Committees

The following Faculty committees shall report to the Steering Committee those matters to be brought before the Faculty. Membership and duties are as follows:

1. The Committee on Tenure and Reappointment will advise the Dean of the College and the President of the College on all matters of qualification for tenure and promotion to the rank of assistant or associate professor. Members of the committee shall exercise all duties imposed on the committee by the policies provided for by the Faculty in the document entitled Policies of Centre College Relative to Academic Freedom and the Evaluation of Faculty. The committee shall be formed in the following manner:

1. The committee shall consist of six members of the Faculty, two from each division, who have tenure, who have attained the rank of Associate Professor, and who are engaged in full-time teaching or research. The President of the Faculty and Division Chairs shall not be listed on the ballot. Eligible faculty serving on other elected committees will be included on the ballot, and if elected, shall be released from other elected positions. One member of the Tenure and Promotion committee shall retire each July in rotation and be replaced by another qualified member of the Faculty as specified below.
2. The selection each year of a new member of the committee shall be by Faculty election, usually conducted at its February meeting.
3. In conducting the election, the registrar shall compile a list of all the Faculty members eligible to serve on the committee. Each Faculty member shall be asked to nominate two persons from that list as candidates for election.
4. The President of the Faculty shall present to the Faculty the names of the two persons most often nominated. Each Faculty member shall then be asked to vote for one. The person receiving the greater number of votes shall be elected to membership on the committee for a six-year term.
5. The committee shall elect one of its members chair for a term of one year. The chair shall be eligible for a second consecutive term.
6. Members of the Tenure and Reappointment Committee shall not hold any other Faculty-elected position. A new election for any position vacated will be held in the normal fashion.
7. The choice of a successor to fill any vacancy which occurs because of retirement, resignation, or death shall be made from two nominees selected in accordance with the general procedure outlined in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) above.
8. Ordinarily, one full year must have expired before anyone may be re-elected to serve on this committee. Exceptions to this general rule may be made by the faculty president/steering committee upon a faculty member's request.

2. The Special Subcommittee on Promotions will advise the Dean of the College and the President of the College on all matters of qualification for promotion to the rank of professor. The subcommittee shall be formed in the following manner:

a. The subcommittee shall consist of members of the Committee on Tenure and Reappointment with the rank of professor. If no professor from a particular division is currently serving on the Committee on Tenure and Reappointment, then the Faculty of the College shall elect from that division a professor who is engaged in full-time teaching or research to serve as a voting member of the Special Subcommittee.  This person will serve as long as no professor from that division is a member of the committee on Tenure and Reappointment, or for six years, whichever term is shorter.

b. The election shall be conducted by the Registrar in the spring immediately after the Committee on Tenure and Reappointment elections.

c. In conducting the election, the registrar shall compile a list of all persons eligible to serve. Each Faculty member shall be asked to nominate two persons from that list as candidates for election.

d. The registrar shall then circulate a ballot with the names of the two persons most often nominated. Each Faculty member shall then be asked to vote for one person. The person receiving the larger number of votes shall serve on the Special Subcommittee.

e. The subcommittee shall elect one of its members chair for the term of one year.

3. The purpose of the Review Board is to hear complaints from Faculty members who seek redress for administrative decisions relating to tenure, termination, or dismissal, or to hear complaints from Faculty members about conditions of employment involving administrative actions or the actions of another member of the Faculty (see Review Board).

a. The Board shall consist of six full-time tenured members of the Faculty. The elected members shall serve three-year terms, shall be eligible for re-election, and shall elect a Chair of the Review Board.

b. Faculty members who are serving on the Tenure and Reappointment Committee or the Special Subcommittee on Promotion, or who are serving as Division Chair or as an administrative officer of any kind, shall be ineligible to serve on the Review Board. Continuing members of the Review Board shall be ineligible for election to the Tenure and Reappointment Committee, shall not serve on the Special Subcommittee on Promotion and shall not serve as Division Chair or as an administrative officer of any kind.

c. The Faculty shall conduct the elections in the spring immediately after the Committee on Tenure and Reappointment elections, usually at its March meeting. Prior to this meeting, the Registrar shall compile a list of those eligible to serve on the Board. Each Faculty member shall be asked to nominate four people from that list as candidates for election. The President of the Faculty shall then present to the Faculty for a vote the names of the four people most often nominated. The two people receiving the most votes will be elected.

d. The newly elected members of the Review Board shall begin their terms on June 1. However, a sitting panel shall continue its work until it has completed its duties.

