GovernanceA1

The Department of Art is governed by a chair. In addition, an elected Curriculum Committee and an appointed Graduate Program Coordinator oversee general education, undergraduate and teacher education and graduate curricula. The Personnel Committee is charged annually with reviewing faculty professional portfolios for evidence of excellence in teaching, creativity or scholarship and service. Personnel decisions are made in accordance with the reappointment tenure and promotion procedures of Central Washington University, the College of Arts and Humanities, and the Department of Art’s Tenure and Reappointment Criteria and Guidelines. In compliance with the Faculty Code, the Personnel Committee members act on behalf of the department faculty on all personnel procedures related to annual performance reviews, reappointment, promotion, tenure and merit. Program assessment is a department concern that is embraced by the chair and Personnel Committee. Department program assessment measures include our annual Faculty Performance Review. (Please see Appendix A for Department of Art Tenure, Promotion, and Reappointment Guidelines) Issues emerging from the Personnel Committee, Curriculum Committee and the Graduate Program Coordinator are placed on the department meeting agendas by the department chair. An elected Awards and Scholarship Committee, Faculty Senator and Alternate, and various ad hoc committees when required, provide additional support and guidance impacting the internal affairs of the department. This structure promotes effectiveness, accountability and a maximum involvement by faculty in decision making.

The department meets twice a month during the academic year, and also holds periodic retreats for longer-session projects. Department meetings are open to all faculty and staff members. Decisions are made by the faculty as a whole, with voting privileges on matters brought to a vote reserved for full-time faculty. The Department Chair is a half-time position. There is a department secretary, a business manager for student media, and a coordinator for the Bridges Project.

The department uses a committee structure that reviews all major questions and recommend solutions to the department.

Curriculum Committee:
Made up of no fewer than three (3) members of the full-time communication faculty, with at least two being tenured. The remaining member(s) must be on tenure-track. Members are appointed annually by the Department Chair. Chair of the committee is selected by its members.

Responsibilities:
Review all undergraduate curricula proposals for appropriateness to meet department and university mission, goals, student needs, and accreditation standards.

Assist the chair with curricular issues.

Assist with undergraduate assessment.

Assist with preparation of the quarterly class schedule and faculty load summary to ensure that department courses do not conflict with each other in the quarterly schedule.

Assist with departmental program review and accreditation processes.

Establish and maintain a faculty expertise list for staffing various courses.

Review department curricula in a staggered cycle, one major per year.

Personnel Committee:
Made up of three (3) members of the full-time communication faculty, all tenured. If needed, a full-time tenured member of another department may serve as a member. The Department Chair may also appoint non-tenured faculty for specific, decisions where allowed by the Faculty Code. Members are appointed annually by the Department Chair. Chair of the committee is selected by its members. The Department Chair will schedule the first meeting of the year.

Screening Committee:
Made up of three (3) full-time members of the department faculty, all tenured or tenure- track. Staggered two-year terms. Chair of the committee is selected by its members.

Responsibilities:
Review the applications of students applying to department majors each quarter. Select those qualified and report the findings to the department faculty for approval.

Review grievance materials submitted by students not found to be qualified for major acceptance. Send action recommendations to the Department Chair.

Assign advisees to department faculty members each quarter, in consultation with each faculty member.
Keep Department apprised each quarter of the faculty advising load.

Monitor and propose changes to the departmental admissions process.

January, 2008
In general, since the Computer Science Department consists of five full-time faculty members, the department uses a committee-of-the-whole approach to its committees and, being a small department, attempts to seek consensus on most issues. Four committees carry out departmental business. When consensus cannot be achieved, voting is by majority of faculty present (refer to the CS Policy Manual).

Department Operations Committee - All full-time faculty members meet weekly to review the general business of the department. This business includes budget allocations, use of resources, university issues, and departmental, college and university policy.

