College ByLaws
BYLAWS OF THE FACULTY OF
THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND LETTERS
(Adopted by CoAL Faculty, March 10, 2005)
(Approved by Dean Elliott Pood, March 10, 2005)
(Approved by Provost, June 14,2005)
(Approved by President ____________)
Article I. Name, Objective, and Authority
Section 1. Name. The name of this constituent faculty of the University shall be the faculty of the College of Arts and Letters, hereinafter designated as the “CoAL faculty” or the “College faculty.”
Section 2. Objectives. The College of Arts and Letters is committed to help improve the quality of life through excellence in the acquisition, dissemination, and application of knowledge. To this end, members of the college are committed to excellence in teaching at all levels, from the general education curriculum to advanced graduate studies; serving our communities and professions locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally; and, researching and performing as represented by the full spectrum of interests of social scientists, humanities scholars, and scholars in the fine and performing arts.
Section 3. Authority. The faculty of the College is authorized to establish and manage its own educational objectives, including matters of student admission and curriculum; and to participate in the selection of its Dean, unit administrators, and faculty members. As stated in the Faculty Handbook, the faculty through the Unit Personnel Committee shall participate in personnel decisions regarding performance reviews, tenure assessments, promotion proceedings; make recommendations to the Dean on promotions in academic rank, renewal or non-renewal of employment, dismissal, or termination of employment; and make recommendations to the Dean on applications from members of the unit faculty for academic leaves of absence and sabbaticals.
Article II. Membership
The Board of Trustees defines the faculty of Mississippi’s public universities as those employees holding appointment within the Corps of Instruction. The University Corps of Instruction shall consist only of full-time employees holding the ranks of Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, or Instructor, but the Board may approve other teaching personnel. Full-time extension and research personnel and certified Librarians may be appointed by the President to a rank commensurate with appointment to the Corps of Instruction on the basis of comparable education and training. All University faculty who hold appointments in the College, or who retain academic rank in the College in accordance with the Faculty Handbook, are members of the College faculty.
Article III. Administration
Section 1. Officers. The administrative officers of the College are the Dean and such Associates and Assistants as shall be appointed by the Dean. The Dean of the College, or the Dean’s representative, shall serve as the presiding officer of the CoAL faculty. The duties and responsibilities of the Dean shall be as specified in the Faculty Handbook.
Section 2. Chairs/Directors of Units in the College. The word “chairs/directors” refers to those administrative officers of the units and departments who report directly to the Dean.
Section 3. College Administrative Council. The Chairs/Directors of the College shall comprise the College Administrative Council, to be presided over by the Dean, or in the Dean’s absence by the Associate Dean. In the absence of both, the council shall elect a temporary chair to preside.
Article IV. Meetings
Section 1. Call of Meetings. Meetings of the CoAL faculty may be called by the Dean or the Dean’s designated representative, or upon the written petition of fifty (50) percent of the College faculty.
Section 2. Quorum. A quorum shall consist of not less than 50% of the voting members of the CoAL faculty as defined in these by-laws, Article II. If less than a simple majority is present, actions are subject to reconsideration in accordance with Section 4 of Article IV.
Section 3. Agenda. The Dean of the College shall be responsible for and shall issue an agenda at least three working days prior to each meeting of the College faculty. The agenda shall list all subjects to be voted on, although both the Dean and faculty shall reserve the right to bring forth and discuss such new business as they shall deem appropriate.
Section 4. Reconsideration. Actions taken at any meeting of the CoAL faculty at which less than a simple majority is present or recommendations made at a meeting at which a quorum is not present shall be subject to reconsideration in accordance with the following procedure. If the Dean receives a petition requesting reconsideration of a specifically designated action or recommendation taken at the meeting, the Dean shall distribute to all members of the CoAL faculty a mail ballot for such reconsideration. This petition must be received within one week after the meeting and bear the signatures of at least twenty members of the college faculty. A copy of the minutes of the meeting shall accompany the ballot. Decision in the mail ballot must be by majority of those voting on the question, providing that at least as many valid mail ballot are cast on the given question as were cast in the CoAL faculty meeting. If fewer valid mail ballots are cast on the question than were cast in the CoAL faculty meeting, the previous action or recommendation on said question shall stand.
