professional development opportunities available throughout the university.

The Staff Professional Development Committee meets regularly and at least twice each Fall and Spring terms and at least once during Summer following the corresponding Staff Development Fund applications deadlines. Current members.