Personnel Committee - The composition of the committee varies depending on the type of evaluation under consideration. At some point during the year all faculty will participate in at least one evaluation consideration (Performance Adjsutment and/or Compression Adjustment). Precise composition of the committees for Retention, Promotion, Tenure and Post-tenure evaluation is described by university policy and augmented in the CS Policy Manual and may include external faculty members.

Curriculum Committee - All full-time faculty members meet several times annually to consider topics such as peer evaluation of teaching, in-depth review of courses, new courses, curriculum structure, and program assessment.

Search Committee - All full-time faculty members (augmented as necessary to meet diversity composition goals) meet when faculty positions become available.

ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT: ORGANIZATION ANI) GOVERNANCE 
The DOE is a member of the COB along with the Department of Accounting and the Department of Business Administration. The DOE consists of seven fill-time faculty, one part-time faculty who teaches jointly for DOE and the Department of Business Administration, one secretary, and one work- study student, as seen in Table 1. 

A dual chair arrangement exists for the DOE. Currently, Bob Carbaugh chairs the department during the Summer and Fall quarters and Koushik Ghosh chairs during the Winter and Spring quarters. This arrangement allows these individuals to not stagnate in university administration while maintaining themselves as productive scholars. This structure is an organizational innovation at Central Washington University which manages a department through shared leadership. The department chairs are able to retain maximum scholarly productivity which allows them to serve as role models for faculty peers. Department chairs are able to lead by example through their participation in teaching, scholarship, and service.

ADMINISTRATION

University departments are groupings of teaching and research personnel, organized around traditional academic disciplines. As such, departments have as their primary responsibilities the instruction of students and the development and supervision of programs to facilitate and to improve instruction. Research and/or creative work by faculty members is also a matter of importance to the departments as is service to the University, community, and the state. Each department has its own budget, used in support of such items as travel, supplies, student help, telephone, and equipment.

The Department of Education functions under a system of shared decision-making and strong executive leadership. The establishment of basic policy is the responsibility of the faculty as provided under the University’s Faculty Code and is developed through a system of interrelated committees established by the Department. All policies are subject to the continued review by the faculty at regularly scheduled and/or special meetings of the Department. Scheduled department meetings typically occur once a month on a schedule provided by the chair.

DEPARTMENT CHAIR:

The University administration expects department chairs to be leaders in developing strong teaching, research, public service, and academic programs within their departments. They are responsible to the department for staff selection, retention, tenure, and promotion of department personnel and the preparation and administration of departmental budgets. They are subject to the University Faculty Code and policies and procedures established by the faculty of the department. They are also subject to the authority of their dean. The chair of the department is the executive head of the faculty and is expected to keep the faculty regularly informed with respect to personnel, budget, staffing and related program matters through regular faculty meetings and other means as appropriate.

PROGRAMS AND PROGRAM COORDINATORS

The faculty are organized into programs, which represent traditional areas of expertise within the field of education. Generally, most of a faculty member’s teaching load will be conducted in one program. Program faculty are responsible for the programs which are offered by those faculty.

Programs representing significant and coherent courses of study are established by the faculty to assist in the management of the Department’s teaching activities.

Program coordinators are elected annually in the spring by the active faculties of the designated programs, and provide leadership for their programs. The Department Chair and program faculty should look to their program coordinators for guidance, counsel, and leadership in matters related to their program.

Specific responsibilities may be assigned to program coordinators by the department chair and may include, but are not restricted to the following:

1. Coordinate curriculum and program development in the program and with other programs.
2. Develop annual class schedules including summer programs, and cooperate in the hiring of faculty.
3. Disseminate information about the program.
4. Assist in student advisement.
5. Plan and coordinate special efforts and activities related to the particular interests of the program.

Governance within the department is fairly straightforward and simple. The chair is tasked with the day-to-day administrative management of personnel and budgetary oversight of the department’s fiscal resources. Additionally, there are the following standing committees: 

Curriculum and Scheduling Committee:  Members make recommendations to the department as to how changes in curriculum and scheduling can improve the quality of programmatic offerings and service to the university. 

