BYLAWS
OF THE FACULTY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH
[Amended April and September 2003]
ARTICLE 5. COMMITTEES
Section 5.1. General Provisions.
There will be five standing committees, two elective and three appointive,
within the English department (see Sections 5.3-5.6, below). Ad hoc
committees may be established by the chair or at the request of the
faculty whenever matters arise which are outside the jurisdiction of the
standing committees and which cannot practically be handled by a committee
of the whole department.
Section 5.2. General Regulations.
A.
The chair of all committees will be appointed by the departmental
chair.
B.
Committees will meet on the call of the chair of the committee or
by request of one-third or more of the committee members.
C.
Committee memberships are for terms of one year (from 1 July
through 30 June).
D.
The chair of each committee will report its proceedings in the form
of minutes to the English faculty. All policy recommendations must be
made a part of the minutes and circulated to the English faculty for
approval and will be considered to have that approval unless a petition
requesting nonapproval of specific items is signed by three faculty
members and submitted to the departmental chair within five working days
after the date of circulation. If such a petition is received, the item
in question will be submitted to a vote by the faculty. Items concerning
graduate studies will be petitioned and voted on by the graduate faculty.
Section 5.3. Executive Committee.
Composition. The Executive Committee will
consist of the chair, the Director of MA—English, the Director of
Undergraduate Studies, the Director of Writing, the Director of Creative
Writing (all ex officio members), and five elected members, one of whom is nontenured occupying a tenure-track professorial position and one of whom
is a lecturer. All lecturers (temporary and permanent) may nominate and
vote for committee members of lecturer status. In the event that all
members are of the same sex, the chair will appoint a faculty member of
the opposite sex to serve for the hiring process only.
Responsibilities. The Executive Committee
will (1) screen applications for and recommend appointments to faculty
positions; (2) select teaching assistants; (3) establish and periodically
review criteria for the department's scholarships and student awards; and
(4) advise the chair on any matter on which he/she may wish to consult
with them.
Section 5.4. Curriculum Committee.
Composition. The Curriculum
Committee will consist of the Director of Undergraduate Studies, five
elected faculty members, one of whom is a lecturer, and two voting student
representatives (a graduate student elected by the English graduate
student body and a junior or senior English major elected by the
undergraduate English majors). At least two of the faculty members must
belong to the graduate faculty. The Director of Writing will be an ex
officio member with voting privileges limited to those matters which
impinge on the writing program.
Responsibilities. The Curriculum
Committee will (1) make policy recommendations to the department
concerning curricula, program development, and academic standards at all
course levels and (2) hear and take action on student appeals or requests
for the waiver of requirements in all areas of the English program except
courses in the writing and creative-writing programs.
Section 5.5. Rhetoric and
Composition Committee.
A.
Composition. The Rhetoric and Composition Committee will
consist of the Director of Writing (chair), all members from the
professorial ranks whose specialty is rhetoric/composition, one member
from the professorial ranks whose specialty is something other than
rhetoric/ composition, the Director of the Writing Center, two permanent
lecturers, one temporary lecturer, and one second-or third-year teaching
assistant elected by TAs. Faculty members are appointed on a rotational
basis by the chair in consultation with the Director of Writing.
B.
Responsibilities. The Rhetoric and Composition Committee
will (1) make policy recommendations concerning curriculum and academic
standards for courses in the writing program; and (2) make policy
recommendations concerning the Writing Center.
Section 5.6. Scholarships Committee.
A.
Composition. The Scholarships Committee will consist of the
Department Chair (as chair of the Scholarships Committee), the Director of
Undergraduate Studies, and the advisers. In the event that all members
are of the same sex, the chair will appoint a faculty member of the
opposite sex.
B.
Responsibilities. The Scholarships Committee will (1)
disseminate information about David, Nixon, Sauve, Hungerford, Woodbury,
and Hogue scholarships, (2) devise and publicize application procedures
for these awards when appropriate; (3) consider applicants and make award
recommendations to the Office of Financial Aid; and (4) monitor the
academic progress of scholarship holders.
Section 7. Writing Placement Committee.
A. Composition. The Writing Placement Committee will consist
of the Director of Writing and his/her assistant, four faculty members
appointed on a rotating basis for terms of one year, and one faculty
member appointed each semester.
B.
Responsibilities. The Writing Placement Committee will (1)
resolve questions of the placement of students in writing courses; (2)
assess and take action on disputed cases of the proficiency of students
who enroll in writing courses or take the writing proficiency test; and
(3) advise the Director of Writing on any matter about placement
procedures.
Section 8. Creative Writing Committee
A.
Composition. The Creative Writing Committee will consist of
the Director of Creative Writing, all faculty members teaching at least
one creative-writing course during the academic year, and one student,
elected by fellow M.F.A. students, from the Master of Fine Arts program.
B.
Responsibilities. The Creative Writing Committee will (1)
make policy recommendations to the Curriculum Committee and the department
concerning curricula, program development, and academic standards at all
course levels of the undergraduate creative- writing and M.F.A. programs;
(2) make student admissions decisions for the M.F.A. program; (3) screen
and recommend teaching assistants to the Executive Committee; (4) screen
and recommend to the Executive Committee writer/teachers for the
department's Distinguished Visiting Writer positions; (5) select visiting
readers besides the DVWs; (6) select students to be enrolled in the DVW
workshops; (7) advise on matters pertaining to the operation of the
literary magazine; (8) consider student appeals or requests for the waiver
of requirements in the creative writing program at the undergraduate or
graduate level; and (9) advise the Director of Creative Writing as
requested.
Section 5.8. Election Procedures.
A.
Committee membership should be spread as broadly and evenly as
possible. Vacancies in elective memberships which occur during their
terms will be filled by the respective chair according to procedures
delineated in subsection B below.
B.
After the appointive memberships to all departmental committees are
made public, in early April, the departmental chair will begin committee
elections in a sequence of annual rotation. Names of all those willing
and eligible to serve will be collected and ballots prepared; election
will be by majority vote. In the event that the number of those willing
to serve is equal to or smaller than the number of committee positions,
elections will not be conducted, and the chair will appoint faculty
members to the unfilled positions.