Section 5. Secretary. A secretary will be appointed by the Dean of the College for the meetings.
Article V. Committees
Section 1. Standing Committees. Standing committees of the College of Arts and Letters are the College Advisory Committee, College Council, the College Staff Advisory Committee, the College Student Advisory Committee, the College Research/Creative Activity Committee, and the College Awards Committee.
Section 2. Special Committees. Special committees of the College may be created and dissolved by the Dean as needed to service the College.
Section 3. Membership. Names of members appointed to all committees within the College shall be made known to the CoAL faculty.
Section 4. Term of Office. Members of standing committees, except the College Advisory Committee, shall take office the third week of the fall semester and serve for twelve months. Standing committees, with the exception of the College Advisory Committee, and special committees will expire at the same time. Therefore, selection of committee members shall be accomplished during the first two weeks of the semester with the exception of the College Advisory Committee.
Section 5. Meetings. All committees shall meet by call of the chair or Dean, or at the request of at least fifty (50) percent of their members.
Section 6. Vacancies. Vacancies, which occur during the academic year in standing committees, will be filled by unit elections of another representative to complete the term. Vacancies, which occur during the academic year in special committees, shall be filled by Dean.
Section 7. The College Advisory Committee (CAC)
Membership. The College Advisory Committee (CAC) will consist of one full-time tenured faculty member at the rank of associate professor or professor from each unit in the College of Arts and Letters. These representatives will be elected by secret ballot for a three-year term by the respective unit. The election will be held by April 15 with the term of service beginning in May. The terms of service will be staggered so that one-third of the CAC will change each academic year. The first year the rotation will be determined by draw in the CAC meeting developing these guidelines.
While only full-time tenured associate professors or above may serve on the CAC, all full-time faculty of the respective unit may vote for the CAC representative. However, faculty members with titles such as “visiting,” or “special,” or “adjunct,” that imply impermanence are not eligible to vote. Individuals who are requesting tenure and/or promotion will not serve on the CAC during the year they are reviewed. University administrative officers serving as President, as Provost, vice presidents, or as departmental chairs within a college may neither vote in elections nor sit as members or ex officio members of the College Advisory Committee.
- Chair. The Chair will be elected by the CAC in the May meeting and will work with candidates to obtain external references if the academic unit can not constitute the required committee.
- Rules regarding procedures. Members of the CAC may participate in consideration of applications from their academic units; however, they are not permitted to vote on these applications.
Strict policies of recusal also govern the deliberations of the CAC. These are:
(a) Members of the CAC who are related (as per Board and University Nepotism Policy) to parties being reviewed must recuse themselves from all personnel proceedings involving such parties. In no event shall they vote or offer advice, either directly or indirectly, to other committee members.
(b) Members of the CAC reviewing any unit personnel evaluation or recommendation in which they participated in any manner at the unit level may not vote.
- Associate Professors sitting as members of the CAC must recuse themselves from all personnel proceedings in all cases involving the promotion of a party from the rank of Associate Professor to the rank of Professor.
Duties of the College Advisory Committee
1. To review all departmental recommendations on promotion and tenure, ensuring that both the substantive and procedural policies of departments and thecollege have been followed.
2. To review the merits of recommendations for promotion and tenure, and submit personnel recommendations to the Dean and to the University Advisory Committee.
3. To advise academic Deans on appeals from academic staff members regarding departmental evaluations and personnel recommendations; and
4. To perform such other duties within their authority as may be required in the Faculty Handbook.
Meetings. The Dean or chair of the CAC may convene the CoAL Advisory Committee.
(Note: For complete information regarding Tenure and Promotion procedures, refer to the Tenure and Promotion sections of the Faculty Handbook).