Personnel Committee:  This is a committee of the whole department. There is an elected chair who oversees the process of recommending department faculty for promotion and tenure. 

Scholarship Committee:  This committee consists of three department members who oversee the process whereby scholarship monies are disbursed. There are three scholarships awarded yearly to students working towards majors within the department. 

Ad hoc committees:  Occasionally, emergent issues have resulted in ad hoc committees being formed. Examples are promotion and tenure policy formulation, and planning for department supported activities, i.e., Foreign Languages Day, International Education and World Languages Day.

STANDARDS 6, 7, 8, AND 9 UPDATED FEBRUARY, 2008
The Department of Geological Sciences consists of tenure-track faculty, non- tenure-track full and part-time faculty, classified staff and administrative exempt staff. All of the faculty and all of the staff members, except one, report to the Department Chair. One administrative exempt staff member, a Systems Administrator, works half time in the Geological Sciences Department and half-time in the Geography and Land Studies Department and reports to the Dean of the College of the Sciences. The remainder of the administrative exempt staff works in the Pacific Northwest Geodetic Array (PANGA) Data Processing Center under the directorship of Dr. Timothy Melbourne, who is a tenure-track faculty member in the department.

Many governance tasks in the department are accomplished with a committee of the whole; the department strives to govern by consensus. The committee of the whole (all department faculty, including non-tenure track) meets once per week. At these meetings, faculty discuss and plan actions in areas of curriculum, use of resources, student advising and recruiting, and department policy. Groundwork and recommendations from other committees are often presented and discussed at these meetings.

In cases where it is not appropriate to make decisions in this way, committees are established.

Personnel Committee—The personnel committee reviews faculty performance for reappointment, promotion, tenure, and post-tenure review. This committee typically consists of associate and full professors except the department chair; membership is in accordance with the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Therefore, at times, tenured faculty from other departments have been asked to serve on the Geological Sciences personnel committee when there were not enough tenured faculty for a tenure and/or promotion case.

Search Committees — When faculty or staff are hired, a search committee is formed, consisting of three to four faculty or staff members appointed by the Department Chair or the Director of PANGA (for hiring PANGA staff). At times, students or personnel from outside the department are included on search committees to satisfy diversity requirements and provide essential feedback for a particular position. The search committee is responsible for drafting a position description, developing screening criteria, and performing applicant screening until the final candidates are selected. In most cases, the final recommendation (made to the hiring authority, typically the College of the Sciences Dean) is made by the tenure-track faculty, with input from all members of the department (as well as students). In the case of PANGA hires, the final decision is that of the PANGA Director.

Graduate Committee — This committee examines the graduate program policy and procedures, curriculum, and graduate admissions. All regular graduate faculty serve on this committee.

A department chair working with a philosophy of shared governance and consensus administers the department.   The department chair is elected every four years by the department faculty and approved by the Dean of the College of Education and Professional Studies.  The faculty members of each program select program coordinators or they are appointed by the department chair.  Each program coordinator meets with the faculty members of their programs to discuss issues of advising, curriculum, scheduling, program coordination, fund raising, and student activities.  

The department follows the collective bargining agreement as the governing document on issues of schedule, workload, credit hours, and all other matters of personnel management.  The department chair serves as the administrative head for all matters and is also assisted by the several committees.  Department committees are used to advise the department chair and the department on pertinent issues.  These committees are:
Personnel Committee, Scholarship Committee, Hogue Technology Renovation and Addition Committee.

The department currently has seven tenured and/or tenure-track faculty, three full time non-tenure track instructors, two full time exempt faculty; five part-time adjuncts, one three-quarter-time civil service employee, and three part-time student employees.

The department chair is elected every four years by the department faculty and approved by the CEPS Dean.  All faculty members report directly to the department chair.  The department chair is responsible for the oversight of all majors and programs and faculty, adjuncts, and civil service members of the department.  The department chair serves as the administrative head for personnel issues.

