Indiana University
Department of Philosophy
Faculty Governing Procedures
(Approved April 19, 1996)
Section 1: Background.
We are not a large Department. A lot of procedural and structural apparatus
is not really required for departmental governance. The other side of that
coin is that it is relatively easy to sample informally the opinions of the
faculty and the graduate and undergraduate student bodies. Much of the Department's
business is handled through appointed committees, departmental officers, and
sometimes through individually delegated tasks on an ad hoc basis. In general;
decision making is diffused through a structure of relatively autonomous departmental
committees and offices. Issues of Department policy, by contrast, are handled
by majority vote in which all faculty may cast ballots.
Section 2: Faculty.
For the purposes of this document, "faculty" shall include all
and only tenured or tenure track faculty in the Philosophy Department.
Section 3: Meetings.
(a) Mandated Meetings: Two departmental meetings with specific
agenda items are mandated each year:
- the first meeting of the fall semester (to occur no later than three
weeks after the start of classes) when the committee and other assignments
proposed by the departmental Chair are to be discussed and voted on; and
- the meeting in the spring semester (to occur in late February or very
early March) when graduate student applicants and the Department's continuing
students not yet admitted to candidacy are to be discussed, and basic
decisions about fellowships and Alships are to be made.
(b) Additional Meetings: Additional departmental meetings shall
be called by the Chair, as needed, either at his/her own discretion or at
the request of three or more members of the departmental faculty. In the
latter case, the notice of the meeting shall be given and the meeting itself
held without undue delay. Timely notice of each meeting and a proposed agenda
are to be distributed by the Chair to all persons currently in residence
who are entitled to attend such meetings.
(c) Minutes: Minutes shall be kept, by an appointed Secretary,
of all departmental meetings. Minutes of executive sessions shall include
only a record of motions and resolutions passed.
(d) Eligibility to Attend: Persons eligible to attend departmental
meetings shall include:
- all regular faculty (as defined in Section 2);
- emeriti;
- adjunct faculty;
- visiting teaching faculty;
- part-time faculty;
- departmental graduate students; and
- a duly elected representative of the undergraduate majors.
Others wishing to attend need the permission of the Agenda Committee.
(e) Agenda Committee & Parliamentarian: An appointed Agenda
Committee shall work with the Chair to prepare, for distribution in advance,
agendas of departmental meetings. An appointed Parliamentarian shall be
charged with seeing that those meetings transpire in an efficient and orderly
way.
(f) Executive Session: The Department shall meet in an executive
session when dealing with any question of individual personnel, including
questions concerning individual members of the faculty or staff or individual
students. Departmental meetings can legitimately move into executive session
either as antecedently scheduled by the Agenda Committee or at the discretion
of the Chair. Those eligible to attend such executive sessions will be some
or all of the Department's faculty (as explained below) together with explicitly
invited guests approved by the Chair. Where there is a conflict of interest,
a faculty member may absent him/herself from the executive session; or in
such a case, a majority of the faculty present may require some one or more
of the other members of the Department's faculty to absent themselves from
the executive session. All persons present are expected to respect the confidential
nature of discussions which take place in executive session.
(g) Attendance at Meetings: Among the normal service responsibilities
of the faculty and of the Graduate Association for Students in Philosophy's
and the undergraduates' representatives, if any, shall be attendance at
all meetings of the Department and meetings of the committees of which they
are members.
Section 4: Voting.
(a) Eligibility: Those eligible to vote in regular departmental
meetings shall be all and only the faculty, and GASP's representative (in
cases specified elsewhere in this document). Normally voting shall be in
Departmental meetings. At the Chair's discretion, however, certain issues
may be voted on by mail ballot.
(b) Proxies: Any person eligible to vote who has good reason to
be absent may entrust his/her vote to another regular member of the Department.
The person given a proxy needs to announce that fact at the opening of that
part of the meeting during which the item on which the proxy has been given
is discussed.
