Bylaws
These bylaws describe existing structures and operating procedures in the Department of English. They will remain current until changing conditions make amendment, addition, or excision desirable.
All faculty members holding at least .50 tenured, tenure-track, or clinical professorships in the department and all lecturers and senior lecturers are voting members of the department.
Voting members of the department exercise their authority:
A. At department meetings when motions are presented
Quorum: To transact business requiring a vote at a department faculty meeting, a quorum consisting of 33% of all the faculty members of the department (excluding those on leave in a given semester) is required. No business requiring a vote can be transacted without a quorum except to adjourn.
Proxies are accepted at faculty meetings for those faculty who have personal, and/or family or medical emergencies, teaching conflicts, or have conflicts such as conflicting professional meetings. A faculty member attending the meeting can cast proxy votes for no more than two non-attending colleagues.
Before the faculty meeting, the non-attending faculty member has to give the assistant to the Head written notification (such as e-mail) identifying the proxy, and the notification is for only one particular meeting. At the beginning of the meeting the proxies will be identified.
B. In departmental elections for
- Representatives for the College's Area Committee
- College of Liberal Arts Senators
- Nominees for College's slate for the University Senate
- At-large members of departmental Recruitment Committees
- Other elections as may be required
C. Through mail ballots
When there are at least seven faculty members at a department meeting and a quorum has been met, a faculty member can request that a vote on a topic be a mail ballot. Mail ballots are defined as paper, e-mail, or appropriate electronic survey platform votes taken outside the department meeting. A mail ballot must be distributed to all faculty members. There must be one faculty member to move and at least six to support the motion. There is no further vote on a call for a mail ballot. The recording secretary will summarize the discussion of the motion in time for circulation with the mail ballot within one week of the meeting at which the call for a mail ballot was made. No mail ballot can be called for a vote after a vote has been taken on a motion.
To amend by-laws, a two-thirds vote of all faculty members present at a meeting (excluding those on leave in a given semester) is required. Faculty members on leave may vote at department meetings to amend the by-laws. Proxies are acceptable. A mail ballot may be requested using the procedures described in Section II C.
The elections committee oversees all departmental elections. The outcome of an election is decided on the basis of a simple majority. If no one receives such a majority, a run-off election is held between those candidates receiving the most votes whose combined vote total equals a majority of the votes cast. Additional run-off elections based on this principle are conducted until a single person receives a majority of cast votes. Vote tallies are validated by the Election Committee members. The committee retains ballots electronically. The administrative assistant maintains a permanent file of Election Committee documents.
A. Head
The Head is the chief executive officer of the department and represents the department. Appointed by the dean after a faculty search committee has screened and recommended candidates, the Head typically serves a five-year term with a twelve-month contract.
B. Associate Head
The Associate Head is appointed by the Head, working on a twelve-month contract for a term to be agreed upon by the Head and the Associate Head. The term may be extended at the Head's discretion. The Associate Head assists in the daily administration of the department, acts as deputy for the Head at departmental and university meetings, and other duties as determined by the Head.
C. Director of Graduate Studies
The Director of Graduate Studies is appointed by the Head for a three-year term, working on an academic-year contract with two months of summer salary, plus an administrative supplement that commits them to serving as a consultant over the summer. The term may be extended at the Head's discretion. The director supervises the administration of the Graduate English Office and other duties as determined by the Head.
D. Director of Undergraduate Studies
The Director of Undergraduate Studies is appointed by the Head for a three-year term, working on an academic-year contract with two months of summer salary, plus an administrative supplement that commits them to serving as a consultant over the summer. The term may be extended at the Head’s discretion. The Director of Undergraduate Studies oversees undergraduate curricular matters, including working to recruit majors, enhancing internship initiatives, developing career advising, building community among undergraduates, and other duties as determined by the Head.
E. Director of Writing
The Director of Writing is appointed by the Head, works on an academic-year contract with three months of summer salary, plus an administrative supplement. The director supervises the administration of the ICaP and PW Programs and other duties as determined by the Head.
Departmental meetings are scheduled monthly during the academic year. Additional meetings may be called by the Head. Agenda items are solicited before meetings. Items must be submitted in writing to the department Head’s assistant at least one week prior to the meeting to be included on the agenda. Working with an agenda, the Head chairs the meeting.
A. Academic Area Committees
The English Department has faculty members in several undergraduate areas:
- Creative Writing
- English Literature
- English Language in a Global Context
- Professional Writing
English graduate degrees fall into two major fields:
- Literature, Theory, Cultural Studies
- Rhetoric and Composition
Faculty members may be appointed as program directors in other units within the University upon consultation and approval by the Head.
Faculty members who identify with or are hired to teach in specific academic areas may be appointed to serve on examination committees, M.A., MFA, or Ph.D., in those areas. Academic Area participation also includes meeting periodically with the members of the group to decide upon course staffing and recruitment needs.
Different groups constitute a committee with differing degrees of formality; it is up to the members of each group to decide when and how often to meet, what topics to discuss, and how the meetings should be run.
B. Primary Committee
As prescribed by University regulation, the Primary Committee acts on cases of tenure and promotion in the department. All full and tenured associate professors are voting members of the committee. The Head chairs the Primary Committee but is not a voting member of the committee unless the number of full professors (including the chair) is less than seven.