A personnel committee, consistent with the CBA, elects a personnel committee each year. The personnel committee is our only standing committee; any other duties/issues are handled by the department as a whole.

The department is headed by the chair who is provided administrative support from the secretary senior, and seeks guidance in decision making from the faculty. Each center (Des Moines, Lynnwood, Pierce County and Yakima) has a tenured/tenure track faculty member serving as director.
In addition to the secretary senior, in 2005, a part-time office assistant was added. In fall of 2006, the secretary senior for the past 6 years left the department to pursue a criminal justice career. The past two years have been one of transition and stabilization. In fall 2007, part of the responsibilities of the part time office assistant became pre-admission advising in order to bridge the gap between admission to the major and assignment to faculty advisor. In spring 2008, the secretary senior transferred to another department, and the person holding pre-admission advising/office assistant was promoted to another secretary senior while continuing in the pre-admission advising role. This person also left the department the end of summer, 2008. In fall 2008, CWU alumni Sharon Talley filled the secretary senior position, and Crystal Boothman filled the part time office assistant/pre-admission advising position.

Organizational Chart 2008-2009
Department of Law and Justice

Charles Reasons  (Chair)
Sharon Talley    (Secretary Senior)
Crystal Boothman (Office Assistant III)	

Ellensburg
Charles Reasons  (Professor)
Mike Olivero     (Professor)
Sarah Britto     (Assoc Prof)
James Roberts    (Assoc Prof)
Teresa Francis   (Assist Prof)
Cathy Busha      (Full-time Lecturer)
(Adjuncts)

Des Moines
Center Director, Mary Ellen Reimund (Assoc Prof)
(Adjuncts) 

Lynnwood
Center Director, Krystal Noga-Styron (Assist Prof)                      
Robert Moore      (Full-time Lecturer)
(Adjuncts)

Pierce
Center Director, Key Sun (Assoc Prof)
(Adjuncts)

Yakima 
Center Director, Rodrigo Murataya (Assoc Prof)
(Adjuncts)

The departmental governance system is based on the traditional model of collective responsibility.  The Department Chairman has a range of prescribed responsibilities associated with student approvals, determining teaching schedules, maintaining departmental finances, ensuring the BSBA program and the Business Administration Minor suits the needs of the institution, community, students and faculty, and ensuring compliance with University, CB and Department policies and procedures.  There are also particular responsibilities associated with determining annual faculty workloads, reappointment, tenure, promotion and post-tenure review.  These responsibilities derive from issues covered by CWU CBA. 

To determine departmental policies and procedures, the model used begins with issues or ideas proposed by the Department Chair, a department committee, an individual faculty member, or a group of faculty.  The issue will be discussed in a department meeting, either face-to-face meeting or via DE, and a collective decision determined.  In most cases there is no need to vote, but rather consensus is reached.  For some controversial issues a vote will be held.  For many issues the Department of Management has adopted the policies and practices of the former Business Administration Department.

The Department Chair is primarily responsible for making/approving decisions that affect the entire department.  In many cases information is distributed and gathered via bi-weekly (approximately) department meetings.  In many instances (faculty searches, curriculum changes, textbook decisions, student awards/scholarships) ad hoc committees are convened to bring recommendations to the department as a whole.  Based on a simple majority vote a decision is made.  The chair oversees that the decision is conveyed to appropriate parties.

Because of the complexity of the department, the chair relies on specific designated personnel/directors to offer sound recommendations that pertain to specific programs.  In particular we currently employ the following directors:

Director/Chief Advisor of Secondary Education, Mark Oursland;
Director/Chief Advisor of Actuarial Science, Yvonne Chueh;
Chief Advisor for BA/BS Mathematics, Tim Englund;
Director of MAT Graduate Program, Michael Lundin;
Director of University Math Center, Erin Lee;
Mathematics GEAR UP and Cornerstone Director, Nancy Budner.