4. The Committee on Faculty Development is concerned with any issue that relates to the professional growth of the Faculty. It seeks to promote scholarship and research by members of the Faculty, to encourage the development of Faculty members as teachers, and to foster the development of the Faculty's sense of itself as a professional academic body. In meeting this responsibility, the committee administers and supervises the following programs: (1) summer study grants (see Summer Study Grants), (2) collaborative student- Faculty research grants, and (3) grants for students attending professional meetings. The committee also reviews sabbatical leave proposals as well as Stodghill Research Professorship proposals and makes recommendations to the Dean. In addition, the committee sponsors Friday Faculty Hours for the informal sharing of research and other interests and concerns of the Faculty throughout the year.

a. The committee will consist of nine members, three from each division. Each academic division will, at its April meeting, elect a representative to serve a three-year term. Division chairs shall take care to ensure that at least one of the divisional representatives shall be a tenured member of the Faculty. A simple majority of the members of each division shall constitute a quorum for divisional elections. One third of the committee will be elected each year. Any tenured or tenure-track full-time employee of the College having Faculty rank, except continuing or incoming Division Chairs, may serve as a representative on the Committee on Faculty Development, however the President of the Faculty, continuing members of the Committee on Curriculum and Academic Standards, continuing or newly elected members of the Tenure and Reappointment Committee, the Off-Campus Programs Committee, and Faculty on sabbatical or serving as a Faculty director abroad in the upcoming academic year will not be listed on the ballot. Additionally, the incoming appointed chairs of the General Education and Assessment Committees will not be listed on the ballot. Members may be re-elected.

b. The incoming Committee on Faculty Development shall elect its chair for the following academic year immediately after its membership is determined in the spring.

c. The members of the Committee on Faculty Development shall not hold any other Faculty elected position. A new election for any position vacated will be held in the normal fashion.

5. The Committee on Curriculum and Academic Standards proposes policies to the Faculty of the College regarding the curriculum and academic standards, including major, minor, and degree requirements. Based on program recommendations, the committee considers and rules upon proposals for new courses. The committee will rule on petitions concerning exceptions to requirements, and will determine scholarship retention, readmission, academic probation and suspensions. The Committee on Curriculum and Academic Standards is formed as follows:

a. The committee shall consist of the Dean of the College; the Associate Dean of the College; the chairs of each academic division; and two Faculty members from each academic division, to be elected by the Faculty of each respective division. Any tenured or tenure-track full-time employee of the College having Faculty Rank may serve as a representative on the Committee on Curriculum and Academic Standards, however the President of the Faculty, continuing or newly elected members of the Tenure and Reappointment Committee, the continuing or newly elected members of the Committee on Faculty Development, the Off-Campus Programs Committee and Faculty on sabbatical or serving as a Faculty director abroad in the upcoming academic year will not be listed on the ballot. Additionally, the incoming appointed chairs of the General Education and Assessment Committees will not be listed on the ballot. The registrar and Assistant Dean of General Education shall be an ex officio, non-voting member of the committee.

b. The Division Chairs shall conduct the election for their respective divisions at the April meeting of the Division.

c. Members of the committee shall serve two-year terms.

d. The incoming Committee on Curriculum and Academic Standards shall elect a Faculty chair for the following academic year in the spring immediately after its membership is determined in the spring.

e. The committee shall elect one of its members chair for a term of one year. The chair shall be eligible for a second consecutive term. The chair shall be elected from among the tenured members of the Faculty serving on the Committee. Should no tenured member of the Faculty be elected to the Committee, the Registrar shall conduct a special election to select a chair from among those tenured Faculty members who have served on the committee in the previous five years.

f. The committee may form subcommittees as needed, the membership and tenure of such subcommittees to be determined by the chair of the committee. In its deliberations the committee shall, as appropriate, consult with professional staff and students.

6. The Off-Campus Programs Committee (OCPC) will report to the Faculty, through the Committee on Curriculum and Academic Standards (CCAS) and shall advise the Dean of the College on international programs at Centre College. The OCPC shall be the committee of the Faculty charged with making recommendations to the Dean of the College on issues and policy relating to long term, short term and summer international and domestic study-away programs. The OCPC shall discuss any issues that relate to international students and the international experiences of Centre College students. Topics brought to the committee may include, but are not limited to, issues and/or policy related to the curriculum, administration, facilities, programs of study, consortial and contractual agreements, evaluation, assessment and staffing of international and domestic study-away programs.

a. The primary functions of the OCPC are to:

• make recommendations to the Dean of the College on policy and practice relating to international and domestic study-away programs,
• make recommendations to the CCAS on issues relating to curriculum and academic programming, where appropriate,
• review the applications from students for placement in long term international and domestic study-away programs and advise the Director of Global Citizenship on the selection of students for those placements (the student members of the OCPC will participate in this process as appropriate),
• solicit, evaluate and support proposals from Faculty members for short term, and summer international and domestic study-away programs, assist the Dean of the College in the selection of Faculty directors for the long term international programs,
• evaluate both long and short term programs (the Director of Global Citizenship shall provide a summary of program evaluations for the OCPC. The OCPC will not be involved in any evaluation materials that relate directly to Faculty evaluations.),
• implement the objectives outlined in the College Strategic Plan, and
• assist the Director of Global Citizenship with any other issues as they may arise.