As prescribed by College regulation, the committee conducts yearly evaluations of untenured faculty and associate-level faculty, and triennial evaluations of full-level faculty.
The committee also conducts yearly evaluations of clinical assistant and clinical associate faculty, and triennial evaluations of clinical full faculty.
C. Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee holds regularly scheduled meetings over the course of the academic year and advises the Head on administrative matters that pertain to the whole department. The Advisory Committee serves an important role in making sure that faculty-governance checks and balances are preserved amidst Purdue's Head system as much as possible. The Advisory Committee occasionally discusses sensitive issues, and members of the committee are expected to maintain an appropriate degree of confidentiality about certain matters.
D. Appointed Committees
Assistant professors are not required to serve on more than one standing appointed committee in a given year.
1. Academic Affairs
a) Writing Advisory Committee
The Writing Advisory Committee consists of two faculty members and a lecturer, all appointed by the Head, and the Director of Writing. A graduate student member is elected by GradSEA. The Head appoints the committee’s chairperson.
The Writing Advisory Committee assists the Director of Writing in assessing writing courses and curriculum review, and may make staffing recommendations and coordinates other matters, including placement, advising, training and mentoring, and instructional computing.
b) Elections Committee
The Elections Committee consists of two faculty members appointed by the Head. The Head also appoints the committee's chairperson.
The committee conducts the elections required by the department, prepares the ballots, counts the resulting votes, and expeditiously reports the results to the faculty.
c) Excellence in Teaching Committee
The Excellence in Teaching Committee consists of the Associate Head and at least two faculty members appointed by the Head. The Head also appoints the committee's chairperson. One graduate student is elected by GradSEA.
The Excellence in Teaching Committee selects faculty and graduate nominees or recipients of departmental, College, and University awards. The committee also selects and helps prepares documents for nominees for University awards. While they are members of the committee, participants are not eligible for College or University teaching awards, but they are eligible for departmental awards.
d) Graduate Studies Committee
The Graduate Studies Committee consists of: the Director of Graduate Studies and representatives of the graduate programs in Literature, Theory, Cultural Studies and Rhetoric and Composition. Faculty members are appointed by the Head. One student member is elected by GradSEA. The student member has full voting privileges but does not participate in the discussion of individual student cases. The Director of Graduate Studies chairs the committee.
The committee works closely with the Director of Graduate Studies and advises the Head and the faculty on matters pertaining to the graduate programs in the department. Responsibilities include reviewing the MA and PhD curricula and requirements, setting guidelines for examinations, reviewing new courses, and handling students' petitions.
e) Graduate Admissions Committee
The Graduate Admissions Committee consists of the Director of Graduate Studies, who chairs the committee and faculty members from Literature, Theory, Cultural Studies and Rhetoric and Composition appointed by the Head as needed depending on yearly cohort priorities.
Members of the committee read each completed application, record their comments and decisions, and meet as needed to discuss and rank applicants. The Director of Graduate Studies uses these ranked lists to recommend students for teaching assistantships to the Director of Writing.
f) Undergraduate Studies Committee
The Undergraduate Studies Committee consists of the Director of Undergraduate Studies who chairs the committee, an undergraduate advisor (non-voting), the Associate Head, the Academic Program Manager, and at least two other faculty members appointed by the Head. Whenever possible, each undergraduate major in the department will be represented by at least one faculty member. One graduate student is elected by GradSEA.
The committee works closely with the Director of Undergraduate Studies and advises the Head and the faculty on matters pertaining to the undergraduate programs in the department. Responsibilities include curricula and requirements, reviewing new courses, and handling students' petitions.
2. Service Appointments and Committees
a) Books and Coffee
A faculty member is appointed by the Head to organize half-hour book reviews co-sponsored by the Purdue Student Union Board and offered to the public during January and February. The faculty organizer also introduces the speakers. The faculty member in charge of Books and Coffee serves a two-year term.
b) Job Placement Committee
The Job Placement Committee consists of at least two faculty members appointed by the Head in consultation with the DGS and other graduate directors. The Head appoints the committee's chairperson. The major function of this committee is to prepare graduate students for the job market and, in particular, to inform them about the rigors and practices associated with gaining academic employment. The committee provides information to interested graduate students on matters such as letter and c.v. preparation, interviewing skills and techniques, and information about the marketplace.
c) Woodman Lecture and Literary Awards Committee
The Literary Awards Committee consists of at least three faculty members appointed by the Head. The Head appoints the committee’s chair, who serves a two-year term and is granted one course release to be taken during the second year of that term. Additionally, the Head designates another member of the committee to coordinate the annual statewide high school creative writing contest and to organize all aspects of high school students attending the awards. One graduate student is elected by GradSEA.
The committee has the responsibility for identifying and inviting the speaker and scheduling the Woodman lecture, which is held each fall.
The committee also has responsibility for the literary awards banquet in the spring, for organizing the judging of submissions, and for the awarding of prizes.
d) Advisors for Student Organizations
The role of advisers who work with English organizations (such as the Student English Association and others) is to advise, assist, and enable the officers to plan and to carry out the various meetings and functions of their organizations throughout the year.
Questions about parliamentary procedures will be decided by recourse to the current edition of the American Institute of Parliamentarians Standard Code in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with the bylaws of this department.