The above faculty members act as liaisons and chief policy advisors to the chair regarding their appropriate programs.

A full-time Chair on an eleven-month contract administers the Music Department, assisted by a ½ time Associate Chair on a nine-month contract.  Much of the responsibility of the Associate Chair is taken with the duties of serving as the Graduate Advisor/Coordinator.  Since the department’s activities are more complex than most academic departments, the governance system is likewise more complex.  There are a total of five staff members working the full time equivalent 4.25 positions during the academic year.  During summer months the staff is reduced to 2.75 FTE positions.

1. Full-time Secretary Supervisor: 12 month
2. Full-time Hall Manager: 12 month
3. ¾ time Piano Technician: 11 month
3. ½ time Fiscal technician: 9 month
4. ½ time Office Assistant: 9 month
5. ½ time Recording/Audio technician: 9 month

Although the total available secretarial and technical support does not match national averages even for music units much smaller than this department, the present staff members are uniformly collegial, expert and efficient, and their willingness to do their utmost to make the program successful is highly appreciated.

The Physics Department has approximately 5.5 FTE faculty, consisting of 3.5 full-time tenured/tenure-track faculty, one full-time non-tenure-track faculty and two adjuncts (equivalent to 1 FTE). The Department also has two staff members; a full-time Instruction and Classroom Support Technician and a part-time Senior Secretary (half-time, 9 months). The Department Chair oversees all of the department personnel. The Physics Department also employs some students as research assistants, teaching assistants and office assistants on a part-time who are supervised by faculty and staff.

The Department has several standing committees that include: the Personnel Committee, the Assessment Committee and the Department Committee of the Whole. In the latter committee, all physics faculty meet to discuss department business. Department meetings consist of general discussion and information items, reports from department representatives and committees, and action items. While the Department Chair is the focal point of most department decisions, the Chair seeks the advice, consensus and approval on all issues that affect the Department. The Department Chair sets the agenda for department meetings and keeps the meetings flowing. The Physics Department also has ad-hoc committees that arise when needed (such as Search and Screen Committees).

Regarding committee composition, the Department Chair requests volunteers from the Department’s faculty (and staff when appropriate). Every attempt to accommodate volunteers is made (unless they are simply not eligible).

Perhaps ironically, given our field of study, the Department of Political Science has a rather informal and simple governance structure. There are essentially two formal institutions, the Department Chair and the Personnel Committee. The Department Chair is chiefly involved in conducting the day-to-day administrative and decision-making functions of the Department and other roles such as signatory authority, supervision of support staff, and liaison with the Dean of the College of the Sciences and higher administration, etc. The Chair also has an independent evaluation and oversight role on personnel matters.

During four of the five years under review, Dr. Jim Brown was Chair of the Department. A full professor who had previously served in the position in the 1980s, he brought experience and stability to the position. Upon his rather sudden retirement at the end of 2004-05, Associate Professor Todd Schaefer was elected by the Department and formally appointed by the Dean, and in 2005-06 was in his first year in that or any such capacity. He continues his term in 2006-07.

The Personnel Committee works in conjunction with the Chair to deliberate and formally recommend upon matters of reappointment, tenure, promotion, merit and the like. The Chair of the Personnel Committee, a tenured faculty member, organizes and directs its operations, meetings, and business. For 2001-04, Todd Schaefer was the Chair; and for 05-06 (and continuing) Prof. Bang-Soon Yoon has held that post.

Voting is limited by the CBA contract (previously, from 2001-05, the Faculty Code) to tenured members for tenure, and appropriately "ranked" members for each rank (absent the candidate, of course), though tenure-track assistant professors participate in the deliberations except for their own reappointment. [Note: this changed under the new amended bargaining agreement for 2008-.]