Section 8. The College Council
- Membership. The College Council will be composed of one faculty representative from each of the College units. These representatives should be able to address undergraduate or graduate curriculum issues. When the Council is reviewing graduate curricular issues or graduate programs, members of the Council who are not also regular members of the Graduate Faculty will be excused.
- Chair. The chair of the College Council will, in most cases, be the Associate Dean.
- Duties. The College Council advises the Dean, who reserves the right to consult with other interested parties such as the College Administrative Council, on undergraduate and graduate academic affairs. The College Council is authorized to:
1. recommend improvements in all undergraduate and graduate programs of the College
2. review and either endorse or reject proposed changes in the undergraduate and graduate curriculum.
3. report its decisions to the dean for transmittal to the Academic or Graduate Council. The dean will report both his/her and the committee's recommendations to the appropriate Council for all curricular matters.
- Meetings. The chair of the committee will call the meetings after consulting the schedule of the membership. Meetings will normally be held monthly.
Section 9: The College Awards Committee
A. Membership. Each unit shall elect one faculty member to serve on the College Awards Committee.
B. Chair. The chair of the College Awards Committee shall be elected by the members of the Committee.
C. Duties. The College Awards Committee shall establish College Awards, solicit nominations and select the faculty/staff to be recognized.
D. Meetings. The Dean of the College will convene the Committee at the beginning of the Fall semester and the chair of the Committee will call meetings after he/she is elected.
Section 10: The College Staff Advisory Committee
A. Membership. The staff in each unit shall select one staff member to serve on the College Staff Advisory Committee.
B. Chair. The chair of the College Staff Advisory Committee shall be elected by the members of the Committee.
C. Duties. The College Staff Advisory Committee shall consider important matters affecting staff in the College and shall recommend action to the Dean.
D. Meetings. The Dean of the College will convene the Committee at the beginning of the Fall semester and the chair of the Committee will call meetings after he/she is elected.
Section 11: The College Research/Creative Activity Committee
A. Membership. Six members will be selected. Two of the members will be the College's representatives to the University Research Council, and four will be appointed by the Dean, with advice from the Unit Chairs/Directors, for three-year terms, staggered as to term. The two URC members will be selected according to the procedure outlined in that committee's bylaws.
B. Chair. The Chair will be elected by members of the Committee.
C. Meetings. This Committee will meet at least once each semester.
D Duties
- Encourage and enhance the quality of scholarship and external funding performance in the College of Arts and Letters.
- Review, rank, and forward recommendations to the University Research Council for the College’s Summer Faculty Research Grants during each fall semester
- Communicate research concerns of the college to the University Research Council.
- Represent the college to the University Research Council and the Vice President for Research and Economic Development in matters relating to research and creative activities.
Section 12: The College Student Advisory Committee
A. Membership. The College's elected representatives to the Student Government Association shall comprise the Student Advisory Committee.
B. Chair. The Dean or Associate Dean will normally chair the meetings.
C. Meetings. This Committee will meet at least once each semester.
D Duties
- Encourage and enhance the quality of all interactions between the faculty and staff and students in the College of Arts and Letters.
- Provide feedback and advise as requested on proposed changes in student policies and procedures in the College of Arts and Letters.
- The Committee may have other duties from time to time as assigned by the Dean.
Article VI. Units* of the College
Section 1. Operations. Each faculty member of a unit has the right to "participate" in decision-making in unit business (except for matters delegated to Unit Personnel Committees and/or Tenure and Promotion Committees). "Participate" as used here means to be informed and to be heard. Faculty recommendations are subject to review by higher administrative authority. Nothing in this paragraph shall be so construed as to prevent faculty from forwarding their views to higher authorities.
Section 2. Meetings. Each unit shall hold faculty meetings at least once each semester. Meetings may be convened by the chair/director or at the request of fifty (50) percent of the faculty.
A quorum shall consist of not less than one-half of the eligible faculty. Minutes of all meetings must be kept and distributed to the eligible members.
Section 3. Title, Responsibility, Appointment, and Tenure of Executive Officers.