(c) Quorum: A quorum shall be constituted by the presence of two
thirds of those eligible to vote on the occasion in question and expected
to be present then (e.g., not on sabbatical leave or LWOP). Proxy votes
shall not count in determining a quorum. In emergency situations, however,
motions may be made and voted on in the absence of a quorum; such motions
will be passed if a number greater than half of that required for the quorum
approve them.
(d) Student Representation: The GASP shall be empowered to select
a student representative to departmental meetings. This representative will
have voting privileges on all matters which do not concern personnel and
are decided during open meetings. GASP is also empowered to select a representative
to be a voting member at open meetings of the Graduate Curriculum Committee,
Appointments Committee, the Recruiting Committee, the Graduate Student Admissions
Committee, and the Nelson Committee (there may be different representatives
for the different committees).
e) Balloting: There will be secret ballot votes on promotion, tenure
and appointment.
Section 5: Faculty Appointment, Reappointment, Promotion, and Tenure.
The following general principles and procedures for committees in these areas
are to be followed:
- The deliberations of each committee are strictly confidential;
- At the discretion of the chair, in consultation with the committee, certain
members of the Department who are not members of a committee will be given
an opportunity to present orally or in writing whatever ormation, opinion,
etc., they may have that relates to the issue under committee consideration;
this information will normally be gathered by the Chair and presented to
the committee, but any member of the Department who would rather speak to
the whole committee of which s/he is not a member will be given a hearing;
- Whenever promotion or reappointment involves tenure, the matter will be
discussed by the Tenure Committee; and
- Any person under consideration him/herself or with a special personal
relationship (e. g. spousal) to someone under consideration is excluded
from the relevant committee.
There shall be the following faculty committees:
(a) A Tenure Committee, consisting of all tenured faculty of the
Department. The Chair, or Acting Chair, will be a member even if s/he does
not have tenure.
(b) A Promotion and Reappointment Committee, consisting of all
faculty of the Department with higher rank than that of the person under
consideration. The Chair, or Acting Chair, will be a member even if s/he
is not of higher rank.
(c) An Appointment Committee, consisting of all faculty of the
Department and one representative from GASP.
In the spring before the academic year in which someone is to be considered
for promotion or tenure by the University, the candidate's viability for promotion
or tenure will be considered in the Department by the appropriate committee(s).
Normally the Chair will inform a candidate several weeks prior to these latter
committee meetings, so that the candidate will have adequate time to collect
the materials s/he wants the committee(s) to review. Subsequent to a positive
recommendation, the Chair shall notify the candidate and ask her/him to submit
a list of extra-Departmental referees and to prepare a dossier. Such a dossier
is to include a personal statement by the candidate concerning his or her
research or research plans, teaching, and service; samples of the candidate's
published works, or works accepted for publication, or works in progress;
and students' evaluations of courses (together with summaries of these evaluations)
and any other evidence pertaining to teaching.
At the discretion of the Chair, some of the Department's graduate students
(present or past), and some undergraduates (present or past) may be invited
to submit to the Chair evaluations of the candidates. Again, at the discretion
of the Chair, outside referees additional to those contacted directly by the
Dean's office may be notified by the Chair, after consultation with the candidates,
and invited to submit evaluations. Such further information and evaluations
as the Chair receives from these various sources are added to the candidates'
dossiers. All information within a dossier shall be available to the candidate.
The members of the relevant committees are notified that the dossiers have
been prepared, and those members are given sufficient time to read the dossiers
before the committees meet. It is expected that each member of each such committee
will have thoroughly familiarized him/herself with the contents of these dossiers
before the relevant committee meeting.
Certain specific issues in these areas shall be handled as follows:
(a) Reviews: Untenured faculty shall be reviewed prior to reappointment
decisions by the Promotion and Reappointment Committee, with a more extensive
review for reappointment during the fourth year toward tenure.