On other matters, the Department generally operates on a Committee of the Whole approach, owing to its small size. All full-time faculty are allowed to attend, participate in, and vote at faculty meetings, except where personnel and other related matters are concerned; adjunct faculty are allowed to attend and participate only. Department meetings, held periodically (at least once per term) when important matters are at hand or enough issues arise to warrant them, are the informal consulting and decision-making mechanism for greater-than-mundane issues that affect the department collectively or multiple members of its faculty.

The Department also creates ad-hoc committees such as faculty searches, as well, which may or may not equal the whole, though we attempt to maximize participation where feasible.

Department policies and procedures follow that in the Department Personnel manual and those of the College and University policies.

The Department is supported by a Secretary Senior (on a part-year contact) and a work-study student assistant who are vital to its operations. In Summer of 2006, we undertook a search to replace Ms. Linda Rubio, our Secretary and guiding star for the past five years; happily, Ms. Cyndie Strawder took the job and began in September 2006. We note this only because, like with our faculty, our staff is in transition or relatively new as well.
Jan. 08

(January 2008)
The chair of the Department of Psychology is the supervisor of its faculty and staff. The dean appoints him or her for a four-year term, following an election by the full time faculty of the department. The department is supported by 4.75 FTE staff personnel, as indicated in the organizational chart. The psychology department has a history of stable leadership. The current chair, Dr. Stephanie Stein, began her service in 2005.
 
Personnel recommendations to the dean are made independently by the department chair and a three-person personnel committee of full professors elected by the full-time faculty. These recommendations are guided by departmental and college policies for retention, tenure, and promotion. Other standing committees of the department are the (a) Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, (b) Counseling and School Counseling Psychology Program Committee, (c) School Psychology Program Committee, (d) Experimental Psychology Program Committee, (e) Graduate Admissions Committee, (f) Assessment Committee, (g) Advisory Committee, and Education Sequence Committee. 

Three academic program directors receive reassigned time for their duties. Dr. Robert Brammer directs the graduate programs in mental health counseling and school counseling. Dr. Eugene Johnson directs the graduate program in school psychology. Together they direct the Community Counseling and Psychological Assessment Center, our training clinic. Dr. Jeffrey Penick is the director of the undergraduate gerontology program.

Organizational Structure
Creating and embedding an organizational chart can be challenging. This hierarchical list should communicate our 2007-2008 department structure. 

A. Department Chair, Dr. Stephanie Stein
      A.1 Thirteen tenured faculty members
      A.2 Five tenure-track probationary faculty members
      A.3 Five full time non-tenure-track faculty members in Ellensburg, Des Moines, 
              Lynnwood, and Pierce County
      A.4 Fourteen part-time faculty members in Ellensburg Des Moines, 
              Lynnwood, and Pierce County
      A.5 Estelle Mathews, Secretary Lead, Department Office
            A.5.a Donna Miglino, Secretary, Department Office
      A.6 Loretta Ney, Secretary Lead, CCPAC
      A.7 Chris Buchanan, Engineering Technician III
            A.7.a John Street, Engineering Technician II
All department committees report to the chair and to the department as a whole. 

Standing Committees

Personnel Committee 
Warren Street (chair, term ends 2009)
Steve Schepman (term ends 2008)
Gene Johnson (term ends 2010)

Undergraduate Curriculum Committee
Megan Matheson (chair)
Susan Lonborg
Anthony Stahelski
Marte Fallshore
Terry Schwartz

Assessment Committee
Warren Street (chair)
Steve Schepman
Megan Matheson
Kara Gabriel
Phil Tolin

Graduate Admissions Committee
Andrew Downs (chair)
Rob Brammer
Gene Johnson
Wendy Williams

MS Experimental Program Committee
Wendy Williams (chair)
Susan Lonborg
Megan Matheson
Warren Street 
Kara Gabriel
Marte Fallshore
Terry DeVietti

