Department of Biological Sciences
Departmental
Assignments and Committees
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Faculty & Staff
STEM
College of Science, Technology, Engineering &
Mathematics
The Chairperson, as administrator of the Department, shall be selected as described in Article 9.7 of the Agreement. The Chairperson shall perform all duties and assignments congruent with University policies and practices. The Chairperson shall be committed to quality performance in teaching, scholarship, and University service. The Chairperson must ensure all decision-making practices are consistent with University policies, Department Mission, Goals, and Core Values, and this Governance Document.
The specific responsibilities of the Chairperson include:
- calling and facilitating all departmental meetings and ensuring that the decision-making processes are by consensus;
- supervising the development and subsequent allocation of departmental resources (annual budget and monthly adjustments);
- coordinating the development of teaching schedules, workloads, and reassigned time; <>
- coordinating the recruitment of new faculty and the selection of other departmental personnel including term contract faculty;
- communicating all University directives from the administration;
- developing the annual report with implementation of progress toward the departmental mission, goals, and core values;
- supervising departmental office personnel and facilities; and
- other matters specifically noted in the Agreement.
The Chairperson will appoint a faculty member to serve as the Department Advisement Coordinator/Assistant to the Chairperson. The Advisement Coordinator will assist the Chairperson and faculty in coordinating advisement duties in the Department. The Advisement Coordinator/Assistant to the Chairperson will receive 4 SH (defined below) each semester. Specific responsibilities for this position include:
- coordination of faculty office hours with student needs for advisement during the academic year;
- serve as the primary resource person for faculty questions regarding advisement;
- update and distribute appropriate department advisement materials to faculty and students;
- attend all advisement training sessions and disseminate information to faculty;
- coordinate advisement activities with STEM advisors;
- conduct transfer student and senior evaluations; and
- attend meetings in place of the Chairperson as needed.
Department Committees
The Chairperson and the Department’s faculty shall have ultimate oversight over all standing and ad hoc committees. Each Spring semester, faculty members will indicate their ranked preference for service on committees and/or as coordinators for the following year. Members of the Advisory Committee are elected from among the faculty (see below). For all other standing committees, the divisons will meet to elect representatives to the committees with at least one representative from each division. The Advisory Committee and the Chairperson may make additional assignments to the committees, according to preferences, individual qualifications, the departmental need to provide equal representation of individuals by division, and by an attempt to equalize and balance individual workloads. Ad hoc committees are appointed by the Chairperson to address specific tasks identified by the Chairperson and/or the Advisory Committee.
Each committee (standing or ad hoc) shall have no less than three members nor more than six in total make-up. The Chairperson may not serve on any standing committee but may serve as a member of an ad hoc committee. All standing committee representations must include a minimum of one faculty member from each division. Except where specifically noted, all full-time faculty all eligible to serve on standing and ad hoc committees.
The Department standing committees, their description, and their specific responsibilities are presented below.
1.) Advisory Committee. The Chairperson’s Advisory Committee shall consist of one representative from each division elected by members of a particular division. Term contract faculty may not serve as a divisional representative to this committee. The divisional representative will be elected to serve for one year. Names of representatives shall be forwarded to the Chairperson prior to the first faculty meeting of the academic year. The specific responsibilities of the Advisory Committee include:
- providing advice to the Chairperson on all matters relating to the effective and efficient governance of the department;
- serving as Departmental Workload Committee and serving to evaluate and prioritize requests by faculty for departmentally administered reassigned time;
- advising the Chairperson on major equipment requests and means of procurement;
- aiding in the formulation of the justification for new faculty;
- advising the Chairperson on matters of the efficient and effective utilization of space and facilities; and
- coordination and documentation of public relations efforts by division.
• Ian Renne
• Jodie Krontiris-Litowitz
• Chester Cooper
2.) Academic Goals Committee. All matters concerning the development and evaluation of academic goals will be referred to the Academic Goals Committee. The membership of this committee shall consist of three (3) faculty members. Goals that concern curriculum development shall remain under the Curriculum committee oversight, but shall receive written recommendations from Academic Goals Committee. The specific responsibilities of the Academic Goals Committee include
- making recommendations to the Chairperson and the entire faculty for modification, addition, or deletion to the existing Department mission and goals statement.
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3.) Curriculum Committee. All curriculum matters relating to both service courses and graduate or undergraduate majors courses shall be referred to the Curriculum Committee. The membership of this committee shall consist of three (3) faculty members. If a non-graduate faculty member is assigned committee membership duties, he or she shall only serve as an evaluator of undergraduate curricula. The specific responsibilities of the Curriculum Committee include:
- making recommendations to the Chairperson for the processing and examination of proposals for new courses, changes in existing courses, of deletion of existing courses;
- present new or deleted courses to the department for a faculty vote; and
- assessing and making recommendations to faculty on matters relative to the requirements for B.A./B.S. and M.S. degrees in Biology.
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4.) Space Utilization Committee. The Department desires to have efficient and effective utilization of lecture, laboratory, and office space. All matters concerning the location and use of physical space shall be referred to the Space Utilization Committee. The membership of this committee shall consist of at least three members, including one member from each division. The specific responsibilities of the Curriculum Committee include:
- provide justification for the reallocation of space and facilities within the department; and
- allocation and assignment of office and laboratory space to faculty for their pursuit of scholarly research.
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5.) Library Committee. The Department recognizes the need for access to the scholarly works of others to maintain cutting-edge scientific research and up-to-date information for instruction. As a consequence, the Department establishes a Library Committee to assist Maag Library's acquisition of such materials. The membership of this committee shall consist of three (3) members. The specific responsibilities of the Library Committee include:
- determinating faculty expenditure allotments based upon the annual library allocation. Each full service faculty member shall receive an equal share of the funds available, but funds remaining after February 1 shall be expened upon the committee’s recommendation;
- receiving all faculty requests and forwarding them to the Acquisitions Librarian, Maag Library;
- keeping a running total for each faculty member and notifying of them of any changes that might occur; and
- considering any requests from Maag Library administration to reduce periodical holdings. Any reductions are to be undertaken in consultation with the Chairperson of the Department and with faculty members affected by such elimination.
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6.) Health and Safety Committee. Health and safety of faculty, students, and staff are of concern to all at the University. This committee will act as liaison between the Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety to ensure compliance with federal, state, and University rules and regulations. The membership of this committee shall consist of three (3) members. The specific responsibilities of the Health and Safey Committee include: [Table of Contents]
- keeping faculty and staff informed of all policies/directives;
- ensuring compliance with regulations for the storage of toxic chemicals; and
- ensuring maintenance of eye wash and first aid stations in all laboratories.
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