b. The OCPC shall report on all academic and curricular issues as they relate to international and domestic study-away programs to the Faculty through the CCAS. The CCAS shall act on any academic or curricular issues brought forward by the OCPC and bring those actions to the Faculty for final approval.

c. The Dean of the College shall charge the Director of Global Citizenship with the administration of long term, short term and summer international and domestic study-away programs.

d. The OCPC shall be made up of two Faculty members from each division. The Director of Global Citizenship, the Assistant Director of Global Citizenship, and The Centre College Internship Coordinator shall serve as ex-officio members of the committee.

e. The Division Chairs shall conduct the election for their respective divisions at the April meeting of the Division. Members of the committee shall serve three-year terms. Vacancies of less than a year shall be filled by the Division Chair and approved by the Faculty President. Vacancies of one year or more shall be filled through a divisional election conducted by the Division Chair. The President of the Faculty, continuing members of the Committee on Curriculum and Academic Standards and the Faculty Development Committee, continuing or newly elected members of the Tenure and Reappointment Committee, and

Faculty on sabbatical or serving as a Faculty director abroad in the upcoming academic year will not be listed on the ballot. Members may be re-elected.

f. The incoming OCPC shall elect a Faculty chair for the following academic year in the spring immediately after the division elections. The chair shall be eligible for a second consecutive term.

g. The committee may form subcommittees as needed and the membership and tenure of such subcommittees will be determined by the chair of the committee. The subcommittees that select students for the semester programs abroad always include the in-coming directors of those programs. In its deliberations the committee shall, as appropriate, consult with professional staff and students.

h. The Chair of the OCPC, in consultation with the Director of Global Citizenship, and with the approval of the Dean of the College and the Faculty President, may invite up to two other members of the Faculty, professional staff, or student body who bring special knowledge or interest to the committee to become members of the OCPC for one year.

7. The Assessment Committee will advise the Dean of the College regarding assessment, serve in an advisory capacity to provide information on assessment to our academic programs, and facilitate the assessment process. It will strive to educate the campus community about best practices for, and the impact of, assessment. The Assessment Committee will review and discuss Institutional Effectiveness Reports to make general recommendations about student learning goals, outcomes, and assessment practices and will work with the Dean of the College to verify that outcomes are being used to enhance program effectiveness. The Committee shall discuss and make recommendations on topics of assessment for workshops, revise assessment forms as needed, and generally be a resource for the campus community.

a. The committee shall consist of at least two faculty members from each Division -- to be appointed by the Dean of the College -- and the Academic Affairs Academic Fellow. Faculty members will serve three-year terms. The three-year terms will be staggered so that approximately one-third of the faculty members will be appointed each year.

b. The committee will be chaired by a tenured faculty member. The Academic Fellow will serve as a permanent ex-officio member of the committee. The faculty chair shall not hold any other elected position.

c. The Committee will submit an annual report to the Academic Dean.

8. The Committee on General Education. The responsibility of the Committee on General Education is to assess the effectiveness of the General Education curriculum and to share the results of its assessment with the Faculty. These results will usefully inform the deliberations of the Committee on Curriculum and Academic Standards in its role of proposing policies to the Faculty regarding the curriculum. The appointed faculty chair shall not hold any other elected position.

9. Committee on Student Writing is made up of seven appointed members, to include: two members of the English program; one member from each of the three academic divisions; the director of the Writing Center; the director of CTL.

Responsibilities:

a. To administer the basic skills requirement in writing, including the annual review of the writing of all first- year students, as well as the follow-up evaluation for those students who did not pass their first review. These activities include:

• Inform students and faculty about the basic skills requirement.
• Solicit and collect input about first-year writing in the fall term from faculty.
• Collect and evaluate writing samples from all first-year Humanities classes.
• Send a placement letter to all first-year students (through the registrar), and field petitions and complaints.
• Collect and evaluate writing samples from students who did not pass their first review, and coordinate placement in English 170.

b. To serve faculty as a central resource for writing-related issues. Responsibilities will include:

• Maintain a website to keep faculty informed on writing policies and best practices.
• Establish and oversee writing guidelines for all students, including ESL.
• Oversee writing in general education.
• Coordinate faculty workshops and presentations on writing, on at least an annual basis.
• Coordinate the operations of the Writing Center within the College’s curriculum.
• Coordinate writing-related activities with CTL.
• Make an annual presentation at new faculty orientation, with follow-up as desired.
• Serve as a clearinghouse and source of information and advice for specific queries and faculty concerns.