(b) Outside Offers: Where the faculty member is budgeted within
the Department, a Departmental response to an outside offer, actual or presumptive,
to that faculty member will include a recommendation of the Budget Committee.
Responses to such offers from outside the Department are to be brought to
the Budget Committee for its advice before being issued.
(c) Non-regular Faculty: The Appointment Committee shall ratify
any visiting, temporary, and emeritus teaching appointments, and shall have
brought before it for its approval the general nature of the offer made.
(d) Letters: Each candidate for promotion, tenure, or reappointment
is informed of the relevant committee's recommendation by the Chair, orally
or in writing, in a timely fashion after that recommendation has been made.
A written explanation of negative recommendations will be made by the Chair
on request.
(e) Recruitment: Normally, faculty openings, regular or visiting,
shall be publicly advertised. A Recruitment Committee will be appointed
to screen the resulting applications and the most promising candidates,
in order finally to bring a short list to the Appointment Committee. Openings
created by special circumstances, not calling for a search, need not be
publicly advertised but can be filled only after a vote by the Appointment
Committee. In filling any faculty position, the Appointment Committee shall
approve both the person who is to fill it and the general nature of the
offer made.
Section 6: Chair Appointment and Duties.
When the period of a chair's appointment draws to a close, the chair shall
call a meeting at which one of the major items of business is a discussion,
in executive session, among the faculty of whom they wish to be the next appointed
chair. There will be secret ballot voting on the matter, with the results
of the final vote communicated by the chair to the COAS dean, who makes the
appointment.
The Chair shall be responsible for the general administration of the Department,
in conjunction with the relevant committees and officers of the Department.
S/he shall preside at meetings of the Department, and shall be responsible
for issuing notices of meetings and proposed agendas. Except where an election
is explicitly called for or membership qualifications are fully defined, s/he
shall appoint all departmental committees, with, in most cases, approval of
the Department.
Section 7: Budget Committee.
(a) Composition: There shall be a faculty Budget Committee consisting
of three elected members plus the Chair. At least one elected member of
the committee shall be a non-full professor. Each member shall be elected
for a three-year term, with one member elected each year. Members will be
elected by a ballot in which all faculty members have voting rights and
are eligible for election.
(b) Jurisdiction: The committee has jurisdiction over budgetary
matters. On some matters it has a consultative role, such as salaries for
visiting, temporary, and emeritus teaching appointments, the funding of
AIs, meeting outside offers, and the use of S&E funds. On the issue
of continuing faculty salaries of those whose salaries are not determined
outside the department, the committee functions as an executive (decision-making)
committee. If a vote within the committee ends in a tie, the Chair may break
the tie by voting twice.
(c) Standards: The weighting of research, teaching, and service
for the purposes of salary evaluation shall be in a proportion set by the
Department. The committee shall make salary decisions in terms of exactly
three categories: across-the-board increases, merit, and equity.
(d) Late Distribution of Funds: The Chair shall insist to the Dean
of COAS that any late allocations of monies from the College coming after
the budget conference with COAS must be returned to the Department and its
budget committee for decisions on how the monies are to be distributed.
(e) Publicity: A summary sheet on the annual departmental budget
is to be available for any faculty member wishing to have it that includes:
- a statement of the system used in dividing monies received and its rationale;
- a list of faculty salaries for the coming year; and
- a history of each faculty member's dollar increases and average percentage
increases.
Section 8: Nelson Fund Committee.
There shall be a committee, including the Chair and a GASP representative
plus at least two appointed faculty members, whose task is to oversee the
use of Nelson funds and to recommend changes in guidelines for their use.
At the discretion of the chair, this committee's task may be carried out by
the Budget Committee.
Section 9: Office Procedures.
There shall be an Office Oversight Committee, appointed by the Chair. This
committee shall
(1) review office personnel yearly;
(2) take responsibility for hiring and retention of office personnel; and
(3) serve as a grievance committee.