A. Title. The specific title of the executive of each unit of the College shall be recommended to IHL by the Dean, provost and president.
B. Responsibilities. The unit chair/director is both a faculty member and an administrator, being an integral member of the administration. Reporting to the Dean, the unit chair/director is the chief administrative officer of the unit, responsible for the general direction and supervision of the unit. The unit chair/director is also responsible for the preparation and administration of the unit budget and for making appropriate recommendations to the Dean regarding personnel needs. The unit chair/director leads the department in determining educational policy and implementing institutional policies. This includes establishing curricula, schedules, unit majors, and graduation requirements. The unit chair/director encourages excellence in teaching and engages the faculty in the evaluation of teaching. The unit chair/director is directly responsible for developing the unit faculty, encouraging research, establishing standards of instruction, evaluating instruction, and making recommendations to the Dean regarding salaries, promotions, tenure, and retention. Duties of the unit chair/director are described in the Faculty Handbook.
C. Appointment.
- When an unforeseen vacancy occurs in the position of an executive either by retirement, resignation, or removal if necessary, the Dean of the College shall submit to the provost a nomination for acting executive.
- When seeking to replace an executive, the Dean and the unit shall decide whether the search will be limited to internal candidates or include external candidates. If either wishes to include external candidates, then such candidates will be included.
- Once the search parameters have been defined, the Dean of the College shall create a search committee comprised of members of the unit, and shall name a search committee chair from outside of the unit.
- A written report of the recommendation of the search committee and the results of a recommendation of the entire faculty of the unit shall be forwarded to the Dean of the College.
- The Dean of the College will forward the recommendation to the Provost and President along with his/her recommendation.
D. Tenure. Executive officers are eligible for tenure in the academic rank only under normal procedures outlined elsewhere in these Bylaws and in the Faculty Handbook.
Section 4. Review of Executive Officers.
- Review. Executives shall be reviewed annually by the Dean. The Dean shall have the right and responsibility to initiate an earlier review when deemed necessary.
- Review Procedure. The review will normally be conducted during the spring semester, and shall include consideration of the results of any evaluation conducted by the faculty of the unit. This will include a review of past performance and establishment of new goals and objectives for the upcoming year.
*Units refer to the academic divisions of the College such as department, school, etc.
Article VII. Election of College Representatives
Election of representatives of the College to Faculty Senate, Council of Chairs, Staff Council, Academic Council, Graduate Council, Research Council, Human Subjects Protection Review Committee, Professional Education Council, Honors Council, Employee Mediation Program, etc. will be accomplished following the rules of the specific body.
Article VIII. Rules of Order
The College of Arts and Letters faculty or unit faculties, may adopt, by majority, rules of order. Points of order not so covered will be governed by Robert’s Rules of Order, latest edition, provided they are not in conflict with these by-laws or the University Faculty Handbook.
Article IX. Implementation and Amendment of By-Laws
Section 1. Implementation. These By-Laws and any subsequent amendments shall become effective immediately after their adoption by a majority (50% plus 1) of the regular College faculty and approval of the Dean, Provost(s) and President. Ballots shall be distributed and voting at the college level shall be by secret ballot as regards establishment of these By-Laws.
Section 2. Amendment. These By-Laws can be amended or repealed, in part or whole, at any called meeting of the College by a two-thirds majority of those present and voting, provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing to each faculty member of the College at least two weeks in advance of the meeting or at the previous meeting.
Section 3. Subrogation to Faculty Handbook. In the event any provisions of these By-Laws should conflict or be inconsistent with the Faculty Handbook, or any other University policy or regulation, the Faculty Handbook and University policies or regulations shall be controlling.
The College of Arts and Letters
118 College Drive #5004
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
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Liberal Arts Building (LAB), Room 210
Dr. Michael A. Miles was named director of the School of Music and assumed his position as “The Music Man” in July 2008.
Leon Contavesprie recently earned Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for The Pillowman by the 20th Annual Big Easy Entertainment Awards (held March 24, 2008) at Harrah’s Casino Theatre.