MS Mental Health Counseling & MEd School Counseling Program Committee
Rob Brammer (chair)
Jeff Penick
Andrew Downs 
Jennifer Cates
Scott Schaefle
Stephanie Stein (ex officio)

MEd School Psychology Program Committee
Gene Johnson (chair)
Michelle Montgomery
Stephanie Stein

Undergraduate Advisement Committee
Susan Lonborg (chair)
Owen Dugmore
Scott Schaefle
Terry Schwartz

Education Sequence Committee
Michelle Montgomery (chair)
Terry Schwartz 
Jennifer Cates 
Scott Schaefle

Ad Hoc Committees

School Psychology Search Committee (2 positions) 
Gene Johnson (chair)
Michelle Montgomery
Jennifer Cates
Adrian Elmo

ABA Experimental Search Committee
Andrew Downs (chair)
Wendy Williams
Libby Street
Crystal Wang

Des Moines Search Committee 
Steve Schepman (chair)
Anthony Stahelski
Megan Matheson 
Key Sun

Ellensburg Experimental Search Committee
Warren Street (chair)
Marte Fallshore
Scott Schaefle
Jonathan Douglas

Mental Health Counseling Search Committee
Rob Brammer
Liane Pereira
Jeff Penick
Scott Schaefle

Chair Advisory Committee
Phil Tolin
Terry DeVietti
Warren Street
Megan Matheson
Andrew Downs

Department Liaisons
Union Representative:  Anthony Stahelski
Faculty Senators: Kara Gabriel, Michelle Montgomery. Alternate: Rob Brammer
Library Representative: Megan Matheson
ESD Developmental Preschool Liaison: Andrew Downs
School Psychology PEAB: Gene Johnson
School Counseling PEAB: Scott Schaefle
CTL: Rob Brammer, Scott Schaefle

Other Department Service 
Psi Chi/Psychology Club Advisor: Rob Brammer and Wendy Williams (co-advisors)
Department statistical advisor: Terry DeVietti
Des Moines Major /Minor Program Advisor: Steve Schepman
Lynnwood Minor Program Advisor: Ed Kingston
Pierce Minor Program Advisor: Mark Soelling

The Department of Sociology has two governing structures whose most important duties are to oversee reappointment, tenure, promotion and merit decisions—the department chair and the department personnel committee. The department chair is appointed by the Dean of the College of the Sciences in consultation with department faculty. The personnel committee is composed of all full-time faculty members assigned to the department. As is the case with the department chair, all full-time faculty members are eligible to vote on who will serve as chair of the personnel committee. The committee’s chair is the second most important organizational position in the department; this individual typically works directly with the department chair in all personnel matters (searches, merit, tenure and promotion processes, etc.). Typically all full-time faculty members sit on this committee and are allowed to participate in discussions and have voting rights. In instances in which the Faculty Code specifically limits voting rights (e.g., tenure decisions) voting rights are restricted to tenured associate and full professors, and the department chair is not permitted to vote in these situations regardless of tenure or faculty rank. The department chair and personnel committee are guided by the procedures and principles outlined in the department’s Personnel Manual, the Faculty Code, and other university policy manuals. They operate independently and make separate recommendations on matters pertaining to the above personnel issues.

With approximately seven full- and an average of 2-3 part-time faculty members per quarter, plus six full- and part-time staff members, the Theatre Arts Department can be considered a small-to-medium sized unit, however, due to having essentially three programs operating at any given time [undergraduate, graduate, and production season], each with its own budget, its governance is somewhat more complex than normal.  

The department chair oversees the daily operation of administration, budgeting, and scheduling the academic segment of the department as a whole and the undergraduate program specifically.  A Director of Summer Institute oversees the daily operation of administration and scheduling the Master’s program and the Summer Institute assisted by the Graduate coordinator.  An Artistic Director and a Production Manager oversee the daily operation of  administration, budgeting, and scheduling Central Theatre Ensemble’s annual production season.

QUESTION: GovernanceA1