Office work for faculty and others shall be done in accord with the current
version of "Office Rules and Procedures." Objections to those rules
are to be brought to the Oversight Committee.
Section 10: Academic Committees and Offices.
(a) Curriculum Committees: The Chair shall as needed appoint a
curriculum committee for the undergraduate program, and one for the graduate
program. The directors of undergraduate and graduate studies shall be members
of the respective committees. These committees may be consulted by the Directors
of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies on general matters of program. The
committees may make minor changes in curriculum on their own; major changes
and revisions are brought to the full department for discussion and decision.
GASP and the undergraduates are free to appoint a representative to their
respective committee.
(b) Undergraduate Studies: There shall be a Director of Undergraduate
Studies, appointed by the Chair. The DUS is primarily responsible for advising
undergraduate philosophy majors, overseeing their programs of study, making
recommendations about undergraduate curriculum and requirement changes,
and keeping in touch with such programs as the Honors Division and University
Division concerning matters of importance to our undergraduate program.
(c) Graduate Studies: There shall be a Director of Graduate Studies,
appointed by the Chair. The DGS is primarily responsible for advising graduate
students and overseeing their programs of study until they are admitted
to candidacy. During a graduate student's first year of study the DGS shall
appoint a mentor, who can also lend advice to the student, after a show
of preference by the student. The DGS's duties also include
- organizing a committee to make recommendations to the Department concerning
applicants to the program;
- consulting with the Chair about AI assignments; and
- annually informing graduate students about the departmental evaluation
of their work and progress.
(d) Course Teaching Assignments: Course preferences are solicited
and an appointed Scheduling Officer, in consultation with the Chair and
after consultation with the Directors of the Undergraduate and Graduate
Programs, makes assignments, trying to satisfy both seated preferences and
department needs, in such a way that courses at introductory, intermediate,
and graduate levels are equally distributed among all faculty members.
Section 11: Committee Assignments.
Appointments to non-elected departmental committees are made by the Chair
with, in most cases, approval of the department. These assignments are made
with an eye toward equitable distribution-of the burden as well as the abilities
and willingness of the faculty.
Particularly burdensome administrative appointments will normally be made
for a limited time period and sometimes with release from teaching. The DGS
and the DUS will generally be appointed for three year periods. The DGS and
the DUS will be released from teaching or remunerated in accordance with COAS
guidelines. A placement officer will be appointed for a one year term. Other
offices — such as the scheduling officer, the chairs of the computer
committee and the curriculum committees — are deemed not to involve
quite so heavy a load. However, those with continued service in these capacities
over an extended period of time or with exceptionally burdensome duties that
are limited and temporary may apply for Departmental funds for remuneration.
Section 12: Teaching Obligation.
Teaching staff have an obligation to meet all of their regularly scheduled
classes during the semester at the times and places they are scheduled, to
arrange final exams at the scheduled times, and to assign and submit final
course grades for their students in a timely manner. Variations in schedule
or substitution of instructor can be justified in the case of such things
as personal or family illness, accidents, funeral attendance, court and jury
duty, short military leave, delivery of invited lectures, and attendance at
organized professional meetings. When variations of schedule occur, or in
the event that regularly scheduled classes will not be met by the assigned
instructor, the faculty member should whenever possible notify the departmental
office before the class meeting. Failures to fulfill these obligations may
be called to the attention of the Budget Committee for appropriate action.
(For further responsibilities, see the College Statement on Faculty Responsibility
and the Dean of Faculties Academic Guide.)
Section 13: Adjunct Faculty.
Faculty members with adjunct appointments in Philosophy shall be welcome
to participate in the following activities:
- colloquia and other such philosophical functions;
- social functions associated with the above;
- other departmental social functions;
- departmental meetings, without voting status;
- departmental committees, on an as-needed basis;
- teaching courses in the department, on an ad hoc basis;
- Ph.D. theses as committee members or directors, as requested by a student.
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